Knitting Pillows!

A while back my grandmother showed me how to knit. I picked up the craft very quickly, with her great instructions and a book she bought me for Christmas. I started off with the intentions of making a blanket. I picked really bright colors because at the time that was what I liked. Red, orange, yellow green, blue, and purple were the colors I picked out. I started making knitted squares for my blanket, but after awhile of knitting eventually I went on to other crafts. A couple weeks ago, I finally sat down on my living room couch and started to knit. As I was sitting there I realized I should have made my squares a lot bigger. At the rate I was knitting; I would have my blanket done in three years. I was laying on a really comfy pillow at the time when it donned on me, why not make a knitted pillow? Really excited about the idea I counted and laid out all my knitted squares. I found an old travel pillow that I knew no one would miss and started sewing my pillow together! It was a great project, and I even used my first testing square for a pocket for a book! I put a cute flower button on it and I must say it is a super cute pillow!
If you know how to knit, try making a pillow! It is super easy and they turn out great! Here is mine.

Cake With Marshmallow Fondant!

I always love watching cake shows and watching the bakers decorate their cakes. They make beautiful cakes that I would consider master pieces. I have always wanted to try to make a cake with fondant but never have, until now. I heard that the fondant that bakers use does not taste very well, but as I was looking up recipes I found many sites that talk about Marshmallow fondant. So I decided to give it a try. These photos are taken from my first fondant making experience and trust me you learn a lot as you make it. Here is how I made my cake!

Ingredients:

- One Bag of Marshmallows
- One bag of Icing sugar
- Tender flake shortening
- 2 Tbsp of Water
- Food coloring

You will also need a spatula, a microwavable bowl, and some plastic gloves.

First wash your counter. Than grease the counter really well with the shortening. You want to have a thick layer of shortening and a large area covered. Otherwise your marshmallow will stick to the counter.

 

Than pour half of the icing sugar onto the greased counter.

Pat the icing sugar into a large circle. This is going to be what you are going to pour the melted marshmallows onto.

Grease the microwave able bowl and spatula really well. Than pour in the Marshmallows.

Pour the 2 Tbsp of water on to the marshmallows and lightly stir. Next you want to microwave the marshmallows for 30 seconds. Stir the marshmallows and microwave them again for 30 seconds. Continue these steps until there is no clumps of Marshmallows.

It took me three times putting my marshmallows into the microwave until I got this smooth liquid marshmallow. Than pour the marshmallow mixture onto your circle of icing sugar.

Rube shortening all over your hands. Make sure you get between fingers and even the back of your hands. Otherwise the marshmallows with just stick to you and not the icing.

Begin mixing the marshmallows into the icing making sure you stay on the greased surface. Don't forget to keep the icing sugar close by at all times. You will need to add lots more but in the end you should have a cup left.

Keep mixing the Marshmallows until the mixture can be kneaded. Than your fondant is finished. Your marshmallow fondant can be stored up to three days in a tightly sealed container. Do not refrigerate. The next couple steps is adding color and my finished product.

Cut a portion of the kneaded fondant that you want to color. Wearing gloves put a couple drops onto the gloves and rube hands together. Than begin kneading the color into the fondant. Keep putting drops onto your gloves and kneading it in until you reach the color of fondant you want.

I rolled out my fondant and made pink circles to put on my cake.

While I was rolling out my fondant and making different shapes, I baked to circle cakes and iced them. (The icing on the cake will act as glue keeping the fondant on the cake.) After they were iced I put the cake into the fridge. I rolled out blue fondant to cover the whole cake. I also made green stripes and pink circles to decorate. When attaching the fondant together use a little bit of water. Water will act as glue when you are attacking fondant to fondant.

This was my finished cake!

I recommend trying this fondant! It actually tasted really good and kept the cake really moist. When storing your cake it is preferred to keep it in a cake box. The cake needs to breath. Do not refrigerate otherwise condensation will appear on the fondant.
Hope you enjoy making your cake as much as I did! Comment below and tell me what you think!

Kitten Fun

I just recently got a new kitten but as I was looking at the price of Cat Toys and realized I would have to find a different way to entertain my kitten. I had a talk with another cat lover and they told me that the best cat toys are homemade ones. They also shared with me that their favorite homemade toy is a regular cardboard box. When I first heard this I was wondering how a kitten could have fun inside a regular box. It wasn't until I introduced the box to my kitten when I realized. I took the box idea to a knew level, making windows, little doors, tubes, and a second floor. So here is a picture of my new baby girl, and her "kitty hotel".

Asparagus with Curry Butter

My search for great tasting food continues. I recently came across a recipe on Eating well, and was really interested in making it that I made it for supper that same night. The site has some great recipes but here is

Curry butter Asparagus! 

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons butter, melted

 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

 1 teaspoon curry powder

1 shallot, finely diced

 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

 1 bunch asparagus, (about 1 pound), trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1.) Combine butter, curry powder, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl.

2.)Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. 

3.)Add asparagus and cook, stirring, until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

4.)Stir the curry butter into the asparagus; toss to coat.

5.) Serve and enjoy! If you like curry you will LOVE this recipe!

This recipe was delicious! It was super simple to make and it tasted great. I'm definitely making this again.

Candy Glass

Every year around Christmas time, my family sits down and writes out a list of all the flavors of candy glass we want. Last year we made all fruit flavors, which was our favorite year yet! Candy glass has very little ingredients, however it can be a tricky thing to make. Also, if you are not careful the fun project can turn into a dangerous event.

What you will need:

- 3 cups of sugar
- 1 cup of corn syrup
- 1 cup water
- 3 drops of food coloring (color depending on flavor)
- 1 tsp. of a flavored extract (I am using green apple)
- oil or non-stick spray
- Candy thermometer
- medium saucepan
- cookie sheet
- parchment paper

Steps:

1.) Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in the saucepan. Attach candy thermometer to the side of the pan, making sure it is deeply submerged but does not touch the bottom of the pan.

2.) Heat the pan on medium-high heat, wait until the candy mixture gets to 290 to 300 degrees.

3.) While you are waiting, put the parchment paper on the cookie sheet and spray with non-stick spray.

4.) When the candy mixture comes to the right temperature, quickly stir in food coloring and extract without removing from heat. 

5.) Immediately pour the mixture on the greased parchment paper and let cool to room temperature. Be very careful the mixture is super hot!

6.) Once the candy is soft but not hot you can start cutting the candy or wait till it is a little bit harder and break the candy to pieces.

 

This is a great treat and lasts along time! When making the smell fills your house with the great candy aroma! I hope you enjoy this candy as much as I did. Enjoy!