Looked into Grandma's recipes tonight and found an interesting cookie recipe. This one is called "Honey Cut-Outs", torn from a newspaper. From the information surrounding it and the age of the paper I would say its from the Korean War Era. (1950's?)

I think this recipe would render an awesome cookie. Next time I'm in the mood to bake cookies, this is definitely one I will try! Here it is:

Honey Cut-Outs

Mix thoroughly 1/3 cup soft shortening, 1/3 cup sugar, one egg, 2/3 cup honey and one teaspoon lemon flavoring. Sift together and stir in 2 & 3/4 cups flour, one teaspoon soda and one teaspoon salt.

Chill dough.

Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for eight to ten minutes. Cool and decorate. Recipe makes about 5 dozen, 2 1/2 inch cookies.

Enjoy! Have a great weekend!!

(Picture Courtesy: A Cookie Project)

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My last post was about an adventure in making Fiber Art Scarves. Sunday, I had the whole day to "play" with the process and as yet, I haven't completed Scarf #1. There was a bit of measuring and cutting preparation before I could even begin adding the fibers to the Solvy. Once I had everything in place and pinned together, it was then time to do the endless sewing of the sandwiched layers on the machine. After 6 hours of non-stop work and two spools of thread, I felt like I should call it finished. Being so tired after all of that, I decided to take the scarf to work and do the soaking there. (Yes, being an Art Teacher, I have that luxury!)

But oh no, that didn't happen! Upon taking it out and inspecting it one last time, I decided "What the Heck"... I have some gold metallic thread, I'll just add some hand stitched embellishments before I soak off the Solvy. So folks, that is where I stand. The hand stitched embellishments are half-way finished. I hope to have the scarf completed on Friday. Have no fear, though. Pictures have been taken every step of the way and I will share these. In the meantime, wish me happy hands and creative thoughts!!!

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Yippee! My order of Solvy Water Soluble stabilizer should be out for delivery today! DD and I have decided to make a few Fiber Art Scarves for Christmas presents this year. With two art teachers, two sewing machines and a yarn stash that spans over thirty years, I'm sure we can come up with some marvelous, one-of-a-kind scarves. The best part is we might have tomorrow to try the technique out!

In case some of you have never seen or heard of these before, they are a no knit/no crochet type of scarf that you sandwich between layers of the water soluble stabilizer, free stitch on the machine and soak the stabilizer away. This leaves a beautiful open and airy scarf that can be embellished with beading, embroidery or whatever...

I found an example/inspirational picture which I am posting today, here: http://www.nancydorian.com/gallery.html

I hope to post pictures of our works in progress and some final results when we embark on our adventure in Fiber Art Scarves. Have a great weekend, everyone!

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Food for Thought Fridays might become a weekly thing...we'll see how the wind blows me on this. I was motivated to write this post after looking through my Grandmother's handwritten/newspaper cropped recipes which I was blessed to inherit so many years ago. Grandma was born in 1900 and some of these recipes are truly a treasure! Today I thought I'd share a very unusual recipe, at least it was for me, "Steamed Carrot Pudding". Judging from the coat advertisement on the back, I would say this one is from the 1930's. I did a google image search and actually found this picture on the http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Steamed-Carrot-Pudding website. You can check their recipe or go by the one I am posting below...

1 cup grated carrots

1 cup grated potatoes

1 cup raisins

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon soda

1/8 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix ingredients, pour into greased pudding mold. Cover tightly, steam 3 hours. Unmold and serve warm.

Quite interesting, as I never usually think of adding sugar to mashed potatoes and carrots. If anyone tries this out, please let me know!

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With Thanksgiving approaching, many of us have already started thinking about the menu, tableware and decorations needed to host a Holiday Dinner. I wanted to post an edible treat which was a big hit at one of the Thanksgiving dinners I hosted. Its the breadstick cornucopia.

To me, the cornucopia represents our thanks for abundant food and the joy we receive from sharing our good fortune with family and friends. What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than to have an edible representation to share.

If you do an internet search you will find instructions to make one of your own. Hope this will inspire you to try one and share this edible Thanksgiving centerpiece.

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It was one of those nights this week....neither Hubby nor I wanted to cook and nothing ordered out sounded good to us. Thus, checking our pantry and fridge, THIS is what we had! The most scrumptious...the most fabulous.....chili-cheese fries!!!!!!!!!!

Granted, this is not the healthiest of food. I know this. Its loaded with salt, fat and God only knows what else, but on a cool Autumn evening when no one wants to cook, this is a real treat! Quick, easy and filling, it one of my favorite comfort foods. All you need is a bag of frozen french fries, a can of chili and some shredded cheese to create this fine trick of a treat. Are you hungry, yet?

I read somewhere online that the hottest, new color combination is Orange and Aqua. If you stop and really think about it, orange alone is a pretty hot color. I LOVE the color orange (probably a hold over from the 1970's when it was used everywhere, including my first kitchen's walls!). To pair it with aqua....who knew? After a short google image search I found some really unique ideas that paired the two colors. The follow pictures can inspire a whole new dimension to your thoughts on the color pairing.... Enjoy the eye candy!

I love this party table setting.....can you imagine attending a dinner party with this lovely table available upon which to dine?-------------------------------->

<--------Look at the "pop" of chartruese in this tablescape....

Then, of course, you'd have to wear a matching dress for the party...

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It seems that the possiblities are endless on how orange and aqua can be used together to create a fun and lively color combination!