for the birds

Sadie has been after me to make a bird feeder for all the chickadees that have been flitting around our porch.  I saw this quick and easy idea for a pine cone bird feeder in a book we have, and we decided to give it a try.  It is a perfectly textural and messy project for a 2-year-old.  All you need is a pine cone, birdseed and some peanut butter.  I didn't have peanut butter so I mixed coconut oil and a little bit of almond butter--I'm sure you could use suet or any other sticky fat that birds would dig.

Directions:

1.) Tie a piece of twine (for hanging) around your pine cone before you slather it with the nut butter. Believe me, it is easier to do this way.
2.) Glop the nut butter all over the pine cone (you may need to taste test it first)
3.) Roll sticky messy pine cone in birdseed
4.) Apply a few lingonberries to make it festive.
5.) Hang in trees and wait for birds to come eat it (or squirrels, OR moose and bears according to Sadie).

Happy Holidays to our backyard friends.

lingonberry-apple pie

 

 Crust:

blend in food processor or blender

2 cups of flour

1 cup cold butter cut up

1tsp salt

slowly add until crust just comes together

1/4 cup vanilla vodka.

Did you know that replacing the water with vodka in your pie crust makes it impossibly flaky?

It does... and you should try it sometime.

Filling:

2 cups lingonberries or cranberries

3 sad looking apples from the fruit bowl that everyone keeps passing by

3/4 c. sugar

4T. cornstarch, or your favorite pie thickener

dash of the vanilla vodka that you didn't need for the crust

2 pats of butter.

toss together

Fill bottom pie crust, put the top crust on, poke some holes, cover edges with foil and bake at 425 for 30 minutes

uncover edges, reduce heat to 350 and cook another 30-40 minutes, until juices are bubbling

and the tantalizing aroma sends you to pie heaven. 

Enjoy!

Blueberry Sourdough Waffles

a happy cooking mistake!

Meet the "Scookie"

Last night I was trying to multitask by getting Sadie to fall asleep in the Ergo whilst simultaneously whipping up a batch of cranberry orange scones.  As distraction fate would have it, I goofed up on the recipe and came out with something that wasn't very scone-ish.  I thought I would fudge, and go for drop scones--but they actually came out better--lighter, and fluffier and mmmmm.... delish.  So here is a recipe for cranberry orange scookies.  I made them with Nome cranberries, which are actually lingonberries--so tangy and tart and wonderful!

preheat oven to 375.

In a large mixing bowl combine:

2 cups flour

1/2 c. brown sugar

zest of one orange

1 c. frozen cranberries

1/4tsp. nutmeg

1T. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

Whip together and add to dry ingredients:

1/4 c. oil

3/4 c. milk

1egg.

Drop by generous spoonfuls onto a baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes.

I topped these off with a glaze made from the juice of the  zested orange, a dash of vanilla, and some powdered sugar, but they would be good without too. 

enjoy!