Daisy Crochet Pattern

This crochet flower is out of the book “100 Flowers to Knit or Crochet” by Lesley Stanfield. At first glance, it looked as if there were so many flowers to make, but then I took a look at the patterns. My pattern reading is not up to par, so it is quite difficult for me to understand what is going on in most of the flower patterns! And forget even attempting to decipher the knit ones (although they are really beautiful)! The “Lazy Daisy” flower is my first attempt at one of these 100 or so flowers. I also made a fern leaf to go along with it (which will come next week) to help accentuate the flower. I intend to sew it onto a purple hat for wintertime. Enjoy! I hope this pattern and the images on the book cover pique your interest and you go out to purchase it to make more great flowers (and even vegetables) for your projects!

Yarn “A”: Yellow

Yarn “B”: White

Method

Center Using A, make 6ch, join with ss into a ring.

1^st round (RS) 1ch, 11sc in ring, using B ss in 1ch. 12 sts.

Petals Continue with B.

2^nd round [11ch, ss in next sc] 12 times, ending ss in ss of first round.

Fasten off invisibly.

Seems easy, right? Let me know how yours turns out, I’d love to see your daisy results! 

Abbreviations according to the author:

ch=chain

ss=slip stitch

sts=stitches

sc=single crochet

Vanishing Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

(This is a slight adaptation from the Quaker "vanishing oatmeal raisin cookie" recipe. I obviously used chocolate chips instead!)

Made these for my mom to take to work one day, I hear that they really were vanishing!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1stick) plus 6 tbsp. butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
• 3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1 cup chocolate chips (or raisins. Or nuts... whatever you prefer!)

Steps:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy.
2. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
3. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
4. Add oats and chocolate chips (or other additives); mix well.
5. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

 

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Bar Cookies: Bake 30 to 35 minutes in ungreased 13x9 inch metal baking pan.

As I said before, I used chocolate chips instead of raisins. partly because I like chocolate chips more and partly because we didn't have raisins. Also, I greased my baking sheet anyway, because you never know. 

This Week's Cake

Coffee Cake Recipe

As some of you may know, my mom is a coffee cake queen. I would venture to say that it may be her favorite baked good/sweet treat. She’s won at the fair with her recipes and has done some clever ingredient changes. She gave me this recipe to make, found in an old “Look Homeward, Lafayette: Sesquicentennial Edition (1845-1995)” cookbook that is very tasty! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients:

Cake

½ lb butter or margarine (softened)

2 cups sugar

1 pint (1 lb) sour cream

4 eggs (add one at a time, beating well after each addition)

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

Topping

½ cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon (or to taste)

¾ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Steps:

1.      Cream the butter and sugar.

2.      Add sour cream, eggs, and vanilla to the mixture.

3.      Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda & powder), then gradually mix into creamed mixture.

4.      Pour into a greased 9x13” pan. (The recipe also says you can use three 8” or 9” cake pans, or loaf pans).

5.      Mix together chopped walnuts, cinnamon, and sugar in a separate bowl (I used a lot more walnuts, probably about 2 cups, in order to cover the top more).

6.      Take knife and run it down the cake in lines or swirls so that the topping gets into the batter.

7.      Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or when tester comes out clean (use a toothpick, it’s cheap and easy, unless you like the testers better!).

You can also customize this recipe by using different nuts for the topping, along with raisins, apples, or other fresh/dried fruits. The recipe says it freezes well. Thanks Jean A. Koszoru for your yummy recipe!

**Watch out for your broiler! I found that the higher temperature (375 versus the average cake/baking temperature of 350 degrees) was a bit too hot for our “vintage” oven. The top got a little crisp after the first 20 minutes, so I had to move it down to a lower rack. But nonetheless, delicious!

This Week's Cakes

Cristina's 21st Birthday Cake

Cake donated to a local Tricky Tray

Crochet: ZigZag Blanket

Well my lovely crochet friends, I know it is very satisfying when you finish a big project, like an afghan or sweater. Sadly, I am not there yet with my zigzag blanket! But I thought I’d update all of you on my progress!

It all started last winter before I left for Vietnam. My friend Stephen and I were hanging out and I happened to look up some different crochet patterns on YouTube (I’m not the best at reading patterns, so video tutorials are my favorite at the moment). We found that the classic crochet zigzag blanket really isn’t too difficult to make, so we gave it a shot! While studying abroad, I found out that my dear friend had started his zigzag blanket journey by using this video tutorial.

It is a beautiful blanket thus far, and I was so jealous! I kept saying I was going to steal the blanket once he finished. I figured that that wouldn’t be a good idea (all that work just for me to steal it, LOL!) so I decided to start my journey and make my own. I couldn’t really follow the previous tutorial from the beginning, so I found a different video tutorial that works just as well.

At first I was thinking of making the pattern to look like a sunset. But then I realized it looked a lot like my mom’s Vera Bradley “buttercup” patterned purse. Alas, I pulled the old thing out, and it was pretty much dead on! For a couple of days I couldn’t believe it, and as I worked on my blanket, the only thing I saw was Vera. Well, I hadn’t seen the blanket in a few days because of finals and the end of semester craziness, and once I started working again, I grew to love it even more—forgetting (almost!) about the Vera lookalike. I shall keep you updated on my progress, so far it is HUGE, and I am so excited!

Mother's Day Cake

Some photos of the Mother's Say Cake I made for Lori!

Berry Trifle Dessert

Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mamas out there! 

For Mother’s Day here, my mom asked me to make this yummy looking berry trifle. (Let me just tell you, as a little aside, that she loves trifles like this, and it took us so long to find a trifle dish a few years ago! It was slim pickings, and now you can pretty much find them everywhere!) But anyway, she found this delicious recipe (see my changes below, after the recipe**), and it is delicious! No baking necessary, just preparation of already prepared foods. And it is GREAT for summer parties or just a hot day to treat yourself, enjoy!

(photo & recipe courtesy of: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/creamy-layered-fruit-sensation-90571.aspx)

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. orange juice

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1 pkg. (10 oz.) prepared angel food cake, cut into 2-inch cubes

2 pkg. (1 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Pudding**

2-1/2 cups cold fat-free milk

1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Sugar Free Whipped Topping, divided

2 pkg. (12 oz. each) frozen unsweetened mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, sliced strawberries), thawed, well drained**

Steps:

MIX juice and extract. Drizzle over cake cubes in large bowl; toss to coat.
BEAT pudding mixes and milk in medium bowl with whisk 2 min. Stir in 1 cup COOL WHIP.
RESERVE a few berries for garnish. Place half the cake cubes in 2-qt. glass bowl; top with layers of half each of the remaining berries and pudding mixture. Repeat layers. Refrigerate 2 hours. Top with remaining COOL WHIP and reserved berries just before serving.

**Since I forgot to get the vanilla pudding, we had a package of white chocolate sugar free pudding mix, so I used that and about 1.5 cups of milk (it gets a little thicker) to add to the cool whip and it was just as good. Also, Weis is currently remodeling and I had trouble finding frozen berries (Mom said later on that they are by the cool whip! Who knew?!), so I just used fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. I was extremely shocked that the grocery store had already prepared angel food cake for sale, as that was convenient! Luckily this recipe is easily customizable, so pretty much following the bare-bones will lead you in the right direction.

Don't Forget!

To leave some comments! I am open to your suggestions on patterns, recipes, or anything else!

Baking: Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of my favorite cookie recipes is this recipe by Cindy Utter, from the Taste of Home baking cookbook. Every time I make these, they are delicious (although I omit the pecans from the ingredients). They are super easy and quick, and are sure to be a crowd pleaser every time! I know, because a lot of you who know me have eaten these before and loved them! 

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup shortening
• 2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (dough will be sticky). Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.
• Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: about 11 dozen.

Nutritional Analysis: 2 cookies equals 160 calories, 9 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 20 mg cholesterol, 145 mg sodium, 20 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein.

From: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Cindy-s-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies

This Week's Cakes & Cupcakes