My China Cabinet

Happy 3rd Birthday to Beverly at How Sweet The Sound’s Pink Saturday!

I wanted to join the celebration today by showing you the vignette on top of my china cabinet.  Some of my favorite pink goodies can be found there.

This Cupid figurine and pink roses print were eBay finds several years ago.  I love the vibrant colors in the roses.

I adore Lefton’s Green Heritage pattern with it’s pale green background and soft pink roses.  My husband gave me this tea set when we were first married.

The angels on the pink candles were a birthday gift from my mother and are very special to me.

My absolute most favorite piece is my Flying Lady fruit bowl.  It was made by Cambridge Glass Company sometime between the 1930’s to 1940’s and was part of their Statuesque line of glassware.  The seashell shaped bowl is a beautiful pale pink and has a nude maiden at the front of the bowl.  Some were sold as plain glassware and other were decorated with handpainted details.  Mine is decorated with gardenias, but I have also seen photos of the bowl with handpainted roses.  

 

According to the stories about this bowl, there was a circus in the town where the Cambridge Glass Company was located.  One of the trapeze artists made such an impression on the townspeople, that they nicknamed this bowl the “Flying Lady” in her honor.  If you would like to learn more about this glassware and the Flying Lady bowl, this is a great article and here is a link to the National Cambridge Collectors website.  I loved reading about how people would hide their bowls if a minister came to visit!   

Thanks bunches for visiting today!  Don’t forget to stop by Beverly’s Pink Saturday and wish her a very happy birthday!

DG 

Coconut Clusters

Over at Food.com, we’re playing a fun game that we do each year called the Zaar World Tour.  Teams “visit” different countries and cook regional foods from each one.  One of the regions we’re visiting during this tour is South and Central America. 

From that region, I chose to make Coconut Clusters.  The recipe can be found here at Food.com.  I love the flavor the toasted coconut adds to the candy.  Delicious and so easy to make!

I’m joining Lisa at Sweet as Sugar Cookies for Sweets for a Saturday.

Unfortunately, my photos did NOT turn out pretty, but the clusters are really very good.

Thanks for visiting today!  Hope to see you again soon!

DG

Secrets

Here at my home, an empty cookie jar is not something to be taken lightly!  After being informed yesterday by my youngest daughter that there were no cookies in the jar, I went in search of a new recipe to try.  I found this one in an old cookbook and thought it sounded interesting.  I loved the name of the cookies – Secrets, so I knew I had to bake them.

1 c butter

2 t vanilla

1/4 c confectioners sugar (sifted)

1 T water

2 c flour, sifted

1 c chopped nuts

3 T confectioners sugar

Combine the butter and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.  Add the 1/4 c of confectioners sugar and cream until light and fluffy.  Add water and mix well.  Shape the dough into rolls about 1 1/2” long.  Place on baking sheets and bake at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes.  After the cookies are done, roll in the 3 T confectioners sugar.

My husband and daughters loved these and best of all, they were easy to make.

I’m joining Miz Helen for Full Plate Thursday and Lisa at Sweet as Sugar Cookies for Sweets for a Saturday.  See you there!

DG

 

Cream Cheese Turnovers

A baking spree yesterday resulted in Peanut Butter Cookies and Cream Cheese Turnovers filled with strawberry and blackberry preserves.  Both recipes were found in “Favorite Recipes of Alabama Vocational Home Economics Teachers Third Edition”. 

2 sticks butter, softened

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 c all-purpose flour, sifted

1/2 t vanilla

any flavor preserves

Cream the butter and cream cheese until mixed well.  Add the flour and vanilla; mix well.  Chill the dough for about 2 hours.  Working with small amounts of dough at a time, roll out on a floured surface to about the thickness of a pie crust.  Using a large biscuit cutter, cut circles of dough and spread with 1/2 t. of preserves.  Fold the dough over, seal the edges and prick with a fork.  Bake on cookie sheets at 350 degrees until golden brown.  Dust with confectioners sugar.

Instead of dusting with confectioners sugar, I chose to mix a small amount of milk with the confectioners sugar to make a glaze for the top of the turnovers.

They are wonderful little bites of deliciousness!

Thanks for coming by today!  I’m joining up with Design by Gollum for another Foodie Friday and Lisa for Sweets for a Saturday.

DG

 

Peanut Butter Cookies

I was browsing through my favorite antique shop yesterday and came across this beautiful  circa 1900 Austrian floral plate.  I fell in love with the gorgeous turquoise coloring of the border and of course the pink roses were a wonderful bonus.  Best of all…it was on sale for half price!

As I was washing the plate this morning, I thought…hmmm…I need something to put on it.  It’s been a while since I baked something from my Grandmother’s cookbooks, so I decided I would make some cookies.

Cookies…ok, got it.  But what kind???  A quick look through her book “Favorite Recipes of Alabama Vocational Home Economics Teachers Third Edition”, and I had my choice…Peanut Butter Cookies.

1/2 c soft shortening (half butter)

1/2 c peanut butter

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar (firmly packed)

1 egg

1 1/4 c sifted all-purpose flour

1/2 t baking powder

3/4 t soda

1/4 t salt

Combine the soft shortening, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar and egg; mix well.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt.  Add to the peanut butter mixture and mix well.  Chill for about 2 hours.  Roll the dough into small balls and flatten the dough by making crisscross marks with a fork dipped in flour on each ball.  Bake at 350 for about 9-10 minutes, until the cookies are set but not hard.

The recipe states it makes 3 dozen cookies, but I must have made mine a bit smaller.  I actually ended up with a little over 4 dozen cookies.

These were super easy to make and the peanut butter flavor is yummilicious!  My family is going to love these!

I’m joining Miz Helen at her Country Cottage for Full Plate Thursday and Lisa for Sweets for a Saturday.  Thanks for visiting with me today!

DG

 

Prayers for the people of north Alabama

Two days ago, we had devastating storms come through Alabama.  Many towns in north Alabama were destroyed, including areas around Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. 

Hundreds of thousands of people are without power and it could possibly be up to a week before electricity is restored.

As these storms made their way across the United States, almost 300 people lost their lives…210 deaths in Alabama alone. 

Looking at the news coverage and seeing all those towns and communities flattened…homes lost…people still missing and unaccounted for, the destruction makes me want to cry. 

Please say a prayer for all of those affected by these storms, not just in Alabama, but in all the areas of the country that was in the path of these powerful storms.

DG

 

Easter Candy Station

I’m so thrilled to join Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for another Pink Saturday.  Today I’m sharing a small corner of my home all ready for Easter.

One of my favorite things to decorate is the Hoosier cabinet in my kitchen.  With an enamel worktop, it’s the perfect spot for a candy station.

I found this cute purple ceramic Easter egg bowl at the thrift store.  It’s filled with lollipops decorated as Easter eggs and carrots.

The miniature tea set under a cheese dome has little bunnies playing outside the Easter egg house.

White chocolate pretzels with sprinkles fill a glass apothecary jar.  These are so good!  I had a hard time keeping my husband out of them until I could take pictures! 

This little candy bowl with bunnies on each side was also a thrift store find.  Unfortunately, all the chocolate candy that filled it is long gone.

The dessert server is filled with marshmallow cupcakes and caramels and cream candy.

A cloche contains two sweet little love bunnies sitting on Easter grass looking at the eggs they found.

A few weeks ago, my middle daughter was on a school field trip and brought me back this beautiful sugared egg.  The violets plate and small wine glass used as a cloche were also recent thrift store finds.

The sugared egg has a surprise inside…a precious little yellow duck sitting on green grass!  I just love this and it was so sweet of her to think of me when she saw it!

My youngest daughter decided this little hanging bunny simply had to come home with us when she spotted it at the Dollar Tree a few weeks ago.   

In this photo, you can see a bit of my East egg tree that sits beside the cabinet. 

Since this post is for Pink Saturday, I have to show off a bit of pink.  Here is my Grandfather’s cotton basket rim -  turned - wreath decked out with a big sheer pink bow.

I want to share a couple more photos before I go…I have two Confederate Jasmine plants outside my kitchen window and they are full of blooms right now.  They have the most fragrant scent!  If a breeze is blowing, I can open my kitchen windows and their wonderful aroma fills the room!

Thanks for visiting with me today!  I hope you’ll come again soon and have a wonderful Easter!

DG