Indoor S'mores

Before this summer, it had been years since I'd had a s'more. For you poor unfortunate souls who don't know what a s'more is - it is an American summertime tradition involving graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows. 

Usually s'mores are made outside, marshmallows skewered on sticks and roasted over a campfire or charcoal grill. The perfect s'more is one where the marshmallow is toasty brown on the outside and creamy goo on the inside. There is some argument on the benefit of catching your marshmallow on fire, although I've never been a fan of "well done" s'mores.

Why are they called s'mores? Well, b/c when made properly, they are so good that you'll want some-more! 

Alas, I have no outdoor fire source and after attempting to roast a marshmallow over a candle (bad idea) I had to come up with a better alternative. 

Enter the microwave. We have an 1100/1200 watt microwave oven. Here is how to make yummy indoor s'mores…

Layer a graham cracker, square of chocolate and a marshmallow on a plate. Nuke at high for 12 seconds. Your marshmallow will expand and might even roll off your chocolate. Do not panic. After the 12 seconds, place your second graham cracker on top of your marshmallow (if your marshmallow rolled off the chocolate just sort of roll it back on to your stack). 

Smoosh and EAT! Yumm!

For gourmet s'mores try orange chocolate, mint chocolate or even chili chocolate bars (all three of which are available at my local Aldi store!

bon appetit!

Breaking the Silence

I haven't posted in looong time, but hey, it is summer and that means schools out, the kids are hyped up and life gets VERY busy.

It's funny, because I look forward to summer so that I don't have to get up so early to get kiddies up and out the door to school. But the kids get up early anyway!

One of our latest projects has been paper crane folding. Did you know that 1,000 paper cranes are called Senbazuru?  According to ancient Japanese legend when someone folds 1,000 paper cranes they are granted a wish from a crane. The crane is believed to be a mystical creature full of magic. Senbazuru are considered extremely lucky and are often given as gifts for special occasions.

Here is the link that I used to learn how to fold an origami crane: http://www.wikihow.com/Fold-a-Paper-Crane

And an image of some our pretty pastel cranes…

Cheater Quilts at Spoonflower

This week's fabric contest at Spoonflower is the cheater quilt! A cheater quilt is a printed image on a single piece of fabric that looks like a pieced quilt once it is stitched around the pattern.

I have always wanted to make a double wedding ring quilt but have been too intimidated by the all the curves and small pieces, so I've made the next best thing. My very own 1930's inspired double wedding ring cheater quilt! All the fabric designs used in the quilt are my own interpretation of classic 1930's patterns and colours.

Some highly impressive designs have been submitted for the contest. I encourage everyone to go to Spoonflower and vote for their favourites! The winning designer will receive $100 to be spent at Spoonflower.com!