Wolfenoot 2020 : cookie time

3 glazes/frostings to assemble, lemon, cinnamon-ginger, and chocolate

It’s Wolfenoot Weekend 2020 and if you have no idea what I am talking about – head over here for more information on this newly created day to celebrate all things Wolfie!

I’ve celebrated over the years as November 23 is also, by coincidence, the adoptaversary of our fur beast Sprocket.

Sprocket finds November walks a bit chilly- wait til January…

And this year, I decided that while my paintings are great for us here at home:

Wolfenoot2020 WolfMoons

I wanted to create something to share with my friends and neighbours – so – Cookietime!

Concept:

Two cookies, layered to replicate the Wolf Moons I painted.

Recipe:

I used the same sugar cookie recipe I used when I made the hubby’s Face Hugger cookie…
Go check it out – but here’s the recipe again this time with white sugar and all purpose flour though!:

Sugar cookie recipe

Cream together:

  • 1 cup butter
  • ¾ cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Mix in

  • 2 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt

Knead into a dough, wrap and chill for an hour. Then roll it out and cut into the shapes you want.
Bake at 350 degrees F until golden – about 9-12 minutes.

Cut 30 Moons using a 2 inch round cutter and sprinkle each with a bit of brown sugar to create the moon surface.

I actually have a campbell’s soup can that use as my round cookie cutter.

Basic sugar cookies sprinkled with brown sugar to create the full moon

Cut 30 wolf heads: I used the same template that I created a few years ago for my first Wolfenoot silhouette and using a foam tray from the grocery store < waste not!> I have a nice solid wolf pattern to cut around using a knife.

You can find wolf silhouettes online and print them off – make sure the size will fit inside your round cookie cutter

Hand cut wolf heads
Some thinner ones browned a bit more.

 

Make frosting:

  • 3 tablespoons butter or magarine
  • 3 cups icing sugar
  • 3 tablespoons oat milk < or whatever is needed to make it work>

I divided that into 3 and added:

White Glaze: Lemon juice – 2 tablespoons

Tawny shaggy wolf Frosting: 1 teaspoon each cinnamon, ginger powder, and vanilla

Chocolate Glaze: 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon butterscotch schnapps

I used each respective frosting/ glaze to assemble and decorate.

Happy Howling Wolfenoot2020

Tim Tams? WTH are Tim Tams…?

After noting our friend’s social media lamenting about her lack of Tim Tams… and I’ve been binge watching Baking shows….I looked around briefly online to see if these could be purchased nearby.

I stumbled upon this recipe – shared through a few websites…especially this one:

https://www.abeautifulplate.com/homemade-tim-tams/ …Hers look so neat!

A major thank you to the original recipe creator – Sarah from TheSugarhit.com. So many recipes there to check out!

And for a first attempt…here are some pics of the process and what I produced…

Frozen cookie dough between two sheets of parchment- brilliant concept!
Gentle baked biscuits
Biscuits halved because they just seemed too big and I had not actually read the size I was supposed to cut the dough properly!
Chocolate Malt Frosting
Frosting anyone?
Chocolate sandwiches
Dipping process involved fork and spoon!
Dipping in the chocolate
Dipped and chillin
Ready to go or to be decorated!
Vegan royal icing
Piping takes practice

Thanks for checking this out- if you make some, enjoy!
And my inspiration to go on this adventure- author and creative soul, S.M. Carrière!

” not quite Timtams but delicious…” I’ll take it!

Halloween 2020

Things are different for sure this year.

I do actually miss the option of an evening gathering with adult friends who are as Halloween Inspired as I am.

So, while yes, I dressed up to go teach class this morning, < Part-time pattern making at my alma mater>, it was different…  Sketching teacher, Rebecca did also dress up, so that was fun.

Dr. Anathea Evermore and Wednesday Adams

Tonight I’ll probably don my garb again to lurk out front < masked and physically distant of course>, in case any kids do come around for candies at the neighbour’s…

There is a little bit of sadness at not being able to admire and encourage a big bunch of other folk who also love to dress up – even as adults!

#WitchesGatheringFolk and  #VixensVictoriousFolk I love and miss you all!

Kudos to everyone out there who did/will do something to be whacky this Halloween – and blessed by to those who are observing Samhain, honouring our dead. There has been much loss this year in my own family, so I’ll be taking some time later to reflect on the folk who have gone beyond this physical realm.

But here’s the fun again….

This year’s costume was a last minute inspiration created in about 2-3 hours < the mask, goggles and purse>, and reusing the Dr. Horrible tunic I had made a few years ago for the hubby to wear.

Click on the thumbnails to see the pics larger!

The outerwear worked with the look!

And introducing:

Dr. Anathea Evermore

The Final look! #Annoyed because someone spelled my name wrong!🥴

She seeks to change the world around her through the application of Science and Magic.

She sees the crap you are trying to pull…with or without her Lenses of Dragon Goggles…

Her eyes glow red with anger at the stupidity of non believers – those who do not believe in science, those who do not understand we are touched by magic.

She brings her Wand of Awareness with her to grant that gift upon those who lack it – sometimes gently tapping their subconscious, sometimes with a crushing blow.

She uses her powers to stitch together new concepts, repair broken dreams, and cut away the unneeded to bring new creations to life.

Measuring time and space to nurture the new ideas as they grow, she pulls them from the ether to manifest them into the physical.

Stand not in her way, and if she needs your help, she’ll ask.

Sunday morning baking- Swedish Apple Pie

This came through on one of my social media streams and it looked like a very good idea!

Swedish Apple Pie (a crustless apple pie)

Author: Bridget Oland

Ingredients

  • 5 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2“-thick wedges
  • 3 Tbsp. Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3⁄4 cup butter
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (can use half whole wheat)
  • 1 large egg, room temp.
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1⁄4 tsp. ginger

Instructions

 
  1. Preheatovento350F.

  2. Fill a deep 10′′ pie dish with the sliced apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle

    over the molasses.

  3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Remove from heat and whisk

    in sugar, flour, egg, salt and ginger.

  4. Pour over apples, covering as evenly as possible.

  5. Bake until crust is golden brown and crisp, 45minutes to 1 hour.

380 calories per ⅛ pie

https://www.crosbys.com/swedish-apple-pie-with-molasses

PDF: crosbys.com-Swedish Apple Pie a crustless apple pie

I subbed half of the white sugar with brown, and otherwise followed it…Oh and I baked it in my cast iron skillet…

Cored and chopped apples with cinnamon and molasses.
Melted butter, with flour, sugar, egg and ginger whisked in.
Spreading the batter on…
Swedish apple pie (379 calories per ⅛)

Vacay Arting with photos and Procreate

More playing with Procreate!

While there is something magical about using traditional mediums of paint, chalk, pencil, etc, I’m also finding digital processing a challenging and interesting journey.

These pieces are pretty basic so far, just playing on the theme of fairy doors, and elusive characters that are just barely there. And having taken some inspiring photos on our camping trip has allowed me that fun concept of adding my own touches to existing beautiful settings…

Forest House Moss Lane by Tavalonia

 

 

Forest House: Condo Living by Tavalonia

Forest House by Tavalonia

holiday time…

There’s pre travel baking.

There’s keeping up the usual #morningwalks:

There’s sorting and downsizing for a shorter trip/smaller transport…

Gratitude for the mornings, the time off, the clients who are already booked for the return….

Family pics

As we get older, and maybe the effects of a global pandemic are influencing things too, but I think for me it is mostly getting older, I have been finding it interesting to look back at my family.

For birthdays during this year of limited contact, I’ve been perusing old photos of siblings and with the help of my talented husband, creating mini video journeys through time.

And my Aunt- who I am sure that I have met in person way back when I was a child, I have been able to connect with on social media to a degree I never would have otherwise ( waves at J!)

And she kindly has sent me photos of her siblings, including my dad, and her parents, my grandparents . She has also been spreading this journey with my cousin < Waves at another J> who again, without this amazing connector of the internet, I would barely know.

The telephone is not my thing. I have auditory issues that make listening to people irritating ( misophony May be the basis of this, but that’s a self analysis so grain of salt included).That makes email, texting and short bursts of conversation via social media a blessing for me.

But enough about why I don’t want you to call me..,

Cecil and “Eleanor “ / Jami
Jean (Seeley) holding “Eleanor”/Jami and Wilson Vibert with Grace and Bert
Cecil Vibert with Lorraine Vibert 1956…
Cecil with Lorraine

 

Baking experiment time: vegan gingerbread crepes hi

Who has been rewatching baking shows while sewing up TAVMasks? Yes. Me.

One of the challenges was a Mille crepe cake, so that looked intriguing.

I had made some Bison chili last week and had kept the aqua fava (?) from the can of chick peas, so that needed to be used.

And the apples we have been getting lately are going grainy super quick, so they needed to be used up…

A quick internet search for recipes using chick pea juice yielded a super easy crepe recipe and off I went!

TAValonia’s Gingerbread crepes:

  • The liquid from 1 can of chick peas
  • 1 cup flour (whole wheat, oat, whatever you like)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
  • 1 teaspoon ginger powder
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup Oat milk -or more- to make the batter thin enough.

Whisk it all together until smooth.

Oil a crepe pan or skillet and cook the crepes using about ¼ cup batter at a time. Made 8 6 inch crepes.

Simple apple filling:

  • 3 to 4 apples
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil or margarine ( butter if not vegan)
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Mix together in the skillet and let cook covered for 10-15 minutes over medium low heat- until the apples are tender.

Assembling:

Layer the crepes and apple filling in individual bowls starting with a crepe on the bottom.

Serve warm or chill to serve later.

Top with whipped topping ( can be made from more aqua fava whipped to soft peaks and flavoured with a bit of sugar) or vegan ice cream ( purée of frozen banana would go well)

Options to try:

-Add a white chocolate genache between the crepes ( heat non dairy milk and pour over chopped while chocolate to melt it)…

-add a whipped cream cheese between the layers

So many potential ideas!!!!