Thanksgiving Pie

I hope all of my followers had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families! I did. We ate lots of delicious deep fried turkeys with Cajun injected spices, dressing, green bean casserole, mushroom appetizer, men-like-it-salad, smoked salmon, broccoli salad, corn casserole, whole cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.

Oh, yeah, there was also lots of wine....

Here are pictures of the pumpkin pie--

grinding the hazelnuts

I cheated on the pie crust and used a Ready-Crust by Pilsbury

before cooking and after cooking.

The pie was enjoyed by all!!

French Women Don't Get Fat

I just listened to this book on my daily commute and love her philosophy and advice. I will give you some of the main tips that I took from the book so that you can add into your daily life.

• Walk as much as possible, everywhere you go.
• Use the stairs instead of an elevator
• Use her recipe for leek soup as a starter for losing weight.
• Snack on soy nuts.
• Eat greek yogurt--it's unsweetened and has a tart taste. You can add fruit with less sugar than the processed yogurts.

I'm so inspired by her book that her pumpkin pie sounded delicious and I'm going to make for my family Thanksgiving next week.

Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

Pie crust:
2/3 cup unsifted flour
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons chilled butter
1 1/2 tablespoons ice cold water

Filling:
1/3 cup ground hazelnuts
1/4 cup granulated brown sugar
2 tablespoons softened butter
2 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
1 cup unsweetened canned pumpkin pureé (organic, natural preferred)
1 tablespoon flour
2/3 cup granulated brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream

Yield: 10 servings

RECIPE

Put the flour, pinch of salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.

Cut the chilled butter into small pieces and add to the bowl. Also add the water and process for 15 seconds. If the dough is too dry, add more water by droplets. The dough should just hold together. Do not knead.

Wrap the dough in waxed paper and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the pastry and fit into a 9-inch pie plate, 2 inches deep. Prick the pastry with a fork all over the bottom. Line the pie plate with aluminum foil. Add pie weights or dried beans to weigh down the dough, and bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven and discard foil and beans.

Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Prepare the filling by combining hazelnuts, 1/4 cup granulated brown sugar, and butter. Work into a paste and spread with the back of a fork or rubber spatula into the partially cooked pastry shell. Bake for 10 minutes. Mix together the eggs, egg yolk, pumpkin pureé, flour, 2/3 cup granulated brown sugar, spices, salt and heavy cream. Pour into the pastry shell. Turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees and bake the pie for 45 minutes.

Serve at room temperature or cold. Optional: Serve with unsweetened whipped cream (1 cup for the entire pie) on the side.

Note: The pie will keep for a few days in the refrigerator. Always take out 15 minutes before serving.

Also her website is: http://frenchwomendontgetfat.com/recipes for more recipes!

I'll post pictures of my pie next week!

Gift Tags are Ready

Just a quick post tonight--I have my Christmas Tree tags posted on etsy. Follow this link to see them.

Bob, and our good friends Bruce and Helen went on a beautiful

hike to the top of Lane Pinnacle Mountain.

Have a great week!

Getting Ready for a Show

Well, I am frantically getting ready for a show tomorrow that has 85 crafters. That's a lot!! I'm wondering whether it will be worth my time, I'm committed and will put a smile on my face. I have had too many good things happen this week to let negative thoughts creep into brain. I've had 2 small sales on etsy, a sale is a sale, being in the Timothy Adams Top Ten of Etsy this week and now I have a possible wedding invitation paper commission! I am very happy with these possibilities. Plus, on Wednesday, a day off, I have learned that there is a papermaking studio and letterpress/printing studio in my town. Yippeee!

Plus I am sharing my space, down the right side with other etsy artists! Want to share? Contact me!

I'm in the Top Ten on Timothy Adams Design!!

WooHooo!! I am in the top ten on Timothy Adams Design Blog. I am so excited and honored to be included among all the great artists!! He chose my Handmade Paper Journals. The covers are black with sparkles and bound with raffia. Thank, you, Thank you, Thank You, Timothy!! My night is just wonderful right now!

Check out his blog here and don't forget to vote for your favorite!

600 Gift Tags Made

Whoa, I can't believe I just made 600 gift tags for the Holidays! I cut a special material so that I had 3 trees on the screen and then just repeatedly dipped the mould into the vat and pressed the trees on sheets. Here's some photos.

Now it is time for me to cook one of my favorite vegetarian recipes--

Spicy Potatoes, Cabbage & Peas over Rice

2 cups brown rice

4 cups water,

5 medium potatoes, thinly sliced (you may peel if you like)

2 cups water

1/2 green cabbage

10 oz. box of frozen peas (I'm using the ones I put up from the summer)

2 tsp. curry

1 tsp. turmeric

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (I'm generous with this as we like it hot!)

Salt to taste

Cook brown rice in 4 cups of water in a covered pot over medium high heat until done.

In a separate sauce pan, add sliced potatoes to 2 cups of water and heat of medium high heat. Shred cabbage and add to potatoes. Add peas and spices. Cover pan. Continue heating until potatoes are tender. Serve over rice. Serves 6.

Yummy, my mouth is already watering!

Etsy Anniversary

Well, I've decided what to offer my purchasers during the month of November for my one year anniversary on etsy. I figure since so many people, crafters and friends, have hearted me and my work that I will give everyone who purchases from me a handmade paper heart notecard and handmade envelope which is hand folded with bone scoring and relick glue. These are a limited edition item and will show my love for all my customers.

Check out my store filled with new items--from journals to cards in time for the holidays. In fact I'm planning on creating some special gift tags for the holidays on Saturday.

It feels good to be posting paper items to my etsy store. Check out all my holiday cards and sets--they are at the top of my store. Here's a picture of my snowflake cards!! There's a limited supply so order now. Also, I'm thinking about my one year anniversary on etsy. It's coming up on November 15. Some sellers give things away to buyers during the month. Are you enticed to buy from a seller with these incentives?

If you mention that you are my blog friend I will throw in a gift card holder FREE.