Trendy Home & Decor » Kitchen

Vintage Pyrex

Trendy Chick — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 18:52:01 +0000

These vintage pyrex can be found on Etsy – and they are like $20 a piece – and I would love to have them for Christmas – unfortunately, it comes from the States and I’m afraid that shipping may damage them – so I’m going to have to town to the original owners about ways of shipping them to me in Canada.

Cookie Jars For Christmas

Trendy Chick — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:23:15 +0000

Cookie jars for Christmas is a must – and I’ve started to collect them way before Christmas – but this one was on sale at our local yard sale for $10 and I just love it! Cookie jars make great decoration for Christmas too.

On the same note – if you don’t know what to get the aunt, cousin, teachers or even the secretary at the doctor’s office – why not consider these Christmas Cookie Jars online. Check Etsy - i know of someone who does it. In the meantime, check out some cookie jars I found online.

Festive Cookies

Trendy Chick — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:30:37 +0000

With Christmas round the corner – I am firing up my oven and trying out old baking recipes, so that this Christmas biscotti will be ready for a gift basket for my childrens’ teachers. Cranberry & Pistachios biscotti are everyones favorite here and I use melted white chocolate on one end of the biscotti to make it more richer in taste and looks. The below recipe was copied from Style at Home.

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/3 cup (2/3 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
3/4 cup shelled natural pistachio nuts
6 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil

PREPARATION
1 Position 1 rack in the center and another rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners, or use nonstick baking sheets.
2 In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the lemon zest and vanilla. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix just until blended. Stir in the cranberries and nuts.
3 Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured work surface. The dough will be a bit sticky. Divide the dough in half. With lightly floured hands, roll each half into a log 1 1/2 inches in diameter and about 15 inches long. Place both logs on 1 of the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 3 inches apart. Bake on the center oven rack until lightly firm to the touch, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes.
4 Transfer the logs to a cutting board. With a sharp serrated knife, and using a sawing motion, carefully cut 1 log on a slight diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Lay the slices on their sides in a single layer on the baking sheet. Repeat with the second log, arranging the slices on the second baking sheet. Bake until dried out and lightly golden on top about 7 minutes. Turn each slice over and bake until lightly golden on the second side, about 7 minutes longer. Transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.
5 Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water in the lower pan, or in a heatproof bowl set over barely simmering water in a saucepan. Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Stir in the canola oil and continue to stir until the chocolate is smooth. Remove the top of the double boiler or the bowl from over the water and wipe the bottom to prevent any water from coming in contact with the chocolate.
6 Line rimmed baking sheets with waxed paper or parchment paper. Holding it vertically, dip 1 cookie at a time into the chocolate, coating about one-third of the cookie and letting the excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. As the cookies are dipped, carefully place them on the prepared baking sheets. Let dry and harden for about 1 hour. The cookies will release from the paper once they are dry. (The biscotti can be made up to 5 days ahead. Layer them between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container and store at room temperature.)

Makes about 3 dozen biscotti

Bobble Head Cat Timer

Trendy Chick — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 05:25:00 +0000

Who wouldn’t love a bobble head cat timer in their kitchen right? This cute timer will keep you amused while you wait for your food to cook. Just for $10 – great gift during Christmas – for those who loved to cook and eat from Boston Warehouse.

New Bakery In Town

Trendy Chick — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:59:38 +0000

There’s a new bakery in town – and they just had their grand opening last week. The children and I visited the new bakery located on Main Street – and even though the building that they are currently in right now may not seems to be as pretty – as you would expect a fancy bakery, the inside definitely displayed a lot of good stuff. The owner is a young lady and got her funding thru’ several places – I think the CBDC helped and also some restaurant funding by another group – I also know that she had this young business woman group that had helped her to purchase this building. And although I feel it’s a big risk – in this economy – I wish her all the best.

These day opening your own business is made easier with small business funding and many government grants that you can choose from. I don’t remember having such luxury when we started out working – and every step we took was an obstacle, so I’m very happy for this new bakery and wish them all the best.

Buying Dishes For Entertaining At Home

Trendy Chick — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 01:21:21 +0000

Like any woman of the house – one is always on the look out for good dishes – and when they come on sale – we have to get some. I have been using Corelle’s dishes for as long as I have been living in Canada – and that’s because my parents used to use the same kind of dishes too. But once in a while -I prefer stoneware more than Corelle.

These days – stoneware are so pretty – and they are a lot cheaper than Corelle – so I can’t resist them either.

Plus you can see they come in different shapes and sizes that can be quite pretty on a dinner table – whether you are having a buffet or a sit down during a birthday or Christmas’s. So I bought some – and will be buying more – to collect a set of 7 for Christmas – oh wait – Thanksgiving first.

Electronic Wine Thermometer

Trendy Chick — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 17:13:54 +0000

I always look out for stuff to get for the spouse – not necessary for now – but for Christmas presents and anniversary presents – and I realized that one gets the best gift – when you are actually not in a rush. So when my niece told me about collecting christmas gifts for boyfriend as early as July – I can fully understand where she is coming from. I found this electronic wine thermometer for my spouse who love his bottle of good wine – with good food and even though it’s not Christmas yet – I’m buying it for him now and keeping it away from him – till the time comes – that way – I have lots of good stuff for him by Christmas time. What about you? do you only shop when Christmas comes? I used to – but quickly realized that I was buying him nonsense instead of buying him something that he will like and use – so don’t make the same mistake as I.

Fancy Sandwich Maker

Trendy Chick — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:46:04 +0000

Who can resist a elmo & cookie monster sandwich maker right? and for $10!!! dirt cheap – had to get it for the kids – even though they are not really kiddos no more – but it’s fun to surprise them with this sandwich maker – but alas ! i was too late – someone claimed it already – so I’m out hunting for another one that is cheap. It would be so cute – to make them a sandwich with this sandwich maker one morning.

Indoor Herb Garden

Trendy Chick — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:03:30 +0000

Loving to cook – inspire ones to grow your own herbs for your cooking pleasure – therefore I went on the internet to look at ways to grow my own herb garden – after all how hard can it be right? I think I’m going to enjoy it a lot – so to start with – I have to look for some pots – but where oh where should i plant the herb? window sill in the kitchen ? or a corner in the dining room or kitchen? Now I learned that herbs need lots of sunlight – at least 6 hrs a day. I would like to grow some basil, oregan, chives and mint since I used a lot of these in my cooking and of course Parsley – my favorite. Garlic is also my favorite but I doubt I’m so adventurous. Now should I start from seed or a live plant? seed is easier I guess? no? I also need potting soil as well as good drainage – since I am cooking with the herb – I have to make sure that they are quality potting soil and fertilizer need to be ones that can be used with edible plants – that way I won’t poison the entire family.One thing I have to remember is that I cannot overdose the herb with water – as soaking wet soil is not something that herbs like. Wish me luck!

Summer Entertaining

Trendy Chick — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:12:46 +0000

Preparing for a whole 2 months of summer with the kids isn’t really that easy – that’s for sure. We will be doing a bit of traveling of course – whats a summer without some vacation and swimming in the pool right? Are you excited yet? I am ! I can’t wait to spend some quality time with my kids for they weren’t stay a kid for a long time. So like any cool mom – I’ve prepared a list of things i’m going to cook for them and also have healthy but yummy stuff from real fruit freezies and of course some veggies and healthy dips. But the best thing I’m going to do with my kids is roasting marshmallows! can’t wait – they are so yummy! But wait a minute – we do not have a fire pit! so yes! time to get one – since I saw some on sale at Target.