Tag Archives: cakes

Goals for 2013: Factotum of Arts, Squeek Crafts

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All in all, I had a great last 4 months of 2012. For 2013, I would like to continue in much the same fashion. My goals are to:

  • Blog a minimum of 3 times a week.
  • Build up my stock in my Etsy store and sell $1000 worth of merchandise.
  • Participate in another craft fair.
  • Squeek Crafts section: Finish my four seasons quilt, a quilt for my son, and the orange and grey quilt for our room and my Christmas stocking.
  • Squeek Crafts section: Try 12 new sewing/quilt or patchwork projects e.g.. a weekender bag, something made from paper piecing.
  • Edible Delights section: Try three new recipes out per month and post them (36 in total for the year).
  • Framed section: Carve out some time to do some drawing and painting. I have 2 pieces in mind.
  • Home and Garden Design section: Finish our backyard, renovate our guest bathroom (as it desperately needs a lift).

Review of 2012: Squeek Crafts

  • I changed jobs to spend more time with my family (February)
  • Started my blog (September)
  • Opened my Etsy store – Squeek Crafts (October)
  • Participated in my first craft fair (December)
  • Sewing or Quilting Projects: Made chair bags (for my store), cushions/pillows, placemats, gift card pockets, Christmas stockings, lots and lots of coffee cup sleeves (for my store and craft fair), made my son a monster.
  • Craft Projects: Made recycled wine cork boards (for my store and craft fair), caterpillar wall display for a thank you gift at pre-school, and an Elmer growth chart (gift for a friend’s little girl), neck tie art piece (gift for my parents 40th wedding anniversary).

2012 Craft Collage

Review of 2012: Edible Delights

  • Shared some of my favorite recipes
  • Made pesto, bell pepper relish, bean salad from things in my first vegetable garden
  • Made Pies/Tarts – Bacon and egg pie, potato top pie, rhubarb apple pies, chocolate tarts, and pear tart
  • Stewed my first lot of fruit – cherries
  • Worked out to get the perfect chocolate coated strawberry without getting a flat edge
  • Got a new case of wine from my brothers vineyard – Moana Park

2012 Edible Delights Collage

Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cake

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I have brought buttermilk several times over the last month and have thrown it out unused, something I really don’t like doing. This time determined to use it before it expires, I found a great recipe in the Cooking Light Magazine (November 2008) for Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cake.

The recipe makes two 8×4 loafs, which I iced with a lemon icing. Next time though I would either make a plain butter sugar glaze with the vanilla buttermilk loaf, or switch out the vanilla in the loaf for lemon. Also in my oven, it did not require the full hour of baking.

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Ingredients (Vanilla buttermilk pound cake)

3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup of butter (softened)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups low-fat buttermilk

  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Place the first 4 ingredients in a medium sized bowl and whisk. Put aside.
  • Place sugar and butter in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the sugar mixture in stages, beginning and ending with flour.
  • Spoon the mixture evenly into the two greased and lined loaf tins. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from tins. Cool completely on a wire rack.

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Ingredients (Lemon Butter Icing)

1 Tbsp butter, melted
1 lemon (finely grated lemon peel + juice from one lemon)
1 1/2 cups icing sugar (confectionary sugar)

  • Place butter and lemon ingredients into a bowl
  • Add the icing sugar in stages, so you can ensure the thickness you want for your icing. Mix together with a knife until blended
  • Apply icing to the cooled loaves with a  knife
  • Serve 🙂