Edna's retirement party and another kitchen fail!

Helloooo, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and we wanted to share some very exciting news! Last week, we had Edna's retirement party. Here she is, the center of attention, surrounded by all her old friends.

Hats were made by my ten year old because... well, Edna has no thumbs. She's good, but she's not 'party hat and hot glue gun' good.

Walter the alarm clock, Goldy the tea cup, Minty the Fireking mug, Pierre the French Press, and Master Chen, the Ninja cooker all came and partied hardy.

My sweet blue Pyrex and the ice blue Fireking dessert plate carried the cupcake to Edna. (Imagine humming and whirring. It sounded like the wedding march crossed with 'happy birthday'.)

Polly the vintage mixing bowl, Sassy the hobnail milk glass teacup, Rudolf the vintage cookie press and Francine the Fireking flowered teacup crowded around. Folgers coffee had to come because they share counter space and I hear them giggling long into the night. That Folgers... he never sleeps. Tom the vintage toaster and Perky the percolater coffee maker were there.

Vintage blue glass Ball jars made an appearance but one refused to wear the party hat. It didn't fit right. She's used to those fancy zinc lids.

Everyone had a wonderful time and many cupcakes were consumed. After a few hours, it was time to tuck everyone back into their spots. We needed to get ready. We were expecting someone....

While I waited, I took some old tea containers someone gave me and started painting.

Ooooh, pretty! With my red kitchen, I'm thinking this will be very cheery! I found a site that had some great downloads for decals. I'm thinking red will be fun. Decals from 'Just Something I Made'. I really love that site, she is SOOOOO crafty! I love repurposing materials and we get given a LOT of materials because people know we homeschool.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door! Our package had arrived!

AHHHHH! This one is occupied! Wrong box!

Seriously, this is the box.

Hey, my painted thumb sort of matches this sticker...

Oooh, first peek! And I'm thinking I might have ordered the wrong size.

Oh... WOW. Umm.... This mixer is a monster! (Ignore the legos. It's a constant state in this house.)

It's a Captain Hook mixer!

So, we got him out of the box and set him up on the counter. Edna was there to inspect. She looked him up and down and all around. *low whistle* "My goodness. He's definitely got the brawn, but does he have the brains?"

There was no response. I was wondering if he really was 'just a mixer'. I mean, not everything can have a sparkling personality.

 I tried to set him under the cabinet. No go. He was far too large.
Then I heard a light sniff. I think he was noticing the fresh garlic. And avocados.

Hm. It was time to test him out. He still wasn't really talking. I found this awesome Norwegian Krumkake press at a thrift shop. COOL!!! I want to make some of those yummy crisp cookies that are shaped like cones and smell like Christmas!

 So, we started.
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 cup flour
6 TBS cold water

I asked Mr. Strong and Silent what his name was but he seemed far too intent on his work. And boy, did he go fast!

 In seconds, everything was mixed. We hardly got to know each other.

 
 I got out my potato masher, ready to roll the cookies on the handle as soon as they came off the press.

Directions say to grease the press, add a dollop of batter, squeeze together, and cook 30 seconds on each side. Ummmmm.... That is hubby's tortilla warmer. I set it on there because I was afraid of getting hot sugar batter on the ceramic top stove. He walked by and rolled his eyes toward heaven. I told him, "Just you wait! They're going to be delicious!"

Hm. I tried. I really did. Over and over and over until all the batter was gone. I never did figure out how to get the crispy cookies. I'm wondering if the recipe called for too many eggs? I thinned the batter and tried again. Nope. The scraps were incredibly tasty, but this is all we every got: scraps.

Anyway, Mr. Tough and Reticent and I got to spend a bit of time together. It was just a mere introduction. I think he enjoyed himself. At least, I'm pretty sure. Maybe we need to try something else. Cinnamon rolls? He can use that pirate hook. Edna thought that was quite intriguing. And maybe after that, he'll tell us his name. The kids have already decided they're married, but I don't know if Edna is the marrying type.

Only time will tell!

Until next time!

Christmas cookies start..... NOW!

 

 

 

Hi everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I thought I'd try a different kind of cookie. I heard from a friend that 'horn cookies' were delicious. Okay, I'm game! And Edna's been languishing in the corner so it was perfect timing to start our sampling of Christmas cookies. (No, it's not too early! We're RESEARCHING.)

 Almonds. Fresh, unsalted, raw. YUMMY. Try not to eat them by the handful. For the recipe it calls for:
1/2 lb almonds
3/4 unsalted butter
3/4 powdered sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla

(Again, the pictures show a lot more because... well.... six kids... and me and hungry hubby and neighbors and friends and people dropping by and... You get the idea.)

 Tiny nut grinder is hardly equipped for the job but we're going to do it in batches.

 Nut grinder is very loud! Poor kid. I see two things when I look at this picture.
One: we've been very sick and my poor four year old looks exhausted, pale, and has bags under his eyes.
Two: I should not be allowed to cut my children's hair.

 Almonds are ground and sitting prettily in their bowl...

 Putting in the butter. Edna is SOOOOOOO excited! (Again, the haircut.)

 OK, so, this was a bit of a job for her. In fact, it seems like a lot of things have gotten harder and harder for dear Edna. But she powers on...
And starts to smoke.
But she's still going, burning hot, when I turn the knob.

"But... we're not... DONE!" she wheezes.

"I know, Edna, but let's take a break." I get a cool cloth and lay it over her drive shaft. She was burning hot. And not in a good way.

I waved hubby over and gave him 'the look'. You know, the one that says, "Help me keep Edna from feeling like she's failing!"

 And being his intuitive self, he grabbed her bowl and started mixing by hand. By hand meaning WITH HIS HANDS. Edna was very quiet from her place over in the corner... Maybe she was resting. Maybe she was pouting. I was afraid to look.

 This is my child who hates his picture taken. That is all. I pretended I was taking a picture of the wall. Apparently, that made sense to his 3 year old self and he calmly waited while I snapped a photo of the blank wall behind him.
*sigh* Someone needs to hide the scissors when I saw I'm going to give everybody a haircut.

 Once we'd added all the ingredients, we were supposed to roll the dough into balls, then shape it like small crescents. Here is one child's version. I started to say, 'good job', thinking he really had tried and I was a supportive mom and all that.... but he pointed at it and said, "I made POOP!" *eye roll*

 Here is a batch of cookies before they head into the oven. I peeked over at Edna and she was still quiet, perhaps napping under her cool cloth. Her base was spattered with butter and sugar and nut dust. I had a sinking feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

The first batch came out! So delicious! But.... I swear they tasted just like the Mexican Wedding Cookies I made last year. Huh. I looked into the horn cookies and I guess they're also called Hungarian Horn Cookies and Italian Wedding Cookies! Same circus, different clowns. Still tasty.

Anyway, I came back to wipe down dear Edna and she whirred her beaters, as if to get my attention. I could feel tears welling in my eyes. I knew what she was going to say.

"I think it's time for me to retire," she said.

"No! You have lots of life left in you! It was one bad day, and those cookies were really too dry and the recipe called for way too many nuts and I always double the recipe when I shouldn't... Please, Edna, I need you. I'll have to go back to buying store bought cookies without your help. " I couldn't think of anything more to say and sniffed loudly into the silence.

"I'm not leaving. I'll stay right over there in the corner and live the good life of frostings and meringues." Her voice wasn't unkind. And she didn't seem sad.

OH! I wiped my eyes. "So... we should be shopping for another mixer?"

"Absolutely. But promise me one thing."

"Anything!" I was so happy. It was the best case scenario. Edna was staying and we would add to our little kitchen family with a heavy duty mixer that could handle all sorts of menial jobs.

"Let me choose, okay?" Her chrome twinkled in the sunlight.

And I was happy to agree. So, maybe by next week there will be another friend to introduce. Will it be

something like this?

Or this?

Or, since we have so many kids, should we go this route?

And then a friend sent me this picture from a shop near her house.

"Oooooh," Edna said. "Is that a retirement community?"

So, we'll see what she chooses and I'm excited to be baking with BOTH of them in the Christmas season! Until next time!

SEASON OF HOPE is now available!! Check it out here...