holidays | kimberly ah

Nov 26 2012

celebrations, holidays, homemaking, Thanksgiving, what's for dinner

my mom’s twinkie cake

When Hostess filed for bankruptcy the week of Thanksgiving (which, for the record, is very sad to me…even though I have probably only eaten five Twinkies in my whole life and even though hopefully some other brand might buy the product rights and the Twinkie may make its comeback in the future), I joked to my mom that she should bring her Twinkie cake for Thanksgiving dessert. I know, I know…we followed our completely traditional Thanksgiving meal with something completely nontraditional…it was delicious!

This is one of those old-school recipes that I loved as a child. Ahhh…the innocence of childhood…when I didn’t realize that blue can of Crisco was filled with artery-clogging hydrogenated oil…sigh…Now, as a semi-responsible adult, I am a label reader and I manage to talk myself out of many treats that list hydrogenated oil in the ingredients. I make an occasional exception (Chewy Sweettarts are one.) and to me, this Twinkie cake is one of the best exceptions.

This recipe comes from my mom’s recipe box, and her recipe says it comes from her mom’s kitchen. (We all have these recipe cards in our recipe boxes.) I’m sure my grandmother found the recipe somewhere else, maybe from one of those church cookbooks where recipes get passed around to all of the members of the tiny, small-town congregation. And, I should also say that this cake isn’t meant to be one of those fake-out recipes…it doesn’t taste exactly like a Twinkie. It lacks the weird sponginess and the sugary, light and fluffy filling. The cake (from a box-mix) is dense and moist and the filling is rich and creamy. It has the spirit of a Twinkie, but it is decidedly homemade (and delicious.)

Twinkie Cake

Box of Yellow cake mix
Prepare cake per directions.
Bake in jelly roll pan
Cool

For the filling:

5 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
Cook over low heat until thick like paste. Cool

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oleo*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Crisco
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat well. Cream together until fluffy.
Add the thick flour & milk mixture once cooled. Beat again until fluffy.

Slice cooled cake in half. Spread fluffy filling on half & then put remaining half on top.
Refrigerate. ENJOY!!

If you’d like to make a HoHo cake, use chocolate cake mix instead.

In spite of the fact that my dad ate three (!!!) pieces on Thanksgiving, we still had some cake leftover for Naoto & I to enjoy over the weekend. mmmm…

*oleo=margarine

Tagged celebrations, food, homemaking, memories, parents, Thanksgiving, Twinkie

Nov 23 2012

5 Comments

celebrations, holidays, Thanksgiving, Trader Joe's, what's for dinner

This was my Thanksgiving…

Another Thanksgiving is behind us…it’s all a little sad for both Naoto and me–we love hosting a party, even a small one of my parents and our friend, Santron. Even though the guest list was small, the food was plentiful! We had all of the classics: the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing (we make this one every year–it’s Naoto’s signature dish!), green bean casserole (I caved for the classic, although we used the Trader Joe’s stuff and it was much lighter than the Campbells version!), fresh veggies (courtesy of Santron), Hawaiian rolls (courtesy of my mom) and Kathy’s grandma’s cranberry sauce…I made it on Wednesday and I am a cranberry sauce convert…the cognac makes it delectable!

For dessert, my mom made a Twinkie cake, in honor of the “late, great” snack.

The table was half planned, and half happy accident. On Wednesday night I cut a long sheet of kraft paper and made a table runner. I used my fancy gold paint to draw feathers and polka dots. My mom brought up some pheasant feathers (from my dad’s “feather collection”) that I used with my glittery votives to fill out the center of the table. I forgot to buy flowers so my mom mentioned my jade plant (purchased this summer at Trader Joes) as an option. It’s in a copper pot, so it was kind of perfect. (Well, probably not perfect for Sandra Lee, Queen of the Tablescape, but perfect for us.) I finished off the table with a tiny turkey, a gift from my parents earlier this fall.

For the place cards, I used acorns from this Paper Source garland kit (not available again until next fall). I was in a neutral & metallic mood apparently…

The meal ended with a table viewing of Psy and MC Hammer singing at this year’s American Music Awards…clearly it will be a meal I never forget.

Tagged celebrations, crafts, decorating, diy, food, holidays, memories, parents, Thanksgiving, Trader Joe's, twinkie cake

Nov 22 2012

3 Comments

celebrations, holidays, Thanksgiving, thoughts

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am getting in just under the wire to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Today got away from me with table preparations, last minute cleaning and keeping the chef on track–between Naoto’s cooking skills and my nagging and timing reminders, we somehow get the meal on the table!

So, I’m going to sleep with a thankful heart…

Tagged Thanksgiving

Nov 20 2012

2 Comments

celebrations, holidays, Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Preparations Roll On…

I’m still working on cleaning up the spare room and wiping down well, everything in our home…construction dust does not stay in the construction area…lesson learned.

I also looked over our recipes and made my shopping list and did *almost* all of the grocery shopping. I say “almost” because I can never get it done in one shot, no matter how hard I try or how many lists I make. Upon returning home from the store, I realized we haven’t come up with a solution for cranberry sauce…canned or homemade? I admit that I really love the canned jelly stuff…it might be the noise it makes as it exits the can, it might be it’s jiggly can form, it might be that it’s a familiar friend at the table every year…I enjoy having it around. But I’m also intrigued with making my own…and it’s something that can be made the day before, so I feel like taking a stab at it. What’s the worst that can happen? If it’s a disaster, we can always open the expired can from the back of my cupboard! (just kidding…)

While I’m cleaning, I’m also contemplating what the table will look like. The table is my favorite part, but I never give it the time it deserves…mainly because I leave it for the last minute! I’m thinking candles, kraft paper, my new favorite gold paint, and feathers will be involved…but that’s all I’ve got. Hopefully I’ll be back tomorrow with some accomplishments…

Tagged celebrations, food, holidays, homemaking, Thanksgiving, Trader Joe's

Nov 16 2012

thanksgiving invitations 2012

They don’t look like they looked in my head. They were much more layered and complicated and perfect in there. But, they also didn’t have fancy gold artist ink on them…or feathers…those were happy surprises. Oh, and I am not a designer. At all. But, even though professionally created invitations might look more perfect, I enjoy creating something with my hands and with paper. Even though things didn’t work out as they did in my dreams, I am still happy I took the time to create something tangible and special for my guests. For me, this is what the holidays are all about.

Because our printer is broken (and my other printer–a.k.a. Naoto–is on vacation this week), I knew I was going to have to either rubber stamp or use my beloved cursive typewriter for the word part. The typewriter won. And even though the message is subtle (or hard to read without your glasses!) I think the cursive text is pretty. (Besides, typewriters are totally trendy right now, so I’m in style by accident!)

So, I typed my message on my (cheap, but lovely) 140 pound watercolor paper. It felt more luxurious than my other white paper choices, and it fit through the typewriter just fine. Then I taped on two strips of gold striped washi tape, lining up the stripes so it looks like one wide strip of tape. Then I cut out my practice feather (on Paper Source aubergine) and I sewed it right on top of the washi tape stripe. The sewing was a huge pain. I jammed up my machine no less than ten times (and I only sewed three tiny things)! I was able to fix it each time (yay for patience and the owners manual!) but I wasn’t able to determine the source of the problem…it might have been the two layers of paper together, since my first paper sewing adventure only involved one layer of watercolor paper.

Every year, I try to include a quote on our invitations. This year’s quote is from Henry Ward Beecher, “Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”

I mailed them out on Tuesday, so hopefully they will arrive at their destinations soon.

(One more picture! This Instagram shows the shimmery gold!)

Tagged celebrations, crafts, diy, holidays, snail mail, Thanksgiving

Nov 12 2012

onto Thanksgiving planning

When one party closes, another opens.

That’s how I feel about November. Naoto & I have been hosting Thanksgiving since we got married. And, for the record, Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday. We love hosting, we love menu planning and cooking. Naoto does all of the hard stuff–the cooking and the bathroom cleaning. I do all of the fun stuff–the invitations, the table setting, the decorations (and the rest of the cleaning…but that’s not fun). When we first started hosting, Thanksgiving was a large party. We had several friends who would join Naoto and me along with my parents for a feast. For the past few years, it’s only been my parents and a friend or two. No matter how many people we have, I always like to create a pretty table and some special invitations.

Today I am working on my Thanksgiving invitations…a little late, I know. Thanksgiving is creeping up on me this year! Naoto is on “stay-cation” this week, so we can get a lot of our party planning and menu ideas worked out. But, number one on our list is getting the spare room back in order and ready for guests. (And this will be no fun at all…moving furniture, clearing out a desk for donation, finding a place for hundreds of homeless office supplies…)

Hopefully I’ll be back tomorrow with our finished Thanksgiving invitation. It’s going to be an interesting one since our printer is still broken…but at least I have rubber stamps and a typewriter, right?

The picture above was taken last year. But I’m sure Presley napping on my to-do list will happen again this year.

Tagged celebrations, crafts, holidays, Thanksgiving

Oct 31 2012

3 Comments

crafty adventures, Halloween, holidays

My Edgar Allan Poe Paper Playset

Happy Halloween! It is definitely going to be a scary one! The winds this week, courtesy of Hurricane Sandy, are whipping all of the leaves off the tress, leaving behind creepy bare branches. And the full moon has been shining through mists of clouds, and the filtered light is sifting through the branches painting spooky shadows on our walls. Between the shadows and the crazy flying leaves, Presley is going a little crazy around here.

So far to get into the Halloween spirit, I read some Poe (“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” for book group and “Ligeia” upon Cath’s recommendation), Naoto & I made dinner in our new dutch oven (I’ll blog about it soon!) and drank a bottle of Darkhorse wine, I watched a round of Roseanne‘s Halloween episodes (best TV ever!), we watched The Shining (It’s so scary to me…and to Naoto, too!) and I built my Edgar Allan Poe Play set (pictured above)…oh, and I also painted my nails with glow-in-the-dark polish. They are really not fun unless I’m in a very dark room…

But back to the Poe paper doll. A few years ago Naoto bought me this Edgar Allan Poe paper play set from Lisa Perrin. On Tuesday (proof that it takes me awhile to get around to things around here) I cut out the figures (using my favorite Kai scissors!) and assembled the play set. Isn’t it great?! I love that Poe is wearing bunny slippers! I’m looking forward to breaking this out again in January, for Poe’s birthday (January 19th).

What are your plans for Halloween? Any spooky movies or stories in your day? Are you dressing up? (I’m not…)

Tagged celebrations, crafts, Edgar Allan Poe, Halloween, holidays

Oct 11 2012

6 Comments

Halloween, holidays, homemaking

The Halloween Desk

The desk, since it’s new this season, was the most fun to decorate. I was happy to hang up my new prints and to finally stick something–a glittery skull–in my curio lamp. It’s the just-right amount of creepy. The book is a collection of Edgar Allan Poe stories with wood block print illustrations. It’s my favorite, and since we are reading “The Murders of Rue Morgue” for book club, it’s handy to have the book around. The little mercury glass votive is filled with vintage flashcards that have creepy words on them, like “cadaverous “and “corpse” and “heinous”. Every year, I say I’m going to make something with them, and every year I don’t…this year shall be no different.

I’ve had my foam/plastic jack-o-lantern for years–he lights up like a champ at night. The jade plant is from Trader Joe’s. (Am I the only one who has a hard time passing up the plant section there?) And I bought the little Charlie Brown Halloween ornament last weekend at the Hallmark store–total impulse purchase. Who has a Halloween tree to hang ornaments from? Clearly, that didn’t stop me from buying it…I have such a soft spot for the Peanuts gang.

That’s all for now. I’m waiting to see my mom who has some pumpkins and gourds for me before I finish decorating the dining room. And, now that I’ve shown you my tidy, decorated workspace, I’m going to move my crafting mess back onto the desk and try to finish my watercolor project before I have to go to work this afternoon.

Tagged celebrations, decorating, Edgar Allan Poe, Halloween, holidays, home, homemaking

Oct 09 2012

4 Comments

celebrations, Halloween, holidays, homemaking

Halloween Treats

Halloween decorating is coming along slowly this year…until motivation arrived in my mailbox today with my treats from Tag Team Tompkins! The Tompkins ladies (a mother & daughter team) turn hand lettering and paper cutting into gorgeous letterpress designs. These are (obviously) Halloween-themed, but they offer everyday designs, too. The paper is nice and thick and the letterpress impression is just perfect. I like that their shop is filled with classic black and white designs, but I love that they went all out with the silver ink on black paper for these. I’m going to hang up some twine over my desk and clip them up with tiny clothespins. (I hope it looks as good as it does in my mind.) Tomorrow, the Halloween decorating will happen. In the meantime, here is Presley enjoying her favorite October spot: