Baked on Monday - Blackberry Jam Swirl Cookies

Happy Monday everyone! It's a rainy day, so I'm quite ok with a day of post production (I'm so behind on a couple of deadlines!) and baking and eating these cookies. Here's the very easy recipe...

Blackberry Jam Swirl Cookies - makes about 30 cookies

8oz/250g softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg yolk
2 1/4 cups sifted, all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoons blackberry jam (or your favourite jam)

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the vanilla and egg yolk and beat well to blend. Beat in the flour until a smooth dough forms. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for about 30 minutes or until firm.

Press chilled dough into a small, parchment paper lined, baking sheet (with sides) or you can free form a rectangle measuring about 8x12. My baking sheet is 9"x13", so I cheated a bit. Spread jam evenly on top of dough. Roll dough, carefully, lengthwise. Chill dough, in fridge, for another 45 minutes.

Slice chilled dough roll into 1/4" slices and place on baking sheet lined with baking paper. Bake in a 350f/180c oven, for 15 minutes or until light golden in colour. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Now, eat one or two. Enjoy!

Have a lovely day! Back again soon.

Origami Paper Boxes

March 5th 2013 
Hello! It's a couple of years since I posted this, but I will be updating the directions very soon. Perhaps with a video of sorts. My apologies to those who have found my directions confusing. I'm slowly learning how to be a better "instructor". I promise to make it a little more clear for early next week.
Thanks for your patience!
janis
x

I needed to make paper boxes for a party I'll be going to, so I thought I'd share the process with you. They are super easy to make, and are perfect for that little gift that needs just the right size box.

You'll need the following materials to make a 7cm box:
Heavy weight paper (I'm using bits of paper that I have languishing in a drawer)
pencil
ruler
exacto knife
bone folder
white glue or a glue stick

a) Cut a 20cm square for the base and a 14.5cm square for the lid.

b) With a pencil, lightly mark the diagonals of the squares, on the wrong side of the paper. This is the guide for the first folds.

c) Fold corners into the centre of square using the pencil marks as a guide. Crease the folds with a bone folder.

d) For the base, fold two opposite sides to meet in the middle. These folds should measure 3.5cm. Crease and unfold, then repeat this for the remaining two sides.

e) To make the lid, fold two opposite sides - the folds should measure 1.4cm each. Crease, unfold then repeat process for the two remaining sides.

f) There will be a small square formed, by the folds, on each corner of the base and lid. Fold a diagonal crease across each square with the point facing inwards. Repeat on remaining corners on both lid and base.

g) Unfold two opposite sides on both the base and the lid. Refold other sides so they stand up straight. Pull up a third flap and tuck the small creases underneath. Repeat on the remaining side. Glue down the 4 points in the centre of both the lid and base. You may also wish to cut out a small piece of a contrasting paper, to line the bottom of the box. Voila! You have an origami paper box.

That's it for now! Have a lovely day.

Baked on Monday - Olive and Rosemary mini breads

Ahh, Mondays. They do show up rather magically, don't they? Hope you all had a fabulous weekend.

It's really feeling like Autumn these days, so I thought this bread would be perfect for the rapidly fading summer, and fast approaching Autumn (fave season!).

Olive and Rosemary Mini Breads - makes 8 loaves.

2 teaspoons dry active yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup kalamata olives broken up into pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons rosemary sprigs
olive oil for brushing

Place the yeast, sugar and lukewarm milk in a bowl and mix to combine. Make sure the milk is no warmer than lukewarm. Set aside for about 10 minutes or until bubbles form on surface.
Place flour, salt, yeast mixture and oil in a bowl and mix until a nice smooth dough forms. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Next, knead in the olives and rosemary until blended in. You may need to add a bit more flour as the olives will add some wetness to the dough.

Divide dough into 8 even pieces and place in greased 1/2 loaf tins. Cover with a tea towel and set in a warm spot for about 45 minutes, or until dough has doubled in size. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350f/180c. Brush tops with olive oil and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden in colour. Delicious.

That's it for today. Have a good Monday everyone!

The Underrated Houseplant

I just don't think houseplants get the credit they deserve. They are incredibly inexpensive, come in a variety of colours and textures, are easy to care for and they last a long time. What's not to love about all that? Do any of you have houseplants? Hate them? Have a brown thumb? Fill me in.

I believe this is an aspargus fern. It's perfectly happy sitting in some vintage pottery.

A gardenia (about to flower again) sits on the window sill in our bathroom.

I believe this is an asparagus fern as well. Feel free to correct me if need be! This cute canvas planter, by Serax, is from Orling & Wu here in Vancouver.

A beautiful begonia sitting in pottery by Bison (a fantastic Australian company).

Now, this next bit is not a houseplant, but thought I'd show you a bit of a "before and after" of our, once unwelcoming/hideous, front entrance.

Booo.

A selection of plants picked up for 30% off. Whoohoo!

A little more welcoming now. The pot is huge, but very light weight (when empty!) and it also doubles as a chalkboard. This makes me happy.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Back on Monday for Baked on Monday. I think it will be some kind of bread. I have to take a break from butter for one week ;)

Baked on Monday - Blondies

Happy Labour Day to you lovely bloggers in Canada and the U.S. It's a rainy day here in Vancouver, so it's perfect for staying indoors baking, eating and watching "Bell Book and Candle" (though I really should be working).

Today's treat is a good old fashioned Blondie. Perfect with coffee, which we'll drink lots of today.

Blondies - makes one 8"x8" pan (about 16 squares)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate pieces (optional, but why would you not opt for chocolate?)

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Grease an 8x8 baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream softened butter with an electric mixer, or wooden spoon, then beat in the brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until fluffy.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture, then stir in walnuts. Spread the batter in the greased pan. Sprinkle the chocolate bits (if you opted for chocolate, but again, why wouldn't you?), evenly over the dough and press down slightly with a spatula.

Bake the blondies in the centre of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until they have started to pull, very slightly, away from the edges of the pan. Cool in the pan, on a wire rack, before devouring.

These will keep, at room temperature, for several days or several weeks in the refrigerator. But they probably won't be around for that long ;)

Have a lovely day! Back again soon.

An End of Summer Ritual

Hope you're all enjoying the weekend....and a long one at that, if you're in Canada or the U.S.!

Do you have an end of summer ritual? One of mine is hitting up the Pacific National Exhibition (P.N.E.), with nieces and nephews. Every year it's the same: Eat mini donuts, pergogies, and other fatty foods, then hit up the rides, where I promptly get motion sick and have to sit out the rest the "ride" portion of the ritual. Ahh, tradition.

 Back tomorrow with a pretty tasty treat for Baked On Monday!

Mid-Century Modern Love

It's been a week of cleaning the house and photoshop.....how quickly the week flew by. Eep. It's September!

In an interview earlier this week, I was asked about some of homes I've photographed, and what were some of my faves.  I have to say it's the ones that are a mid-century modern style, mixed with anything and everything. I personally have some mid-century pieces mixed with new and some flea market junk tossed in for good measure (I say 'junk' in a very loving way).

The following homes all had a nice mix of style, that perfectly suited the homeowners. I'm a little less "minimal" than these though ;) (that would be less "tidy").

This home was reno'd by Andrea Mclean for her very modern parents.

Ahh, Bertoia chairs. Love them.

I've been trying to find side tables like this here in Vancouver. Not an easy task. Cushion is from Ouno Design. 

An impossibly tidy home office. I want the Saarinen "womb" chair. Dream. 

I loved the deck off the kitchen. The happy yellow chairs are vintage 70's Solair chair, designed and made in Canada. I have a couple of green ones, but I would love the yellow. They were known as "motel" chairs, and never taken too seriously, until recently. They've been relaunched, but I still prefer the old ones with a touch of rust ;)  

This next home is a beautiful reno of a 75 year old home. The designer (also the homeowner) is Catherine Radcliffe of Riesco & Lapres.

Catherine's office is on the left, and the upstairs hallway office is generally used by her two sons. Great use of extra space.

Catherine in her comfy Eames chair. Love the orange Eames bucket chair mixed with her country style dining table.

One of Catherine's sons rooms. So cute.

Her youngest son's bedroom. I love his secret closet where he can just play his guitar. My husband needs a secret closet. 

On a final note for Friday, I did a little DIY project for Poppytalk...it was posted yesterday. Oops. Check it out if you can. Maybe a fun project to do with kids on this long labour day weekend (if you're in North America).