Those Sweet Little Patty Pans PLUS A Patty Cake Recipe Card!

"It is all ready to put into the oven. Such lovely pie-crust; 

and I put in a little tin patty-pan to hold up the crust; 

and I made a hole in the middle with a fork to let 

out the steam - Oh I do wish I could eat my own pie,

 instead of a pie made of mouse!"

 The Tale of the Pie and The Patty Pan by Beatrix Potter

In Miss Potter's amusing tale a little dog called "Duchess" inserts a small patty pan inside a large meat pie to "hold up the crust".  But what exactly are patty pans? 

Image courtesy of SparrowSalvage's Etsy Shop

Well, it appears that patty pans, also called petty pans and queen cake tins, are darling little molds used to make such delicacies as madelines, teacakes, petit fours and meat pies. They can also be made from glass or china, but more often they are made from tin. 

Image courtesy of Johnnys Selected Seeds

Thus we can now see how the sweet little patty pan squash came by its name! And today I have a delightfully yummy recipe for a Patty Cake that I'm happy to share. My favorite way to use patty pan squash!

Patty Cake - so yummy! Click to enlarge.

I found my little scallop-edged patty pan mold on the cheap at a Big Lots or someplace like that, can't quite remember, but I know it wasn't from an expensive specialty shop.

Image size is 4 x 10 inches. Click to enlarge/download.

Very few ingredients and very easy to make! Just click the recipe image and download to your computer. I recommend printing on cardstock using landscape setting.

New porcelain creations! (click to enlarge)

I even painted a ceramic platter with chipmunk and bunny playing Pat-A-Cake. Looks like some birds are about to swoop down for some of that Patty Cake!

New veggies! (click to enlarge)

And remember my EARLIER POST which included a sneak peak of my bisqued veggies? Well I finally glazed them and they came out of the kiln this morning looking just yummy!!! The pieces with the swirl designs are actually a sliced Tri-Color Beet and I blogged about them HERE. I grew them one year and that post also has a link to a great recipe for BEETS WITH ORANGE JUICE.

Listing all of the above ceramics and more tomorrow in my Etsy shop!

I hope you enjoy my recipe - won't you please share your favorite patty pan squash recipes?

GROW YOUR BLOG WINNER and a RECIPE CARD for All!

Congratulations to:

Jan Manley of
Sew and Sow Farm

You can see from Jan's blog that she's a talented quilter and photographer, drawing inspiration from all those precious animals on her farm in the North Georgia Mountains!

I hope you adore owls Jan, because you are the lucky of winner of the above collection of owl art from my Etsy Shops! 

I am so very grateful to each and every one of you that stopped by to visit, comment and/or join my blog, and most especially to Vicki from 2 Bags Full for hosting this wonderful event! This was a new and very special opportunity for me to make connections with so many kindred spirits in the blogging community. 

But I have a lot of catching up to do in the days ahead, because OF ALL THINGS! right after the party launched my computer crashed and I've had very limited access to the web for over 2 weeks! Nor could I make a February Desktop Calender since I also lost my PhotoShop program. But for the time being, I'm using an alternative program that, although adequate, in no way compares. 

I did, however, manage to create this yummy printable recipe card featuring my watercolor painting of mama bear with her first cup of tasty brew after a long winter's nap!

Just click the image and download to your computer. Print on cardstock using landscape setting.

A gift of this delicious creamer packaged in a mason jar along with the printed card is a fun way to let a friend know that she's a special ingredient in your life!

ENJOY!

(And keep your fingers crossed that my new computer (an iMac this time!) arrives safe and sound on Monday (and in working order, unlike the two PCs I ordered recently!)

Goodbye Virginia

This photo of The James River/Downtown Richmond, VA is courtesy of TripAdvisor

It is with much sorrow that papa Crane recently had to take a job transfer, which meant having to say goodbye to the City of Monuments where we have spent 32 wonderful years together.

Before leaving Richmond we gathered together many of our wonderful friends and neighbors, and our children, for a special wine and cheese tasting party in our little city house. What a fun and easy party to put together!

My best advice is to just keep it simple - only 5 or 6 different types of cheeses and wines, along with fresh artisan bread (no crackers! bread is better!), nuts and fruit, and condiments like honey and jams. 

If you're lucky to live in area like I did that has a shop with a cheesemonger on staff, hosting an event like this is fairly effortless. Don't forget to label the cheeses though! Mine were simple paper flags, but there are many other creative ideas on the internet.

For the past few months I have taken a break from my blog as I've been preoccupied with looking for a new house to call home.

We'll soon be in West Virginia, an area well-known for its pastoral valleys and stunning mountain views. We hope to be lucky enough to find a home with a view like this!

Gifts from the Garden - Herbal Oils and Vinegars

This is the first in a new series I am creating here on my blog. With Gifts from the Garden I will be sharing some of the many culinary and crafty projects I've made both from my garden and for my garden. This first post - Herbal Oils and Vinegars - is timed to inspire you to get those tender herbs picked before the first frost does them in, and then make something lovely that you can present as gifts during the holidays. And a very economical gift it is! All you need are a few ingredients and some empty bottles with corks. Many of the bottles I've used are simply the ones that the vinegar came in when I purchased it, the wine vinegar bottles being among the prettiest. I've also purchased the smaller size Perrier water because I really like the green color and the nice shape of the bottle. Or visit my fellow Etsy seller NewVisionDesigns for a beautiful selection of vintage bottles. Finally, for my simple recipes just click this link - Herbal Oils and Vinegars Recipes - to download a PDF file. Perhaps you have your own tips and techniques - your questions and/or comments are always welcomed and appreciated!

Beautiful Beets

Well, who knew you could grow such lovely beets?!!! These are not your everyday ordinary red beets. These beautiful tri-color beets were grown from Gourment Blend Organic Heirloom Seeds. Now, I've never, ever liked beets - at least I didn't think I did until I tried growing my own this year. And a fantastic beet recipe certainly helped - BEETS WITH ORANGE JUICE