pointy kitty

i had found this pointy kitty pattern a long time ago:
http://weewonderfuls.typepad.com/wee_wonderfuls/store/pointykitty.html
but i never had a reason to make it.

recently, my mom got a puppy. finally, i can make her a toy!

in my mom's fabric closet, i found some stretch velour, in beige colour. when cutting the pieces, i thought this fabric may be hard to work with. but when sewing, i realized that this fabric was a good choice: the stretch meant that i had some play when two pieces did not match up perfectly, and the fuzz of the velour hid my imperfect stitching.

since i do not have a sewing machine myself, i sewed the whole thing by hand. it was simple enough that it only took a couple of hours. i used some pink felt for the stripes. and since i was lazy, i left the kitty faceless.



it's so cute.

my dad is concerned that the fabric does not seem tough enough. the puppy will surely destroy the toy. but that's okay. it'll give me a reason to make more.

apple cupcakes with maple buttercream

another mix-and-bake experiment with apples.

i found a simple cupcake recipe:
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/apple-cupcakes

i halved the cupcake recipe to make only a dozen. i didn't have any nutmeg, so i omitted it from the mix. i mixed everything by hand, so the butter+sugar mix was probably not as 'pale and fluffy' as it should have been. oh well.

batter:


i had to bake a bit longer than instructed; the bottom of the cupcakes had seemed undercooked when i first took them out of the oven.

before baking:


after baking:


i found a very simple maple buttercream recipe:
http://www.chow.com/recipes/27758

again, i halved the recipe since i doubted that i would need 2 cups of frosting. still, it ended up being too much for only 12 cupcakes. i had to use an electric mixer to get the right texture.

it was my first time trying to use a piping bag. i did a poor frosting job; it looks so sad:


the cupcakes turned out soft and moist, which i like. the buttercream was a bit too sweet for my taste, which is why i didn't load the cupcakes with too much of it. still edible though.

soft apple cinammon cookie

another food experiment with the apples.

this time, i tried to make soft apple cinammon cookies, following this recipe:
http://www.5to10aday.com/en_recipe_details.asp?id=71

again, it was simple enough for me to make.

i had been a bit worried at first because the cookie dough didn't look too appetizing:


the cookies turned out alright:


detail shot:


yeah, they're kind of lumpy shaped, since i dropped them onto the cookie sheet without shaping.

the cookie are soft, with a bit of a spongy texture (like cake). they definitely taste better when re-heated. not too sweet, with enough cinammon. my mom's only complaint was that she could not taste any apples, even though i had used 6 small ones.

apple maple crumble pie

a couple of weeks ago, i went apple picking with my friends, and returned home with a 18lb bag of apples. i finally searched for some recipes and tried something yesterday.

since i've never really baked anything from scratch, i found this very simple recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Maple-Crumble-Pie/Detail.aspx

here's a piece that i cut out:


detail:


and it turned out pretty edible! at this stage, that's all i aim for.