Pickles are Spooky

Halloween window at the pickle store.

Jack-o-lanterns are notoriously fearful of spiders. The other pumpkins and pickles have no sympathy for the little fella though. So rude.

Putting the "Grill" in Grillo's

Well, the end of August is here and Sam the Pickle Man knows what that means...it's time to grill!!

Labor Day is the second most popular BBQ day in the United States coming in only slightly after the 4th of July in popularity. (I made all that up.) And it's right around the corner!

It's time for one last hurrah with your friends before the days get shorter and the nights turn chilly.

Head over to Grillo's Pickles in Inman Square in Somerville to get some pickles for your Labor Day BBQ and make sure to tell them Mandee sent you!

(Not because you'll get a discount but because I want them to think I'm sooooooo cool.)

Happy Grilling!!

Hand Painted Strawberry Clogs

These custom clogs are for a globe-trotting young sassafras who originally hails from Ireland. She needed something worldly, bright and most importantly adorable. I settled on a Matryoshka inspired strawberry theme and threw in some of my own flair. They are painted by hand using weather-proof paint made exclusively for painting leather and will wear just like a leather shoe and sealed with an acrylic sealant to protect the image.

Let me know if you have some clogs that could use a makeover. It's $60 for most designs.

Thanks for looking! -m

July is National Pickle Month!

Good Morning and happy first day of National Pickle Month! To kick off this month-long pickle party I went over to Grillo's Pickles, my local pickle store, painted their window, ate way too many pickles and talked about world pickle domination.

Travis Grillo, Chief Pickle Officer, started making and selling pickles in 2008 using his family's 100 year old recipe. He was slingin' them out of a pickle cart at the Park Street T stop 2 for $1 and now has made his way into Whole Foods all over New England, Fenway Park and at his very own pickle store.

The store is located in Inman Square, Somerville (on the Cambridge/Somerville line which I hear is referred to as "Camberville" but I'm not buying it) at 1075 Cambridge Street and they are definitely worth a trip.

Go over, check out the window, have some pickles (try the hot ones they're AMAZING!) and tell them Mandee sent you! Happy Pickle Month!!

$5 DIY Googley-eyed Fall Wreath Tutorial

I'm not sure what's happening to me but I felt an overwhelming urge to make an Autumn wreath this year. I've always been into decorating, and over-decorating, for the holidays but I usually keep it to giant fake spiders, severed hands and glittery skeletons. Your standard October stuff. So when I found myself shopping for a wreath making supplies, nobody was more surprised than me. It was as if I blacked out and woke up at the register with a wreath form and fake foliage in my hands.

So, I've accepted it, I like wreaths. There, I said it.

But that doesn't mean I have to make a button covered, gingham scarecrow country crafts with a giant bow type of wreath. I can like wreaths and still make them look like me. It doesn't mean I have to buy high waisted Mom jeans or run out and lease a mini-van. Not yet anyway.

So here is my tutorial on how to make a quick $5 Googley-Eyed Fall Wreath:

SUPPLIES (I got the $1 supplies from the dollar store)

$1 wreath form

$1 fall foliage x3

$1 5pk mini squashes

ball of twine (had on hand)

googley eyes (had on hand)

wire cutters (had 'em)

glue gun/glue sticks (had 'em)

To begin, start by tying the end of your twine to your wreath form and wrap the twine around the wreath for a space about 3" long. This is purely decorative.

Next, arrange your 3 bouquets of fall foliage and begin snipping them off of the main branch with your wire cutters. Arrange the new seperate pieces so that you have 2 equal bouquets (if you plan on making 2 wreaths...which I did because I have a double front door.)

Now begin adding the plastic foliage to your wreath just under the 3" band of twine. I used hot glue to keep the plants in place and then wrapped more twine around the base of each one- mostly because it looks cute but also to secure it in place.

When you reach the end add another 3" section of wrapped twine to finish it off. You can stop here and have a perfectly lovely Autumnal Wreath to hang on your front door but I feel like it's just too regular. It needs something.

In my case, that "something" almost always ends up being googley-eyes. Or "guurely eyes" as my niece calls them.

From the 5 pack of mini squashes I scooped at the dollar store, I grabbed a couple of 'em and gave them life. I am not unlike the good Dr. Frankenstein in this way.

Take your freshly googelied squashes and arrange them at the base of your fallin' foliage until you are satisfied and hot glue them into place.

**Note: my squashes are made of styrofoam which means they basically melt when the come in contact with hot glue. Turn your glue gun to the lowest setting if you have that option or put the glue on the wreath first and allow it to cool for about 3-4 seconds before placing your squash so that it doesn't turn into a puddle.**

And finally, add a twine hanger to the top of your wreath and hang with pride from your front door(s).

Together these wreaths cost me less than $10 and they can be left up through Halloween and all the way through to Thanksgiving. I hope you like them as much as I do.

happy fall!

The Apple Pickin'-est Guys Around

Apple picking is a sure sign of better things to come. Things like sweaters and leggings and tights and boots and scarves! I love dressing for fall ALMOST as much as I love punkin flavored beverages and punkin flavored foods. Almost.

I wish I could give Fall a big squeeze to show it how much I missed it. Like this guy with his apple.

Happy Thursday and Happy Fall!!!

(nothing personal Summer but I'm so over you)

Stephanie's Cake Fascinator

My beeeeautiful friend, and bride-to-be, Stephanie requested that I make her a piece-of-cake fascinator for her upcoming birthday/bachelorette party.

I started with a cardboard form, iced it with white paint, threw on some pearls and then basically submerged the whole thing in glitter.

The only thing more fabulous than this fascinator is the little lady it was made for- Stephanie I'm so incredibly happy for you and I can't wait to see you in your weddin' dress!! Tim is a lucky man...but I bet you tell him that all the time. **MUAH!!**

A little more bacon-y, please.

I feel like I've come to a good place in life when people know to come to me if they need something to look "more bacon-y". That was the request for this inexpensive bacon costume bought online by Karen- it just didn't look bacon-y enough so she asked me to fix it.

And it's a good thing because Maya and her pet sheep would have looked ridiculous in that store-bought bacon costume in the annual 4-H costume parade at the Marshfield Fair. That was a close one!

p.s. please note Maya's custom bacon bow...I think there's a Lady Gaga costume in her future.

Day 6: Meatless Monday

According to MeatlessMonday.com:

"Ghent, Belgium became the first city to go meatless in May, 2009 and Paul McCartney introduced Meat-Free Mondays to the UK soon after. Since then, Meatless Monday has rapidly expanded into an international movement! The campaign’s simple message allows each nation to bring its unique culture, customs and cuisine to the table. Join the movement. It's good for your nation's health, good for the planet!"

And here are 6 reasons why you should join in and go

Meatless on Mondays:

LIMIT CANCER RISK
REDUCE HEART DISEASE
FIGHT DIABETES
CURB OBESITY
IMPROVE YOUR DIET
REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

Not to mention that there are a millieu of delicious vegetarian dishes out there to try, like this one that Liz made for me last week that was so so so delicious I can't even stand it:

Country Fried Seitan

For more recipes, information and to pledge to go Meatless on Mondays, go to MeatlessMonday.com now!

Delicious Vegetarian Chicken Recipe

This is by far the best vegetarian chicken I've ever tasted.

I made this small chicken army for Easter but these
would also be lovely for a farm themed birthday, a
Spring celebration or just cause they're adorable.

Recipe from Martha Stewart.

Make Me: St. Patrick's Day Rainbow Cupcakes

It is said that every Leprechaun has a pot of gold, hidden deep in the Irish countryside. The most popular hiding place for this pot of gold is, of course, at the end of a rainbow.

These delicious little rainbows do not have pots of gold at the end of them but they do have icing on top of them and they are, thankfully, far less ellusive than real rainbows. They'd be a perfect addition to any St. Patrick's day celebration.

Here's how to make them.

First, collect your supplies, you'll need:

-yellow cake batter
-food coloring
-paper baking cups
-icing

Begin by preparing your cake batter according to your recipe.

Next, seperate the cake batter evenly into 6 containers.

Then dye each cup of batter a different color of the rainbow. I like to use Wilton gel food coloring, it makes beautiful, rich colors. I would highly recommend using them instead of the liquid food coloring from the grocery store.

Now begin layering batter into your prepared muffin tin purple first.

Then do the same with the blue...

And the green...

Slap on some yellow...

Add a dollop of orange...

And finally top it off with a spoonful of red.

Bake cupcakes according to recipe.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Once cooled, the outside of the cupcake will look like this. Meh, nothin' special.

But crack 'er open and you have a vibrant and delicious rainbow surprise!

My 4 year old nephew actually told me that his cupcake was "too beautiful to eat."

And then I died of acute cute overload.

You can also play around with the layering to make other cool creations-

Happy baking!

dry erase board by yours truly

Nacional Dia de los Tortilla Chips

Today, National Tortilla Chip Day, is one of the most revered of the fried food holidays trailing only to National Fried Chicken Day & National Fried Clams Day- both heavy hitters in the fried food scene.

So go out and go crazy! Maybe get yourself some of those American Girl Doll Snack Chips! Go nuts!

Quick Fix: Forgetting to Buy Flowers on Valentine's Day

Whether you forgot to buy flowers this morning and are looking for a quick cover-up or you just wanted to make breakfast in bed for Sweetie, here are two quick ideas that turn regular Valentine's breakfast-in-bed into something a little more special.

Instead of just plopping some boring square butter onto the pancakes you've lovingly made for your beau this morning, why not cut them into mini hearts and then plop them on your pancakes?

1.

2.

3.

Then, using a piece of paper, a skewer (or a chopstick), a marker and some tape, make an adorable note to stick into those delicious pancakes you made.

1.

2.

3.

Viola!

Serve your pancakes on tray with some tea, juice and little paper hearts and now Sweetie thinks you are just the most thoughtful person, going through all that trouble just for them! You shouldn't have.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

<3 mandee rae & purdy

Shape Up With Pickles WEEK!!!

Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick! It's 'Shape Up With Pickles Week!' An entire week devoted to pickles!!!...aaaaaaand shaping up with them, whatever that means.

Here're some pickley treasures from the Etsy-Dot-Com Super Store:

And a print of Miss Pickles by this dude JimBob.....awwwww, hewwo Miss Pickles.
Miss Pickles print - 'The Original'

I'll be back when I have something relevant and pickle related to talk about. Please do the same.

January 31st: National Popcorn Day

It's National Popcorn Day today! Deeeeelicious!

Heart Shaped Love: A Valentine Marshmallow Tutorial

What better way to tell your little ones you love them this Valentine's Day than with these homemade heart-shaped marshmallows? Making marshmallows from scratch was way less difficult than I thought it was going to be. They can easily be prepared in under 30 minutes.

Step 1 To make marshmallows go over to Elizabeth LaBau's wonderful about.com marshmallow photo tutorial and follow the steps on Pages 1-6. Then, for Step 7 come back and see me. (Trust me, this is going to be much easier than trying to follow my directions.)

Step 7 Pour half of your marshmallow mixture onto half of your prepared baking sheet (we didn't use tinfoil cause we're rule breakers) and spread using a rubber spatula.

Step 8 Put a few drops of pink food coloring into the remaining half of the mixture and stir until it is a uniform pink.

Step 9 Pour the remaining mixture onto the other half of the sheet and spread out using a spatula.

OPTIONAL
Step 10 Coat marshmallow mixture with sprinkles!

Step 11 The recipe calls for the marshmallows to "sit out for several hours or overnight to fully set up." However, because we are horribly impatient and wanted to eat marshmallows NOW we just set ours outside in the snow for about a half an hour and they were fine.

Step 12 Using heart shaped cookie cutters (metal ones with sharp edges work best) begin cutting out your heart shapes.

hand modeling by Liz.

hand modeling by Liv.

Repeat until there are no more hearts to be cut out and you're left with a delicous pile of marshmallow remnants.

Step 13 Make some hot chocolate, plop in a couple of marshmallows and make somebody's day!

Fluffernutter, party of two.

If you've never had a fluffernutter than this window painting might make no sense to you but I'll take my chances because here in New England the very mention of Fluff -made right here in Everett, MA- sparks childhood memories that people can't help but share...whether you like it or not.

Being from the West Coast I had never heard of a Fluff, let alone a Fluffernutter, until I moved to Boston about 10 years ago. You'd have thought I'd told people I had never heard of shoes the way they would look at me when I didn't know what a "fluffernutter" was. They were outraged at my Fluff-less childhood.

And now I know why! Fluff and peanut butter were made to be together. They're the yin and yang of sandwich components. And so versatile! You can have a Fluffernutter for lunch, eat one as a snack or even have one for dessert. Can balogna and cheese do that?

If you've never had a Fluffernutter go make one right now. They're delicious. And if you can't buy Fluff (not Kraft Marshmallow Cream, mind you, there's a difference) in your 'hood then use this handy Fluff-Finder feature to hunt down the closest seller. And if that doesn't work, you can get a case delivered right to your door. May your children never have to go Fluffernutter-less.

For more Fluff related goodness, go to the Union Square Main Street website and check out pictures from their annual 'What the Fluff?" festival.

Photo credit Jabulani Barber

Make Me: PDQ Veggie Pot Pie

Why Don't You Make Me:

PDQ Veggie Pot Pie

It's a cold, dreary day in Boston today. A day that makes you want to slip into some sweatpants, get under a blanket and watch 12-13 hours of daytime TV. A perfect day for comfort food and I have just the thing, this hearty, meat-free pot pie that takes about 15 minutes to prepare and is muy delicioso!

Ingredients

2 frozen pie crusts
frozen mixed veggies
Quorn veggie "chick'n" patties
1/2 an onion
mushroom gravy
salt n peppa
Goya season salt

I got this recipe from my Quick Fix Vegetarian cookbook which is chock full of healthy vegetarian meals that can be ready in under 30 minutes. In the book this recipe is made in a casserole dish with a pie crust over the top. The crust is my favorite part of a pot pie so the crust-to-filler ratio isn't high enough for me that way so I decided to make my pot pie in one pie crust and cover it with a second crust to make a full pie.

Either way is fine. (My way just happens to be better is all.)

To begin, cook your frozen veggies and add them to one of your frozen pie shells. Leave the 2nd pie crust out to allow it to thaw.

Cut and saute 1/2 an onion, add to veggies.

Add "meat"- I used 2 frozen "chik'n" patties from Quorn, microwaved, cut into cubes and added to my dish.

Cover with gravy (1 can), salt & pepper to taste, add Goya season salt if you want and gently fold all ingredients together.

Next, gently peel your now unfrozen 2nd pie crust from the pan and place it on top of the pie. Press sides together with a fork and cut 3 vents in the top to allow steam to escape.

Pop it in your preheated 350 degree oven -on top of a cookie sheet to catch any overflow- and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

I've never used a store-bought pie crust (God's honest truth) but they've made a believer out of me. They were flaky, baked up to a perfect golden brown and tasted wonderful.

I shared this pot pie with my non-vegetarian husband and meat eating friend Stephen and were given rave reviews by both! It's so hearty and tasty that unless you tell people it's they probably won't even know it's a vegetarian dish.

So go on, why don't you make me?

Why Don't You Make Me?: Santa Hat Strawberry Brownie Bites

For Christmas I made these adorable santa hat brownie bites that I found over on Erica's Sweet Tooth. They're pretty simple to make, here's how:

Bake your brownies according to directions, let cool.

Select a round biscuit cutter

about the size of your strawberries.

(Or use a mini-cupcake pan)

Cut out your brownies.

Rinse strawberries.

Cut the tops and a teeny tiny bit of the

bottom off for the chocolate to settle onto.

Melt your white chocolate and

scoop into pastry bag with tip.

FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS TO MELT YOUR WHITE CHOCOLATE.

It's not the same as melting milk chocolate, I found out the hard way. Now, pipe some white chocolate on the tip of the waiting strawberry and onto the bottom between the brownie and the fruit and you'll have little chocolate santa hats!

Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!!

National Mousse Day

November is going out with a bang folks because today, the last day of November 2011, is

NATIONAL MOUSSE DAY!!!

See what I did there? Chocolate moose. Chocolate Mousse. Get it? My humor is very sophisticated.