Whiskers and Spot

My accountant, Elaine, has two wonderful boys who love to come to TW to shop for their teacher gifts twice a year (before Winter Break and at the end of the year). Their favorite gift is Whiskers and Spot, our salad servers. Now, I don’t know how much salad these boys eat. They strike me as meat and potatoes guys. But I think it’s awesome that, of all the products we make, two young boys prefer our salad servers.
Unfortunately for them, we were completely sold out of Whiskers and Spot this year!  I would love to tell you what they chose instead. But, we had some snow days and the teachers won't be opening their gifts until January. I certainly don't want to give away any surprises....
Happy New Year Boys!
-Deborah

Ask The Food Network!

We recently hosted our annual neighborhood Christmas party. In the past we have done an ornament exchange but, since I couldn't remember which TW ornaments I had exchanged in the past, I thought it might be safer this year to do something completely new. So I decided to have an appetizer competition.

The entries were so fabulous that this will definitely have to be a repeat event. My only mistake was not asking everyone to provide a recipe with each entry. Ah....next year!  One of the highlights of the competition was a mention by my neighbor, Phil Barnhart, that he had spotted our fish measuring cups on Ask The Food Network! This show ran last week and apparently was quite entertaining.

Of course you can still go to their site and see all kinds of highlights from this show. I haven't gone through all of the episodes but Phil told me that he spotted our cup when Michael Symons, the 2007 Iron Chef, was dropping some fish into his bouillon. I guess I'll have some watching to do over the Holidays!

-Deborah

My favorites for the holidays!

I am often asked which Tin Woodsman Pewter products are my favorites? Since I am fortunate to be able to take home as many pieces as I want, it is sometimes hard to decide what to put out each December when we start to decorate. But, year after year, my #1 favorite is the reindeer candle holder.

There is just something about his innocent little face and his wonderful legs that I love!

As for Jim, he would say it's the miniature nativity scene. This set holds special significance to him because he slowly and meticulously carved each original piece out of wood. He put these carvings into a mold and this is what we cast from. Originally, we put the wooden set out. But now these wooden pieces are kept in a safe and we treasure the pewter pieces. After all, we are pewtersmiths and no longer woodworkers!

At a recent tradeshow, I learned that some people call our miniature set, a "traveling nativity". They take it with them on business trips - or when going out of town for the holidays. It is small and unbreakable. The entire set would fit in your out-stretched hand.



-Deborah

What's New in BabyLand?

Quite a lot, actually. First of all, BabyLand has moved! I included a shot of the old digs in my first post. So I'll include a shot of the new ones here.



Looks fun, huh? We moved it to a larger room in the front of the building. I know, you already want to come play. But wait, there's more!



We also have a fenced outdoor play area attached to the room. Yes, we will be putting sod down, and maybe a bark mulch area. We just haven't had time yet. It's hard to get things done when there are babies around, ok? But it's really nice for Oliver and Anna, who are big enough to run around out there. However, we also have a new, smaller citizen in BabyLand.



This is Moses! He's the son of Jen and Tim. (That's me, in case you haven't been paying attention.) His mother and father think he's wonderful and amazing. :)



Mose and Oliver- TW's two little men. The cuteness is almost overwhelming.



Visiting with Nancy in the office.



Playing with Matt!



Just hanging out and being silly! Life is good in BabyLand!

-Jen

Eugene- (One of) America's Foodiest Small Town(s)

It's us!, It's us! Well, ok, it's not exactly us. But close! Bon Appetit Magazine did a story in the October issue which named Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina "America's Foodiest Small Town." (Seriously- should that even count? It's really two towns. I'm just sayin') BUT- On page 99, there is also a list of Runners-up, and Eugene, Oregon is the first town on that list! (Eugene also has the honor of being home to TW Pewter/Crosby & Taylor! )

As a resident of Eugene, I am honored that our town was chosen for this list. And I do believe we deserve the recognition. I couldn't find this honorable mention on their website, though, just in the print magazine. So here's what Bon Appetit had to say about Eugene:

"With the coast, the mountains, the wine-rich Willamette Valley, and acres of dense forests just outside it's back door, it's easy to see why this countercultural hub bristles with first-rate ingredients. Ride your bike to the Lane County Farmers Market for local cheeses, foraged mushrooms, truffles, wild berries, and lots of other organic produce. This isn't a restaurant town, but it is a home cook's paradise."

I'm a home-cook, and I do believe I'm in paradise. I've never picked up any truffles though. Well, only the chocolate kind. I'll have to check the other ones out. Yay, Eugene!

Oh, and congratulations Durham and Chapel Hill! :)

-Jen

Great Gift Ideas for the Chef

Have you spotted us yet in the brand new 2008 Paula Deen's Holiday Baking magazine? If not, get thee to The Paula Deen Store! (Or the bookstore, or wherever it is that you like to purchase magazines.)

TW 's Vineyard design measuring spoons and cups with SuperPost (and regular cup post) are shown on page 125, in the "Great Gift Ideas for the Chef" section, alongside some other nice products. Thanks, Paula!

But that is not the only reason to get your hands on this magazine. Oh, no. It's also a treasure trove of holiday baking recipes. Seriously, there is not enough time in the holiday season for all the deliciousness. Just get it now and start baking.

As usual, we didn't wait very long to try a treat. Tomorrow is Tim's birthday, so Nancy made Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Mousse and Chocolate Frosting for us lucky souls at the office today. Even people who weren't working today just happened to stop in for one thing or another. Mmm hmm. Sure, Sherry and Carol. Riiiight. We know why you were really here.

In a word- Wow. I mean, did you gain a pound just reading the name of the recipe? Is there a little drool spot on your shirt now? Don't be embarrassed, that's a common state of our clothing here. Drool spots and chocolate cupcake crumbs. It's ok. You're among friends. Now, get baking! (Or get someone who likes you to bake for you! ;)

-Jen

magazine photo courtesy of pauladeen.com

Tooth Fairy Myth & Legend

We all remember the days of our youth when we would excitedly leave baby teeth under the pillow for the Tooth Fairy (creating a tricky job for the parent who had to sneak in during the night to exchange it for a treat.) But exactly why do we even have a Tooth Fairy? Is this just a racket for youngsters to make cash? Is there actually some history behind this practice?

Well, of course there is! (Otherwise I wouldn't have asked the question, now would I?) And it turns out to be pretty interesting. To me, anyway. But I am a nerd when it comes to history, folklore, myth & legend. Stop laughing. Please?

Long, long ago- centuries, in fact- people in Europe would bury their children's baby teeth in the garden after they came out. This was supposed to cause a new tooth to grow in the child's mouth. In England, children were instructed to throw their teeth into the fire, lest they spend the afterlife searching for their lost teeth.

Both of these superstitions also may have come about through the fear of witches- a sinister idea that may, in fact, be the precursor of today's gentle, sparkly, not-at-all scary Tooth Fairy! Supposedly, if a witch had possession of something that had come off of an individual (fingernail clippings, hair, or a tooth) then the witch could control or cast spells on that person. So you either burned or buried that tooth to keep it out of a witch's evil clutches!

Luckily, we don't have to worry about that today. Our modern tooth fairy (like the lovely ladies featured on Crosby & Taylor Tooth Fairy Kits) is sweet and kindly. So, wait a minute- what on earth does she want with all those teeth? Isn't that a little... weird? Not at all. Some people believe she throws them up in the sky, where they become stars. Others believe she is building a castle in the sky. A huge, white castle made entirely of baby teeth. Ok, so maybe that is slightly strange. But still fun.

If you believe that there are already enough stars up there, or that she must have a big enough castle by now, or even if you just think baby teeth are interesting and cool to collect- you just may need one of these Tooth Fairy Kits.

The special keepsake box has a space for all 20 baby teeth, with a tooth chart to identify them and to record the date they fell out. They also include a reminder coin for the parents and a pouch with coin that makes it easy to slide out from under a sleeping head. The Fairy herself is available in a choice of 3 ethnicities- Caucasian, Asian, or African-American.



Just write a little note for the Tooth Fairy, asking her to leave your tooth for you. She'll still give a treat. She's been collecting teeth for centuries now, so your 20 teeth aren't that big a loss. She'll probably be happy that you think teeth are as cool as she does. Maybe she'll think you're building your own castle.

These are very new, so you may need to call a retailer and ask about them. Find one at our website here or here. (If you are a retailer and you don't carry them yet, contact us for info! info@tinwoodsman.com)

Do you have any great Tooth Fairy stories? Leave a comment and share them with us!

-Jen

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Stoneware is now being shipped!

That's right, the first orders of our new Crosby & Taylor Stoneware line have begun to ship to retailers! Here is a photo of Matt, Rosella, and Brad putting the very first completed piece into a bin for an order.



I think it might be a salt pot. Regardless, it was a momentous occasion. Hope you're also excited about this great new product line!

-Jen

Rattles! Rattles! Rattles!

Deborah can't believe that in her guest blog post the other day, she forgot to mention the very best selling item from the new baby collection. It was none other than the rattles!



We do a lot of company contests around here. Deborah loves contests! So before the AmericasMart show, we all made predictions of what would be the best selling item category from the baby collection. Would it be First Curl Boxes, Nursery Hooks, Toddler Dishes...?

Well, the person who guessed rattles was none other than... Nancy! Nancy is our office manager. She also has a reputation around here. A reputation for winning what some consider to be more than her fair share of contests. But we won't be hatin' here. We're just congratulatin'. Yay Nancy!! :)

Here she is with her prize- a map of the new hospital!



Just kidding. We also like jokes around here.



Here she is with her real prize- a gift certificate to the University of Oregon Duck Store. Go Ducks!

-Jen

A Great Show in Atlanta

Hi there! It's been a while since I've posted here. Sorry if you've been checking back, looking for something new. It's been a very busy time here at TW!

Today's post was written by my first guest blogger- none other than Deborah Chapman, TW owner. Last week she returned from the AmericasMart show in Atlanta, and she has a lot to share with you! Keep reading for show info and lots of great links to fun things online.

-Jen

Wow! What a show!
Last week we launched our new Crosby & Taylor Collections (Baby Line and American Stoneware) at AmericasMart in Atlanta.



Rosella (my high-school aged daughter) and Malina (the daughter of my office mate from grad school days at the U of O) joined me in our booth. Everyone loved talking with the girls and it seemed like they were born to sell pewter. I rewarded them with some great restaurant meals at Nava, Murphy’s, and The Flying Biscuit.



Rosella (l) and Malina (r) enjoying a meal at Nava.

Although many people felt that there were fewer buyers at the show (than in past summers), our ads led them right to our booth. We hardly stopped writing orders or talking throughout the show.

Most popular items were our new toddler dishes, our new American stoneware, and our measuring cups. The SuperPosts were also a huge hit. Oddly enough, even though the news is full of doom and gloom about the economy, our highest priced items are still our top-sellers.

Buyers were excited to hear that our Vineyard Spoons and Cups – on individual posts – and on the SuperPost – have been selected as a Paula’s Pick for her Christmas magazine. We believe that this will hit the newsstands next month. AmericasMart is putting in a new demonstration kitchen and there was a rumor circulating that Paula will be the guest cook at the January show. We have our fingers crossed!

An added bonus to doing a trade show is seeing our booth neighbors. We loved the new colors in Glenn’s Royal Palm Botanicals products and his disco music, of course. (But we missed his dance moves.) Ricky and Lucy, of Diane Markin, are every bit as cute as Lucy and Ricky were on our favorite old T.V. show!

Sandra, of Bryson Studios, delighted us with the news that she is expecting her first child in November. And Bonnie, from Sunblossom Solar Gifts, told me all about her upcoming trip to Beijing to cheer on her amazing son-in-law, Paul Schulte.

We were on sabbatical this year from Buyers Market but look forward to returning there – and to AmericasMart – in early 2009.

-Deborah

Photo of Paula Deen courtesy of pauladeen.com. Photo of Paul Schulte courtesy of paulschulte.com.

Perfect Potato Salad

Ahhh, the fourth of July is coming right up at the end of the week. I can hardly wait to celebrate my rights as an American by eating a lot of food that is not necessarily good for me.

I know most Americans will be putting away a pound or two of potato salad. What could be more American? Ok, I know, I know- hot dogs and apple pie. I don't know about you, but I don't need much help with hot dogs, and it's much too hot for me to even think about baking apple pie. But the perfect potato salad- now that takes a bit of know-how.

So I turn to that American institution, the venerable "Joy of Cooking." One thing I like about this book is that it tells me why I need to do something. This greatly increases the chances that I will actually do whatever it is. (By personality, I am generally a direction follower, but sometimes you need to know why in a recipe, or you might take a shortcut or make a substitution that just doesn't work. Everyone does it. Admit it- you have.)

For example, Joy says to use waxy potatoes, rather than russets or other baking potatoes. Why? Waxy ones hold their shape better once they are cooked, and won't crumble when you slice or dice them. Red Bliss and Yellow Finn are good choices, as are any new (baby) potatoes.

The following is a wonderful basic recipe. It's great as-is, or it can be dressed up a bit with your favorite add-ins. There must be as many varieties of potato salad as there are cooks. You can throw in some pickle relish, black olives, crumbled crisp cooked bacon, mint, pimientos, whole-grain mustard, halved cherry tomatoes, or hard boiled eggs. Now me, I really like hard-boiled eggs. However, I have a husband who eats just about anything, yet acts as though you are killing him if you so much as ask him to be in the same house with a hard-boiled egg. Sigh. I am long-suffering.

American Potato Salad

2 lbs. red or other waxy potatoes
1 med. celery stalk, diced
2 Tbsp. finely snipped fresh chives, or 2 scallions minced, or 2 Tbsp. minced red onion
1/4 c. minced fresh parsley (You can probably substitute dried here, but I really recommend the fresh.)

3/4 to 1 c. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. milk or red wine vinegar
salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Bring the potatoes to a boil in a large pot with enough salted water to cover. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are fork-tender, 20-25 min. Drain, peel if desired, and cut into bite-sized pieces.

2. In a medium bowl, toss the potatoes with the diced celery, chives, scallions, or red onions, and the parsley.

3. Stir together the mayo and milk or vinegar. Add the mayo mixture to the warm potato mixture and toss gently to coat. Season with salt and ground black pepper.

See how simple that is? You can do that. And you should. It's so good.

Here's my own little public service announcement- I have heard that the fourth of July is when the most dogs run away every year, frightened by fireworks. So please make sure your animals are in a safe place. For more info, see the SPCA website here.

Have a great and safe holiday, everyone!

Take This Post With A Grain of Salt

Salt? You might be thinking. What's so special about salt? Salt is salt, right? It's not, though! It seems to me that every time I go into my grocery store, the display of gourmet salts is bigger. There is an almost infinite palette of lovely earth tone colors- pinks, tans, beiges, reds, browns, greys... even black salt! It's very appealing. I wanted to know more.

That growing display in my grocery store is due to a new trend toward more sophisticated use of salts harvested from seas- or even fossilized seas, in the case of Himalayan Pink. Wait, did I say that this is a new trend? Well, it might be a growing trend right now, but these salts are nothing new. It's more like a return to ancient, historical artisan salts. Hand-raking sea salt? That's really old.

Artisan salts range in color due to their mineral content. The different minerals in salts provide nutrients as well as flavor, which ranges from mild, to smoky, to earthy, to sweet. Likewise, the crystals of gourmet salts develop differently, and this affects the flavor.

Here is how it was described in another great blog post I found on this subject, at saltnews.com: "Flake salts dissolve fast and completely, for brilliant flashes of pungent saltiness. The complex, irregular granular crystals of fleur de sel give a modulated and well-behaved saltiness. Larger crystals give explosive contrasts to food that change from one bite to the next, for intense layering of flavors in a single bite."

Due to their different flavor profiles, one artisan salt will go better with a certain food than another. You can easily find information on the web to describe which to use where. This blog post at Delicious Living describes Himalayan Pink, Black Lava, Fleur de Sel, and Smoked Salts.

One gourmet salt that I have used is Fleur de Sel, a salt harvested on the coast of France. It makes all the difference in Dorie Greenspan's "World Peace Cookies," one of my very favorite cookie recipes. I highly recommend her book "Baking, From My Home to Yours," where this recipe can be found. I'll link to the recipe on the web here at the Splendid Table. They. Are. So. Good. Looooove that salty/sweet combo. The salt really accentuates the chocolate.

P.S. Some lovely salts would be just the thing to fill a beautiful Crosby & Taylor salt pot, coming later this summer! Look at my post from June 10th to get a sneak peek at a salt pot and other new Pewter & Stoneware pieces. Artisan crafted salts in artisan crafted stoneware- fabulous! :)

Have you seen us on Paula Deen?

We've been thrilled and honored to have our measuring spoons and measuring cups appear in many episodes of Paula's Food Network shows, including Paula's Home Cooking and Paula's Party. Boy, does that girl know how to party! :) TW owners Deborah and Jim were once in the audience for a filming of Paula's Party, so they know! It sure sounded fun.

This week we were contacted by a representative of Paula Deen Enterprises, to request more spoons and cups for filming! She said that Paula just had to have ours for her shows- she loves them! Thanks Paula, we love you too!

Many people inquire as to which design Paula uses on the shows. It's hard to keep track, because they are used in so many episodes, but we're sure we've seen every style! They have definitely ordered every style, anyway. So y'all just purchase whichever ones you like best- Paula has used them, and will continue to! And keep watching on Food Network to see delicious down-home style recipes made with beautiful pewter kitchen tools.

Mmmm...Paula, make me some fried chicken and macaroni and cheese...

-Jen

Photo at the top of the post courtesy of the Food Network.

Mmmm... Chocolate Mint Brownies from Paula Deen

I am continuing to celebrate chocolate with Paula Deen. Yay, chocolate!! This is another recipe from her Special Edition magazine, "Paula Deen's Chocolate Celebration." I took these to a graduation party this past weekend. They were a HUGE hit. More than one person wanted the recipe. So I thought I'd post it here, and all y'all readers can have it!

I thought these were fun to make. For some reason, it made me happy to have a giant green pile of Andes mint wrappers on my kitchen counter. I love Andes mints. Good childhood memories.

Chocolate Mint Brownies

1 1/2 cups butter, melted
1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 (4.67 oz.) boxes individually wrapped chocolate covered mints, unwrapped (Andes mints) note: I completely covered the pan with mints- no spaces- and I had 6 mints that I didn't use. Which is nice. You need something to munch on while baking.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Grease foil.

2. In a medium bowl, combine melted butter and cocoa, stirring well. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat sugar and eggs at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy (about 5 minutes). Slowly beat in butter mixture. Add flour, salt, and vanilla; beating just until combined. Spread half of chocolate mixture into prepared pan. Place mints, side by side, in an even layer over chocolate mixture, completely covering the chocolate mixture. Carefully spread remaining chocolate mixture over mints, sealing to edges. Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool in pan completely. Cut into squares to serve. Makes about 2 dozen brownies.

Mmmm, mmmm! As my sister would say- Nummers!! If you make these, let me know how you liked them. Did you have to fight people off to get any? I definitely recommend them for summer get-togethers. These things are happy-makers.

-Jen

Meet Matt! (Say that 10 times, fast!)

This is Matt. He's our Production/Growth Manager. Yes, this is really a picture of him at work here at the TW (and now Crosby & Taylor.) We really do have that poster up.



What does Matt do here? He pretty much makes sure everything runs smoothly. (No small task.) He schedules production employees, coordinates our inventory and pending orders, welds and finishes items, orders pretty much everything we need to make the place run on a daily basis, cracks us up, bugs his wife (Nancy in the office), plays basketball on breaks, and poses for goofy pictures. Is that enough? I think so. Matt is very good at his job because he's slightly obsessive-compulsive, but don't tell him I told you that.

Here he is in the welding area, working on some of our beautiful new canisters: Can you believe we trust this guy with a torch? But despite what he looks like in this photo, he's a very intelligent and competent individual. He's got his B.A. in Business Administration, with a finance concentration, from University of Oregon. We're very proud of him. :)



Most days, Matt bikes to work. The trailer is for his son, Oliver, who also comes to work here every day. See my previous BabyLand post. And yes, he wears socks with Birkenstocks. We do that here in Eugene, sorry.



Matt's a Sagittarius. 5'10", 165 lbs.. (He says that's a more buff 165 than it might appear.) He enjoys pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. Oh wait, that last part might not be right. I might be thinking of someone else.

He actually likes IPA (that's India Pale Ale for those of you who are not blessed to live near craft breweries), hockey, and baseball. His softball team this year is Team America. He also likes basketball, but he's not allowed to play anymore because he keeps getting hurt. He enjoys movies and good books, and often gives good recommendations on those. He loves good food, and definitely desserts. He's not a bad cook, either. His favorite measuring spoons and cups are our bamboo design.

When all's said and done, he's a heck of a great guy. We all are really glad to know him. I hope you have enjoyed getting to know him a little bit, too. If you have purchased a piece of Tin Woodsman Pewter in recent years, a little of Matt's love and attention to detail have gone into that item! If you have any comments or want to say hi to him, I'll make sure he gets it!

-Jen

6/20/08

Update! Check out this cute video of Matt saying "Meet Matt" 10 times, fast! heehee! Click on this link to download:

meetmatt

Stoneware Sneak Peek

Have you been chewing your fingernails down to nothing in anticipation of our new Stoneware and Pewter line? Do you already have a spot on your counter-top for them? Do you think you're ready to view them? Are you really, really ready? How long can I draw this out?...

These are different from anything we've done before. In fact, they're coming out under the new Crosby & Taylor name. (TW's new "sister company.") There will be a variety of canister shapes and sizes. Here are some salt pots in the three different colors we'll be working with. l-r: pistachio, whipping cream, and butter pecan.



Below are some different sizes of canisters and a garlic pot, all in pistachio.



These are being made for us by a local potter. They are beautiful, lead-free, food-safe, American-made artisan products. We love them, and are very proud to be introducing them. They will be available this summer. (Around mid-July.)

-Jen

Buying American Made

More and more these days, people are looking to buy American made products. Some of the reasons cited are based on negativity- the recall of products made in China, etc. But there are lots of great, positive reasons to look for items made in America.

One reason is concern for environmental impact and the desire to leave a lighter footprint on our world. Many consumers wish to purchase locally, to avoid the carbon emissions used to transport goods around the world. In this way, buying American Made is similar to the local foods movement.
And just as many people like to know more about their food- where it came from, how it was grown- many people also like to know about other goods they buy- where it came from, how it was made, etc. This is information you can get whether you are looking at small handmade Etsy items or high-end furniture like Sticks.

American Made products are often very high in quality and workmanship. There are even some companies who produce their lower end products in Asian markets, while keeping their higher-end production here in the states. (New Balance shoes and Fender guitars are two examples.)
Sometimes an inexpensive imported product isn't really the deal it seems to be. When something performs better and lasts longer, it can be worth paying more for it.
And, of course, buying American supports jobs for people here in this country. So are we biased on this? You bet! We love being artisans and making a living at it. At Tin Woodsman, we are very proud of the fact that we provide good jobs with benefits for our small staff. We receive a “living wage,” we have health insurance, and on-site daycare. It's the kind of business we like to support, and that we're glad to be part of! So thank you to all who have ever purchased from us. (You rock!)

Here's a website where you can check out some American made products that you might not already be aware of: stillmadeinusa.com. And I'd like to feature some of our favorite Made in America companies here on this blog from time to time. Please leave a comment to let me know about any you love. I will be happy to look into them and maybe give them a mention in another post.

BabyLand

Come along on a trip to the most magical part of Tin Woodsman. Well the cutest part anyway! Walk in past the office, just a little down the hallway, and turn left...into BabyLand...

Well, it's a lot more fun when the babies are there. But they were out for a walk when I snapped this photo.
Oh, here they are!

Tin Woodsman has always had a real family feeling, but recently it's been taken to a new level, with the addition of a small nursery for employee's children. The current residents of BabyLand are Oliver, son of Matt and Nancy (Tin Woodsman's Production Manager & Office Manager), and Anna, daughter of Kathryn and Corey (Tin Woodsman Family Friends!).

The caretakers of these two adorable little children are Sherry and Kira. When Sherry is not on Baby duty, you'll find her in the shipping room, sending pewter out across America. Here she is enjoying Anna's company:

And Kira can often be found helping in the office, as well as packaging many Tin Woodsman products. But we all know what their favorite parts of the day are. Here's Kira, also with Anna- in the cutest of crazy cute hats!


Is there anything better than watching little people grow and develop on their way to becoming big people? Well, maybe watching them do it in funny hats. And especially when they get food all over their faces... oh it's wild and crazy and funny around here. Yes, I'm not afraid to admit we laugh at children regularly!
The little munchkins sometimes sneak out and visit us in our offices. (Just offices, no dangerous production areas, EVER! We promise. Hey, we love these guys. We're keepin' em safe. And always OSHA compliant.) It's just one of the things that makes this a very special place to work! So, please, when you call and there are strange noises in the background, don't think less of us.

Here's Oliver pushing Anna in the Radio Flyer Wagon, on their way out to visit. Anyone else want a ride?
Ooh, don't you just want to squeeze them? Are you ready to faint from cuteness overload?! We deal with this everyday! You don't feel one bit sorry for us, do you? (That's ok, you really shouldn't)
We'll blog about the adventures of BabyLand pretty regularly. Sherry and Kira are both very anxious to act as guest bloggers. Come back often and watch them grow! (Aren't we lucky? Thank you to Jim and Deborah for providing this kind of work environment! Seriously. :))

Paula Deen's Chocolate Orange Angel Food Cake

I wasn't going to post another cake recipe already. But then Deborah brought me a cooking magazine, and Amy had a birthday, and I made this cake, and well, it was delicious. I just have to share. Our favorite Southern cook has got a fabulous Special Collectors edition magazine out, "Paula Deen's Chocolate Celebration." Let me tell you, this is right up my alley. I stand ready to celebrate chocolate at any time. Seriously. You just let me know if you have some chocolate and need help celebrating it. I'm your girl.

When I posted my first cake recipe, one of our retailers, Clawfoot Designs, posted a comment that I thought was really great. Here it is: "Tried the cake recipe and served it to our customers shortly after opening today…needless to say, it went fast! The good news is the cake was delicious and the customers bought most of our stocked items of Tinwoodsman products! Guess it is time to place another order!"

A store that serves homemade cake to customers. I love it. If Alabama weren't so far from Oregon, I would be visiting Clawfoot Designs. Retailers, take note. If you have any baking ability or inclination, you may want to follow Clawfoot's lead. Customers like cake. :)

And shoppers, if the stores you frequent don't have any cake on hand, well, you're just going to have to make this for yourself. It's too good. Moist and light like an angel cake should be. It's not super chocolatey, but that lets the orange shine through. Thanks to this recipe, I discovered that I love orange extract. Who knew? I like a lot of icing, so I made an additional half recipe for my cake.

Here it is served with some orange vanilla ice cream.



Chocolate Orange Angel Food Cake recipe courtesy Paula Deen, "Paula Deen's Chocolate Celebration" Check out her recipe collection at the Food Network site.


12 egg whites at room temperature (Jen's note: eggs are easier to separate when cold. separate the eggs first, then allow to come to room temperature. this makes them beat up fluffier.)
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest
1/4 tsp. orange extract
1 1/4 c. confectioners' sugar
1 c. cake flour
3 Tbsp. Dutch-processed cocoa
Sweet Orange Glaze (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in orange zest and orange extract.

3. In a small bowl, sift together confectioners' sugar, flour, and cocoa; gradually fold into egg white mixture. Spoon batter into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan. Bake for 30 to 32 minutes or until lightly browned. Invert cake onto the neck of a bottle and cool completely. (Jen's note: cooling upside-down allows an angel food cake to keep it's structure and not deflate.) Gently run a knife around edge of cake to release sides. Remove cake from pan. Drizzle with Sweet Orange Glaze.

Sweet Orange Glaze

1 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp. cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. orange extract

In a small bowl, combine sugar, cream cheese, milk, and extract. Beat at low speed with an electric mixer until smooth.

Sneak Peek!

Can I get a drum roll please? Without further ado, let me present some of our up-coming baby products:

Baby Boxes



Top- First Treasure Box with Chick, Middle- First Tooth Box with Dragonfly, Bottom- First Curl Box with Tractor

Baby Bank- "The Cow Jumped Over the Moon"



Aww... Now isn't that just precious?

Clock, Bank, Music Box



Ok, the artistic design of this photograph has the clock in the background, not really in focus. But you can get the idea. It's got images of the cow and the moon again, as well as the dish that ran away with the spoon. Then there's that cute bank again in the middle ground. In the front is the First Lullaby Music Box with Dragonfly.

That's it for now. I hope that's enough to whet your appetite a bit! ;) I will post more photos as we have the products/photography ready. Let me know what you think!

-Jen

The Classic Birthday Cake!

I love to bake! I'm often bringing a baked treat in here to share at TW, and I've ended up in charge of birthday treats. My latest baked goodie was for Brad's birthday, May 4th. Turns out that Brad is a very traditional kind of guy, when it comes to delicious baked goods anyway. I made sure to ask him ahead of time what he'd like. (No, really, Brad. I'm not saying you're picky. Really.) He said his favorite was yellow cake with chocolate frosting.
You know what? Sometimes simple is great. I chose a recipe from a recent issue of Cook's Illustrated Magazine that promised very fluffy cake and no-fail, simple frosting. It was a big hit! (Brad even said it was the best he'd ever had!)

Fluffy Yellow Cake


2 ½ c. (10 oz.) cake flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
1 ¾ c. (12.25 oz.) sugar (divided into 1 ½ c. and ¼ c.)
10 Tbsp. (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 c. buttermilk at room temperature
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks and 3 large egg whites at room temperature

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9” round cake pans, lining the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 ½ c. sugar in a large bowl.
3. In a 4- cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and yolks.
4. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy. With machine running, gradually add remaining ¼ c. sugar; continue to beat until stiff peaks form. (They should hold peaks, but appear moist.) Transfer to bowl and set aside.
5. Add flour mixture to now-empty mixing bowl. Keep using whisk attachment. With mixer running at low speed, gradually pour in butter mixture and mix until almost incorporated, about 15 seconds. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Beat batter again, until fully incorporated.
6. Using rubber spatula, stir 1/3 of whites into batter to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain.
7. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Lightly tap pans against counter 2 or 3 times to dislodge any air bubbles.
8. Bake until cake layers begin to pull away from sides of pans, and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool in pans on wire rack for 10 min. Remove cakes and peel off parchment paper. Allow to cool completely on wire rack, about 1 ½ hours.

Chocolate Frosting
You may use milk, semisweet, or bittersweet chocolate for this frosting. I used milk chocolate because that was what Cook's Illustrated recommended for frosting the Yellow Cake above. It was delectable!


20 Tbsp. (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 c. (4 oz.) confectioners' sugar
¾ c. Dutch-processed cocoa
a pinch of table salt
¾ c. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz. Chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

In food processor, process butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add corn syrup and vanilla and process just until combined, 5- 10 seconds.
Enjoy!
P.S. I want to make sure I give credit and thanks to my "blog mentor" Kelli Matthews of Verve Northwest. This is my first venture into the blogosphere, and she has really helped me out with explanations, advice, etc.!
Amy Miller- also of Verve Northwest- set up the awesome template and does beautiful graphic design work for Tin Woodsman.
Thank you Kelli and Amy! :)

welcome!

Welcome to our new blog. I plan to post on a wide variety of things. Please feel free to email me or comment if you have a topic you'd like to suggest. Some of the regular or recurring topics will include recipes, (I love to bake and cook, and we do make measuring spoons and cups, after all!) updates on our Tin Woodsman daycare (a.k.a. “BabyLand”), sneak previews of new products, photos of things happening here, and links to other interesting stuff on the web.
If you're unfamiliar with Tin Woodsman Pewter, please be sure to visit our website here. We design and produce all-American made pewter products for the home. We also have a new sister company, Crosby & Taylor. Here we are:



back row, l-r: Kira, Adam, Mark, Brad. middle row, l-r: Tim, Jen (that's me!), Deborah, Carol, Nancy, Sherry with Oliver. front, l-r: Dan, Matt with Anna.
Please feel free to comment any time! I really want to hear from you. Provide a link to your own website, if you have one. My comment moderation policy so far is really simple. It's just this: Comments are moderated before they appear on the site, and I reserve the right to delete any offensive or abusive comments.
Since the comments are moderated before appearing, there will be a delay between when you submit your comment, and when it appears. I promise to do my best to moderate very quickly.
I will be doing the majority of the posting myself, but there will be guest bloggers. New posts will appear every Tuesday and Friday. Coming sometime soon: Posts on "what is pewter?" (vs. things like Mexican pewter), baby photos, our new Baby Collection, Crosby & Taylor, a dinner based on Paula Deen recipes, and more. Please check back!
-Jen Rooseboom
P.S. For fun, here are a couple more photos. These are from a recent company trip to a local winery. King Estate- check it out if you're ever in Oregon. It's beautiful, and the wines are great!