Boulder

The college search has begun for our youngest daughter, Rosella. On this subject, a friend recently tossed out this advice -
Be sure she picks a school in a part of the country that you want to visit often! Although he was joking, we can't help but feel that University of Colorado at Boulder might not be a great fit for Rosella. After all, we sure would like an excuse to visit Boulder and drop in on one of our favorite retailers, Boulder Arts and Crafts!.

Vintage Measuring Cups and great French cuisine!

Back in 1981, when I was a grad student at the U of O, I met Catherine Vignaux, a fellow student from Poitiers, France. Her English was terrible - mostly because everyone in the French Department just wanted to practice their French on her. So, one day, I put my foot down - no more French! Here we are, years later....her English is great and my French is pretty shaky. But two things have remained constant - our friendship and her amazing cooking! We like to pretend that it has something to do with her awesome measuring cups! She and her husband, Craig, own one of the original sets that we made. They must be at least 20 years old. Thanks for another great meal, guys!
You are the best.

Paula's Picks

We have just heard that Paula has picked us again! This time, our Christmas Reindeer will be featured in the next edition of Paula's Holiday magazine. The set includes Rudy, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen. Oh, Happy Day!

Maple Corn Bread

I have lived in Oregon for nearly 30 years but sometimes, I have to admit, I'm still kind of a New England girl. Crisp October mornings remind me of a New England autumn...and then I get to feeling nostalgic about such things as maple trees, sap on snow, and maple syrup, of course.

Here is a favorite recipe of mine, which makes great use of maple syrup.

Maple Corn Bread

2 1/3 cups yellow cornmeal

1 cup all purpose flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter - cut into 1/2" pieces

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

4 large eggs

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9 X 9 X 2 inch metal baking pan.

-Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor. Blend 5 seconds.

-Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal.

-Whisk buttermilk, eggs, and maple syrup in large bowl.

-Add cornmeal mixture. Stir just until evenly moistened (do not overblend). Transfer to prepared pan.

-Bake until golden and cracked on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

-Cool bread in pan on rack.

And, of course, it will taste better if the ingredients are measured out with Tin Woodsman Measuring Spoons and Cups! :)

Julia Child

I convinced my 16 year old daughter to go to Julie, Julia the other night. She knows all about Paula Deen - how could she not? - but I wanted her to know about Julia Child. After all, I was just a big older than her when my mother gave me my - still beloved - copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1.

Although I enjoy epicurious.com for a fun, new recipe, I still turn to Julia for the classics (like crepes and cream puffs) and for techniques (like making sauces).Noticing the tiny Fleur de Lys that cover my cookbook, we like to think that, if she were alive and cooking today, Julia Child might enjoy using our Fleur de Lys Measuring Spoons and Cups!

Halfway around the World

I have just returned from halfway around the world - or what felt like that, anyway. I was in Niamey, Niger (West Africa) visiting my oldest daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. Before they left earlier this year they asked for a set of measuring spoons and measuring cups to take with them. As it turns out, they don't have much time for baking. However, I was pleased to see that they use our Dragonfly Measuring Cups as serving pieces at the dinner table! It's always fun to see the ways in which people - even our own family - use our spoons and cups.