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I'm splitting this up into two posts. First, the decor & food, and next the people. I went with a simple R theme, for Ronin, and green & white as the colors.
First I made simple flags from a white & green sheet of paper. I cut them out, glued them to toothpicks, and then cut out the v-shape on the ends. We put the white ones on the cucumber sandwiches and the green on the pb&j for the kids. We made the pb&j a little more interesting with pear and apricot jam.
Sprinkles are a really easy way to customize a cake without adding extra frosting (for me, less is more). I used Illustrator to print out a large R, cut it out and lightly set it on top of the cake after the frosting had dried a little (about an hour). We pushed green sprinkles into the R, lifted off the paper, and voila.
I got a green and white plastic tablecloth from target along with green & white striped napkins. Chocolate cupcakes in green, white & yellow liners from Surfas and ikea trays helped tie the theme together. We had cranberry white chocolate scones, orzo salad, croissants, meringues, and homemade chinese noodles (thank you uncle!). 
Last but not least, the refreshments. $3.50/case bottled water from albertsons got an easy makover with 2 colors of green paper and a little creativity. We brainstormed words that described Ronin and created labels in illustrator that emphasized the R in each word.
It went from simple
to creative
to ridiculous
and on to how the little one came about. (korean + irish & we are both german)
where does the time go?? both of my work hours have increased, as well as dr's appt's, and with a husband back and catching up with friends, the time just flies. so my little blog suffers.
last night i dropped off a meal to a friend who just had a baby, and then we ate with another friend who just had a baby and brought the same main dish there. the recipe was from cooking light, called noodles with peanut sauce (basically pad thai), and i sauteed chicken in garlic olive oil for protein. it took longer than i figured w/making the batch bigger, but it got devoured and we still have plenty of leftovers for lunch today. the sauce was delish and smelled so good in the pan. garlic, ginger, natural peanut butter, soy, rice vinegar, sweet chili sauce, and a pinch of salt. plus noodles, carrots, peppers, peas and then a bunch of cilantro mixed in at the end. and cooking light means it's light on calories! (image via their cookbook)
have any of you done this? this is my second time, and i'm excited because i remember how good the bread was last time.
amish friendship bread is called such because right before you bake it, you give 3 (?) friends their own starter to make their own, and then you keep one yourself. it takes 10 days to make a loaf, which is a lot more satisfying than buying a store bought loaf in seconds. if you live in la and want a starter, let me know and i'll pass one off to you. it's a sweet bread and delicious right out of the oven, and then for breakfast or whenever. if you look online you can make your own starter as well. i have four more days left till baking day which is perfect timing w/my parents coming into town for a wedding. squish every few days and add some ingredients when needed - easy!
i was browsing a friends blog, baby jaynes, and saw this posting for a cookie recipe. i usually pass on other people's recipes for the basic cookie because i have my own, but this one intrigued me for these 2 reasons: 1. the oats are blended in a cuisinart instead of used whole, 2. there is a bar of shredded baking chocolate added.
truthfully, i only shredded half the bar before i got tired and bored, and figured it was enough. i still think it was. also, i added 1.5 c chips instead of 2, and next time i'll cut out a quarter c. more. i love chocolate, but not when it takes over the cookie. my thoughts? very very good. crispy on the edges, but chewy on the inside. nice slightly crunchy texture while mingling with the creaminess of the chocolate chips. a pretty nice crackle on top, and a short baking time - 8 minutes. would i make them again? definitely. it makes for close to 40 with tablespoon sized scoops. follow the link to the recipe.
i packaged them in simple white takeout boxes for a friend who just had a baby, photos of her coming soon!
The other day Noz & I went to the big Korean market in Koreatown and saw Jujubes, fresh ones. We had no idea what to do w/them, until I remembered that they come dried in one of my favorite korean dishes. They are like dates. Apartment Therapy, the Kitchn, recently posted an article about fresh ones and now I think we'll have to go back and try them out. If you don't have fresh ones nearby, you can help me on the hunt to find the best recipe to make korean yaksik. You won't regret it. Brown sugary sticky rice with dried jujubes, pine nuts and chestnuts. (i usually pull out the chestnuts for mom)
2nd photo via flickr
Sprinkles are a really easy way to customize a cake without adding extra frosting (for me, less is more). I used Illustrator to print out a large R, cut it out and lightly set it on top of the cake after the frosting had dried a little (about an hour). We pushed green sprinkles into the R, lifted off the paper, and voila.
I got a green and white plastic tablecloth from target along with green & white striped napkins. Chocolate cupcakes in green, white & yellow liners from Surfas and ikea trays helped tie the theme together. We had cranberry white chocolate scones, orzo salad, croissants, meringues, and homemade chinese noodles (thank you uncle!). 
Last but not least, the refreshments. $3.50/case bottled water from albertsons got an easy makover with 2 colors of green paper and a little creativity. We brainstormed words that described Ronin and created labels in illustrator that emphasized the R in each word. 
to creative
to ridiculous
and on to how the little one came about. (korean + irish & we are both german)
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