Until this year, I had never watched the Kentucky Derby. I tried to watch it a few times, but if you don’t get your timing exactly right, you’ll miss it. This year, I was invited to a Kentucky Derby party thrown my some of my friends who are from the South and I finally managed to watch the race.

The party host requested that we dress in our most Southern attire, which for ladies included sun dresses and hats. You can’t buy Derby hats in Denver, so I decided to create my own.

How to Make a Kentucky Derby Hat

Materials: hat, several sheets of card stock paper, ribbons, glue gun

Step 1: Buy a hat that you can wear more than once. I bought a floppy hat from Target that’s comfortable, cotton and easily packable in a beach bag. I didn’t want to spend $15 on a hat that I would only wear once

Step 2: I found a long gold ribbon in my craft box and used it to cover the beachy rope that surrounded the hat. I didn’t want to destroy the original hat or glue anything directly to the hat, so I wrapped the ribbon around the canvas string and let the excess dangle off the hat.

Step 3: I purchased the big white bow from Target, but you could make one of these, too. I secured it to the gold ribbon by tying it on with a small piece of string.

Step 4: My original plan was to only have the white bow, but after looking at some Derby hats online, I decided my hat needed a little more flare. I looked up some ideas for making paper flowers and found this awesome tutorial for rolled paper flowers from Jones Design Company. These flowers are really easy to make and look beautiful. Everyone commented on my paper flowers and I must have described how to make them a dozen times. Check out the full tutorial from Jones Design company.

Step 5: I made 5 paper flowers and after gluing them together with a hot glue gun, I stuck colored paper clips through them so I could secure them to the hat. I folded up a little green ribbon and glued it into one of the flowers (seen above in the purple flower).

Step 6: I added in a few more ribbons for effect

Step 7: Make your Mint Julep and cheer for your horse!

I loved the way my Derby hat turned out. Sadly, I didn’t win the hat contest. Someone else “put a bird on it“. My horse didn’t win either, but at least it came in second!

The Derby was fun to watch, but it seems like a lot of buildup for such a short race. Maybe I’m just a Yankee at heart.

I did receive a few new “toys”.

1. A pasta maker

Making pasta seems complicated, but it’s quite easy. I’m not sure why it took me so long to try it. You simply mix flour and eggs together (2 eggs for every cup of flour) and then knead it.

It is admittedly much easier to make it with a pasta maker. The dough is very stiff and can be hard to knead by hand, but little Italian women have been making pasta by hand without a pasta maker…

The great think about the pasta maker is that you just have to mix the dough and then flatten it enough to send it through the machine a few times until it comes elastic and easy to work with.

Once you get it to the desired thickness, you put it through the side that cuts the pasta. And just like that, homemade pasta.

I let mine dry for about an  hour before cooking it, but you can make it and store it to use later.

I want to experiment with different thicknesses. The pasta I made this week was a little too thick. But practices makes perfect and I intend to use this for all my pasta dishes going forward.

2. Zoku popsicle maker

I’m a little obsessed with popsicles in the summer. I eat them everyday. I’m really excited that I can make them on my own now.

My biggest frustration with homemade popsicles in the past was that you had to wait hours for them to freeze before you could enjoy them. When I crave a popsicle, I want it now…not in 24 hours.

Enter Zoku.

You keep your Zoku in the freezer and the liquid core stays cold and frozen. So when you want a popsicle, all you have to do is take it out, pour in some juice and in only 7 minutes, you have a delicious frozen popsicle…or two or three. You can make up to 6 at once with my little Zoku.

I’m really excited to try some of the recipes on the Zoku blog like Cucumber Mint Margarita, Apple Pear & Orange and Berry Mojito. Adult, happy hour popsicles? Sounds like an excellent summer time treat.

3. Electric kitska

My last birthday treat was an electric kitska for making Ukrainian Eggs. I can’t wait to try this out next Easter and see if the electric kitska helps make smoother lines!

4. One last thing

Those of you who are on my email list might have received an email from me on Saturday. I had great intentions of holding a birthday sale on my knitting patterns. But then I made a mistake and forgot to change the subject line of my email. So it probably looked like I was sending a duplicate email inviting you to join me on Pinterest, when really I was trying to offer you a special discount on my patterns.

Originally, I had the sale ending on Sunday, April 29th at midnight, but I’m extending it until Sunday, May 6th.

The 3 knitting patterns I have for sale in my store are:

• Sand Cable Baby Blanket $4.99
• Knobby Cowl $2.99
• Linear Cowl $2.99

During the sale, you can have all three for only $5! 

As an added bonus, if you purchase this special birthday bundle, you’ll get my next pattern for free. It’s a crochet blanket made using the Afghan/Tunisian stitch and should be ready in a week or two.

All four patterns would typically cost $16, but you can have them at 70% off!

Buy Now! 

You have until Midnight (Mountain Standard Time) on Sunday, May 6th to order. I will email you the patterns within 2 days after your purchase (to the email you use on PayPal). If you prefer to receive the patterns at a different email address, please email me with your PayPal purchase ID and the email address you used to purchase the patterns.

It’s that time of year. The weather gets warm. I spend hours in the beautiful weather riding my bike. I ride further and faster as I train for upcoming summer races. And I get hungry.

REALLY hungry.

Did you know that you can burn anywhere from 300 – 1,000 calories an hour when cycling? No matter how many granola bars and energy snacks I eat while out on a ride, I can’t make up for how many calories I burn. When I get back from a long ride, all I can think about is food. And I feel perpetually hungry when I’m riding 5-6 days a week.

All that to say that I have no guilt devouring high-calorie desserts during cycling season. Last week I made triple layer brownies (Drop everything and go make them. These were a huge hit with my friends. Who wouldn’t love a brownie with a layer of chocolate chip cookie, oreo and brownie?) And this week, I’m sharing a guest post from Katie that will teach you how to make cannolis. Don’t they sound amazing? I hope to have one of these waiting for me after I finish my weekend ride.

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Making Cannolis

Al was a sweet old man who worked with my father, eventually becoming a good family friend when I
was little. Every week, he would send a large pastry box home with my father that was full of delicious,
perfect cannolis from a bakery near his home. I would untie the white string, lift the lid off the pink
cardboard box, and stand in awe looking at different flavors of small, delicate desserts.

Thus, my love for cannolis was born. In an attempt to pay homage to dear Al, I decided to make my own
Italiano delights for a dinner party. It was hard work, for sure, but they came out perfectly and left a
room full of people salivating for seconds.

The hardest part was finding a recipe that I really liked. There are so many recipes out there that
finding just one was a real challenge. This is the recipe that I went with which was created by taking a
few of the best looking ones and merging them together. It yields about 30ish cannolis. I was close to
running out of filling, so if you’re afraid it’s going to be a close call, it may be best to make backup. And,
if you’re a visual person, this website gives you a nice step-by-step walk through with photos.

Shells:

3 cups of flour

¼ cup sugar

3 tablespoons vegetable shortening

2 egg whites (lightly beaten)

½ cup Marsala wine

Vegetable Oil

Oh – also, remember to get cannoli tubes (you can usually buy them at any food specialty shop. Don’t
worry that they only come in a pack of 6 or so, you don’t need more than the one package.)

So, make a well with the flour, putting the egg whites in the center with the sugar. Add the vegetable
shortening as well, but make sure to cut it into small pieces first. Use a fork to mix it together until you
can begin to knead the dough, adding the Marsala little by little, as needed.

Once the dough is well mixed, wrap it up in plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two.
When you’re ready to take it out and heat the vegetable oil in a large pot at 350 degrees. There should
be enough in the pan to completely cover the cannoilis.

Roll the dough out until it’s pretty thin (maybe ¼ inch) and cut it into circles that are 3-4 inches in
diameter. Wrap these circles around the cannoli tubes, sealing them by dipping your fingers in water
and pinching them shut, then submerge them in the oil. Let the cannolis sit in the oil until they’re lightly
brown, then pull them out and let them rest on paper towels until you’re ready to fill them.

Filling:

32 ounces of ricotta cheese

2 cups powdered sugar

½ tsp vanilla

1 cup mini chocolate chips

This filling is delicious – just remember to put this mixture in the fridge because it can be quite runny.
Also, you don’t want to fill the shells until they’re ready to be served (if you can help it). You can either
mix the chocolate chips into the filling or you can just dip the ends in the chocolate – it’s up to you.
Using a pastry bag (or a Ziploc bag with a whole cut into a corner), fill the shells with this ricotta mixture.
It’s easiest to fill the shells from each side, so, place the tip of the pastry bag in the middle of the shell
and fill to the end and repeat on the other side. It makes the filling even. To finish, sprinkle powdered
sugar over the tops of these delights and serve them (your friends will be ecstatic).

About the Author: Katie Straw is the Gourmet Scribe at GourmetGiftBaskets.com, one of the top
suppliers of gift baskets in the nation, and currently resides in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Today’s post is a guest post from Sierra. She describes 4 spring and summer desserts that the sweet tooth people will love. Even if you prefer salty foods, I think you’ll enjoy these recipes since many contain fresh fruit. And who doesn’t like fresh fruit desserts?

4 Spring and Summer Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

There’s nothing like a delicious spring and summer time dessert to satisfy your cravings for a yummy treat during the warmer months. Depending on what you and your sweet tooth are craving, there are several desserts to select from to make. From tarts to cakes, use your imagination and make a dessert that’s perfect for the seasons. If you haven’t made the desserts listed below, try pulling up a new recipe. I’m sure it will be absolutely delicious and worth your time to make.

Blueberry Tart

Even though the fourth of July is a long time away, practicing to make a blueberry tart in April will get you prepared to make desserts in July. A tart with blueberries goes perfectly with a red, white, and blue theme, and you can also add some red via strawberries if you wish. Use a frozen puff pastry and make an elegant dessert that is filled with a lemon-infused cream cheese filling. Delicious!

Lemon Blueberry Tart with Strawberry Garnish from knit and bake

Plum Upside – Down Cake

Have you heard of a plum upside – down cake? If you haven’t heard of this cake you’re definitely missing out. Filled with ripe, juicy plums, this cake is tasty and is just a bit healthier than your average cake because of the plums. Serve it with a bit of ice cream and you’ll have a perfect spring time dessert for guests and family members.

Plum Upside Down Cake from Ravenous Kitchen

Peanut Butter Cup and Pretzel Terrine

If you’re a fan of a dessert that combines both salty and sweet, this dessert is for you. Filled with ice cream, peanut butter, and pretzels, this cake has the best of all worlds. It’s fun to make and even better to eat. On a hot spring or summer evening, this is a great dessert to whip up.

Peanut Butter Cup and Pretzel Terrine from Real Simple

Ice Cream with Honey Poached Peaches

If you love fruit and peaches come to mind you have to try vanilla ice cream with toasted coconuts and apricots some time. Cooked in honey syrup, this dessert is one satisfying treat. Make this dessert for a family get together or better yet – make it and keep it all for you. It’s that good.

Poached Peaches in Honey Sauce from fig&cherry

About our guest poster: Sierra loves a good dessert during the warm months. A writer and a blogger, she enjoys finding a variety of recipes that have whey protein and other ingredients in them that make the dessert tasty, and maybe even somewhat healthy.

Every year I host a Pysanky Party and invite friends over to learn how to decorate eggs Ukrainian style. I also make some traditional Ukrainian food like paska for my guests. And every year, people tell me they’re going to come and then don’t show up.

I’m not sure why…but it’s a phenomenon that has plagued my Pysanky Parties from New York to Seattle and now to Denver. Everyone seems excited about the activity, but then the excuses flow on the day of the event.

I used to get upset by all the no-shows. While the lame excuses still annoy me, I know like to view it as my “weeding out” process. The people who show up and like it get included on the list for next year…and the no shows? No luck.

I brought the finished eggs to a few friends at church on Sunday morning. It was an effective way of finding new people to invite next year. A few people saw the eggs and were very interested in them and I’m mentally adding them to the invite list for next year.

As for me, I haven’t finished my eggs for the year. I’ll still do a few more this week before I’m done. So far, my best egg from this year is the blue egg on the right of the picture above. Typically, I start off with ugly eggs and progressively get better, but this one was my first try. I had a few failed designs after that…but I’ll finish strong.

The other eggs are from last year.

We did have a few egg casualties. In fact, the people my Mom invited over ALL dropped at least one egg. One of my friends lost an egg in the car on her way home. And our dog managed to ruin one of our older eggs.

How? We had a few on display on one of the end tables. He jumped up and grabbed one. Luckily it was one that was dry inside. He took one bite and realized the egg was rotten inside. I guess that was his punishment.

Lesson? Don’t name your dog Rascal, or he’ll live up to his name. (He looks so innocent, right?)

I accidentally biked 72 miles on Saturday. The weather was perfect and I didn’t map out my route. I had an idea of where I wanted to go, I just didn’t realize how many miles I committed to with my loop. Around mile 65, I realized I didn’t want to keep biking. So I called home for a pick up and biked another 7 miles.

When I got home, my leftover breakfast smoothie was divine. And the enormous hamburger I ate wasn’t too bad, either.

There are endless varieties to this smoothie. When I have spinach and kale, I throw a handful of that in for added nutrition.

But this one is a good ol’ fashioned fruit smoothie.

Step 1: In your blender, throw in 5-7 frozen strawberries and 1 banana (fresh or frozen)

Step 2: Add 1/4 – 1/2 cup of yogurt. I used Honey Vanilla Greek Yogurt

Step 3: Add in your powdered ingredients. I used 2 teaspoons of ground flax seed and 2 teaspoons of vanilla protein powder

Step 4: Add in about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of milk or almond milk

Step 5: Mix it in the blender & enjoy!

PS…can you tell that Instagram finally released an Android app? I’m having fun with it…

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that I don’t love all the pastel colors of Easter. My primary Easter craft, Pysanky or Ukrainian Easter eggs, has rich and dark colors. No pastels in sight. But, head over to Pinterest and do a search for “Easter” and you’ll find all sorts of pastel pinks and yellows. Some of the crafts look interesting, but I can’t get over all the pastels.

So if you dislike pastels as much as me OR if you’re just looking for some alternative colors to mix things up, here are some non-pastel Pinterest finds to brighten up your spring.

This Easter centerpiece from Dear Lillie is lovely and would match any decor. Head over to the blog to view a variety of other Easter ideas that are perfect for neutral colors.

I love these Easter egg designs that are drawn on the egg with a sharpie! If you aren’t up for the complicated process of dying your Ukrainian eggs, try this with different colored sharpies. (from Alisa Burke) I love to doodle and will definitely give this a try.

Ok, this picture is admittedly a little pastel-y for my tastes, but it doesn’t have to be! Modern Parents Messy Kids will show you how to turn paint samples into an Easter garland. (Does anyone else feel guilty when picking up tons of paint samples at the hardware store? I know they’re free…but it always feels wrong.)

Finally, I love this picture of purple and white Pysanky. I’m going to re-create some of these designs that I found from an Etsy store.

What Easter crafts are you making? Share links to your favorites in the comments!

Do you ever start a project that you feel like you will never finish? That’s how I feel about my current crochet project. I’ve been plodding away on this baby blanket since January. Why the delay? A few reasons:

1. I don’t like the yarn much. I forgot how much I dislike working with synthetic yarn.
2. The colors didn’t turn out like I had hoped (looks better in this picture than it does in real life)
3. Tunisian crochet takes forever…
4. I haven’t had much time to sit down and work on it.

But I’m determined to finish it! Right now it’s measuring about 20.5 inches by 32 inches, so I have at least 12 inches to make it square, perhaps a little more than that to use up the  yarn.

Maybe it will turn out better than I think…or maybe someone else will like it more than I do and I can give it away. Or maybe I’ll just keep going because I hate quitting and want to use up all this yarn.

How do you force yourself to finish a project you’ve started when you don’t have the ambition to keep going? Do you come back to it later? Or do you just quit the project entirely?

Easter seems to sneak up on me every year. I’m never prepared with Easter foods or crafts. And I end up sharing what I did for easter a month afterwards when no one really cares anymore.

This year I’m finally on top of things. Instead of telling you about my Easter tradition in May, I’m ready with a tutorial in March so you can enjoy this activity before Easter.

My Mom is 50% Ukrainian and since I was a little girl, we’ve had a tradition of creating and decorating Ukrainian Eggs. Many of the supplies we have belonged to my Mom’s grandmother and aunt. They passed along the tradition to my Mom who passed it on to me. Back in the Ukraine, egg decorating was a women’s activity. My brother used to try it with us when we were young, but he never had much patience for it and didn’t enjoy it.

Working with raw eggs is tricky making this type of art precise. It also requires quite a bit of patience. It can take hours to complete one egg. And sometimes when you’ve completed your masterpiece egg, you drop it and it breaks, ruining all your work. I can’t tell you how many times that has happened to me over the years. It can be frustrating, but it’s also really rewarding. My favorite part of the process is melting the wax and seeing the final design.

The infographic below will show you the basic steps for creating an egg. You can find more designs and purchase supplies from the Ukrainian Gift Shop. And I highly recommend making some Paska (Ukrainian Bread) to eat while you’re decorating!

I’ve always had a thing for citrus. According to my Mom, my first sentence was, “More orange juice please.” It really isn’t a sentence (where’s the verb?), but don’t tell her that. I still love my 100% juice, lots of pulp orange juice. It’s a staple item that I buy every week. In fact, as a poor college student, one of my few luxuries was the $3 crate of Tropicana each week.

Aside from my love affair with orange juice, I also enjoy other citrus fruits. Grapefruit is my favorite citrus fruit to eat. And yes, I do own a grapefruit knife and I do squeeze every last drop of the fruit into my mouth. Lemons and limes are essential kitchen staples for me, too. You never know when you’re going to need one.

Naturally, I was pretty excited about these Meyer lemons. I spent a while scouring Pinterest and blogs for the perfect recipe before finding a Martha Stewart recipe for Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake. As I was doing a little research on Meyer lemons, I discovered that Martha Stewart is the “godmother of this Cinderalla story” about the Meyer lemon. Don’t believe me? I found the following on NPR:

“…the popularity of Meyer lemons has soared since food and lifestyle maven Stewart began featuring them in recipes, such as her lemon-pine nut tart, whole-wheat spaghetti with arugula and pistachios, and a take on classic coffee cake with thinly sliced Meyer lemons in the batter.”

Did you catch that part at the end? Thinly sliced Meyer lemons in the coffee cake batter? That’s our recipe today. It’s famous and partially featured on NPR.

 Here are a few other Meyer lemon facts for you:

• Meyer lemons were decorative house plants in China (they are pretty, right?)
• Meyer lemons are a cross between lemons and mandarins
• The thin rind on Meyer lemons is edible and the juice lacks the tartness of a regular lemon
• The Meyer lemon is named after Frank N.Meyer, an agricultural explorer (sounds like a cool job) who traveled to Asia several times in the early 1900′s
• Meyer lemon season goes from November to March, so hurry up and find them now before they’re gone. They’re difficult to find since traditional grocers don’t often carry them. The soft rind makes them difficult and expensive to ship.

Now that you know all you need to know about Meyer lemon history, get out your KitchenAid Mixer and make this delicious coffee cake. Martha got it right with this one. It has a perfect combination of tartness and sweetness.

And while you’re making it, snack on a few a slices of Meyer lemons (rind and all). They’re absolutely delicious!