Miss Muffet sat on her Tuffet!

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These two adorable cousins are our Grandchildren! Emma who is almost 6 months in this picture and Julia who turned 1, sitting on her tuffet!!

A tuffet, pouffe or hassock is a piece of furniture used as a footstool or low seat. It is distinguished from a stool by being completely covered in cloth so that no legs are visible. It is essentially a large hard cushion that may have an internal wooden frame to give it more rigidity. Wooden feet may be added to the base to give it stability, at which point it becomes a stool or a footstool. If the piece is larger, with storage space inside it, then it is generally known as an ottoman.

A couple of years ago I took a "Tuffet" class with my friend Fawn, from Myra at Northwest Quiltworks in Bellevue,Wa. We had so much fun and started making  the cutest little footstools/child's tuffet. I thought, what a perfect gift for a child! They just love to sit and have their Mom, Dad, Grandpa or Grandma read them a story. Story time was big in my children's lives, they still remember that special time. And now, I am making these tuffet's for my Grandchildren, on their first Birthday, so that they can have their own special seat for story time. Wee Bear buys three story books to complete our traditional 1st Birthday gift to our grandchildren. To date of January 2017 I have made 10 tuffets for my grandchildren and a few others as gifts. I have one more to make the end of 2017, for grand child number 11.

Pumpkin Bread

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I recently bought a new fall inspired loaf pan at Williams Sonoma and decided to bake a pumpkin bread using it. It came out beautifully and the bread stayed moist for an entire week. Great with coffee in the morning! I was a little skeptical that the batter would stick in the grooves of the pattern, but a good spray of non-stick cooking spray turned the bread out perfectly. Next time I think I would give the finished bread a dusting of powdered sugar -I think that would look pretty over the pumpkin design.

Fall Mushroom Risotto!

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  Truffled Mushroom Risotto in a Roasted Acorn Squash

                                   adapted from Karin Calloway

The first time I tried truffle was via "truffle oil". It is a beautiful oil that tastes great on popcorn, potato chips and french fries. But, it just won't do for everything. Truffle tapenade is made by blitzing a small amount of truffles into a mushroom paste and let me tell you that this is warm, and earthy in the most amazing of ways. It still makes your head feel a little funny and your nose start proposing marriage! The paste is available at specialty gourmet shops.

Mushrooms are a great substitute for meat because of their earthy flavor and meaty texture. And if you serve a good mushroom risotto, even the most ardent carnivore won’t miss the meat.

Pork Tenderloin with Port, mushroom sauce!

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This is yummy and easy, and also makes a pretty presentation. Before I share the recipe, I need to tell you, I love pork tenderloin.  But, in my experience, it usually needs seasoning, marinade, a glaze or a sauce. The flavor of pork tenderloin itself is rather neutral, so it is a nice palate for lots of adornments.  

This fabulous and impressive sauce is deep in the  flavor of Port. Wine reduction sauces are divine, however, most wine reduction sauces take patience and a little more time. I’ve tried to make this sauce as simple and as flavorful as a typical reduction sauce, but in less time. The outcome is a savory......but with a hint of sweet, flavors of shallot and intense port wine. Please let me know what you think.  I love to hear from my fellow foodies and comments are always welcome!  I’ll also be posting a few side dishes that will compliment this recipe beautifully!  Keep an eye out for those recipes in the next few days.

Spiders, Pumpkins and Spooky Ghosts!

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As Halloween quickly approaches, I have a cookie recipe to share with you. I found these cookie cutters at Williams Sonoma and decided to bake, decorate and box up in cute decorative boxes and deliver to our neighbors. These cutters are great for beginner cookie decorators (like me!) because it stamps the design on the cookie so that you know where to decorate! They have taken all the guess work out of it. Well, I suppose you could say that they have taken all the credit for the design. I haven't mustered up the courage yet to bake a batch of cookies and decorate myself, so these were perfect for me as a first attempt into the cookie decorating arena!

These cutters are exclusive to Williams Sonoma and you still might find them in stores as I did -I got mine on sale! If you would like, you can buy cookie cutters in the same shapes and just use these designs as a template to make your own from scratch. 

Glazed Apple Cider Donuts

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 Let me begin this post by saying how excited I am to share this doughnut recipe with you. What can I say? Doughnuts are exciting. They remind me of my childhood.....and my children's childhood, all fuzzy and warm with loving family.

Long story short: the doughnuts I’m sharing with you today are perfect for a child's Halloween party, a memory making activity with your children, or a gift for a neighbor or friend. Doughnuts are fun to make!

Arugula Salad with Caramelized shallots, goat cheese and candied walnuts!

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I enjoyed this hearty salad for lunch last week, and it was a triumph for the taste buds!  It was soooooo tasty! I thought I would share this salad in prelude to the Halloween Sweets, which will be featured the rest of this week!  My favorite salads have lots of different things going on: some kind of fruit, some kind of nut, some kind of cheese. And almost always a little hint of sweetness in the dressing. There’s a little bit of prep involved, but the best part is that you can do all of it in advance! So perfect for dinner too! You will be delighted at how easy each step of this salad is!