Category Archives: Hoegarden Weekends

It’s our annual “Girls Only” family weekend filled with food, crafts, spa treatments, one-handed croquet, shopping, cocktails and board games. And yes, it’s named after a beer.

March 25, 2013 · 10:11 AM

Apple Pie Moonshine

Apple Pie Moonshine - Inside NanaBread's Head

Sounds good, right? And it is. This was yet another gift from our recent Hoegarden weekend. I had bookmarked a recipe for Apple Pie Moonshine months ago with the hope of trying it some day. When we picked our ‘Lowdown Hoedown’ theme for this year’s shenanigans, it seemed like perfect timing so I fired off an e-mail to my Big Sis with the short & simple message “We should totally make this for Hoegarden!”

One of the many things I love about having four sisters is that we never have to twist arms to get someone to participate in things like this. Big Sis was all in. She agreed to source some vintage jars from Mom’s barn and take on the role of Head Moonshiner. I would act as Chief Brainstormer, equal financial partner and creative director (which put me in charge of packaging & tags).

Somewhere our relatives are nodding and saying “See, Hank… I told you they were hillbillies.”

This recipe made a lot of hooch – 7 quarts in all. Big Sis packaged it into Mason jars and I whipped up some cute tags in honor of our theme. Every good hillbilly knows the only appropriate wrapping for a jar of hooch is a brown paper bag, so we went there because our Momma taught us not to half-ass anything. Here’s how the finished jars turned out.

Apple Pie Moonshine - Packaged - Inside NanaBread's Head

This is not your typical moonshine that doubles as paint stripper. First of all, it’s not nearly as strong as traditional moonshine. Because of the cider and fruit juice, this version is slightly sweet, incredibly smooth and resembles spiked apple cider much more than paint solvent. And it is good. Really, really good.

Big Sis’s “Make Ya’ Holler” Apple Pie Moonshine
1 gallon of spiced apple cider
1 gallon of apple juice
8-10 cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 large bottle (750ml) of good vodka*
7 quart-size Mason jars with new lids

In a large stock pot, combine all ingredients EXCEPT for the vodka. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a boil. Shut off the heat and allow the mixture to cool completely. Once cooled to room temperature, stir in the vodka and ladle it into sterilized canning jars. Drop one of those used cinnamon sticks into each jar, wipe the rim of the jar with a clean damp cloth and top with a sterile canning lid & ring.

Caution: Big Sis says this stuff will knock your head off if you try it right away, and no one wants that. Instead, seal it up and let it sit for 3-4 weeks to mellow. You’ll be glad you did. When we cracked that first quart at Hoegarden, you could sip it straight from the jar it was so smooth. I think Big Sis could have a brilliant future as a moonshiner if she wanted.

Apple Pie Moonshine can be served hot or cold, as a mixer or straight up. Since it was chilly for Hoegarden and Sister #4 built a glorious fire in the fire pit, we chose to add a quart of it to a half-gallon of apple cider and serve it hot like a toddy. And it rocked that toddy. If it had been sweltering, I could picture this stirred into a pitcher of freshly brewed iced tea with fresh sliced apples. Yum.

Apple Pie Moonshine - Finished - Inside NanaBread's Head

Disclosure: Full credit for this recipe goes to Mallory Jane of Hayseed Homemakin’ blog. Mallory Jane makes hers with *everclear* (pure grain alcohol at 190 proof), which can be really expensive and hard to find. We substituted a good quality vodka, which worked really well and significantly lowered the alcohol content (to 80 proof). To see the Hayseed Homemakin’ version, click rat-cheer. Thank you, Mallory Jane, for sharing your recipe and putting the hooch in our hoedown.

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March 20, 2013 · 1:17 PM

Fun With Felt: Roadkill Rice Bags

Last weekend was our annual “ladies only” family gathering we call Hoegarden. Since it was held at my sister’s new place in the country, we decided to go with a “Lowdown Hoedown” theme. Food for the weekend included fried chicken, a pancake breakfast, fried pies and waaaay too many snacks. But my favorite thing was the gifts we all pulled together. There was Bacon Grease hand cream, Apple Pie Moonshine and Trailer Trash snack mix. Let’s just say we took full advantage of this year’s theme.

Here’s a look at one of the gifts I made. I hope you’ll take it in the spirit of fun with which it was intended. {I’m talking to you, PETA.}

Road Kill Rice Bags - Tabled

I mean, if you’ve got a boo-boo and you need a hot or cold pack, why not make them fun? Can you imagine the excitement these could cause when someone opens your freezer to find a dead cat or dog? Each is crafted from felt and filled with raw rice. They can be thrown in the freezer when you’re in need of an ice pack OR heated in the microwave for 2 minutes when you need a heating pad.

Road Kill Rice Bags - Turtle & Cat
The turtle went to Sister #5 (The Baby). She was always dragging critters home when she was little. I’m allergic to most cats, so this one is perfect for me.

Road Kill Rice Bags - Rabbit & Mole with Cactus
The mole & cactus is for Sister #4. She has a Loggerheaded Shrike (bird) in her neighborhood that’s famous for impaling moles on top of prickly pear cactus. It has been a running gag since we found the first one last Thanksgiving. Now none of us can drive through her neighborhood without slowing down at the cactus to see if the shrike has been there. Morbid, but fascinating.

Road Kill Rice Bags - Dog, Armadillo, Owl & Pig
That dog was for Sister #1 (Big Sis). Her husband won’t let them have a dog, so I took care of that for her. The armadillo was for my niece, and the little pig & owl were for the grandbabies in the group. They’ll be exposed to our twisted sense of humor soon enough, but for now they get the cute stuff.

Road Kill Rice Bags - Cardinal & Fox
My mother got this cardinal; she’s big on birds. And I love how the fox for My Baby turned out. He’s adorable, even with tire marks.

Speaking of, the tire tread marks were created with a Magic Eraser sponge. I cut three channels lengthwise to create the tire grooves, then went back with scissors and cut little notches along each channel to make them look like tire treads. From there, I dipped the sponge into a charcoal gray fabric paint and painted tire tracks across each animal’s tummy. I’m not going to lie – I could not stop laughing while I was making these.

To package them, I put a toe tag on each critter and placed them into a small black trash bag. Each bag was sealed with a twist-tie and a gift tag.

Road Kill Rice Bags - Tags

The only thing more fun than making these was the squeals and laughter when they were opened. It was hysterical. Yes, we’re kind of weird, but we also really know how to make each other laugh. Roadkill Rice Bags may not be a traditional gift, but they are all kinds of hilarious fun.

NOTE: No actual animals were harmed in the making of this roadkill.

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March 6, 2012 · 7:15 AM

DIY Craft: Zippered Cosmetic Bags

Tired of losing stuff? Need a new bag for your purse or for travel? Want to make a quick homemade gift for family or friends? Well, I have the perfect tutorial for you! Our annual “Ladies Only” family weekend is rapidly approaching so I made these for the ladies. If I can do it, so can you! Same bag; two fun patterns.

Colorful stripes or stylish black & white - both are fun!

Are you familiar with oilcloth? It’s that fabulous retro fabric used mainly to make tablecloths. It has a plastic-coated outer layer and a soft fleecy flannel lining, which makes it perfect for these little cosmetic bags. It’s durable and washable. And if you have a great fabric store in your area, you can potentially find fabulous prints, solids or stripes to work with. You will, of course, need a sewing machine with a zipper foot to create these at home but if you’ve got that, you’re half way there.

For each bag, you will need:

1 rectangle piece of oilcloth (8 1/2″ x 11″)
1 heavy-duty 7″ metal zipper in a coordinating color
thread in a coordinating color
1 6″ piece of ribbon in a coordinating color

To start, cut your oil cloth into a rectangle. I used a standard piece of printer paper as my template, since it measures 8 1/2″ x 11″.

Next, cut the rectangle in half to make two equal pieces that are 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″. You’ll also need to cut two tabs (1.5″ x 1.5″ square) for the zipper.

Using those small squares, you’ll need to stitch them on each end of the zipper. First fold one side under 1/4″ to create a finished end. Place that end up against the end of the zipper and pin into place. You’ll want to do this on both ends of the zipper, then double stitch into place.

Next, grab a side and fold one long edge under 1/4″. With the zipper closed, center the folded edge along one side of the zipper and pin it into place.

Using the zipper foot, stitch along the folded edge making sure you sew off of both ends. Also note that once you get close to the zipper, you’ll need to remove a few of the pins you just sewed over, raise the zipper foot, and unzip the zipper so that you can get past the zipper head without messing up your stitching. Don’t worry. It’s not as scary as it sounds. The pins you’ll remove to unzip the zipper will be in the area you just stitched, so it’s all good. Once you’ve stitched all the way across one side, remove the pins and do the same on the second side.

Using the same method, sew the second side of the bag along the zipper. Once both sides are stitched on, it should look like this.

Now that your two sides are stitched onto your zipper, you’re almost ready to fold it up and sew it shut. One important tip – before you do, be sure to unzip the bag half way. Otherwise, you’ll stitch your bag shut and the zipper pull will be on the inside. Unzipping that bag is going to be really difficult if the zipper pull is on the inside and the bag is sewn shut. (Live & learn, kids. Live & learn.)

So, once you’ve unzipped the zipper half way, fold the bag in half so that the “good” sides are facing each other and pin it to keep it from slipping as you sew.

Here are close-ups of the zipper ends and how they’re pinned.

See that white peeking out of the ends of the zipper? That’s what those tabs we sewed onto the ends were for. They cover that gap in the zipper so you have a nice finished edge when we’re done. I’ll show you another close-up of that in a moment. For now, start at one end of the zipper and using a 1/4″ seam allowance, sew around the three open sides of the bag. If you want, you can stitch around it twice. I just use the “back up” button on my machine and go over those top edges and the bottom corners a couple of times to reinforce them.

Here’s a close-up of those reinforced corners. Snip that corner off before you turn the bag right-side-out to get a good, crisp finished corner.

Turn the bag inside out and using a chopstick or other bluntly pointed object, gently poke the corners (top & bottom) to pop them into place. This is where you’ll be really glad you unzipped that bag halfway. Here’s a closer look at how those corners at each end of the zipper should look. It’s also a good look at how those tabs we sewed on in the beginning come into play. They really do help give a cleaner edge to the finished bag.

One last finishing touch – a ribbon as a zipper pull. It’s not necessary, but it adds a decorative touch and it does come in handy. You’ll need one piece of ribbon in a coordinating color, about 5 or 6 inches long. Fold the ribbon in half to make a 3″ length, then roll the cut ends together and poke them through the little hole in the end of the zipper pull.

Here’s another great tip – use Fray Check to seal the ends of that ribbon and keep it from unraveling. You can find it at fabric stores, and it’s worth keeping around. It really does work. If you wash the bag, retouch with Fray Check.

That’s it! Here’s a look at the finished bag.

If you’re going to use a striped oilcloth, be sure to match stripes when you sew these together. It makes a big difference in how they look once finished.

Same goes for those little tabs you sew on each end of the zipper. If you take a moment to lay all this out before you start pinning, you can even line up the stripes on those end tabs so they match as well. It takes a few more minutes of planning, but it’s worth it in the end. Sometimes, it’s the little things.

One last helpful tip. If you’re going to be making multiple bags, it goes faster if you cut each bag and lay the parts for each bag together. I also stitched all of the tabs onto the zippers before I started sewing bags together. It saved time by allowing me to just grab a zipper and go when I was ready for the next bag.

I hope you’ll jump in and try these. They’re fun to make, and don’t really take a lot of effort or time. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail. If you make them and post pictures, let me know where I can see them. I’d love to see how yours turn out.

And to my mother, sisters, nieces, daughter, granddaughter and all the ladies who’ll be coming to visit next week – surprise! You’ll be getting one of these. Feel free to call dibs on your favorite – stripes or print. They’ll be filled with swag, and they’re going to go fast.

PS – Do I need to apologize for that nail polish color? It is kind of a spastic, groady green. Sorry you had to see that. I was experimenting for St Patty’s Day. Don’t worry… it’s coming off. It’s true what they say. It’s not easy being green.

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April 13, 2011 · 7:19 AM

Playing With Your Food, Recipe #3: My Big Sister’s Rainbow Tie-Dyed Cupcakes

Big Sis's Rainbow Cupcakes. I just drooled on myself.

Big Sis made these gorgeous Rainbow Cupcakes for our Hoegarden Weekend back in March. They were so awesome, I asked if she would share her recipe on my blog. Of course, she agreed. She’s a cake lover. A lover of cake. And it shows. The inspiration for these came from Andrea’s “Can You Stay For Dinner“ blog. Substituting her own favorite white cake batter and frosting recipe, Big Sis created the perfect Rainbow Cupcake. And this week, during her visit to Casa NanaBread, she agreed to share them with you because you’re special and because we love cake. Did I say that already? I’m distracted by that photo. It’s hard to stay focused looking at that gorgeous cupcake. Here’s how she did it.

Big Sis’s “Sam Houston White Cake” batter (makes 18 cupcakes):
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
6 Wilton gel food colorings in vibrant colors, not pastel
(we used red, orange, yellow, green, blue & purple)
One package of paper cupcake liners
One recipe for awesome cake frosting (link below)
One jar of colorful sprinkles for garnish

Using a mixer, beat the butter until it is soft and creamy. Add the sugar gradually and beat until it’s nice and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until combined. In a separate bowl, blend the flour and baking powder until well combined. You can sift it if you like, but it’s not necessary. In another bowl combine the milk, water and almond extract. Starting with the flour mixture, incorporate the dry and wet ingredients alternately into the butter/sugar mixture until it’s all combined, ending with the last of the dry ingredients. Line your cupcake pans with 18 paper liners and preheat your oven to 350F.

To color your cake mix, divide the cake batter evenly into 6 bowls. Big Sis likes to wear those disposable rubber gloves for this to keep the food coloring from staining her hands. An apron’s not a bad idea, either. Using a popsicle stick or plastic spoon because the food coloring gel really will stain EVERYTHING, add 1/8 teaspoon of coloring gel to each bowl. Beat to thoroughly combine each color so you don’t get streaks in your batter. You don’t want streaks in your batter. If the color looks too dull, add a little more food coloring.

Using a spoon, add approximately one tablespoon of purple batter to each cupcake liner. If you have leftover batter, divide it and distribute it until all the batter is used. Using a clean spoon, add the blue batter to each cupcake liner, then green, then yellow, then orange, then red. You don’t need to be dainty here, but you do want to keep your batter in blobs for the best results.

Once all colors have been distributed, it’s time to swirl your batter. Grab a toothpick, bamboo skewer or chopstick and insert it into the batter. Form a figure 8 swirl through the batter to create the tie-dyed effect.

Bake one pan at a time for 15-18 minutes (depending on your oven), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Keep an eye on them. You don’t want to overbake these. Promptly remove from the oven and allow them to cool on wire racks until completely cool, at least 3-4 hours.

For the frosting, Big Sis used the “That’s the Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had” recipe by MissyDew off the Tasty Kitchen portion of The Pioneer Woman‘s website. Let me tell you, folks. They’re not kidding. This really is tremendous frosting. Click on the link to see the recipe. Generously frost each cupcake. Big Sis used a pastry bag with a nice star tip so she could pile it high. Immediately cover it with colored sprinkles so the sprinkles will stick. If you wait, the frosting will dry slightly and the sprinkles will roll off. And nothing could be more tragic than a cupcake without sprinkles. I exaggerate. But it really does make them prettier.

And that’s it, my friends. Grab a glass of cold milk and dig in. You won’t regret it. Your hips might. Your thighs might. Your jiggly upper arms might. But ignore them. You only live once. And a life without cupcakes is a life without joy.

Thanks for sharing your recipe, Big Sis. I enjoyed watching you work. The world is a groovier place with your tie-dyed rainbow cupcakes in it. Like totally.

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April 10, 2011 · 4:16 PM

Playing With Your Food, Recipe #2: Mom’s World Famous Piggy Buns

Mom's Famous Whole Wheat Piggy Buns

Sorry I’ve been absent from the blogging universe this week. My mother and two of my sisters came down to visit. It’s not that I wasn’t thinking of you, it’s just that we were busy hitting every antique shop in a 50 mile radius, stuffing ourselves at various local restaurants, and baking out the wazoo. Which brings me, in a round about way, to the first recipe from our fabulous week I want to share with you. Remember those photos I posted from our annual Hoegarden Weekend in March? One photo featured the fabulously cute piggy buns our mother made for pulled pork sandwiches. They were truly adorable until the barbecue sauce started pouring from their eyes. Then it got a little Zombieland on us. Then we laughed hysterically and ate them anyway. With gusto. This week, mom allowed me to photograph a tutorial so you can make these precious piggies in your own home. Thanks for sharing, Mom. Now, let’s make piggies!

Here’s what you’ll need:
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 packages of rapid rise instant yeast (or 1/2 teaspoon)
1 Tablespoon of gluten powder
1/4 cup of malted milk powder
1 cup of whole wheat flour
4 to 5 cups of bread flour, divided
1/4 cup of butter (1/2 a stick), softened
1 egg, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups warm tap water

Start by combining the sugar, salt, yeast, gluten, malted milk powder, whole wheat flour and 3 cups of bread flour in a large mixing bowl. I used my big KitchenAid mixer, since it’s got a big deep bowl and a bread hook. (I prefer to make the mixer do all the work. I’m lazy like that.) Using the mixer paddle, mix the dry ingredients on low speed just until combined. Add the butter, egg and water; beat on low speed until combined. Stop the mixer, scrape the sides of the bowl, and continue beating on medium speed for 5 minutes. It will be sticky.

After 5 minutes, stop the mixer and remove the paddle attachment. Replace it with the dough hook, turn mixer to low speed, and gradually add additional bread flour until the dough forms into a soft ball. Allow the mixer and dough hook to knead the dough at low speed for an additional 8-10 minutes.

Lightly flour your work surface. Scrape the dough out onto the floured surface, and gently knead the dough into a smooth, gorgeous dough ball.

Spray a large mixing bowl with cooking spray (or butter/oil it lightly) and place your dough ball in the center. Lightly spray or oil the surface of your dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean, dry towel and set aside to let it rise until doubled in size (approximately one hour).

Once your dough ball has doubled, remove the plastic wrap and using your fingertips, gently punch down the dough.

Dump it onto a lightly floured work surface and divide the dough into 24 pieces.


Tip: we used a bench scraper to divide it in half, then each half into half, etc. (like those old Faberge shampoo commercials, if you’re old enough to remember them – you’ll tell 2 friends, and they’ll tell 2 friends…).

Once you have 24 equal pieces, form each piece into a round ball.

Using a lightly floured rolling pin, flatten each ball into about a 1/4″ thick circle.

Place the circles onto baking sheets, about 1/2″ to 1″ apart. I used large insulated cookie sheets with non-stick silicone mats. I love those silicone mats. Best thing since slice bread, I think.

Now here’s the fun part: using a biscuit cutter approximately 1 1/2″ to 2″ in diameter and a fat wooden skewer, a chopstick, or a round wooden spoon handle, start to create your piggy faces. Feel free to unleash your inner arteest.

Step One: form the nose by pressing the cutter just below the imaginary center line in a full circle halfway into the dough (don’t cut all the way through!).

Step Two: turning the cutter at a 45 degree angle, cut a half circle creating a piggy smile. Pigs are so much cuter when they’re friendly, don’t you think?

Step Three: holding the cutter at a 45 degree angle, cut in each ear.

Step Four: using a fat skewer, chop stick, or the round handle of a wooden spoon, gently press in two eyes and two holes to form the snout.

If you’re wondering if you could make these 3-D, the answer is YES! Big Sis made one just to see how it would turn out. It takes a little more work to shape the dough, and you have to wet it a little to make it stick, but you can make a 3-D snout and ears for your piggy. Pretty cute, huh? Pays to be an art major… metaphorically speaking, of course.

Allow your precious piggy buns to rise an additional 15-20 minutes while your oven pre-heats to 375 degrees. You want your piggies to be portly… plump… chubby… uh, big-boned… healthy? You get the picture.

Bake one tray at a time for approximately 15-20 minutes or until your piggy buns start to turn a light, beautiful brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Did I mention these smell heavenly when they’re baking?

Once they are completely cooled, you can store them in freezer bags or containers in your refrigerator or freezer. Of course, there’s no hard and fast rule on how long they have to cool before you eat one. I can neither confirm nor deny that one of these bad boys died violently right after coming out of the oven.

But he was delicious.

These little piggy buns are cute and versatile. They make fabulous French toast, and are yummy toasted on a griddle and slathered with butter and honey or jam for breakfast. They’d make cute ham sandwiches this Easter. They make excellent pulled pork sandwich buns, as I’ve said before. And tonight, the Complete Package and I are making Squealer Burgers with them for dinner. Ever had a squealer? It’s easy. You just grind bacon into your hamburger meat, then shape and cook them like any other burger (although I don’t recommend medium rare here). Mmmm….juicy, smoky, moist. And perfect on a piggy bun.

However you choose to consume them, these little piggies are sure to be a hit. Thanks for sharing your recipe, Mom. You’re a baking rock star. Stay tuned, kids…later this week I’ll be sharing The Complete Package’s Steak Sandwiches with soy ginger mayo (to…die…for) and Big Sis’s gorgeous Rainbow Cupcakes. Better break out the yoga pants and Diet Coke right now because you’re going to want to make all of these. Fo’ shizzle.

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March 24, 2011 · 9:26 AM

Hoegarden 2011: That’s a wrap!

I learned something important at this year’s Hoegarden. I didn’t take nearly enough photos. I have no one to blame but myself. I had my camera, I just didn’t pull it out often enough. I got caught up in all the fun. For instance, we ate really well over the weekend, but I didn’t capture most of the food. I did get this photo of Friday night’s pulled pork sandwiches with Asian coleslaw and a dreamy baked potato casserole. Oh, those potatoes! It was a fabulous Friday dinner.

This little piggy went wee wee wee, all the way...well, let's not go there.

Did you notice the sandwich? It’s on a little piggy bun! Our mother made those. From scratch. They were delicious and adorable. Until BBQ sauce started oozing out of their eyes. Then it got a little horror showish. But they were still delicious! We also had a tropical couscous dish for dinner Saturday. It was a mixture of pearl couscous, grilled peppers and pineapple tossed with The Pioneer Woman’s “Aunt Trish’s Salad Dressing“. I told you I’d find another use for it! We topped the couscous with grilled shrimp and chicken, and used the rest of the dressing on a green salad with grilled halloumi cheese. Didn’t get a photo of that, either.

Rainbow Tie-Dyed Cupcakes: photo courtesy of Andrea at http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com

The biggest food photo loss, in my opinion, was getting so wrapped up in Big Sis’s tie-dyed cupcakes that all thought went out the window – except to stuff one in my face. They were rockin’ and they were gorgeous. Easily the prettiest cupcake I’ve ever eaten, and it tasted even better. Also fabulous was Mom’s coconut pound cake with pineapple and macadamia nuts. I fully intend to share that recipe with you in the near future. It’s unbelievably moist and fabulous!

To add to your disappointment, there was no one-handed croquet this year. Between the food, the board games and the manicures, we just never made it outside for croquet. It’s not like us to pass up an opportunity to play, but it never came up. For the uninitiated, we have a long-standing family tradition of setting up an extreme obstacle course croquet field, then making everyone play with a drink in one hand and their mallet in the other. If you spill your drink or get caught with an empty glass or bottle, you lose a turn. One round can take hours. It’s hysterical, especially if you’re NOT the one with the empty glass.

Here’s some of what we did manage to capture from the weekend:

There were manicures & nail polish. Lots of nail polish. Photo courtesy of Sister #3.

We played board games. Lots of board games. Ever played Dirty Minds?

The older girls got to spend time with the younger girls.

And the youngest girls got to know each other better.

Yes - we had a boy join us this year, but we didn't scar him too badly. I hope.

Most of all, we just enjoyed hanging out together.

Although I should have taken more photos, at least we had beautiful weather, great food, fruity tropical beverages, and three glorious days of quality time together. It’s not often that 12 members of any family can get together and have this much fun. It’s why I look forward to this weekend all year. Time with four generations of the girls is a rare and wonderful gift. One I truly appreciate. And now that this post is done, I’m ready to start planning Hoegarden 2012. Wahoo!

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March 23, 2011 · 12:33 PM

Hoegarden 2011: Favorite Cocktail

For two years running, our favorite Hoegarden cocktails have been Mexican Martinis and Lemon Drop Shots. While we did enjoy a few pitchers of Mexican Martinis, I wanted to try something new. Actually, I tried several new ones, but nothing blew our skirts up like the Reggae Rainbow. It’s one of those layered cocktails that needs to be prepared in a certain order to give you these lovely layers. Because of the layered effect, it works better to make them one at a time. A word of caution: this deceptively cute cocktail packs a punch, so plan accordingly. Now, let the fruity fun begin!

NanaBread’s Reggae Rainbow
(makes one)

1 cup of crushed ice
2 ounces of coconut rum
1 ounce of green melon liqueur
3-4 ounces of pineapple juice
1 ounce of grenadine

For best results, place crushed ice into a tall, skinny glass. Pour the coconut rum over the ice and allow it to settle. Slowly add the melon liqueur; it should sink to the bottom of the glass. Slowly add the pineapple juice and allow it to settle, then slowly add the grenadine. It will sink to the bottom, moving everything else up. If you want to get fancy, garnish your Reggae Rainbow with a wedge of pineapple and a maraschino cherry. And don’t forget that paper umbrella! Now go, my children…smear on some Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen, pull up a lawn chair, relax and take a trip to the eye-lahnds (Bob Marley music not included, but highly recommended). Yah, mahn.

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March 22, 2011 · 11:38 AM

Hoegarden 2011: The Shopping

Well, it’s over. I can’t believe it went by so quickly! This past weekend, four generations of family females gathered for our sixth annual Hoegarden weekend. As usual, it was three fabulous days of food, fun, mani/pedis, board games, shopping and fruity umbrella cocktails. Last year, we had snow and freezing temps as a freak storm crashed the party. This year, it was gorgeous with temps in the low 80’s, a good stiff breeze and beautiful, sunny skies. What a difference a year makes. As is our custom, we spent Saturday shopping. This year, we descended on downtown McKinney, Texas with 12 family members in a 3-car caravan. Our group included our mother, myself and my four sisters, three granddaughters and one young grandson (he was a good sport) and two toddler great-grandaughters. Our mom spawned a large brood, and we took McKinney by storm. It was a blast. Here’s a peek. Click on any photo to enlarge.

Plum Creek Primatives is loaded with antiques, gifts and unique treasures.

Friendliest shop was the Loco Cowpoke; favorite browsing goes to the antique shops.

Happiness is Quilting - it's a great fabric store, and I love this cute owl purse!

Favorite purchase: the antique typesetting drawer I hung in my sewing room

McKinney's downtown square & the family (or most of us, anyway)

To learn more about McKinney’s Main Street, visit their website at: http://www3.mckinneytexas.org/www/mainstreetdefault.aspx

Special thanks to our waiter, Ryan, at Rick’s Chophouse. Lunch was fabulous!http://www.rickschophouse.com/

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March 17, 2011 · 8:24 AM

Hoegarden is here! Hoegarden is here!

That’s right. It’s time to pack up the board games, nail polish and booze and head to north Texas for our annual “girls only” estrogen festival known as Hoegarden. Four generations of females will descend on Sister #1’s house for three days of mani/pedis, chick flicks, board games, antiquing, shameless snacking, fruity umbrella cocktails and one-handed croquet. If you’re in the area and are overrun by a large herd of boisterous females, I apologize in advance. We may be loud, but we’re a lot of fun and completely harmless. Our snark is worse than our bite, I promise. I’m out until Monday doing my girlie thang. Have a great weekend, everyone. Photos and stories to come next week, so stay tuned!

Sisters + Wax Lips + Aprons = Flo & Nadine with their daily blue plate special.

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September 20, 2010 · 1:57 PM

Apron Strings & Crafty Things

I love aprons. Old, new, retro, campy or classic…it doesn’t matter. I love them all and I actually use them; especially when I’m cooking splattery things like bacon. Aprons stir up memories of my grandmothers, my husband’s sweet granny, my mom when I was little, and Betty Crocker. They’re like a portal to my past. I have very fond kitchen memories from my youth. In 2008, my mother and I decided to make aprons as gifts for our annual Hoegarden weekend. For those new to the blog, that’s our annual “ladies only” family event held each spring. Yes, it’s named after a beer (you can read more about it in my Hoegarden blog tab). Mom and I like to collaborate on homemade gifts each year, and we wanted to make something fun but practical to share. We started this project by selecting a variety of unique fabric prints and patterns.

Hoegarden Aprons - A Fabric Sampler

Once everyone picked a fabric and a style, we went to work. For the record, my mother can sew anything. She made our clothes when we were little. She once made cheerleader uniforms for our high school (at least 10 girls, 2-3 uniforms each). She even made adult-size chicken costumes for a school play (one of which I was wearing when I had my car towed during a hail storm/tornado while I was in high school, but that’s a story for another day). She’s made curtains, shopping bags, baby gifts, pillows, etc. She can make anything, and probably has at one time or another. She has also created some amazing quilts. She’s very talented, but I’ve mentioned that before. Anyway, Mom really enjoyed this project. As she finished each apron, she would pose for a photo. She’s too cute.

Mom hams it up by modeling a few aprons

I should also clarify that I don’t usually ask my mom do all the work on these projects. It’s just that my old sewing machine died a violent death while making my first apron, so mom stepped up to help with the rest. She’s helpful like that. In the end, we (and I mean she) made ten aprons including a little pirate version for Jonah Bear, who had a “man pass” for the weekend (he was 15 months old). I made most of mine before my machine died and my daughter made her own apron (you go, girl!). Hey, I contributed the fabric and trim, along with lots of moral support, so I helped…a little bit. And now we each have a keepsake from our weekend together. One we can use and enjoy for years to come. Thanks, Mom. You saved the day again. Here’s a tribute to her lovely handiwork:

Aprons on a Fence - A Tribute to Petticoat Junction

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