Cherub Makeover for Valentine's Day

 

Here's one of the cherubs with a makeover, in the box that my sweet hubby made from old barn wood. 

 

 

 

When I visited Ross, several weeks after Christmas, these cherubs were on clearance. Here they are before their makeover. The shiny, silver finish just wasn't quite what I wanted.    However, I thought, why not paint them? 

Here they are after a spray paint of flat white.  I didn't want to buy anything for this project, but used what I had.  I put the little darlings in a box to cut down on spray residue and sprayed outside.

 

After the white dried, I used a small sponge brush and some leftover latex paint, in a dark sage color, and just dabbed it on in spots and wiped with a paper towel to blend.

For the final touch, I used some Rub 'n Buff in Spanish copper, because that's what I had. I used this sparingly and just rubbed it on here and there.  

I kind of like the way they turned out. 

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Dried Cherry and Chocolate Chip ❤ Scones

 

I love scones and wanted to make a chocolate cherry version.  I  found this recipe at Epicurious and here's my adapted version.  Maybe you'd like to make some for your sweetheart this Valentine's Day?

• 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, diced
• 1 teaspoon (packed) grated orange peel (I omitted)
• 3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (I only used 1/2 cup)
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried tart cherries
• 2/3 cup chilled buttermilk (I used  2 1/2 T. powdered buttermilk and 2/3 cup cold water)
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

• Milk (for glaze)

 

Butter and flour baking sheet.

 

Whisk 2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Add butter and grated orange peel; rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Mix in chocolate chips and dried cherries. Whisk buttermilk, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract in small bowl to blend. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients; stir with fork until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Press out dough on lightly floured surface to 3/4-inch thickness. Using 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out scones. Gather scraps, press out dough and cut out additional scones. Transfer to baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)

 

Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush scones lightly with milk; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar (I used red colored sugar). Bake until scones are crusty on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15 minutes (or up to 20 minutes if refrigerated). Serve warm or at room temperature

Can you guess what my fabric is from?? 

 It's a nightgown from Target!!

  Yes, I even wear and dream about tea and food!!

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Sausage Soup

For my kitchen Valentine table, I made this topper which has vintage Valentine's printed on the fabric. 

Here's a close-up of one of the designs.  Isn't this sweet?

The heart bowls were purchased at JoAnn's last year.  Red flatware is from Homegoods.  I used my English Countryside plates. 

I used my hurricane from Target that is filled with conversation hearts and topped with a heart-shaped candle.

I had been wanting to make a sausage soup ever since our waiter at the Tupelo Honey Cafe' mentioned that it was one of his favorites.  I checked some online and finally put one together with things that we like.  It turned out to be a fairly quick, yet very flavorful soup.  It's a new favorite and perfect for a wintry meal!!

1 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cup diced carrots
1 lb. Italian sausage (I used Italian chicken sausage)
4 cloves garlic, minced
a sprinkle of crushed red pepper
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. oregano
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Great Northern beans, drained
1 qt. chicken broth
2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
Parmesan cheese, for serving

Cook onion and carrots in hot oil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the sausage and garlic and breaking up the sausage, cook until it is no longer pink. Add the  crushed red pepper, basil, oregano, diced tomatoes, beans and broth.  Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Uncover, add the spinach and cook for an additional minute. 

Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

NOTE:  Tiny, cooked pasta would be wonderful in this, too!   Just make sure that you cook the pasta separately from the soup in order that it doesn't get soggy.

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