another employee here at the home office shared this recipe - her all time favorite, which is her mom’s banana bread recipe. it is affectionately titled “meeshie’s banana bread” (her name is michele, nicknamed meeshie).
meeshie's banana bread
1/2 cup soft butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 or 4 medium bananas)
1 tbsp milk
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
in a large bowl cream butter, vanilla, and sugar until light and fluffy. beat in eggs. in a separate bowl mash together bananas and milk. in yet another bowl combine remaining dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda). blend dry ingredients into creamed mixture alternately with the bananas.
for bread fill greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. bake on 350 for 1 hr 10 mins.
for muffins fill cupcake wrappers 2/3rds to 3/4ths the way up. bake on 350 for 18-22 mins. (makes about 24 muffins)
let cool ten minutes then turn out of pans and let cool completely.
directions:
- In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
- heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. brown on both sides and serve hot.
hi all,
one of our planners thought you may like to try your hand at making her apple dumplings! here's the recipe below...
dumpling pastry:
4 cups flour
2 cups shortening
1 cup ice cold water
1 teaspoon salt
4 large apples, peeled and cored
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon **NOTE: she indicates in her recipe that it says to spoon in 1 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon - yet the total cinnamon amount in the ingredients list is 2 tsp. so she only put in 1/2 tsp for each of the apples to equal 2 tsp...
preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
lightly grease a cake pan.
prepare dumpling pastry. roll the pastry into a rectangle, 10 by 8 inches. cut into 4 (4-inch squares) with pastry cutter or knife. place apple on each square. spoon 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon into the center of each apple. moisten corners, pinching edges of pastry to seal. brush with slightly beaten egg and sprinkle with additional sugar. bake 30 minutes or until crust is golden and apples are tender.
i missed out when she brought them into work, but the consensus is/was they were delicious!!!!!
before my friends' and my spiritual reading (!), we decided to get some breakfast...i haven't been to morning glory in a long, long time. but it's just as good every time i go. this was our server...kind of a character, but super nice.
close-up of my southern frittata - incredible. full of sausage and okra and goodness knows what...
and look at - even a straight-up scrambled egg looks delicous. (the biscuits are killer)
sam's morning glory diner. 10th and fitzwater. get there early...
kris chau has been on our blog many times, but she and fellow illustrator hawk krall were featured in philly's local city paper...wanted to share it with y'all. they collaborate on a blog - drawing for food - that is awesome and if you want to know about what's good eats in philly it is even more awesome.
our president meg shared some of her famous zucchini bread with the folks here at the home office and left copies of the recipe for all of us, too.
this one was made with zucchinis from her husband's garden. look at those things...
delicious.
make one at home for your friends and fam!
don't worry...it's transcribed for you below. :)
zucchini (nut bread)
blend together:
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
mix in: 1/2 cup vegetable oil
mix together all dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
mix all wet and dry ingredients together.
place in greased loaf pan.
bake in 325-degree oven for 55-60 min.
cool in pan 10 min. remove from pan, cool thoroughly.
wrap in foil.
note: tastes better after sitting a day. may be frozen for later consumption.
my brother and his partner, who live one of my many dream lives, spend 3 months out of the year here in philadelphia with family and the rest of the year in their home in hawaii. they, among other things, are local beekeepers. before they left this year, they harvested the hives and left me with a jar of local, organic honey. you can see the difference between the smaller jar of honey that was harvested here, and the darker honey from hawaii. apparently, when done organically, the color depends on the flowers the bees choose to collect pollen. check out their website to learn more about organic, biodynamic honey. i’d like to learn how to keep bees eventually when I have some space, but for now i’ll enjoy these gifts from them. wanted to give them some love for the cool things they are doing. xo.
a few interesting notes about honey and beekeeping…
1. it is said that eating local honey can help prevent and tame outside allergies.
2. there are said to be 212,000 beekeepers in the US, and about 95% of them are hobbyists.
3. the white house vegetable garden is home to a hive.
there's an awesome restaurant in center city, philly - the noble american cookery.
which i've heard nothing but good things about. rooftop herb garden, all local/seasonal foods...
our knits designer chau went there shortly after they opened...read about her experience at her cool blog, drawingforfood.blogspot.com.
How pretty is the birthday cake Tai Shan got for his birthday?! It's that lovely pink color because one of the main ingredients in it is shredded beets! The only other ingredients were ice, beet juice, and bamboo. What a cake!
These colorful eclairs are from the super-fancy Parisian shop Fauchon! I would be interested to eat one with frosting looking like peas and carrots, though it might be a shame to destroy such a carefully made confection!
How delicious do these chocolate banana pops look?! I'm getting ready to try and make some! Katie Goodman has a really simple recipe for them Craftzine that I'm going to use! Hooray for cold chocolate banana treats!
These little brownie burgers and sugar cookie fries are so adorable! And tasty looking! Bakerella has a fantastic tutorial that you should definitely check out if you're in a baking mood! She even has templates to create the tray and french fry holder! I can't wait to try it out, maybe this weekend!
These fancy cupcakes were photographed by Therese Aldgard and styled by Lisa Edsalv. They were reportedly inspired by Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin and Betsey Johnson, but I couldn't find any shots of the Betsey Johnson ones, rather I found the Agent Provocateur cupcakes on Lisa's site. So perhaps my source had it mixed up! At any rate, I would love to have a print of one of these photos! The Chanel or Louboutin shots especially would spruce my apartment right up! After these and the fashion lollipops, I wonder what kind of fashion foods are next!
One of Design*Sponge's guest bloggers, (I can't figure out who,) made these adorable sheep crackers at home! Aren't they totally awesome?! She was kind enough to post a how-to as well, be sure to check it out!
Elsie Marley made these delicious looking carrot cake cookies using this recipe, which I am really excited to try! Apparently when Elsie made these cookies they got eaten right up, and no surprise - just looking at them is making my mouth water...
Yum! This Butterless Almond Cake that Angry Chicken made the other day looks like the perfect breakfast. The recipe she used looks really easy too - almond paste, sugar, flour, eggs, and a pinch of salt - simple, and yummy! I can't wait to try it!
I can almost taste these little candy sushis right now! Yum! Mommyknows originally created these for her daughter's birthday party as both a craft activity and the party favors - but I think they would be a fun activity (not to mention fun to eat) any time! Plus they look really cute! Check out her candy sushi how-to to make your own tasty set!
It's almost time for Easter, which means it's time to eat Peeps! Yum!
The Chicago Tribune has a neat slideshow of the Peeps factory that I enjoyed - you can check it out here. See a few of the shots below! (I found the cool swordfighting Peeps picture here.)
Peeps without sugar-coating look a little bit scary!
Yum...
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on March 31, 2009 11:22 AM
I know I've already talked about sushi a few times lately, but I totally love this pillow! Who knew shrimp could look so darn comfy?! See the sushi pillow on it's own site here, and explore it a little bit to see other kinds of sushi as pillows! Hehe!
These Anti-Theft Lunch Bags make me laugh! The mold is totally believable too! When I first saw these pictures I wondered for a moment- what is this picture of a moldy sandwich? Even if your lunch isn't under attack, these would still be fun to have around for a gag!
I adore this cake that Brooke over at Inchmark made for her daughter's birthday. It's so cute- the polka dots really make it! I wasn't really sure how she made the dots, but it turns out that they are edible! They're made of frosting, and happily, she tells how to make your own cake dots right here on Inchmark! This might just make me a tiny bit excited for my upcoming birthday...
Hint:
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on February 2, 2009 5:08 PM
Can you believe this cake? It made me do a double-take! The sushi decorations look so real! I spotted it on We Heart It, and then discovered it was made by a local Philadelphia bakery, Whipped Bakeshop. Whipped Bakeshop were also the creators of the wedding cake for Betsey Ross & Ben Franklin's wedding this past Independence Day. You can see it below, it was really festive!
While we're talking baked goods - this morning I wandered into the Free People kitchen and saw these cute little reindeer cupcakes! Yum! Our Office Coordinator, Lindsay, actually didn't make them for a holiday celebration, but for our Assistant to the President, Carol, whose birthday is tomorrow! Regardless, they are practically too sweet to eat!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on December 22, 2008 9:22 AM
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I had a fabulous one, with friends and fun, and of course, plenty of delicious food! We did not, however, have these cute carrot flowers! Yum! They would make about any dish using carrots look a bit more special! I saw them on The Kitchn - for real simple step-by-step instructions, click here!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on November 28, 2008 10:49 AM
Check out these awesome landscapes, made and photographed by artist Carl Warner! They are created entirely with food!
The castle is made of cheese, and the wagon wheels are mushrooms! I bet you can pick out the rest!
I love those rock-potatoes! And corn cornfields!
Mmmm.... Bread mountains.
Here is the artist at work on one of his creations!
You can see a bunch more of Carl's foodscapes right here! Special thanks to FP girl Lisa, who emailed us to make sure we saw these! Thank you so much Lisa! Great eye!
If you ever see something awesome that you think we should feature on the blog, please always feel free to contact us and suggest it! We love to hear from you! Email us anytime at blog.freepeople@gmail.com!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on November 24, 2008 5:43 PM
Made of 20% dark, 10% white, and 70% milk chocolate, all I can say is YUM! Visit Mary and Matt's general store to get your hands on this deliciousness.
I love these photos by Matthew Carden with little people figurines depicted living and working among different foods. Carden is a commercial food photographer and married to a chef. I can't explain the work much better than what's on the site, so check out the description below.
"Carden sets out in his art work to make viewers more aware of what they eat and to simply think about food as an integral part of our world. His photographs juxtapose figures with seemingly colossal broccoli, macaroons, chicken wings and the like, and speak of abundance and the ultimate waste produced on a daily basis in our land of plenty. Despite looming issues, the blurry, dreamy quality of Carden's work allows the viewer a whimsical space to enjoy the pure pleasures of food. Carden sets out in his art work to make viewers more aware of what they eat and to simply think about food as an integral part of our world. His photographs juxtapose figures with seemingly colossal broccoli, macaroons, chicken wings and the like, and speak of abundance and the ultimate waste produced on a daily basis in our land of plenty. Despite looming issues, the blurry, dreamy quality of Carden's work allows the viewer a whimsical space to enjoy the pure pleasures of food."
Heidi over on My Paper Crane made these amazing gingerbread skeleton cookies. They look so cute and delicious. The recipe is vegan and can be found on ChooseVeg.com.
I saw these on Kiosk, and I just love the seller/creator's description about them... Clear lollis made in the traditional way with a candy mold, molds which are 100 years old; the maker has a collection of 300 of them. How fast your pour the lollis determines how clear they will be, clearness = perfection.
Colors: clear, red and green. The tradition was brought to America by German immigrants who historically produced them at Christmas, hanging the little ones in the tree.
We chose these forms to represent Massachusetts, the state we focused on for this first collection: windjammer boat = boat = the Mayflower, bear = black bears = the Berkshires, squirrel = the famous black squirrels of Westfield. Flavor = Sugar Beauty = 100%!
Haha! I love it! I want to see what molds they will pick for the rest of the states for sure!
If you want to possess these tasty suckers for yourself, visit their spot on Kiosk.
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 14, 2008 11:30 AM
Today at the home office we had our booking meeting, and to go along with the trends we were featuring, we got some adorable (and very tasty) mushroom-shaped cookies!
Looks like everyone enjoyed them very much!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 2, 2008 2:11 PM
Yum! They look so pretty though, I almost wouldn't be able to eat one if I had it!
These cupcakes, or rather, cuppacakes, are created by Wondermilk Bakery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. All these gorgeous pictures are from their site. Bloesem recently visited their actual shop in Kuala Lumpur, which looks so awesome! Be sure to check out her post here for some cool pictures of the store!
Looks like my own chances of visiting Wondermilk at home are pretty slim - but now I have some pretty sweet cupcake decorating ideas!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on August 26, 2008 11:01 AM
Yes, jam. Coolhunting made this video with June Taylor, a preserve maker in Berkley, CA. First of all, I love that they profiled her and put her in the mix with all the hip, hot artists and designers they are usually feature. Second, the process and her enthusiasm is fascinating. I love to see anyone that loves their work and puts as much effort, thought and design into what they are doing as any great artist would.
mmmm jam.
Please check out June Taylor's website. There is a Michel Gondry-style video she made about her jams.
I hate going to the grocery store and putting my tomatoes in one plastic bag, avocado in another, and broccoli in yet another. I need to start bringing some reusable produce bags! You can buy the one pictured from lima bean home on etsy, make your own, or even use your Free People muslin shopping bags.
Yesterday we did an employee profile on Sara, our Web Production Assistant, and found out that one of her hobbies is cooking! So today, Sara has shared with us one of her favorite recipes, which aside from being easy to try on your own, is sure to hit the spot if you like chicken!
Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Thyme
You Will Need:
1 Roasting Chicken (5-6 lbs)
Salt
Black Pepper
1 large bunch of fresh thyme (some for inside the chicken, some will get tossed with the veggies)
1 lemon (cut in half)
A few cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 tablespoons of butter (melted)
Olive Oil
Vegetables - 1 large yellow onion, 1 bulb of fennel cut into wedges, 4 carrots cut into 2 inch pieces
You can also add various veggies to your taste! Some suggestions include squash, zucchini, broccoli - any veggies you like, as they will all roast in the bottom of the pan.
To Begin:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Remove the chicken giblets.
Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat dry.
Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.
Stuff the chicken with a bunch of thyme, the lemon cut in half, and all the chopped garlic.
Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper.
Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
Place the onions, carrots, and fennel and veggies in a roasting pan.
Toss with salt, pepper, some sprigs of thyme, and olive oil.
Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.
Remove the chicken and vegetables to a plate and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes.
Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.
So tasty and easy to make!
Here is a picture of the finished product from the last time Sara made this dish, for her mother!
Check out this amazing beagle birthday cake that Jill (the Training Manager at the Customer Service Call Center) received for her birthday. It was actually made by her husband Pablo, who works in the South Carolina fulfillment center where all Free People orders are shipped from. Pretty impressive. The design was likely inspired by Pablo and Jill’s dog Baylee, who they found roaming around the woods near the South Carolina facility. The beagle and doghouse are made of marshmallows!
A Free People coworker introduced me to this blog Dirty Sugar Cookies (thanks Heather!) and I just think it's hilarious. You may know Ayun Halliday from her monthly columns in Bust or her quarterly zine, East Village Inky. But it turns out she has some culinary skills and a few books under her belt as well. I like that she posts random photos loosely connected to the recipe she's presenting, and her "borscht on tumeric" color scheme truly burns your eyes.
