Saturday, February 14, 2009

FAM Birthday Bash 2009!!


To celebrate, the members of FAM are hosting a Birthday Bash Giveaway from February 15-21, 2009. There will be one grand prize winner who will receive about 30 handmade gifts and 10 runner ups! Visit the FAM Blog to enter! Below is the Fabric Coiled Basket that I have donated for the event! Click HERE for more details.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Coconut Banana Bread


Banana bread is one of those recipes that is a classic just as it is and, while it’s fun to tweak it every once in a while for I find that I always go back to the original. Of course, that was before I tried playing around with coconut in . I think I have a new “basic” now.

Coconut is a great inclusion in breads because it is so versatile and adds a great flavor. Shredded coconut contributes a nice texture to the bread and adds some moisture. Unlike other nut additions, coconut seems to blend better into a loaf and seem more like a part of the bread, rather than an “add-in.” Coconut milk is another way to add coconut flavor to a recipe. The flavor of it is much milder than that of shredded coconut, but it has a unique richness that carries through to the finished product. I used both types of coconut in this bread. As a result, the loaf was very moist, with a fantastic flavor and texture. The coconut breaks up the bread a little bit, making it a bit more tender than many banana breads.

Coconut and banana seem to complement each other well and, while they often appear in a sort of “tropical” pairing (cocktails, etc.), I don’t think that this bread has a tropical feel to it at all. It just tastes well put together, like it was meant to be.

I used low fat coconut milk and it worked out very well here. You can use the full fat variety or, if you really don’t have any on hand, you can try substituting regular milk or buttermilk. Plain milk or buttermilk will give you a slightly different finished flavor, but both will still work out in the recipe.

Coconut Banana Bread
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed banana (2 med-large)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven 350F and lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs until well combined, then whisk in the mashed banana, coconut milk, butter and vanilla extract. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined, making sure no streaks of flour remain. Stir in shredded coconut and pour batter out into prepared baking pan.
Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with only a few moist crumbs attached.
Turn loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Front Page Treasury on Etsy!


So my Gardenia Sea Kelp soap was in a treasury that made it to the front page on 01/24/09, so it was like 6a.m and none really saw it but it was still there! Thanks to ShannaMichele who was the curator!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

It's Here! Berry Creek Soaps is officially open in it's own shop! I have decided to put my candles on the back burner and concentrate on my soaps as that seems to be what most people are buying right now, if you have and candle needs please feel free to contact me and I can get them made for you! My candle shop is still open I however will not be adding any new items to it. We will be having a HUGE candle inventory reduction sale later this week so stay tuned!

This is our Soapsicle scented in Monkey Farts Funny name, great banana scent.
This tropical scent starts with bananas, mid notes of sweet bubblegum mixed with more subtle notes of grapefruit and berries on a base of vanilla."

They may look and smell good enough to eat, but these popsicles are actually soap! These come in a wide variety of scents and colors, and at a price you'll love, these make great gift ideas! Kids love 'em!

My kids can't get enough of these! They are so much fun in the bath and easy for them to use since they can just hold the stick and wash away. My oldest says I should market them as a back soap as he can reach to wash his back with it.

I have lots of fun soaps planned for the coming weeks so check back often, we will be adding Martini Rita soaps (shaped like a martini glass) this week, prince or princess crowns, princess wands, baby chicks, dinasours and lots more!!!