Last year when my son turned three, he shared his birthday party with two of his pals whose birthdays fell in the same week. I like to bake, so I volunteered to make the cake. I asked the other moms what their sons wanted as a party theme. One boy wanted a rocket ship birthday, another wanted Veggie Tales, and my son just wanted everything green. Boy was I sorry I asked! Then, to top it off, one of the other moms (a hen who shall remain nameless) said she thought fondant would look nice on the cake. GULP! I had never done, nor wanted to do, fondant. It’s beautiful, and if you watch an expert do it fondant looks as easy as pie, but in real life I doubted that. It is available for purchase in craft stores, but it’s expensive and many reviews say it tastes awful. But, always ready for a challenge, I started some research. True fondant takes several ingredients you may not have on hand: glycerine, corn syrup and unflavored gelatin come to mind. But I found a recipe that replaces those ingredients with something easy to work with and inexpensive to buy: mini marshmallows. The recipe I originally used was from a website called Fondant Making 101 by Peggy Weaver but some of my technique was borrowed from a Youtube video by a woman named Amber. I recommend both sites for more information.  By the way, the picture above is our final product, a green, Veggie Tales-piloted rocket to the moon. And it tasted great, too!  Read the rest of the story...

Here at Five Hens, we are on a Thanksgiving recipe kick. I’m certainly getting some great ideas, and I hope you are, too! This is my recipe for Eggnog Pumpkin Pie, the BEST pumpkin pie I’ve ever had (and I’ve done some research, believe me). I got this recipe a few years ago from Morning Fresh Dairy, an all natural, local dairy that provides products to people in Northern Colorado. It is a rich, flavorful pumpkin pie that will wow your Thanksgiving guests. They’ll never guess how easy it is to make!

Eggnog Pumpkin Pie  Read the rest of the story...

My son came home with his first hand-shaped turkey last week, so I knew it was time to take down the Jack-O-Lanterns and get out the cookbooks. My husband and I are hosting the meal again this year and we always have a good time planning a meal for about 16 people. Both my family and my husband’s get together this one day of the year, and we all have a good time together despite the broad sweep of political and religious ideas (everybody is always on good behavior!) But this year I have a new challenge: My in-laws are all very gourmet and like to try exotic new recipes. On the other hand, my dad (who has never liked exotic food) had a heart attack over the summer and is on a very low sodium diet. Argh! How can I make everybody happy?  Read the rest of the story...