The Purple Door Kitchen: February's Favorites

So I think I'm going to start recapping the awesome things that happen every month. You know, the things I'm enjoying, the things you dear people are enjoying. The highlights of the month so to speak.
I like thinking back over the month and seeing the things I've made or the stuff I've learned.
It will be fun. Let's start, shall we?

Things I am diggin' about Febrary:
-Infused ingredients.
I recently tried infused honey--Awesommmme! Cranberry Orange Honey? Newest obsession. I've been drinking tea all the time now. Not that I didn't drink tea before. But I might be averaging close to four cups of tea a day now. I also have in my possession two infused vinegars: nettle and dandelion and elderberry ginger. I haven't tried anything with them yet but I think a salad dressing with those could be monumentally amazing. And thus my infusion dreams begin. I want to try my hand at infusing everything! Olive oil, honey, vinegars, making my own extracts...this spring will hold some of these infusing adventures, I'm sure. I can't wait.

-Kitchen Volunteering.
My church eats so much food. This is not a bad thing at all. Good things happen when people get together to eat with one another. But our main kitchen volunteer is getting worn down cooking huge meals three to five times a week. So I've volunteered to cook a meal for the ministry leaders meetings every quarter to help her out. This first one was this past month and I had lots of fun. I actually spent one whole Saturday making almost 400 homemade meatballs for Italian sub sandwiches. (It was such a good Saturday, let me tell you.) I got to use the church's commercial convection oven, which is so cool! I am thinking of signing up to do a few more volunteer meals or maybe start making desserts for bible studies. I love food and I love making people happy, so I am looking forward to future kitchen volunteering times. :)

-Care Packages.
Since February is the month of Valentines, I was able to send out little packages of happy cookies to some people I love. Mainly this one and this one. Making really extensive time consuming cookies was a blast. Probably not something I want to do every month, but it was worth it. :) Word of kitchen wisdom to anyone looking for a three step program for improving relationships? Step 1: Make cookies. Heart shaped cookies work exceptionally well. Step 2: Give cookies to people you like. Step 3: Bask in the love....

Valentine's Heart Cookies for my Care Packages...

-Creperies.
I was able to finally visit a creperie this month! I've wanted to for awhile, especially since I had a Christmas Crepe Dinner Party this past year. Creperie Voila is a super cute crepe stand in downtown Seattle. They have amazing crepes that they make right there while you watch. So cool. My favorite one was the "Seasonal Crepe" which had fig and apple compote with Chevre cheese. Oh wow. I came home and immediately looked up how hard it was to raise a goat. That goat cheese was life changing, I'm serious. I've made simple crepes at home which turned out really good, but I'm planning on recreating that recipe because it is like a disco on your taste buds.

My poor instagram picture of Hipster Dude making my astoundingly delicious crepe.

My Favorite Pinterest Finds this Month:

Cupcake Art. I wish I knew whose work this is...the link is a dead end.

Rolling the Pizza Dough by Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie on Flickr. This little girl is adorable.

Strawberry Hearts Pound Cake by Go Bold with Butter. I didn't get around to making this for Valentine's Day this year, but it definitely going on the list for next! It's too cute.