The pastries are coming! The pastries are coming!

What a difference a letter makes. Like a bit of cream filling, local illustrator and graphic designer Craig Nordeen inserted an "s" into the word "patriotic" to come up with "pastriotic." That led to a planned series of patriotic scenes depicting a historical aspect of each of the 50 states — rendered in pastries. Thus we have Mount Rushmore swirled into a pie's lofty meringue, or long johns and doughnut holes raising a fork reminiscent of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima. The images are printed on T-shirts in a variety of styles, which may be ordered on www.pastriotic.com. As Nordeen notes: "Americans are a pastriotic people. Talk not of a nation's backbone. Its beating heart. The eagle eye. Rather, let the belly swell with pride, for it reveals the contours of a nation and its people."

Creative ideas for kids

Kids starting to get a little bored? A new line of Betty Crocker cookie mixes may help. Each package of Betty Crocker Create 'N' Bake Cookie Mix includes two colors of cookie dough so bakers can make faces, pinwheels or whatever design strikes their fancy. Flavors are Strawberry Sundae, Chocolate Banana and Cake and Ice Cream. They're due in stores this month for a suggested retail price of $2.59.

Creative ideas for adults

Adults starting to get a little bored? The creativity ante gets upped with "Modern Art Desserts" by Caitlin Freeman (Ten Speed Press, $25). Freeman, longtime owner of Miette, a bake shop in San Francisco, takes 27 iconic works of art by Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon, Henri Matisse, Cindy Sherman and more and re-creates them (loosely, it must be said in some cases) as cakes and pastries. Her loaf cake that when sliced reveals Mondrian's cubes of primary color is striking, her Warhol Gelée inspired by Elizabeth Taylor is a leap of imagination. Most projects appear to take a whole day. Still, we trust that her recipes, whether for cake, buttercream or lemon curd are pretty good, no matter how you choose to assemble the results.

JonnyPops hitting the big time

The young men behind the frozen treat called JonnyPops are having a heckuva year. They'll be part of the Minnesota State Fair in August, have been selling "frozen goodness" from a cart in front of Orchestra Hall during concerts this summer, and made it into the freezer compartments of premium supermarkets Lunds and Byerly's. Not bad for a business begun in 2011 by four students at St. Olaf College in Northfield. JonnyPops are named for a friend who came up with the idea of making a frozen pop using only real ingredients such as fruit, cream and cane sugar, Tragically, he died of a drug overdose soon afterward, hence their practice of donating a portion of their proceeds to the Hazelden Foundation. JonnyPops are made without artificial flavors, dyes, fillers, high-fructose corn syrup or preservatives. Flavors are Choco Latte, Summer Strawberry, Coconut Pineapple Paradise and Merry Mountain Berry. Cool detail: Each wooden stick reveals a good deed that they encourage people to follow and model, such as "Recycle a soda can" or "Hold a door for a stranger." More info at www.jonnypops.com.

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