Chocolate Humor

DH:  (looking at one of my cookbooks)
Me:  Oh!  Whatcha wanta make?
DH:  (shows fudge recipe) But it takes 2 hours, I'll make it another time.
Me:  I can make some fudge frosting, it will be ready in less than five minutes.
DH:  What would I do with that?
Me:  Eat it with a spoon of course!
DH:  (rolls eyes heavenward and laughs) I should have known you were going to say that.
Minutes pass
Me:  So do you want me to go make that frosting?
DH:  Sure
Five minutes later DH is eating fudge frosting with a spoon.
Me:  See, five minutes and it's good isn't it?
DH:  Well it's not fudge, but it is good.
Me:  Not bad for five minutes.

A Ray of Spring: Mozzarella Caprese

I haven't spent much time on the Lone Star Quilt.  Though I am nearly done with the 5th blade.  Instead today I wanted to show you my little slice of heaven.  The week before Thanksgiving I discovered that while I knew my sage plant had died earlier in the summer, I did not replace it, truthfully I simply forgot.  No sage plant means no sage butter rubbed all over and in my husband's turkey.  Do you know how hard it is to find a sage plant right before Thanksgiving?  I called my local grocery store, two different home improvement stores who couldn't help me, before spending half an hour on the phone with the nicest man at a different my home improvement store who told me to call Walmart, you get the point

Of course after all that my husband finds Sage plants at Walmart.  Yes, I could have purchased cut sage but for $1 more you can have a live plant to have for next time. Of course being the man he is, he doesn't just bring home the sage plants.  He also brings home a tomato plant.  I spent 4 years in Arkansas, I know all about tomato plants.  They have an oil in their leaves which makes them stink all the time.  No one else seems to know what I'm talking about but I do not like the way the tomato plants smell.  I looked upon his new found winter hobby with distain.

Now I know, I was wrong and I'm glad I just left him alone with his little plant.  Because when he picked a fresh tomato off the stem the other day he found another fresh and ripe one behind it, and one above it too.  Oh how I love winter indoor container gardening!  No weeds and amazingly summer fresh ripe and juicy tomatoes.  If that wasn't enough DH brought home buffalo mozzarella cheese and fresh basil (yes it was the packaged kind, I don't have much luck keep Basil alive for more than a season or three - feel free to leave your tips so I can kill another plant).
I know food is hard to photograph to make it look good, but with something this fresh and wonderful I just had to try.  What do you think of my Mozzarella Caprese?  One thing I will tell you.  We ate it all gone!

Sand and Sunshine's Homemade Pizza

My Pizza Recipe:

3 cups of your choice of flour (use a little more or a bit less depending on humidity) I have found unbleached flour creates a great elasticity and I've also had good results with half whole wheat and half unbleached 

1 tablespoon of oil - I like to use olive oil

1 package of yeast aka 2 1/4 teaspoons

pinch of salt

1 cup warm water (Around 100 degrees F)

I like to combine all of my ingredients in my stand mixer and my dough hook on, but if you don't have those things you can kneed the dough by hand.  First add your water, then your yeast, now the oil and salt.  Lastly add the flour one cup at a time.  If you're feeling adventurous you can add a teaspoon of garlic powder, or perhaps a tablespoon of basil.  It's your pizza make it your own and add what you'd like. Mix until smooth and elastic. Rub dough ball with a bit of extra oil to prevent drying return it to mixing bowl and cover with a clean cloth.  While dough matures get your toppings ready.  

8 oz of mozzarella shredded

1/3 to 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce or you can pay extra for your choice of pizza sauce.

Any other toppings of your choice think in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of each depending on how much you love each topping.

If you like to preheat the oven now is the time to do it.  I generally don't preheat for pizza choosing instead to just watch my cheese, but the first time making this pizza you'll have a better idea doneness if you preheat.  You need a 375 degree F oven.  I know that's hot, but it works.  After the dough has rested for 5 or more minutes you are ready to roll it out.  Use a pizza stone or a cookie sheet.  When using a stone and making regular crust I roll the dough to the edge and then push it in from the edge 1/2" to create the crust and prevent moisture from leaking out into the oven. 

If you would like stuffed crust you will need 4 oz of block mozzarella cheese cut into long sticks, or 8 individual packages of string cheese.  Roll the pizza to the edge just like before push just a little further pushing the crust off the edge.  Use your cheese and make a circle with it at 1/2" in from the edge of the pan.  If you don't have enough to go all the way around cut come of your cheese in half lengthwise or spilt the string cheese up the middle.   Gently flip the crust edge up and over the cheese.  Now press that crust edge into the crust of the pizza.  Press the edge back into the main crust area all around.  Seal with a bit of oil.  Just dap a bit of oil on your fingers and run it over the seam.  This will prevent the cheese crust from disappearing out into the main pizza area.

When adding your sauce think one ladle scoop.  Plop the sauce into the middle of the dough and using a spoon or a ladle smooth the sauce around.  You want the sauce to cover the entire center of the pizza right up to your crust.  It should cover evenly, if you like more sauce add more.  If you have people in your house who wont eat the crust now is your chance; move some of the sauce up closer to the edges; the closer the sauce is to the edge of the pizza the more will be eaten and the less that will go to waste.

Now here is a trick.  Add just a tiny bit of the cheese.  Like an ounce.  Just a smidge over the top of the pizza.  Believe it or not I have found this anchors your toppings and prevents the cheese from coming off while you eat it.  Add whatever meat toppings that you would like.  For pepperoni I start in the approximate center with one slice and then circle out around and another circle and so on until the entire pie has evenly spaced pepperoni.  I don't care for a "Pepperoni" lovers style pizza but if you do then you will add a second layer of pepperoni after you add the rest of the cheese.  

Now that you have added all the meat toppings add the remainder of the cheese.  Be sure to cover the entire saucy area.   Now add your "cooler fixings" such as tomatoes, feta, artichokes, spinach, pineapple or whatever.  If someone doesn't like certain toppings you can define their area by adding whatever you'd like to your half.

Did you turn your oven on?  Either way it needs to be on now.  375 degrees.  Add the pizza.  It will need to cook for 25 minutes.  The cheese will tell you when it's ready.  Look for it melt into the toppings to start to turn golden.  When you have that golden cheese the pizza is ready.  

Cheese Has Melted
 but no sign of the golden cheese yet,
needs 5+ more minutes

When done remove pizza from the oven and allow to sit a minute or five.  Get the plates out, napkins, the pizza cutter and so forth.  For an extra yummy crust use a bit of stick butter and run it all over the crust.  Add grated Parmesan or Romano cheese if your not opposed to a little mess on the counter.

The key to cutting a pizza is to press down hard with the cutting wheel and move quickly.  Just like with your rotary cutter!  When cutting a round pizza, first cut directly across the center.  Give the pizza a quarter turn and cut it straight up the middle again.  Now cut the quarters in half cutting straight across again, one more time and you're all done.

DH's Garlic Butter:


1/4 Cup REAL butter
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves of pealed garlic finely chopped or pressed

In a microwave safe bowl add the butter and the garlic and melt for about 20 to 30 seconds.  Stir and serve.  If you were thinking ahead you could prep this before you cook your pizza and leave it on the stove to let the heat of the stove melt the butter into the garlic and then you wouldn't need the microwave.  Also this can be used to make a butter garlic crust, simply paint the melted garlic onto the crust.  If you don't keep a food paint brush in your kitchen a bit of clean paper towel will accomplish the same thing.

Enjoy!

When is the Love Cooked in?

I didn't sew yesterday.  I know it's a great travesty, but I was thinking about all of you anyway.  I wish you could smell the delicious chili I have in the crock pot.  I soaked the beans last night and started cooking before it was even bright this morning.  It's only 10 am and already the smell has my mouth watering.  It reminds me of a conversation I had with my daughter the other day while we were making dinner.

DD:  Mommy when do you add the love in?
Me:  ???
DD:  Everything is cooked with love so when do out the love in?

How would you answer that?  I think I told her I add it each time I add something and I add extra when I check on what I'm making.  But my answer doesn't hold a candle to her question.  I think the same applies to a quilt.  When do you sew the love in?  Is it when you're rethreading the machine for the thousandth time?  Or Perhaps when you add the label?  What about when your quilting it?  Or piecing it - perhaps dreaming of how you will quilt it?

For me I've been lucky enough to know the destiny of all the quilts I was giving away from the moment I started piecing the fabrics (sometimes sooner).  The love starts then.  Thinking about the person while cutting the fabric.  Selecting the proper thread and envisioning their face when you give them their quilt.  While piecing my quilts I feel most in touch with the fabrics involved.  It's then that I can see the quilting materialize as I work.  The hard quilts are the ones that wont talk.  :-)  Those get extra love in the form of the naughty words I call them in my head.  Oh you don't do that?  Of course.

May your quilts always have love sewn in.

Quilt-a-long: Morning Day 1

Good Morning Fellow Quilt-a-longers! This morning has me with the kitchen dishes taken care of and my crock-pot started. Okay I'm cheating a bit as I already had one of my ready made Spicy Chicken Soups frozen, it's in the crock pot on warm now melting down so I can check it a bit to make certain I wont need to add anything. I posted my Spicy Chicken Soup Recipe long ago, but as I've made some changes I'll pass those along to you along to you. Starting with chicken stock, and a pound of chicken (I never stint on the crock pot or else my family might rebel and then how would I make my easy meals?) Then in goes carrots and celery of course; sliced to whatever size you like to eat in a soup. My family doesn't much care for celery so I chop that up pretty fine.  If you like onions by all means add them too, this soup loves to be messed with.

Also add between one clove and one bulb of garlic. Seriously the amount of garlic I use varies widely depending on first how much I have on hand and two how afraid I am of getting sick of whatever is going around. Nothing is going around now, but I want to kick it up so all the cloves around the outside will do me today. Then I add the hot sauce as I have a violent bell pepper allergy I have one brand of hot sauce that I can use. It's called Frank's Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce. I add between 1 tsp and 1 tablespoon of that to taste. Perhaps it's me or maybe it's the chicken but different days seem to need more or less spice.

I try to make my stock from chicken quarters and then use chicken breasts in this recipe - cook them whole and break them into yummy bites just prior to serving.

I add any leftover noodles cut into bites (if needed) right into the bottom of the bowl so they don't end up cooked to much in my pot.

But seriously what's all this about cooking - now set the crock-pot to go and let's sew!

Quilts in waiting.

I think the most daunting task I have right now is to move all of the quilts that have been diligently awaiting the return of my computerized machine to come back from being serviced (it's been 3 or 4 times this month!) in favor of the table runner I'm making for my cousin today.

Lady Bird Post Summer Molt

Lady Bird had been going through a molt and is just starting to look a bit better, I took these of her yesterday and just had to share!

Lady Bird Cardinal

How Can You Tell...

How can you tell if a hard-boiled egg is cooked inside without opening it? Now let me preface, I can cook, at least I think I can, I don't burn dinner, and I don't get any complaints, and compliments mostly come in the form of requests for seconds, or even thirds, and of course burps.

That being said, at lunch my daughter told me when she was done she wanted an egg. That means a hard-boiled egg, and as it was her second request in two days I went ahead and started them while I made grilled cheese (have you had it with oregano?). Then we ate our lunch and I went back to my work on the "What Would you Look Like if you Where a Quilt Project," and forgot about the eggs.

My gas stove carries on like a cat in heat if something is boiling, and I have those Lifetime Pots that make the water seal. That being said the eggs didn't hold their water seal (mostly because they were ignored on med-high heat) so instead of how you would normally make eggs by bringing to a boil and then reducing the heat, I never reduced.... Okay truth be told with the water tight pots I could just turn them off and let them sit after they boil but dd always wants them faster than that...

As my thoughts turned to dinner, I'm guessing about a silent 45 minutes later (silent because I'm in the kitchen a mere 7 feet from the stove all this time!) I thought, oh I'll make pasta. Nope, can't do that I boiled all the eggs. Crud. Racing over to the eggs I can see the water had boiled down quite a bit... I added more water and took them off the heat, and I'm going to make DH eat one after dinner. Wont he be thrilled.
They do look okay. One egg has a hairline crack, but that happens sometimes. Other than that they look fine... I am not a fan of eggs. I'm sorry, I know they're great, a complete food and all, but they make me hurl, no kidding, even the smell makes me heave. So trust me the kitchen was silent and smell free. I don't really understand it.

As for the challenge, I'm missing just one fabric I think, and I need to selectively bleach one I bought already. Why in the world did I buy fabric to bleach? Well I figured it would be much to hard to find the white bleached out areas where I wanted them. So instead I found a fabric that was the proper color most everywhere...

My theme will be a single appliqué paisley, for reasons that may or may not become clear to you while I work on it, as the paisley will be on the bottom left of the quilt. I found a beautiful hand detailed heart to balance. The trouble is the heart isn't fabric, it isn't embroidery, and it isn't a pattern. Instead it's a rubber stamp. As I want the final heart to be about 18" square I doubt the stamp comes that big.

So I was working on redrawing the imagine into Illustrator when Mcafee lagged out the entire system with an update and then everything concerning Illustrator and the file I was working in vanished. I've yet to determine if that was the best path anyway so I haven't gone and dug the file (or what is left of it) out of the temporaries.

As for the eggs, aside from a bit of browning on the outside of the white that dd didn't notice they must taste fine because she ate it right up. As for the egg smell I found it trapped within the egg, as soon as I pulled the shell back…

Creating the Yum

For about a week my daughter has been wanting to make chocolate cake.  As I don't buy things of that nature, I didn't even have the supplies on hand.  Now in this house if I'm going to make chocolate cake, I'm going to make it the way we love.  Black Forest Cake otherwise known as Schwarzwälderkirschtorte.  Old friends of ours once told us it's a Southern German Recipe, but I'm not certain, perhaps you know a detail or two about this cake.  If so I'd love to hear from you.

This cake is three layers of chocolate, whipped cream, and of course cherries.  It's to tall to allow the cake taker lid seal it up so I end up sharing between 1/4 and 1/2 of it with the neighbors.  After all you can't let something this good go to waste.  Are you wishing you were one of my neighbors yet?

I know, I didn't do the best job on my icing, and hopefully the above photo shows why, just look at those layers!  I ran out of my whipped cream so when I was frosting that top part instead of doing one little Rosette at a time I zoomed to the finish hoping I had enough left to dam up the cherries on the top.

Recipe shared upon request.

Sweet Tea and Next Year's Lemons

Here get comfortable and have a glass of tea with me, while I tell you what I went through yesterday for my tea. I drink about a gallon of tea every two days. The doctors tell me this is good because of all the antioxidants in tea. Personally I just like the way it tastes. 

Here's how it goes.

2 Quarts (give or take) of hot water, heated just prior to boiling,
Add 3 family sized tea bags of Luzianne Tea (other tea like Lipton's has less tea in the bag and requires more bags which somehow seems to make the oily tea skin that I HATE)
1 cup of sugar added to the hot water
Stir
After 4 or 5 minutes remove the tea bags. (The box says 3 minutes but I'm usually to busy to get back to it that fast)
I used to fill to the top of my gallon pitcher with ice, but now I save energy by adding cold water
1 entire fresh picked fresh squeezed Meyer Lemon

Now here's where I run into trouble. The Meyer Lemon is the best part of this tea and I started adding it right about the time Rob told me that the tree was wrapping up it's season this year and I'd better hurry up and use what was there. Oh my how refreshing tea is this way!

So now it's been at least two months and I'm still picking lemons off my tree (I love my Lemon tree!) Except now the tree is working on next year's fruit, and is in full bloom, oh joy to the lemons we will have next year.

Do you know what adores citrus blooms? Honey Bees! Having lived on a farm for part of my childhood, I have a very aloof way of dealing with honeybees. I'll leave them alone and they leave me alone. It's a very good relationship this way. Except now... The tree has what I want and it has what they want... So how to grab those Lemons and leave the bees be?

These pictures are pretty aren't they? They smell good too, as just yesterday I told my friend Vicki, there was a beautiful delicate perfume in the air and how thrilled I was not to be allergic so I could enjoy the smell. But do you see that butt? That bee butt? There are really two in this photograph, but who's counting?  This tree is covered with many such butts, and for every bee butt there are 10 buzzing bees in the air. Seriously girls can't you give me just a minute with my tree?

So now that I've told my story, my darling Lady Bird has arrived with her boyfriend I'm going to enjoy their company. Would you believe they visit so often these days - every one here recognizes her on sight?

A Quilter's Cookbook

I just went over to the Quilting Gallery.  They are putting together a Quilter's Cookbook full of quilts and recipes just right for the busy distracted person in all of us.  I added my Red a White Chili, a yummy treat that I feel is truly an expression of myself.  It's a great fix it and forget it recipe. Why don't you go other there and join in the fun?

Fish or Food?

Here are the Almond Clusters. When I was photographing them they reminded me of koi. You know the really big goldfish? There is a restaurant in Orlando called Ming Court and they have huge Koi that will come completely out of the water to have a bite of the fish food that tourists can buy for change. I'm not sure if these will find their way off to the bake sale, as they might just have to say home with me.

Friday I sewed up this cute flannel top.  I'm planning matching pants with pockets on the back using the same cat fabric from the front.  I'd also like to have the cuffs in the same cat fabric, but as I only have scraps of the cat print I'm not certain I'll have enough.

Good Blogger, Bad Blogger

Seriously what makes good bloggers vs. bad bloggers? Is it our ability to stick to whatever subject that our blog is about? Because if that's the case I'd still be talking about my 2 year old and not quilting at all. Thank goodness I'm a bad blogger. Because I really like what comes out of my sewing machine. Not to mention I love it when others share a bit about themselves while sharing their choosen medium.

What sets us apart? Is it great photos? (because you're not getting any today I feel like my allergies hit me right on my honker) Is it how often we blog? Our giveaways? When I don't blog for a while I think gee "bad blogger me", yet it's our lives that make our blogs interesting...

Or perhaps it's just that it's an outlet for others like us to find each other in our own creative environments? If that's the case then I'm as happy as a lark.

I have an opps of the week. I'm certain if it was a contest I'd win this week. The Student Council at Jessica's school is having their first bake sale. I wanted to contribute (and baking sounded like fun) so I pulled out the best Sugar Cookie Recipe I have (I've perfected dozens and dozens of cookie batches - believe me or not). This time I made three batches. I was certain all of my cookies would be gone as they were especially cute pumpkins, ghosts, and leaves. Then when I was 90% baking all of them I tasted one of the first. Something was not right at all.

Jessica loved them and ate 4 the first day... But still I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong with them. Around dinner time it hit me. I FORGOT to put sugar in. Oh yes the only sugar in them is the sugar on top of them. So much for that. Rob is out buying nuts so we can make cashew clusters and peanut brittle as I'm burned out on cookies for the time being.  At least Jessica thinks they're great.

The Creation of Cooking?

Tonight we're having pot roast. I've been looking forward to making it since my husband brought home a beautiful chuck roast a couple of days ago. Today marks the first day that all of us will be home to enjoy it. While I was cutting up the root vegetables a thought occurred to me: I have no idea who the first human was to decide to mix things and eat them. No longer merely eating the same things separately, but to mix them together first. I can't think of a single thing except sometimes rice where I don't combine spices, veggies, and the like. Bless that person, man, woman, or child, whoever did it first for they have my utmost gratitude. It was the conception of cooking.

Do you have a meal that is particularly close to your heart and family? My own trademark is my Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Yeast Rolls, but that was just my pot, my leftovers, and an afternoon. My mother's seal is her pies. My mom makes wonderful whole-wheat crust pies. Yes, I'm lucky enough to have that recipe which I use often. My Grandmother, oh just the memory makes my taste buds sing, my Grandma made homemade freezer pickles. What a joy. My Papa grew the cucumbers and Grandma and Papa made the pickles together, they always tasted of summer and love. Someone else in my family would make the best German potato salad - that must have been one of the twins. I have twin Aunts, Beth and Linda. The only thing I would change is sometimes they'd put onions in it. That's fine when the onions cook down to nothing... Oh and my Aunt Jean makes cookies. While I don't have any of her recipes I do know her trick for having oodles of cookies at Christmas in all different varieties. Her home looks like a treat shop around the holidays. Everyone who learns that I'm her niece will instantly go into a trace as they tell me about her melt in your mouth Christmas cookies. Since the birth of Jessica I try to follow in her footsteps - sending cookies around here, there, and everywhere. So please tell me what is special to you, because I just might need that recipe too.

Momma-made and Jessica Helped

This is the back of a baby blanket I started for my neighbor's great niece. She is expecting a little boy in July. Perhaps it's the July due date that has me taking the time to make something. I don't know it just feels right. Like I just said this is to be the back of the quilt. On the front I'll be using the dinos you see at the top together with some cartoon style dino embroidery. I hope it will be really nice. When Jessica was little her pediatrician would always compliment me on Jessica's blankets so hopefully that bit of sweetness will be passed on as well. Yes these are charms leftover from Jessica's baby clothes quilts. This makes quilt number five made from her baby clothes. Who knew I had cut so much? My "boyish" fabrics are running thin so hopefully I'll have a slew of baby girls to make quilts for. hahaha This is the Angel food cake that nearly wasn't. I always make homemade Angel Food Cake. The yolks are saved for homemade ice cream, and the whites go to the cake. This is the only cake my daughter will eat, so I suppose it's nice that she chows through it. Excuse me I seem to be doing a bit of bird walking today.

Why this cake almost wasn't. After separating more than 8 of the required dozen eggs I broke a yolk into my whites! Eeegads. Luckily DH fished it out for me...
Then I mixed ALL of the sugar into the flour, instead of holding some back to mix in the whites (I dealt with that by beating the whites into hard shiny peaks instead of soft peaks)
Just as I was measuring out the cream of tartar I discovered I only had 1/2 tsp. but my recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp! (I handled that one with a bit of help from the Internet - it seems you can substitute lemon juice for the cream of tartar!) So I used what I had and used lemon juice for the rest (use three times the amount of lemon juice in place what your recipe called for)
At this point I'm certain my cake will fall. I don't know what that looks like I've never had a cake fall before but I dread it.
Lastly I discover that the tube pan has been put up and away for so long that it's dusty and now I have to quick wash and dry it before the eggs are whipped. I'm drying it as the preheated signal on the oven goes off. Thrilled I'm done and it's up to fate now I rush to put the cake in the oven. Except my oven racks are all wrong and I have to move them while they are hot. I hate that. I'm always afraid I will burn myself. We have strict rules about no children within a crazy huge radius when the oven is open but still...

As you can see it did not fall. Lucky me. I'm beginning to wonder if it's not really me... Maybe I just have a great recipe?

Two Bowls with one Quick Zip

I love when things work out. I've been battling an ear infection this weekend, and didn't think I'd be up to figuring out something to make for dinner when I found Garbanzo Bean Soup tucked away in my freezer. A little bit of thawing and a nice healthy meal right at my finger tips. Jessica ate two entire bowls, granted her servings are small, but hooray! She loves everything but my mac and cheese, which isn't very good anyway.

Last night I made an emergency repair on Jessica's pj's, when they had been run through the Serger a small spot missed being sewn in. No I didn't make they they were a great Clearance deal at Gymboree. They are already covered in snowflakes, but because of all the embroidery I've been putting on my sister's jeans to repair them, Jessica thought her repair should also have embroidery on it. No great sakes I have an snowflake that stitches out in 2 minutes, it matched so well you can't tell it from the screen printing that was already on the pants. It made her happy and that's what counts.

Since the Hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004 my kitchen upper level cabinets haven't had doors on them. Rob made doors for the bottoms but never made it to the tops. It's on the list of things to do and take care of, but something else always seems to come first. For a while now I have had an embroiderable tea pattern set stitched out, with no real plans in mind. Well I have decided I will make curtains with them. Nice and homey, someday we'll get around to making the glass ones I'd like but for now it will be nice. Look for those in future posts.

Bake, Quilt, and Love

Today I made binding. A real treat I know, yes, yes it says I bought it, but that's because I bought it one time and the card that held the binding was the best thing, so I just add whatever binding I need to save to bits form before. I asked DH to perhaps make me some so I could have yardage of it, someday, perhaps. The good news is that with just a bit of gentle prodding I was able to convince DH to help me baste up the blue quilt (the last one with a deadline before xmas). I'm not certain how I will be quilting it, since it's two sided and one side is on the vertical and the other is on the bias. Fun, fun, fun. Perhaps tack quilting with my sewing machine.

One of the ladies on the quilting board wanted so heart embroidery, so I will be doing that for her shortly. I took a photo of all of my embroidery threads, only for her to decide perhaps she will buy the color she'd like. Ahh well this way all of you get to see my threads.

Today was baking day. I started this afternoon with sweet bread dough (not sweetbreads, that's something completely different) and then I made a nut past to spread inside them, then rolling them up like a Jelly Roll. These are a super yummy Christmas treat in my family. We call them Kulich (call-lotch), which is strange because we've always passed it down in my family and none of us are Russian which is where my ancient cookbook claims it came from. Hey we don't make it the tradition way with the coffee cans ect. so maybe that's the difference. It was my intention to make 7 loaves this holiday. I doubled my recipe forgetting that it only makes two loaves, and then there was a thing, and another thing... So now I have four. Just four. I don't know how many I'll be sharing with the rest of the family, after all Jessica will be helping me eat it this year. It's only been in the oven for a few minutes, but already it smells like Christmas cheer.

Tomorrow Jessica goes to the doctor's office for a check up. She doesn't remember having gone in the past so this should be different...

100th Post!

Sure enough this is post number one hundred. To commemorate that event, I will share with you photos taken today of me working on the machine quilting for Jessica's Baby Clothes Quilt. Furthermore I would like to announce that the machine quilting for that aforementioned quilt is done. I just wrapped it up a few moments ago. Please note, this is me in my house when its over 90 degrees inside because I tried to burn dinner (it tasted wonderful though) so we have all the fans going. We got the stick out, but now it's hot in here and I don't want to spend the money to cool it of to turn it off for bed.

As you can see I am sporting a lovey expression in the first photo, complete with my daughter next to me supervising the work being done on her quilt. That chair isn't there for her, it's there to hold the weight of the quilt. Normally when Jessica watches she sits on the corner of the table and "helps" by holding a corner of the quilt. Perhaps not the safest place in the world, but what can I do, she's my little monkey! :)

Harvest?

Conversations around me seem to be of harvest and bringing in produce. Sure enough even dh and I shared our first home grown tomato last night. In this case it was only a cherry tomato and my half was the size of a dime but we'll take it.

My grandfather had a garden futher back than I can remember. He was always growing the best veggies, and one of the very special things about grandma and papa's house was the FREEZER PICKLES. So since I'm in a sharing mood today I will share with you the how-to's of freezer pickles.

Freezer Pickles
2 quarts unpealed cucumbers sliced (4-6 large cucumbers make a quart)
2 tablespoons salt
2 Medium onions sliced (I think she used vadalia's when she could get them)
Mix and let stand 2 hours
Make syrup of 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/2 vinegar
Boil only until sugar is melted.
Remove from heat, with coll set aside in refrigerator.

Drain cumbers and onions and squeeze out all the water. Pack into plastic containers. Pour the syrup over the pickles, cover with a lid and freeze. When I was older she used ziploc bags to take up less space in the freezer and served them up in her tupperware "pickle server".

1/2 teaspoon celery salt can be added to each container if desired.

It might sound odd but I PROMISE it's wonderful.

Yesterday's post did indeed motivate me to work on the perinatal quilts. I now have another top done and ready to quilt, this one will be either a Medium or Large Preemie, I know what an oxymoron. I have two Small preemies quilted but I'm out of the blue satin bias binding I wanted to use, so they will have to wait a little while.

I have completed the embroidery on the label for Jessica's quilt. You really have to look at it to see all the work I did. I even put french knots in the swirl centers, but the colors don't really show off my work.

I think I need my head examined because now I'm thinking of beginning the quilting for this quilt MYSELF. Yes, I'm very near committed. I'm planning on machine stitching the blocks with hand quilting for the hearts that would run up and down the boarders. I can't even begin to explain how careful I will have to be to budget my time and not over work my hand. I'm tempted to tell dh that if I start it and don't have it finished in two years he has to contact a hand quilter to finish it. A nice safety net I thought of.