This and that.......

Been doing a bit of this and that lately. Haven't been setting any records, don't really care. Having a hard time getting motivated to start certain projects but I'm not idle...….

I bought a few runner kits from Jordan's Quilts - these kits are so fun, so easy, all fabric cut precisely. They also have directions online to take a kit and make placemats so I also made 4 placemats. This set looks like winter to me so it will be put away to be brought out next winter.

This is the shawl out of handspun that was recently finished - I finally blocked it.  It's the Pretty Basic shawl pattern although I kept going on the lace section on the bottom making it much longer than the original pattern. This pattern is no longer available on Ravelry from the designer.

Yesterday I sewed this sleeveless top from some rayon I had in my stash. A very comfy and crazy summer top. Our 90 degree weather has now gone back to the 60's but it will be hot again very soon.

In the grocery pick up last week I was given way too much of certain produce, bananas being one of them.  This is not a great picture but these are incredible banana crumb muffins. I mean really good, really really good...…...but don't expect healthy, they have their share of butter and sugar. The recipe says it makes 10. Muffin pans are for 12 so not sure why it makes only 10 but they ended up huge. If anyone else makes this recipe divide up to make 12 muffins. This is what I call a saver recipe - one I will be adding to my recipe collection. It's one of the best banana muffin recipes I've tried.  You can find the recipe HERE.

And now a few pix of what's going on in the yard.....here is my little garden, it's already growing

One of the apple trees is loaded with 'baby' apples - we should have a bumper crop as long as we can keep Misty from eating them - she's already eaten 2 baby apples off the other tree pulling branches off along with them.........I was not happy.........

These are the red grapes, there are also green grapes

I didn't realize this was a lilac, it's not shaped like the ones I grew up with

And the rest of the pix are of the roses.  I have 15 rose bushes - here are 12 of them, two aren't blooming yet, the other one the picture was fuzzy.  These bushes are taller than me and are covered with hundreds of blooms. I'm thinking I should have cut them back further back in February, still learning about roses. 

A bit of wonky.....

 I've been working on the wonky stars, what fun they are to sew.....perfect for me, I don't have to be exact, I can just sew them however. I have many other colors in the works.  The purple card is the prototype as these will be our holiday cards this year...…...haven't decided if I'll put them together that way or not, will be thinking on it over the months to come. It will be great to have the piecing done ahead of time.

 Since I finished knitting the red shawl I needed something else to work on in the evenings while we watch tv. Since I'm not sure what new knitting project I want to do I pulled out my hexxies that I usually work on when riding in the car. I only have 3 more sections to stitch before I can start sewing them together.  I'll have more white hexxies to make but won't know how many until I start putting it all together.  I've still got to block the red shawl so pix will come once that happens.

A friend gave me a recipe for english muffin bread - it's really yummy, we had some this morning with butter and homemade strawberry jam.

Melt in your mouth cookies......

These cookies are not what most people think of as biscotti but they're what I grew up with in my Italian family. My Nani (grandmother) told me that Biscotti meant little cookie - not the twice baked Biscotti we all know of in the stores and bakeries........actually I never knew about the twice baked ones until around 20 years ago. These Biscotti are melt in your mouth cookies - one of my favorites. In our family they were only made for Christmas but I've been known to make them all throughout the year using different colored sprinkles, such as reds & pinks for Valentine's Day.

Biscotti

5 cups flour

3 eggs

1 cup butter

1 ½ cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1 tbs baking powder

1 tbs almond extract

1/8 tb salt
 

Sift flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into bowl. Cut butter using fingers into dry ingredients until mixture resembles a coarse cornmeal. Make a well in flour and break eggs into it. Add flavoring. Knead dough about 2 minutes or until smooth.
 

Add a little more flour, if necessary, should the dough seems too soft and sticky. If too stiff, add about 1 tbs milk or as needed. Dough should be medium soft.
 

Take a handful of dough. Roll out into an 18 inch rope, ½ inch thick. Cut into 1 ½” pieces. Place on a greased cookie sheet about 1 ½ inches apart. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes – do not let brown, bake until right before they brown. (Caution: it’s best to watch cookies after 8 minutes) Remove from oven. Cool 5 minutes and frost. Sprinkle with multi-color sprinkles. Sit to dry. Store in an air tight container.
 

Basic frosting for Biscotti

1 lb confectioners sugar

4 tbs boiling water

¼ tsp almond extract

1 tbs butter
 

Mix until smooth and spread on cookies. If frosting is too thick, add more boiling water, a little at a time. Decorate with multi-color sprinkles.
 

Note: you can substitute anise extract for almond extract. My Nani put drops of yellow food coloring in the dough – I don’t. My Nani also split the icing into two bowls and put red food coloring in one, green in the other – I don’t do this either – I like my icing white. I have fond memories of helping my Nani make the Christmas cookies each year – we usually had around 15 different kinds that came out Christmas Eve on huge silver trays. There were tins and tins of cookies that kept filling these trays throughout the holidays. These are one of my favorites – they just melt in my mouth.

 

It's that time of year........

It's the time of year for fresh cranberries. We spent the weekend on the coast where there are tons of cranberry bogs. At the Bandon grower's market there were no 'dry picked' cranberries, only 'wet picked' ones so that's what I came home with. They won't stay as long in the fridge as dry picked so I made cranberry sauce this morning.

Look at these beautiful berries - they're the size of grapes.

Here they are all cooked down with water and sugar. I got 3 containers of cranberry sauce for the freezer.

I made sure to keep out a couple cups to make some cranberry muffins since Sam requested muffins or bread. Gotta love this time of year - cranberries and pumpkin everywhere.

Been working on gifts here and there so nothing I can post to the blog. Also finished up everything for the surface design program I'm presenting this week. East coast brother arrives this week as well as a Seattle cousin and Oregon uncle - will be a busy fun week of catching up and visiting.

It's too danged hot.....

It's too danged hot to do much these days. Even winding a warp or weaving is a challenge. My studio is downstairs which is partially underground along with the garage - there's no air conditioning down there but most of the time it stays cool enough even with our hot temps in the summer but when it's continually over 100 it just can't stay cool. (separate furnace downstairs with no heat pump so no cool air)

I've been cutting fabric and serging napkins early in the day before it gets hot - a big pile of them to match the new quilted placemats at the beach and after looking in our napkin drawer here at home I realized I needed to replace the faded worn out napkins we've been using so a big pile in the works for here at home too. Fun part is that I pulled from my fabric stash, that's way too big, sitting in piles all over that room. I used many Downton Abby fabrics I bought for who knows what project......now I'll get to see those fabrics every day in the kitchen.

Yesterday afternoon two friends came over to learn how to make a 'woven' bracelet we learned how to make at guild this past spring. We each made two bracelets and ate almond cake.......with fresh strawberries.

I don't think I've posted this almond cake recipe a friend found online earlier this year. It's easy, very yummy, and doesn't make a ton of cake for those of us that don't want a ton of cake in the house.

Almond Cake

1 stick (1/4 lb) butter
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp almond extract
1 TB sliced almonds

Heat oven to 325. Grease a 8" cake pan (I still had problems with a little bit of sticking so next time I'll add parchment paper too)

Melt butter in the microwave. Wisk eggs into butter.
Add flour, sugar and extract - mix well, pour into a pan, sprinkle with almonds

Bake 45 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired (I don't do this, it's plenty sweet without it)

I'm thinking I might have to try this recipe substituting lemon extract and adding some lemon zest.

This and that.......

The day after Thanksgiving we decided to head over to the coast for a long weekend. We love to walk on the beach looking for treasures which usually amount to seaglass and small sea snail shells but occasionally we find other treasures like this huge float. It may not look big in this photo but it is and it's heavy.......and I made Sam carry it all down the beach and back, and then back up the hill to our cottage. Not sure what boat this would have come off of - way bigger than used on the local fishing boats. Fun find to put in the front yard as coastal yard art.......and hope no one snatches it while we're gone.......

I put up a tiny little tree at the beach cottage. I found this little white lit tree at Michaels. Then I took some shells and glittered them. It needs more but that's all I've got for it at the moment. I used some leftover cones from yarn to make the cone trees covering them with scrapbook paper.

Bandon and the surrounding area has many cranberry bogs. Most of the cranberries are sold to Ocean Spray for juice and are water harvested which doesn't make them good for fresh eating but at the grower's market there's usually a booth in the fall that has some handpicked cranberries. Friend Nadine sent me the recipe for the Bandon Boatworks Cranberry bread so I made a couple loaves - yum. Bandon Boatworks was a nice restaurant across the inlet from the light house, it was there for years, then closed - they served this bread on their salad bar. The building was recently bought and worked on but up for lease now - hopefully another restaurant will eventually move in - one of the best locations in town for an ocean view........we even watched otters floating on their backs eating clams from our table when dining there. Here's the super simple recipe for Bandon Boatworks Cranberry Bread.

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 TBs butter, softened
1 egg
3/4 cup orange juice
1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped (I didn't read the chopped part so mine were whole)

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and soda. With fingers, rub butter into dry ingredients. Mix together egg and orange juice. Add to dry mixture. Fold in cranberries. Turned into greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 for 70-75 minutes.

Bailey had to say hi - he had a grand time on the coast.

 

 

Oh so yummy.........

This past weekend I decided to make some pogey bait (as my friend Yvonne calls it) for the guys golf getaway on the coast next weekend. I put some of these Crazy Brownies in the freezer over there for them, some but not all, after all I/we have to try them out before Sam gives them to his buddies, don't we? These Crazy Brownies are from The Pioneer Woman's blog - very fun blog, very fun show on Food Network on Saturday mornings.  You can find the complete recipe on her blog.

First I mixed a chocolate cake mix with some evaporated milk and melted butter, then patted half of it into a pan. Then the naughtiness begins - 9 Reese's peanut butter cups get laid on top of the cake mix - hmm, 9 of them, there are 2 in a package, guess that means I popped the leftover in my mouth -yum.

Next I unwrapped 16 Rolo's and placed them in-between the peanut butter cups......well, actually I probably unwrapped 20 and popped the extras in my mouth - yum again.

The original recipe calls for chopped nuts and a sprinkling of salt. I love nuts but not in my baked goods so I broke up pretzel sticks and threw those in the open spaces. And then topped it all with mini M&M's - I think the recipe calls for regular M&M's but I think the mini's are so cute.  Of course you know I ate some pretzels and M&M's - yum again.

Next the rest of the cake mixture gets patted out and placed on top ready to pop in the oven. Now the hard part comes - in order to cut this baby you need to place it in the fridge for a few hours after it cools down..........good thing I was devouring taste testing those ingredients as putting it together since I wouldn't get to try it until the following day.

And here's the final results - oh my gosh, how yummy, deliciously scrumptious these are. I can't even begin to imagine how many calories are in them and I'm not about to calculate it. Each bite brings a taste of chocolate, peanut butter, caramel and pretzels - all my favorites. I cut them into 16 brownies - next time I will cut them into 20 as they're pretty jam packed with rich deliciousness. I'm definitely making these to take to my spinning group soon. Good thing most of these are in the freezer over on the coast for the guys........and I will not be within quick driving distance......and I have no interest in barging in on the guys getaway golf extravaganza no matter how yummy these are.

Yum

Yum - this is what was for breakfast this morning - not the usual fare in this house where it is a choice between oatmeal, cold cereal, yogurt/fruit or bagels which are the special breakfast we have when on the coast.  There are no eggs made in this house, no french toast, no frittatas, no quiche - I have an egg allergy. I can handle a bit of egg in baked goods but too much and my throat will close up. I had this mix in the pantry from when I bought a few things from a Tastefully Simple party.....I didn't attend the party but my cousin in Michigan was hosting one so I ordered to help boost her party sales. All that's needed is a cup of water to make the muffins themselves - good thing no eggs needed as I rarely have them in the house.  The topping did require melted butter, box called for 1 stick, way too much, have lots left, if I had another box of this I'd use a half stick. Sugar high at the moment......hoping I don't crash in an hour or so.

Cupcakes

Not feeling like doing much other than the mundane chores that had to be done I thought something fun was in order - psychedelic cupcakes to share with my spinning peeps tomorrow. And if you want to make these crazy fun cupcakes yourself just buy a package of neon food colors and a white cake mix. After mixing it I divided it up into 4 bowls and added the food coloring to each bowl........of course I just eyeballed it and had very little purple. Then plop a little bit of the first color in the bottom of the muffin cups, followed by the next, next and next......

Usually I'd put fun flower shaped (flower child era) sprinkles on them but I had bought a package of glitter gel icing décor. I tried to make nice little polka dots but the gel wasn't cooperating, sometimes it would come out watery, sometimes a thick gel........so don't buy that stuff, just stick with sprinkles.

Now off to deal with more laundry and maybe get some time in at the inkle loom.

Warm bread from the oven....

Yes, I know, I said last weekend that I don't bake often and here I am baking for the 3rd time in a week. My aunt, Sandra, in Montana found out about a no-knead bread technique using a cast iron dutch oven. She told me, I ignored it for months but she told my cousin Jim who made it and sent a loaf home with Sam, yummy enough that I had to give in. So, off to buy the dutch oven - argh - where to store it! But I got one, enameled so it's easy to clean but it doesn't have to be enameled. My first attempt didn't turn out, my yeast was so old it was dead. Tried again mixing up the dough last night taking less than 5 minutes. Let it sit for 18 hours, turned it out, let it rise for 2 hours and into a hot dutch oven to bake.

It didn't double in the rising process like the instructions said it would but it's a great loaf of bread none the less. It's super crusty and has holes throughout. You can see I already ripped a chunk off to give it a try. This may have been a bad thing to learn about......

I haven't bought the book yet but the title is My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method  by Jim Lahey

being creative???

Is baking colorful cupcakes being creative???  Maybe not but they're fun. I thought about adding the neon food coloring to the icing too but then decided I wanted the inside to be a surprise at spinning tomorrow. And did you know they have premade icing in tubes that has sparkles in it? I didn't buy any but it was tempting. Since I had to cut this cupcake open to see how it turned out I was forced to eat it......   Now off to ply those two 8oz bobbins of merino/tussah.

Yum

I'm not very into baking, which always disappointed my grandmother - I do like to cook though. Today I baked some cookies from a mix from the Butte Creek Mill in our area - it's oatmeal, dark chocolate and dried cranberries - double yum! I try to get there a couple times a year to stock up on oatmeal, cornbread mix (it's got a very crunchy texture) and a few other fun items, this is the first time I bought a cookie mix. They do have online shopping......