LSS

Kitchen Catch Up

2011-10-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

So here's some of what happened since I last posted.

The floors got refinished in the entire downstairs.

Which meant that the furniture all got piled up in the family room, the only carpeted room. This picture is taken from the doorway because you couldn't get in to the room!

Then, finally, the cabinets went in.

Followed by the counter - Laurent Brown marble. Yum.

Here's the sink and faucet.

And the almost entirely finished kitchen. The back splash is white. The LED lights make it look blue in this night shot. It doesn't look like that in person.

Next time, the rest of the story. . . Mina.

The Disaster Zone continues

2011-06-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

The ceiling in the breakfast area and the kitchen were two different heights, so they both had to come down. The good news is that the plumbing that had to be moved was more easily routed through the ceiling. The water pressure in the bathroom is better now, too. But there's also quite a mess in the laundry room now from streamlining the gas lines and moving the water lines, which required putting some holes in the ceiling.

Electric is next, I think. Then floors Thursday.

We also bought knobs for the cabinets today.

Day Two

2011-05-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday they bricked up the window. We also went to tag our marble slab, which was an annoying and potentially more expensive trip. We'll see. Monday they take out the interior wall.

So far meals have included leftovers, Thai take out, BBQ lunch out, grilled hot dogs, and steak and potatoes on the grill.

Demolition Has Begun

2011-05-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

The guys came today. I think they got a lot done. Tomorrow they are coming to brick up the window from the outside.

Making Progress - 31 weeks, 6 to go

2011-05-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

The nursery has been patched and painted.

Some sewing projects are done, like the pillow, a new dog bed, and the picture frames:

but not the curtains or crib skirt. Once the curtain rods are hung, which can't happen until the guest room is cleaned out, which couldn't happen until the room was painted. then I can do those. It's all starting to come together...

Atomic Cake

2011-04-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

For LBK's birthday, he requested an Atomic Cake. Apparently it's a Southside specialty. I hadn't heard of it until earlier this year. It's a 3 layer cake, one each of banana, chocolate and yellow cake, filled with pudding or ppastry cream, bananas, strawberries and whipped cream, then topped with more whipped cream. It makes a huge cake. I used Baking From My Home to Yours for the banana cake, the Fastest Fudge Cake for the chocolate layer, and got lazy and used a box mix for the yellow cake. I had a box of chocolate pudding so I used that for both layers along with sliced strawberries and bananas. We had two slices for dessert and I made him take the rest to work the next day where the boys promptly polished it off.

Color Wheel Quilt

2011-04-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

The Color Wheel Quilt from Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts is finished and gifted.

New Baby Pics

2011-04-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

I had another ultrasound. The pictures aren't that great because baby was all folded in half with her feet crossed. She is measuring right on target, though and everything else looked fine.

Shopping

2011-03-31T16:28:00.000-07:00

I spent a lovely afternoon shopping and lunching with my lady friends. We had a delicious lunch at Prasino in La Grange. It's an eco-friendly restaurant with green building practice and a focus on local, organic and sustainable food. Most importantly, it was delicious. We had 3 entrees, a dessert and a house-made soda. I had the short rib tacos, which were generous in portion and very, very tasty. My dining partners enjoyed the Margherita Wheat Flat bread, which had a very crispy flat bread layer and just the right amount of toppings, and the California Turkey Panini, which had a crispy and delicious addition of apple. We shared the chocolate peanut butter gooey cake which was served with peanut butter ice cream. It was plenty to share after a light lunch, but wouldn't be too large, heavy or rich for one person. It was very well balanced, not too sweet or gooey. I also had a very refreshing ginger lime house-made soda.

We visited two quilt shops after lunch, the Quilt Basket in Downer's Grove, and Pieceful Heart in Lisle. Here are my purchases for the day:

These batiks are for a housewarming gift. Much thanks to Donna for helping me pick them out. Batiks don't come naturally to me. I need to get some solids before I get started on it.

I only purchased one of these yesterday, the top left green print. Eventually, these will be a Bento Box quilt, I think.

And a few random fat quarters, some flannel for baby pants, and larger piece to maybe back a baby quilt.

Nursery Update

2011-03-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

Wall colors are picked - the gray and the darkest orange. Fabrics are ordered.

Crib and dresser are here - in the living room for now.

The closet is getter fuller.

Here are a few of my favorites.

And I heard shower invitations, which could NOT be cuter, are being mailed this weekend.

Delivery Day!

2011-03-16T13:47:00.001-07:00

Look what the nice UPS man brought us today.

He even congratulated me, told me about his kids - who are about to graduate from college - and brought everything inside for me. I didn't tell him, but I think I'll be seeing him again tomorrow.

I also got a box from my mom that included a package from my sister, nephew and niece with some adorable clothes for the baby.

I especially love the onesie with the elephant, the white dress with the big flowers, and possibly my absolute favorite, the yellow daisies.

Nursery Fabrics

2011-03-10T19:10:00.000-08:00

I left town for the weekend to go to the CMQG quilting retreat. I left LBK with the stacks of fabrics we have been sorting through along with some paint chips. I came home to this.

How smart was he to combine the Kate Spain prints with the Patricia Bravo fabrics? I hadn't gotten over using "a line" together. I think we're both happy with the results. The ones on the left will be for the curtains, pillows, fabric boxes and dust ruffle, along with some coordinating solids. The ones on the right will be framed on the wall and possibly used as accents elsewhere.

I'm picking up paint swatches today.

One step closer.

First Pictures

2011-02-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

Here are the first pictures of our baby girl.

Another top done

2011-02-05T11:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was frustrated with the templates not working for the Color Wheel quilt. So I set it aside to regroup and pulled out the flying geese blocks that I had finished before Christmas. They went together quickly into rows. Unfortunately, I realized I managed to put together some of blocks backwards. Oh well. This is for me, and finished is better than perfect certainly applies. I'm not taking apart and reassembling a bunch of blocks at this stage of the game. It's such a busy top that I doubt anyone who is not a quilter looking closely will be able to tell anyways. Today, I quickly assembled the rows.

Sorry it's not the greatest picture. It's a bit of an odd size, 40x62. Maybe some wide side borders and narrow top and bottom borders?

Original post on blocks here. And here. Was it really that long ago?

City Lot

2011-02-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

This is the City Lot quilt from Cherri House's City Quilts. We chose the Alexander Henry dot for the back first, then matched Kona solids using my swatch card for the front. I quilted it using a similar free motion style to the one Oh Fransson used in her Tokyo Subway Map quilt. It's a little crinklier than I might have wanted, but I am in love with this quilt and can not let it go!

Pieces Cut

2011-02-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

Cutting the wedges for the wheel went faster than I thought it would. Here they are all laid out.

Snow Day

2011-02-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

I'm spending most of my snow day quilting. Yesterday, I finished the binding on a quilt that I decided to keep for myself. So now I have to make another one to replace it. I've been interested in making the color wheel quilt from Last Minute Patchwork for awhile. I also have an ever growing pile of scraps, including a box of small pieces FQ size and smaller that I bought from Elizabeth of Oh Fransson quite awhile ago. I've used some of them, and have some set aside for other projects, but I thought this would be a great way to use them up.

The finished quilt is rather large, so I'm scaling it down about 20% to make a quilt that is about 40" square. Assuming my math is correct, that is. We'll find out.

I started by going through my scrap bin, drawers and bag and sorting possible fabrics by color. You can see the template I scanned in, then reduced and printed out. I occasionally compared scraps to the template to make sure they were big enough.

After creating my piles, I ironed everything that need it, which was pretty much everything, then laid it out neatly in its color group. Next, I put every color group in the order I thought looked best, starting with pink and ending with the browns. You need 52 wedges. I had 55 in my finished layout, so I called in some help to weed a couple out. This is the line up before weeding.

This afternoon, I'll cut the template and start cutting the wedges.

Kouign Amann

2011-01-30T20:11:00.000-08:00

The first, and only time, I've seen this French pastry was at the eGullet Heartland gathering in Kansas City. I headed back to the table for seconds, only to find that there were none. It's buttery, crispy, sugary, flaky, chewy and caramelized all at once. I tried to make them once before, but they didn't come out at all. This time, I did much better. As soon as I find some time to make a rough puff pastry from scratch with really good butter, I'll be making more. As a shortcut version goes, though, these were pretty darn good. I used all butter puff pastry from Trader Joe's and lots of sugar in the folds and turns. Then I cut them into squares, folded up the corners and placed them in individual parchment lined tart pans to contain the sugar and butter and help them hold their shape.

More on kouign amann here, and here

Original blueprints

2011-01-21T16:24:00.000-08:00

Kitchen Layouts

2011-01-20T20:43:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite Christmas gifts

2011-01-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

This was one of my favorite Christmas gifts from a friend at work.

It was the most delicious penguin I've ever eaten!

Faculty Presentation

2011-01-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

Here's the presentation I shared with my faculty this morning.

It received a big collective "awwwww"

Another Cake

2010-10-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

This is a 6" round, 4 layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, marshmallow fondant and fondant decorations for a baby shower a friend was hosting.

More groom's cake pics

2010-10-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

Carissa did a very nice presentation of the groom's cake in front of everyone at the reception. I didn't see it when I arrived at the reception, so I asked the woman from catering that I had given it to earlier in the day. Good thing I did, because they had forgotten about it! No harm done, though, and I was so touched that she presented it to him in such a way. I was worried about it, because I had not been able to taste it, so I asked the woman serving our table to bring me a slice. They had taken a slice at the presentation, but the rest was being wrapped for them to take home. She came back in a few minutes with a small slice. It was exactly as I had hoped it would be.

Here are some more pictures:

I do love a wedding

2010-10-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

We're off today to my good friend Carissa's wedding. I stepped in late in the game to make the groom's cake. It's a 2 layer 9" round of Dorie's Perfect Party Cake with the lemon amped up a bit via a limoncello simple syrup and lightly flavored mousseline buttercream from The Cake Bible. The decorations are piped chocolate. I'd love to say I piped them on the cake, but I did tons on parchment paper, then picked the best ones for the cake. Last night I was seeing every imperfection, but today, I really like it. I do wish the icing was smoother, but I think it's fine, and I know they will appreciate and love it.

Chicken Cacciatore

2010-10-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

Bob G gave me a recipe for chicken cacciatore. Since the weather has cooled off considerably, it seemed like a good time to make such an earthy, saucy, warm dish. I forgot to pick up mushrooms, so this tasted lighter than the last time I made it, but it was still delicious. I made polenta finished with some butter and parmesan to serve underneath the chicken.

Craftster Mini Art Quilt Swap 3

2010-10-04T08:21:00.000-07:00

I participated in another Craftster.org swap. This one was a mini art quilt. Each swapper gave several themes as well as color preferences to inspire their partner. I was paired with a wonderful partner! My quilt is by far the favorite out of the whole gallery.

Here is the quilt I sent to my partner, using her themes of Ireland and religion. I wanted to include a third knot overlaid on a cross, but it would have made the quilt larger than the requirements. I also used green and orange, the colors of the Irish flag.

And here is the quilt she sent me, which used my color preferences and also my sewing theme.

CMQG

2010-10-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

Weeks Ringle will be presenting at the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild's October 17th meeting! See the CMQG blog for more details

Chocolate Macaron with Salted Caramel Ganache

2010-09-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

I made these on Sunday for company. I was so proud of them! They came out perfectly and were delicious. And our little friend, coincidentally, had recently had a macaron at a coffeeshop, so he was very excited to have some at our house. I made up a box for him to take home and he asked about it several times to make sure we didn't forget them. Very sophisticated for a 4 year old!

DONE !!!!!

2010-09-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

The railing you see on the right has been reinstalled on the stairs. The edging of the stairs and the threshold are installed. The only thing left is to sweep and mop (although the installers did a great job cleaning up), and for LBK to install some trim on the risers of the stairs. They offered to use the metal trim on the edges, but we thought wood would look better. It will be just 9 or so straight cuts and a few finish nails. Then we have to put everything back!

I'm currently taking suggestions for new furniture and layouts. Currently the room holds:

sofa
loveseat
coffee table
6" table that sewing machine sits on
Gran's old kitchen table that sits on bed risers to make a cutting/work table
the long shelves on the wall
3 Ikea Aneboda wardrobes, 2 singles and a double that hold fabric, books and supplies (ours are light wood tone, not white as they are currently showing)
a small bookcase

Everything is old, used and repurposed, which is ok. But I feel like it's so fresh and new.
I'm thinking:

take down the long shelves
add white "cube" bookcases on either side of the fireplace
create a floor to ceiling design wall to go over the fireplace (it is never used on the advice of the house inspector and it stays plenty warm down there anyways)
keep the Aneboda wardrobes, maybe do something with the "windows" in the doors
keep the couch and table but move the loveseat to the laundry room "mud room" area and recover both pieces

Unsure about:

how to replace the 6' table and kitchen table
where to put table(s) in relation to quilting frame if new bookcases are on either side of the fireplace

In Progress

2010-08-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Here's the basement with the skim coat drying.

And one totally unrelated pic of Quincy.

New Sewing Room Floor

2010-08-29T05:05:00.000-07:00

The new sewing room floor is being installed this weekend. Here's what it looks like before.

Tomatoes, Tomatoes

2010-08-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

Gluten Free Baking

2010-08-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

My friend is testing out a gluten free diet to see if it makes a difference for her. Luckily, there is a good network of friends and acquaintances who are celiac or gluten intolerant, so she already has a head start on information.

Since we had to work late one night last week and dinner is usually ordered in, I suggested we cook to make sure she could stick to her gluten free without worrying. We ran across to the grocery at lunch and bought the ingredients for Greek chicken and potatoes, and a tomato and cucumber salad. We quickly sliced everything up and tossed the potatoes and chicken in the oven. The salad went in the fridge. Everyone enjoyed our "naturally" gluten free dinner, proclaiming it better than the local Italian restaurant!

Then, the highlight, these cookies I baked the night before. The peanut butter ones are the 4 ingredient flourless peanut butter cookies. The chocolate chip are my usual recipe with Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour substitute. The texture was only slightly different than usual. The outside was a little crispier. I don't think anyone but me would notice. Everyone was very excited that all of us could eat some delicious cookies for dessert! We even saved some for breakfast, but they somehow "mysteriously" disappeared overnight. Custodians and summer workers, I'm looking at you!

Milo

2010-08-11T21:10:00.000-07:00

The latest Milo update: B12 shots, melatonin, flax seed hull and an antibiotic all to assist his adrenal gland function and intestinal issues. Continue the special diet. Recheck blood work in 12 weeks. Very unlikely lymphoma is an issue. Hopefully these things will help him digest his food better so he doesn't stand over his bowl barking for more food all day. He eats more meals than a hobbit.

First Two

2010-08-09T20:35:00.000-07:00

Here are the first two charity quilts for Ebony's giveaway contest.

It's taken me awhile to get some other projects cleared up, but I finished these two Saturday. On Sunday, I prepped 4 more. Hopefully they will finish quickly. It's a busy week this week. I'm hoping having things ready to go will provide some sewing stress relief.

One of my skills goals with these projects is to improve my machine sewn binding. I always prefer machine sewing the first side and hand sewing the back side. Sometimes you need something faster, or very durable, and machine sewing would be better. I did one of these quilts by hand and one by machine using a glue down method. I was pretty satisfied with how it came out. There were only two small spots that I got to close to or missed the edge. That was mostly because I was in a hurry since I had to get ready for a party. Still, I'm looking to improve accuracy with practice.

Sunday Dinner

2010-08-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

There's no better way to start the week than with caprese salad with basil and tomatoes from the garden, a prime NY strip steak, steamed asparagus with hollandaise, a delicious red, wine Razor's Edge cabernet, and brownies for dessert.

New Floor Coming Soon!

2010-08-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

We ordered a new floor for the sewing room and I got an email saying that it is in transit. Whoo hoo! Unfortunately, that means I have to pack everything up and move it out. But then I get to move it back onto the new floor. It's called Mambo Fusion.

Flying Geese Blocks and Pizza

2010-08-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

I finished all the geese blocks, stippling two charity quilts and had my friends over to make pizzas for lunch last Thursday, which was tons of fun. I thought they did a great job! I usually use Reinhart's Neo-Neopolitan pizza dough, which is very wet. For Thursday, I used the recipe from Smittenkitchen.com, which is much easier to work with. I made the dough in the morning, formed it into balls, and left them to rest on an oiled cookie sheet. By the time they arrived, hungry and ready to go, I stretched the dough and put it on parchment, then let them top them. Once the first ones were in the oven, E decided we needed to make a pizza with the apples, bananas and peaches she saw on the counter. I gave her another ball of dough to stretch out. She asked for a rolling pin and we made a fruit pizza with butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, and fruit. Not too sure how it tasted as they took it home with them.

Flying Geese Christmas quilt

2010-07-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

All those rectangles and squares have been transformed into flying geese. Next step, blocks. Here is one of the first ones. The background is Kona bone, so the whites are a bit off in the picture. I'm really pleased with how they are going together, except some of the seams are bulky. I'm a little concerned about quilting it.

New Patio Cushions

2010-07-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

We bought a patio set a couple years ago. It's just two comfy arm chairs that can recline, two footstools and a small side table. The cushion had become faded and stained. While it seems like it would be easy to find replacement cushions, the seat cushions are sloped in the back to fit neatly under the back cushions. I couldn't find replacements the same shape, and the cushions themselves are still good. So I recovered them. I still have one more footstool cushion to make, as I only cut one as my first test cushion. I think they came out nicely, and LBK likes them.

Our small garden is thriving and soon we'll have some tomatoes. I've gotten a couple of cherry tomatoes, but that's all so far, not counting tons of herbs.

Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs and Last Minute Fried Rice

2010-07-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

I bought these teriyaki meatballs at Costco after someone, probably over here or here, recommended them. They are pretty tasty, and only have a touch of that weird squishy-ness that purchased meatballs often have. I just warmed them in the microwave from the freezer. They'd be better in the oven, but the microwave was good enough yesterday as I didn't really plan ahead to use the oven.

I thought that they came in more of a sauce, and had just prepared plain rice to go with them. When I realized that, in fact, they were not saucy at all, I pulled out a little of this and that from the fridge - oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, green beans, red peppers, fresh spinach, scallions, soy, fish sauce - and the freezer and made fried rice loosely based on some recipes for pineapple fried rice. I rarely make fried rice, so I was extra happy when it turned out good. I mean, really, really good. Not just good for last minute good.

One Valance Up, One to Go

2010-07-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

Finally, finally, one valance is hanging up. It fits. I hung it by myself. And I love it more each passing day.
Here's a little more context.

One more to go. And maybe a matching apron, no?

Eggplant Patties

2010-07-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I made these eggplant patties from Marcella Hazan's book, Essentials of Italian Cooking (I think. I returned it to the library.). They were good and made for a light dinner with a small salad and some white table wine in a fish bottle

Cobb Salad

2010-06-10T07:16:00.000-07:00

In trying to eat a bit healthier and lower carb, I'm trying to get more salads and veggies into the rotation. We had this lovely Cobb salad the other day for lunch. Or was it dinner? I can't remember. I do know it was delicious and we ate every last bit. And I missed the bread.

Grilled chicken, blue cheese, bacon, hard boiled egg, avocado, tomatoes

Milo

2010-06-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

Milo is racking up the vet bills again. He was not feeling well the other night and clearly very uncomfortable, so off to the vet we went. 3 1/2 hours later we left with two meds, xrays, somewhere around 80 ultrasound pics of his intestinal walls, kidney, adrenal glands, pancreas, and other internal bits and pieces and orders to come back in the morning for another xray. He seemed to be back to his cranky self last night, and is doing ok today. He has to fast until Friday. Until then, we have to force feed him his meds, keep him hydrated with a 50% dilution of Pedialyte, and try to keep Quincy from harassing him. Oh yes, they shaved his belly and half way up his sides to do the ultrasound, so he's got a sort of doggie mohawk going on. Not cute.

Anybody know what flavor Pedialyte dogs prefer? Cause it isn't unflavored by the reaction I got today. This is going to get really messy.

Asparagus Pizza

2010-06-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, what an amazing pizza! Deb over at smittenkitchen.com posted this asparagus pizza and she, as usual, was right on. I used fresh mozzarella and cooked it on the grill with a quick finish under the broiler. It's way too hot to turn on the oven tonight. The crust had a nice char on the bottom that was just short of burnt. The dough was good even though I made it just a few hours ago, with a nice chewiness to the interior. I also finished off that homemade wine, which went well with the pizza. I don't think it would have stood up to a tomato based pizza yet, but it was good with this light, springy one.

Chicken Cacciatore

2010-05-31T13:10:00.000-07:00

Chicken cacciatore is usually, in my mind, a crockpot type of dish. This was made on top of the stove and finished in the oven and was a delicous combination of ingredients that didn't go all mushy. Bob G gave me this recipe from I-don't-know-where for Chicken Cacciatore with Red and Yellow Peppers. Steamed then sauteed green beans on the side and some homemade bread. è molto delizioso!

Grilled Vegetables and New Wine

2010-05-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

We grilled vegetables this week to eat for lunches and such. On Friday, we had a work related dinner and grilled chicken kabobs and flank steak. Saturday, I ate the rest of the loaf of spinach dip in Hawaiin bread - thanks E, I DID eat ALL the bread - and for dinner we had the last of the grilled veggies with leftover chicken and a NY strip steak we grilled up "fresh."

To go along with all our grilled goodies, we opened the bottle of wine a new friend had given us. She recommended that we have it with something grilled. It was good, very light and young, but flavorful and easy to drink. I'd like to see how it develops over time. I don't think I have the patience to make my own wine and wait around for it when there's a great liquor store about 7 blocks away! But I'm glad I know someone who does. LBK drank the beer she gave us and he thought that was very good as well, even though it's not his preferred style of beer. Props to the brewer! I, who can normally not drink any kind of beer, had several sips. An unqualified success, I'd say.

Happy Anniversary to Us

2010-05-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our 14th wedding anniversary. I received a wonderful handmade card and this beautiful box of chocolates from Canady. I feel like I should write something mushy and lovey-dovey. It will have to suffice that I am the luckiest, no, WE are the luckiest people in the world to have each other.

I'll try to list the flavors as I eat them. They aren't pictured on the website and LBK doesn't remember exactly what each one is.
Top row: 1 coconut 3 three layer ganache -milk, white, dark
Middle: salt caramel pumpkin spice creme brulee dark chocolate
Bottom: 1 2 3 80% ganache? with salt on top

2010-05-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

I baked some cheddar bread from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I made 4 small loaves. They didn't last long, even though I don't think they were cheesy enough.

Pizza: Onion, Corn, Thyme, Basil Oil

2010-05-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

I had a delicious breakfast out with a friend this morning, a roasted asparagus skillet with a crispy layer of hash browns, asparagus, a little cheese, topped with two over easy eggs, white toast on the side. I left the restaurant full, but not stuffed. We shopped a bit and I wasn't hungry until well past our regular dinner time.

I had mixed up some pizza dough when I had returned home, so we had two pizzas for dinner. The first was a typical pepperoni with fresh mozzarella. The second was from the Food Network magazine insert, 50 Pizzas. I caramelized a small onion in olive oil and a bit of butter, adding some balsamic near the end. I drizzled the dough with basil olive oil, added the onions and some corn I had sauteed in a skillet. Added some fresh thyme and mozzarella. Another quick drizzle with the basil oil as it came out of the oven. Delicious and different. We had an awesome Pasos Robles cabernet sauvignon from Trader Joe's. I think I drank 1/2 the bottle, which is easily a glass too much on a Sunday night.

We got some huge, super ripe strawberries at Costco, so I made strawberry shortcake for dessert. I was pleased with how much my biscuits rose.

Milo update

2010-04-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to update those of you who know Milo. He had us pretty scared last weekend. He is currently doing fine. He's eating again, which means he's pooping again and passing some of that gravel that's sitting in his small intestine. (Sorry for poop-posting on a blog that's mostly about food.) We'll probably take him in next week for another x-ray just to see how things are progressing. As long as things are going in the front and coming out the back, we just wait and see. He is in good spirits and is barking and getting in the way again.

Unfortunately, I had to come home early from the eGullet Chocolate Conference. You can see more about what we did over on the eG thread. I enjoyed the two days I was able to spend in Maryland. The conference was super organized thanks to Steve. Chocolate people are the best people! There's been a passing mention of returning to Niagara next year. I hope so. I'm heading down to the Southside next weekend to see if I can get some chocolate in bulk since I don't really like what I've been using and would prefer not to order online if I can avoid it. There's also a place near the airport I want to check out.

Fijis

2010-04-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

Somehow I missed Girl Scout cookie season this year. It's ok, really, because they aren't really that great anymore. And they had some in the library, so I was able to snack on a couple, but no samoas. When I was over on chow.com, I saw a recipe to make your own. I bought Salerno butter cookies instead of making my own. No way did I have the patience for that. The Salerno cookies were a bit thicker than I wanted, but worked well enough. Two burnt batches of caramel later, I ended up with a delicious batch of cookies.

2010-04-06T10:13:00.000-07:00

When scrolling back through some old posts, I re-discovered this list of 100 Things to Drink Before You Die. I can bold a few more on the list including orange bitters, absinthe, Pisco Sour, sherry, Jamaican coffee, Ramos Gin Fizz and Rye whisky. (Original post Nov. 2008) I think that's pretty good for not really trying.

List of Drinks You Must Try Before You Expire

Manhattan Cocktail
Kopi Luwak (Weasle Coffee)
French / Swiss Absinthe
Rootbeer
Gin Martini
Sauternes
Whole Milk
Tequila (100% Agave)
XO Cognac
Espresso
Spring Water (directly from the spring)
Gin & Tonic
Mead
Westvleteren 12 (Yellow Cap) Trappist Ale
Chateau d’Yquem
Budweiser
Maraschino Liqueur
Mojito
Orgeat
Grand Marnier
Mai Tai (original)
Ice Wine (Canadian)
Red Bull
Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
Bubble Tea
Tokaji
Chicory
Islay Scotch
Pusser’s Navy Rum
Fernet Branca
Fresh Pressed Apple Cider
Bourbon
Australian Shiraz
~~Buckley’s Cough Syrup~~
Orange Bitters
Margarita (classic recipe)
Molasses & Milk
Chimay Blue
Wine of Pines (Tepache)
Green Tea
Daiginjo Sake
Chai Tea
Vodka (chilled, straight)
Coca-Cola
Zombie (Beachcomber recipe)
Barley Wine
Brewed Choclate (Xocolatl)
Pisco Sour
Lemonade
Speyside Single Malt
Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
Champagne (Vintage)
Rosé (French)
Bellini
Caipirinha
White Zinfandel (Blush)
Coconut Water
Cerveza
Cafe au Lait
Ice Tea
Pedro Ximenez Sherry
Vintage Port
Hot Chocolate
German Riesling
Pina Colada
El Dorado 15 Year Rum
Chartreuse
Greek Wine
Negroni
Jägermeister
Chicha
Guiness
Rhum Agricole
Palm Wine
Soju
Ceylon Tea (High Grown)
Belgian Lambic
Mongolian Airag
Doogh, Lassi or Ayran
Sugarcane Juice
Ramos Gin Fizz
Singapore Sling
Mint Julep
Old Fashioned
Perique
Jenever (Holland Gin)
Chocolate Milkshake
Traditional Italian Barolo
Pulque
Natural Sparkling Water
Cuban Rum
Asti Spumante
Irish Whiskey
Château Margaux
Two Buck Chuck
Screech
Akvavit
Rye Whisky
German Weissbier
Daiquiri (classic)

Easter

2010-04-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

We forgot to boil some eggs until late Saturday night. LBK said he would decorate them. This is what we got: one generic Easter egg for each of us.

His dad won the egg cracking game. I think he always wins. Is there a name for that game?

Since LBK doesn't really like ham, we had lamb for Easter dinner. I've been saving a boneless leg from Sam's and a bottle of wine I received as a Christmas gift, a Guenoc Victorian Claret. I also made beans from Modern Greek by Andy Harris, grilled asparagus, and bread. We had a store bought strawberry filled cake for dessert.

Gigantes Plaki
adapted from Modern Greek

1 lb lima beans, soaked overnight or two large cans butter beans, or frozen lima beans
3 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced or finely sliced
2 large tomatoes, diced
2 T parsley, chopped
1 T tomato paste dissolved in 1 c water
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the beans if using dried. Saute onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Add carrots and tomatoes and saute until soft. Combine all ingredients and bake at 350° for approximately 90 minutes.

Bad Habits Die Hard

2010-04-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

So, I have this habit, like many of my fellow quilters it seems, of starting new projects before the existing ones are finished. But, I needed something I could work on in the family room, and I have had this Merry and Bright jelly roll for quite some time. I finally picked a pattern: High Flying Geese from Layer Cake, Jelly Roll and Charm Quilts. So Friday night while watching tv, I cut the jelly roll into rectangles. Today, I made a quick trip to Joann's and got some Kona in Bone for the background. It matches perfectly. Next step: cut 40 strips 2.5" wide of the Kona.

Ratatouille

2010-04-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

Lunch today was ratatouille: eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, red pepper.

We also served a butter lettuce salad, the leftover focaccia from yesterday's veggie sandwiches, slightly warmed, and the leftover Riesling.

New York Beauty

2010-03-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

I rearranged my office and now stare at a blank wall where my cabinets used to be. I was going to look for a painting or picture to go there. This morning, I thought about making a quilt to hang there. Jennie at Sunflower Quilts has been making gorgeous New York Beauty blocks the last few days and inspired me to research this block more. It has curved piecing, which would be new for me. I love the movement and colors in the samples I've found.

You can see Jennie's blocks on the Chicago Modern Quilt pool and on her blog.

And some of my other inspiration quilts:

http://www.ezpiecing.com/Old_Time_New_York_Beauty_Quilt.jpg

http://www.twomanyquilts.com/images/c09.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whskr/597374692/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whskr/597374692/

Triangle Quilt

2010-03-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

I finished my half square triangle quilt this past week. The fabrics match our family room well. I used two charm packs (don't remember which ones off hand) and some Quilters Only cotton from JoAnn. I used the backing fabric, which I bought at The Quilt Basket, for the binding as well. This definitely goes into the better-finished-than-perfect category. Still, I'm pretty happy with it. There are some corners that could be better. It's a little wavy in the middle. Whatever. It's big and snuggly and mine.

I have, like many other quilters it seems, given away almost every quilt I've made. My mom has a few. Most of them went to the babies of friends and family. I've given quite a few to charity, either Project Linus, Shriners Hospital, or through a Craftster.org Unswap. Now, we have the one I made with my mom and grandmothers for college, the large queen size "flag" quilt we sometimes use on our bed, the one I made for LBK, and this one. I think that's it. I have ~~two~~ three more in the UFOs: a wonky log cabin type block using my mom's leftover grandmothers fan triangles, Christmas quilt blocks from a swap, and a Christmas jelly roll.

Valentina's Quilt

2010-03-07T05:24:00.000-08:00

My very good friend finally, finally, had her baby girl! She told me she was using lavender and green for the nursery colors. I visited my LQS and bought a stack of Asian prints, but something about them just wasn't right for this project. I went shopping again and ended up with fabrics I was much happier with. A box of scraps I bought arrived just as I was in the middle of the piecing, and this little guy was just waiting to hop into my quilt.

Here are two blocks so you can see all the fabrics.

The finished front:

And the finished flannel back:

I used a piece of off white for the label and worked it into the piecing on the back. I wrote a note to the new family, dated it, and put my initials along the side using a Micron Pigma pen.

I'm always nervous about being neat, evenly spaced, and accurate when writing a label. I usually decide on the size of the label, then go to the computer. I use Microsoft Word to create a text box of the same size, then play around with fonts, layouts and wording. Once I'm happy with the label, I print it out and use a light table to copy it onto the fabric with the Micron pen. If your fabric needs stabilized, you can also iron on a bit of freezer paper.

I hope little Valentina loves her quilt!

Eggplant Pizza

2010-03-06T13:37:00.000-08:00

I saw Ree, over at Pioneer Woman, made a delicious looking pizza. What does that woman make that doesn't look delicious, though, really? I had some Neo-Neopolitan pizza dough in the refrigerator. It was the first time I tried Peter Reinhart's recipe, so I liked the idea of a sauce-less pizza to really be able to taste the crust. I picked up an eggplant and used some of the hothouse tomatoes we already had instead of the cherry tomatoes Ree used. It was quick, easy, and so good! The eggplant gives it a meaty flavor. It was even tasty cold for breakfast, although a bit garlicky for first thing in the morning. I loved the crust and will continue to use this as my go to recipe.

Not Your Usual Breakfast

2010-03-01T10:35:00.000-08:00

repost from 9/2009

As a follow up to Not Your Usual Sandwich, I present Not Your Usual Breakfast: bacon, eggs and pancakes.

All Mine

2010-02-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

repost from 8/2009. I can't wait for warmer weather again.

I grew the tomatoes and the basil. I baked the bread. And I ate this delicious, garlicky, fresh, bruschetta.

Half Square Triangle quilt - pinned

2010-02-16T20:06:00.000-08:00

While the laundry was doing its thing last night, I sandwiched and pinned my HST top.

I used Sharon Schamber's method of using two pieces of trim to roll the top and backing. It worked really well. I was successful on the first try. Even though my boards are a bit too long, they were pretty easy to manage. I started to use the herringbone basting stitch that she demonstrates, but I couldn't find my perle cotton thread. I did a couple of rows with regular thread, but decided to switch to quilting safety pins. We'll see how good of a switch that was once the quilting begins. It should be easy, but boring to quilt - just straight lines on this one.

I think this is the best picture, although it doesn't really show much of the quilt.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

I did practically no sewing or crafting for Valentine's Day other than sewing up some paper envelopes for the Niece and Nephew's gifts. I bought them the most adorable matching outfits from Children's Place. Perhaps they will wear them for Easter.

I took some heavy, natural tissue, the kind used to wrap breakables, some hot pink tissue paper, and some scrapbooking letter stickers. I folded the clothes into a neat stack and made sure they would fit in one sheet of tissue. I then used a glue stick to attach a hot pink heart I cut freehand and the letter stickers to spell out their names. I made a quick trip around three sides with hot pink thread and a basting stitch, inserting the clothes before sewing the last side. Here are the packages ready to be mailed.

And what's inside:

I did cook, though. I even drug the grill out of the garage in 10 degree weather to grill some NY strip steaks. I roasted some Yukon Gold potatoes with some onions, steamed asparagus, and made Hollandaise to go over it. There is nothing like a steak off the grill. We drank a Coppola Claret, which was really delicious.

It was the first time I made a Hollandaise sauce as far as I can remember. It was so, so, so good. By itself it tasted salty, but on the asparagus, which I had only salted a bit to steam, it was perfect. We had some leftover, so for breakfast, I toasted some English muffins, layered the potatoes, asparagus and a poached egg on top and covered it all with the leftover Hollandaise. The sauce broke a bit, but still tasted good enough to make this a decadent breakfast. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.

Not Your Usual Sandwich

2010-02-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

repost from July 2009
________________________________

My parents and grandpa visited last weekend. My mom was telling me how much my nephew, who is 4, likes to bake cookies and be in the kitchen with her. Creating a foodie indeed. After they left, I went about googling apron patterns and found several rough estimates from an assortment of bloggers. I whipped up an apron for my nephew and my niece. Since I was having lunch with a friend the next day, I made one for her daughter, too.

The Nephew

Some smart blogger suggested D rings so kids can "tie" their apron themselves.

The Niece - backed in the dark pink of the ruffle

The Friend - backed in light blue with white ties and ruffle

And since The Niece loves to play in her kitchen, I made her a sandwich, a bag of chips and some cookies out of felt. Thanks to Snazzle Craft for the patterns. Click to see more detailed pics.

Bier Markt and Bar Cento

2010-01-20T20:25:00.000-08:00

I realized I never posted about our trip to NE Ohio. After visiting the West Side Market, we tried to go to the Great Lakes Brewing Company. I'm sure we would have had a lovely meal there, but the wait was crazy long. So we went back around the corner to the Bier Markt and Bar Cento. I'm not really sure why this 2-in-1 restaurants are 2-in-1 and not just two. Or one. They have one menu, the same entryway, the same kitchen. But whatever.

We were seated right away in the outer, foyer-ish area of the restaurant. I understood why it seemed so entryway when we were told that the building used to be a department store. It was nicely decorated for Christmas, and the booth was large, comfy and quiet. The interior room was long and rather narrow. The bar and kitchen ran along the left side and the tables seemed warm and cozy. The host tried to seat a few parties near us in the outer area, but most declined and asked for a table inside. I was fine with our quiet spot, but can understand why they preferred otherwise. Here's the view from our booth.

And a blurry shot of the interior area:

The food was delicious. We started with a cheese and salumi plate that included house pickled vegetables, a glass of wine for me, Warsteiners for them. We devoured it in no time.

LBK and I had the burger, which was very good. Juicy and well seasoned.

The In-laws had pizzas - the Sunnyside, which was the best thing on the table,

and the pizza bianco, which was also good.

We definitely enjoyed our meal here and would recommend it.

Eat My Shorts

2010-01-16T09:08:00.000-08:00

repost
____________________________________

LBK asked me to make a cake for work since they finished their project. It's their project group's logo. I used two 10" squares, trimmed a small triangle off one side and reattached it to the top.
I wish I had piped the name instead of trying to do a transfer. It didn't work so well. It's okay though and I'm sure they will love it.

Satisfying a Craving

2010-01-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

re-post from January 2009
_________________________________________

Friday night, I wanted to go out for dinner. The day ended crappily and I wanted to be served. To have dinner delivered to my table and the empty plate whisked away when I was done, never to be seen again. To eat pumpkin ravioli at a nearby semi-romantic, slightly nicer than casual place. To sit in the company of adults, to cherish time with Pav. Who was not in the mood to go out. Our going out/staying in preferences just didn't align.

So Saturday, after going to a bridal shower nearby in the afternoon, I made my own damn ravioli. I used the food processor to make the pasta dough and the Kitchenaid attachment to roll it out.

Pumpkin ravioli with butter and sage sauce, pecans and pepperoncini

With some sauted rapini and a bit of white wine, it really hit the spot.

Lidia at Home

2010-01-13T17:23:00.000-08:00

repost from 8/09
__________________________________

In Kansas City, we ate at Lidia Bastianich's restaurant. I've had Lidia's Italy for awhile, though I haven't cooked too much from it. Mostly because we love the Braised Chard and I almost always make that. Chard, boiled til tender. Garlic, chili flakes, tomato paste, fried in olive oil. Beans, tomatoes, heated quickly. Chard tossed and coated. Grilled sausages on the side. Delicious.

Mmmmm, bacon

2010-01-12T16:43:00.000-08:00

(repost from 6/09)
Since we first tried this drink we have made them on several other occasions with and without the orange and with orange bitters. Delicious. I've done only enough for two drinks each time.
______________________________________________________________________________

I was sent a link to this YouTube video from one of the best cocktail lounges in NYC, PDT.

Being a good girl of Southern origins, I have a jar of clean bacon grease in the fridge at all times. I also have a bottle of bourbon. Even though I had to make a cobbler, get cleaned up and dressed up and make it to graduation on time, cobbler in hand, I still took a few minutes to do the conversions and reduce the recipe to infuse just enough bourbon for two drinks. 30 ml of bacon fat to 125 ml of bourbon. I scrawled a note so he would know when to put it in the freezer and whisked away to the graduation ceremony.

Tonight, we made just one drink, to share. Even without the orange peel, it was phenomenal. Super smoky from the bacon, but it didn't scream BACON. The orange would have really added to it, I think, and maybe a bit more bitters. From the video, those dashes are pretty big dashes. I could see infusing at least half a bottle of bourbon.

Breaking in the Griddle

2010-01-09T17:19:00.000-08:00

re-post
____________________________

Last weekend, we broke in the griddle on the oven with some bacon followed by blueberry pancakes. I'm loving it. It cooks very evenly and is easy to use.

The following weekend, I made brioche from Dorie's book to make her sticky buns. The brioche makes two loaves and the sticky buns only use half that, so I baked the other loaf. I wanted to compare it to the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes brioche. The more traditional recipe was no more difficult to make given that I used the Kitchenaid to mix it. It had to rise for 2 hours, like the 5 Minute recipe. It required another 2 hours on the counter with attention only every 30 minutes. Then it went into the fridge overnight and was shaped and baked after a second rise the next day. I really didn't feel it took more effort or time at all. The flavor was similar, but the texture, which I liked in the 5 Minute loaf, was even better in the traditional one. If the work load was significantly different, I would use the 5 Minute recipe, but the difference is negligible and I prefer Dorie's recipe overall.

Then we, of course, made French toast on the griddle. It was devoured before we even thought to look for the camera. It was the best damn French toast I have ever had. Ever. EVER, people. I thought I was just giddy at the first bite. The second and third slices elicited the same fluttery eye rolling and gentle groaning. Bacon was practically ignored. I don't think I can ever eat French toast that is not made from this brioche.

Christmas at last

2010-01-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

To start St Andre triple cream cheese, crackers, pear, and fig jam.

For dinner, two New York strip steaks and frites.
Potatoes ready for the oil:

Dessert, double chocolate cookies (Martha Stewart) and a pecan cookie from the All American Cookie Book. The pecan cookies use an interesting method. You boil the chopped pecans and butter together to brown the butter and the pecans. Then drain the butter from the nuts, chill it until it resolidifies, then use it in the dough. The flour, confectioners sugar and baking soda are combined with the butter in the food processor. Then part of the pecans are blended with egg, vanilla and a bit of water in the food processor. This liquidly mixture is combined with the flour mixture and the other half of the pecans. The soft dough is rolled out between parchment and chilled, then cut out, topped with a pecan half and baked.

And some Canady chocolates that were one of my gifts.

Baking for the Secretaries

2010-01-06T03:50:00.000-08:00

One of the first things they tell you is to make friends with the secretaries and the custodians. So every year, during registration, I bake for the secretaries. They devoured every crumb.

French Yogurt Cake with Orange Marmalade Glaze, from Baking: From My Home to Yours

Easy Jam Tart from David Lebovitz

Saturday is Baking Day

2010-01-05T10:43:00.000-08:00

another re-post, slightly edited
________________________________________________

LBK takes soup for lunch most days in the winter. When I started baking bread last winter from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book, he thought I was going to keep him supplied with yummy bread all winter. Unfortunately, he never really expressed that to me, and in a an effort to keep all those carbs from piling on the pounds, I tried to resist baking bread very often. However, he recently made a comment about wishing for bread to go with his soup, so I'm stocking the freezer with bread for him. He can grab one in the morning for his lunch and just give it a quick refresh in a toaster oven or eat it as is. It will be thawed by lunch for sure. Here are the results of today's baking: 8 mini loaves like these and 2 larger boules.

I have to work on sizing and slashing. I think these are a bit too big, though he may think they are fine. (if you click on the pics to see the larger ones, you can see the blistering on the crust and how delicious the inside is. These pics turned out pretty good.)

I also baked another French Pear Tart since our friend is in town.

Chicken and Kale - again, and again, and again

2010-01-02T14:49:00.000-08:00

(Note - This is a re-post from a prior blog.)

We saw these friends again over the holidays and were pleased to find out that they also made this dish a number of times over the past year. This year we had caesar salad and pizza with leftover Costco birthday cake for dessert. Below is the original post, slightly edited.
____________________________

So for dinner, I, we, because LBK helped, made the Chicken and Kale from Food & Wine yet again. We first made it over the holidays when we visited friends we see only once a year or so. While we love them, when you see someone so infrequently, coming together again can be awkward at first. LBK suggested we take some groceries over and cook dinner together as a way to break the ice. They have a great space for it - a just big enough house set back in the woods that's warm and cozy.

The requirements for the meal: not turkey or ham, nothing too heavy, and something that would not add to the holiday leftovers crammed into their fridge. With December Food & Wine magazine's 1 Hour Impromptu Party menu at hand, we offered up Roasted Chicken Legs with Potato and Kale. Since then, we have made for New Year's Eve and for dinner twice.

A Little Bird

2010-01-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

We visited the One of a Kind Show with the intent of purchasing something for the house. We wandered and took in the whole show, then circled back and debated the merits of various pieces of photography and art. We ended up with this little guy, who is now perched on the armoire where we can look at him every day. He's perched on a croquet ball, if that gives you a sense of scale. You can see other works by the artists here.

Christmas Treats

2009-12-13T21:40:00.000-08:00

While Christmas is quickly approaching, I haven't really gotten in the spirit of Christmas. We have our tree up. I've shopped some. We sent off two big packages for the Letters to Santa project. I've got my mom's gift and a few things for LBK and the niece and nephew. Not even a lovely Christmas party this weekend really got me into the mood. I hoped baking would, and I am quite pleased with how these packages of biscotti came out. (I've edited my full name out of the stamped label.) I'm trying to plan a cookie date with a couple of friends and am thinking about what to make.

Birthday T shirt

2009-11-30T21:10:00.000-08:00

Emma's birthday is coming up. Last year, I made her a shirt with a branch, two little birds and the number 2. Here's last year's shirt:

This year, I stayed with the bird theme with these little owls, but dropped the number. It's hard to get good pics at night, but I want to mail this tomorrow.

Lap Quilt Swap - 2 More

2009-11-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

Two more squares for the swap. I had a 3rd done, but realized when uploading the pic that I have two corners facing the wrong way. I have a 4th almost finished. Only two more to go after that!

Lap Quilt Swap continues. . .

2009-11-15T21:00:00.000-08:00

Quilt Swap block 2

2009-11-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

This block is called Antique Tile Block and is from Quilters' Cache.

Quilt Swap block 1

2009-11-03T05:15:00.001-08:00

This is the first block of 12 that I completed for the Craftster Lap Quilt 5 swap. It's for chinarockfish, our organizer. There were a few reasons I signed up for the swap.

I wanted to release control of a project. This was also my goal in doing the half square triangle quilt. I hold too tightly to control sometimes. I'm trying to get myself to release some of that in small ways here and there. Hopefully it will start to work on the big things, too.

I wanted to be challenged to complete more complicated blocks. Doing only one seems so much more manageable than doing 12 or more for a whole quilt.

I wanted to be inspired within the constraints of other's expectations. What would I do given the parameters of fabric type, quantity, and directions of others.

I wanted to work with fabrics I might not choose myself to learn to see with a different vision.

I knew the previous swaps resulted in beautiful, creative, well made blocks.

China's fabrics meet this last criteria for sure. Not ones I ever would choose for myself. Here they are individually, from Anna Marie Horner's Garden Party collection.

I used the far right fabric for the center, then built out from there. I made a couple of sketches in colored pencil to try to figure out color placement, then labeled each piece with cutting instructions to make sure I had enough fabric. I was nervous about combining such large scale, diverse patterns. I shifted my focus from the patterns to the colors, refocused, trying to see what the designer and the person who had chosen these saw in them. I think I was successful. I love the finished block, and can't wait to see how it works with the other blocks created by other swappers.

One down, eleven more to go.

Easiest dessert ever

2009-10-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

Toasted slices of poundcake - homemade or Sara Lee, doesn't matter, this one is homemade
Mascarpone - dolloped on top of cake
Apricot jam - heated gently and spiked with Amaretto
Almonds - slivered or sliced, but definitely toasted

Add coffee and fork. Thanks, Giada de Laurentis.

Felt Food

2009-10-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

I started making felt food for my niece and nephew after my niece got a kitchen set for Christmas. To go along with her kitchen set, we bought some of the nice food sets at Target. They are well made, however, the selection is limited and they are a bit pricey. On Craftster.org, lots of people have been making felt food. They are on, I think, round five of a swap. Inspired by all the variety, I made some felt food items for the kids. They are pretty easy to make. It is taking some experimentation to figure out what type of sewing I prefer. I want the sturdiness of machine sewing, but it sometimes looks too thready, if you know what I mean. Anyways, here's what I've made so far:

Half square triangle quilt

2009-10-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

I trimmed all the squares last Friday while chatting with a friend. Over the weekend, I put them together in pairs, then in 4's. Here they are laid out on the floor waiting for the rows to be put together. While it's a simple project, I needed something that I didn't really have to think about. It's also been a bit of a lesson in giving up control. I only paid attention enough to not have the same fabric next to itself. I did try to not have color concentrated in the final layout, but I only swapped a few sections, for example, when I had 7 reds in a vertical column. I really love the way it looks. Hopefully, I can get the top together this weekend. It will be a lap quilt size, unless I decide to add some large borders. I don't think I will.

Pop Tarts

2009-10-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

Over on eGullet, they've been making pop tarts. One of the teams at work won breakfast last week, so we have to deliver on Monday. We laughed at their request for Eggs Benedict, but I think they will like these brown sugar, apricot, and nutella poptarts. These are unfrosted, but I also frosted some with a 10x sugar and milk glaze. They taste almost exactly like pop tarts, but are more tender and buttery. The brown sugar filling is excellent. I haven't tried one of the Nutella ones yet, as they are in the oven now.

Jack and the Beanstalk

2009-09-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

I finished this quilt over a year ago, but forgot to take pictures before gifting it. I borrowed it back to snap a few pics. This was another collaboration and was started after the Princess and the Pea quilt for Sofia. LBK drew the pattern for me full size on bulletin board paper. I cut apart his drawing and used it as a template for the applique pieces. It is all hand appliqued and machine quilted with hand embroidery details on the house, the bean stalk, the giant's hands and Jack's face and belt.

Saturday is baking day

2009-09-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

While it was 80 yesterday, the nights are very cool and Fall is definitely coming. LBK asked for some soup on last week's grocery trip. He takes soup for lunch most days in the winter. When I started baking bread last winter from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, he thought I was going to keep him supplied with yummy bread all winter. Unfortunately, he never really expressed that to me, and in a an effort to keep all those carbs from piling on the pounds, I tried to resist baking bread very often. However, he recently made a comment about wishing for bread to go with his soup, so I'm stocking the freezer with bread for him. He can grab one in the morning for his lunch and just give it a quick refresh in a toaster oven or eat it as is. It will be thawed by lunch for sure. Here are the results of today's baking: 8 mini loaves like these and 2 larger boules.

I have to work on sizing and slashing. I think these are a bit too big, though he may think they are fine.

St Basil's Serbian Festival

2009-09-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday, we went to St. Basil's Serbian Festival. It's not so much a festival as it is a feast. Roast lamb and pig, grilled sausages, cabbage rolls, and lots of desserts. Pictured above is the best dessert we had: krempita, a vanilla custard lightened with whipped cream, then sandwiched between superthin layers of puff pastry or filo. It looks like it might be heavy, but in fact is very light.

LGD #2 Finished

2009-08-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

I am really pleased with this version. The bodice is lined, making the inside very finished. The zipper was much easier. I just need to practice them more often. I didn't press out much of the puckeriness this time either, although that makes seams and hem less crisp. They're ok, though. I wish the finishing at the top of the zipper and the hook were better. I probably could have trimmed seam allowances in the arm scye closer, or it could be the lack of pressing. The hem on this one isn't quite as nice as the first one, also attributing that to ironing.

KC Update

2009-08-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

In Kansas City, a journalist for the Kansas City Star and a photographer were with us the entire weekend. My first clue was when the guy across from me at Lidia's asked me my name and where I was from and started taking notes. I was a little taken aback, but he seemed so amazed by our group and all the events, food, and drink of the weekend, that I quickly became rather amused by him. The article is in this week's Kansas City Star magazine and is posted online here. Thankfully, there are no pics of me, but I do get a very, very brief mention in the article.

Little Girl Dress #2

2009-08-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry, no pics of LGD #1. I gave it to Little Girl #1 yesterday to test out. It was a similar fabric to LGD #2 fabric, but in blue with blue and yellow dots. I'll take a pic of a scrap later. Here is fabric for LGD #2, a cute green, pink and yellow one with some texture.

When I pressed seams on the first one, the texture of the fabric was lost. I thought it would come back when washed, but it really didn't after the first wash. Maybe longer in the dryer, maybe more washings.

This time, I am going to line the bodice instead of using facings and bias tape. I'm also going to use one of the "fake serger" stitches on my machine on the side seams. The hem on LGD #1 was perfect. I stitched a 1/4" seam then turned the hem on the stitching and folded once more. It was perfectly even. Such a simple technique to give such a great finish.

FINALLY FINISHED

2009-08-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

This quilt has taken me forever to finish. It was really, really challenging. It's entirely made of diamonds, which are really challenging to cut and piece. The directions are confusing and the piecing is done by offsetting the pieces so when you sew them, they are aligned. There was much seam ripping done during the piecing of this quilt. I love the fabrics and I love the finished quilt.

Front

Back

The Quintessential Summer Dinner

2009-08-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

What could say summer better then bbq chicken, sweet corn, cole slaw and nectarine blueberry grunt? Or slump, or cobbler?

Chocolate Tasting Notes

2009-08-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

I loved most of the chocolates I bought from Christopher Elbow. I gave the turtles as a gift, and heard they were outstanding. Here are the ones in my box of 21. (I had a few duplicates. The pic is from the website.)

Fleur de Sel - In a word - awesome. I love salty sweet combos and this was one of my favorites
Banana Foster - the first banana foster chocolate I had was John de Paula's at the Niagara Chocolate Conference in the spring. I liked Elbow's. It had a strong banana flavor. I like JdP's better.
Bourbon Pecan - I bought two of these since they are flavors we both like. This was a miss. There was no real taste or smell of bourbon to these, just the pecan.
Persian - I don't really remember this one, but my notes say "sticky center, must like marzipan (duh)" Which probably means I'd eat it if you gave it to me, but if I was ordering I'd get the fleur de sel.
Strawberry Balsamic Caramel - I just attempted, and failed at, a strawberry balsamic white chocolate ganache, so I was eager to try this one. I really like these flavors in a caramel. The balsamic definitely comes through on the back end. I might try this before attempting the ganache again.
Yuzu - I bought two on Rona's recommendation that yuzu is one of her favorite flavors. I liked it, but have no other yuzu experience to compare it to. Again, I'd eat it if you gave it to me, but if I was ordering I'd get the fleur de sel.
Vanilla caramel - My notes say, "Really good! Favorite" Very vanilla. It's a top runner with, you guessed it, the Fleur de Sel.
Macadamia Praline - I liked the texture and it had good flavor. Not a nut I eat often, but I liked this chocolate.
Cabernet - Pav thought it tasted like grape jelly. I thought it was very wine-y and matched well with the chocolate. It's not something to eat a bunch of, for sure.
Coffee - Just tasted of chocolate to me.
Lavendar - This is NOT a flavor I usually care for, often making me feel like I am eating old lady soap. I figured I'd try it because the odds of it being well done were pretty high. I liked it more than I thought I would. It was strongly lavendar at first, then fading somewhat as the chocolate came up. Not soapy at all. I wouldn't be unhappy to see this one in my box again.
Rosemary - Again, not one I would choose or pair with chocolate, but it worked. I can see why some people would like it. It's not really for me, though. I would be happier to see the Lavendar one.
Spiced Caramel - It was spicy up front with a slight heat developing in the back of the throat. Pretty good.
Raspberry - One of my favorites, this was somewhat unusual to me, although it's probably really not anymore at this level of chocolate, that there was a pate de fruits and a ganache layer, making for a very intense raspberry flavor. This was excellent.
Venezuelan Spice - Described by Pav as "pumpkin-pie-ish" this was definitely fallish in feel to me, too.
Mystery chocolate - not identified on the insert - It was good, rather boozy. Jamaican rum maybe.

Kansas City

2009-07-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend in Kansas City, eating my way across town. I arrived Thursday and had just enough time to freshen up and hop in a cab to meet the eGullet group at Lidia's. We were kind of crammed into the bar area, but were seated soon after I arrived. Our group took up almost the entire back section of the restaurant. It's a beautiful, open space. I especially liked the huge glass light fixtures. (click on pic for a closer look). I had the frico with sausage for a starter, followed by lasagne bolognese and the dessert from the seasonal corn menu - Copa di Mais (from the menu)
"A sundae made with sweet corn ice cream and black cherry ice cream, with double cherry topping, conrmeal crumble and fresh caramel corn." The table, or at least my end of it, shared a couple of bottles of Cantele Salice Salentino. This was a delicious wine that retails for about $10.

After Lidia's, we walked a couple of blocks to Manifesto, a speakeasy-ish cocktail lounge. We had a sampling of drinks to share for the first round, then a second round where we could choose our drink. We simply asked for another round to share. Everything was good, though some I liked less than others. My favorite was the Smoke 'n Choke, which had applewood smoked bourbon and Cynar, an artichoke based liqueur, hence the "choke" in the name. I really liked Manifesto, in some ways more than the Violet Hour. The drinks were of high quality, the bartenders and servers just as enthusiastic, educational, and entertaining as the Violet Hour (although I have never sat at the bar there), but the setting felt more casual, more drop-in-able, less like a destination or occasion place, which is how the Violet Hour feels to me. Neither is better than the other, just different. And since dropping into Wicker Park is a hell of a lot easier than dropping into Kansas City, the Violet Hour has the edge. If they were in the same city, well, that's a choice I'm glad I don't have to make.

Friday, we visited four (4) bbq joints: Arthur Bryant's, LC's, Oklahoma Joes, and a fourth one whose name escapes me. Smokehouse, Woodshack, something like that. I think it was pretty unanimous that LC's was the best. KC is known for it's beef bbq, especially brisket, and especially burnt ends, which are the crispy, slightly to very charred ends of the brisket. Mike said that they are so popular that "fake" burnt ends are common. It all tasted good to me! I do wish LC's had focused a bit more on the cleaning. Bryants, too.

Saturday night, Bluestem hosted us for a special eGullet dinner. This was really the first tasting menu type dinner I have had, and I really enjoyed it. The food was amazing, the wines were delicious. I ate everything, including the bay scallops and the walu fish. Yep. All of it.

Saturday morning, the group went to City Market to shop for the dinner. I went to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. I only toured the "old" building which has a nice collection of European, American, and Asian art. Later this year they will open a significant permanent collection of Native American art. Only later did I realize I should have started in the other building, which houses the Modern Art collection, which I would have preferred. There is also a large lawn with the shuttlecock sculpture on it, and a nice shady path around the lawn with many other sculptures, including many by Henry Moore.

The rear entrance from the lawn and sculpture garden

The front entrance and the building that houses the Modern collection

One of the 4 shuttlecock sculptures

Close up of another shuttlecock sculpture

After my trip to the museum, I walked back to our hotel through the swanky shopping area. I stopped in two or three shops, mostly to soak in some free air conditioning, and did a little browsing. I didn't buy a single thing Saturday morning except a latte. Even the museum has free admission. I learned I had a ride to the dinner, so I freshened up and headed downstairs to be picked up. We headed over to Christopher Elbow, a chocolatier, and I bought a 21 piece box that we are working our way through after dinner. I'll post tasting notes in another post. This is the kind of stuff I am working towards, though. Everything has been interesting and delicious.

Dinner Saturday is prepared by the group. Our organizers this year found a great space at a food photography studio. My pics of the food didn't come out very well, so I'll redirect you to eGullet, where there are details and photos of all the food we prepared. I do have a good pic of my favorite dish, the pulled pork on cornbread.

I also really loved trying all the cheeses, something I didn't really do last year. I didn't cook anything, so I washed dishes between courses and helped clean up afterward.

More to come. . . can you believe there's more?!?

Mismatched Dinner

2009-06-23T16:21:00.000-07:00

I tried three new recipes today, which, although they really were mismatched, went together just fine. The first was the Olive Bread appetizer from ThePioneerWoman.com. Green and black olives, mayo, butter, and monterey jack cheese on French bread. I made one recipe and quartered the loaf of bread. Three are in the freezer for another time. One I baked for tonight. This would be really good with drinks. It's definitely what we refer to as a "back home" recipe. Nothing fancy, no frou frou ingredients - canned olives in fact, but good eats.

The other two are from Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen, which I bought during our trip to Seattle this spring.

Smoky Eggplant - grilled eggplant and onion, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice tahini, and parsley served with crispy flatbreads ( I used red onion). This was good. The flavor is more delicate than the other two dishes. This would be great for a party or for a Mediterranean tapas style meal.

And Grilled Chicken Skewers with Tangerine Ginger Glaze. The chicken was really tender and flavorful. This was excellent! I used orange juice instead of the tangerine, but no other changes other than using the microwave to reduce the glaze instead of a saucepan. It's hot here today! I glazed the chicken several times during grilling and had retained some glaze to be served with the chicken. With some rice, this would be a good main dish. Done on small skewers, it would be a great pary appetizer. We'll definitely make this again.

Scrappy Log Cabin

2009-06-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

I finished putting these wonky log cabin squares together with the rest of the triangles from the grandmother's fan lap quilt for my mom and the circle quilt for the Craftster Charity Unswap. I have a number of fans left for another project, but there were also many triangles that were cut but not pieced. I'm not really a fan of the fan block for myself (har har), so I decided to use them another way. I want to add an outer row to each block using the same center fabric, Quilter's Only in Parchment, and piece the blocks with no sashing. I think I am going to use 4 inch strips to give me a 7 inch "sashing" look between the squares. Hopefully, this will also make a larger quilt since these blocks are 6 inches. I have at least one more row that is not pictured here. I haven't done the math yet. I'd like to keep this one for myself, but it has to be big enough. I have a purple print and a purple solid for the back. I haven't decided.