Saturday, October 24, 2015

Fall Tossing, Peanut Butter Frosting, & Zucchini Soup

First truth: I love my sewing room. Second truth: Although it was the largest available room in my house, it's way too small for all my stuff!

Cramped space isn't all bad, I suppose. There is an upside to squeezing everything into a small room. Since it doesn't take much clutter to turn the space into a maze, there's no choice but to keep things organized. That's not a bad thing.

On the other hand, controlling chaos also forces the occasional sort and toss, and parting with things can be downright painful. The overstuffed boxes, drawers, baskets, and surfaces have reached the point where something has to go. Make that plural. Lots of somethings have to go. I'll be saying good-bye to a few projects, both finished and unfinished, extra fabrics and supplies, and some other accumulated "stuff". Where to start? Where to stop? Most important of all, who to dump it on?

Taking the first step in the grand clean out wasn't hard at all. My daughter rather likes one of the numerous UFOs in my boxes, so it's going to her house. I've been working on it this week. The less than perfect quilting is completed, and the binding goes on later today. That's one item gone.  More to come.

My daughter's choice: a disappearing four patch lap quilt in Kaffe Fassett prints.

There are only two places you need to look for me in my house. If I'm not in the sewing room, check the kitchen. This week my kitchen time was limited so the recipes were quick and easy.

The soup of the week was extra yummy "Cream of Zucchini Soup" from skinnytaste.com. This is my new favorite soup for fall. Terri Lyn shared the link with me, and I'm sharing it with all of you. Thank you, Terri! If anyone else has a super recipe for any favorite food, please let me know and I'll post it here. 

I served the soup with melon and a chunk of whole wheat baguette. It made such a tasty, healthy lunch. 

Creamy Zucchini Soup
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/03/cream-of-zucchini-soup-1-ww-point.html?m=1

I also baked a cake this week. Thursday was the day for my monthly fifth grade book talks, and I had lunch in the teacher's lounge with my buddies. I aways try to take a treat for them, and this cake was it.

I should have taken my photo before the cake was discovered. These two little pieces are all that remain.
The cake was a basic sour cream chocolate dump cake that was just okay. My peanut butter frosting, though, was a real hit, and everyone wanted the recipe.  I hardly dare to call it a recipe. It's just a buttercream frosting made with equal amounts of butter and peanut butter.

This is the way I made it for an 8" square cake. Pair it with your favorite baked chocolate something,  and get ready for rave reviews.

  1. In a medium bowl, cream 1/4 cup of room temperature butter and and 1/4 cup of peanut butter together until fluffy. 
  2. Add a teaspoon of vanilla, three or four tablespoons of milk, and a couple of cups of powdered sugar. Blend thoroughly.
  3. Add more milk and/or powdered sugar until the frosting is a nice spreadable consistency.
  4. Frost cooled cake, cupcakes, or cookies and grate a little chocolate on top. 
... or just eat it with a spoon.
:)

Wishing you a lovely last week in October.



Sunday, October 18, 2015

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls - a recipe

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls - a recipe

I've put patterns aside for a week or two so I can work on other things. This week I've washed windows and begun filling my freezer with pre-cooked soups and casseroles. The farmer's market will be closed for the winter very soon, so I've been gathering and preparing as many local veggies as I can manage.

As the season comes to a close, the farmer's market is overflowing with delicious veggies.  I brought home pumpkins, fresh canning tomatoes, zucchini, green and red peppers, and two beautiful pale green cabbages. I had big plans for all of them, especially for the cabbages.

Cabbage rolls stuffed with rice, ground beef, and herbs are a favorite at our house. This is old-fashioned comfort food at it's best. The recipe takes quite a bit of time, but it is so worth the effort.

Once cooked, these freeze beautifully. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag in the freezer. They will keep for up to two months.

My grandmother's stuffed cabbage went by the title, "Pigs in Blankets", and it was made with ground pork.  My recipe takes some elements from my grandmother's stuffed cabbage rolls and others from my mother-in-law's recipe. The vinegar comes from my grandmother, the beef from my mother-in-law, and the abundant herbs from both of them. The brown sugar that adds sweetness to the sour is all mine. Grandma's cabbage rolls were baked in the oven, my mother-in-law's were cooked on the stovetop, and mine are slowly simmered in a crockpot.


The Ingredients:

  • 1 medium cabbage
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 cup uncooked long grained rice (I used basmati.)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 T vegetable oil or olive oil
  • 1/3 cup fresh, chopped parsley (1 /2 T dried)
  • 1/4 cup fresh, chopped dill (1 T dried)
  •  Chopped tomatoes, 15 oz. can 
  • 1 small can of tomato sauce, 8 oz
  • 1-2 T apple cider vinegar
  • 1-2 T brown sugar
  • salt and pepper to taste

Steam the cabbage to soften it for stuffing. 

This can take half an hour or more, so I often do it a day in advance. A large vegetable steamer is the best utensil to use, but I don't have one. I substituted a large pot with a tight fitting lid and a metal colander that fits inside.

the core removed                                      the first layer of leaves draining                the cabbage inverted in the pot.

  1. Place water in the pot. It should reach almost to the bottom of the insert, but it shouldn't actually touch the cabbage. Bring the water to a boil. Turn the temperature down so the water just bubbles gently. 
  2. Use a small paring knife to cut out the heart of the cabbage, then invert the cabbage and place it upside down in the container in the pot. Put the lid on the pot.
  3. The leaves need to be steamed just enough to shape easily around the stuffing without breaking.  
  4. After 10 minutes or so, gently peel off the softened outer leaves. Place them in a colander to cool. 
  5. Return the cabbage to the pot, put the lid on, and wait for the next layer of two or three leaves to soften. As the cabbage heats through less time will be needed to soften the leaves. 
  6. Repeat this process till all of the leaves of usable size have been removed. The small leaves wrapped tightly in the center of the cabbage can be saved for another use or discarded. 
Prepare the Stuffing 

  1. In a medium saucepan, bring a quart of water to a boil. Turn the temperature down to medium. Add a teaspoon of salt, one tablespoon of the oil, and the rice. Stir. Allow the rice to cook for ten to fifteen minutes. When the grains of rice are firm in the center, but not crunchy, remove the pot from the stove and pour the rice in a mesh strainer to drain off the water. Set the rice aside.
  2. Pour the remaining tablespoon of oil into a large skillet with the onions. Saute the onions until just golden in color. Remove the onions and set aside. 
  3. Brown the ground beef in the same skillet. Drain off any excess oil and return the onions to the skillet with the ground beef. Add the parsley, dill, and tomato sauce plus salt and pepper. Simmer on medium low heat for about ten minutes. 
  4. Add the drained rice to the skillet and mix stir.
Stuff the Cabbage Leaves



  1. Make a layer of two or three of the larger leaves on the bottom of the crockpot. This will prevent the bottom cabbage rolls from scorching. 
  2. Hold a cabbage leaf in one hand. The leaf will naturally curl to form a pocket near the base. 
  3. Add enough stuffing to fit comfortably in the pocket. The amount will vary from one tablespoon to as many as three tablespoons depending on the size of the leaf. 
  4. Fold the sides of the leaf in snuggly so they overlap a bit at the center.
  5. Fold the top of the leaf down.
  6. The cabbage roll should be quite compact, but not so tight as to tear the cabbage leaf. Continue making the rolls will all of the usable leaves. 
(Extra stuffing can be heated and cooked through for a side dish.)


6. Place each roll in the crockpot, folded side down.
7. When the bottom of the crockpot is filled, layer the rolls on top of each other.
8. Pour the cooked, diced tomatoes over all.
9. Cook on low heat for 4-6 hours, or until the cabbage is cooked through and tender.

To serve, remove the cabbage rolls to a serving dish, and spoon the juice in the bottom of the crockpot over them.

Enjoy!
















Wednesday, October 14, 2015

A Pair of Projects With Candles

The warm light of glowing candles creates feelings of home, comfort, and love. I'm sure that's why candles are symbolic of both Christmas and romantic love. I find myself particularly drawn to them as the holiday season approaches. I had planned to make a candle mug rug this year, but the table runner absolutely insisted on getting itself made at the same time. I'm so glad it did. I had the perfect batiks for the table runner in my stash, and this pair of patterns turned out to be among my all time favorites.

"Candle" mug rug.

"Candlelight" table runner.
I loved using white for candles, but the darker background fabrics were showing through on both projects. The easiest solution was to line each candle with a layer of lightweight muslin. I used fusible web between the muslin and the main white fabric to hold the two together. Then I added another layer of fusible web to the back of the muslin. It does make for a stiffer piece, so I wouldn't want to double the layers like this on a lap quilt or a bed quilt.


Quilting doesn't show up very much on the the background fabric in the table runner, so I had a perfect opportunity to practice some FMQ. Feathers and swirls went smoothly, but pebbles are beyond me! No matter how many pebbles I stitch or what size I make them, they come out disconnected and less than round. I'll keep plugging away though. I love beautifully stitched pebbles, and I've never been able to resist a challenge.



I think the candles may be my last Christmas patterns for the year. There are loads of other patterns begging to be made, but even those will wait a week or so.

Next week I'll be cooking and doing some essential fall housecleaning. A person can only squeeze so many hours from a day.

Wishing you a beautiful weekend!

And, Happy Stitching!







Friday, October 9, 2015

A Bit of Reading and a New Purse

There will never, ever be another purse like this one - at least not in my future.  I'm afraid I bit off a bit more than I could comfortably chew with this design. Recessed zipper, curved bottom, curved top, internal zippered pocket - simply too many elements in one bag. If I'd only made the top perfectly straight across everything would have been fine. It was that curve along the zipper line that threw the lining off and made me crazy.



I like lots of pocket in my bags. This one has a nice, large one on the outside, plus three smaller pockets and that zippered one on the inside. 

See that upward curve at the outside edges where the lining meets the black zipper. Essential, but such a pain,

A peek at the inside lining under construction.

I've read two excellent historical fiction books during the past two weeks, and I'm just getting into another. I'd been on a waiting list at the library for all three, and they all arrived at once. Three war stories in a row, but each one so very good! I've enjoyed the gift of several lovely late nights curled up in my reading chair followed by more than one sleepy morning. 

The Latest Reading: 

"The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah.  This was set France during the WWII occupation by Germany. Like "The Winter Garden' by the same author, it's a story of two sisters separated by age, temperament, and a broken family. In "The Nightingale", the older sister's husband is a French soldier, and she is trying to keep her daughter and herself safe and alive during the occupation.  The younger sister joins the French Resistance and takes enormous risks to defy the Nazis.

"Orhan's Inheritance" by Aline Ohanesian. This is an account of the lesser known genocide - the murder of thousands of Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire during WWI. This year is the 100th anniversary of that event. It's a beautifully written and very moving story that moves back and forth between the years of WWI and the 1990's.

"All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr is the book I have just begun reading. So far, I've been very impressed with the author's wonderful use of language and the development of the two main characters, a blind French girl and a young German soldier.

We're enjoying another gorgeous 
autumn weekend on the prairie.


I hope your week is filled with beauty and wonder.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

A "First Christmas" Wall Hanging and a Few Lessons

fIt's been a year of exploring new ideas and experimentation. The latest "first" is finally complete.

"First Christmas", 17" x 23 1/2"

It seems like I've been working on this project for months, and in some ways I have been.

Last year, on one our quilt shop hops, we happened upon some stained glass quilts that were different from any I'd seen before. Making and working with the narrow bias tape needed for curved shapes on stained glass quilts is a daunting prospect that scares many on us away from these projects. The curved and detailed shapes of these quilts, however, were outlined with ready made fusible 1/4" bias tape. The seed for this wall hanging was planted that day. And it grew and grew.

I spent most of my spare time in September working on the design for this quilt and locating the right fabrics. The actual construction went surprisingly fast, but, oh my goodness, did I wind up doing things the hard way! It was a new experience for me, but that's how we learn. Every new step is a lesson, and those missteps become the greatest lessons of all.

New Learning

Lesson 1: Sometimes it's best to forego the nonstick applique pressing sheet and fuse appliques right onto the fabric.

I'd thought that it would be so much easier to center my applique onto the gold background oval if it was all in one piece. Normally that's very true, but lifting a large applique in one piece when it's only held together with thin strips of bias tape is just a wee bit tricky. More than a wee bit, in fact. More like almost impossible.

I've written the pattern to show an alternate, much easier way to get everything nicely centered. It involves folding the gold fabric in quarters and pressing light fold lines to guide the placement. Those folds coordinate with guidelines in the pattern. Next time I'll start out this way.

Lesson 2: A rectangle of fabric with a big hole in the middle doesn't like to lay flat.

I didn't want the dark blue fabric behind the gold to alter its color. I had found a perfect piece of soft, golden yellow batik in my stash, but it was barely large enough for my needs. My local quilt shop didn't have anything similar that I liked, so I was being super careful.


Instead of trimming the blue out from behind the gold when it was attached, I decided to cut the oval out of the blue in the first place and then lay it over the gold. But the blue became totally misshaped when I laid it on my work table with that big hole in the middle. In the end, I adhered it to a muslin foundation with quilt basting spray, then I tucked the yellow behind the blue fabric. The double thickness of fabric was too much, but I couldn't remove the muslin until I'd finished stitching the bias tape down. Again, I've written the pattern with an easier option for construction.

Lesson 3: If I ever make this quilt again, I'll either leave the darker blue decorative free motion stitching off the sleeve or I'll add it in with a machine stitch.


Mary and Joseph lived in an area of the world that has always been known for beautiful embroidery, so I thought it might be appropriate to show a bit of embroidery on Mary's sleeve. I'm afraid my level of skill and a dull needle on my sewing machine didn't allow me to accurately reproduce my vision of the embroidery in free motion quilting. It's just "okay".

Lesson 4: Taking a risk and experimenting with a brand new idea was not a mistake!!

Once again, I find myself promoting a product, but this 1/4" fusible bias tape is really excellent.  It molds easily around even small curves. I was worried about fitting it smoothly around the baby's head, but it worked beautifully with practically no effort at all.

This isn't available in my local quilt shops, but I found it easily on eBay.
Once the tape is fused with a hot iron, it needs to be stitched in place. A straight line of stitching on the edge of the tape looks great, but I chose a machine hemming stitch.


Black thread on black bias tape doesn't show in photos, so here it is on regular yellow bias tape.



Will I make another stained glass quilt? 
I've just ordered two more spools of fusible bias tape, so I am prepared. 
Just in case.

My hubby has decided that this is my "masterpiece". He's such a devoted fan. He's even chosen a special place to hang it so he can admire it every day.  Have to love that man. 









Friday, October 2, 2015

Finishing up a Project and Enjoying a Gorgeous Day

It's a stunning day! The temperature is perfectly autumn, the sky is bright blue and the trees are just beginning to change their color.

No matter how hard I'm trying to finish up my stained glass quilt, I simply couldn't stay indoors all day. I took a bit of time off from hemming and decorated my little front porch seating area for October - nothing fancy, just a few pumpkins to add a bit of color. 


I put the summer chairs away and brought these up from the back patio. Every time I passed by the big walnut tree this little squirrel took time out from his nibbling to scold me. I think he was warning me away from his walnuts. Can you see him hidden there in the shadows?


I didn't do any baking or make any more soup this week, but I did cook up that 20 pound box of tomatoes to freeze. I now have 12 pints of yummy cooking tomatoes in my freezer. I'm tempted to buy another box this Sunday, because I can go through it awfully fast. 

My big turkey roaster was absolutely full! 
If I'm ever going to get this pattern finished, I need to get back to my hem stitching! 
Not far to go now. 
Not far at all to go. 
:)




And then, my grandson dropped by for dinner! 
What a perfect day!

Wishing you a glorious October!!



Friday, September 25, 2015

A Rocking Story and Another Pot of Soup


All afternoon I rode across the prairie, galloping on my trusty steed, chasing down the bad guys and singing off key. I was four-years-old living in the land of make-believe, but in the real world of grownups, the prairie was my Uncle Gail's front porch and the steed was my cousin Tom's old rocking horse with the chipped paint and the scraggly tail. It was the first time I'd met my cousin and the first rocking horse I'd ever seen. I never got over my love of that horse or my admiration for my wonderful big cousin.


From Utah we went on to view the wonders of the Grand Canyon that summer. I know I was there because somewhere downstairs I have a photo, but from that entire trip I only remember Tom and his wonderful rocking horse.

"Let's Rock"

While making this newest pattern, I relived the thrill of the front porch adventure in the form of fabric and thread. I hope you like "Let's Rock" half as much as I do.


Lentil Soup with Curry



This week I made two soups, lentil soup and chili. I must have been in the mood for beans this week - possibly due to my impatience for cooler weather. The chili is a very basic recipe, so I'll share only the lentil soup recipe with you this time. If you don't care for curry, you could use cinnamon or Worcestershire sauce to spice up the lentils.

It started with a pint of mixed, chopped carrots, celery, and onions from Trader Joe. 

Ingredients
  • 2 cups chopped carrots, celery, and onions in about equal portions
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 2 medium potatoes cut in 1/2" cubes
  • 3/4 cup lentils
  • 15 oz can of chicken broth (I used the last of my frozen homemade chicken broth)
  • 3 or 4 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 - 2 tsp curry powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 - 5 cups water
  • a squeeze of lemon juice (It's easier to add more than to remove too much, so add just a bit at a time, tasting to make sure it's just right for your taste buds.)

1. Lightly sauté the chopped, mixed vegetables and the garlic together in the olive oil.
2. Place all ingredients except the lemon juice into a slow cooker with 3 cups of the water.
3. Cook on high 4 hours, turn setting to low and continue to cook until the lentils and vegetables are tender. Add water as needed.

My freezer is stuffed with soups right now, but I know I'll be adding to the variety as time goes on. I'm missing some basics, like chicken noodle, and I'd like to try some new recipes, too. If you have a favorite, please send it to me and I'll publish it here on my blog. My email: klee2strings@gmail.com

Have a fabulous week! 
Happy stitching, everyone!


Saturday, September 19, 2015

Two September Recipes and a Project Photo From a Friend

First things, first. Hannah sent me a photo of her final block for this year's quilt along. Isn't it lovely? The fabrics are so cheerful and bright. Beautiful work!



I haven't done any actual stitching for the past several days, but I've made headway on some ideas. Both are inspired by the upcoming holiday, but I won't tell you much more.  No sneak previews this time around!

One project will be symbolic and very, very different from anything else I've ever made. This will be something that my grandmother would have loved. The other project is inspired by a childhood memory. That one has taken on a mind of it's own. I was going to make a mug rug, but it's turning into something else. Wish I knew where it's going.

The weather has turned cool and autumn-like again for the last couple of days, and it's put me in the mood to cook and bake whatever I can from local September harvests before warm days return for awhile. Today it was soup for lunch and cake for my afternoon snack. 

Veggie Soup


First off, I made a huge pot of vegetable soup. It's one of my usual soup recipes - raid the fridge and throw it in the slow cooker. Most of this went into the freezer in single serving containers. It will keep for several months. My hubby doesn't care much for soup, but thanks to the microwave, I can have instant soup for lunch whenever I like.




This is what went into it this time.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium chopped onion
1 sliced zucchini
1 sliced yellow zucchini
1/2 sweet green pepper, chopped
1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
About 2 cups chopped, cooked tomatoes (fresh or canned)
8 oz canned tomato sauce
15 oz chicken broth (mine was homemade)
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen baby lima beans (peas, green beans, or other vegetables would work as well)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 T chopped fresh basil (dill, rosemary, or thyme can be substituted)
2 - 4 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Place tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper, and 2 cups of water into the slow cooker. Turn to high.
2. Fry onions in one tablespoon of the olive oil until lightly browned. Add to the slow cooker.
3. Lightly sauté zucchinis and peppers in the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add to the slow cooker.
4. Cook four to six hours, or until vegetables are tender, adding water as needed.
5.  Add the frozen vegetables to pot and cook for another half hour. 
6. Serve.


Apple Cake with Strudel Topping





This is so good - moist and filled with fresh apple goodness. I like it best warm, but it's wonderful chilled as well. I've actually combined two recipes. The cake is a variation of a recipe from King Arthur Flour, and the topping is from an old farm cookbook in my cupboard. The cake will keep for several days refrigerated, but I'm planning to wrap individual pieces in plastic wrap and freeze them in a freezer bag. Not that I have much left to freeze. I wound up sharing almost half of it with my neighbors. The rest, though, will keep for at least a month. 


Strudel Topping


1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats
1/3 cup flour
4 T cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces

1. In a medium size bowl, toss the first three ingredients together with a fork.
2. With you fingertips, blend in the butter pieces until small clumps form and the butter is well incorporated, about 2 minutes.
3. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cake

2 1/3 cups flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp Apple Pie Spice (I used 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves, and 1/4 tsp allspice)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup softened butter
4 cups peeled, cored, copped apple
3/4 cups walnut pieces

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9" x 13" pan.
2. Mix all of the ingredients except the apples and walnuts together in a large bowl.
3. Beat until well combined. The mixture will be very stiff,  and possibly crumbly.
4. Add the apples and nuts, and mix until the mixture become a thick batter, somewhere between a cookie dough and a brownie batter in consistency.
5. Spread the batter in the pan, smoothing the top with wet fingers.
6. Sprinkle the strudel topping evenly over the top.
7. Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 


Wishing you a super September week!














Monday, September 14, 2015

New Toys, Part 2: Constructing the Styrofoam Wreath.

After two weeks of work, almost 300 photographs, and a ton of fun along the way, the wreath is finished! It turned out exactly as I had envisioned it, and that's the biggest surprise of all.

The photograph looks like it was taken in winter, but it was actually almost 90 degrees and humid out there on my porch.

These little toys are so very versatile! I attached them to a styrofoam wreath with long pins,  but I can see them used in so many different ways. I wish I had time to sew some different uses, but there is only so much time in a day.

These are just a few of my ideas:
  • Attach the toys to a ready made evergreen wreath. They would only need some little plastic or metal loops sewn to the back. Bits of wire threaded through the loops would attach nicely to the evergreen branches. 
  • Using the same little loops attached up at the top of the ornaments, the little toys would be wonderful tied onto a Christmas tree with pretty bits of ribbon. 
  • What about replacing the traditional bow on a package with a cute ornament? 
  • Stocking stuffers for older children!
  • I'm even visualizing mug rugs or Christmas stockings with fusible web appliques made from the templates




The pattern contains all the details for sewing the ornaments, so I'll focus on preparing the wreath in this blog post.

The Wreath

Any size or shape of styrofoam wreath would be fine for this project.

I started with a plain white 16" styrofoam wreath. I chose one with a flat top rather than one that was rounded. First, I wrapped it in a 2" bias strip from 1/2 yard of green fabric. Then I used an entire roll of sheer 2 1/2" green ribbon to wrap over the cotton.

 Wire based garland sections with holly, pinecones and evergreen came next.


I placed these on the wreath and used 5/8" sheer green ribbon tied on the back side of the wreath to hold these pieces in place The ribbon allows enough flexibility to allow positions to be altered here and there as the ornaments are attached.


I added some purchased pinecone decorations and a few small glass balls to lend color and variety to the arrangement. 


The toys and additional glass ball ornaments were added last. Long pins with pearl heads worked beautifully! I hooked them into the back side of the toys and then poked them into the wreath. 



In only one week, fall will officially arrive.  
May your last week of summer be wonderful!