Baking/cooking

Because I hand piece and hand quilt I really have not made a lot of progress lately and just have the same old stuff to post about so I didn’t bother to do that yesterday.  Progress moves slowly and I’m not starting anything else right now.  I went and started that table runner a couple weeks ago for something new and then haven’t even picked it up in over a week to work on.

I have been concentrating on the small quilt “Looking Through the Fence” so that I can get it done before the end of the year and count it as a finished 2011 project.  I just want to get it done and I’m sure a lot of you are like that at this time of year you want to see some finishes to things you started this year.

The lower half is about done, see the two lower corners – finished!

This is part is left to do

And this side, it is moving along nicely.

On Joseph’s Coat – I have not worked much on it since I extended the design wall and got the next diagonal set of pieces laid out, but I have gotten done with a little.  The lower part of the row is pieced up to the section that is obviously not there – that is sitting on the sandpaper board that I keep in the living room waiting for me to take some stitches while I am watching tv.

Yesterday I was very busy doing other things than quilting – I was cooking pumpkin!  This week is to get in the 30’s a couple times at night so I thought it was time to cook the fall pumpkins that I bought for decoration outside.  “They” the powers of the cooking world always say you should use the tiny pumpkins for pies and such but I always use my big pumpkins and think they taste just fine.  I cut up one big pumpkin yesterday and after cooking, mashing and putting through the food mill I got 3 quart bags of pumpkin.  I do not measure to put equal amounts in the bags I just stick it in there.  I use it for pumpkin bread, muffins, pancakes ect I normally just thaw out a bag and then start baking until I use it all up.  I have one more pumpkin to do – but one large one took me several hours yesterday and I will wait a day or two and then do the second one.

I also have 3 large bags of apples to take care of.  I like chunky applesauce so I do not put the apples through a food mill to puree.  I peel them, core them, chop them up and then cook on the stove.  I don’t add sugar as the apples are sweet enough as it, I use 3 varieties combining them and add some cinnamon and nutmeg and that is it.  Natural applesauce.   The jars and the peeler are ready for me to get busy – I might do it today or I might wait until the weekend.  I found the peeler when I was picking up more jars and thought it would be helpful.  I’ll let you know if it is or if it was a waste of money.

You can see in this photo that I have several jars of applesauce in the box already.  I made some  a couple weeks ago but it didn’t make much.  When we went to Little Rock on Tuesday we stopped at “Sams” and I got 3 large bags of apples to make more.  I have tried to find a pick your own apple orchard but I have found none listed anywhere around where I live – plenty of peach orchards but I have heard on no apple orchards.  There used to be one years ago but they went out of business back in the 80′s I believe and I have heard of none since.   If any of my readers in Arkansas know of one where you pick your own could you let me know the name of it, where it is, and when is their picking month so I will know where it is next year.  I don’t mind making a day of it and driving a couple hours to have a fun day outing.

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What better way to celebrate the finishing of a quilting project that took 10 months to do then to make a chocolate cake   the recipe in a moment – quilting done and the edges cut in a wavy pattern – free hand no rhyme or reason to it – just kind of following the rhythm of the vine.  “Going in Circles” is now ready to bind – after I cut the binding that is and get it stitched together, pressed ect.

Now on to the binding – hmm – the aqua blue/green or the same green batik of the vine?  I will decide tomorrow I think, tonight will be break time from quilting.  I’m even skipping the quilt group this evening.  I just don’t feel like running out tonight – although it is much, much cooler today due to cloud cover for most of the day – high is 91 today!!  I think when I am done with the binding I might have to find a Laundromat to do this one and use one of their large machines – mine is a tight squeeze and last time I thought I really needed a little more room for them.

Chocolate Fudgy Cake

4 oz. dark chocolate squares (4 squares)
1 cup butter softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Melt the chocolate and the butter in a double boiler over water.

Beat the eggs, add the sugar and the condensed milk.  Add the vanilla, beat again.  Add the dry ingredients and the chocolate mixture.  Make sure it is all mixed well together.

Pour into a tube pan, bundt pan or two layer cake pans.  Bake the tube/bundt pan about 50 to 55 minutes at 350 degrees – check for doneness bake a little longer if needed – the layer pans for about 30 minutes and check.

This is a fudgy cake – dense and a little heavy.  Add the frosting of your choice.  Yes I had a piece already – had to celebrate getting the quilting done

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Quilting has progressed a little more on Going in Circles.  Maybe by the end of next week I will be finished.  Since I took the quilt off of the frame my elbow pain is nearly gone already.  I think I was pressing up against a nerve with the way I was holding my arm next to the bar while going right to left.  I will continue not to quilt at the 3 roller for the time being though and just finish up this quilt and then stick with piecing for awhile and maybe even wait until fall before I start quilting another quilt and really take a break and see how the elbow is then.

I have all the pieces cut for the quilt that I will be working on when we start to travel in September.  It is an easy quilt and you know I haven’t even figured out how large it will be – I just know I cut the whole layer cake up to use for it and go from there – all the cut pieces are in a take along box waiting for me to throw in the other supplies needed when it comes time to do that.  Plenty of room for thread, threader, scissors, rotary cutter small mat ect.  Everything I can think of that I need will most likely get tossed in there.  Don’t these boxes come in handy   I will need to come up with a name for this quilt.  I didn’t see one on the pattern that was for making a pillow with this pattern.  I still know I saw a photo of the same pattern in a quilt size instead though and don’t know where.

Now on to a recipe – Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies.

I got this recipe out of a book simply called “Cookies” that I have had forever.  I changed it up a little adding chopped dried cherries and a 1/2 cup of brown sugar for something different.

3 cups of flour (I used white wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder (which I just realized I didn’t put in mine!!  I wonder now what would have been different
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
sugar to sprinkle on tops

Cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the vanilla and continue mixing.  Beat in the egg, then add the dry ingredients and some of the milk.  If you need all of the milk add the rest. Chill for about 30 minutes. Lightly flour a surface and roll the dough out to about 1/8th inch.  Cut with cookie cutters and place on a lightly greased pan (I use Pam Spray).  Sprinkle with sugar.  Bake 10 to 14 minutes until golden brown.

I really did not realize I forgot the baking powder until I was typing in the ingredients.  They tasted fine to me and looked just right too – I will have to take note of this next time I make them and see what the difference is.

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