BIG AS LIFE COOKIE

 I authored my first book in 1980......and it wasn't quilt related!  "I'll Eat Anything If I Make It Myself" (pbh publishing) is a children's cookbook!!

A friend shared her excitement of her grandson's upcoming Christmas visit and their gingerbread mansion project.  It reminded me of one I did annually for our son's elementary school class.  

Enjoy, feel free to copy.  I now own the publishing rights to this book so it's my small gift to you my faithful readers!  Merry Christmas!!!!

  

FOODIE ALERT

"The husband" has always enjoyed the challenges of outdoor cooking....nooooo, never using a gas grill.  He's a wood smoker advocate.  After replacing our 30 year old Big Green Egg with a 'big boy' wood smoker....he can't stop experimenting.

His latest passion focuses on the very high quality meats from Snake River Farms where his first (but definitely not the last) purchase of American Wagyu beef turned him onto this resource that offers higher than prime quality meat.

 Kurobuta Rack of Pork right off the smoker

Frankly, I'm not much of a meat eater......and heck, with this huge amount we'll be gnawing on it for quite some time.  I must agree....it was very flavorful, tender, juicy, with a very impressive appearance.

Sorry....this isn't a fiber related post......rather, a glimpse of the other part of my life!

OTHER HOBBIES

Although my focus is clearly dedicated to creating wall art, felting, and beading....there are actually other activities I enjoy.  Years....like eons ago, I operated my own small cooking school in the suburbs of Chicago. In fact, the very first published book of mine was a children's cookbook.  Everyday meal preparation is not as interesting as it was once to me, but I do enjoy baking.

 I've been playing around with different flavored breads....a change from the crusty sour dough bread I normally make.  This is a Kalamata/paramesan cheese loaf after 3 risings.

 A pizza stone has been heating at 425 for 30 mins.

 With the aid of parchment paper, the loaf is slid onto the hot stone and baked for about 45 mins.

I wish you could smell the aroma and hear the crunch as the bread was cut.  Of course I'll be paying for those calories by extending my exercise for the next couple of days!

POPOVERS

There's something so very special and fun about making popovers.....well....it's magic isn't it?  Yummy too.......

CHICAGO STYLE PIZZA

I LOVE PIZZA!!!  

AND....we've been trying to duplicate Chicago Style Pizza ever since we moved from that area in 2000. I've tried every 'recipe' I could find....each espousing their's revealed the 'secret'.  Sure, I've come close....but duplicating the crust exactly has never been spot on.

 "The husband" bought a small pamphlet on his Kindle for something like $2.99....with similar promises.  I almost NEVER need or follow recipes.....except perhaps for baking desserts. I was dubious....but decided to follow the Sausage/Cheese one as written.

I was surprised that ground ginger, a very unexpected ingredient, was added to the dough. The author claimed that the taste changed during baking. I must agree as I did not detect that flavor at all....and the crust was the closest we've come to the flaky thick crusts we were familiar with.

The other unusual approach is to use homemade pork sausage....(easier than you'd think) which is spread out in a thin layer, rather than chunks.  Of course that's one of the trademarks of the original Uno's pizza.

One obvious issue is the inability of home ovens to reach a higher temperature than 550 degrees.  I added a bit more time but the next attempt I'll add even more. 

Even though I vowed to follow the recipe exactly....I didn't.  I added more crushed tomato sauce than it called for....and you can see it's a bit runny.  However, that was probably caused by not waiting the prescribed amount of time before cutting it....as following pieces 'set up' better.

So the next time....and there will be a next time......the changes will be:  more seasonings.....it was definitely too bland for me (but then again I always cook with a lot of herbs/spices), more ingredients such as onions, black olives, pepperoni, longer cooking time, and longer resting time.  

Have I made you hungry???

FINALLY - RHUBARB!

We've now lived in NC, 1 month shy of 10 years.  And for all of the 10 years, each spring I unsuccessfully search to buy fresh rhubarb. That is still so stunning to me...having trouble finding rhubarb!!  Because in Wisconsin, every other neighbor at this time of the year is trying to give theirs away.

 This is a food item that folks either love or hate....I'm in the LOVE category.  AND finally, there it was at our local grocery store.  Now that was a huge shock, especially since I feel this chain has the worst quality produce ever.

 Within 43 minutes of getting home from the store....a favorite rhubarb muffin recipe was made and ready for the oven.

Within an hour 15 mins. of getting home from the store.......I'd already enjoyed a freshly baked muffin.  I REALLY wanted to make a rhubarb pie.....but 'the husband' is in the 'hate' category....which meant I'd end up eating the entire pie myself.  After 3 weeks of laying around with a pesky virus, I decided to make individual muffins which can be frozen and parceled out to enjoy.

PTA - SEPT. MEETING

Our PTA - Professional Textile Artists group meets once a month. We all eagerly await our gatherings which range from field trips, occasional projects, Show and Tell, lots of chatting, and food consumption.

Every member is incredibly supportive....always ready to jump in and help with tips/techniques/critiques/and fabric sharing.  As can be typical of a larger group, at times monthly planning can stall and last minute scurrying develops.  So at the beginning of this year, we tried a new approach.  Each of us took charge of planning the activities for a specific month.  It's working GREAT!!  

 Member Kate just returned from a trip to Sweden and lucky for us.....it was her turn this month.  She hosted us with a delicious, over-the-top feast, inspired by the foods she enjoyed during her travels.

 Not only were the open faced sandwiches incredibly tasty, featuring meats, herring, shrimp, and vegetables on marbled bread, they were picture perfect as well.

 We enjoyed a selection of olives.

 A Scandinavian salad.....

.....More sandwiches.....

 Homemade Cardamon cookies.....

 ......and many styles of liquorish.....brought back from Sweden.  

After we gorged ourselves.....we toured Kate's sewing spaces.  How would you like to have this organized stash?!? .....AND it's only a partial view of her collection.

Consider scheduling monthly gatherings with some of your fiber friends.......and build your own quilt memories.

AMAZING SOUS VIDE

As a long time foodie.....before that term became a 'catch phrase'......I've always enjoyed eathing & cooking.  I'll admit however, everyday cooking (after all these years) isn't as appealing as it once was.

I'm not a vegetarian, yet I can easily go for an extended time without it, especially beef.  So the fact that I'm touting this cooking success surprises even me.

Have you heard of a Sous Vide?  If not, I'm guessing you will soon now that this cooking method has become available to the home cook.  With the exception of saying it's a manner of cooking food in a controlled temperature water bath in a vacuumed sealed bag....with perfect results......learn more here. 

Beef Tenderloin - cooked at 135 degrees for 6 hours.  I KNOW that sounds like a long time.....but seeing is believing!

COOKING...BACK TO MY ROOTS

Some of you may already know this....but prior to quilting, I was immersed in cooking.  I still love to cook, but with only the 2 of us, aging bodies and all......elaborate meals don't often fit our lives.

However, we had a guest so that was excuse enough.....while the meal was cooking, the dogs played and played.  Our weather has been GREAT.....nip in the air of course....it is winter.  But daytime temps. have been mid. 60's.....I'll take it.  This IS what we expected moving here....though the past couple of winters seemed like we were still living in Wisconsin!

 This was a new experiment for me.....baking a head of cauliflower!  It was smothered with a mixture of olive oil, dark mustard, and crushed fresh garlic.  Baked for an hour at 425 degrees.....

When removed, it was topped with a mixture of mustard, chopped fresh parsley, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  I snapped a photo before the final topping melted.....and AFTER I began cutting it into wedges.  (Thus the messy looking dish.)

 Our protein was my newest favorite, a burgundy/black pepper boneless leg of lamb.  (Purchased at Trader Joe's....finally there's one in Asheville!!)  Even though I'm not much of a meat eater.....this is fabulous.  

We cooked it for 48 hrs. in our Sous Vide at 130 degrees.  If you aren't familiar with this equipment...I'm not surprised.  This home model is fairly new to the market.  It's a take off of what restaurants use.  Haven't you ever wondered how on earth you can order a medium rare piece of standing rib roast and it's delivered to your table in a short amount of time...cooked perfectly??  Commercial kitchens use these 'water bath' cooking machines...which can cook and hold items vacuumed sealed for several days at the exact correct temperature...never overcooking!  

It's a bit of a learning curve to begin with.....but we've never had better tasting meat.

One negative can be the appearance....since the meat isn't roasted in the typical fashion.  We now have that problem solved.  'The husband' under-cooks' roasts very slightly.....removes from the water bath and finishes off on the wood fired grill.  It improves the taste, crust and look of a roast.  Sorry.....he was nearly finished carving before I could take a picture.

 As long as we were feasting.....potatoes made an appearance too.  A food item we rarely have anymore.  Here, thinly sliced raw potatoes are arranged on a foil covered shallow baking pan....drenched with garlic infused olive oil....salt, pepper, and a tad of fresh rosemary.  

Baked @ 425 - covered with foil for 45 mins. and uncovered the last 15 mins.

Yummmmmm!  I'll be walking twice today.....

ANY EXCUSE

Don't we all look forward and gear up for special occasion birthdays? This month, Fiber Junkie's member Denny had a significant birthday which of course, we needed to acknowledge and celebrate.  

 Denny enjoys using spider web designs in her work....so our party theme was easy considering Halloween is so close.  Judy has made a hand dyed table cloth for the guest of honor at our previous 'big' birthday celebrations......and she did for this one as well.  However, to preserve the beauty....it was covered with this fabric that Kate tried to convince everyone that she hand stitched.  NOT!!!  

 Although we do fuss.....we are sensible with our time as well.....so paper products, plus fun 'embellishments' make entertaining easy on the hostess.

 We dressed Denny with a dyed cheesecloth shawl, a lovely (cheap) plastic necklace, a stylish witches hat and broom......

 Extra fabric goodies for our birthday girl.

And....the real reason for making the bread sticks that I blogged about yesterday......to marry the yummy homemade soup made by Gen.

HALLOWEEN FUN FOOD

Cooking has always appealed to me....so much so that I ran a small cooking school years ago and authored a children's cookbook, "I'll Eat Anything If I Can Make It Myself".  Numerous back surgeries and guidelines from doctors guided me away from 'standing on my feet all day & carrying heavy equipment".  Ha.....that could describe of the life of a traveling quilt instructor as well!

The funny thing is.....one of my favorite parts of cooking was garnishing/decorating.  I guess it's not a leap to realize all I did was change my materials....instead of garnishing food, I now embellish cloth.

 Halloween party food can be such fun to create.  I've made 'chopped' off finger breadsticks, enhanced with blue food coloring and almond finger nails. Here they are rising....

 Cooling after a generous wash of garlic salted butter......yummmmmm

Lately kitchen experiments have revolved around creating tasty sugar-free desserts.  The timing is right for this pumpkin mousse.  I had planned to mark a spider web into the filling but it went out of my mind until AFTER I added the plastic spiders.  When it sets I'll go back and do that!

Okay....so this isn't my typical blog topic....maybe I needed all this comfort food after Sunday nights' Packer loss to the Saints.....sigh.....

I LEFT SOME QUILTS IN MD & DE!!

Among the many highlights of my teaching trip is the food.  Both groups so thoughtfully arranged dinners at interesting restaurants.....  We are quilters after all......food is always on our minds!

My first experience at a Persian restaurant......it tasted as good as it looks.

With lots of giggling on my last night, I was told we'd be going to "Wrinkles".....Hummm...what a strange name for a restaurant.  Well...it was the nickname the group calls this establishment due to all the seniors who eat here beginning at 4:00 PM.  

I'm all smiles and so are the new owners of a number of my pieces. I'll admit to having separation pangs, but in my heart, with my retirement getting closer and closer, it's a necessary step.....made easier seeing the happy keepers of these designs.

 I'll conclude with this picture of Casey and myself......