Tag Archives: baking

Snippets of life.

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Where did I go the last couple weeks?   No where, just not here apparently.

I don’t have any big finishes or anything quite yet but I wanted to share a few snippets of life around here lately.

Remember I set a goal to bake a loaf of bread every week this year?  Well week two was pizza crust and may I say, it was amazing.  The recipe I used, from Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day, made enough for five 10″ pizzas so I used two and froze the rest. Mine, pictured above, had roasted garlic, olive oil, bacon, caramelized onions, and fresh basil, with mozzarella, sharp cheddar, and feta cheese.  Yum!

I spent a gift card at Marshall’s and got, among lots of other kitchen things, a lovely green Le Creuset pan into which, I promptly made blondies.  I added whiskey and instant espresso to the batter and seeing as they spread so thin, it’s possible I ate twice as much :)

This is quilt three of three for Catherine’s nieces.  I finished sewing the binding on the front today and will complete it tonight in front of the tv (Castle and Parks & Rec have returned!) and then it will be in the wash for all three followed by a photo shoot with Cait in a couple weeks!

I got a sweet Groupon deal for a portable iPod speaker system that a friend of mine had recommended.  My computer speakers just don’t get loud enough when cooking or washing dishes and this is a great solution!  It came with a small bag and strap but I think I’ll definitely be needing a much prettier one!

I actually made this a couple months ago but never showed it.  It’s only 8″ square (instead of 24″) but now I’m not sure what to do with it!  I think I might streamline it a little and  use some in a larger quilt.  I like these as minis!

When I started rearranging my studio a few months ago (no, I’m still not done :-/ ), I took down a couple pieces of beloved artwork so I knew they needed to be hung elsewhere.  So now they adorn the hallway and I’m able to see them multiple times a day, and a couple of them when I’m laying in bed.  The three on the left are done by the lovely Laura Lashley, the middle and top right are by Liz Simmons, and the bottom right is by Molly Bolton.

Remember when I mentioned a tattoo I got being part of a larger art project?  Well the show is up this month at the Electric Moustache gallery and Evan did such a fabulous job!  He took photographs of all of us that participated and our tattoos and made a video loop of our horses in motion.  You can see the video here.  It’s based on a series of photographs by Eadweard Muybridge in 1877 who set out to prove whether or not when a horse runs, all it’s feet leave the ground at once.  Through the photographs, he pioneered stop motion animation. I love the tattoo and the show and I’m so happy to be a part of this project!

I’ve been feeling the need to sew clothes lately.  I’m on the search for an easy, versatile top that I could make a lot of.  This is Simplicity 3835, a Built by Wendy pattern that I had a lot of hope for.  I’ve made the shorter dress with the ties before and it fit super awkwardly but I hoped the shirt would be better.  And it’s not really.  This picture actually isn’t bad but I kind of just feel like I’m wearing a bag :(  There are darts in the back but it doesn’t give it enough shape.  I could either shirr the waist or I could easily take it in but then I’d have to put in a zipper… I plan to work with it and see if I can’t make it better.

I ordered myself a couple things!  I love getting books in the mail.  I got a red sketchbook because I’d like to start drawing/sketching again this year (I haven’t done it since 11th grade), Denyse Schmidt Quilts (I didn’t realize until looking through it recently how much I love almost all the quilts in it!), and Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts.

Speaking of which, I’m excited to tell you that my friend Cait and I are embarking on a challenge in 2012 to make a project a month from LMP+QG!  We have designated 12 projects and will be blogging about them the last Thursday of each month.  I very rarely buy quilting books because I feel like I have to be drawn to a majority of the projects, so this is a good prodding for me to try some things I might not, otherwise.  After flipping through a few books that Cait owns, we settled on this one because it has a range of projects, and because of the iconic Color Wheel Quilt.  (That’s when I also realized I was drawn to a lot of DS’s projects so I threw that in my shopping cart, too.)  Can’t wait to show some things off!

Christmas weekend.

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This Christmas was pretty nice.  It’s wasn’t as snowy and awesome as last year but it was a weekend filled with sleep and cooking and a couple new things.

Saturday night I made pretzel rolls

and used them for sandwiches with sauteed sausage and onions and they were delicious!  The pretzel bread was so easy, I want to make them all the time.

Having started them the night before, I baked  no-knead pumpkin rolls on Sunday morning that were so good.  The recipe made 17 rolls; so what if I ate two for breakfast yesterday and today and one for dessert?  There’s no time like the holidays to be a fat kid :)

For Christmas dinner I made garlic schmeared rosemary chicken, butternut squash risotto with sage and bacon, crispy parmesan asparagus sticks, Martha’s trusty baked macaroni & cheese, and garlic pull apart bread (based on this recipe).

The risotto didn’t really work, I think it just lacked seasoning and I wish the squash had been more finely cut.  The asparagus wasn’t very good either.  I didn’t get pre-seasoned Panko breadcrumbs, which might have made the difference.  But all in all, the deliciousness of the chicken, bread, and pasta made up for it!  And I was pretty proud of myself for making three yeast breads in 24 hours!

One of my goals for Christmas day was to learn how to crochet granny shapes (hexagons in this case).  I pinned this photo on Pinterest months ago so following the tutorial, I made a couple and I love them!

I’m just using some Bamboo Ewe yarn I got with coupons at JoAnn’s and I thought I would stick with these same four colors the entire time but I might throw in a couple more along the way, keeping the grey outer ring a constant.  Three down, only 78 more to go!

Remember the photo I posted of the wrapped books I received and were saving for Christmas morning?  Well I eagerly opened them and spent a couple hours just flipping through the pages.

My dad so kindly got me The Break Baker’s Apprentice, Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, and The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt so I can join in on the quilt along next month!  I’m so excited about all these things.  I was really inspired by a sentiment Amanda talked about when we met at the Sewing Summit.  She talked of her desire to live a handmade life and I absolutely want to do the same thing.  Any small thing I can quilt to use around the house, making more of my own food, using my hands to knead bread and mend things; that sounds like such a rewarding life.

Oh and of course, how can I forget that I finally joined Instagram!  I love seeing everyone’s photos from there but hate that you have to have particular Apple products to use it.  I have a Mac but nothing else that would work, until Friday when Marcus brought home an iPad, a year end gift from his boss!  I won’t be carrying it around with me so I’ll only be posting things around the house but I still get to “like” and comment on other people’s things.  My name is @kaitcetera and you should follow me!

With new toys comes the creation of new things to use with them.  I noticed the hunching problem when using it while sitting down so following Betty Crocker Ass’ tutorial, I made a handy iPad rest!

The fabric was one of the only home dec fabrics I have in my stash (Amy Butler Imperial Fans in forest from Nigella), and definitely the least “girly” one.  Marcus and I have a bit of an argument about what’s manly :) I bought 5 or so yards of a wood grain fabric I fell in love with a few years ago and used it heavily in his quilt (and lots of other projects) but he insists it’s not actually manly at all. I want to make an iPad case but he said he wanted it to be black and purely functional.   What’s the fun in that?

So instead, I finally made a lined drawstring bag from Jeni’s wonderful tutorial!  It really was so simple and the fabric combinations are endless so I’m sure there are many more in my future.  I used fabric from my stash: an unknown floral print, the aforementioned wood grain, a yellow DS Quilts print, and an off-white twill tape for the pulls.

Quilting standstill = cooking!

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If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you’ll know I had to finish three quilts in five days, starting this past Wednesday. I knew I could finish the task and having received a walking foot for my Featherweight early last week, I felt ready to take on the sewing world! :) So I completed the tops in two days…and pieced the girls’ names for the backs.  However, I am left waiting for the friend who commissioned me to make these quilts to match each top with each of her nieces so I can finish the quilt backings and get basting and quilting!  I was on a roll and excited to add three more finishes to my list but now I’m left waiting…  So I don’t know that I’ll finish these by Monday but I will cross them off the list this year!

So instead of feeling aimless regarding quilts, I began to cook.  I am waiting for the second rise of pretzel bread (highly recommended by Jeni) to make sandwiches with including sausage and grilled onions and I threw together Vanessa’s super simple 3-minute fudge (so easy it feels like cheating!).  I will make the dough for pumpkin cinnamon rolls tonight so they can be baked first thing in the morning, to be followed by a delicious dinner that I’m excited to make.  Check back in the next couple days to see all the yumminess.

I have read of so many people baking tons of cookies and it makes me wish I had thought to get some friends together and do that this year.  Walking the dogs tonight I noticed all the neighbors that have been kind to me and deserve a little something.  Not to mention the lovely customers that gave me a card with $20 in it at work this week.  But, cookies or not, I am reminded of all the important people in my life.

I wish you the merriest of Christmases.  Go watch this and it might just brighten the day a little more :)

xo

Ah, the holidays.

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I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone and that December is nearly here, and yesterday is was 70 degrees outside.  I hope everyone had a nice holiday!

I have finally caught up on blogs from the last month and the time to sew feverishly for the craft faire has come.

I’ve mentally prepared myself for winter and have been making paper snowflakes as wishful thinking.

It looks to be a quiet day around here, a cup of tea, the smell of garlic as I roast some for soup, making monkey bread, organizing my room with things I got at Ikea last week, and plenty of cuddles with the animals.

Triple B muffins.

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I had a couple of quite overripe bananas on my counter that had to be put to use and I thought some muffins might be good road trip food for my journey to Kentucky this morning.  Pulling up Vegan Yum Yum’s trusty Brown sugar and peach muffins, I tweaked it a little to use what I had on hand.  If you haven’t made any quick breads with spelt flour before, you should!  They are the moistest muffin I’ve ever had.

Blueberry Banana Spelt muffins with Brown Sugar.

Makes 16 muffins

Adapted from VeganYumYum.com

2 Cups Spelt flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt

2 mashed bananas (approx 2/3 cup)

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Milk (VYY calls for soy, obviously, but I only had whole)
1 Tbs Lime Juice (or lemon would work)
1 tsp-ish Vanilla Extract (I never measure vanilla)
1/2 – 2/3 Cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Extra Brown Sugar, for sanding

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins.

Mix all dry ingredients together in a small bowl.  Mix together bananas, brown sugar, milk, lime juice, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Add dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.  Fold in blueberries (even more gently if they’re frozen).  Fill muffin cups 2/3 full; I like to use an ice cream scoop for uniform filling.  Dust with additional brown sugar.

Bake for 18-22 minutes; I baked mine for 20 and rotated the pans halfway through.  Let cool on wire rack.  Enjoy.

If you make these muffins, let me know!  We are enjoying them thoroughly.