Oh My Word...

This has been a crazy month!  A few days after my last post, my laptop died.  Literally, I heard it make one last grunt, and then the Black Screen of Death.  The Fella (who is also kin to MacGyver) took a good look at it, and sure enough, it's gone.  The hard drive contained all my pictures that I was going to use for future posts. 

I decided to let it go and spend our last few weeks of summer just enjoying our time and being busy with the kids, getting ready for school to begin again (dang it).  I was honestly sad to see our summer vacation end. 

Now I am back in business, and hopefully back to posting on a somewhat regular basis.  As soon as I get used to waking up with the kids at an ungodly hour every morning...

Thanks for reading!

hmmmm...

I have been rearranging, reorganizing, and doing a little bit of culling in anticipation of the school year starting up again.  Does your house always turn into a disaster zone whenever you try to declutter?  Drives me nuts. 

Amid the chaos, I received a cute little dishtowel from my mama.  She said the rick-rack and lace trim would bleed horribly when washed, so "only use this for pretty."  Nothing in my house can be used only for pretty.  The Fella would scoff at a display-only towel.  And then the kids would wipe chocolate off their faces with it.  So I thought, "I think I could cut this up and make a little curtain for the window above the sink." 

Cute, huh? 

Except I can't figure out what to do with the inch of space on either side of the panel.  I can easily add a third panel, since Mama gifted me with the remaining towels in the set, but I don't know that I want the gathered/ruffled look.  I am partial to a flat panel.  The windows are original to the house, and this particular one is West-facing, therefore we do have blinds hung (which I hate, but this is a point of contention between me and The Fella) in order to shield us from the sun that produces blinding reflections off of the stainless sink.  My solution has been to raise the blinds to the height I need them to be, and cover the hideousness with a curtain. 


 

There are two of each print, and I'm going to use these on the other windows.  I'll have to alternate the prints, as I need 5 panels to stretch across the 78" window. Those stripes gotta go.

The remaining towel would be used for this window, but I'm stuck with the same problem I have over the kitchen sink:  an inch on either side. 

 

 

Ugh.  Help.

 

 

Summer Halter Dress

I had envisioned making a halter dress in a retro floral print, much like this fabulous dress by Gertie.  I did not find the floral print that I imagined (don't you hate that?), but was drawn to this little cotton print for some reason. I kept walking back to the bolt, and figured it was a sign.  I used to be the girl who wore only black and solid colors.  I decided a few years ago that I needed more color and more print in my life, and I've gone a little nuts. 

I used New Look 6789.  This was so easy, and a great option for a true beginner - I would highly recommend it to someone as a first project.  I did make a few adjustments - I cut a size smaller than I usually do, as all of my projects have ended up being huge from the waist up despite the measurements on the pattern.  I also tried to follow the instructions for the side zipper installation, then chucked it halfway through.  The facing/band across the bust did not line up evenly, so I basted the side seam from the top down, rather than putting in the zipper starting from the notches halfway down the side seam.  I followed the instructions on the zipper package, and it went in like a dream on the first attempt.  And no, I did not get a shot of the zipper, because I finished this at 1:00 in the morning, and did not feel like sewing on the hook and eye (gasp!  I know!) to keep said zipper neatly hidden. 

The only problem I see with the fit is how the back of the dress sort of scrunches down.  I'm not sure how I would fix this - the dress is pretty snug as it is, and I do like to breathe every so often. 

I absolutely would use this pattern again - maybe with the straps attached in the back rather than halter style.  It's light and perfect for summer.

I Was Busy Today

I made sourdough bread, fresh basil pesto, and fig butter.  Bread is on the counter for consumption, pesto is in the freezer (and on our dinner tonight), and the fig butter is in ten lovely, little half-pint jars.

My grandparents have two fig trees in their yard, and each of us (children & grandchildren) chose a day to pick figs and do whatever we please with them.  I think it's also a requirement that we share the fruits of our labor!  I was able to get 12 cups of figs yesterday, and made this precious stuff this afternoon:

On sourdough bread of course, which happened to be fresh out of the oven and warm!
Are you drooling yet?

 

This was so easy to make.  My first foray into the world of canning was making a batch of apple butter with my roommate when we were both single and had the time.  We went over to my grandparents' house and spent all day with them, while they showed us everything they know.  Smart folks, my grandparents.  Apple butter is daunting - it takes a long, long time and involves quite a lot of work.  This fig butter was delightfully simple. 

Here is the recipe, adapted from this one I discovered on Pinterest.

6 cups figs, washed and stems cut off
3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup honey
1 & 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

Wash and cut the stems off the figs.  When measuring figs, leave them whole.



FYI - the center of a ripe fig should be a pinkish-color. No need to peel them - the outer skins cook down.

Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot (mine is 12 quarts).

I knew when I poured in the honey that this was gonna be good.

Bring liquid to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until figs are easily crushed.  Puree, either by transferring to a blender, or use an immersion blender.  Return to pot and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until liquid thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

Ladle into hot jars, fit with lids and bands, and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.  Any extra fig butter that does not fill a jar can be placed in the fridge for immediate use.

As I previously mentioned, the Ball website is a fantastic source of information and recipes for canning.  There are guidelines that should be followed when pickling and preserving fruit and vegetables - this site explains everything. 

I'm thinking that I will use this fig butter on a Panini-style sandwich with ham and brie.  Or I might just eat it with a spoon, straight out of the jar. 

Happy 4th!

We had friends over for the 4th.  It's by far one of my favorite holidays.  What can I say?  I love America. 

I confess that I am a lame blogger, and we were having such a great time and great conversation, that I forgot to take photos. 

Here's all I got:

Red, White & Blue parfaits for breakfast. Instead of sliced strawberries, I used some homemade strawberry jam.

We put flags all over the house for decoration.

 On the menu for the evening:  hot dogs (of course) and all the possible fixin's, baked beans, potato salad, tomato salad, fruit, and ice cream! I set out a bottle of Grenadine syrup and had Coke and Sprite so that people could make their own Roy Rogers and Shirley Temple drinks. 


These were so easy and fun to make. I bought a box of waffle cones from my local grocery store, and they even came with the red & white sleeves on them! I melted white chocolate, then dipped the cones in it, and lastly dipped them in a bowl of sprinkles.  I set them on a wax paper-lined baking sheet in the freezer to set.

 

 

YUM.

 I've been working on a few sewing projects this week, but those will probably be interrupted by some canning.  My grandparents have two fig trees in their yard, and I'll most likely be making some fig preserves, and then I have a bunch of jalapenos from my own garden that I'll combine with onions, garlic and carrots for pickling.  My cousin started pickling peppers from her garden several years ago, and I am addicted.  Happy little spicy things, those peppers...

If Not For the Bread, Do It For the Pancakes

Sourdough Pancakes, y'all.  So worth it.  These are thin, light, and melt in your mouth.  Again, so worth the effort of maintaining a starter.  Do it.

Sourdough Pancakes (from Rita Davenport's Sourdough Cookery, which is available on Amazon.com)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup sourdough starter
2 level Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 Tablespoons melted shortening or cooking oil (I used canola)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in 1 Tablespoon water

Add flour and water to sourdough starter. Beat until smooth and let stand in a warm place overnight.

To the batter add sugar, salt, baking powder and melted shortening or oil. Beat in eggs. Gently fold in dissolved baking soda. Do not stir after the baking soda has been added. Cook on moderately hot, greased griddle. Do not let the oil (or butter, in my case) smoke on the griddle. 

Note from book: Pancakes are ready to turn when bubbles appear on top and the griddle side is a light brown. Turn pancakes only once.


The recipe says that this makes 4 to 6 servings.  I use a ladle for my batter, and I get closer to 8 servings from this recipe.  Eight, blissful servings. 

Give you one chance to guess what we're having for breakfast tomorrow...

Finally, the Bread!

This recipe came from my mother and her good friend.  As with the starter, I am unsure of its origin, but I have seen other similar recipes.

Sourdough Bread - makes 2 loaves

1 & 1/2 cups sourdough starter
1/3 cup sugar
1 & 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup oil (I use canola)
1 tsp salt
Mix ingredients well in a large bowl.  Add 6 cups of flour and knead.  Set in large bowl, cover with a wet (nearly dripping) towel, and allow to rise overnight or at least 8 hours.  Punch down dough and knead with a little more flour.  Divide and put into 2 greased loaf pans.  Set in a warm place and allow to rise 1 hour, until doubled.  Baste with melted butter and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. 

The Fella took these pictures, which explains the better quality.  He has the fancy camera, while I have the lame Point-And-Shoot.  For this batch, I used 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, and 3 cups whole wheat flour.  We love the taste of the wheat flour, but I must warn you that the dough will not rise as much due to the weight of the flour, and sometimes it takes mine a full 24 hours to rise.  I do have a recipe for official "whole wheat sourdough bread," and it includes dry yeast in the ingredients.  I assume this is to give the starter some extra "oomph" in order to rise sufficiently.  If you don't mind having tiny sandwiches, then you can just substitute 3 of the 6 cups of white flour for whole wheat. 

Mixing the starter, water, oil, sugar, and salt.  I have this wonderful bread spoon that has a hole in the middle.  Unfortunately, I don't know where you can find them.

The dough will be quite wet - put at least another cup of flour on your counter for kneading.

I sprinkle more flour over the top.  This is just a mason jar that I put a lid on from the cheap grated Parmesan canister and use for kneading flour.  I don't want to get dough in my flour bin.

To knead, fold the top half of the dough over and toward you.

Press down with your palms and the heel of your hands.  I highly recommend taking off the watch.

Next, fold dough over from the side.

Turn, and press again.  Continue this process, working in the flour on your board until the dough feels smooth and elasticy. It should not be sticky.

Form into a ball by turning the edges underneath.

Return it to the bowl.  Most sources say to put it in a clean bowl, but I don't have another one large enough, and I find that the bits of dough on the sides get incorporated to the dough ball as it rises.  My bread has never failed because I used the same bowl.

Covered, and ready for lights out - good night!

The dough should more than double in size when finished with the first rise. Be patient! Sometimes my dough rises in 12 hours, sometimes 18. This took 24 hours.  It depends a lot on the freshness of your starter, the temperature and humidity, and the type of flour used. When I do this with all white flour, the dough will be over the edge of the bowl.  Punch this down and empty onto a lightly floured surface.

Knead lightly and flatten a bit.  I like to form a large rectangle and then divide it in half.

To form loaves, roll edges together, pressing out air bubbles and then turn under the short edges.

Put into prepared/greased baking pans.  I could not live without these two Pyrex pans.  I simply use cooking spray. Leave to rise another hour and brush melted butter over the tops before baking.

I was not impressed with the lack of rise on these loaves.  Squatty sandwiches are lame.

This one also cracked across the top.  It might be because I didn't form the loaves very carefully or didn't work out some air bubbles.  Annoying, but still tasty.

 

Please comment and let me know if you try out the sourdough recipes, or if you have a starter and would like some additional recipes.  I have this lovely book from the 70s:

I would love to share some of the goodness!

Thanks for reading.