Erin and Amy, creators of the Sewing Summit, asked us to share why we sew. I spent yesterday thinking of all sorts of deep thoughts about my reason for choosing sewing as a hobby.  I planned to use words like creativity, necessity, control, process, and usefulness.

I've spent the last few weeks reading all sorts of heated discussions about what is modern and what is handmade and whether it's all right to buy fabric for a big time quilt maker to sell her designs at a chain fabric store.  All of that overthinking left me in word overload.

When I woke up this morning I realized I sew for two reasons...

1. it's fun

2. my baking hobby was making me gain too much weight

the end

Even on the dreariest spring morning it makes the day brighter.

I made smitten kitchen's lemon braid bread.  It is divine.

I join in with a group of moms at my church who meet up fairly regularly for some fellowship.  Fellowship is a really nice way of saying eat lots of yummy treats, play games and laugh until the late hours of the night.  Our group has a name, but it never stuck in the spouse's head.  We are Methodists, so I started calling it, Meth Moms.  When I say Meth Moms he knows exactly what I'm talking about.  The same goes for this cake.  It's a chocolate stout cake, but we call it beer cake.  What do these two things have to do with each other...

I made beer cake for tonight's Meth moms.  It's sound like we have a terrible problem.  We don't.  Unless you count chocolate as a problem.

beer cake

for the cake

2 cups Guinness

4 sticks butter cut into cubes

1 1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon vanilla

4 cups flour

4 cups sugar

1 Tablespoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cup sour cream

for the ganache

3 cups whipping cream

1 1/2 pounds bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate

1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Prep three 8" x 2" cake pans by greasing and lightly flouring.  It is important to use a pan at least that size, these cakes are very thick.  If you use a smaller pan they WILL boil over and make a huge mess.  Trust me on this one.

In a saucepan, bring Guinness and butter to simmer over medium heat, stirring to melt the butter.  Once the butter melts, add cocoa and vanilla and whisk until smooth.

Set aside to cool slightly.

In a very large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, soda, and salt.  In a separate bowl, beat eggs and sour cream until just combined.  Add egg mixture to flour mixture, folding until completely blended.  Divide batter among the three prepared pans.  Bake 40 - 45 minutes.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then removed from pan and cool on rack.

Once the cake is cool, bring cream and vanilla to simmer in medium saucepan.  Remove from heat.  Add chocolate, let set for up to a minute, then whisk until smooth.  Chill, checking and stirring frequently to see if it's of a spreadable consistency.  This can take up to an hour, but depends on a lot of factors so be sure to keep an eye on it.  You want it to be spreadable but not so much that it will slide off the cake.  I topped mine with store bought sugar flowers.

I will also warn you this makes a very large cake.  When I ice all three layers it is too tall for my cake carrier.  The cake in this picture is made up of just two layers.  I iced the third layer separately so the family could enjoy some cake too.

This cake ages well so you can make it a day or two before you need it.  It's also great with vanilla ice cream.

I know what you are thinking... is she really posting a recipe for these?

Here's the thing, most of the time when I'm writing these posts, especially the baking ones, I have lulu in mind.  Someday she's going to want to know how to make all of her favorite things and these are definitely one of her favorite things.  It's also spring break this week so I'm making life easy for myself.

So I give you...

scotcharoos

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 cups corn flakes

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 oz. dark chocolate chips

5 oz. butterscotch chips

Butter the bottom and sides of an 8" x 11" (or similar size) pan.

In a large saucepan, heat sugar and syrup, stirring gently until sugar dissolves and just bubbles at the edges of the pan.  Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla.  Add the cornflakes and stir to coat them.  Use a rubber spatula to press mixture into the prepared pan.

Using a pyrex measuring cup or other microwave safe dish, heat chips for one minute and stir well to melt the chips.  Spread over the cornflake mixture.  Let set on counter to cool because if they sit in the fridge too long they become too hard to eat.

last week was birthdays week at the cottage this guy

now looks more like this

He still asks for the same chocolate cake that he had on his very first birthday, but this year it was an R2D2 version.

Besides droids, he also loves owls.  I made this little one for him, which he named Eglantine after the little owl in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole.

I celebrated my birthday with some antique time.

Here's my cake

It was a cream cheese frosting over a vanilla cake that I dyed purple.

We ended the week with some bowling.

lulu and I took a moment to admire our cool shoes.

Here's the thing... I've never had much luck with dishwashers.  They etch my glasses, they permanently bond any left over food  on to my plates, they are rough on my vintage dishes, and they are noisy.  I'm told that new ones are better about all of those things but when I have enough extra money lying around to buy one, I'm going to use that money to buy something fun like fabric or a new water heater.  I also adore my galley kitchen.  Everything is right there where I need it, when I need it, but baking can be a bit pan intensive.  I was keeping all my baking pans on a shelf in the basement.

but then, the dishwasher was removed -

shelves were made and rigorously tested -

once the paint cured, I loaded them with serving pieces -

I was able to hide all my cake and bread pans in the cupboard where the serving pieces used to sit.  My favorite part though is the muffin papers in the jar (that part was lulu's job).

Lulu is home sick with a fever today.  Our big plans for the day include organizing the new shelves in the kitchen.

...we decided it was because that's how we roll.

saturday brunch

cranberry champagne cocktails

strata with ham, fontina, and spinach

iced mocha cheesecake with whipped cream

almond cake with lemon curd

fresh berries

various teas

So here we are, trapped with colds and coughs in the cold and snow.

My plan is to hide in the house and eat big pieces of this cinnamon streusel pound cake

I did manage to get a few things done before the storm hit.  Cj has started his recorder unit for school so I made a new case for my old recorder.  I used some of the leftover echino from the quilt I'm working on.

I also finished up some patchwork pot holders for a friend's birthday.

teacher gifts...

...delivered

tree...

...decorated

cookies...

...frosted

more cookies...

...frosted

wish me luck getting all my Christmas to dos done with my helpers home from school

These are some of the most addictive cookies to ever be made in this house.

They look as though they involve feats of amazing engineering, but they are so simple.

peppermint meringues

(adapted from Martha Stewart Living)

3 egg whites, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

red paste food coloring

Preheat oven to 175 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Heat the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl of a mixer set over a pan of simmering water, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is warm to the touch (about 3 minutes).  Transfer bowl to mixer.  Whisk on medium to high speed until stiff peaks form.  Whisk in extracts.

Using a food safe paintbrush, paint 3 stripes of red food coloring up the inside of a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4 inch plain round tip.

Transfer the egg white mixture to the pastry bag.  I used a long-handled teaspoon to get the mixture down to the pastry tip without messing with the stripes.  Pipe onto parchment lined sheets in candy cane shapes.

Bake until cookies are crisp but not brown.  They should easily lift off of the parchment.  This takes about 1 hour 30 minutes.  My second batch took longer, but the mixture was also not as stiff as the first, so be sure to beat them to the stiff peak stage.  Cool on pan.

Now I'm ready to start packing teacher's gifts.

This week is baking week.  I'm desperately working to get teachers gifts together for Friday's last day of school. Tuesday night, my friends and I got together for a big potluck/gift exchange party.  I made this tote for the exchange.

It was an appetizer/dessert potluck (let's all be honest those are the best parts of  a meal anyway)

I made cayenne parmesan twists.  I wasn't sure how much cayenne to add.  In the end I think I went a little heavy, but the spouse disagreed.  So that's why I'm giving a range for the amount of cayenne.

cayenne parmesan twists

one package puff pastry - thawed according to package directions

2/3 grated parmesan (divided in half)

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix 1/3 cup of parm with spices in a bowl and set aside.  Dust rolling surface with remaining 1/3 cup of parm and place pastry on top.  Dust pastry with parm/spice mixture and roll pastry to 1/8" thickness.  Cut pastry into 1/2 inch strips.  Give each strip several twists and lay on parchment line baking sheet.

Bake until golden, 9-10 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly on sheet pan and then remove to rack to cool completely.

We hosted a little bbq last Saturday.

It ended with homemade baileys, pumpkin cream pie, and these smores, made with ginger graham crackers, maple marshmallows, and nutella.

ginger graham crackers

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

8 Tablespoons (one stick) butter (cut into cubes and chilled)

1/3 cup honey or sorghum (I made one batch of each)

5 Tablespoons whole milk

2 Tablespoons vanilla

topping

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

To make the dough, combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and ginger in bowl of food processor.  Pulse to mix.  Add butter and pulse until mixture is resembles a course meal.

In a separate bowl, mix together honey, (or sorghum) milk, and vanilla.  Add to flour mixture, pulsing to fully incorporate.  Turn dough out onto a well floured surface, divide in half and shape each half into a flat rectangle.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for two hours.

Once firm, roll dough on well floured surface to 1/8" thickness and cut into squares.  Place squares on parchment lined sheets and chill 30 minutes in fridge before baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl.  Sprinkle liberally over squares before baking.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.  Cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then cool completely on rack.

maple marshmallows

The basic recipe can be found here, just add 1 Tablespoon maple extract along with the vanilla extract.

These marshmallows are also perfect in a cup of hot cocoa.

All that's left is to spread your graham with nutella, toast your marshmallow, and sit back and enjoy.

I'm not a fan of butternut squash. This means I'm never really sure what to do with them when they turn up on the CSA wagons.  I've tried roasting them, mashing them, turning them to soup, all which the spouse enjoyed, but not me.  I was doubtful when I saw Jamie Oliver turn them into cupcakes on Jamie at Home, but I brought the squash home, so I had to do something with it.

Besides ignoring it.

They have great texture and flavor, but I couldn't resist going over the top with the frosting to make it more of a cupcake and less of a muffin.  And let's be honest, who doesn't love toffee bits?

butternut cupcakes

adapted from Jamie Oliver

1 medium-sized butternut squash - skin on, deseeded, and roughly chopped

2 1/4 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

pinch salt

2 1/2 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Using a food processor, blitz squash until finely chopped.  Add sugar and eggs.  Blitz to combine.  Add salt, flour, baking powder, spices, olive oil.  Blitz until well mixed.

Fill muffin cup no more than 3/4 full. Bake 20 - 25 minutes.

butternut cupcake frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

4 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, blend cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add flavorings and nutmeg.  With mixer on low, slowly add powdered sugar until of a spreadable consistency.

After frosting the cupcakes, sprinkle the tops with toffee bits.

We met up at the wine bar, sharing fancy meat & cheese trays and our fave fries along with lots of laughs and a love of hats. I made some sweets.

There were meringues

and truffles

and little cakes

iced almond cakes

for the cake

1 1/2 sticks butter (at room temperature)

2 1/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup almond paste

6 eggs (separated)

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prep rimmed 17" x 12" pan by buttering, lining bottom with parchment and then buttering and dusting parchment with flour.

In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside

Using an electric mixer, meat almond paste and 1 1/4 cups of the sugar until well blended.  Add butter and beat until light and fluffy.  Add egg yolks and vanilla.  Mix well.  Add flour mixture in three parts alternating with milk.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until frothy.  While mixer is running, add remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until soft peaks form.  Add 1/3 of the egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture and fold in gently.  Fold in remaining whites gently.

Spread batter evenly onto baking sheet.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, turning pan half way through cooking time.  Transfer pan to rack to cool completely.  When cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or overnight.

for the glaze

1 cup apricot jam

In a small saucepan, heat apricot jam to thin it and then push through sieve.  Brush a thin layer of the jam over the top of the chilled cake.  Return cake to refrigerator and chill until set.

for the icing

8 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

gel food coloring of choice

Turn out cake and cut into 1 1/4" squares.  Place cakes on rack resting in baking sheet to catch icing drips.

Mix all the ingredients in a heavy bottomed saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth.   Pour icing over cakes and decorate as desired. Allow icing to set a bit before placing in paper cups for serving.

I found a box of these on my doorstep last week.

My friend's asian pear tree was ready to pick and she was kind enough to share.

They were great sliced, but it was chilly and I was looking for a warm fall dessert.  Everything I read about them suggested they were a similar texture to apples so I took my usual apple bake and spiced it up a bit to really accentuate the pear flavor.

asian pear bake

6-8 asian pears peeled and diced (the texture can be a bit grainy, but I found cutting them into smaller pieces helped cook them through and reduce the graininess)

1/4 cup butter - chilled and cut into cubes

1 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place apples in bottom of 8 x 8 pan.  Combine dry ingredients and use a pastry blender or fork to blend in butter.  Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the apples.  Bake for 30-60 minutes or until it bubbles in the center.

Our day started with a cup of tea and these -

The recipe is from Richard Bertinet's Dough.  I love it because you can mix the dough weeks in advance, shape them, and then pop them into the freezer.  The night before you need them you can take out a few and let them rise overnight and they are ready to fry in the morning.

Here is the recipe for the dough.  After the first rise you shape small pieces of dough into balls.  You can leave them that shape or press the center in and stretch to create a ring.  I started making them into rings so I don't have to worry about getting the center cooked through.  At this point, you can either let them rise for another 45 minutes (covered with a towel) and fry immediately, or you can freeze them.  Once frozen you can store them in a bag in the freezer and fry as needed.  If they are frozen, let them rise (covered with a towel) overnight.  In the morning using a large pan with an inch or so of oil, heat the oil to 350 degrees.  Fry the doughnuts a few at a time, on each side, until browned.  Remove from oil and dredge in sugar.  I usually use a blend of standard powdered sugar and non-melting powdered sugar.

happy weekend

looks like it's going to be pie for supper tonight

Tis the season for barbecuing with friends.  It's becoming a bit of a tradition to head over to our friends' place for the fourth.

In keeping with the theme, I like to do a red, white, and blue dessert for the evening.  Last year we had massacre in a snowstorm, which looks more festive than it sounds (the name came from a similar dessert by Nigella Lawson).  This year we will be trying raspberry sorbet and blueberry sorbet that will be served with whipped cream.

happy weekend!

raspberry sorbet

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 pints fresh raspberries

juice of one lemon

In small saucepan, bring water and sugar to boil.  Stir to dissolve sugar.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.  Transfer syrup to bowl and stir in vanilla.  Chill syrup for 15 minutes.

Puree raspberries, syrup, and lemon juice in blender.  Strain mixture through sieve, discarding seeds.  Chill sorbet base overnight.  Freeze according to ice cream maker's directions until slushy.  Transfer sorbet to container and freeze completely.

blueberry sorbet

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

3 pints fresh blueberries

juice of one lemon

Follow directions as seen in above recipe.

These were one of my favorite treats growing up.  Now I get to share them with the cj and lulu.  Sometimes we even leave some to share with the spouse.

peanut butter bars

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cup oatmeal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar.  Add peanut butter and mix well. Add eggs and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda.  Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture.  Stir in oatmeal.  Spread  on to bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Place on rack (in pan) to cool.  Frost while still a bit warm.

peanut butter frosting

1/2 stick butter (at room temperature)

3 cups powdered sugar

scant 1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup peanut butter

Cream butter with electric mixer.  Slowly add one half of powdered sugar.  Add milk and vanilla.  Add remaining powdered sugar.  Mix until it reaches a spreading consistency.  Adding more milk or powdered sugar as needed in small amounts as needed.  Mix in peanut butter.