Harmony

The musical is done. Spring Musicals, a rite of passage in most Music Departments around the U.S. All musicians are in high demand, especially pianists. I didn't direct this year, but instead accompanied and directed the pit orchestra. There is nothing like live theater and High School shows. Any thing can happen and it usually does. It's a great thing for students to experience. So many aspects come together and work in perfect harmony. The work involved is mind boggling, but it is worth it. 

Now I can return to my avocation. Since I have had little time to quilt or get involved with complex projects, I managed to do another wool felt candle mat. It's a project that is very satisfying to me as I enjoy hand sewing and it's quick as well. Pretty little free pattern online. I adapted it to my own liking and colors. I think I need to make one for all the seasons. Little shamrocks and celtic designs would be festive!
I'll ponder that.

And since it is not spring quite yet in New York State. We have had an amazingly warm winter. However with the arrival of March, it seems winter has finally arrived so therefore I can place my table mat for about 3 more days where we have a forecast of temps in the 60's. It is still a wintery day here though and so to conquer the "let-down" that musical productions generate and since I haven't baked for a few weeks due to all of those rehearsals, cookies are in order. Chocolate cookies. I discovered a new favorite:
Thank you Martha. Grammy's Chocolate Cookies (recipe is on Martha Stewart's website)

Just don't over bake these babies. They will be hard and crisp (but perfect for those who like to dunk their chocolate cookies!)
I alos made these cookies half the size that is suggested in the recipe. I like small cookies.  Undercook them a little and let them sit on the baking sheet. 
Some things are made for each other
Cold weather and cookies.
Cure for the 'post show'blues and chocolate.
Shades of Blue and Chocolate Brown.
I just love it when a plan comes together.
Perfect harmony

Stash buster and a Diet buster.

My one book I continually refer to is Karen Comb's "Combing Through Your Scraps". To me this is a Five Star book!  I love illusions using color values in quilts and Karen rocks at this.  This simple book is wonderful. I never dispose of scraps and keep boxes of precut strips and squares ready for the making of another scrap quilt.  If I have a few minutes on hand, or need a break from another quilting or sewing project, I'll piece together a 9 patch block. That is how this last quilt was created. I can't even tell you when I started it. I accumulated enough split nine-patch blocks until I had enough to make this quilt called "Off-Set Spiral". I love it. Even the less than lovely fabrics or fabrics you tire off are given new life using this method.

I added a binding without any border and I love how it looks.
I also did meandering quilting using the Bernina BSR. It was my first time experimenting with the BSR and what a great tool. I had the entire quilt "stippled" in no time. This quilt has some of my least favorite and tired out fabrics incorporated into it and they have been transformed into one of my favorite quilts.




The back of the quilt. Thank you Bernina Stitch Regulator!






Last but not least. Another cookie recipe.
Chocolate Mountain Cookies. My mom loves chocolate drop cookies. With Buttercream icing. Really reminiscent of homemade chocolate cake and wonderful with a glass of milk or cup of coffee.
So I just made her a batch. Happy Mother's Day!

CHOCOLATE MOUNTAIN COOKIES

(This recipe makes a ton, so you may want to halve the recipe)

1 cup shortening (don't use butter as they won't puff up quite so nicely)
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk
3 cups flour
2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup cocoa
1 recipe Buttercream frosting

Mix shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Mix dry ingredients together in another mixing bowl. Mix in flour mixture into the sugar egg mixture alternately with the milk. Mix well, but do not over mix. Measure a round tablespoon for each cookie onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 14-15 minutes or until tested done. Frost with your favorite buttercream frosting.
(I mix 3 cups of confectioner's sugar, 4 Tablespoons butter, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract and add 2-3 Tbsp. half and half until icing is the right consistency. It makes the ideal amount of icing.)

Recipe notes: I use buttermilk as I like the tender crumb that it creates. If you do, add 1/2 tsp. baking soda with the dry ingredients. Also, I'm not a big vegetable shortening user. However this is the one recipe I do.

Cleaning out the sewing supplies and the freezer

A week of activities. Then last two weeks were spent helpingh with costumes for our School Drama Club's production of "I Remember Mama". I love this show, but this was especially wonderful as the cast was truly amazing.
We had to come up with most of the costumes from what we could salvage in our costume room and scouring the local second hand shops. Along with resewing and fitting and reconstructing costumes, I made 6 nurses caps from a pattern I found on-line. Amazingly so, they were made with things I had on hand; muslin, stabilizers, fusible interfacing, spray starch. In fact it pretty much used up a good deal of my interfacing, as well as other things in my sewing cabinet.  Easy and I made them all within a 2 hour period. Here is the website: http://sewing.about.com/library/nnurse.htm
The pattern was easy and fun. No sense buying a costume!

The weather has been gorgeous. Time spent outdoors is just great and the birds are absolutely deafening on Deep Spring Road. We spotted our first bluebird. The aerial battles between the bluebirds and the swallows are pretty constant. Hope the bluebirds hold down the fort. I managed to catch a friend basking in the sun
Of course, we are preparing the garden beds for another year of growing. Last year we purchased a share of a local CSA to buy our organic vegetables and we are doing the same this year. Since we will be receiving new vegetables with a month or so, I have been spending the last few weeks starting to clean out the freezer of last summers bounty. I had one bag of frozen pumpkin puree left and as unseemingly as it seems for a springtime dessert, I made our favorite recipe for pumpkin bars. I think I liked them just as well now as in the fall. First of all, pumpkin puree made by ourselves is satisfying and tasting pumpkin a few months after the holidays was quite pleasant. Cleaning out the freezer; you do what you have to do!
Anyhow, these are delish. It also makes a ton; plenty to share with a friend or neighbor.

PUMPKIN BARS
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 (15 ounce) can or 2 cups solid pack pumpkin
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup golden raisins
ICING:
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese,
softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
DIRECTIONS:
1.    In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Pour into an ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely.
2.    For icing, beat cream cheese, sugar, butter and vanilla in a small mixing bowl. Add enough of the milk to achieve desired spreading consistency. Spread over bars.

Recipe for my Winter Day

Ingredients:

-New placemats

-New coffeemaker

-Fresh batch of cookies

These placemats were finished last weekend. I have been spending days simply cutting up all my scrap fabrics into usable pieces and decided to make these Mini Log Cabin Prairie Placemats from the March/April 2005 issue of Fons & Porter Love of Quilting Magazine. These are my 2nd pair of placemats using this pattern. Love it. All leftover scraps. It's really satisfying to not let them go to waste.
These go pretty quickly once you get all the little pieces cut. 

Last week I was visiting a friend and she had a Keurig coffeemaker. She introduced me to the fun of making any flavor of coffee I so chose and within a minute I have a great cup of coffee and if it wasn't the most fun.  I didn't hesitate for one minute. I went online to Green Mountain Coffee and ordered a coffeemaker of my own. Sure it cost more to buy the pods, but there is no guessing. An unbelievable variety of beverage choices. In it's trial so far I've made an amazing cup of tea, a fabulous cup of hot dark chocolate and of course, coffee. The possibilties are endless. I get up very early in the morning to quilt and I can just make one cup of coffee for me and not worry about having coffee sit in the carafe getting overcooked.  Now I bought this for use in school, but I may not be able to have it leave the premises of my home. 

This coffeemaker is 4 stars in my book. Love it!!!!

With all this excitement and sampling teas and coffees I decided to make one of our favorite cookies. Hermits. This recipe has history. Came from my babysitting days when I was probably 13 and was taking care of children of one of the many families I used to babysit for. I asked the mom for the recipe and I've had it ever since. Probably one of the most repeated cookie recipes in my file.

The cookies are usually shaped in a log for the length of the cookie sheet and baked; then cut into bars when cooled, but today I made them as drop cookies.  Warning: The cookies are slightly addictive.

HERMITS

3/4 cup butter (half shortening if desired)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 Tablespoons milk

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. mace

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (I simply break them, large chunks are desirable for this cookie)

Mix butter, sugar and eggs thoroughly. Add molasses and milk. Stir in dry ingredients. Stir in raisins and walnuts. On parchment lined baking sheet, shape dough into 2 or 3 long rolls on 2- 3 baking sheets. Shape dough with knife so dough is spread to about 2 inches wide and 1/2" high. Bake at 375 degrees fro 9-10 minutes. The edges will be browned, but the center may appear uncooked, but remove and sprinkle immediately with granulated sugar. Let cool completely on cookie sheet before cutting (Really!) The cookies continue to cook as they stand. When cool, cut into 2" rectangular bars. 

(May make as drop cookies, drop by small spoonfuls and flatten slightly; bake for 8-9 minutes). These cookies will have a very moist interior.

Making up for a busy weekend. My favorite: White Chocolate Spice Cookies.

• Well, if there was one quintessential Christmas (or anytime) cookie; this has to be it.  The mother of two of my piano students makes these for every piano recital in June. She kindly shared the recipe with me so I can make it a staple at our holiday table. Today, after a long day of teaching the very excited little ones at school, I came home and decompressed by making my favorite cookie! 
• Wait until you taste the perfect spice to these cookies. It is delectable and can you detect the secret ingredient? The perfect balance of spice, sweet, heat and creaminess. 
• WHITE CHOCOLATE SPICE COOKIES
• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 2/3  cup  firmly packed brown sugar
• 1  teaspoon  ground ginger
• 3/4  teaspoon  fresh-ground pepper
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground allspice
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 1  cup  (1/2 lb.) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla
• 1  teaspoon  grated lemon peel
• 8 ounces  white chocolate, finely chopped
• 2  tablespoons  vegetable shortening

Preparation

1. In a food processor or bowl, whirl or stir flour, sugar, ginger, pepper, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt to blend. Add butter; pulse or cut in with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal.

2. In a small bowl, mix vanilla, lemon peel, and 1 tablespoon water. Add to food processor or bowl; whirl or stir until dough forms a ball.

3. Divide dough in half. Roll out each portion between sheets of waxed paper or cooking parchment to about 1/4 inch thick. Stack and chill rolled dough until firm, about 45 minutes (or freeze about 25 minutes).

4. Cut out cookies with a floured 1 1/2-inch round cutter. Place 1/2 inch apart on buttered or cooking parchment-lined 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.

5. Bake cookies in a 325° oven until pale brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool completely.

6. Place white chocolate and shortening in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (bottom of bowl should not touch water). Remove from heat and stir occasionally until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

7. Dip each cookie halfway into white chocolate mixture, then place on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Drizzle undipped half of cookie with more white chocolate mixture, if desired. Chill just until glaze is set, about 15 minutes.

I place the cookies outside on our cold winter porch. They chill quickly that way.  Also, the mother who makes these for recitals rolls the cookie dough into a 1 1/2 log and wraps with Saran wrap. Chills and slices into thin slices, like a refrigerator cookie. There is no waste this way and faster, too. She also suggests using white chocolate melting discs as white chocolate can be very temperamental. I'm with her on both of these recipe adaptations. The smaller the cookie, the better. I guess I just like my cookies small. Less caloric guilt.

Baking Day, well at least for the little tarts

No surprise here: baking is something I have always enjoyed during the holidays but with little time nor reason to bake I have to be a little more selective to the treats we enjoy during this time of the year. One of my favorite tea/coffee time treats are "Maid Of Honor Tarts" or "Derby Tarts". I always make them.  Essentially they are mini pecan pies~ very mini ~ which makes them even more enjoyable. Also, it doesn't make a ton of cookies which I appreciate.

These cookies are very nice for gift giving.

Maid of Honor Tarts

Filling:

Melt: 1/4 cup butter

Add: 1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup sugar ( I use part brown sugar)

1/2 cup finely chopped or ground nuts. (I use pecans)

1 egg, well beaten

Pie crust - 1 single pie crust recipe

Bake 375 degrees for 12-13 minutes. 

Roll out pie crust very thin. Cut with a small 2" scalloped edge or plain edged biscuit or cookie cutter. Place in mini cupcake pans. No need to grease the pans as they will not stick due to the fat in the pie crust. Lightly press each crust circle into pans. Fill, but DO NOT overfill the pasty shells. They puff up and expand when baked. 

Makes about 3 dozen mini tarts.

And yes as a time saver you can use a pre-made frozen pie crust