Change of plans - cooperative quilting

Ever have a day where it's like you didn't get the memo?

The quilt block we made at Saturday's fiber guild workshop is an applique block made with Do Sew® and called Really, Really Broken Dishes by Kim Montagnese.   Because of the way you make the block, cut it into quarters and then trade quarters with other quilters before re-assembling, the blocks are integrated, sharing fabrics and pattern though each is made by a different quilter. So the blocks we made Saturday will become the quilt for our expectant member.

Makes more sense to me than combining disparate blocks into a quilt so the embroidered block I made last week is now the center block for a small quilt (about 3x4-feet) which I'm putting together as a baby gift.  With luck I'll even get it done before the baby arrives!

Saturday's Really, Really Broken Dishes block was very easy to make -- circles without fear of piecing curves (I love that part especially!) and is a great way to mix up colors in a modern-looking quilt pattern.  You start with a square of fabric that will serve as the block background.  Sew a piece of Do Sew to the right-side of the piece that will be the largest circle on the background.  Then cut away the Do Sew, being careful not to cut the other circles you're drawn on it.

I've never worked with Do Sew before but can't wait to use it for other sewing.  When you spritz Do Sew with water and then press with a hot iron, the Do Sew draws up just a bit, letting you easily fold the edge under as you press.  No burning your fingertips or resorting to a pin to try to fold over the edge as you press.

The largest circle is sewn to the background (we used sewing machines set for a blind hemstitch but you could also do that part by hand), then the block is flipped over and you carefully cut away the background fabric from within the stitched circle.  This keeps the block from becoming too thick with the multiple layers and also gives you a circle of fabric just a little bigger than you need for the next circle.  So you trade that circle with another block maker and then you each have a new fabric to sew Do Sew to, using a slightly smaller circle pattern drawn out on the Do Sew.  And spritz, press and sew to center of the larger circle on your block.

Follow the same process for one more smaller circle (trading fabric again) and press the completed square.  Then take a deep breath, pull out your rotary cutter or scissors and cut the square into four even quarters.  Trade three of the quarters with other block makers and seam them back together into a square.  Take a look at what you've made and say "Wow! That's pretty neat!"  Because it is.

Here are photos of my block in the making and the photo above is of all the blocks laid out for the final assembly. (My block, after trading off 3 quarters and re-assembling, is in the lower left. Can you spot my other quarters now assembled into other blocks?)

 

 

 

 

The same designer, Montagnese, also has a block called Really, Really Mended Hearts that I want to try next.  It's a similar block but the appliques are hearts not circles.  Then, instead of dividing in quarters with a vertical and horizontal cut through the square, you make three or maybe four vertical cuts (perhaps even cutting wedge-shapes rather than, say, perfect thirds) and re-assemble.  Trading sections encouraged, when working in a group setting, though you can get the same effect (but probably without the comaraderie) by cutting, sewing and mixing blocks you make all by yourself.

Menu plan, week of 2011-02-14 plus ranch dressing made w/ kefir

We got a bag of produce from my mother this week.  She decided on the spur of the moment to take advantage of the warmer weather and go visit my cousin in Ohio for a week or so.  When I went to help her pack Monday night, we also cleaned out her fridge and I came home with cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and more.  Altered our menu plan a bit but mainly it created a need for some salad dressing -- something we don't use a lot of over the winter.

Monday, February 14
CORD at Mom's

Tuesday, February 15

Tuna loaf
Oven fries (spicy)
Green beans

Wednesday, February 16

Curried chicken thighs
Basmati rice
Tossed salad w/ Ranch dressing made with kefir (recipe below)

Thursday, February 17

Country-style steak w/ potatoes and onions
Harvey House slaw

Friday, February 18

Homemade pizza
Tossed salad

Saturday, February 19
Cheese and black bean quesadillas, topped with lettuce, diced tomatoes and cucumbers
Corn salsa

Orange wedges


Sunday, February 20
Bbq on buns
Pumpkin Seed salad dressing over salad of green peppers, bean sprouts, corn, and sweet onion
Chocolate cake
Kefir ice cream
-----

I can't believe how much I like this kefir made from the grains.  We made ice cream with it this weekend and I've even been drinking a cup of it plain every day.  It's soothing and refreshing at the same time.

And it makes a good ranch dressing -- thick and tangy. Like ranch dressing should taste but rarely does.

Ranch Dressing with Kefir

2 heaping tablespoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups mayonnaise
2 cups kefir

Blend mayonnaise and kefir together till smooth.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Refrigerate for at least 12 hours before using to allow flavors to blend.  Makes 4 cups.  Recipe can be halved.

Some make-a-mix recipes for ranch dressing call for a thickener such as crushed saltines.  Using kefir keeps the dressing thick yet pourable, without need for any thickener.  Buttermilk or thinned yogurt can be substituted but dressing may be thinner.

Embroidered quilt block

A fellow fiber guild member is expecting a baby this spring.  One of the members suggested we each make a quilt block and she would set them together into a quilt as a baby gift.  The choice of design was left wide open but she plans to use blue fabric to separate the squares in the quilt as the baby is a boy.

Recalling small quilts my grandmother made for my brother and sister when they were small, I immediately knew I wanted to incorporate embroidery into my block.  She had embroidered nursery rhyme characters and farm animals on white blocks then spaced them alternately with solid-colored blocks -- blue for my brother's and yellow for my sister's.  The quilts were like Linus' blanket and went with them everywhere.  Then what was left of the quilts went with me everywhere.  There are only one or two blocks remaining of those quilts.  They were well-loved.

I really like the baby duck fabric, and used a little of it last year for a baby bib, so I pulled it out for this project, too.  Plus, I remembered an old duckling iron-on I came across in a '60s-era Workbasket not too long ago and tried to draw it out on my easel pad.  Hmm.  The little duck was not well-proportioned to say the least.  Fortunately I found the iron-on when I scrounged through the stack I'd culled and didn't have to rely on my rendering.

When I tried to find a white fabric for the embroidered block, they were either too harsh and bright or tended towards a cream instead of white.  Then I found a 100% white cotton pillowcase in my stash that had been washed so it was soft but without wear.  The fabric's slightly heavier than the duckling fabric but that is a good thing as it means it's not as see-through.  Even so, I still pressed the seams away from the embroidered square.

The center square is 6" on all sides.  The duckling fabric is cut for 3" squares.  And the blue fabric, which also came from a pillowcase, is cut as 3x6-inches rectangles.  The finished size should be 12-1/2" square but I allowed for 1/2" seams on my pieces (trimming away the excess as I seamed the blocks) and left the full 1/2" on the outside edges.  I figure that way the block would offer a little ease when fitting all the blocks together -- one can always trim away fabric but when an 1/8" or  so is needed, it can't be added back.

I can't wait to see the other quilt blocks.  The meeting and baby shower are later today.  Nothing like waiting till the last minute...

Baked oatmeal made with blackstrap molasses

DS likes to eat breakfast as soon as he gets up.  DH prefers to wait at least an hour or two.  In hot weather he even wants to get in a few hours working outside while it's still cool then sit down to breakfast at 10 or so.  And I'm somewhere in-between.  So we tend to eat breakfast in shifts.

To keep breakfast quick and easy, I try to keep breakfast staples like sausage-egg burritos and blender oatmeal pancakes on-hand in the freezer.  Eggs are always in the refrigerator thanks to the chickens and ham, sausage and bacon are readily available in the freezer or canned on the pantry shelf.  AJ's Pumpkin Bread or something similar will sneak into the breakfast rotation occasionally.  And there's always hot cereal like oatmeal or rice.

Every so often I make baked oatmeal (aka Amish baked oatmeal) which I think of as a cross between plain oatmeal and a sweet quick bread or bar cookie.  What DS calls the mom-friendly version I make these days (less sweetener and oil) means we can have it more often and without guilt.  It's a not-too-sweet dish with an almost cake-like texture which when eaten for breakfast is usually served warm in a bowl with milk but late afternoon is a good time for a piece eaten out-of-hand and accompanied by a cup of tea or hot chocolate.  I prefer to soak grains whenever possible so I mix this up part way the night before and then add the remaining ingredients the next morning and bake.

Baked Oatmeal with Blackstrap Molasses

6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups water
1/3 cup kefir, yogurt or whey
1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
1/2 cup applesauce or pumpkin puree (pumpkin is good but will impart a pumpkin flavor)
1/2 cup blackstrap or regular molasses
8-10 large eggs
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup raisins or other dried diced fruit, optional
1/2 cup nuts, optional

12- to 24-hours before you want to bake this, combine oats, water, kefir, oil, applesauce or pumpkin puree and molasses in a large bowl and stir well to mix.  Let sit on the counter, covered with a tea towel, till you're ready to bake.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. and grease a 9x13-inch pan or two 8-inch square pans.  Break eggs into a bowl and stir in cinnamon, vanilla, salt and baking soda.  Then pour this mixture into the soaking oatmeal.  Stir well to break up oatmeal and combine ingredients, adding dried fruit and nuts as you're stirring.  Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake for 30- to 35-minutes till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

The baked oatmeal will keep in the refrigerator for several days or can be frozen in individual portions. If you prefer a sweeter taste, add 1/4- to 1/2-cup honey with the molasses and you can use regular molasses instead of the stronger-flavored blackstrap molasses if you want.  If using pumpkin puree, add 1 teaspoon each nutmeg and ginger for a light pumpkin pie flavor.  Serve warm covered with milk or at room temperature for eating out-of-hand.

Yield: 12 servings

Onion and leek seedlings

The onion and leek seeds just sat there in the soil from January 30 to this past Monday (February 7).  Then, Monday night I spotted the first thin spindly shoot popping up.  But only one in each flat!  Tuesday morning it looked like every pocket had at least one seedling showing up and several seedlings were a couple of inches tall already.

Evergreen hardy white bunching onion and King Seig leek seedlings

DH had already set up the lights so I carefully watered everyone and put them under the shoplights yesterday (February 8).  Set the flats on top of empty flats in order to get the little seedlings within 2 inches of the bulbs -- want to make sure they don't stay spindly by stretching too far for the (artificial) sun.  We want strong healthy onion seedlings to transplant outside when it's time.  DH will set up a small table fan in the next few days so it will blow across the flats (on low) and that will help strengthen the shoots, too.

The photos show the two flats DH seeded on the 30th.  He used egg cartons filled with sterile seed-starting medium and set them in the plastic flats we used last year.  They don't hold as much as the little mesh "pots" that came in the flats originally but they're functional and free.  The flats come with clear plastic lids but I've found you have to be careful leaving the lids in place after planting.  The idea of keeping in the moisture may be a good one, but the minute the seeds start to sprout we have to remove the lids or the tall seedlings bump into the "glass ceiling."  And the heavy condensation that can form on the lids sometimes causes fuzzy mold (mildew?) to develop on the once-sterile soil.  So we keep a water-filled misting bottle on the counter beside the seedlings and I just spritz them heavily several times a day.  And sometimes I water them from the bottom, too.  Especially after the seedlings have developed their leaves.  They need lots of water to maintain growth.

Australian brown onion seedlings

The Australian brown onion, bunching onion and leeks came from Southern Exposure. The Southport red globe onion seeds I ordered from Pinetree are on backorder. Hope to get them soon as we're still in the experimental stage with onions for storage and I'd like to try with onions what we can do with potatoes -- plant an early crop for fresh eating and a later (but not too much later) crop for fall storage.

Menu plan, week of 2011-02-07 plus Kefir-Honey dressing for fruit salad

Except for the marshmallows, I've always loved what my mother calls 5-cup salad.  It's made with a cup of each ingredient: pineapple chunks, shredded coconut, mandarin oranges, sour cream and the dreaded marshmallows, usually mini-.  (I like homemade marshmallows and toasted marshmallows but I haven't found a dish yet where I like intact marshmallows as an ingredient.  Weird?  Probably.)

This Kefir-Honey dressing, while it has a touch of orange from the juice, makes a similar salad when tossed with fruit.  If you don't have kefir, see the note following the recipe for suggestions on substituting sour cream or yogurt.  This makes a nice winter fruit salad but is very refreshing in the heat of summer, too.

Kefir-Honey Dressing for fruit salad

1/2 cup kefir (drained to thicken, if you prefer)
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon orange juice

In a large bowl, mix kefir, honey and orange juice till smooth.  Add 4 or 5 cups of fresh or drained, canned fruit to the bowl and toss lightly to coat.

I use orange sections (clementines are nice), sliced bananas, grapes (cut in half), pineapple chunks, strawberries, sliced peaches and blueberries, depending on the season.  Mandarin oranges, pineapple and shredded coconut will make a salad similar to 5-cup salad (a southern specialty?) and, if you like nuts, chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds are nice to sprinkle on top.  (But I like nuts with almost everything...)

If you don't have kefir, you may substitute sour cream or a good whole-milk plain or vanilla yogurt. If using low-fat or non-fat yogurt, I'd use half sour cream and half yogurt to keep it rich-tasting. YMMV

-----

Menu planning that's actually written down (and even better, made public) holds me accountable and makes for a smoother week.  And I'm all in favor of the latter, if not always the former.  So here's this week's plan:


Monday, February 7
(Super Bowl party leftovers)
Chili
Crackers and cheese spread
Carrots and celery sticks
Chocolate cake

Tuesday, February 8
Chicken roasted with potato and onion wedges
Bean sprout salad w/Outrageous Dressing

Wednesday, February 9
Frittata (eggs, ham and leftover roasted potatoes and onions)
Fruit salad with Kefir-Honey dressing (recipe above)
Rye 5-minute artisan bread

Thursday, February 10
Baja-style fish tacos w/Chipotle White taco sauce (made with kefir instead of sour cream or yogurt)
Shredded cabbage, bean sprouts and onion for topping tacos
Orange sections

Friday, February 11
Chicken sandwiches on rye w/nectarine mustard
Applesauce
Preserved bean sprouts

Saturday, February 12
(Family dinner for 15 -- I'm responsible for cobbler and ice cream...)
Tenderloin and gravy
Mashed potatoes
Green beans
Corn
Cole slaw
Macaroni and cheese
Apple salad
Rolls
Blackberry cobbler
Homemade ice cream

Sunday, February 13
Crockpot tortellini vegetable soup
Crackers
Apple slices

It's definite

Smokey, the grey silkie bantam, hatched last year is a cockerel.

Determining whether a chick is a pullet or a cockerel can be difficult unless they show specific sex-linked traits like feather barring or color.  Smokey was pretty androgynous for the first 6-months.  Then between Thanksgiving and Christmas, he began to crow.  Good to finally know but bad because we've learned it's rarely a good idea to have two roos in a small flock.

We raise chickens for eggs but we are not vegetarians.  We usually process extra cockerels for the freezer.  Neither DH nor I wanted that to be Smokey's fate, however.  The main reason?  Because he's part of our backyard flock -- more pet than livestock. (For additional reasons, see note at bottom of post.)  So we needed to find a new home for Smokey.

It needed to be a place where he wouldn't be penned with a full-size rooster as that would be potentially worse than here with us where he only had his sire, Badger, to contend with.  We were in luck, tho, as the first person I told about the predicament had a co-worker who might be interested.  Another homeschooling family, they were in the process of adding silkie bantams to their homestead flock and offered Smokey a home with a half-dozen silkie bantam pullets.  They already had a flock of full-size hens but had built a separate coop to house the silkies.  And since silkie bantam roosters are often not as aggressive as full-size roos may be, they were interested in adding a rooster to the bantam flock.

So Smokey moved to his new home last week.   And his new family have promised to provide regular updates on him as he settles in at his new place.  Good luck, Smokey!

(I love a happy ending.)


Note:  More practical reasons for not consigning a silkie bantam to the freezer exist.  He probably won't top 2 pounds in weight and he's still growing, not there yet.  Another reason is that silkies exhibit melanism where dark pigmentation extends into their connective tissue and even bones.  This goes beyond the range of what people call white and dark meat in poultry -- more like a grayish-black or almost purple bruise color.  Not palatable-looking to many of those accustomed to the only offer being "white or dark meat?" when chicken is served. Check out the silkie entry on Wikipedia for more information and photos of prepared dishes.

Making kefir

I've been making kefir with kefir grains for a few weeks now.  I find it very easy to make, less fuss than yogurt, and I've learned I like it plain.  Which came as a big surprise to me!

Previously, I'd had kefir purchased in a bottle and generally fruit-flavored, like strawberry.  Sort of like a thin shake.  Then I found a package of kefir-starter at Cranberry's.  That's a simple process, too, but it's not self-perpetuating.  Each packet made a batch of kefir and I could save a bit to make another batch.  But that only works for a few times.  Then I had to go back to mixing up another packet.  When I ran out of packets in the box, I would have to buy another.  Or switch to using kefir grains.

Switching to the grains made the most sense.  So now I have a small wide-mouthed jar with creamline milk and kefir grains working away all the time.  As soon as a batch of kefir is ready, 36- to 48-hours what with the cooler indoor temps, I strain out the grains and store the liquid in the fridge till I'm ready to use it.  The grains go back in the small jar with another cup or so of creamline milk.   

There are slightly differing views on how to make kefir.  Because the milk's already pasteurized I haven't found it necessary to scald the milk prior to pouring over the grains.  And I don't rinse the grains before plopping them back into the jar with more milk.  Some kefir-makers recommend both those things; others don't.  And some kefir-makers insist on only using raw milk.   If I had raw milk available, I'd use it instead.  As it is, Virginia doesn't allow the sale of raw milk and I don't have dairy animals (yet!) nor a cow share, so I rely on a local creamery's pasteurized milk.

I'm finding that kefir makes an excellent substitute for buttermilk in recipes -- blender oatmeal pancakes are equally good made with kefir, buttermilk or thinned yogurt.  I like kefir as a buttermilk sub in ranch dressing and as a sub for sour cream in our favorite macaroni and cheese recipe.  Makes a good, not-too-sweet, dessert when topping lightly sweetened fruit. Alternatively, the kefir can be sweetened with a teaspoon or so of honey and then poured over fruit or cereal.  It works great for soaking grains prior to bread-baking.  I have yet to try using it as the sole yeast source when making a sourdough-type bread but that's on my list. 

Smoothies made with kefir are great but I have learned that, since it's not quite as thick as the yogurt I previously used, I need to include a frozen banana or something similar so the drink remains thick as we prefer it. If made with kefir and only fresh, non-frozen fruits, it's still tasty but thinner, more like the kefir beverages from the store.  Not what we think of when imagining a thick fruit smoothie sucked up through  a straw or scooped with a spoon. YMMV
 
Kefir, like yogurt, is supposed to be a good-for-you, easily-digested food.  But it doesn't matter how good something is for me, if I don't like it, it's hard getting it down.  Especially on a regular basis.  So I'm very happy to learn that not only will my kefir grains continue to grow and steadily produce kefir into the future with just the addition of milk, but we like it.  And I even like it plain -- it's refreshing and, this is important, doesn't greatly remind me of cultured buttermilk.  An irrational fear I've had ever since I bought the first bottle of flavored kefir years ago.

Menu plan, week of 2011-01-31

Busy month ahead so back to menu planning to stay on track.  I don't like to lose food in the back of the refrigerator, forget to use what (little but worthwhile!) is in the garden, or spend money on something quick-to-eat when a little planning would make all the difference.

Monday, January 31
Costa Rican-style tilapia (made w/already-cooked basmati rice, black beans and canned pineapple)

Tuesday, February 1
Beef pot roast with potatoes, carrots and onions
Rye bread (5-minute artisan - local rye and hard wheat)

Wednesday, February 2
Blender oatmeal pancakes with maple syrup
Breakfast sausage patties

Thursday, February 3
Hot roast beef sandwiches (from Tuesday's pot roast)
Mashed potatoes
Spinach or Swiss chard from the garden

Friday, February 4
Homemade pizza

Saturday, February 5
Vegetable soup (last of Tuesday's pot roast)
Homemade soda crackers

Sunday, February 6
Superbowl party at Mom's - take oatmeal-raisin cookies, crackers and cheese ball

Snow!

After watching at least two snowstorms pass by this winter, including one that missed us but left 10 inches of snow in Virginia Beach(!), we finally have a lot of our own.  8 inches as of an hour ago and heavy snow still falling. 

Except for the fact that DH still has to drive home from work through this stuff and get the truck up the hill to the house, I'd be ecstatic.  As it is, I'm merely happy, happy, happy.  I think DS was on the same wavelength until a few of the backyard chickens decided to hide out under a deck.

Chickens don't like snow (anyone remember Owl?) and when it started snowing at noon, the backyard girls ran under the deck.  At dusk a few refused to come out even though DS had shoveled a path and was coaxing them with a bucket of scratch. 

So DS had to catch and then carry each stubborn hen (plus, Badger, one stubborn silkie roo) to their coop.  The last one out was Turkey, one of the naked neck chickens.  I guess I can see why she doesn't like the snow...

Canning ham or smoked picnic shoulder plus making ham salad with or without puff shells

Earlier this month I canned ham I bought on sale prior to Christmas.  Hams are often on sale before the Christmas and Easter holidays so that's a good time for me to can a few jars.  We don't eat a lot of ham so a couple of hams each year go a long way -- a little diced ham in a frittata, in scalloped potatoes or macaroni and cheese can make the meal.  And, as I mentioned before, ham salad is another great way to use up ham.  When I make ham salad, my mom always expects me to send a little bit over for her, too.  It makes a quick meal with crackers, stuffed in a garden tomato or as a sandwich.

I can western ham and sometimes smoked picnic shoulder (picnic ham).  Sometimes it says semi-boneless.  And even though the ham I buy these days is always labeled Ready-to-Eat, which means it's already cooked,  I like to cook it in the roaster oven (regular oven would work, too).  That way it's hot and ready to go straight into the canning jars as fast as I can get it cut off the bone.  How long I cook it depends on the size of the ham -- the package has directions as to temperature and how many minutes per pound as well as recommended internal temp.

Once the ham is cooked, I lift it out onto a cutting board and trim away all skin and fat.  That goes into a stock pot along with the bone when I'm done.  Makes great ham stock for canning beans or cooking potatoes for potato soup.  The ham gets cut into chunks.  I try to cut the meat into even-sized pieces about an inch thick.  Since I'm never sure just what I'll want the ham for when the jar's opened, I go with large pieces overall -- I can always slice, cube or dice it as needed later. 

Hot jars are packed with  hot ham to within an inch of the rim.  Wipe rim of jar clean.  (I use a clean cloth dipped in vinegar as it seems to help cut any grease that may be on the glass jar.)  Place lid on jar and tighten ring.  Using a pressure canner, process pints and half-pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 90 minutes at the appropriate pressure for your altitude.  If you've never canned before check out the latest Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving or the USDA-funded website, National Center for Home Food Preserving, for detailed directions. The ham will yield a little juice so when you remove the jars from the canner you'll often see an inch or two of liquid in the tightly-packed jars.  That's normal.  If you don't take care to trim away all fat, there will be a bit of that in there, too.  It will harden as the jar cools and form a white layer on top of the liquid or ham.

When I told DH I was going to post my recipe for ham salad, he just rolled his eyes and said "what recipe?  You just throw it together and taste as you go!"  And he's right.  I have four ingredients that I combine to make ham salad but I don't measure any of them.  One reason is because I rarely have the exact same amount of ham each time because ham salad is a favorite way I use up leftover ham -- after we've eaten it hot from the oven and in cold slices on a sandwich we have it ground up with mayonnaise, mustard and sweet pickles added to make ham salad.  But I can give you what I start with and then suggest you let your taste buds lead you on.

Ham Salad

2 cups cold, cooked ham
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sweet pickles or 1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
1 to 2 tablespoons yellow mustard

Using a food processor or meat grinder, process ham and pickles.  You want them to be finely chopped but not pasty. 

I scrape the ham and pickles into another bowl before adding the mayo and mustard as I don't want to risk processing to much.  Texture is important here. 

Add mayonnaise and the smaller amount of mustard, then taste and adjust mayo or mustard till you have the right combination for you.  I don't want to add so much mustard that the salad turns yellow but I definitely like to have a little tang to the salad -- it offsets the sweetness of the pickles, I think. 

This is ready to eat at this point but it's even better if you can give it an hour or so in the fridge to chill and let the flavors meld.

----------

If you're tired of sandwiches or crackers, try making little puff pastries to fill.  They're pretty easy and they look impressive on a plate. They're also good filled with chicken salad.

Puffs for Filling
(adapted from Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book, 1976)

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour
dash salt
1 egg
1/4 shredded Swiss or Cheddar cheese (optional)

Melt butter in 1/4 boiling water.  Add flour and dash salt; stir vigorously.  Cook and stir till mixture forms a ball that doesn't separate.  Remove from heat and cool slightly.  Add egg and beat vigorously until smooth.  Stir in cheese.  Drop dough onto greased baking sheet, using 1 level teaspoon dough for each puff.  Bake at 400ºF. about 20 minutes.  Remove puffs from oven; cool and split.  Fill each puff with 2 teaspoons of ham or chicken salad.  Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.  (They are actually still tasty the next day but will eventually soften in storage so best not to plan on storing too long.)

Seeds, sets or slips?

Onions, that is.  It's January 11 and it's trying to snow and I'm searching for onion seeds.  And not having much luck.

Onions are a staple here.  I think it's a rare day that we don't have onions on the menu -- either added to a dish as it cooks, sliced on a sandwich or diced for topping green beans or something.  You know, a day without onions is like a day without sunshine.  Or something like that.

Every year we expand our onion production.  Planting more types of onions and just plain more onions.  In addition to the yellow and red onion sets DH always picks up at the local farm co-op, we've planted perennial onions like Egyptian or walking onions, welsh or bunching onions, multiplier or potato onions, and slips of sweet and storage onions. 

This year I want to grow plenty of onions suitable for storage.  The potato onions are great for this purpose but this will only be the second year growing them and I want to have lots of good, hard onions on hand through next winter. More than a second-year crop of multiplier onions can provide and still allow for next year's planting. So I need to find some onion seeds, preferably yellow Globe, and fast. 

The onions planted from sets taste great but don't keep for more than a couple of months.  We let them dry after harvesting then I tie them off individually in the legs from pantyhose (never throw anything away, remember?) and hang from hooks in our storage area.  But by January, if not before, I'm finding soft onions. 

A few years ago we bought a flat of onion slips from a booth at the local farmer's market.  They were Globe onions and they proved to be excellent keepers.  After reading up on onions and planting seeds vs. sets, I decided last year that we must start with seeds (the market gardener no longer offers the Globe slips) but didn't realize how early we needed to start them to have onions ready to transplant into the garden.  So last year went by without onions started from seed.

This year I was going to be on top of things and get that order in the first of January (instead of waiting till mid-February like last year) but one of my favorite seed sources is already SOLD OUT.  And I'm having trouble tracking down another source that I want to order from -- plus, there's the problem of being overwhelmed when I search.  SO MANY choices pop up and I start second-guessing myself about which type of storage onion I want after all.

I will get an order placed THIS WEEK for onion seeds.  I will, I will. I must.

More felted fleece-lined mittens -- for Christmas

Christmas was two weeks ago, I know.  But DH insisted I make felted fleece-lined mittens for his sister and brother-in-law after seeing the first pair.  Now, where they live averages less than 20 nights a year with temps at or below freezing and no snow other than a rare dusting every few years so I'm not sure they'll get much use out of felted mittens but, hey, I heard on the news last week that they were experiencing a freeze with the nighttime temperature hitting 28º -- mittens may be just the thing they need!  And I had a lot of fun making these.  Plus, finally found a use for a pair of those leather buttons I can't resist stashing away.

White oak basket

Saturday my fiber guild held a workshop on making white oak baskets with artisan Clyde Jenkins.  He supplies Colonial Williamsburg with colonial-style baskets but makes other types, too -- all from white oak he cuts and splits himself.  In the summer he can often be found teaching workshops at Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park.

The supplies for the workshop were very basic.  He brought 6-feet or so of the lower trunk of a 6"-diameter white oak tree which he'd cut down a few days ago.  The trunk had been split into quarters lengthwise and Jenkins spent the first part of the workshop telling us how he chooses the oak and teaching us to split the wood into weavers -- the pieces we'd use to weave over-and-under the ribs of the basket.

I was looking forward to this workshop because I've always wanted to weave a basket but I can't believe how much I enjoyed the whole process!  We started at 9 and I finished lacing the last strip around the rim by 3 (we had a delicious working lunch of vegetable soup and crusty bread thoughtfully provided by a couple of members) yet returned home wishing I had another piece of white oak to work on.  I especially liked the combination of the smell of the fresh wood and the feel of the wood as I'd find the ring line and pull it apart into thinner and thinner weavers.   When it came time to go home, I couldn't stand to put my water bottle and tools back in my canvas bag -- I had a new basket that was just waiting to be filled...

Pizza burgers for the freezer

A couple times each year I make pizza burgers, a DH favorite, for the freezer.  They're quick to put together and I usually double or triple the recipe because they're very handy to have for a quick lunch at home or for DH's lunch bag.  This week I put together 4 dozen pizza burgers but only 45 made it into the freezer. 

We all needed lunch and they were so handy...

I thought I'd posted about these OAMC staples several years ago but when I told a friend the recipe was on my blog, she couldn't find it.  I couldn't either.  So here it is.

Pizza Burgers

1 pound lean ground beef or venison
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 quart spaghetti sauce, or substitute pizza sauce
3 ounces pepperoni sausage, finely chopped (optional)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
18 regular hamburger buns

Brown meat with onion in a large skillet.  Drain, if necessary.  Stir in spaghetti or pizza sauce, chopped pepperoni and cheese.  Fill the buns with meat mixture. 

Wrap each bun for the freezer.  Originally I used aluminum foil but DH has to use a microwave when he takes these to work so I now wrap the burgers in wax paper.  I fold the paper in what's called a drugstore wrap.

To freeze for later: Put the wrapped buns in a plastic bag and freeze. If I'm using store-bought buns, I re-use the plastic bag they come in but any bag that will hold the buns close together so they don't tumble around is good.

If desired, thaw the buns, still wrapped, for no more than 1 hour before re-heating.  Bake foil-wrapped buns at 350ºF. for 15-20 min. or microwave wax paper-wrapped buns for 45 seconds to heat through.

Guineas

Last spring we had a guinea fowl, Newt Guinea, drop by the pastured poultry pen for a few weeks.  He came and went as he pleased and eventually moved on for good.

We learned Newt came from a neighbor's about a mile down the road.  They had stopped by a few times over the last couple of years to check out our movable chicken pen and eventually gotten chickens of their own.  Plus a few guineas including one hen that's turned out to be a good guinea mama.

This past summer and fall, those same neighbors hired DS to care for their poultry and dogs while they were away from home a few days.  The last time, in addition to paying him in cash, they offered him half of the latest guinea hatch.  So in early November, DS and DH brought home 6 little guinea keets.

We set up the tallest chain-link dog run we had, put in a small house with a red-bulb heat lamp (these guys were only a week or two old) and the usual accompaniments.  I asked DH to put flight netting over the top of the pen, but because it was 6-feet high, he thought it could wait till the keets were older.  The first full day they were here, a Cooper's hawk scared the keets causing one to fly up and out of the pen.  It roosted about 15 feet off the ground in an arborvitae, too high for DS or me to reach even with our ladder, and DH couldn't spot it late that night when he got home from work.  No sign of what had happened to it when we searched the next morning.

So DH put flight netting over the top of the pen.  And a piece of chicken wire between the top of the pen and the top of the door where there was a large gap that another keet managed to escape through when the Cooper's hawk returned later that week.  That keet was luckier than the first as he managed to hide under the deck with the backyard chickens, finally emerging with them after the hawk took off in search of easier prey.

We used the heat lamp for the first couple of months.  The nighttime temperatures were pretty low for November and December here in Virginia. Some nights saw single digit temps which we don't usually experience till later in the winter.  After last week's more moderate temperatures, they've weaned themselves from the heat lamp.  It's still in place in case we head towards 0º again but their body heat in the small house,  insulated by straw bales along three of the outside walls, seems to be plenty for now.

Fed on turkey starter, the guinea keets grew fast.  With the excitement of getting them settled, safely, in their new home, plus the usual holiday activities and the bitterly cold daytime weather (and snow!), we didn't even get a picture of them till New Year's Eve.  Which is a real shame because when they're little, the shape of their heads combined with the feather coloring makes me think of little snakeheads slithering to-and-fro.  (Guineas always stay close and seem to move as one.)  Of course, that's another reason they didn't have their photograph taken sooner -- every time I did go outside with the camera, they promptly hid in the far corner of their house.  They aren't as sociable as chickens.

For Christmas, I received a book about guineas by Jeannette Ferguson titled "Gardening with Guineas: A Step-By-Step Guide to Raising Guinea Fowl." Ferguson's book discusses a few things that set guineas apart from other poultry but I wish it went a little further in the details.  For now I guess we'll learn as we often do -- on the go.

Felted fleece-lined mittens for Christmas

I've had the hand-drawn pattern for these mittens for awhile but finally got around to making a pair late last month -- Christmas morning, in fact.  Actually, I cut out the pieces on Christmas Eve so I wasn't as late as I could have been in making this present.  But I was tired and put off the sewing part till after DS (and DH and I) checked out our stockings early Christmas morning.  Then I had to rush because we were due at my mom's for our usual family gathering complete with a late-morning Christmas breakfast and opening lots of packages piled high under the tree.

With just three pattern pieces plus cuffs, it only took a turn on the sewing machine for the outer mitten (cut from two wool sweaters previously felted in the wringer washer) with a repeat for the fleece lining cut from yardage, then sewing the cuffs to the lining and turning the wool mittens right-side out and the fleece-lining wrong-side out so they fit together correctly -- they were almost finished.  A quick search through my buttons produced a couple suitable for attaching to the rolled cuffs so the mittens and their lining stay connected and I was done. 

Now I know what I'll be making for a few presents next Christmas...  Here's a link to the pattern I started with in case you're tempted to make your own.  If you think you'd like them, don't put off as long as I did before trying a pair -- they really are very easy and even fun to make.  I'm making a pair for myself right now.

Ham and beans

Just because I haven't posted doesn't mean we haven't been busy.  Why, last week I canned 13 pints and 1 half-pint of ham plus 14 quarts of pinto beans with broth from the bone and trimmings.

I bought the ham in a pre-Christmas sale with the intention of canning it.  I discovered we liked canned ham as well as when the extra is frozen and I don't have to worry about freezer burn or freezer space when it's canned. Baked ham is great when it's just prepared and we like ham sandwiches, of course, but ham is something I use in small amounts for cooking.  When layered in scalloped potatoes and macaroni and cheese or included in a frittata, a cup or so of ham goes a long way.  Half-pint jars would have been plenty big for most uses but that's not a size I had available.  So I used pints and probably will be forced to make ham salad with the extra each time I open a jar.  (Forced?!  Hah!  A little ham salad on crackers is a perfect quick lunch.  And I guess I'll share if I have to.)

As for the beans, I had planned to make ham broth with the bone and trimmings from the ham and then can it.  But when I thought about it, the ham broth would be used to cook dried beans.  So I thought why not go the next step? 

After carving the hot ham, I put the ham bone, skin and usual trimmings in a big stockpot and covered it with water.  I also threw in one of the bags of vegetable parings (carrot peels, onion skins, and celery trimmings) which I had collected in the freezer.  Let that simmer for several hours and then strained it.  Cooled the ham broth in order to remove the layer of fat that always rises to the top and brought it back to a boil.  Filled quart jars with 1-1/8 cups dried pinto beans which I'd sorted and rinsed to clean.  Then filled the jars to the 1" mark with the boiling ham broth.  (Added a small amount of plain boiling water to two jars as I ran out of ham broth before all the jars were filled.)  Processed the jars in the pressure canner for 90 minutes and now I have 14 quarts of ready-to-eat pintos on the shelf. 

More ornaments

I'm still playing with felted hearts and this is the one I made yesterday for today's guild meeting and its annual ornament exchange.   Process was the same as the one I worked on earlier this week but I went with an additional appliqued heart in a darker green.  I think it brings out the other green a little more and it fulfills the quote -- "(his) small heart grew 3 sizes that day."

These paper and fabric ornaments came to me through the Chickens in the Road ornament exchange from Kelly F.  Who wouldn't love to open a package and find handmade Christmas ornaments?

(his) small heart grew three sizes that day

 
When I wanted to make felted Christmas ornaments this year, hearts were what I thought of.  And as soon as I started folding paper to cut out a heart pattern, I remembered the line from one of my favorite Christmas videos -- "Well, in Whoville they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day."  From there it was easy to see what I was going to make.


For the fabrics, I chose a heathery red wool sweater and a poison green wool blazer I'd fulled in the wringer washer.  I wanted to layer another heart in order to fulfill the quote's prophecy but couldn't come up with a third color from my stash that worked and refused to change the first two.  (Sometimes my muse is very stubborn.)  So the photo above shows my first attempt.  Unfortunately no matter how I changed the lighting I couldn't capture the true nature of the green.


Compared to choosing the fabrics, the process of making the ornament was easy.  I pressed a medium-weight iron-on interfacing to the wrong-side of the two wools before cutting out two large red and one small green heart shapes.  Then, because the white stabilizer showed along the edges, I tore off a thin piece along the borders of each before attaching them.  The blanket stitching affixing the green heart to one of the red hearts as well as the other embroidery and beading were finished before I blanket-stitched the two red hearts together.  For a hanger, I whip-stitched a loop of ribbon between the two layers of red wool.  Eh, voilà, the first heart was done.  More to follow.