Looks like a lot of alcohol, doesn't it? well, don't worry, I can explain.
Do you do much baking and have your priced vanilla lately? Then you know how expensive it is.
I knew Nina had made some vanilla a while back and wondered if she had any to spare. She did not have a whole lot of vanilla made up, but she did have 1/4 pound of whole vanilla beans.
And she gave them to me! of course she knows there will plenty of vanilla that I will share when I get this batch made.
So, Jeff helped me pick out some vodka and rum at the liquor store. He even split all the vanilla beans and bottled them all up.
In 6 months, we will have lots of vanilla!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
It's beginning to look a little like Christmas here
Fresh green wreath made by my brother, I think this is the 4th year he has made a Christmas one for me. He has also made Thanksgiving and Easter wreaths. |
close up of a little bird on the wreath |
green tree with lots of birds and mostly red ornaments |
and a white tree - it looks better in person |
Nativity set |
the butler gets a Santa hat this time of year. Theo is usually a good sport but he draws the line at wearing hats or sweaters for that matter |
the cutest Christmas decoration at our house is Gavin, he is holding a Santa doll my mom made about 50 years ago. |
Monday, December 13, 2010
Save your fork, there's pie
We do like pie at this house. but even we did not eat both of these pies on the same day. I made a cherry pie for Thanksgiving and the Pilgrim Pie the next week. Both of these pies are so good so I want to share them with you all.
To make a cherry pie in the fall in Oklahoma, you need a frozen bag of tart cherries. They sell sweet cherries too but they won't give your pie that tangy sweet and sour taste. I found mine at IGA for $3.65 for a 20 ounce bag.
In a saucepan, combine a bag of cherries, 1 cup sugar and 3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring almost constantly.
Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the juices thicken and become translucent.
Remove from heat and stir in the 1 tablespoon butter and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.
Bake in the preheated 375 oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. It will bubble alot so you might want to put something under the pie to catch any drips.
This is Pilgrim Pie. I first made this easy and low-cost pie when we had 4 hungry children to feed. It is kind of like pecan pie but with coconut and oatmeal instead of the nuts. |
If you click on the recipe, it will enlarge it. You can see where I penciled in the increased amounts needed to make 3 and 4 pies from this recipe - I don't remember why I made so many but back then, I seemed to always be cooking for a group at church or teenagers.
It really is a good pie and very easy. I prefer to eat whole oats and you can use them in this recipe, but I think quick oats are the best to use for this recipe.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sewing for Baby Elizabeth
Above are 3 little outfits for Elizabeth. 2 pair of the pants are made from flannel scraps, the last pair started out as a pair of sleep pants that were too small for Nina.
Little baby pants sew up very quickly and use very little fabric.
The tops are just a pack of $6 onesies. I decorated all 3 with rick rack, and used some of the pants scraps on 2 of them.
Bobby's altered hoodie
This is my son, Bobby, the very helpful floor tiler. He will try to do just about anything. Right now, his wife is the singer for a hard rock band and they are doing lots of concerts and shows, not my first choice but their dream is to make it big some day and maybe they will.....
Anyway, he grew up watching me sew and trying to do just about anything. He showed me some very expensive rock-type clothing made by a company called Road Bone - I tried to link to them but their sites seem to be for friends only. They sell alter jeans, jackets and hoodies for $200+
Their clothes are regular clothing items that they just alter, by dying, adding patches from old jeans or leather clothing or fabric, some ripping and fraying.
I showed Bobby and Bridgette how it seemed to be made. They got a few fabric scraps and rubber stamps from me.
I showed Bobby and Bridgette how it seemed to be made. They got a few fabric scraps and rubber stamps from me.
Here is Bobby modeling his first original jacket, it started out as a plain black sweatshirt hoodie.
a sleeve - he made the sleeve more fitted by taking in the inside seam, cutting off the knit cuff. The design is made using a star stencil and spray bleach. |
back of hoodie he sewed stars and strips fabric inside the hood |
front side - he added some brocade fabric and pockets from old jeans. very simple sewing - see the frayed edges? that is how the expensive items at Road Bone are done too. |
this is the bottom front. Bobby sewed on a jeans pocket but he left the top part unsewn so it still works like a pocket. |
If you have some young adults needing gifts, you might want to be like Bobby and try making some altered clothing.
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