More Baking

To pick up where I left off yesterday, I have several more photos (thanks to my wonderful husband) of the things I've been baking lately.

I made Banana Bread from the Flour cookbook.  I've talked about this book before.  I think it's an incredible book.  Nothing I've made from here has turned out bad...nothing.  Her instructions are incredible and the taste of the product is divine!  This banana bread takes a bit more work than most but it's worth it.

I made a Frozen Strawberry Pie from the Taste of Home Pies Recipe Card.  But the recipe called for frozen whipped topping and I have an objection to using that kind of stuff in my deserts, so I made my own whipped cream version of it and used that.

I also made some Chocolate Malted Cookies from Taste of Home 100 Best Recipes 1011  However the cookies spread way too much and ended up looking nothing like the picture of the recipe.  It could have been because I chose to use butter instead of shortening.  It may also just have been not enough flour.  I'll probably try these again sometime and make sure the flour is measured precisely as well as chill the dough before I bake the cookies.  That should help.

Baking Frenzy

I haven't done much sewing lately, but I've been baking like crazy.

I love baking probably as much as I love quilting.  Lately it's been very cool weather here and I know that when it warms up I won't be wanting to heat up the house with the oven, so I'm having a good time baking now.

I've made a few different batches of brownies.

There was the Carmel Witches from the Fat Witch Brownies book:

Then I made the Celestial Brownies from Milk &Cookies :

Then I made the Coffee-n-Cream Brownies from Taste of Home's special edition Brownies and Bars:

After that I decided pie was the order of the day and made a Banana Cream Pie from Martha Stewart's New Pies and Tarts:

I think that's enough for this post :)

Block Project - Block 12 - Nelson's Victory

I finally was able to get to the sewing today.  Wednesday was crazy busy and yesterday I was suffering from a case of the blahs.  But today I made it back to work on the blocks.

I have been thinking a lot about how just one block doesn't really show the versatility of a block.  You can't tell if there are secondary patterns, etc.  So I have been kicking around the idea of making multiple blocks of each to see if any secondary pattern emerges when they are put together.  I had intended to do so on today's block, but I got distracted by another issue.

Today made me really appreciate the value of doing a test block.  I had picked out the colors for the block and thought I'd like them, but when the block is put together I can see that my 'medium' is really too light and kind of washed out.  I think for this block to shine there really needs to be a bit more contrast.

I really enjoy making the blocks because I feel like I'm learning so much as I move along.

Without further musing on my part, today's block is Nelson's Victory which is block number 6 on page 57 of Jinny Beyer's The quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns.  This block is 4 inch finished.

I did the half square triangles by using the method where you cut two squares, draw a line and sew on either side of it and cut them apart so the first picture has the half square triangles already made.

Jam Thumbprint cookies

My husband requested these.  They are pretty rustic, since I really did use my thumb to make the center for the jam.  He loved these cookies as a child and says these are better than he remembers them as a kid.  I had one and they are pretty tasty.  :)

I got the recipe off the web somewhere and it was very non specific about how much flour to use so I had to do some experimenting with the dough.  It also didn't have any salt, but I changed that and added some.

I really enjoy baking things he loves so I was glad these turned out well.

No block today

I worked for a bit to make one of the blocks today, but I needed to be able to get to some fabric that was under some heavy boxes.  My arm is still not problematic so instead of incurring my husband's wrath by hurting myself I decided to wait for his help to move it.

I'll post two blocks tomorrow!

In the meantime, I thought I'd leave you with a couple of pics...

These are the blocks I've made so far:

And here's the blocks I'm working on for a quilt for a friend.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

My husband requested cookies as my next baking project, so last night I whipped up a quick batch of my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.  I've tried a variety of premium chocolates and I happen to like Guittard a lot.  My grocery store carries their Milk Chocolate and their Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips.

My husband likes Chocolate Chip Cookies made with Milk Chocolate chips and so that's what I used.

I really love baking.  I like to eat the stuff too, but more than anything I get an intense satisfaction out of people enjoying my baked goods.

Block Project - Block 11 - Lights and Shadows

I'm back on the block project now that I'm mostly healed up.  I did a couple of blocks before my surgery and didn't post them because the pictures were not very good.  As an aside, the baking pictures are all taken by my husband...you can tell who is the photographer in the family.  :)

I may post those at some point, but for now I'm going to start fresh.

The block is Lights and Shadows block number 5 on page 57 of Jinny Beyer's The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns.  The block is 4 inch finished.