whippet

sour cherry pie

Wouldn't it be nice if the first slice didn't always completely disintigrate between the dish and the plate? I used this recipe, which turned out super tasty, but with a lot of juice (Not that there's anything wrong with that!).

lemon squares

To bring to a barbecue. A very simple recipe:

2 c. flour

1/2 lb. butter

1 t. baking powder

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons' worth)

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 t. freshly grated lemon peel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, powdered sugar, and butter (I use a food processor) and press into the bottom of a greased 9" x 13" pan. Bake 20 mins. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients and whip thoroughly. Pour lemon mixture over baked crust and bake another 25 minutes (or until edges brown). Dust with powdered sugar and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

some small watercolors

I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about printed fabric. First thing when I got up in the morning, I found a website that lets you design your own prints. I started playing around with the watercolors to make little images that might work well . Just noticed that I wrote "Golfinch" instead of "Goldfinch. Oops. Will update when I get the fabric swatches in the mail.

Pickles

Last summer I canned pickles, which tasted good, but didn't have the crunchy texture I prefer. So this year I decided to make some refrigerator pickles instead. I bought some lovely crunchy cucumbers from Michigan at the farmer's market, threw in some fresh garlic, onions, and pickling spices, and stuck them in the fridge! I can't believe I have to wait 10 days to eat them! Here is the recipe I used:

12 small to medium pickling cucumbers

2 heads fresh (not dried) garlic

1/2 a red onion

4 fresh bay leaves

4 sprigs tarragon (and/or fresh dill)

2 heaping tbsp. coarse kosher salt

1 tbsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. dill seed

1 1/2 tsp. dried dill

1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes

1 tsp. mustard seed

1 tsp. coriander seed

1 tsp. black peppercorns

4 whole cloves

2 c. water

1 3/4 c. white vinegar

Cut the cukes into thick slices, the garlic cloves in half, and slice the red onion. Combine all ingredients (except the sprigs of tarragon or dill) and leave out, covered in plastic, for a couple of hours. Ladle ingredients into 4 clean, sterilized pint size glass jars, putting a bay leaf, a clove, and a sprig of tarragon (I couldn't find fresh dill, or I would have used that) in each. Use all of the liquid to completely cover the pickles. Refrigerate at least 10 days before eating. These are not heat-sealed, so be sure to store in the fridge like any perishable item.

Tea Time

A sketch of my tea kettle, which is bright orange and makes me happy.

I also love this little tea pot, which was a gift from my mom. She always finds the sweetest things.

I used it to make some delicious Organic Plum Berry white tea from The London Tea Room in St. Louis

Pinwheel Quilt Progress

Here is the progress I've made on my new full-size quilt. First the quilt blocks ready to be sewn, then the first finished block. There will be 72 of them! So glad to be done cutting out tiny bits of fabric and on to the piecing. I ran out of black fabric, so some of the blocks will have a different pattern on the dark triangles. This doesn't bother me too much, as I think mismatching is part of the charm of a patchwork quilt. I hope!

Bar Cat

A while ago I took a picture with my phone of the cat at the Empty Bottle. Don't think he's still around, but I thought it would make a nice drawing. This note pad is really tiny, the drawing is about 2 1/2" x 3".

Italian Food Binge

I guess it must be summertime, because I want to eat tomatoes every day. The pizza dough is super easy:

2 c. flour

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 packet active dry yeast

2/3 c. warm water

Mix the yeast and water and let sit about 10 mins. In a large bowl (I use the Kitchen aid mixer with the dough hook) mix the other dry ingredients. Make a well and pour in the oil and the yeast mixture, then mix them together thoroughly. Place dough in a large olive oil - greased bowl with greased plastic on top. Let rise until doubled in size ( I leave it on top of the stove, where it's warm). Flip the dough over, punch it down with your fingers, and let it rise again, another hour or longer. This recipe made enough for the two medium pizzas shown above, but the crusts on those are fairly thin. Make sure your counter is well-floured, cut dough in two, and form each piece into a flattish disc shape. Press your fingers all around the circumference, about 1/2 inch in, creating a crust around the outside. Then lift the dough up and stretch the middle out with the tops of your hands until it is large enough and thin enough for your liking. Flour a baking sheet or a round pizza sheet or whatever you've got, before placing the dough on it and covering with toppings. I used mushrooms and garlic scapes for one and prosciutto, oregano, and anchovies on the other. I would advise to put the oven up as high as it will go (mine does 500) if you are making thin pizzas like these. It will only take a few minutes to cook, one at a time.

Orange

Is my favorite color.

Plus this is how the jam turned out.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

First of the summer!

I bought some lovely strawberries and rhubarb at the first farmer's market of the season. I thought about making a pie (my favorite kind), but this way we can enjoy this summer flavor all year long.

I used 8 quarts of strawberries, 2 lbs. of rhubarb, and about 11 cups of sugar. No pectin, so it is a softer jam, a little firmer when refrigerated. This made about 9 pints.