New Owl

I thought she was going to be the shy type, but she took on her own owl life, with a swinging scarf & cape of feathers. She's 9" x 11", with yellow eyes like the Burrowing Owl native to Florida.

Printing 2 – Rubbings

Rubbings are easy. You can see from my materials that I was remembering grade school, when we rubbed a crayon sideways over autumn leaves. This technique is a bit more grown-up, but no harder. I used thin, paper-covered wire from the floral section of the craft store. It's easy to shape. Here's what to do:

1. Twist the wire into a simple shape. You will find yourself looking at everything to see if it can be worked into wire. I chose a glass, a pear, fish, & finally realized I can write with wire.

2. Put the wire shape under your surface, either notebook or fabric. Don't turn your crayon sideways, like we did in grade school. Instead, let the crayon feel its way along the wire line that's underneath. Use your other hand to kind of guide it by pressing down ahead of where you're working. You will get a jumpy image. For paper, use a pastel crayon, & for fabric use Paintstiks. I did these pears on paper that I'd previously watercolored.

Red food

We're eating our way around the color wheel, & this week the pointer stopped at red. Mom's barbecue sauce took me back to the days she made it with chicken pieces or pork steak. It's sweet. Pour it over boneless chicken & bake at 350°. I can't remember the cooking time – longer than I expected, probably 45 minutes. Pierce the meat to see if it's cooked through. Sweet potatoes in chunks with a thick-sliced onion, tossed in olive oil & salt, roasted at the same time. Not exactly red, but close. Strawberries & sugar for dessert. The next night we had kale, stir-fried with just-pulled garlic, beets, & goat cheese omelet. A more balanced menu, color-wise.

Mom's barbecue sauce

Mix together: 1 C. chili sauce, 1/2 C. vinegar, 1/4 C. water, 2 T. sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, dash pepper, 1 T. prepared mustard, 1/2 C. oil. (I used about 1/3 C.)

Printing 1 – Stencils

I want to write on fabric, & have to learn some techniques first, so I signed up for a printing class at LeMoyne, but it was canceled. I decided to work by myself, using The Painted Quilt as a guide. I wrote a schedule for one technique a week, & listed the materials needed. I have to be finished by Sunday night. Stenciling was first.

Stenciling

The materials are pictured below, & at the top is my first stencil art. You need a notebook, some freezer paper from the grocery, & pastels. That was an art mystery. Turns out they're oily crayons. I used cheap (about $5) fabric crayons from DickBlick.

1. Find something beautiful & simple. From my collection of dried leaves I chose a sea grape. In the book they use flower petals right off the bush.
2. Fold a piece of freezer paper in half, shiny sides together, & iron to make it double thick.
3. Trace around the leaf onto freezer paper.
4. Cut it out. First I used a small scissors, then one of those pointy art knives.
5. Rub a thick line of pastel around the edge of the shape. You can use more than one color.
6. Put the shape (stencil) over the page where you want it.
7. Rub the color inward toward the empty space. Use a toothbrush or your fingers. I used a toothbrush.
8. Repeat. Try overlapping. Make a new stencil for each color. Don't move the stencil as you work. Clean your brushes. (I haven't; they look hopeless.)

Later I watercolored some pages before stenciling. This is a good way to envision how fabrics will look. Pretty, too. This was fun. Next: rubbings. You need wire & Paintstiks.

Sunday dinner

I would love to have yesterday's simple dinner every Sunday in these warmer months; it was easy & everybody liked it: roast chicken from the store, garlic bread, a huge salad, veggies on the side to be added or not, plus strawberries & almond macaroons. You'd think garlic bread doesn't need a recipe, but I've settled on one from Epicurious, & I sprinkle a little real Parmesan between each slice. Yesterday I used parsley from a squeeze tube. Janice next door gave me the last of romaine from their garden, & I washed each leaf. It was worth the trouble. The NYTimes magazine had a funny piece on salads yesterday, so I used their recipe with the shallot, & added a little minced red onion too. On the side were little tomatoes with sherry vinegar & olive oil; steamed baby carrots with salt, oil & chopped mint that just popped up in the yard; & mushrooms sautéed in olive oil. And don't get me started on the almond macaroons. Making them intoxicates me. One night the aroma of toasting almonds moved me to write an ode. Lucky I can't find it. The recipe is poetry enough.

Almond Macaroons

1. Toast 1/2 pound blanched almonds (1 3/4 C.) until golden, about 5 minutes at 350°.
2. Grind fine. This is the part I love. I use that contraption with the red handle. Dale gave it to me. I think she got it at a second-hand store in Lyon. You probably don't have (or maybe even want) one. I guess you can grind almonds in a food processor.
3. Add 1 C. sugar.
4. Beat 2 egg whites stiff.
5. Mix all together. Make sure your almonds are cool first.
6. Drop by the teaspoon onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment. I flatten them a bit with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. If you like rounded macaroons, you don't have to do this.
7. Bake at 375° until delicately brown, 5-7 minutes. I cooked these too long, but it doesn't matter. They keep well, & are good for mailing away.

Birthday cake

Yesterday was Patrick's birthday, & I was so glad to make him this cake. My miserable photo doesn't do it justice. Not only is the cake delicious – it is easy. This is Mary's recipe.

Mary's Chocolate Cake

1. Bring just to a boil in the microwave 2 sticks unsalted butter, 1 C. water, 4 T. unsweetened cocoa. (I use Ghirardelli.)
2. Mix together 2 C. sugar, 2 C. flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. soda. Add to cocoa mixture.
3. Add 2 eggs & 3/4 C. sour cream (not lowfat). Don't overbeat.
4. Pour into two greased & floured 8" or 9" cake pans. Bake 30-35 min. at 375°.
5. Cool on raised cake racks & frost.

Notes:

1. I rub the butter papers onto the pan, then add a tablespoon or 2 of flour. Tap pan so flour adheres to bottom & sides, then dump extra flour into sink.
2. I've also used 2 heart-shaped pans: bake for 25 min.; 9" x 13": bake 30 min.; jelly roll pan: bake 20 min.

Frosting

Melt 1 bag Ghirardelli milk chocolate pieces & a lump of butter (2 to 3 T.) in a glass bowl in microwave. Then put this into mixer bowl & beat it with confectioner's sugar, about a teaspoon of vanilla, & some half & half. If you need a lot of frosting, put in a lot of sugar. If you want a candy bar-like frosting, use less sugar. Add enough cream to make it spreadable. It will harden a bit. I never measure, & it turns out different every time, but always perfect. Use darker chocolate if you like.

Notes:

1. Put the rounded tops of the cake together.
2. Don't frost until cool, or your cake will crumble.
3. I love those cardboard cake circles that you can buy at JoAnn's. They enable you to move the cake to a plate easily.
4. Cut four 2-inch pieces of waxed paper & place them on the four sides of the cardboard circle; then put the first layer down. Frost top & sides. Put the second layer on the first, rounded side down, & frost top & sides with a flourish. Pull out the waxed paper strips & you will have a neat edge, no dribbles of frosting.
5. Put the beauty on a cake pedestal, maybe on a doily.
6. And light a candle.

Purple Food

Once, without planning, I made a dinner of black foods: black beans & prune whip. Last night I almost added beets to the menu, but some kitchen angel stopped me. One purple is enough. We love this slaw from Bon Appetit.

I've never used lingonberries. (They say Costco has them.) Cranberries, cooked down with sugar & water, were perfect. I think any tart fruit jam would be fine; last night it was kumquat marmalade. I used pecans instead of walnuts. Half a head of cabbage to one tart apple. Leftovers are dull – the apple fades & cabbage goes limp. Here's my version:

Purple Cabbage Slaw

1. Puree 1 T. tart fruit preserves, *1 T. Dijon mustard, & 1 T. wine vinegar in blender's food processor attachment.
2. Gradually add 1/2 C. oil (canola or corn), with blender running.
3. Add salt & pepper to taste.
4. Mix 4 C. thinly sliced purple cabbage, 2 additional T. preserves, 1 grated tart apple (It's easier to grate if you peel it.), 1/2 C. toasted pecans or walnuts in a large bowl. (Large bowls make tossing easier.)
5. Toss with the dressing. I added quite a bit of salt.

*I've put the entire 3 T. preserves into the dressing, & that's good too.

Delicious Cruciferous

Transform cauliflower: toss in olive oil & roast it. That's ethereal. But last night I added half an envelope of Arora Authentic Indian Spice Organic Chick Pea blend (from Fresh Market) to a head of cauliflower. Remembering Vijay, a Punjabi I once knew at OSU, I added a potato in wedges. Don't stint on the oil. Roast on a cookie sheet with 1" sides at 375° for 45 min., & then at 425° for 10-15 min. more. Watch it at the end. I like it crusty. Stir occasionally to brown, not burn. Clark & I ate the whole thing, along with a salad of yellow tomatoes, red onions, olive oil, sherry vinegar & Kalamata olives. Salt everything. Greek yogurt was so perfect that Clark ate it too.

Sunday dinner

I believe in mac & cheese. I made it for Steph, but we all love it. Here's my recipe, adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook, Ruth Reichl.

Macaroni & Cheese

1. Melt 3 T. unsalted butter, then add 3 T. flour, & cook over moderate heat for 3 minutes, stirring all the while because it burns easily. This is a roux.
2. Pour 2 3/4 C. milk & 3/4 C. heavy cream into a glass measuring cup, then stir it into the roux. (I use a wire whisk sometimes, but prefer a wooden spoon.) Bring that to a boil, stirring constantly. Then simmer on low for about 3 more minutes, stirring off & on so it doesn't burn. I simmer on very low, because I tend to burn it; so I cook it 5 or more minutes – until it is like thick cream. Turn off the heat.
3. Add 4 C. grated Cheddar, the sharper the better, 2 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper. * Stir until cheese melts.
4. Get your drainer out & put a glass measuring cup in it.
5. Cook 3/4 lb. DeCecco Ziti or other macaroni in salted boiling water until it is done but not mushy. Drain it, but before you do, dip out about a cup of the pasta cooking water into the glass measuring cup. Save that liquid.
6. Mix the sauce, macaroni & pasta cooking water together. I use a big shallow bowl that is meant for serving pasta. It makes the mixing easy. If you use a deep mixing bowl, the mixing is more difficult.
7. Pour it all into a casserole. Sometimes I butter it, but it's not necessary. The pan pictured looks bigger, but the container itself is 10" diameter. You can put buttered crumbs on top, but I don't.
8. Bake in the middle of the oven at 400° until it bubbles in the middle, about an hour.

*Sometimes I use 2 C. Cheddar and 16 oz. Velveeta, which makes a creamy & mild sauce.

**If you make 2/3 of this recipe, it fills an 8" square pan.

We had this with broccoli, strawberries, & angel food cake from the bakery.

Saturday drive

Thomasville, GA., 30 minutes up U.S. 319, has a tattered screen door welcome that I love. Clark & I drove there Saturday afternoon. (Don't go Sunday: everything's closed, signaling the whole town is in church or would like you to think so, anyway.) This door's at Relish, a kitchen shop, but the mood is all over town. We ate (pork chops, grouper sandwich) at Jonah's fish & grits.

Light lit lunch

I'm trading my sweet tooth for a veggie passion. In the process, learning to spice. This lunch, for instance: spinach sautéed in olive oil (could be steamed instead.) Squeeze of lemon & good salt (Whatever you like: I choose mine because the box is pretty & the crystals large.), 0–fat Greek yogurt with cumin, curry, & sugar. Ciabatta sliced thin, dabbed with olive oil, baked at 350° until crisp. Turn it once to brown both sides. I use leftover bread, save it in a glass jar. The book is The Analyst by John Katzenbach, a fat page-turner I'm reading with Lesley & Teresa. JK used to write in Miami, as did his wife Madeleine Blais, who wrote In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle, about a turnaround high-school women's basketball team, among other works.

Terrible tart

This Easter tart is not worth the trouble.
I won't even give you the crust recipe. The filling in the little bowl is 3 egg yolks, beaten with a fork, 3/4 C. heavy cream, & 3 T. sugar.
Pour the filling into the shell.

I should have quit, but instead I plugged the holes of the leaky crust with almond paste & made the filling again. It leaked too, but less. I threw in some sliced strawberries, eased the pan onto a foil-covered cookie sheet, & baked it about 30 min. at 375°. Scraped the leaks, now looking like sweet scrambled eggs, off the foil, & threw them on top of the tart. Hid it all under a mountain of powdered sugar. Tasted good, but I've got to work on that crust.

Happy Easter!

If you love Easter peeps (marshmallow bunnies & chicks), check out the Washington Post Easter Peeps Show Diorama Contest IV. My favorite is #14. What's yours?

Thanks to Rachel for this link!

Shelter casserole

Clark loves the Good Shepherd parish casserole recipe for The Shelter, so I made plenty yesterday – a small one for us & 2 for The Shelter on Tennessee & Macomb Streets. The man who helped me take it in grabbed a pair of welding gloves to carry the hot pan. What a practical kitchen accessory! Here's the recipe I use, sometimes adding cheese. There's another choice – similar, but with rice & chili. Green beans & brownies complete the dinner. Other organizations have their own Shelter recipes for different days.

Macaroni/Beef Casserole

2 lbs. ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 28 oz. can tomatoes

1 pkg. mixed vegetables

1 lb. cooked elbow macaroni

Brown ground beef, add onion and green pepper and cook till tender. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Turn into casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Little Country Churches

This is north of Tallahassee, just west of Meridian Road, almost at the Georgia state line.