Fall flowers

Mexican Sunflowers
8" x 10"

Mexican sunflowers are tall, orange knockouts with graceful leaves. They're annuals and that's about all I know. Except that I love them. Through late fall, they flourished at Gate B of Phipps Park, where I run. Some wagged on stems above my head. They're saturated color for sure. Recently I've been inspired by Penelope Gottleib's bright -- even harsh -- acrylic and ink paintings of flowers in pure color. Never mind that she sometimes includes bomber planes and other surprises among her blooms.  Following Gottleib's lead, I sat before the flowers in our yard and out at Phipps and made three flower pieces, using saturated colors. They're 8" x 10", mounted on canvas-wrapped board. 

Mexican Sunflowers at Phipps Park

Cardinal Guard

Fall flowers

Meyer lemons

I barely knew about Meyer lemons until Ed left a bag of them on our porch soon after we moved to Tallahassee. Our neighbor was rich in lemons and bluebirds, and he loved to share both. Once when I was visiting him and his wife in their backyard, he placed a tiny worm in my hand, assuring me it wasn't squishy. When I opened my palm and held it out, a bluebird swooped down from the bushes to eat the worm. A tiny rose-breasted bluebird perched on my hand!

I felt much the same amazement when I learned about Ed's precious Meyer lemons. They are much desired by cooks. When Ed died last spring I planted a Meyer lemon tree out near our shed in his honor. This season it gave us two big yellow fruits. Thanks to Ed's family, we still enjoy his lemons too. This week I mailed some to family in Ohio. "Give us recipes!" they said. So:

In general, I use Meyers  as I would any other lemon. Here's a video from a grove in California with some useful storage ideas.

I also make Meyer Lemon Marmalade. Here's the recipe -- my adjustments to an Epicurious recipe.

A friend tried Smitten Kitchen's Lemon Cake. She liked it but didn't rave.

I'm sure Mom's sponge cake is better. Follow the suggestion midway down for dousing it with lemon syrup.

Here's an LA Times piece with 100 things to do with a Meyer lemon.

S'more pie

You know how Thanksgiving makes you want chocolate? You do crave chocolate after all that orange food, don't you? Then you'll understand why I made a S'mores pie the day after turkey-- soon enough to coat-tail on the "It's a holiday so calories don't count" rule.  I used Smitten Kitchen's recipe, and the chocolate intensity didn't disappoint.

Next time I'll tweak the crust and topping,  though. Yes, I made the marshmallow topping. My cook-niece Gretchen has influenced me; she loves homemade marshmallow. What a surprise -- no egg whites involved! It's an honor to be in the secret marshmallow sorority, but next time I'm going to top this pie with lightly sweetened whipped cream instead.

And the crust -- SK's is a regulation graham cracker; next time I'm going to try butter-crunch crust. All these changes would be made to enhance the chocolate, of course.

Butter Crunch Crust from Spago Desserts

Mix in food processor just until combined:
4 T. butter
2 T. brown sugar
1/2 C. flour

Add:
1/4 C. chopped pecans
Process about 3 seconds more.

Spread on cookie sheet. Bake on center rack in 400° oven for about 10 minutes, being careful it does not burn. Remove from oven and stir it. Cool until you can touch it, then press into 8" or 9" pie pan or a 9" springform pan (This would be for cheesecake.) Refrigerate until needed.

Filling from Smitten Kitchen

7 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used a bar of Lindt 70% cacao, which I pummeled with a heavy spoon before opening.)
1 C. heavy cream
1 large egg

Bring cream to a boil. (I microwaved it in a glass measuring cup -- be sure to watch carefully and take it out just as it starts to boil.) Put the chocolate in a bowl and pour the hot cream over it. Let it stand for a minute, then stir until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Whisk the egg in quickly, along with a pinch of salt.
Pour into crust. It will fill it about halfway up. Protect exposed edges of crust with strips of foil. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes at 350°. Chocolate will still be a little shaky in the center. Cool to room temperature, about one hour. Then refrigerate (SK recommends one hour uncovered, followed by 3 hours covered, in refrigerator. It probably wouldn't hurt to eat it earlier. Before you do, top with sweetened whipped cream.

Quail Pot Pie

Sidewalk sign in front of Savannah Moon

 I should have brought one home: quail pot pie. I sometimes hear quail call when I run at Phipps Park, and I've talked to people who shoot quail. Some former cotton plantations here in North Florida and South Georgia turned into quail plantations after the Civil War. People pay money to hunt on the property. But I never tasted quail, and don't want to. (I've heard it's "better than chicken.") So I passed up the bird in the pie when I was shopping today in Thomasville, GA, a charming town 30 miles north of Tallahassee. I feel bad that I didn't think Clark might want to try it. Well, next time ...

Downtown Thomasville, GA

Butter facts

Dear Gretchen,
We talked about ingredients--how choice of  flour, sugar, butter, and eggs defines a baker. Once,  I cut info about butter from a newspaper and pasted it onto a card. As promised, here are the highlights:
1. For mixing and creaming, 65 degrees. Don't let it melt: at 68 degrees.
2. Wrap butter in foil if it's not going to be used immediately. Seal with tape.
3. Never use a microwave to soften butter because it melts, even when it appears solid.
4. Cut butter into chunks to prepare for softening. It's ready to be creamed if it takes a fingerprint when gently pressed.
5.  Cream butter with mixer's paddle blade. Don't go above medium because that will heat the butter.

That was a refresher for me too. Now, to make crust for Thanksgiving pie!

Edges of art

I've been looking at edges. At the Studio Art Quilt Associates of Florida mini-conference in New Smyrna Beach/Daytona last weekend I noticed how others finish their pieces. Here are some ways:

Zigzag satin stitch
Transitions
Barbara Watler
(best of show)

         Silk organza ribbon folded over edge

Connections 

Jennifer Pepper Bailey

Raw edge 
Solitude
Nancy Billings

Running stitches around edge several times
Untitled
Maya Schoenberger
(curator of show)

Wood trio, each a base of three boards glued together. 
One (The middle, if I remember right) has hooks
Art is glued to the wood
Fen Shui
Jo-Ann Jensen

Other finishing techniques from the Daytona show include: worsted weight acrylic yarn attached to the edge of the art with a zigzag stitch; traditional binding with satin stitch decorating the inside seam; traditional wood frame; small art pieces Velcro-ed onto a larger fabric base.

Where to get your alligator processed

Barberville, FL  on Florida Route 40. You can buy this Statue of Liberty replica here. I didn't check the price. But wouldn't she make a symbolic welcome light at the end of your driveway? OK, maybe not. They also have oranges and alligators. 

I loved taking Florida Route 40 from Ormond Beach to Ocala and I-75 on the way home from the SAQA meeting. Driving through the Ocala National Forest sounds like it would be uneventful, but along the way I passed these signs of life. Real signs from the heart of Florida:

Alligator Processing

Bear Crossing

"Woe to him who... " 

Hot Boiled Peanuts

Studio Art Quilt Associates

SAQA today and I'm energized! It's a world-wide group of art quilters. In panel discussion, formal talk, and informal exchange Florida members discussed the future (video in quilts?), identity (we are artists -- no explanation needed), and examined each others' amazing work. I'm bonded.

Double chocolate chip cookies to the rescue

Double chocolate chip cookies

I did ruin the birthday cake yesterday. It was a bubbling mass of chocolate muck because I measured the flour and sugar wrong. So I dumped it down the drain and remembered that Janice loves these cookies. Who needs cake?

Double chocolate chip cookies

Sift together:
1 3/4 C. flour
1/4 t. soda

Beat:
1 C. butter, softened

Add:
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. dark brown sugar
Beat until fluffy.

Add and mix in:
1 egg

Add:
1/3 C. cocoa
2 T. milk

Mix in dry ingredients.

Stir in
12 ounces milk chocolate chips
1 C. toasted nuts (optional)

Shape rounded teaspoons onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.
Bake at 350° for 15-17 minutes.
I like them crisp. If you want them soft, bake for 12-13 minutes.

How not to bake

That's Janice's birthday cake in the oven--I think. 
I made it and it might flop. Last night I got a head start and measured out the dry ingredients. Then I thought, "Here's the flour and sugar and measuring cups -- Let's just measure some more." Brilliant time-saver. Besides, I was wishing for some biscotti. So I measured the dry ingredients for that too. You know what happened. This afternoon I blithely made the cake, and as soon as it was in the oven I saw the other pre-measured ingredients. Uh-Oh. I think I put the biscotti flour/sugar into the cake. In five minutes I'll find out. For now, it smells perfect.

Big art at High Museum

I stood right about here, loving this big art by Thornton Dial at the High Museum in Atlanta, when a guard came over and said, "We've got a whole show of his work coming. They're setting it up over there." (She gestured beyond the hall where we stood.) I love the texture and power. It gave me chills. This (I don't remember its name.) is one of several Dial pieces in the Fast Forward: Modern Moments show. We can see lots more in The Art of Thornton Dial at the High through March 3.

On my way to Ohio last week I stopped at the High, just off I-75. I'm glad I did.  Here are other striking pieces I saw:

Mark Rothko

layers of thinned oil paint

on unprimed canvas

detail

Radcliffe Bailey

acrylic, velvet and glitter 

on canvas

American Modern Pitcher

Russel Wright

Steubenville (Ohio) Pottery

(OK, OK -- I was a kid in Steubenville, which is famous for mud and pottery.)

Early voting or ...

I voted today at the Leon County Courthouse, and it was NOT early voting.  As you may be able to see from this sign that I photographed on the glass wall near the door to the Board of Elections, early voting ended here on Saturday. What we did today was vote by absentee ballot. They gave me an absentee ballot when I walked in and I went to a voting station, filled in the little circles, put it in an envelope, signed that I was the person indicated and I was only voting once. Following a lawsuit, Leon County was one of seven Florida counties open today for in-person absentee voting. Late this afternoon there was a line all along the front of the Courthouse and out to Monroe Street -- about a 45 minute wait.  There were lots of students. I am glad.

Candied nuts

Dear Gretchen,
I lost the recipe you wanted. Mom's candied walnuts were great, and I know I've got the recipe around here somewhere. But I haven't found it yet.
So I looked for a similar recipe online and I think here's a better one. The coating's not as thick as I remember Mom's was, but these are delicious and easy. I made them last night, with pecans and dark brown sugar. It was so easy and quick and so delicious. There--I've said it again! I put  1 1/2 C. pecans and 1/2 C. brown sugar into my heavy copper saucepan and cooked over medium flame for five minutes, stirring all the time.

Next time I could try plain brown sugar and toast the nuts ahead of time, but why mess with perfection?
(Dec. 2 -- I just did this -- toast pecans and use plain brown sugar -- and it's definitely down on the flavor scale. I'm sticking to dark brown sugar for this, and, to my surprise, I won't even toast the pecans. This time I think that extra layer of flavor fights with the simple sweet perfection.)

This is another recipe, probably more like Mom's. But I think Mom would choose the new recipe.

I'm in good company!

My Beach Walk is in this show.  Next Saturday I'll get to meet other quilt artists at a meeting in Daytona. I'm looking forward to exploring New Smyrna Beach too.  That's where part of the events will be. I've been told it's "old Florida" with a creative vibe.

SAQA in Florida show