Seasons: Spring

Spring
15 1@" x 17"

I finally finished Spring. I spent a long time figuring out how to make wisteria blossoms. They kept looking like grapes. Information came from my plant-wise friend Sky, Tallahassee Nurseries, Tiffany stained glass, and the wonderful book Southern Plants for Landscape Design by Neil Odelwald.

Mom's Peach Pie

When I told Mom I was making her peach pie, she said, "That's not my recipe -- I got it from Betty McGlone. All the good recipes come from somewhere." Thanks, Betty! I hardly ever make pie any more, but this is so good I make it at least once a year. Today I had frozen peaches.

First, make the crust. Put it in a 9" pie pan.

Peel and slice peaches (good ones -- so many are tasteless) to make a mound on the unbaked crust.

Mix this and pour it over:

Sauce for Peach Pie

1/3 C. melted butter
1/4 C. + 1 T. flour (5 T. in all) mixed with 1 1/4 C. sugar
1 beaten egg
cinnamon to taste (I use a lot.)
1 t. vanilla

This is for an 8" pan. Mom uses 1 1/2 recipe for 9".  The sauce will bubble over, so put a foil-lined cookie sheet on the shelf below to catch the drips.

Bake at 375° until the center bubbles, about 1 1/2 hr.

How to clean a leek

Leeks often have sand in them. I used to try to scrub and rinse between the layers. It was nearly impossible, so dinner would be sandy, and that made me stop cooking with leeks. Here is how I do it now, and it works. You start with leeks (above).

Cut off the tough green tops. I've never been sure exactly how much to cut, but what you see above works. Maybe I could go higher.

Slice. I started with crosswise, but I prefer lengthwise.

Chop.

Put in a bowl and run water into it. Swish around to loosen sand.

Drain. Repeat rinse and drain another time or two, until you feel no sand in the bowl. Your leeks are clean. Continue with the recipe. If you're going to sauté them, wrap them in a towel and squeeze it over the sink to eliminate some water first.

FSU wants to catch reading difficulties early

Tallahassee is a hopeful place for those with reading difficulties. The NIH just awarded $8.5 over the next five years to FSU to continue studying dyslexia, and the web site invites participants in their study. According to Dr. Rick Wagner, the Florida Center for Reading Research will concentrate on early discovery of reading difficulty. (Previously, they were looking for genetic disposition, but that turned out to be not as fruitful as they'd hoped.) Now they want to be able to identify the difficulty in children as young as three years old; helping students early could eliminate later experiences of failure.

Oh frit! FSU fiber art show

Lanny Bergner's sculpture of screen mesh and frit
at FSU Museum of Fine Arts
Thread of Life exhibit

I saw the word frit at  FSU's Thread of Life exhibit at FSU yesterday. Lucky I was with Jennifer, who knows frit (A degree in ceramic engineering helps, she said). It's colored glass, but more complicated. I love frit. Lanny Bergner's mesh and frit sculptures are my favorite pieces in the understated, lovely exhibit. I was also happy to see three quilts by FAMU architecture professor and artist Valerie Goodwin

Yesterday was my second visit -- this time I studied methods of display, other than the conventional cloth pocket and rod for quilts. (Those were distinguished by distance from the wall; fluid cloth looks best when it's not flush but allows some air.)  Timothy Harding's simply-bound silk quilts were Velcro-ed to a wooden bar.

Koi, Timothy Harding

Harriet's Music Room (16" x 18"), one of Laura Breitman's refined fabric collages, seems to be a base of firm paper glued to foam core attached to a mat in a subdued frame. Her Water lilies  (below) was wrapped around a support, set inside and slightly away from a gold frame that was painted black within.

Water lilies, Laura Breitman. fabric collage

Water lilies, detail

 One of Judy Chicago's weavings is mounted to a larger fabric-wrapped board.

The show ends March 25.

Oatmeal cookies

Forgot to take cookies in back out of the oven

We've been eating light lately, or at least it seems light -- remember, Mom made dessert every night when I was growing up! Gradually we choose fewer desserts and less meat. So these oatmeal cookies are a treat, especially for C. They're his favorites. They're from the big Gourmet cookbook.

Oatmeal cookies

Beat together until fluffy:

10 T. butter, softened
1/3 C. light brown sugar
1/4 C. granulated sugar

Mix in:
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Add and mix until just combined:
1 3/4 C. rolled oats (not quick variety)
3/4 C. flour
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt

At this point it's all done. But you can add chocolate chips, fruits, etc. Today I added about a half cup each of coconut, toasted walnuts, and golden raisins.

The recipe says make huge cookies of 1 heaping tablespoon each. I made smaller cookies. Put on parchment-covered baking sheets. Run your fingers under water and press each cookie down lightly. Bake at 375° about 12 minutes. I like 15 minutes. The cookies in the back of the photo got more than that!

I can't read