3.24.2010

Neighbors

Apricot Scones (from C.S., neighbor)

Dry ingredients:
2 1/2 c. all purpose or pastry flour
1/2 c. sugar (granulated cane sugar is nice)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/3 c. chilled butter, cut into small pieces (you can use up to 1/2 c. if desired)
1/2 c. finely chopped dried apricots and dried cherries (C.S suggests 3/8 c. apricots and 1/8 c. cherries)

Liquid ingredients:
1/2 c. plain, low-fat yogurt
1 egg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Stir the dry ingredients together until well mixed.  Work in the butter pieces until it is about the consistency of a soft, coarse meal.  Add the fruit and stir.  Set aside.
Mix the eggs and yogurt, then stir into the flour mixture just enough until it is a "barely together blob" (C.S.'s words were too good to change up).
Dump the blob out onto a clean, lightly-floured workspace.  Knead and lightly apply a little more flour as needed, until the blob is mostly together. 
Smoosh the blob to an 8-10 inch disk shape.  Gently place the disk on a lightly greased baking sheet (C.S. suggests olive oil to grease it).  Add the topping by brushing the dough with half-and-half and sprinkling sugar over it. 
Cut the dough into 12 wedges, and pull them away from each other on the baking sheet as they will expand during cooking.  Bake for 20 minutes until golden.  Serve warm.

So, I recently went with my husband to the big city for one of his conferences.  We stayed in a nice hotel on the river, just at the edge of the commercial downtown, and certainly right in the middle of things.  It was spectacular - historical buildings, high rises, architectural feats, enormous bridges, and people.  Tons of people.  Everywhere.  I loved it.  Manmade and masterful.  In one word: thrilling. 

And it confirmed a suspicion of mine that has been growing for the past few years: I am not a city girl.

I like green, and things that are growing, and one- and two-story houses, and neighbors who walk their dogs with you (or walk your dog for you), and wide blue sky and knowing that the tallest thing around is a mountain, or a bird flying over the mountain. 

I like my 9.5 minute commute to work, the 4 blocks of downtown (OK, well, I could stand it to be a little bigger honestly), the fact that I have a problem with deer eating my garden vegetables, and that my dog knows the difference between the words "stick" and "squirrel."

I like that my neighbor gave me scones when I dropped in to pick up my dog, and that a few days later the same neighbor came running out of his house, his hands covered in butter and flour, to give me a bag of pumpkin dog treats.  I like that all my friends know where the secret house key is, and if they don't, all they need to do is ask in order to find out.

I've decided, I like my not-city life.  I'm blessed with friends and neighbors and community.  So, I've set a goal for the next few months ... make some of these scones and give them to someone who needs a neighbor.

3.12.2010

Stitching Hope Giveaway!


STITCHING HOPE GIVEAWAY! 


Win this awesome cafe apron - the Blue Jolie - one size fits all, perfect for yourself or your special someone! 


You just need to do one of the following: 

(a) post the giveaway info on your facebook profile and tag me in the post (you can do that by typing @ Katherine Lile), 

(b) tweet about it and tag @stitchinghope in the tweet, 

(c) send an email to someone telling them about the giveaway and CC/BCC me (k.lile.quilts@gmail.com), or 

(d) blog about it and send me a link to the blog (to the email address above). 


Who knew that supporting Heifer International's relief efforts in Haiti could be so rewarding and easy?  


GIVEAWAY ENDS MONDAY 3/15 AT 5:00 PM EST!

Stitching Hope Giveaway!


STITCHING HOPE GIVEAWAY! 


Win this awesome cafe apron - the Blue Jolie - one size fits all, perfect for yourself or your special someone! 


You just need to do one of the following: 

(a) post the giveaway info on your facebook profile and tag me in the post (you can do that by typing @ Katherine Lile), 

(b) tweet about it and tag @stitchinghope in the tweet, 

(c) send an email to someone telling them about the giveaway and CC/BCC me (k.lile.quilts@gmail.com), or 

(d) blog about it and send me a link to the blog (to the email address above). 


Who knew that supporting Heifer International's relief efforts in Haiti could be so rewarding and easy?  


GIVEAWAY ENDS MONDAY 3/15 AT 5:00 PM EST!

3.10.2010

an exciting find

So.  It's been just about a month since I last posted ... and just about a month since I started the Stitching Hope shop!  With every item that has been donated to the shop, I just can't help but think, "Man.  I want that," or, "I wish that were my size," or, my favorite, "I could just go ahead and buy it to give away."  I keep reminding myself that the money goes to a good cause, but it can't all be MY money.  It's all exciting, nonetheless.


A few weeks ago I stumbled on this website: The Modern Quilt Guild.  If you have time, read the essays posted by different prominent quilters who are known for their modern style.  I'm really excited about this because these quilters are helping me to put into words how I feel about quilting.


Word.

3.03.2010

Ye Olde Blackstrap

Cinnamon Molasses Cookies (adapted from here - I make smaller cookies and use less salt in the topping than that recipe calls for)

1 c. (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. blackstrap molasses
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. cinnamon

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Slowly add in molasses and vanilla, mixing until well combined (this involves considerable scraping of the bowl, FYI).  Add eggs and mix well.  In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.  Add dry ingredients to the wet ones, and mix thoroughly.  Dough will get pretty stiff and will most likely form one considerably large ball.  That's when you know the dough is right.  Refrigerate the dough for 1-4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small bowl, mix 2 Tbsp. sugar, 1 Tbsp. cinnamon, and 2 tsp. salt.  Roll dough into one-inch balls (larger if desired) and then roll in the sugar mixture.  Place on a cookie sheet or preheated baking stone and press down with a fork.  Bake 6-8 minutes.

I got inspired to purchase Blackstrap Molasses recently.  By inspired, I mean that it was cheap and at our local health food store (two things that typically don't coincide).  I had visions of using it as an alternative sweetener - the Mr. and I have already switched to using honey in coffee/tea/oatmeal instead of sugar, but I thought it'd be nice to have a little variation, you know?  So, on Day 1 of Blackstrap Molasses Inspiration, I made oatmeal for breakfast and put about a tablespoon of molasses in each of our bowls.  Mix that in with the oatmeal and a few raisins ... mmmmmmlegch.  It was gross.  It tasted like burnt coffee - really burnt coffee - and had no inkling of sweetness in there.  We salvaged the breakfast by heaping spoonfuls of sugar into our bowls, and somehow made it through.

I was crushed.  Maybe that is why it's cheap ...

So, I decided that I had two options.  First, pour it down the drain and deal with the loss of my $2.64.  Second, research molasses and find out what the deal was.  I (obviously) went with the second and opened my mom's loaner copy of American Cooking (from the early 80's, I think) to the page for Molasses and read that among the four types of molasses, Blackstrap is the most unpalatable variety and should be avoided at all costs (well, it said something like that.  I may have paraphrased a bit). 

I still wasn't sure I could part with my $2.64.  I mean, it was sold in the store - it must have SOME use.  Maybe I could make a cleaner out of it, or baste a turkey with it.  I decided to disregard the wisdom of the book and try to find something on internet, like every good twenty-something should do (she said sarcastically).  My first few attempts at allrecipes.com and southernliving.com turned up a disheartening mound of nada.  But I scrounged around a little more, determined that my $2.64 was going to be worth it, and stumbled on this recipe, that happens to be from a blog that I like to read anyway. 

The cookies turned out to be really good.  They're sweet - though not overwhelmingly so - and great as just a light snack with a cup of coffee.  The cinnamon/sugar/salt topping is interesting (in a good way, of course).  The original topping recipe calls for a whole tablespoon of salt but the Mr. and I found that to be a little too much.  But, feel free to adjust the topping to your tastes.  And, may I suggest hanging onto the 6-8 minute cooking time.  Don't be tempted to cook them longer.  With just those 6-8 minutes, they stay soft and don't get crumbly at all.

So, I have to confess that $2.64 worth of Blackstrap molasses is enough for 5 batches of cookies.  And, since it's apparently the only thing in the world that Blackstrap molasses is good for, I'll go ahead and say that I'm bringing cookies to the next potluck.