Sister's Choice Quilts

Switching Things Around

Eva's kitchen project this Tuesday was decorating pre-made heart cookies I bought at the grocery store. My oven hasn't been working very well for months and its inconsistent temperature has made baking a real challenge. With any luck, and if things go as planned, I will have a new oven by next Tuesday!

Thanks for all your feedback on my question about keeping those pink blocks in the Star Studded Event quilt. I spent the day with all those blocks and have come to the following conclusion. Many of you said the pink blocks added a certain sparkle and encouraged the eye to move around the quilt. I think you have a good point. Also, the pink blocks were not distributed quite right throughout the quilt top.

While I still am not overly fond of the pink, when I replaced some of the super dark/somber blocks with light blue blocks, the quilt top was transformed. The notable feature about those pink blocks isn't so much their specific color, but the lighter tonal value they contribute to the look of the quilt. When I added in more light-colored blocks (pale blue), the quilt top became more energized and the pink blocks didn't stand out so much. They don't stand out as so random as they did without the light blue blocks. I may also replace some of the dark brown blocks with a few tan ones to further lighten things up.

I am not quite ready to share yet, but I will as soon as I get it where I want it. At this point, I think the pink will stay, but there will be fewer dark blocks, which I am replacing with light blue and tan ones. I am going to end up with a very large quilt at this rate!

Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread

We were fortunate over the holidays to receive a gift basket from Harry and David's. They are known for their amazing holiday gift assortments, which often contain a selection of perfect pears. We have been enjoying the contents of the gift basket over the holidays and into January. After eating all the cheeses, crackers, chocolates, and other goodies, we were down to two remaining pears. 

Years ago I used to make Upside-down Pear Gingerbread, which is similar in concept to Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Only better. Of course, I couldn't find my recipe, so I "Googled" it and sure enough, I found several recipes that I thought were similar if not the same as the one I used to make.

Eva, my husband, and I had a lovely afternoon snack. I can tell this isn't going to last long.

Here is a link to the recipe I used, which is by Taste of Home. I've had good luck with their recipes and this was no exception. It was delicious! Let me know if you try it!

Sewing and Baking

I am having so much fun with these little village blocks from the Fat Quarter Shop 2015 Designer Mystery kit. This is the Schoolhouse if you couldn't tell. Love the little flag and bell tower.

Fast forward seven years to the 2022 Designer Mystery project for block #6 designed by April Rosenthal. That plaid was a biscuit to work with, I tell you. My seam ripper really got a workout until I saw on the FaceBook group that someone had the bright idea to cut the plaid on the diagonal so the wavy mismatching lines weren't an issue. I blatantly copied their idea and am much happier with my results. Sorry about the bad lighting in the photo. It was way early in the morning when I took it.

I finally finished 20 of those star center blocks. Would you believe that the weekly assignment back when that kit arrived each week was to make 20 blocks per week? I'm lucky if I can finish 4 of them in that time!  No wonder this project is taking me six years. My grand total so far is 180 blocks, so only 60 more to go. 

Our Tuesday afternoon baking project was these cupcakes. Eva and I watched how-to YouTube videos until we felt confident enough to play with a piping bag and various decorating tips. I loved using the tip for the results on the top left. It looks like little cacti, which isn't very Christmassy but was super fun to do. We had fun making these, and at least our first attempts did not resemble the poo emoji, so that was good.

Jan's Famous Cherry Jello Salad

This dish of yummy fabulousness is Jan's Famous Jello Salad. Yes, I made it for Thanksgiving. What a hit. It has a base of cherry pie filling and a cream cheese/whipped cream crushed pineapple topping. Gelatin salads are so retro, and really get a bad rap these days. I used to love them with just about any meal, especially on holidays or hot summer days. I am going to copy Jan's story below so you can all enjoy it and get a good laugh. Who knows, if you make it, you might get famous for it too! It may be too late to make it for this Thanksgiving, but it sure would be great as part of your Christmas dinner.

Jan's Story

The Cherry Jello Supreme story is…we live across the country from family so celebrate holidays with our friends’ family here.  Everyone is related except us & we love being included in their holidays.  There will be 20 of us at our house on Thursday with lots of laughter & teasing.

These are always meals where the host provides the meat & a side dish or two & everyone else brings a side dish, rolls or dessert.  Our first year as a guest I took the Jello salad that is from a recipe in a Methodist Church cookbook from South Florida.  For some reason I’ve been expected to take/serve that salad at every holiday meal for the last 25 years.  

 

I didn’t think much about it & one year asked the grandmother (90+ years at that time) of the family to bring a salad to our house for Thanksgiving.  “WHERE’S THE CHERRY SALAD???” was blurted out at the dinner table. " Really?  This strawberry Jello salad your grandma made is pretty tasty with pretzels on the bottom.”  Back to my boring salad, then after a couple more years passed I asked our friend to bring the salad.  He knew about reaction the last time we diverted from Cherry Jello Supreme & made a beautiful red salad.  Again, “WHERE’S THE CHERRY SALAD????” was heard at the table despite a delicious fresh cranberry & Jello salad.  He was embarrassed & I felt awful for having asked him to fix the salad.  

 

I’ve given up.  I’ll be making 2 pans of Cherry Jello Supreme so there’s plenty for 20 at dinner on Thursday plus enough to send home with leftovers.  Here’s the recipe in case anyone wants to give it a try.  Be warned that you’re on your own if you have to make it for every holiday for years to come!

 

 

 

Cherry Jello Supreme

 

‘The Burnt Offering’ cookbook (circa 1972), Christ Church, United Methodist, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

 

Use a 9”x13” pan.

 

Dissolve 1-3 oz. package of raspberry Jello in 1 Cup of boiling water.

Stir in 1-21 oz. can of cherry pie filling.

Allow to set up in the refrigerator.

 

Dissolve 1-3 oz. package of lemon Jello in 1 Cup of boiling water.

Beat 1-8 oz. cream cheese & ⅓ Cup mayonnaise until smooth.

Gradually add lemon Jello to the cream cheese & mayonnaise.

Stir in ⅓ Cup crushed pineapple & 1 Cup Cool Whip (or real whipped cream).

Add 1 Cup mini marshmallows.

 

Pour on top of set up raspberry/cherry layer.  Allow to set up in the refrigerator.

 

Serves 12.

My Plan For the Day and I'm Sticking To It

My plan for the day is to finish up the Midnight Moon sew-along blocks. I believe to get caught up and finish, I need to make four blocks. I can listen to book review podcasts or my audio book and chill out. I am listening to a book by Janelle Brown called "I'll Be You" that is pretty good. It is about identical twins who were child actors. Now all grown up, they are estranged. One of them is suspected of joining a cult and goes missing, and the other steps up to find her sister. 

It is great weather to stay inside, as the temperature was 104 here Saturday and Sunday. Ugh. It is hard to get excited about eating in weather that is so hot, but I have a great suggestion for you.

Do you follow What's Gaby Cooking on Instagram? She is so upbeat and fun, and always has a great smile. She is a proponent of eating fresh food in season and her recipes never disappoint me. She has a couple of cookbooks out and they are equally good. The one in the photo above, Eat What You Want, is on sale right now for $7. You read that right!  For the hardback!

This recipe from the book is "Corn and Poblanos", which I could eat every day and not get tired of it. I served it hot, but it could be served room temperature or even cold over salad greens. The ingredients are poblano peppers, which are a very mild Mexican pepper. I can't seem to find them where I live, so I used pasillo peppers for the same effect. You cook the peppers with red onion, add fresh corn kernels, crumbled bacon, avocado and lots of squeezed fresh lime juice. I had some leftover chicken which was a nice addition too for a more protein rich meal. It was so fresh tasting and delicious for a hot summer day.

Do you have a plan for the day?

So I Made a Pie

I am staying with my dad a few extra days this week. One of my sisters is moving into a new house and my other sister and I are covering for her while she gets settled in.

I am always trying to come up with menu ideas that appeal to my dad. He has a very small appetite, and doesn't care much for pasta or carbohydrate-laden dishes such as casseroles, Mexican dishes etc. He's a meat and potatoes guy, and loves his veggies. 

Yesterday I decided I'd make him a chicken pot pie, and it was a big hit. I had fun making it, and he seemed to enjoy eating it. I used half a rotisserie chicken for the meat. For the veg, I diced a potato and a carrot which I boiled for a few minutes (4 or 5) in a pan of water. I diced half an onion and a celery stalk and sauteed them in 5 T of butter. Once they were softened, I added 4 or 5 T of flour to the onions and celery. Once that was kind of pasty, I added 1 1/2 C of chicken broth and 3/4 C of milk and whisked it around until the sauce was nice and thick. I added salt, pepper, a bit of Lawry's seasoning salt, and some thyme. You could add frozen peas at this point, but I don't like 'em. Put the drained carrots and potato in the chicken mixture and stir. Mix it all up and pour it into a pie dish lined with one Pillsbury pie crust. I carefully placed the second crust on top and crimped the edges. Make a few little steam vents. I then baked it at 425 for 30 minutes. 

I was worried the bottom crust would be soggy, but it wasn't.  I was quite happy with the result. It was super easy, and wasn't even really a proper recipe. 

I'll be home Sunday, and we plan to celebrate the 4th with our son-in-law, who always does a BBQ. Next week, get ready for some sewing posts, because I have some catching up to do!

Summer Has Arrived

Summer has arrived and that means some sewing, some reading, and some Eva time. This is a block for the Peace and Healing BOW I have been working on. Love this block.

Eva is really into making smoothies these days. And they are a delightful treat on a warm afternoon. This one was strawberries, bananas, orange sherbet and some juice. It was delicious. I keep trying to get her to try blueberries and peaches, but so far she is resisting.

And of course, it wouldn't be summer without some light reading. The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is a perfect summer book. You think you know what is happening, but you couldn't be more wrong. Matthew and Marissa are having some marital issues and seek help from Avery, a therapist who has lost her license due to her unorthodox methods. I was hooked from page one.  I am enjoying this fast, light, brain candy read. 

I have been buying books like a crazy person lately. There are so many new books that have come out lately that are perfect summer fare. In fact, did you know that yesterday, June 7, was the day that more books were published in 2022 than on any other date? And I think I bought six of them!

I hope to get a May book review out this week. Those review posts are a heck of a lot of work, so if I can drag myself away from my sewing machine, I will produce something for you!

Help! I Need a Good Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Well, this was an epic fail. Eva and I bake on Tuesdays, as one of her extracurricular activities. Yesterday we made chocolate chip cookies and they were a disaster. I used the recipe on the back of the Nestles chocolate chip bag and it sure didn't work for me. These cookies spread out all over the pan, making one gigantic, thin, nasty cookie. Horrible. They didn't look right, didn't taste right, and were not the chewy, cakey, delicious cookies I remember.

The second tray turned out better because I doctored up the batter by adding another half cup of flour.

This was more like it, but still not right. I don't know what the problem was, but here are some thoughts:

1) Too much butter (2 sticks)
2) Not enough flour (only 2 1/4 Cups)
3) Too many chocolate chips (2 cups)
4) I did not add nuts (Eva's preference), which would have thickened up the batter
5) Did not chill the dough- but the recipe didn't say to do that

So what do you think? 

I'd love it if you could steer me in the direction of a perfect cakey chewy chocolate chip cookie. I have every cookbook known to man, so if you just reference "Ina Garten's recipe from her (Fill in the Blank) cookbook", I can find it. Or send me a website link, or send me your Grandma's recipe. I just know I need to get a decent chocolate chip recipe pronto. And Eva tells me if I MUST add nuts, she will cope.

Holding my breath here, praying you all will come through for me.

Cooking Up a Storm

Hope your holiday celebrations have been as magnificent as mine have been! Since our son arrived home from Ireland, we have been cooking up a storm. All the dishes he has been craving, and some new experiments as well. On one of his first nights home, we made homemade pasta for linguine and clams. It was so delicious.

We made a rum cake, which was sensational. Wish I could show you a photo of that, but it is long gone. Here is a link to a similar recipe.  

For Christmas, of course there was prime rib roast and mashed potatoes and a fancy salad. Ahren and I did make a really yummy bread wreath that came out great. We had to jerry-rig a tube pan out of a cheesecake pan and a tin can in the center.

Here it is before rising and baking.

And here is the finished result. It was pretty amazing. The recipe is called Pull Apart Garlic Butter Wreath by Half Baked Harvest. It wasn't hard to make and in fact, we had a good laugh while we were cutting out the dough into all those squares. It makes tons, and I mean you could feed 12 people this thing!

It's been so wonderful to have our son home. I do not want to see him go home on Friday. We really have hardly left the house. Of course our weather is really acting up, so it is cozy to just stay in. His sister Sara has come over several times to visit and it's been great to see the two siblings together. And of course, Eva is having a blast with Uncle BroBo.

Happy holidays from our house to yours!

Countdown to Thanksgiving and a Question

More fall color. These trees are in my father's backyard. Three large Japanese maples. He lives in a modern-style house with plate glass floor-to-ceiling windows along the backside of his home. He sits in his chair in the living room and enjoys watching the nature show in his garden.

Well, this is going to be a busy week for most of us, I'll bet. It may be Monday, but a short week that involves a lot of pie and ends with shopping can't be all bad. I know what I'm cooking, who will be at the table, and what I will wear, but there is a lot to do to make it happen.

I need your help. My husband asked me to make a sweet potato casserole I used to make. You roast sweet potatoes, mash them with butter and brown sugar and top them with a pecan streusel. You can assemble it the day before (except for the topping) and bake it on Thanksgiving. It was bright orange and tasted delicious. Better than the version using canned ones with marshmallows on top 

So, here's the thing. I went to the store, and bought "sweet potatoes". They look like the third potato in the photo above. The palest one. Now, I recall my casserole being quite orange. Was I using yams? It has been years and my memory is fuzzy. Did I maybe use yams in the past? This casserole is going to be pretty insipid looking if it is beige. Should I go back and pick up the Garnet Yams I saw piles of at the store? Is that what people use?

Your advice will be much appreciated!