Dear Jane, Etc.

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Barb

Yesterday was our Dear Jane Club meeting.  If you’ve been following this blog, you know that Dear Jane is not all that these girls do.  Not even at Dear Jane meetings.  Some months there is very little “Dear Janing” going on.  I was beginning to think we ought to just rename the club “Dear Jane Lovers” with the subtitle, “You only have to like the Dear Jane quilt to join.” 

Sandi suggested that we are “Dear Jane, Etc.”  I like it.  I think it’s gonna stick.

This was a teachable moment that happened.  And, wonder of wonders, it actually was about Dear Jane.  JoAnne brought her DJ to work on hand quilting.  She’s doing it in sections and then will stitch the sections together after they are quilted.  Sandi and Bertha watched with rapt attention, wishing they were to the quilting stage on their own DJ quilts.

Jane is working on the borders of her Dear Jane quilt.  I’ll be working on my borders in about the year 2023.  Someone needs to give me a deadline.

Sandi worked on these cute pinwheels.  Not Jane.

Bertha worked on a DJ block.  Way to go, Bertha!

She also did these.  They qualify for Etc.  Beautiful knitting work!  Quilters just like to work with their hands.  And create beautiful things.

Charlene organized her DJ things.  Can you come to my house, Charlene?

JoAnne worked on the hand quilting on her DJ.  This makes DJ #63 for JoAnne.  She’s a DJ Fanatic.  We’re making her Queen of the DJ’s next month and bringing her a tiara.

Poor Lynda!  She brought a pillow along with her.  Or maybe we could say it’s a very large pin cushion.  But she had to permanently hold it under her right arm!  That’s what happens after rotator cuff surgery.  She has to endure 6 weeks of that big pillow under her arm. 

Thankfully she could still work on this pretty knitting.  She needed it to keep her sanity.

And me?  I actually worked on DJ this month. 

I worked on this lovely block.  I sewed one seam.

But it’s a really pretty seam, isn’t it?  At this rate I figure I’ll complete this one block in 3 years.  And my DJ quilt will be finished and hanging in a quilt show in the year 2046.

Help.  Somebody needs to give me a deadline.

And I need to stop taking time for Etcs.  These girls are no help at all.

Hugs,
Barb

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Vegan Cornbread

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Barb

It was 78° yesterday and we had soup and cornbread.  That’s because it was 45° the day before.  Today it will probably be in the 20’s.  Not really, but I’ve learned anything is possible.  Welcome to Texas.  I put on a sweatshirt yesterday and then had to shed clothes later.  And ate hot soup and cornbread.

Vegan cornbread.  I’ve made it 329 times in the last month.  Dear Hubby now runs screaming to pick up fast food when I announce cornbread for dinner.  I’m tweaking the recipe.  There have been a fair amount of readers asking for it so I wanted it to be just right.  I may tweak it again tomorrow.  Don’t tell Dear Hubby.  I’m working toward the perfect vegan cornbread.  It could take awhile.

For now you have to settle for what I’ve come up with at this point.  I’ll let you know if I come up with something better.

The cast of characters:  flour, cornmeal, flaxseed, baking powder, salt, almond milk, agave nectar, canola oil and (not pictured) apple cider vinegar.  No eggs.  No milk.  Vegan.  It’s the way I groove these days.

The first cornbread I made I ground the flaxseed and then boiled water on the stove and added the flax and simmered it for a few minutes.  It becomes a big gummy glob.  (I was following the recipe I found.)

See?  The finished cornbread was absolutely delicious.  So moist and yummy.

The second time I made it I forgot to add the gummy flaxseed at the appropriate time.  I had the cornbread in the iron skillet in the oven when I discovered my mistake.  Grabbed it out of the oven and threw it back in the bowl and added the flax and mixed it up and put it back in the oven.  (Yes, it had already begun cooking.)  It was still delicious.  And moist.  A bit flatter though.

It was then that I decided that the recipe was foolproof.  I read some comments on the recipe too.  And decided to incorporate some of them into my next attempt in what I’m now calling my test kitchen.  Deeelish.  And simpler without the gooey, gummy stuff.  Guess I should move forward and tell you how to make it, eh?

Update on 3/23/2012… I have made this many times now and decided that the best way to make it is with the gooey, gummy stuff.  So I’m updating this post to reflect the best cornbread in all my 8,423 attempts.  Updates are in red.

I have a coffee grinder specifically for flaxseed.  It’s very healthy.  Or so they tell me.  I add it to my oatmeal.   And it’s apparently important to grind it just before you eat it.

Here’s what it looks like all ground up.  Up close and personal.  I took the picture and you needed to see it.

So start by dumping all the dry ingredients into a bowl. 

Nope.  Start by bringing 6 Tbsp of water to a boil.  Dump in the 2 Tbsp of ground flaxseed and simmer it, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.  Then dump all the dry ingredients into a bowl.  Or the food processor.  I’ve decided the food processor is the way to go with this stuff.

Flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and the ground flaxseed.  The day I took this picture I used whole wheat flour.  But I’ve also used unbleached flour and think I like it better.  Not as healthy, but a bit less dense of a cornbread.  You can use whatever you feel good about.

Then you add in all the wet ingredients: cooked flaxseed, agave, almond milk and oil.  Oh! I almost forgot.  One of the comments said to add a little apple cider vinegar to turn the milk into buttermilk.  So I added it to my almond milk.  It kind of curdles it.  Just close your eyes and pour it in.  It just might be the secret to the moistness.  But it’s perfectly fine and still very moist with just almond milk and no vinegar.  Discovered that in the 1,423rd attempt in my test kitchen.

At this point I whipped out my handy-dandy new immersion blender that I got for Christmas from a very special friend to mix everything together.  You can use whatever you wish, but you just need to mix it enough to incorporate everything together.  Don’t get crazy just because you have a brand new handy-dandy immersion blender.

Nope!  Pulse the food processor until all ingredients are incorporated together.  Much easier even if the clean-up is a bit more difficult.

This is what the batter looked like the first time I made the cornbread.

This is what yesterday’s looked like.  Both delicious and moist in the end.  Foolproof.  (The first one had the gooey, gummy, pre-cooked flaxseed.)

My batter is now somewhere in between what these two pics look like.  Not sure why that first one looks so stiff.

By the way, you should have preheated the oven to 425° and put the cast iron skillet in to heat.  Pretend I told you that earlier, OK?

Pull the skillet out of the oven.  Be sure to use hot pads – it will be very hot!  Add about a tablespoon of canola oil and swirl it around.  Then dump the batter into the skillet.  It will sizzle.  I love the sizzle.  A cast iron skillet is a wonderful thing for oven cornbread.  If you don’t have one, I guess you can use a baking pan.  But don’t blame me if yours isn’t as delicious.  Just sayin’.

Cornbread #1 going into the oven.

Cornbread #3 going into the oven.  Or was it #3,203?

And now here’s your Immersion Blender Tip of the Day.  Fill your mixing bowl with water and immerse your blender and turn it on.  Cleans it right up.  Do not tell me if you have an immersion blender and discovered this little trick years ago.  I know, I know.  I’m behind the times.

Finished cornbread #1.

Finished cornbread #2.  The messed up one.  Flatter.  But still very moist and delish.

Hey!  If you can put a recipe into the oven, discover that you forgot an ingredient, take it out, mix in the missing ingredient even though you can tell it had already gotten crusty around the edges, add more oil to the skillet in the oven and dump the batter back in and it still comes out spectacular and moist, I’d say it’s foolproof.  My kind of recipe.

By the way, the picture at the very top of this post was cornbread #329.  Or maybe #3.  The one I made yesterday.

Here’s the link to the printable recipe, which I’ve updated with the cooked flaxseed option:

Vegan Cornbread

The first time I made this I added a can of chopped green chilis.  I always add chopped green chilis now.  They really add to the cornbread.  I also think it would be great with some added shoepeg corn.  Chopped jalapenos maybe?  The original recipe had 1/4 c sugar.  I subbed the agave nectar to make it healthier.  Someone else suggested substituting applesauce for the oil.  It seems to be a very foolproof basic vegan recipe.

New pics of the process and the finished cornbread are in Vegan Cornbread Revisited.  Just in case you happened upon this older posting first!

Enjoy!
Barb

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JSS Party Part 2 – Same Fabric Challenge

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Barb

Christmas again.  We’re going to relive it over and over.  And there are quilts to be seen!  I’m back on a quilting roll.  Julie will be happy.

Remember our Same Fabric Challenge?  It’s a part of our Christmas party each year.  You’ve seen the fabric all year long on the edges of this blog.  One of these days I might get around to making something out of mine.  It was a busy year for me.  Excuses, excuses.

Anyway – On with the Show!

 

Kay started things off with this lovely fabric bowl she made.  Creativity is the name of the game with this group.

I thought you needed a closer look.  I didn’t want you to think I’d forgotten about close-ups or something.

Suz showed hers next.  She let the fabric speak to her.  And it said loud and clear…. Scooby-Doo!

See?  The colors just went with this fabulous Scooby.  Perfectly.

And here’s the whole quilt.  It is spectacular!

Lynn was next.   What a wonderful quilt!

And then came Pam’s creation.  Nice, Pam!

It’s so fun to see how different all these quilts are.  Using the same fabric.  That’s Madelyn hiding behind this little gem.  But if memory serves me correctly, she didn’t make this quilt.  I think it was Judy R.  Someone please correct me if I’m wrong.

Davene couldn’t bring herself to cut up the fabulous fabric.  So she just added gorgeous borders to a large piece in the center.  Great job, Davene!

How cute is this?  Sue OK made this darling apron with her fabric!

This is really out-of-the-box for Judy.  And very, very creative.

Cindy made this wonderful quilt.  Aren’t you impressed with the creativity of this group?

Peggy fooled us all.  She hid the fabric in this fabulous rooster.  It even hung in our quilt show in September!  And she got a fabulous third place ribbon too.

Can you find the challenge fabric?  She hid it well.  But it’s there!

Wonder what our 2012 fabric will look like?  Stay tuned…..
Hugs,
Barb

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Christmas Revisited – JSS Party Part 1

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Barb

I’m dreadfully behind.  But you already know that.  And I know that you are longing for pics from our JSS Bee Christmas Party.  And quilts.  Finally.

I’m sure you’ve been thinking lately that I needed to change the title of this blog to “Just Sayin’ Cook.”  A quilting friend said to me the other day, “Enough with the veggies already!”  So this blog’s for Julie.  And if you were ready to get back to quilts too, you can thank her.
 

If you’ve read this blog for long, you are already familiar with our annual Brown Bag Challenge.  If you’re new (or have just slept too many times and can’t remember the challenge), you can read all about it here:

JSS Brown Bag Challenge 2011

You’ll see that on that day in January the brown bags were indeed brown.  Unlike the way they looked in the pic above at the Christmas party.  These gals know how to decorate a package.

And this particular pretty package really caught my eye.  I recognized the fabric on the bow as mine!  And it sat right in front of me as we waited and waited for Brown Bag Opening time to arrive.

These little boxes played a part in Brown Bag Revealing too.  Their part was to make the opening take much longer.  Sally was the Hostess with the Mostest and she wanted to make the day last and last.  So she devised these little boxes to make us all frustrated prolong the Opening of the Quilts.

Let the quilts begin!

 Wonder of wonders, I didn’t have to wait long to see mine.  The little hard-to-open box with my fabric in it was pulled out first.  Yeah!

Made by Sue G.  Also known as Sueme.  It’s a long story.  Something about too many ladies in this group named Sue.  And she made my glorious quilt top out of the red, white and black fabric I put in my brown bag.  I love it.

Perhaps I should mention that these are just quilt tops?  Only one time did someone, who will remain nameless (Susan), actually have the quilt completed finished and bound.  We all gave her such a hard time for showing us up that she knew never to do that again.

Linda was next – all the way from California!  First she had to show us what she received from her quilt group in Austin.  See the candy cane fabric?  She put that same fabric into two brown bag challenges.

 Boy, was Linda ever surprised to find out that it was Peggy who had her fabric!  Shocked might be a better word.  Peggy really pulled the wool over Linda’s eyes the night before the party and had her thinking that someone else had her fabric.

And here’s Linda’s fun Christmas quilt top.  Made by Peggy.  So cute!

Cindy’s beautiful top was made by Pam.  Nice.

Susan was very happy to hear that her top was made by Suz.  And she ripped into the package immediately.

See Susan’s big smile?  Beautiful work, Suz.

Suz was next.  Her fabulous top was made by Davene.

Remember I told you about the cute little boxes Sally devised to make the game of revealing last until midnight?  Here’s Suz gritting her teeth and trying to get the box opened.  At least she smiled as she worked on it.

Tracy was next – opening hers that was made by Patt.

And isn’t it wonderful?  These gals are so talented and creative.

Karen laughed and laughed as Peggy unfurled her quilt top.

That’s because Karen totally made this quilt top in full view of everyone at our last retreat!  She was extra sneaky, that Karen.  Peggy’s fabric was the final border so no one was the wiser.  Good job, Karen!

Sally was super excited to know that Tracy made her quilt top.

And isn’t it lovely?  Sally sure thinks so.

Patti was next to open hers.  Made by Sally who had a big story to tell.

See that brown bag in Sally’s right hand?  It contains the entire yard of fabric that Patti put in it last January.  Sally was so excited about adding fabulous batiks to the batik in the bag that she forgot to use the original brown bag fabric!

But no way was Patti relinquishing her fabulous quilt.  And I say she’s all ready for 2012.  Just put that bag back in the mix, Patti!  Wouldn’t it be funny if Sally got her fabric again?

Here’s Madelyn’s quilt.  Made by Sue H.  We love the bows on the packages.  What a great pattern!  Well done, Sue!  UPDATE:  This quilt belongs to Judy R!  Apparently I was trying to give Madelyn two brown bag quilts.  That’s what happens when I have too many sleeps before I blog.

Cindy looks almost as excited for Sue G to open hers as Sue is to open it.

And it was indeed worth being excited about.  Lovely quilt, Cindy!

Patt got the top I made.  Completed just hours before the party began.  As usual.

And then Patt promptly hid behind the quilt for the picture.  Kilroy Patt was here.

By the way, Boo and Miss Kitty approved of Patt’s quilt.  All quilts made at my house have to be cat tested and approved.

Karen’s quilt was made by Nancy.  And she got a fabulous bag to match.  We were all ooing and ahhing over the bag and want Nancy to get our brown bags next year.

Then we all ooed and ahhed over the quilt!  It was indeed fabulous.

Susan always manages to use the smalled amount of the fabric in brown bag.  See the small holes in the bottom of the fabric?

Pam was overwhelmed with the thought of getting some of Susan’s fabulous appliqué.

And the quilt was indeed gorgeous.  Susan wows us all with her needle-turn appliqué!

Davene was next.  Her top was made by Linda and it was perfect.

This is Sue H’s.  Made by Patti.  With lovely embroidery.  Fun!

Here’s Nancy’s quilt made by Madelyn.  And Nancy has just the spot for it in her home.  Wonderful!

It warrants a big hug.  There were many hugs that day.  I just didn’t take pics of them all.  Picture all the quilts above with hugs too.  We’re a huggy group.

I have no idea who made this quilt.  Judy R?  It apparently belongs to Madelyn.  But it could belong to Judy.  I’ve slept too many times since this party to remember all the details.  Someone fill me in please?  Sure is pretty whoever made it.  UPDATE:  This one indeed belongs to Madelyn.  And was made by Judy R.  Who set me straight in the comments today.  Thank goodness.

May the Brown Bags live on!  Another challenge begins soon.  In the meantime, I’m heading back to the kitchen.  I have a new soup to make!  But there will be more quilty pics.  I promised Julie.

Quilt on!
Barb

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Produce Day

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Barb

Dear Hubby and I belong to a Produce Co-op.  We actually started it up about 7 years ago when we heard about doing this from another group.  It’s been going strong ever since.  And today was Co-op Day so I thought you might need to hear about it.  Because bloggers share every day things, don’t they?

This is the produce we got today.  2 bunches of kale, 5 bunches cilantro, 12 limes, a bag of red grapes, 2 heads of cabbage, a bag of peeled garlic cloves (transferred to a jar at home), 2 bunches broccoli, 5 red pears and 6 yams.  And we got all that for $10.  Yes, you read that correctly….. TEN DOLLARS.

Here’s how it works.  There are 12 families in our co-op.  Each family puts in $10 so we have $120 to spend (difficult math here.)  We rotate the “shopper” and all take a turn.  So my turn rolls up every 24 weeks or about 6 months.  (More difficult math.  Not.)  I should mention that we do this every other Saturday. 

On the day when we are the shopper, we drive to the Farmer’s Market in Dallas to pick up our produce.  We work with a distributor there and order the stuff ahead of time so that early Saturday morning when we do the pickup, it’s a simple process of just driving over, paying for the pre-ordered-via-fax stuff and loading up the car with big boxes.  That’s about all I can handle at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday.  If I had to go through the market that early on Saturday and select things and add up the cost as I went?  Not a pretty picture.  Who knows what they’d get on my shopping day.

Then we drive back to our church and set out 12 laundry baskets on the steps and divide everything up.  Participants come at 10:00, pay their $10 (which gets passed on with our binder of info to the next shopper) and pick up their goodies.  Dear Hubby went along and helped me with the process today.  So I got to sleep in the car on the way (in between sips of Starbucks) AND play Words with Friends all the way back.  I love it when Dear Hubby goes along to help.

And if I’d taken the camera along, I’d have thrown in a few pics of the stuff in boxes and baskets!  But alas.  My blogging skills are lacking.  I am working hard at getting back in the swing of things to keep up with my one New Year’s Resolution.

So now I’ve washed all my goodies and put them away.  And thought you all needed to know about what a great thing a Produce Co-op is.  Maybe you need to check out starting one where you live?

In the meantime, does anyone have any good vegan recipes using cilantro?  5 bunches is a lot of cilantro!  It was a big box of cilantro….. 5 (bunches) x 12 (families) = 60 bunches of cilantro!  And there were a few extras that I passed on to our church secretary when I bumped into her as we were leaving.

I feel a big bowl of guacamole coming on…… and kale chips.  Yum.
Hugs,
Barb

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