Becka's blog

For most of February we (like most of you!) have had cold, snowy or rainy weather. For the last three weekends there have even been some travel advisories in our area. Partially because of this Rob and I have spent a little more time than normal pursuing some fiber-related hobbies.

I have been working on my little on-line quilt-along project that I mentioned in my post called Winter activities. I strayed a little bit from the posted directions, but not too far. The blocks went together quickly and the piecing was fun. I decided to go with black for the sashing because of all the other colors that were involved. I am now working on the machine quilting and am using a variegated thread called antique Christmas and am doing some outline quilting and hope to do a little bit of free motion quilting as well. I've been doing a lot of reading and some practicing in preparation for this step.

Rob has been working on a very cute knitting project. Shortly before Christmas we found this self-striping yarn. He just finished this adorable little baby sweater. I think it is pretty amazing how the yarn forms stripes all on its own. We found the sweater pattern as a free leaflet near the yarn in the store. Here is a link to a .pdf of the pattern.

How about you - have you been doing any crafting during the month of February?

Becka

We have been trying to eat more healthful snacks and one thing we have been eating is raw almonds. I try to keep some on hand and Rob keeps them in his office to munch on. We both thought they tasted O.K., but not outstanding. Some friends of ours mentioned that the almonds are a lot tastier if you toast them in the oven. I tried this a few weeks ago and we agree. The toasting greatly improves their flavor. I keep the majority of the almonds in the freezer and toast about a week's worth at a time to keep them nice and fresh.

Toasted Almonds

Just spread the almonds on a cookie sheet and toast in a 375 degree oven. I like to toast them for about 10 mins. and then stir them and toast for about 5 more minutes. Let them cool completely before storing.

Let me know your opinion if you try this!

Becka

Several years ago while we were on a road trip I was looking through some old copies of Gourmet magazine that I had purchased at a library sale. I saw a picture of this little gadget:

I was intrigued because I had never seen or heard of one before. It is a julienne peeler. I asked for one for Christmas that year and have enjoyed using it ever since.

It is very useful for cutting small shreds of vegetables such as cucumbers, zucchini, and carrots. I find it quite handy for garnishing and adding just a bit of color to salads, etc. It is very handy since I'm usually just cooking for the two of us. I can use this little gadget instead of the food processor or some other larger tool.

Another handy gadget that I use frequently is this plastic lettuce knife.

DD Megan gave it to me one year for Christmas. I confess that it was several months before I got around to trying it, but it since has become one of my favorite kitchen tools. To use the lettuce knife you cut the lettuce into bite sized pieces, place them in the bowl of the lettuce spinner. Cover with cold water and then drain into the slotted basket. Then spin the lettuce and it is ready to use for your salad. The plastic knife prevents the cut edges of the lettuce from turning dark. After the lettuce is prepared this way it will keep for a day or two.

Do you have any favorite kitchen tools that make your work in the kitchen easier? Sometimes just one little implement can make a task so much more pleasant. Please comment if you have an idea to share.

Becka

We have had unusually cold weather here the last few days. Today it was just on the verge of freezing and very windy with rain all day. We live right near a road which is slightly elevated and we heard on the news tonight that it had iced and portions of the road were closed because of downed trees. It's a good night to stay home and get some things done around the house.

I've been wanting to post this recipe for baked fruit for a while. It's a nice recipe to have on hand because it can function as a dessert or a side dish. You can make it with either regular brown sugar or the Splenda brown sugar if you are cooking for a diabetic.

Pear-Apricot Bake

2 Tbsps. butter or margarine
1 16 oz. can of pear halves, drained
1 16 oz. can of apricot halves, drained
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Cream or ice cream

Melt butter or margarine in a shallow baking dish in a preheated 350 degree oven. Arrange fruit, rounded side up in the baking dish. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 30 mins. Serve warm with cream or ice cream as a dessert or plain as a meat accompaniment. Makes approximately six servings.

Enjoy and stay warm this weekend!

Becka

As many of you know, we had some snow and ice this past weekend. Rob and I stayed busy around the house working on a variety of little projects. One thing I have been doing this past month was trying to get a little more organized.

Many bloggers spent the month of January trying to feed their families from the pantry and freezer. I decided to join the crowd and at least try to organize and use up some of my freezer food. I removed all the food from the freezers (I have two refrigerators with freezers on the top), cleaned the freezers, got rid of a few items, and then tried to put things back in a better organized fashion. I used an idea I had gleaned from Brenda about storing like items individually bagged and then put into a larger bag in the freezer. I now have bags of nuts, cooked chicken, cooked ground beef, etc. I also made an excel chart to help track what I have in the freezers. I keep a tablet on the refrigerator and mark down what goes in and what comes out.

Another area that I have been working on organizing is my fabric stash. I got a lot of ideas from the Quiltville website. I have been working on cutting my scraps into strips and ironing and folding larger pieces of fabric so I can more easily see what is on hand. This is something I hope to continue working on as time permits.

After reading Deb's post about starting in on an on-line quilt-along I found some fat quarters that I thought would work for this project and have been making a few blocks. I recently bought a free-motion quilting foot and hope to practice on this little project.

Have any of you been cleaning and organizing any corners of your home this winter?

Becka