"The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get much sleep."
-- Woody Allen
"If there's anything unsettling to the stomach, it's watching actors on television talk about their personal lives."
-- Marlon Brando
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
-- Voltaire
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Can't get away without some morning quotes!
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
My sewing maching is resting . . .
I have been busy over the last two weeks so had to put my sewing machine and quilting projects away until after the trip. Sigh . . . I feel sort of empty not having a needle and swatch of fabric in my hands. I do have two crazy quilts in the works as well as two 'planned' crazy quilts. A planned crazy quilt is one where I select four or five specific colors of fabric and build a random design using only those colors. My REAL crazy quilts use whatever falls out of the scrap box and can be very bright and, well, crazy.
I'm hoping to find some fabric on the trip. In fact, I discovered that Munich, Germany has some quilting stores I hope to visit during my week there. Hey, I'm sure my teen son will LOVE spending time browsing through bolts and bolts of fabric!
While I'm gone, my husband plans to paint the kitchen. Another reason for putting away my projects as I have the far side of the area for my sewing place. I think I got the better part of the deal for the next two weeks but my husband KNOWS he is the lucky one to NOT have to travel. Opposites do attract, you know!
I'm hoping to find some fabric on the trip. In fact, I discovered that Munich, Germany has some quilting stores I hope to visit during my week there. Hey, I'm sure my teen son will LOVE spending time browsing through bolts and bolts of fabric!
While I'm gone, my husband plans to paint the kitchen. Another reason for putting away my projects as I have the far side of the area for my sewing place. I think I got the better part of the deal for the next two weeks but my husband KNOWS he is the lucky one to NOT have to travel. Opposites do attract, you know!
Impressive results for the kitchen!
This is a favorite recipe I like to make for either holiday mornings or when we have company and want them to wake up to a treat with their morning coffee. I like the make-ahead idea. When you have company in the house or coming over first thing in the morning, it is wonderful to pull out a tray of warm cinnamon rolls steaming with fresh lemon glaze. The family/company will be impressed and you will be less stressed.
Overnight Sweet Dough Cinnamon Rolls
2 tablespoons dry yeast
½ cup warm water*
1 ¼ cup buttermilk**
2 eggs
5 ½ cups all-purpose flour - approximately
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Dissolve yeast in warm water in large mixer bowl. Add buttermilk, eggs, 2 ½ cups flour, the butter, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend 30 seconds with mixer on low speed, scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Beat two minutes on medium speed
Stir in remaining 3 cups flour. (Dough should remain soft and slightly sticky.) Knead five minutes, or about 200 turns on a lightly floured board. With a standing mixer, you should be able to do the entire thing with the dough hook.
Shape into coffee breads or rolls as desired. Place on greased baking sheet and refrigerate over night. In the morning, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake. Frost while still warm.
*You can’t used cold, tap water in this recipe. Sweet dough require the slightly warm temperature to prevent the dough from souring.
**Instead of going out and buying buttermilk, just add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice to milk and let stand a moment. This works just as well and is cheaper!
Fillings:
½ cup melted butter
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
dash of cloves
dash of nutmeg
½ cup finely chopped nuts, optional
Roll out a portion of dough, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and nuts. Roll the dough up and then cut slices (1/2 inches) and place on baking sheet and go on as indicated.
Frostings
Powdered sugar, about two cups
Grated lemon rind
Juice of lemon
Teaspoon of vanilla extract
Combine ingredients and mix into a thick paste. Use more water if you can’t get the consistency you want.
Or:
Brown half a stick of butter in a pan. Mix in about two cups powered sugar and vanilla extract. Again, add small amounts of water to get proper consistency for spreading on rolls.
Use a baking sheet with a rim around the edges so melting butter and such won't run over into your oven.
Overnight Sweet Dough Cinnamon Rolls
2 tablespoons dry yeast
½ cup warm water*
1 ¼ cup buttermilk**
2 eggs
5 ½ cups all-purpose flour - approximately
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Dissolve yeast in warm water in large mixer bowl. Add buttermilk, eggs, 2 ½ cups flour, the butter, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend 30 seconds with mixer on low speed, scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Beat two minutes on medium speed
Stir in remaining 3 cups flour. (Dough should remain soft and slightly sticky.) Knead five minutes, or about 200 turns on a lightly floured board. With a standing mixer, you should be able to do the entire thing with the dough hook.
Shape into coffee breads or rolls as desired. Place on greased baking sheet and refrigerate over night. In the morning, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake. Frost while still warm.
*You can’t used cold, tap water in this recipe. Sweet dough require the slightly warm temperature to prevent the dough from souring.
**Instead of going out and buying buttermilk, just add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice to milk and let stand a moment. This works just as well and is cheaper!
Fillings:
½ cup melted butter
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
dash of cloves
dash of nutmeg
½ cup finely chopped nuts, optional
Roll out a portion of dough, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and nuts. Roll the dough up and then cut slices (1/2 inches) and place on baking sheet and go on as indicated.
Frostings
Powdered sugar, about two cups
Grated lemon rind
Juice of lemon
Teaspoon of vanilla extract
Combine ingredients and mix into a thick paste. Use more water if you can’t get the consistency you want.
Or:
Brown half a stick of butter in a pan. Mix in about two cups powered sugar and vanilla extract. Again, add small amounts of water to get proper consistency for spreading on rolls.
Use a baking sheet with a rim around the edges so melting butter and such won't run over into your oven.
The worst part done . . .
Vacation prepartions continue but I got the worst part of the trip done, yesterday . . . getting the travelers' checks! For once, there wasn't a line at the bank but there sure was one behind us by the time we finished with the transaction. I know it is all for security purposes but there is a lot of paperwork involved for the bank. Just when you think you've got it done, comes signing all the travelers' checks in front of the bank teller. I did learn from my traveling days, years ago, that one does not want to get the checks in increments of $10. If you change money, you usually want more than $10 of the local currency so why sign off on five checks when you could do it with one signature on a $50 check?
Anyway, aside from closing the suitcases the night before we take off, things are pretty much done now. It is still unbelieveable that this trip is actually going to happen. I happily put away my traveling shoes when I got married but can't believe how I'm looking forward to seeing foreign climes, again.
Before I got married, I worked for eleven months out of a year and then took the 12th month off to travel. This will be the eleventh time I've been overseas and I'm thinking it is going be almost a fresh view as I'm going with my 17 year old son who has never been outside the country.
Anyway, aside from closing the suitcases the night before we take off, things are pretty much done now. It is still unbelieveable that this trip is actually going to happen. I happily put away my traveling shoes when I got married but can't believe how I'm looking forward to seeing foreign climes, again.
Before I got married, I worked for eleven months out of a year and then took the 12th month off to travel. This will be the eleventh time I've been overseas and I'm thinking it is going be almost a fresh view as I'm going with my 17 year old son who has never been outside the country.
The newly discovered wonders of grilling . . .
As you know by now, I enjoy cooking very much. I have felt a bit behind the times because so many recipes call for grilling meats and vegetables. We do have an outdoor, charcoal grill but when dinner time looms in the very near future, I don't always have time to get charcoal going, watch whatever is on the grill, and keep an eye on what might be simmering on the kitchen stove.
I was surfing the Internet a few weeks ago and ran across a mention of an indoor grill and that got my attention. I had to find out how that would work because I envisioned clouds of smoke and the smoke alarm going off. I'm good at research and read all the claims by various companies as well as remarks by people who have purchased such items.
I narrowed down my choices and not only did a find what seemed to be a reasonable indoor grill, it was on sale. The price was pretty low and the last one in stock. I took a chance. My first meal on the new kitchen play thing was boneless steaks with grilled peppers. It worked complete with grill marks and juicy meat. The smoke was minimal and a small fan aimed past the cooking area to the open door took care of it. Hoping it wasn't beginner's luck, I tried chicken breasts with grilled cauliflower for dinner last night. Let's just say that my son who is very careful about food portions, went back for seconds.
Yes, I still prefer the taste of charcoal grilled food but having my grilling area on the counter by the stove certainly makes meal preparation convenient. My husband's thrill over it all? I found a place to store it between uses!
I was surfing the Internet a few weeks ago and ran across a mention of an indoor grill and that got my attention. I had to find out how that would work because I envisioned clouds of smoke and the smoke alarm going off. I'm good at research and read all the claims by various companies as well as remarks by people who have purchased such items.
I narrowed down my choices and not only did a find what seemed to be a reasonable indoor grill, it was on sale. The price was pretty low and the last one in stock. I took a chance. My first meal on the new kitchen play thing was boneless steaks with grilled peppers. It worked complete with grill marks and juicy meat. The smoke was minimal and a small fan aimed past the cooking area to the open door took care of it. Hoping it wasn't beginner's luck, I tried chicken breasts with grilled cauliflower for dinner last night. Let's just say that my son who is very careful about food portions, went back for seconds.
Yes, I still prefer the taste of charcoal grilled food but having my grilling area on the counter by the stove certainly makes meal preparation convenient. My husband's thrill over it all? I found a place to store it between uses!
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