I was working on a quilt yesterday and found a pattern for an 'organized' scrap quilt. I made a test square to see how easy/good/attractive it was and was delighted to find it a simple pattern that looked complicated! My favorite kind of outcome. Sigh . . . Although I'd like to immediately cut out all my scrap fabric and get started on this find, I'm being good and completing the two currently in the works. Being a grown up isn't all that fun when you are trying to be practical!
I've been perusing old cookbooks lately. One was given to me by a now unremembered source. I finally took the time to check it out and was pleased to find THREE childhood baking memories in it, recipes I have wished I could find for ages. Very nostalgic going through these cookbooks and they hark back to a simpler time when Moms put some happy time into their kitchen production and felt it WAS worth their time to be a Mom in all aspects.
I just baked a recipe out of one of the books. It is cooling on the counter and I have to say, it was an easy to assemble recipe with little worry or angst involved. It's a keeper.
Fudge Cake
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (4 ounces)- melted and cooled slightly
1 cup chopped nuts (your choice and optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour two layer cake pans, 8 inches. Measure flour, sugar, baking power, soda, and salt into mixer bowl. Add shortening, milk, and vanilla. Beat for approximately two minutes. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl. Add eggs and chocolate. Beat another two minutes, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in nuts. Pour int prepared pans. Bake 35-40 minutes or until top springs back when lightly pressed. Cool before frosting.
Anyone looking for a good fudge frosting, let me know!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
When it rains . . .
According to the weather reports, California is supposed to get more than a week of rain up to 16 inches! I have found that when the news gets ahold of the weather, it doesn't happen. We do need rain in order to cope with the dry, summer months so I'm hoping God provides us with rain in 'due abundance' meaning, we don't want to build another ark just dampen down the earth and replenish our water supplies.
Although we can't vote in the senate election happening on Tuesday in Massachusetts, we should keep the end result in our sincerest prayers. The election of the Republican candidate could be the turning vote on obamacare IF they can do it in spite of the dirty politics of the Democrats. No, the Republican candidate isn't perfect but it would be historic to break the Democratic hold on that state and open it up to real change.
Don't forget Haiti! Besides our parishes, there are many good charities out there collecting for Haiti. Food for the Poor said that a mere donation of $12 could feed a family of four for a month. I know that this would be difficult for us to do it here which shows how much we have and how little the people of Haiti NEED to survive.
Although we can't vote in the senate election happening on Tuesday in Massachusetts, we should keep the end result in our sincerest prayers. The election of the Republican candidate could be the turning vote on obamacare IF they can do it in spite of the dirty politics of the Democrats. No, the Republican candidate isn't perfect but it would be historic to break the Democratic hold on that state and open it up to real change.
Don't forget Haiti! Besides our parishes, there are many good charities out there collecting for Haiti. Food for the Poor said that a mere donation of $12 could feed a family of four for a month. I know that this would be difficult for us to do it here which shows how much we have and how little the people of Haiti NEED to survive.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Tricked into creativity . . .
Although I possess a copy of Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", I have never really read it other than to get cooking hints or ideas. I watched Julie and Julia last night and have now been browsing seriously through this book. In fact, there is one of her beef recipes simmering in the oven right now!
I selected this recipe to try because it was featured in the movie and was made to look relatively easy. The movie didn't depict the part that said it was really three recipes in one with a lot of prep work. The smell wafting from the oven are proving to be worth the time, however. It also taught me to read through the entire recipe TWICE to insure I have all the steps and sub-recipes in order.
Actually, is spite of the busy work with the two, extra steps, the recipe was pretty straight forward and easy to follow. It is amazing how Julia Child has taken the heights of French cooking and put them into an obtainable format.
I selected this recipe to try because it was featured in the movie and was made to look relatively easy. The movie didn't depict the part that said it was really three recipes in one with a lot of prep work. The smell wafting from the oven are proving to be worth the time, however. It also taught me to read through the entire recipe TWICE to insure I have all the steps and sub-recipes in order.
Actually, is spite of the busy work with the two, extra steps, the recipe was pretty straight forward and easy to follow. It is amazing how Julia Child has taken the heights of French cooking and put them into an obtainable format.
Friday, January 15, 2010
If you are interested . . .
I now have a Yahoo Group set up. If you are interested in joining and sharing thoughts more instantly and widely, subscribe to Catholicsathome-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Prayer for our country . . .
Just after 9/11, someone posted a prayer that I have kept in my prayerbook ever since. It was for the protection of our country from terrorists. After the political outrages of the last year, it would seem that a lot of our terrorist activity is within our system and proposed and acted upon by the politicians elected to office to represent us. Funny how the majority of citizens are in favor of one thing yet our politicians follow their own agenda. Here is that prayer which now has a dual purpose - for both foreign terrorists and the domestic ones. Contrary to the political popular belief, it is not the Christian faction that are the domestic terrorists!
O Jesus, Divine Redeemer, be merciful unto us and the whole world. Amen.
O Powerful God! O Holy God! O Immortal God have pity on us, and on all that are in the whole world. Amen.
Pardon and mercy, O my Jesus during these present dangers, pour on us Thy most Precious Blood. Amen.
O Eternal Father be merciful to us, by the Blood of Jesus Christ, Thy only Son, be merciful to us, we beseech Thee. Amen. Amen. Amen.
O Jesus, Divine Redeemer, be merciful unto us and the whole world. Amen.
O Powerful God! O Holy God! O Immortal God have pity on us, and on all that are in the whole world. Amen.
Pardon and mercy, O my Jesus during these present dangers, pour on us Thy most Precious Blood. Amen.
O Eternal Father be merciful to us, by the Blood of Jesus Christ, Thy only Son, be merciful to us, we beseech Thee. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Happy with my job . . .
Probably due to remembering all my vitamins, yesterday was a pretty good day. It was also get ready for pay day shopping day so I excavated the refrigerator to see what was past it's due date and what could crawl out on it's own. I seem to have gotten a handle on getting items used up in a timely manner because all I found was milk approaching it's demise and some aging apricots. I went into homemaking gear and turned the still-good milk into Greek carmel cream and the apricots returned as a mousse. It felt good to not only refrain from wasting food but to turn it into a treat for the family.
I think attitude has a lot to do with how we face our homemaking portion of life. If we walk into the kitchen and dread every step that brings us near the stove and meal preparation, we aren't going to do a very good job. I have always told my children that doing their school work is their job and do it like they were getting paid for it. Later, I realized that I had to take that very same advice to heart in being a homemaker. After all, my husband is working so I can stay home with the children. The least I can do is make sure he has a comfortable home to relax in when he comes home!
And, like any job in life, the more you do it with a glad heart, the more you like the process and results. I stopped looking at cooking as a chore, years ago. When you think about it, you can fix what you like and still get compliments on the meal! A win/win situation! As with most mandatory projects, you start researching for better ways to do your job and before you know it, you look forward to providing the family with great meals and the work gets to be part of the pleasure.
A side benefit of enjoying your time in the kitchen is that you learn to be frugal and still present good food. You start avoiding the frozen, precooked stuff and WANT to make really homemade food for your family. My 'hobby' in long check out line at the grocery store is checking out everyone else's grocery cart and figuring out what they wssted their money on and how they could have shopped (to my mind!) more productively. My weekly report card is how much I saved at the grocery store. My real reward is the smile on my husband's face when he comes home from work and sees a healthy but tasty meal on the table. My husband leads the Grace Before Meals and it is always with a sincere heart. I like the "A" for effort I get on that report card!
I think attitude has a lot to do with how we face our homemaking portion of life. If we walk into the kitchen and dread every step that brings us near the stove and meal preparation, we aren't going to do a very good job. I have always told my children that doing their school work is their job and do it like they were getting paid for it. Later, I realized that I had to take that very same advice to heart in being a homemaker. After all, my husband is working so I can stay home with the children. The least I can do is make sure he has a comfortable home to relax in when he comes home!
And, like any job in life, the more you do it with a glad heart, the more you like the process and results. I stopped looking at cooking as a chore, years ago. When you think about it, you can fix what you like and still get compliments on the meal! A win/win situation! As with most mandatory projects, you start researching for better ways to do your job and before you know it, you look forward to providing the family with great meals and the work gets to be part of the pleasure.
A side benefit of enjoying your time in the kitchen is that you learn to be frugal and still present good food. You start avoiding the frozen, precooked stuff and WANT to make really homemade food for your family. My 'hobby' in long check out line at the grocery store is checking out everyone else's grocery cart and figuring out what they wssted their money on and how they could have shopped (to my mind!) more productively. My weekly report card is how much I saved at the grocery store. My real reward is the smile on my husband's face when he comes home from work and sees a healthy but tasty meal on the table. My husband leads the Grace Before Meals and it is always with a sincere heart. I like the "A" for effort I get on that report card!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Freedom . . . sort of . . .!
Tuesday is our day off from daily Mass. I have a devout altar boy son who gets up six days of the week to serve Mass and he really needs that one morning to sleep in and vegetate a bit. It also gives me that one day of the week to really get some housecleaning done so I will not feel guilty when I sit down to my sewing machine.
I cut out a definite pattern type project for quilting yesterday. I guess I'm not a stay-in-the lines sort of person. I used enough fabric to see how one pieced square would look and I didn't like it. I put it aside and with the same, chosen fabrics, I went my usual route and made it up as I went along. I finished the piecing today and when I arranged my quilt squares, it was nice to see that in the midst of my abstract ways, there was an interesting pattern midst the odd choices.
It is always interesting to see how a piece of fabric that doesn't look like it will really fit into the overall pattern turns out to be the turning point of the whole patten. It happens often so I never restrain my instincts. Sort of reminds me of the self-centered world of today where unwanted babies are thought to not 'fit in' and are disposed of without a qualm. It makes me kind of wonder how their life might have been a turning point in the whole pattern of life.
I cut out a definite pattern type project for quilting yesterday. I guess I'm not a stay-in-the lines sort of person. I used enough fabric to see how one pieced square would look and I didn't like it. I put it aside and with the same, chosen fabrics, I went my usual route and made it up as I went along. I finished the piecing today and when I arranged my quilt squares, it was nice to see that in the midst of my abstract ways, there was an interesting pattern midst the odd choices.
It is always interesting to see how a piece of fabric that doesn't look like it will really fit into the overall pattern turns out to be the turning point of the whole patten. It happens often so I never restrain my instincts. Sort of reminds me of the self-centered world of today where unwanted babies are thought to not 'fit in' and are disposed of without a qualm. It makes me kind of wonder how their life might have been a turning point in the whole pattern of life.
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