Strawberry Shortcake

Well, we have picked the last batch of berries, so I found it fitting to make a strawberry shortcake. I am including my recipe, which includes almond extract, one of my favorite flavorings.

Fruit Flan Shorcake

1 -1/4 cup flour
1-1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/3 c shortening ( I use butter)
1/2 t almond extract
2 eggs
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c milk

Heat oven to 350 F. Beat all ingredients together for 3 minutes. Pour into a greased and floured flan pan. Bake 25-30 minutes. After it cools top with fresh berries (you can also use canned peaches and others berries.) Make a glaze with some sugar and water (or fruit juice) and some cornstarch to thicken. After you let your glaze cool for a minute ladel it over the fruit. Top with whipped topping and enjoy.

From Scraps to Quilts

I have spent most of this month cleaning my sewing room! For years I have worked on projects and then tossed the scraps into a large Rubbermaid container. I was hoping that someday, I would have enough to make a scrap quilt.
Well, over the last year, I made a wall hanging, two minature quilts, and a snuggle size quilt. Still my Rubbermaid container remained full.
So, I decided to attack it!

I first pressed and cut the scraps into strips 2 1/2 inches wide. Then those strips got cut into 2 1/2 in squares. Then those squares get matched one light and one dark and sewn together. So far I have 500 squares sewn together with another square, that is one thousand squares. I have 300 squares pinned and ready to be sewn and I have more squares that need to be cut and paired up with another square.

Anyway, my goal is sixteen hundred squares which will be sewn together to make ten in blocks and then paired with a larger squares and  they will become a quilt. Love getting to the point that I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Mini Log Cabin

Finished another mini this morning. This pattern is called a log cabin as you strips of fabric to build each block, half the block gets light and half of the block gets dark fabrics. Most quilter's start out learning to make a log cabin, but I never did, so it was fun to do this one now. The logs are just 3/4 of an inch wide. This was also my first scrappy binding where I took bits of scraps sewed them together and then cut them on the bias to form a piece long enough to go around the quilt. This minature is 20 inches square and I am using it as a table topper.

It's better than good!

I have been very disappointed this last year when buying strawberry jam at the grocery store.
It just doesn't taste as good as I remember, and yes I have tried that wonderful brand that totes "It's gotta be good"
So last year, I bought some strawberry plants, so I can try and obtain that wonderful strawberry jam that I remembered as a child.
Spring arrived and it was dreary and our rainy season and my strawberries produced a big enough batch to have pancakes with strawberries.  The rain managed to rot the rest.
But a few weeks ago they started blooming again! This time I was able to pick enough to make a batch of homemade strawberry jam.
I got eight cups of jam, six cups canned and the last jar goes straight to the refrigerator.  I think biscuits for breakfast tomorrow is in order.
I am sure I will be hearing from Tom "It's better than good!"

Seeing Green

What is summer without green beans. We have enjoyed several meals with these fresh lovely beauties. I also ended up freezing a few to enjoy in the future. This morning I notice the next row is starting to bloom, so in about a week we will enjoy some more.

Summertime

Well, the sun is shining and we are in full blown summer mode. Hot days and warm nights. My kitchen garden is doing well so far. It would be really great if mother nature would bless us with some rain.