It's Been Awhile

Hi Sewing Friends,

It has been awhile since I posted any sewing projects.  A lot has happened in the past month and a half.  Here are some highlights.

Me and one of my sewing students made a trek up to Vogue Fabrics in Evanston to see what we could see and buy.  Lol  

I had an eye procedure to remove a cyst from my right eye.  It had been there for over a year but didn't hurt. What brought me to the ophthalmologist in the first place was I had started seeing floaters in that same eye.  To my surprise, I learned that floaters are a common condition that happens with age.  The eye becomes more fluid over time.  Anyway, the cyst was removed mid March, and it took some time for my eye to heal.  

Other news, my nephew, Christopher wanted to make a turkey dinner, but didn't know how.  I volunteered to teach  him how to roast a turkey, cook collar greens, corn, and make some buttery potatoes.  His meal turned out very well.  We sat down with my daughter and had a lovely dinner.

We had two book club meetings: March and April.  Both books were good, but I like the second the most.

I didn't take any photos of my garments until a month after my eye procedure.  Now, I'm just starting to post me wearing them.  

I'm showcasing Vogue V1937 view A, worn with Vogue V1929 pants. 

Another Recipe: Vegetable (Chicken) Stir Fry

Yes, I have another  recipe. It's quick and the perfect meal for a day like today when I've been busy cleaning and doing laundry.

It's one of my one pot wonders or one skillet wonders. This is also good for cooking vegetables that you have small quantities of. 

Once you have sliced and diced the vegetables and cooked the rice (chicken (optional)), it takes less than 30 minutes to prepare.

2.5 cups rice cooked

1 carrot sliced

1 zucchini sliced

1 cup broccoli  cut into small florets 

1/3 cup onion chopped

1/3 cup green pepper chopped 

5 stalks asparagus chopped

4 tblsp soy sauce

3 tblsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic power (to your taste)

1/2 tsp black pepper ( to your taste)

1/2 tsp salt ( to your taste)

1 fully cooked chicken breast (optional-or you can add more if you like.)

Prepare rice and sit it aside.

Bake or broil chicken breat until tender. Be careful not to dry it out. You may also purchase cooked chicken from your local market.  Sit the chicken aside.

In a large skillet or sauce pan, heat olive oil on medium flame.  Add all vegetables sautéing until tender. About 5 minutes.

Add cooked rice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, soy sauce. Stir until well mixed being careful not to over stir. Lower flame.

Add chicken breast. I usually break it up into small pieces using my hands. Stir. Turn off flame and cover for a few minutes.

Ready to serve in less than 30 minutes. 

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

I wanted to start the work week with a delightful soup recipe.  Here goes.  I hope you try it and like it.

3lb Butternut Squash (I used two squashes for this recipe)

Vegetable Broth (vegan) or Chicken Broth

1 Can Coconut Milk

3 Tbsps. Olive Oil

3 Garlic Cloves (minced)

1 small onion (chopped)

3 Tbsps. Fresh Sage (cut)

3 Tbsps. Fresh Ginger (minced)

2 tsps. Rosemary

Salt 

Pepper

Cinnamon

2 Red Skin Potatoes Optional

1 Cup Fresh Spinach Optional

First things first.  You want to cut the squash into 1 inch cubes.  Or you can roast it in the oven at 375 degrees.  Simply slice the squash in half, Scoop out the seeds and the stringy substance, place on a cookie sheet or shallow pan uncovered.  Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes or until tender.  This makes it easy to remove from the skin and gives you a head start on cooking the soup.  After squash has been roasted, let it cool.  Then scoop the squash into a bowl.  

Over a medium flame add olive oil to a large pot or Dutch oven. Then add garlic, onion, ginger, sage, rosemary.  Stir until tender.  The smell is delightful. Now you want to add the squash, broth, and coconut milk to the mixture.

With a Cuisinart Quick Prep, I blend the ingredients together until the squash is smooth. Allow the soup to come to a low boil.  Add salt, pepper, and cinnamon to your taste.  

Optional - You can choose to add potatoes or spinach.  I like to add a few potatoes.  At the point of boil, I add bite-size potatoes to the soup.  Cook until tender.  You may add spinach as well.  First chop it up and add at the boil point cook a few minutes and it's done.

Meal ideas - You can serve the soup with you favorite bread.  For this meal I served it with Bruschettini.  You can serve with bake chicken (non-vegan). 

Enjoy and stay warm!

C

Love My Cream Cheese Pound Cake

 Mmm Mmm Good Cream Cheese Pound Cake!

There are a few versions of this delicious cake online.  Originally, I got the recipe from Adrienne of Real Life:  Live & Unscripted.  Since then I tweaked it a bit.  So here is my version of Cream Cheese Pound Cake.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon almond extract
6 eggs
3 cups of Swam Down cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

• Bring eggs, butter, and cream cheese to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 345 degree F.  Grease one 10 inch bundt cake pan, sprinkle with flour, then sprinkle ground  cinnamon into the pan.
•  Cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light.
• Stir in the vanilla and the almond extracts.

• Add the flour (baking powder) and eggs alternately, beginning and ending with the flour.

• Pour batter into the prepared pan.

• Bake at 345 degree F for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  (place a pan of water beneath the cake to keep it moist and prevent burning - from my grandmother.)

• Add icing if you like or eat it plain.  Either way it's delicious.

Happy Baking!
C

What's Cookin'?

That's right...

What's cookin' is a lot of this and that. Every eye on the stove is covered. The oven is full. But soon, very soon many things will be done and ready to move to the table. When that happens, I will have plenty of room for other appetizing dishes.

What's ready or almost ready:

- Two more weeks of school. I decided not to take a summer course. I want my summer free to do whatever.

- The initial rating and evaluation of vendors is complete. We have a few weeks to chill before we start vendor presentations.

- Pastoral Anniversary week starts Tuesday and climaxing on Sunday. The media services group will work every night as always.

- Haute Couture Fashion Show is May 6th. I'm nearly finished with all my garments. Most reviewed here with the exception of the pieces I'm working on. Next year, I'm the Fashion Show Chair.  This is a huge challenge for me. The new role will definitely change the way I spend my free time. I suspect there won't be as much sewing time.  It will be interesting and fun though.

What's starting to simmer:

- Prom dresses. Two of them. One for my niece and the other my second cousin. Both ladies will look like princesses.

- Rethinking how I sew for other people. I'm leaning towards not. Because it's too stressful and not worth the time and effort. Personally, I like teaching sewing better. So I'm exploring that possibility.

On the Summer menu:

- Work, work, no school ..,

- Planning for next year's fashion show. The committee will meet sometime in June to start planning. I'm also looking for inspiration for my show garments.

- I will attend the Palmer/Pletsche workshop during the summer.

- Friday, I took a cursory look through Rhonda's posts for April/March and saw tutorials on interesting ways to create pleated and/or draped sleeves. I will at least try one of them.

- Get organized. I can't easily find things these days. Fabric everywhere, notions everywhere, projects unorganized. Everything must be put in it's proper place.

- House hunting. This is a biggie and will take some time to do. But I'm ready to get started.


Lately, I've been the poorest sewing blogger. I looked at my posting record for the first quarter; it's pitiful. And I think I'm averaging about two blog reads per day. And yes, I actually read them, not just looking at the great pictures.

Parting Shot:

Easter has come and gone. We had a great Easter meal on Easter eve: lamb chops, cous cous with carrots and peas, yellow and green squash, and asparagus (Martha Stewart style). So my parting shots is the delicious asparagus we feasted on. It's quick and easy.

Per heat oven 350 degrees.
Cut off the bottoms of the asparagus and wash.
Par boil asparagus until bright green and tender; not mushy.
Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Assemble asparagus onto sheet.
Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Sneeze a bit of fresh lemon juice to taste.
Bake for a few minutes (10mins.)
garnish with lemon slices.
It's done.

Banana Puddin'

Updated November 26th.  I omitted a few necessary steps.  Updates are in red.  Sorry folks.

One of my favorite deserts is homemade Banana Puddin'.  My mom makes the best.  The custard is rich and creamy.  Mmmm Mmmm good.  My family takes an annual vacation to Wisconsin Dells, where we just chil-lax with the kiddies.  We do everything from water parks, nature walks, sight seeing, and cook.  Every meal except pizza night.  This (Aug) year we asked my mom to make her famous recipe: Banana Puddin'.  Neither of us knew how.  For shame, for shame.


Thanksgiving is here, but it's not too late to add Banana Puddin' to your menu.  Here goes:

You need about this much of the following ingredients to serve 20 people:

1 cup sugar
Vanilla extract to your taste (about 1 tsp)
6 eggs, separated
2 cups milk

1/4 cup flour

NILLA Wafers
5 bananas, sliced

Be warned these measurements are a guesstimate. My mom does not use measuring equipment. She makes statements like, "About this much." "Add sugar and vanilla to your taste." So you know there is a lot of tasting as you go.

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.


Cookies and Bananas in the dish:

Arrange sliced banana and nilla wafers in baking dish like shown above. My mom sprinkles a little sugar over the banana slices as she layers.

Next, You need six eggs. Separate the egg whites and yokes into two containers.

In a small pot, combine about whole milk, vanilla extract, egg yokes (remember the above is a estimate. It's to your taste of sweetness and richness.)  Combine flour and about 3 tablespoons of sugar in a separate bowl.  Then add the mixture to the milk. This will become the rich custard after cooking. Over a low flame, stir the mixture until it thicken. You may need to add more sugar during the thickening process.  Taste mixture to determine your desired sweetness. This process takes about 10 to 12 or until thickened. 

Now for the egg white. This will become the meringue for the banana pudding. You have to beat it until it is white and fluffy. Tip: Add a dash of salt to speed up the process.  This is done by hand, but if you use a mixer set it to high speed. 

Pour pudding/custard over the cookies and banana slices.

Now add the meringue to the top. Then place in a preheated oven of 375 degrees. Bake until meringue is slightly browned.

Bake until meringue is slightly browned. (15 to 20 mins.) Now that is one delicious Banana Pudding. Enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Cennetta

Sun Dress - Butterick 5351

I wanted a simple sundress for vacation and this one fit the bill. Quite a few ladies had good results using this pattern and my experience was no different.

B5351

Pattern Description: MISSES' DRESS: Above mid-knee dresses A, B, C, D have fitted or loose-fitting bodice, A-line skirt and back zipper. A, B, C: shoulder straps. A, B: front and back band. B: pockets. C, D: elastic casing above bust. D: ruffle. Purchased belts.

Pattern Sizing: 8 -24. I like that it has a wider range of sizes. More ladies will have an opportunity to try this pattern. I used size 14 with modifications.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I didn't really read them. I've made similar type dresses. It was easy to put together.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the simplicity of the style. It's comfortable and perfect for hot weather. No dislikes.

Fabric Used: I used a stretch woven cotton from JoAnn's.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I did a FBA. Oops no pictures. I just slashed through the center of the front bodice dart, pivoted to the right cutting most to the upper edge of the bodice. Then spread the opening to the desired width. I also added about a 1/2 to the side seam just in case. For the skirt, I added a few inches to the length.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Maybe and I do recommend it to others. It's a nice little sundress.

Conclusion: This is a fairly easy pattern to sew. A beginner should be able to sew it with no problems.

Parting shots: These delicious vegetables came from my mom's garden. Home grown veggies are the best.

The day I received these goodies, I rushed home to fry some green (ish) tomatoes.

Here's how - I start with green tomatoes that are starting to turn red, a little pinkish. They are a little juicer at that stage of ripeness. In a skillet (I use a cast iron one) pour about a cup of vegetable oil in it over a mid-high flame. Slice the tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick. sprinkle salt and pepper to your taste. Then coat each slice with cornmeal. When the oil is hot, gently place the slices in the skillet. Brown on each side to your taste. Remove from skillet. Let sit for 5 minutes. Then eat. Delicious.

Happy Sewing!  and cooking too.  Wink, wink.
C