Hydrangeas In Bloom

My hydrangeas look great this year.  They have a bittersweet story. I had always wanted hydrangeas and the girls gave them to me for Mother's Day.  But that was the Mother's Day my mother was in hospice and time was running out.   Did I stay with her or go home to be with my girls?

I ended up spending the evening with my girls, the night with my mother, the getting ready for school back home and then the early morning with my mother and it was indeed her last Mother's Day. 

So I love my hydrangeas for everything they represent and that they are especially pretty this year.  

Quilts Seen on our Travels

Saw some quilts when we were visiting friends and family. Thought I'd show them here for fun.

I really liked this black one.  Good and scrappy!

You Can Call Me BUNNY

Tasty Tuesday - Bunny Bread

When Little S was either not quite or just barely 5 we had overnight company who she had never met before.  The son introduced himself as C R Jr, but you can call me "Calvin".  So Little S responded with, "My name is S,  but you can call me 'Bunny'."

And the whole family dropped their jaws.  Where had that come from?  No one had ever called her "Bunny."
So that had brought on 5 years of teasing her about being called "Bunny".

Last year for her birthday she rolled with it a bit better and asked for a Bunny Cake for her birthday, but I think it was more as a memory of Grandma making Bunny Cakes than her own Bunny story.  This year she did not want a Bunny Cake.  So I secretly made Bunny Bread for her birthday dinner.  I was afraid she would be annoyed, but they turned out so cute she just couldn't be upset.

I believe I found this recipe in a magazine before I was even married. I remember making lots of bunnies and giving them as gifts for Easter one year.  The recipe appears to be from a Fleishmann's Yeast advertisement.  I obviously cut it down to fit the 3x5 recipe card and lost some of the picture.  I don't think I made it again after that one time, but it has traveled with me these many many years.

BUNNY BREAD

5-6 cups all purpose flour
2 pkg yeast
3 T sugar
2 t salt
1 c water
2/3 c milk
3 T margarine
1 egg


Mix 3 cups flour, the yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Heat water, milk and margarine to 125 - 130F; stir into yeast mixture.
Stir in egg.
Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
Turn onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 min.
Cover; let rest 10 min.

Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.
Divide dough into 4 equal parts.

For each bunny, divide 1 part into halves.
Shape 1 half into flattened round for body, place on cookie sheet.
Shape a walnut size piece of remaining half into ball for tail.

Make deep indentation into body for tail and press into body and flatten.


Divide remaining dough into halves.
Shape 1 half into flattened round for head; place next to body.
Shape remaining half into ears and feet.
Place ears next to held.
Make deep indentations in body for feet; press into body and flatten.

Cover; let rise slightly 15-20 min.
Bake in 400F oven until light brown, 18-20 min

Decorate as desired.

Makes 4 large bunnies.

Notes:  Since we were heading out of town the next day I did not want leftovers.  I made a half recipe, which made 10 approximately 5" bunnies.  One for each guest on a bread plate.  Perfect.   

I pushed chocolate chips into the heads for eyes before baking.  Worked fine.  Some bunnies were facing away and had only a tail in the back and no legs or eyes!  

Since mine were smaller they did not need as long a baking time.  

I thought about doing this in the bread machine, but it was really simple enough by hand and came out just fine.

Stash Report 061216

Fabric Out at Last!!

I got Meet in the Middle backed and bound and that is a good chunk of fabric out the door.  I had bought the backing fabric specifically for this quilt a while ago and it worked perfectly.

Fabric Used/Out This Week: 5 yards
Fabric Used/Out in 2016: 36.5 yards

Fabric In This Week:  0 yards

Fabric In 2016: 29 yards
 
Net Used 2016:  7.5 yards

Staying accountable with Judy over at Patchwork Times

Outside My Window

I was working away at the computer on my first day of summer vacation and I opened the blinds and what did I see . . .

Deer on the left looking at me.  Deer on the right ready for a drink from the pond.

Two deer.  Pretty amazing.  We saw one a few years ago during a heavy rain brought on by an approaching hurricane.  We hear rumors that they are back in the woods but with so much development lately it's hard to imagine how they survive.  

I barely had time to take a picture through the window before the neighbor's dog barking scared them off.  

What a treat to see them.  Hoping this is an indicator of a great summer ahead.  

Tasty Tuesday - Chicken Schnitzel

Middle E requested chicken which I had in the freezer.  Nice plump boneless breasts from the "healthy" grocery store in town.  I was determined to use a recipe I had on hand but had not tried and not google up something else new.  This recipe is from Family Circle magazine March 2012.  It is originally for turkey, but it worked just fine with chicken.

I remember when we lived in Latvia there was a little kiosk in the park in Jelgava that sold Schnitzel some nights.  It was good and way easier than me struggling to cook with the few ingredients we had.  Latvia was still under communist control and had ration coupons for most of the basics.  We made do, which we are still do decades later!!

The other 2 cutlets were snatched before I could snap a picture!

Turkey Schnitzel with Creamy Dill Sauce

1/4 c all purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 c cracker meal or unseasoned bread crumbs
1 t paprika
3/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 lb thinly sliced turkey cutlets (I sliced my plump chicken breasts long ways while they were still partially

            frozen and ended up with 4 nice-sized  cutlets)
3 T vegetable oil
1/2 c reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 c reduced fat sour cream
1 t fresh dill


1) Place flour in shallow dish and eggs in second dish.  In a third dish, whisk together cracker meal, paprika, 1/4 t salt and pepper.

2) Season turkey with 1/4 t of the salt and coat with flour, shaking off excess.  Dip in egg and coat with cracker meal mixture.

3) Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Add turkey and cook 3 minutes on each side, in batches if needed.  Remove to a plate and keep warm.

4) Add chicken broth to skillet and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan.  Reduce heat to low and still in sour cream, dill and remaining 1/4 t salt.  Stir until smooth and slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

5) To serve, spoon some of the sauce over the turkey and serve with lemon wedges, green beans and cooked noodles, if desired.


Results:  It was easy.  The family loved it.  There were no leftovers.  Little S wants it for her birthday dinner next week.  So I figured I should add it to my collection of family favorite recipes collected here for my girls.  With Grown Up R out on her own now I realized I need to do better about documenting recipes for her.  She recently asked about the Onion Casserole which I blogged about early on!

What I'm Working On

More plastic bugs!!

Got one spider done.  He is made of a sandwich platter, a large plate and giant pipe cleaners. 

Remembered to take a pic of the butterflies.  They are $ Store dress up wings with foamy bodies. Very easy. 

Still working on ants and bees. Camp starts next week so the pressure is on. 

Very Impromptu Project - Stash Report 060516

Hey.  That's a VIP.  I like it.


At dinner - after a long day of a long week - Middle E asked, "What about the burp cloths?"

I responded, "Huh?"

This was the night before the last day of school for Middle E.  She adores her math teacher and he and his wife are expecting a baby this summer.

I had gone through a stage when we first moved to the US thinking that I could make a living selling burp cloths on Etsy.  Didn't happen, but for a while I had a good supply of burp clothes that made good baby gifts.  Not anymore.  I was down to 3, none of which worked for a baby whose gender has yet to be determined.

So, after dinner I put on the happy mommy smile and said. "Let's just make some new ones."

She was a good helper and did all the little stuff so I could just sew.  We did not agonize over decisions which is always my weak point.  We just picked fabric and thread and moved on.

Middle E was so happy and I was Super Mom for the night.  In this mothering journey I have learned that sometimes I just need to do it even though it was poor planning on their part and I'm exhausted.  There are certain projects that they will remember that I dropped everything and came to their rescue.  I don't need to be Super Mom for me, but they need to know they are that important to me.

The burp clothes came out great.  Not knowing the gender or name, we went with "Baby" and "L" which is the last name initial.  The report was that the teacher was over the moon when he opened her package.  Maybe he'll give her the extra 00.06 points she needs for an A or tell all his friends he knows an amazing burp cloth maker!!

Fabric Used/Out This Week: 1 yard
Fabric Used/Out in 2016: 31.5 yards

Fabric In This Week:  0 yards

Fabric In 2016: 29 yards
 
Net Used 2016:  2.5 yards

Staying accountable with Judy over at Patchwork Times!

Meet in the Middle is Done, Done, Done!

Somehow the size of this quilt made me think it would take forever, but it went so quickly.  The piecing was fast and the quilting was fast.  It helped that school is out and I have more time now.  Over 2 days I got it quilted and bound.  A record for me.  I am very, very pleased with how it turned out.

It is destined for my SIL as a wedding gift.  She and her fiance chose several designs and gave me the color preferences and I picked what I wanted to make.  So it is a surprise for them, but I know they will like it.  WIN! WIN!

This is Meet in the Middle from Jo's Country Junction.  I made it longer and wider so it is plenty large for a full-size bed.   It actually turned out nearly square so it can go either direction, which is kind of neat as well.  This was a design that I liked when it first came out and I am so glad I had to opportunity to make it.  I definitely recommend this pattern for ease of construction and quickness to put together.

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Crazy Mom Quilts to show off finishes.