A Scrappy Gift

Let's answer my previous question: "Now what to do with the leftover fabric..." The answer seemed pretty simple: a flannel baby blanket and a couple of burp rags!

About 6 weeks ago a new little baby girl was added to our family. Well, not our immediate family. I did not have any sort of secret pregnancy. This little beauty is actually my new little niece on my husband's side of the family. It worked out just perfectly to use my leftover girly fabric for a Christmas gift for this new little girl! I also really like the idea of combining four fabrics into one blanket.

So here is what I did with my scraps.

First of all, I wanted to make a full sized fitted sheet for my girls. I did my best to measure and cut the twin sized fitted sheets apart. (That was a headache since the fitted sheets had elastic all the way around and not just on the corners.) Then I sewed them together. Yes, with a sewing machine. And can you believe it? I even managed to do this sewing all by myself, without my mother's supervision.

With that project finished, I still had several flannel scraps left. Time to make a flannel baby blanket.

I used a self-healing cutting mat and a rotary fabric cutter to trim all the fabric scraps straight and to correct widths. My goal was for all the strips to produce an approximately 36" by 36" two sided flannel blanket. After cutting, I sewed all the strips together and then ironed the hems flat. Now I had an approximate 6 foot by 3 foot piece of fabric. I folded it in half (ugly side out) and sewed the three edges, leaving a six inch gap. Next I turned it right side out and ironed the edges. Finally, I sewed the edges all the way around, closing my six inch gap. Voilà, it's done!


For the flannel burp rags, I made two different sizes (only because my last scraps of pink fabric were so narrow). I cut the pink fabric and corresponding prints 7" by 16". The green fabric combos I cut 10" by 17". Then I followed the same process I used to make the flannel blanket. Overall, they were pretty quick and easy. Absolute perfection was not my goal with these. The way I figure, they are just going to collect spit up, right? 

Now, I have a great gift for my niece (that basically cost me nothing since all the fabric was scraps) and one more sewing project under my belt. I love that Christmas gifts inspire and motivate me to new levels of creativity.

Christmas Quilts

I have always enjoyed artsy craftsy projects, but sewing has never been one of my fortes. Many people have asked me if I sew and my response has always been, "I only sew buttons." Give me a needle and some thread and watch me stick a button back on a shirt. There have also been the occasional hems that needed fixing. For those, I either take them over to my mom to fix or do a hack job myself. And when I say hack job, I really do mean a serious hack job. I only fix hems that will not be visible.

In light of my sewing inexperience, you may wonder: Why did I decide to sew quilts for my girls for Christmas? There is just something about a nice, cozy flannel quilt. My husband and I have one on our bed and thoroughly enjoy it every winter.

Ayla's Quilt (Her favorite color is currently pink.)

Right now our girls share a loft full sized bed. At times they (ahem) need to be separated so that they will actually sleep at night. This is part of the reason our girls do not sleep in regular sheets and covers. They have a fitted sheet and then individual blankets. Mostly, they sleep with fleece blankets. The fact that they sleep with a purely synthetic fabric has bothered me for a while, but a few weeks ago my husband said that they needed better blankets. At that point, I made up my mind to make them quilts for Christmas.

I knew the basics and set out to buy twin sized flannel sheet sets to use for the fabric. (That was quite an adventure all by itself!) After finding a sheet set for each of them, I went to Joann Fabric and Crafts to find some flannel for the backing, yarn to use to tie the quilts and matching thread. (Yes, these are just tied together quilts. Nothing fancy here!)

Next stop: my mom's house. (No, I did not do this project all by myself.) At my mom's house we laid out the fabric, the cotton quilt batting my mom had, and the flat sheet. After pinning it in place, I sewed in the yarn and my mom followed behind, cutting and tying the yarn. Next, I cut off the extra batting and trimmed the fabric to the right size. Then I ironed over the edge of the fabric, getting it ready to sew.

Kylie's Quilt (Her favorite color is currently green.)

After folding over the fabric and pinning it in place, I headed to my mom's intimidating sewing machine. (Intimidating because of my lack of experience, not because of the sewing machine itself.) After my mom helped me get all set up, I started sewing away. Maybe sewing through two layers of flannel plus quilt batting wasn't the best beginners project, but I eventually got the hang of it. (Honestly, I was afraid I might give up in frustration and, in tears, ask my mom to finish for me.) Once the edges were finished, I sat back down with my mom and we pinned the corners. Lastly, I sewed the corners. Done! Yay! On to the next quilt.... (The second quilt went much quicker than the first one.)

Now, their Christmas presents are done. They are wrapped in boxes and under the tree. I can't wait to see their faces when they open the gifts. Hopefully, they love these blankets and use them for many years.

Now what to do with the leftover fabric...

O Christmas Tree

One of my favorite Christmas traditions has always been the Christmas tree. What's not to love? There is such novelty in bringing part of nature indoors. The process of decorating the tree is always a special family time.

As a child, I think I anticipated getting the tree even more than receiving gifts or most any other part of Christmas. Each year we rode in my dad's truck to the Christmas tree farm and proceeded to spend as much time as necessary finding the perfect Christmas tree. It had to be just the right height and just the right denseness. Sometimes the hunt took quite some time, but it was always worth the effort. One year it was so snowy we had to shake the snow off of each Christmas tree just so we could see the shape of the tree.

My brother and I in front of our Christmas tree in 1989.

After the perfect tree was selected, cut down and purchased, we came home to begin the decorating process. (My parents must have labored to set up our Christmas tree, but my childhood memory excludes this part of the Christmas tree routine)

While breathing deeply of the incredible fragrance of the fresh cut Christmas tree, we opened the box of Christmas lights and began the process of finding the 3 lights on every strand that were either loose or burned out, causing the majority of the rest of the lights on the strand to not work either. Our living room had strand upon strand of white lights stretched out, ready to be checked. In my memory, this was just all part of the fun. Christmas music was playing on the overhead speaker and our family was together working on this project. Ah, the memories.

After giving up on a few strands of lights, we ended up with enough strands to adequately light the Christmas tree. With Christmas music still playing, my brother and I sat back and watch my parents transform the evergreen tree to an object of light and beauty.

Once lights were on the tree and the angel was placed on top, my brother and I could join in the decorating fun. Out came the Christmas ornaments. We covered the tree with our favorites. (My favorites were of course placed where I could see them best as a child. So what if the ornaments were not evenly distributed over the whole tree.)

After bows and candy canes were placed on the tree, we all sat back and admired our handiwork. We of course had the best smelling and most beautiful tree. (Sorry if you thought otherwise.) I always felt so sorry for those poor people who had artificial trees and didn't get to experience the tree hunt and amazing smell of the fresh tree.

Now, 20 years later, I am married and have children of my own. For nine years my husband and I carried on the Christmas tree tradition in our own home. We have trudged out in cold sunny weather, on rainy days and maybe even a little snow over the years.

My kids began to form memories of their own of what a Christmas tree should look like and smell like. They fondly remembered the process, just like I did as a child.

Then, to my nostalgic childhood memories, I began to add adulthood memories of Christmas tree frustration. One year, our tree would not stay standing. I think it fell over 3 times. Then there is the year that fairly early on I forgot to water the tree. By Christmas it was no longer green. It looked more like kindling. Instead of a beautiful Christmas tree, we had a decorated dead tree and I was afraid to even turn on the lights in fear it might just burst into flames.

As an adult the Christmas tree process became something I almost dreaded. What if it was pouring down rain on the day we went to hunt for the tree? How many times will we have to trim the base of the tree and slam it into the stand so it stick and stays? It seems like no matter how many times we try to twist the little things on the stand that holds the tree in place, it still leans one direction or another. And then there is the problem of remembering to water the tree. It needs to be watered just about twice a day. And if you forget to water it? It's toast! Don't even get me started on the lights. After we get the all working and the lights on the tree, it always seems like half a strand decides to stop working. And then when it is time to take the tree down, you may as well just TRY to get needles all over the house. It always happens anyway. Oh my.

This year, I changed things. No more hassle! After my final hunt for the perfect tree with realistic looking needles, I settled on a Fresh Cut Grand artificial tree. Yes, our family has gone artificial. Those of you who know me well are probably still in shock, but it is true.

After we set up the tree, I had that momentary realization that I hadn't watered the tree yet. But, no more tree watering for me.

My kids were less than thrilled about the thought of an artificial tree. My 6 1/2 year old daughter was devastated that our tree will not smell good. But now that the tree is set up, she seems to be fine. In fact, while we were listening to Christmas music and decorating the artificial tree as a family, she said "We have the best family ever." Yes, that is how Christmas tree decorating should feel to a child.

Sourdough Crackers

 Since I started taking the sourdough course at GNOWFGLINS, I have attempted several different sourdough recipes. One of our favorites so far is crackers.

I had been in such a cracker conundrum. Years ago I bought crackers like Wheat Thins, Triscuits, Ritz, Saltines, Cheez-its and Goldfish. Since we have turned to more natural and organic foods, we have not found a decent replacement for these crackers. There are some that are alright, but they sure are expensive! As a result, we pretty much just didn't have crackers in our house. The only crunchy snack type food we had was Kettle Chips.

Until now.

These crackers are wonderful. They are perfectly crunchy and salty. What more could you ask for in a cracker? The recipe is very versatile as well. Whatever flavor you would like, you can make!

Sourdough Crackers
(Original recipe from GNOWFGLINS e-course, labeled as "Erin's Crackers")

1 cup sourdough starter
1/3 cup melted butter
1 - 2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 tsp. salt, divided

1. Combine 1 cup of sourdough starter and melted (but not hot) butter. Stir in 1 cup of flour (I used white whole wheat). Add in more flour 1/4 cup at a time until you have a stiff dough. Knead in flour until the dough is pretty stiff and no longer sticky. (I go by how the dough feels and not the amount of flour added.

2. Cover cracker dough in bowl and let sit for at least 8 hours to sour. (I generally make the dough sometime in the morning and then make the crackers in the evening. So mine sits about 12 hours.)

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Break dough in half. This ball in my hand is about half.

4. Smash the dough open on a clean counter or table. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp. baking soda and 1/4 tsp. salt on dough. (This is where you can get creative as well. I have added chopped rosemary, a cheese and spice blend, and a spicy cheese blend.) Knead in your ingredients to combine.

5. Cut parchment paper to the size of your largest cookie sheet. (If you don't have a very large cookie sheet, try breaking the dough in half again.) Place dough on parchment paper. Squish it down a little bit to make it easier to roll out. Place plastic wrap over dough. (The dough is pretty sticky and WILL stick to a rolling pin!) Roll out until paper thin.

6. Sprinkle about 1/2 to 1 tsp. salt evenly over the top. I use my hands to spread it around a bit and to make sure it all has salt. No one likes a cracker that isn't salty! Use rolling pin to gently push salt down into the cracker.

7. Use a pizza cutter to cut into cracker sized rows.

8. Slide a cookie sheet under the parchment paper. Place in preheated oven. Cook for about 15 minutes. (While this batch is cooking, repeat steps 4-7 with the second half of your dough.)

9.Pull crackers out of the oven. Check the edges as the thin edges cook fastest. Remove the edges and place on a cooling rack.

10. Cook crackers until lightly browned and crispy. Cool on cooling rack.

11. Enjoy!!!

Sourdough Adventures

For quite some time I have known about the health benefits of soaking, fermenting and/or souring grains. About 5 or 6 years ago, a good friend of mine let me borrow the Nourishing Traditions cookbook, which covers this subject very thoroughly.

Whole grains are full of wonderful vitamins and minerals, but they are not ready to be absorbed without preparation. Wheat is basically a seed: if you plant it, you will grow more wheat. All seeds have a protective "coating" which help the seed store for a long period of time and essentially "holds" most of the nutrients. So how do you prepare wheat in a way that your body can absorb all these vitamins and minerals?

The answer is fermentation or sprouting. This was the traditional means by which grains have been prepared for pretty much all of history up until modern processes have made food both more readily available and less nutritious

"Sprouting, soaking and genuine sourdough leavening "pre-digests" grains, allowing the nutrients to be more easily assimilated and metabolized. This is an age-old approach practiced in most traditional cultures. Sprouting begins germination, which increases the enzymatic activity in foods and inactivates substances called enzyme inhibitors. These enzyme inhibitors prevent the activation of the enzymes present in the food and, therefore, may hinder optimal digestion and absorption. Soaking neutralizes phytic acid, a component of plant fiber found in the bran and hulls of grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds that reduces mineral absorption." (Excerpt from What Happens to Wheat, from Seed to Storage)

Even though I knew and understood the information, the thought of taking so much time to prepare our grains just overwhelmed me.

Sourdough Starter

And then I saw this e-course on sourdough. Maybe I could do this after all! The list of what you could make with sourdough was extensive and the e-course is "pay what you can". So I signed up and got started. The first thing I did was create my sourdough starter culture. This is quite simple to make with flour and water.

After my starter was established, I started experimenting with the sourdough goodies. The first things I made were pancakes and waffles. The waffles were definitely our family's favorite. They are so fluffy, crispy and we couldn't even taste any "sour"! (I never thought anything could rival my mom's recipe, but I think these do.)

Rosemary Crackers

Next I made crackers. Oh my. These are so good! We have now made them 4 times. This last time we made several varieties: rosemary, sea salt, cheese, and spicy cheese. My 6 year old daughter loves these and everyone who has tried our crackers loves them! I don't think we will ever be able to return to regular, store bought crackers.

I attempted sourdough bread (pictured above) and I would say it turned out alright. It was pretty dense, but still very tasty. I also made these cinnamon rolls. Oh yum! They were so gooey and delicious! Again, there is absolutely no sour flavor. You wouldn't know they were sourdough unless I told you. (They didn't last very long in our house...)

I have also made chocolate cake (yum!), pizza dough, artisan bread, and these English Muffins. The English muffins are so good and moist, I ended up making them two days in a row.

I never thought I would be able to make such delicious and nutritious food for my family so easily. Who knew that sourdough is so versatile and simple?

My sourdough adventures are just beginning. I am sure you will read much more about sourdough (and maybe even a few recipes) in my posts to come. Stay tuned...

Chunky Applesauce

Last week I received a phone call asking if I would like a box of apples. Well, what could I say? Of course I would like a box of apples! We go through so many apples in our house; we could handle a box of apples, right?

This box was not your standard box of apples. I have seen boxes of apples at the farmers market, but this box was so large it was in a league all of its own. Oh my. I don't have room to store that many apples! What to do with all the apples?

In the end, I decided it must be time to make applesauce. I don't have any fancy applesauce making equipment. I have a vegetable peeler, a knife and stock pots. What else do you need?

I set to work peeling, coring and slicing apples. Fuji, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious and Red Delicious flew threw my hands. After a generous dumping of cinnamon and some mashing with my potato masher, I called it good. It was still a little chunky, but that just adds texture. Yes, texture, that is what we will call it.

After cooking, I proceeded to can the applesauce. It was amazing how the applesauce seemed to grow as I ladled it into pint sized jars. My water-bath canner could handle 7 pints per batch. I ended up doing 3 batches, resulting in 19 jars of applesauce. I think we will be set for quite some time.

Now what to do with the remaining 5 Granny Smith apples. I think it is time for an apple crisp...

My Tea Fetish

I love tea. There is just something about drinking a nice hot cup of tea on a cold day that hits the spot like nothing else. In fact, it seems to be the cure for many of life's problems. Stressed? Can't sleep? Cold? Have a cup of tea. Problem solved. A few days this last week I wasn't feeling very well and tea came to my rescue again. I think I probably drank 10-12 cups of tea yesterday. I sure was glad that I have this obsession with tea.

When I am shopping and see tea on sale, I have a hard time resisting buying just a few more boxes of tea. Who knows, this flavor may become my new favorite! And so, I buy the tea. When I arrive home a new problem arises. Where will I put the tea? You see, I already have a lot of tea and it seems to be taking over much of my kitchen. At times, my over-zealousness in purchasing tea requires that it temporarily be stored on my kitchen counter. Oh well, at least it is accessible in case I need a good cup of tea.

Many tea purists seem to be convinced that tea is far superior in the loose leaf form. I admit this may be true, but I have already confessed that I am lazy. If I must go to the effort to put tea in a ball or bag before placing it in my cup of hot water, then I probably won't bother doing it. I am thankful that they make tea pre-bagged for those lazy tea lovers like myself.

What are my favorite teas? Well, glad you asked! I love peppermint tea. My current favorite peppermint tea is by Traditional Medicinals. Yum! All other peppermint tea tastes bland and boring in comparison now. I also love Traditional Medicinals' Nighty Night tea. I don't know if it actually helps me sleep or if it is just the placebo affect, but I enjoy it. For a nice morning pick-me-up I really enjoy some Yerba Mate or green tea. (Those both taste better with a bag of peppermint tea thrown in as well.)

I should go now. My tea kettle is hot and I am ready for a good cup of tea.