15 Minute Challenge

Tuesday - worked on back of AJ quilt
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday

Biscotti

Here's my "old" biscotti recipe.

2 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 c. unblanched almonds
3 large eggs
2t. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Put first five items in a large bowl, stir to mix, add nuts and mix. Whisk eggs and vanilla in small bowl, add to dry ingredients.

Dough will seem dry, but will come together.

Turn dough onto floured surface, knead 1-2 minutes. Divide in half. Make 2 logs about 2 inches wide by 1 inch high (about 12 inches long), place on parchment paper about 1 inch apart. Bake 30 minutes. remove from oven and let cool for about 30 minutes (important).

Slice using a sharp serrated knife - DIAGONALLY - about 1/4 inch thick. Bake 10-15 minutes cut side down.  cool on pan.

Biscotti, Breads and other goodies

This week I've started  making biscotti.  Why? you may ask.  Well, my son (OS -- oldest son) and his fiancee (FOOS, fiancee of oldest son) have asked me to make some biscotti for their wedding and I am testing out recipes.  I bought this book from Amazon.

I tried two of the recipes.  They were okay, but not great.  For one thing, they were more like cookies and less like biscotti.  They weren't hard enough.  They got a little harder overnight, but still not where I think it should be.  I'm going to re-try the espresso and white chocolate macadamia nuts ones in my "old" recipe.

My "old" recipe is one I got from a friend (about a million years ago).  I decided to combine recipes from the book with my basic "old" recipe.  When making the new recipes v. the old one, there were a couple of differences.  My "old" recipe does not have butter and the new ones do.  that might account for a lot.  I also did a couple of other things differently with the old recipe and those things might make the difference (amount of flour, kneading, baking time, sitting time, etc.).  

If any of you has (or is it have?) a biscotti recipe that you've used and liked, please pass it on.  I'm going to need to make a ton of biscotti come August and I'd like to know what I'm making before then.

I also recently got a recipe from my Uncle Walter, for some bread he makes, modified from this cookbook which I got from Amazon. 

My cousins all swear by it.  I am planning to make that this weekend.  (Probably not good for my diet, but I'll have to show restraint.)

Wordless Wednesday (almost)

The back of the White House.

The front of the White House.

15 Minute Challenge

Another week without much sewing.  I'd like to have someone to blame it on, but it's really me. On Sunday, my husband was at the sewing table, but to blame him for my lack of sewing is wrong; I didn't ask him to leave or share or anything.  Here's how the week went.

Tuesday - made diaper ATV
Wednesday - worked on American Jane Quilt
Thursday - nothing
Friday - added borders to AJ quilt / finished quilt top
Saturday - nothing
Sunday -bought some thread
Monday -ordered fabric for the backing of the AJ Quilt

 

To see how others met the challenge, click here to go over to Kate's Life in Pieces. 

hmm, multipotentiality.  I have trouble focusing on even more than one project at a time, much less more than one type of project. I seem to go from craft to craft but within the craft I only do one thing.  Yeah, I know, I do the diaper cakes, but that's just a distraction, a fun thing.  

Happy Mothers' Day!

To my sisters, my DIL, and my mom (not to mention my cousins, SILs, MIL, and the other women who have influenced me who are also mothers).

Wordless Wednesday

I took this picture at the National Museum of American History when I was in DC a few weeks ago. I don't know how old it is but I thought it was pretty cool.

15 Minute Challenge

Not a very productive week; I didn't get to the sewing machine much this week. hardly at all. but I'm linking up any way.

Tuesday - worked on Look and Learn quilt
Wednesday - make diaper cake
Thursday - nothing
Friday - nothing
Saturday - bought batting at Joann's
Sunday - and more nothing
Monday - even more nothing

Here's a picture of the diaper cake.

And I won a giveaway from Brooke at Silly Mama Quilts.  How fun!!

 

And now for Kate's topic, "what else do you do?"  Kate mentioned that I make diaper cakes -- coincidentally I made one this week.  My daughter and I make them together so it's a bonding time as well.  It's fun and they look great!

I also knit.  Before I started quilting, I was crocheting and knitting baby blankets.  I branched out and made a baby sweater -- it turned out great, but I haven't added buttons to it yet (and I think that was six years ago, at least).  I made several hats and sweaters.  I also tried socks, but got discouraged and never finished them.  Someday I might pick them up and finish them.

Prior to knitting, I did some cross stitch.  I enjoyed that, but I got stuck on a stocking and never finished that.  Obviously a recurring theme, not finishing things.  However, with quilting I've been finishing.  So far, I like quilting best.  Hopefully, I'll stick with it.

That's it for now.  To see how everyone else did on the 15 minute challenge this week, check out Kate's Life In Pieces.