One of our two apple trees is dropping these sour lil baby apples all over our walkway. Its startles the cats and me on occasion when they drop on the tin roof! Summer is here marked by sudden thunderstorms and sweat. The Farmer’s Market is in full swing, and darkness doesn’t fall until well after nine. I love the longer days. More time to be productive (when I’m adequately motivated, that is!)

This summer is flying by with remarkable speed. I’ve been on the road a good bit interviewing various farmer’s across Western North Carolina for a research project I am doing with WNC Ag Options. I can’t complain. I basically get to hang out with all sorts of farmers, ask them about how they’re making it work and see lots of beautiful mountain scenes as I drive from place to place. Plus I’ve come home with a bucket of carrots, a pepper, and a hops nugget in my pocket.

Unfortunately, this busy schedule doesn’t leave much time for cooking, canning, and other domestic things. I’m doing my best to keep up with the garden as it tries to make it through this hot and dry weather. We’ve had several visits from different animal neighbors and lost our cabbages, kale, beets, carrots, sunflowers, and lettuces, and even two squash plants to their voracious appetites. Despite the setbacks we’ve still been able to harvest some lovely things like peas, beans, garlic, and an eggplant here and there. The cucumbers just started coming in and we’ve had two ripe tomatoes off of our 15 plants. And although I’ve been told profusely that  okra just won’t grow in this part of the mountains the okra is trucking right along in the sun and heat! Pickled okra party anyone?

Here are a some glimpses into the happenings on the homestead since the summer began…

Here is the garden before we started to have the animals visiting over night. The back left two beds are still doing well where we planted the potatoes and peppers. And its just too hot for the salad greens these days.

These carrots over wintered so they turned out at bit woody. But we think we can still make use of them in soups and stews this winter.

My garlic harvest! This is the first garlic I’ve ever grown and is quite possibly the easiest thing to grow. After I planted it all I did was pull up weeds occasionally. The animals wouldn’t get near it. And they heartily survived being covered with snow the majority of the winter.

We’ve had plenty of beans come out of the raised bed. They share the bed with the sugar snap peas and the cucumbers, and two cleome flowers.

And finally our first tomato of the year!

My darlin, Walker and I were charged with making a dessert for his co-workers wedding and it took us at least a week to decide what to make. A wedding is a special day and Walker was hesitant about trying out a new recipe. So we set out to make what we thought was a standby carrot cake. The recipe I used is supposed to make one 9 in. cake. But since this was for a wedding I wanted it to be a bit more elegant, and feed more folks.  I figured I’d just double the recipe. Simple, right? Then I realized that our cake pans were only 8 1/2 inches. Well, we’ll just make three layers.

But, there was so much batter we had to make four!! Yes, a four layer carrot cake. When it came time to remove the cakes from the pans, even though I had buttered and floured the pans before hand the first batch did not want to come out. I think I was a bit eager and tried to get them out before they had cooled sufficiently. But we rescued them nonetheless (after  some time in the fridge). Plus, its amazing what frosting can be used for – in this case, cake glue.

Despite the structural difficulties we had, this carrot cake is delicious. The moist and delicate cake is complemented nicely by the creamy just sweet enough maple cream cheese frosting. I have made this cake before in its original one layer form, and used a spring form pan which made removal much easier – no flipping and shaking needed.

We grated the carrots the night before so we could sleep a little later Saturday morning. Look how fast our hands are going. We’ve had practice.

Here’s my darlin’ and I all spiffied up for the wedding. The weather was perfect that day, although a bit breezy. A sunny day in the lower 70s.

We ran into some of the cutest kids we know there too. Here is Walker with Levi.

Levi really wanted to get a-hold of my camera.

And now for his dapper brothers Cyrus and Nolan.

The main attraction (well besides the cake and the happy couple) was this half a hog from Hickory Nut Gap farm. They called in a professional, Brian who works in the meat department at the local Earthfare to roast and prepare the barbecued pork. He made fast work of this pig.This was just the beginning. That half a hog fed 150 hungry wedding folks.

Instead of a traditional wedding cake the bride and groom requested cakes from friends and family that were elegantly placed in this cake tower of sorts. I think its an awesome idea! I never have been a fan of wedding cake. Although, I do always eat my piece. I’m hopeful that maybe this one will be different.  Wedding cake tends to be dry and bland, plus the fondant frosting is no where as delicious as a maple cream cheese butter cream frosting. Plus they’re just so gosh-darn expensive. Not worth it.

The only problem with so many options for cake is that its easy to go overboard – like I did. I asked how many can we try, and the server replied “However many you like.” That did me in right there. Before I knew it I’d filled up my plate and Walker’s plate with cake and I couldn’t even finish half of mine. I mean I’d already eaten pork carnitas, local salad, and roasted vegetables (mostly fixed by the groom!) washed down by local beer. Not much room left in my belly at this point of the evening. When it comes to cake my eyes are way bigger than my tummy. I’m such a taster.

Alright, enough of my babbling I’m sure you’re ready for the recipe by now.

Four Layer Carrot Cake

If you want a simple one-layer cake you’ll find that recipe at The Kitchen Sink Recipes, or do the math and divide everything in half.

Go ahead and set out the butter and cream cheese for your frosting so it reaches room temperature by the time you need it.

Cake Ingredients:

1 cup toasted pecans (I omitted these, to avoid any allergies at the wedding, but will use any other time)

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs

2 cups sugar

1 lb. carrots coarsely shredded

Cake Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour two 8 1/2 in cake pans.

2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

3. In a large bowl beat the eggs and sugar with a mixer on high speed, until pale. Beat in the liquid ingredients. Beat in the dry ingredients just until moistened.

4. Stir in the carrots and pecans.

5. Divide half of the batter between two pans (remember you’re trying to make four more-or-less equal layers). Bake the two layers for about 50 minutes, until springy and golden. Let cool for at least 10 minutes then run a plastic knife (so you don’t scratch the pan) around the edges of the cake, then put the pans in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.  After about 15 minutes remove pans and turn out the cake layers onto a cooling rake. Repeat with the second half of the cake batter.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese at room temperature

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

4 T pure maple syrup

Method

1. Beat cream cheese and butter in a bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy.

2. Add powdered sugar and beat on low to combine. Beat in maple syrup.

3. If it seems a bit runny either add more powdered sugar or chill until its firm enough to spread

4. Place first layer of cake on cake plate. Pile a large dollop of icing on top and spread to the edges. repeat with the next three layers.

My spinach from last year’s fall garden has survived the harsh NC winter like a dream, and we’ve had more than we know what to do with here at the Bighorn Barn. And,when you have an over-abundance of lovely things like fresh eggs and spinach the easiest thing to do is make a quiche. Since I was already making one, it wasn’t much more effort to make two and we had more than enough ingredients to go around.Quiche is one of those dishes that is a satisfying meal no matter what time of day it is.

I can honestly say this turned out to be one of the best quiches I’ve ever had. And thats means a lot for me to say. I tend to think things taste better when other people make them. I am way too judgmental of my own work, and after I’ve been working on something for several hours, or dreaming of finally making a recipe for weeks my high expectations can be hard to meet. So, the fact that this quiche surprised me with how well it turned out is a remarkable thing indeed! And the dark yolks from my eggs gave it an awfully pretty yellow-orange tint.

For the crust I used a whole-wheat version of Martha Stewart’s Pate Brisee crust recipe, that turned out flaky and tender despite the fact that I used half the butter!

Spinach Quiche

adapted from Smitten Kitchen which she adapted from Adapted from Bon Appetit, October 1991

Makes two quiches

Crust:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick frozen unsalted butter

2/3 cold water, plus more if necessary

Fill a 1 cup measuring cup with water and put in the freezer. Whisk flours and salt together in a large bowl. Grate frozen butter into flour, mixing the butter pieces in a few times as you go so they don’t all clump together. Slowly add water to flour and mutter mixture, mixing with a wooden spoon until dough comes together. I usually get in there with my hands toward the end. Turn out dough and work gently to incorporate in excess flour and butter. Divide into two equal portions, pat into a disk,  wrap separately and refrigerate for at least an hour. When ready to add the filling, roll out each piece of dough until it is about 12 inches in diameter. Place in 9 in. pie or tart dish, cut off excess dough and crimp edges.

Quiche Filling:

1 8-ounce package of cream cheese at room temperature

2/3 cup half and half

7 eggs

about 20-ounces fresh spinach, steamed and drained

1 cup grated gruyere  (cheddar)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

4 large cloves diced garlic

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 425°. Beat cream cheese in medium bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in half and half and eggs. Mix in remaining ingredients. Pour and divide mixture between the prepared crusts. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is set, about 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Eat it up!

Easter, like most holidays in my family include lots of good food and family in one place. After we’d all dressed up in our Easter Sunday best (flower dresses for all the ladies; I’m disappointed people aren’t wearing easter hats like they used, too) for the Sunday service, we headed to my Grandmother and Grandaddy’s house for lunch. My contribution was this coconut cake that had been tempting me for over two weeks. And when I realized Easter was right around the corner I had an excuse to bake a layer cake! Although this  cake was full of mistakes, it still tasted good, and pressing coconut on top of the icing makes those mistakes disappear in a heart beat. See look you’d never know that I had to stick toothpicks into the cake to keep the top layer from sliding off (I should have cut off the top of the bottom layer to make a flat surface, but I had already put on the middle layer of icing, so it was too late) , or that my cream cheese butter cream frosting was a little melt-y (the sudden surge of heat that week, made my softened butter a lil too soft), and kept wanting to slide down the side of the cake. Lots of sliding all around it seems. I stuck the cake in the fridge while we were at church hoping to remedy the avalanche of frosting.

Here was my full plate for lunch. I love that each portion of food makes me think of a different family member. My grandmother is famous in our immediate family for her spiced peach Jello; my brother’s girlfriend Niki, quickly became famous in my book for her pineapple casserole; my mom’s broccoli casserole is so good its been co-opted by other members of the family that this was the first time she’s made it in several years; and my great Aunt Barbara always brings something healthy and tasty like this bean salad.  Of course all of this wonderful goodness is washed down with sweet tea. I mean we are in North Carolina after all!

My grandmother’s table, so much food we can’t even sit down to eat!

I wasn’t fast enough to get a  before picture. This was what was left after the first go around.

Ina Garten’s Coconut Cake

I found this recipe here. The cake is like a pound cake, and the frosting not overly sweet.

I’ve also been eying a coconut cake recipe from Sky High Cakes that I found here.

Cake:

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (save butter paper to grease the pans!)

2 cups sugar

5 xl eggs (at room temp.)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt (i’m not sure how much the kosher part really matters)

1 cup milk

4 oz. shredded coconut

Frosting:

2 8oz packs (1 lb.) cream cheese at room temp.

2 sticks butter  (1/2 lb.) at room temp.

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 lb. (1 box, usually) powdered sugar

6 oz. shredded coconut, toasted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake pans.

For cake, cream butter and sugar with a mixer in a large bowl, until light yellow and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mix well, and scrap down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add vanilla and almond extracts, mix well.

In a separate medium-sized bowl whisk or sift  together baking powder, baking soda,  and salt. On low speed, alternately mix in the dry ingredients and milk into the sugar-butter-egg mixture; begin and end with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the 4 oz of coconut (un-toasted).

Divide batter between the two cake pans, and smooth out the top. Bake in center of the oven 45-55 minutes, until tops are brown, and center is set. Cool on baking rake for 30 minutes, turn out of pans, and cool completely.

While cake is baking you can also toast the coconut for the outside of the cake. Simply spread the 6 oz. of coconut on a baking sheet, and put in oven with the cakes. Let bake 5 minutes, then check every few minutes until at least 1/3 is browned. You can stir and bake longer at least once, if you like because the corners and edges tend to brown faster. Remove and let cool.

For frosting, combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract in a bowl with a mixer on low. Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth.

To assemble cake place one layer on serving plate. If the top is not flat go ahead a flatten it out by cutting horizontally across the top with a serrated knife. Cover top with a layer of frosting. Place the second layer on top, and frost the top and sides. Sprinkle toasted coconut on top, and gently press it onto the sides. Best served at room temperature.

This afternoon I brought home four new additions to our household, and they really know how to give back! After a few (sporadic) months of preparation we introduced four lovely Golden Comet layers to their new home atop the hill behind our house. And just this afternoon they had already laid two eggs; they handled the car ride home quite well I must say!

This might be one of the most cheaply built chicken houses in the world. Our supplies consisted of scrap wood cast-offs, old crates, minimal tools borrowed from my landlords, and tin roofing found behind my darlin’s house. I think our only real expenses were screws, nails, four sets of hinges, two sliding bolts, one piece of plywood for the roof, and the chickens – less than $60 I’d say! But despite the scrappy digs, the chicken house is secure (we hope, it hasn’t actually been tested yet) and rain proof (that was tested today!), filled with fresh hay, plenty of food and water, and lots of room to roam outside. And of course, it was built with love!

I got lucky this time as a good friend recently decided to get out of the chicken business and sold his flock of one hundred laying hens, for three dollars each. $12 total – A mighty fine deal for chickens that are already laying. My darlin’s father gave me the chicken feeder and waterer for Christmas and the feed is under $12 for a 50-lb bag at Southern States. I am searching for a different place to buy feed, as they only sell medicated chicken feed. Its medicated slightly for Coccidiosis, and most folks will look at you like you’re crazy if you tell them you don’t want antibiotics in your feed. Modern agriculture will have you believe they can’t live without it. Chickens lived very well for quite a long time without our help.

I have to say a special thanks to my darlin’ Walker. I wouldn’t have gotten this done with out him. Real work on building the chicken house only seemed to happen when he came to visit. He gave me the motivation, the extra hands and his carpentry expertise to actually get the job done. My roommate, Samm was a big help too here in the final stretch, as well as thanks to our landlords for the use of their tools, and netting to keep the hawks away!

Hope you enjoy the slideshow of the birth of the chicken house and our newest relations.

It started with crates…

…wood collected from behind the local Lowes, and portable saw mill cast-offs…

…one hardworking young domestic with power tools…

…and one strapping young farmer.

They sure know how to work!

We used an old dresser drawer for the nesting box.

These two doors make it easy to collect the eggs without having to go inside the house.

Here the biddies test out the brand new feeder and waterer.

First adventures into the backyard.

Just doing what chickens do.

This is a picture of the sailboat that we were on  while traveling through Belize (She’s at anchor). What a fantastic trip!

It was an exciting moment as we slipped away with our contraband milk. My friends have started making cheeses –   aged cheddar and colby, and quick mozzarella. I made yogurt and rice pudding. Its nice knowing that I’m directly supporting a third generation dairy farmer. I think the slightly illegal aspect of the whole deal gave a nice tang to my yogurt, and sweetened the pudding just enough! Although, it’s not necessarily legal to sell un-pasteurized, un-homogenized milk for human consumption in NC (only for pet food) there are still some folks out there who realize the ridiculous-ness of that and just keep right on selling it. I’m grateful for you folks. Thats milk the way it should be.

Milk that is un-tampered with is chock-full of all sorts of beneficial bacteria, fats and enzymes. The pasteurization process destroys the good bacteria, and homogenization and skimming removes the fats that are vital for our bodies to break down the proteins and nutrients  in the milk. Not to say that you can’t ever get sick from raw milk, but you’re just as likely to get sick from produce from the grocery store these days as you are from raw milk. If the farmer milks properly, there is little risk of other possibly harmful bacteria being introduced to the milk. Herein lies the beauty of buying directly from a farmer, you can personally ask them how they handle their milk, what they feed the cows, and see the facilities. You can see how the cows live – out on pasture, or cooped up in a dirt lot all day. And this personal relationship helps create a sense of accountability for the farmer to live up to expectations of his/her customers, as well as foster a willingness for the customer to pay a fair price to the farmer for what they produce.

So I’ve got two recipes today that are great for when you have lots of milk! Well one’s not so much a recipe as a process. But here ya go!

Rice Pudding (adapted from Bon Appetit March 2009)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water

3/4 cup basmati rice (all I had was brown)

1/4 tsp. salt

3 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream (since my milk was un-homogenized and the cream naturally separated out I just added a 4th cup of milk)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (or 1 tsp vanilla extract added at the end)

1 or 1/2 cinnamon stick (depending on what you like)

pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

1. Bring water, rice and salt to a boil on medium-high heat in a thick-bottomed sauce pan. Reduce to low cover, and let simmer until water is absorbed.

2. Add milk, cream and sugar. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean, cinnamon stick, and nutmeg.

3. Increase heat to medium; cook uncovered until rice is tender and mixture thickens – about 35 minutes. Stir frequently, to keep from scorching, especially toward the end. Let cool, and then keep refrigerated.

Homemade Yogurt

Alright, so this isn’t much of a recipe but its nice to know that yogurt can be made easily in your own home. One less  thing to buy, and you always know exactly what ingredients go into it because you added them – unlike some brands from the grocery store with countless unpronounceable ingredients.

I was lucky enough to inherit a yogurt incubator from my darlin’s mother. Thank you Susan! I’m still trying to figure out how to get the consistency right, mine keeps turning out a bit grainy and not very firm. But it’s doing the job and once I add blueberry sauce, or vanilla, honey and granola I can’t tell one bit.

Bring 1 quart of milk to boiling point or 180 degrees F. Then let cool down to 108-112 degrees F.

Combine 5 grams of yogurt starter (I use Yogourmet) with a small amount of lukewarm milk in the yogurt container, then pour the rest of the milk in the container, mix well.

Incubate 4 to 4 1/2 hours, or until yogurt has reached desired thickness.

Yes I realize the irony here. I still haven’t gotten away from the food aspect of things completely. But if you really think about it the original purpose of an apron was to protect a woman’s dress from everyday dirt while cleaning, gardening, taking care of kids, collecting eggs, milking the cow, and yes of course cooking since most women only owned a few dresses. They had to take care of their handmade  investments and keep their garments from being scorched by the fire.

In my case aprons serve a similar purpose (minus the scorching part) as I have a terrible habit of wiping my hands on my cloths, especially my pants, while I’m working – be it cooking, cleaning, or gardening. So I thought it would be fun to spread the love and clean cloths, and make aprons for several of my friends for Christmas. My mission was 6 aprons in one week. I surprised myself by finishing all of them in 2 and a half days. I’ll have you know that I was not sewing sunrise to sunset either. Which goes to show that this simple pattern process moves swiftly once you’ve got your fabrics picked out.

Each apron only cost me a couple bucks because I used old pillowcases from Thrift Stores, and other fabrics I’ve acquired from my local Freecycle.org group. Also, using old pillow cases for the base of this apron makes starting out more simple  because the edge of the pillow case is conveniently hemmed for you, and often has a really pretty pattern. Giving gifts like this is meaningful because you made something with your own hands, and made it especially for someone you love.  Plus it just makes sense for someone on a budget!

This basic pattern is easy to adapt and use other fabrics for the waistband, and pocket, if you want contrasting fabrics. It can also be done entirely with one pillowcase. In that case, instead of using the second half of the pillowcase for just the waistband. Cut the pillow case in half once. Cut the half with the closed end in half again. From those two pieces, but the half with the closed side in half length-wise, so you have two four sided squares with two sides closed on each piece. Those can be pockets. The left over piece can then be cut in half width-wise so you have two strips for the waistband.

Here is my version -

Fabric:  When I saw this wonderful red polka dot pillow case I immediately thought of my dear friend Grace. It is as spunky and bright as she is. I decided to pair it with a floral patterned pillow case. I like the touches of yellow and green against the red.

Notions: To add a little flair I chose lace and rick-rack. The contrast goes well with Miss Grace since she’s as sweet and soft as she is strong and determined.

Tools: In addition to a sewing machine, and thread (I used white thread for all 6 aprons) your best friends will be an iron, tape measure, pins, and sharp scissors (make sure you never use your sewing shears to cut paper, it dulls the heck out of scissors).

Step 1: Make sure to wash and iron your pillowcases so your cutting will be straighter. Then, take the pillowcase that will be your base and it cut in half width-wise. If you’re particular measure from one end to the other with your measuring tape to find the middle. (I wasn’t very precise at this point. I just kind of figure it out as I go, I suppose.)

Step 2: With the top half of the pillow case (the closed end) cut in half again width-wise.

Step 3: These two pieces will become the waistband on your apron. Cut off the seam that is on the inside edges at the ends of each piece as well as the one along the length of the closed side. So then you have two long lengths of fabric, more or less equal (Mine are always a little bit crooked).

Step 4:  Sew the two pieces together along the end, you’ll want to use a basic running stitch. Make sure that the back sides of the pattern face out. Sew a few stitches, then back stitch a few, continue sewing almost to the end and back stitch a few stitches then sew off the end. Lift foot, pull fabric out from machine. Clip thread ends on fabric.

Step 5: Iron the seam so that it is open on the pattern side, and folded to one side on the back.

Step 6: Iron the waistband in half across the entire length.

Step 7: Open the waistband, and iron the all four edges in – along the length and at the ends.

Step 8: To make a tapered end, keep the ironed edge folded in  and  fold both corners of each end of the waistband in toward the center fold.

Step 9: Fold back along the center fold and check to make sure the edges are even along the length of the waistband. They don’t have to match perfectly, but they must be close so that you don’t miss sewing one side when you attach it to the base of the apron.

Step 10: Re-iron the length of the waistband in this folded position.

Step 11: Now we’re going to attach the waistband to the apron base. Lay out the apron and waistband on a table or the floor. Place your waist band along the cut side of the second half of your apron that you created with the first cut – this is your base. Pick which side you want to be the front of both the waist band and the base. Insert the cut side of the base in between the folds of the waistband, that you ironed out so well. Use your measuring tape to center the base along the waistband. Also be sure to make the bottom of the apron even with the bottom of the waist band, I measured along a spot on the left, middle and right of the apron to make sure the bottom was even.

Step 12: Pin the waist band to the apron base. Be sure you pin through both sides of the waistband, and that the raw edge you ironed under stays tucked in. Pin along the rest of the waistband to each end. Once it was all measured out and was securely pinned I went back, and pinned the lace on top of the waistband using the same pins. On the ends I tucked the lace into the tapered end and pinned it down.

Here you can see the base goes inside the fold of the waistband, and the edges are still tucked in (this is why we do so much ironing initially, it makes this part much easier!). Then I laid the lace over top.

Step 13: Now we get to sew the waistband to the apron base! Starting on which ever end of the waistband seems easier to you start from the bottom corner, on the open side and begin sewing about an 1/8 of an inch from the edge. This is where the lace came in handy, because I could follow the lines of it as I sewed. Sew straight across the bottom side of the waistband all the way to the other end. Don’t forget to back stitch when you start! As you get about 1/8 inch from the other end keep the needle in the fabric, lift the foot and turn the band so you can sew along the edge of the tapered point to the next corner. Do the same at the next corner. Sew back across the top of the waistband to the other end. And repeat the lift and turn to finish off the second end, back stitch to seal the thread. Pull fabric away from the machine and cut the thread. Phew, that was a long run!

Step 14: Now its time to make the pocket! I picked a part of the floral pattern that  I liked on my second pillowcase, and cut out a rectangle. Since the fabric was somewhat thin, and I didn’t want the pocket to be transparent I cut out two rectangles the same size. I judged the size of the rectangle for the pocket with my hand, giving it some room on either side, plus about an inch more on each side to account for the edge to be folded under, and for bunching.

Step 15: Iron the pieces, and the fold over the top of the fabric about an inch toward what you want to be the inside of the pocket and iron it down. This will be the top of your pocket.

Step 16: This time as you sew switch your stitch to the longest running stitch your machine will do, and do not back stitch, just sew straight across the folded hem, about an 1/8 inch from the raw edge. Note: If you want a flat top on your pocket, sew straight across and DO back stitch to seal the stitches. For a bunched top to your pocket: Pull the fabric away from the machine and cut the thread leaving about 3 inches of thread on each side of the fabric. Take the bottom thread on one side in your hand and hold tight, with the other hand  push the fabric down  along the thread so that it bunches. It will most likely bunch more on one side, you can let go of the thread and spread the bunches out across the length of the pocket. Once it is bunched enough for your liking  go back to the sewing machine, shorten your stitch, and sew straight across in more or less the same place you sewed before. This time you want to back stitch to seal the ends.

Step 17: Now you get to add the rick-rack. I laid out rick-rack on the  pocket to figure out where I wanted it to be, pinned it down and sewed across the middle, back stitching the ends.

Step 18: Turn the pocket over, and fold in the two side edges about 1/4  inch or less and iron down. Then fold up the bottom at an angle from each side so there is a point in the middle. I measured from each side of the pocket to make sure the point was in the middle and adjusted the angled folds as necessary. Ironing and re-ironing as necessary.

Step 19: Turn the pocket back over and place it where you’d like on the apron. Then pin the sides and corners down, keeping the folded edges tucked in.

Step 20: Sew around the edge of the pocket about 1/8 inch from the edge. At the corners, as before, keep the needle in the fabric, lift the foot, turn the fabric, lower the foot and sew to the next corner. Be sure to back stitch at the beginning and end of your sewing to seal the edges.

Ta-da!! You’ve got yourself an apron, and a happy friend!

]]> http://daringthedomestic.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/homemade-pillowcase-aprons/feed/ 4 daringthedomestic DSC05712 DSC05646 DSC05648 DSC05657 DSC05659 DSC05660 DSC05663 DSC05664 DSC05666 DSC05670 DSC05672 DSC05673 DSC05675 DSC05676 DSC05680 DSC05689 DSC05691 DSC05696 DSC05698 DSC05700 DSC05704 DSC05705 DSC05707 DSC05708 DSC05716 Big House Christmas Take 2 (4) http://daringthedomestic.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/simply-saucey-apples/ http://daringthedomestic.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/simply-saucey-apples/#comments Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:23:59 +0000 daringthedomestic http://daringthedomestic.wordpress.com/?p=534 ]]>

Apple sauce ought to be one of the easiest things to make. I mean really, all it takes is cooking some apples on the stove and stirring occasionally. You don’t even have to add anything if you don’t want too. Easy peasy from all accounts. I had been dying to make more apple sauce because I had recently had wonderful success – it was sweet, but not too sweet and cinnamony but not too cinnamony. I even avoided eating my apples so they would wrinkle and I’d have a reason to make more. So, I started this recipe with every ounce of confidence that it would turn out as lovely as last time.

Unfortunately, my confidence might have been my down fall. I forgot to add extra liquid to keep the apples from burning on the bottom, and ended up with little black flecks decorating my apple sauce. Luckily I was able to fish out the biggest ones, and the flavor was still delightful, although my pride was a bit dented. So, instead of having you retrace my mishap I’ll tell you how I made it the first time, no black flecks.

This recipe made enough applesauce to fill a quart size jar. The amounts are all to taste and can be adjusted as necessary for the amount of apples you want to use, and will be less or more depending on how much you cook it down.

Simple Apple Sauce

6-8 small-med sized apples, peeled and cut into chunks

1 1/2 T honey

1 Cinnamon stick

Juice from half of a small lemon ~ 1 T or less

A couple splashes of apple cider if you have it, or water

A pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a pot. Cover with a lid and cook on medium-high. Once they really start to cook reduce to  to a slow simmer. Stir semi-frequently to keep the bottom from sticking. Once the apples become soft mash with a fork or masher to make it saucier. Mash as much as you like, I like mine on the chunky side (same goes for my peanut butter). Remove lid and continue to cook  apples down until the desired consistency.

My darlin’ and I finished off this entire jar with our German pancakes one morning, so its safe to say you’ll still end up with decent apple sauce even if you burn the bottom a little.

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Although any Northern would probably scoff at our 1-2 feet of snow or less, this is a novelty for a southern state. You’ll have to excuse our giddiness and inexperience. Here in the mountains there has been sledding and ice skating (on frozen ponds!!) for days on end and lots of cuddling around fires afterwards.

I like having to walk more and feeling the snow crunch under my boots. Its kind of fun layering on as many cloths as possible and trying to waddle around. Plus when it snows you have an excuse to stay in the house watch movies, make cookies, and drink tea and hot chocolate because you can’t really get anywhere! I love excuses to be lazy!

Now don’t get me wrong snow and below freezing temperatures are great, but they’re a pretty stunning reality check, too. I came home from vacation to find frozen pipes (luckily nothing burst) and a faulty heat pump that just couldn’t cut the cold. The heat pump also drys me out and I’ve had a stuffy nose for I don’t know how long now. Plus I can only be lazy for so long, and then I start making excuses to go to Goodwill or thrift shops just to get outta the house.

But, nonetheless there is something magical and wondrous about a snowfall wrapping everything in its cleansing and calming grasp making us all slow down, at least for a little while.