October 2013 – Thimbleanna

Tuesday’s Things

33 Comments / October 29, 2013 November 10, 2013 / Chat

1. Today is National Cat Day. Hey Knitters and Crocheters — Check out this cute picture I found on Instagram this morning!

2. I’ve been trying for 35 years to make a decent apple pie. I did make a great one in Jr. High home-ec. It had a praline topping and it was heavenly. But, TheManoftheHouse doesn’t like nuts or caramel (I’m pretty sure that would have been a deal breaker if I’d known!) so I haven’t been able to use that recipe. Since then, I’ve tried every which way to Sunday to get the perfect apple pie. They’re usually too runny. I’ve tried flour, cornstarch, mixing apple types and using half for flavor and half for structure, cooking the filling first, using canned filling (until we ended up with a pie that tasted like cardboard) … you name it. It’s never been up to snuff.

Until this past weekend. TheManoftheHouse took one bite and said “You finally did it” with a big grin on his face. I attribute the success to two things: Braeburn apples and Pie Enhancer. And for the future, when I can’t remember what I did, here are the ingredients: 8 cups of peeled and sliced apples, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup pie enhancer, and 3/4 t. cinnamon. {Gasp} – I forgot the butter (and it was still good!) Next time I’ll add a few tablespoons of butter and maybe a teaspoon of vanilla — it can only be better, right?

3. While I finish up the quilting on the Steampunk, I’m contemplating my next quilting move. With the holidays coming up, it has to be easy. I’m thinking I might throw together a quilt from this stack of fabrics I bought quite a few years ago.

4. The 10-year sweater has reared her ugly head again. I’m going to beat her into submission this time. This is the beginning of the last button band. (Oh, the suffering — why oh why didn’t they just knit the button bands with the side pieces?) The goal is to have that sweater laid out and blocking by the end of the weekend. We’ll see.

5. TheFirstChild sent me a link to this fun article about the world’s friendliest countries to visit. Congratulations Berglind — You and your fellow countrymen in Iceland came in at number 1! And Ali — You and your fellow countrymen in New Zealand are right behind them at number 2. I haven’t been to NZ yet, but I can definitely vouch for the friendliness of Iceland — what a great country to visit. And probably no surprise (especially considering the recent National Park mess for tourists), practically everyone else ranked higher than us here in the US. Very embarrassing!

Ok kids, when next we speak, I’ll show you something Ugly. ‘Cause not all projects in blogland are beautiful.

XOXO,
Anna

Banana Anna Banana

22 Comments / October 24, 2013 November 10, 2013 / Recipes

Ahhh, when last we parted I was about to try a new banana bread recipe. I looooove bananas. It’s no surprise really — I grew up as Anna Banana, so how could I not love them?

Anyway, the banana recipe was a success, so I thought I’d share the recipe with you. (Ok fine. I have selfish reasons for posting too — this way I won’t have to search through all of my banana bread recipes again, wondering which one I liked.)

But wait! While we’re in the kitchen, I thought you might like to see the cute new twine holder I got today!

Lisa had a really fun post on twine the other day and her cute little birdy twine holder caught my eye. Lisa kindly gave me a link and when I clicked over, it accidentally fell into my basket. I love birdies … I love twine … it was meant to be. I think it looks pretty cute on my kitchen counter.

Anyway, back to the banana bread. Banana bread is one of those things where everyone has their own favorite recipe. I’ve tried a lot of recipes over the years with varying degrees of success. I tend to lean toward recipes with sour cream or yogurt, but lately, I’ve had trouble with them — they never seem to get done in the middle. I found the recipe I used the other day in a cookbook I’ve had lying around for years. It’s a little different — a LOT of bananas, no sour cream or yogurt, and a tinch (that’s a teeny bit) of orange. It’s a very subtle orange flavor and it’s a really nice touch in this banana bread. Plus, it uses cake flour instead of regular flour, which gives it a pretty tender crumb.

Banana Bread

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
6 very ripe medium bananas, peeled and mashed
4 eggs, well beaten
1 Tbsp fresh orange juice
2 tsp freshly grated orange zest
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream sugar and butter until light. Add bananas, eggs, orange juice, and zest. Mix well. Sift together dry ingredients and fold into the banana mixture. Divide between two greased 9 x 5 – inch loaf pans. Bake for 45 – 50 minutes *, until firm in the middle.

Cool the loaves on wire rack for 1/2 hour before you remove them from the pans.

And the best part is that it makes 2 loaves — 1 for you and one to give away!

Have a good weekend!
XOXO,
Anna

*After 50 minutes, my banana bread was still too moist in the middle so I set the timer for 10 more minutes. That turned out to be too long, as you can tell from the pictures — the banana bread is a little too done on the outside (it was still really good though). Five more minutes would have been perfect!

Enjoying Fall

27 Comments / October 19, 2013 November 10, 2013 / Quilting

Hello, Hello. Another week has slipped by…{sigh}. We’ve had gorgeous fall weather this year and, after a busy few months, it’s been nice to just hang around the house relaxing and watching the slow change of seasons. Our trees aren’t as brilliant this year but most of them have finally started to turn colors this past week. I even took some time to make the annual trip to a small apple orchard nearby. I bought some yummy honeycrisp apples — they’re my favorite for a little snack and if you’ve never had one, you should give them a try. I also bought some Braeburn apples for baking. I tried PW’s Quick and Easy Apple Tart. It was ok, but definitely not one of her better recipes and not even close to her little apple dumplings.

One thing I’m not enjoying about the fall is the bugs that decide to seek warmth in the house. Ewww. Except for this little ladybug, our first sighting this fall. I found her on a windowsill and took her outside and put her on one of the few zinnias that managed to bloom in the disaster garden this year. I think she was much happier in her new home, although, not as warm.

She almost looks like she’s on her back in the next picture, but she’s really clinging to the underside of a petal. Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away Home….

Today is lovely and rainy and chilly. I’m looking forward to curling up with Doc Martin on Netflix while I work on the Steampunk. I’ve decided to follow Cindy’s lead — I machine quilted the Steampunk sashing in the ditch and I’m handquilting the little propeller squares with big-stitch quilting.

It took several blocks for me to get back into the big-stitch groove, but I think I’m adjusting now. MeMum voted for all fine hand-quilting because of all the work in these blocks, but I think they need something a little funky. I think Cindy’s choice of machine quilting plus big-stitch quilting is just perfect.

I also have some dead bananas waiting in the kitchen today, so I thought I’d try a new banana bread recipe this afternoon. Sounds like a perfect afternoon to me — quilting and the smell of fresh banana bread baking in the kitchen. If the new recipe is any good, I’ll definitely be back to share!

XOXO,
Anna

Dear Sheepie Sock,

52 Comments / October 12, 2013 November 10, 2013 / Chat

I’m writing to express my condolences at the disappearance of your mate. I know it’s been a stressful six weeks while we tried to figure out where she’s been. I really, really wanted to blame the dryer — as you know, he’s a repeat offender. He’s innocent in this case though, because I would never throw you, or any of your handknit relatives, into his neighborhood.

I know you’ve been lonely. It’s been such a mystery. And then, last weekend, Neapolitan sock lost his mate too and that started me thinking. Who could be abducting your mates? Do we have a sock thief among us???? Sadly, it hit me — I think I may be the culprit. It occurred to me that when I go to the gym at work and change my clothes in the stalls (as all of us ladies do), those stupid electronic eyes make the toilets flush constantly due to all the movement. In an effort to conserve water, I started draping a sock over the electronic eye while I was changing.

Apparently, that’s not a good idea for a woman of my age and memory. I suspect I’ve left your mates hanging there — probably to be thrown away by some cleaning person with no appreciation for hand knits. You can’t imagine the shock and horror when I discovered that I am to blame. I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me — I know it wasn’t the brightest of ideas.

In the meantime, perhaps you would like to consider pairing up with Neapolitan Sock? He’s been awfully lonely too. You guys don’t really match, but hey — it’s the 21st century and these days, anything goes!

XOXO,
Anna

P.S. Perhaps it would cheer you up a bit to see that the thimbles have a new blog header???

Fabric Surprise

29 Comments / October 8, 2013 November 10, 2013 / Chat

Gosh, a whole week has whizzed by since my last post. I’ve been busy, but not with much to show for it. I had a little trip to see TheSecondChild over the weekend. We had a lot of fun visiting and stocking his pantry. You know, like mothers do.

When I got back home I had a fun fabric surprise from SweetiePie and TheFirstChild waiting for me.

Look at those great gray prints! SweetiePie sure knows what I like! (L to R: Just Type by Patty Young (LOVE), Uno Style by Stof.dk, Simply Color by V and Co., Shades of Grey by Exclusively Quilters, and Pure Style by Stof.dk.)

I also won a giveaway from Sherri a few weeks ago. It was a gift certificate from Fashionable Fabrics and the fabrics arrived while I was gone. I thought the knitting sheepies might be fun to make a needle carrier or knitting bag or something. Hopefully I’ll get around to it before too long — my needles are a mess!

(L to R: Knitting Sheepies (I named them — they don’t have a name) by Timeless Treasures, Illumination by Yuwa fabrics, Wash Symbols by Makower UK, Wash Day Utility Room by Makower UK, and Remember by Carina Gardner.)

Other than that, not much excitement around here. The Steampunk quilt is all basted and ready for me to begin quilting — I’m excited to get started. Oh, and when I was reading Jan’s blog yesterday, she mentioned how much she loved her sewline pencil’ and it reminded me that I forgot to tell you that I put some of the Sewline gift sets into my little shop. Just in case you want one for the big event coming up in a few months LOL.

I love, love, love those Sewline pencils — they made the Steampunk quilt so much easier to work on.

That’s it! Have a good week!
XOXO,
Anna

Month: October 2013

Banana Bread