For more information about my online classes, look at “Online Class Info” under ”Classroom” in the column on the right hand side of this page, or go to my website: www.ranaemerrillquilts.com/teaching.

See you in class!

RaNae

As I worked on this quilt I hit a turning point that I hope you, my readers, will find helpful.  I started off by reading a variety of books on the subject of learning to machine quilt and all of them told me that this would be an skill that would require much practice and patience to master.  So, I went into this with the mindset that it was going to be difficult.  And it was.

Then one day something that I read in Diane Gaudynski’s book went ricocheting through my brain.  She said that moving the quilt shouldn’t happen with your arms, but that really the bulk of it is moving around a small part of the quilt with your fingers under the needle.  I realized that for good machine-quilting you need, primarily, good finger coordination.

And that’s when it hit me: I was a professional pianist for 25 years.  I’ve got finger coordination up the wazoo!  So I sat down at the machine and tapped into the skill I already had and suddenly I was doing beautiful machine quilting — nice smooth lines and even stitching (even without the stitch regulator).

What I learned about books is this: they assume (because they are writing for everyone) that you are starting from Square One.  But most of us are not complete beginners.  We acquire a collection of skills over a lifetime, and many of these carry over from one endeavor to another.  Next time you set out to learn something new, don’t assume that it’s going to be a big, scary process requiring arduous practice and saintly patience — that mindset will only get in your way.  Instead, ask yourself what you’ve done before that is similar to what you’re about to learn, then build on the skills you already have.  Chances are you’ll find that learning this new skill is easier than you expected.

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Detail shots of the borders

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1 pound salted butter (if you use unsalted, add 1 tsp. salt)
3 cups white sugar
2/3 cup water
1 6-oz. bar chocolate — milk or dark as you prefer
12 oz. nuts — whatever you like.  Use walnuts raw, but I prefer other nuts roasted.  (Roasted and salted is even better if you like the combination of salty and sweet.)
2 tsp coarse sea salt (fleur de sel), optional

Pay close attention to the cooking technique — it’s not difficult, but there are reasons for doing what you do.

Choose a clear day when the humidity is low.  Do not try to make candy on a rainy day.  If there is too much humidity in the atmosphere the toffee will not harden, and instead will turn to sugar crystals.

Prepare the pan and the nuts in advance.  Use a metal cookie sheet (it must have 4 sides, not a pan with one edge flat) or 3 foil mini-broiler pans.  (These 6″ x 9″ pans are the most practical if you are making gifts, because you can gift the english toffee right in the pan.)  Spread 8 oz. of the nuts over the bottom of the cookie sheet or foil pans.

Before starting to cook the toffee, fill a small bowl with ice water and set it next to the stove where you are going to cook.  Use a heavy 4 to 6 quart pan — I use my grandmother’s old pressure cooker without the lid.  Use a wooden spoon – preferably with a fairly long handle.  The candy and the stove are hot — you will soon find out why I recommend a long-handled wooden spoon.  You might want to hold it with your hand in an oven mitt too.  Don’t use a metal spoon — it conducts heat.  And don’t use a plastic spoon — it will melt.

The simple explanation of how to cook the toffee is this: Put the sugar (and salt), water and butter in the pan.  Using medium-to-high heat, melt and stir the ingredients until the sugar carmelizes.  This is what is going to happen and what to watch for: 

The butter will melt and the sugar will dissolve.  As soon as the butter has completely melted, the mixture will bubble up to about double the size it began.  It will stay at this height throughout the entire cooking process.

You must stir constantly, and stirring technique is actually important to the outcome of the toffee, so pay attention:  When you stir, scrape the bottom of the pan.  Make small circles from the edge of the pan through the center, like drawing petals on a flower.  This mixes the hotter liquid from the outside into the cooler liquid in the center and keeps the liquid an even temperature so the toffee cooks evenly.  Stir steadily at a medium speed, keeping the surface of the candy at the same level — don’t make “waves” of liquid against the side of the pan, and don’t scrape the sides of the pan.  Why?  Because the thin layer of sugar that will get left on the side of the pan is where sugar crystals can form, and if they do, they will make the entire batch of toffee turn into sugar crystals, rather than hard candy.  If this thin film of sugar does happen to form, use a pastry brush dipped in water to wash the film off the side of the pan, dissolving any sugar crystals that may have formed. 

After 8-10 minutes, you will start to notice that the candy pulls away from the side of the pan as you stir.  It will also begin to turn golden.  Keep stirring.  As it starts to darken, drop a bit of candy off the spoon into the ice water in the small bowl.  The first test will probably be partly soft, with a hard shell.  That’s called “soft crack” stage, and the toffee isn’t ready yet.  Keep stirring and cooking until the liquid is the color of, well, toffee (a rich golden brown).  When that happens, the drop of candy that you drop in the water will immediately become hard.  This is called “hard crack” stage and this means the toffee is done.*

Remove the pan of toffee from the stove and immediately pour it over the nuts in the prepared pans.  Do not scrape the cooking pan into the cooking sheets.  Why? For the same reason you did not scrape the sides of the pan while cooking.  You can, however, scrape the pan into a separate dish (use a flexible metal one, like another cookie sheet or foil pan so the toffee is easy to remove).  This “tail end” of the batch may or may not crystallize, but you don’t want to run the risk that if it does it will crystallize the whole batch.  I like to save this leftover to break up and put in my gourmet chocolate chip cookies.

Let the toffee cool until a film forms over the top but the toffee is still wam to the touch.  Break up the chocolate and lay pieces on top of the toffee.  Wait a few minutes to allow it to melt, then use the back of a spoon to spread it around.  Sprinkle the remaining nuts on top.  If you wish, sprinkle a small amount of sea salt over the surface of the chocolate as well.  (Don’t do this if you used salted nuts – they have enough salt already.)

Cool the toffee completely and break into chunks. 

Just a note of caution about candy making: Sugar syrup is extremely hot and does not cool quickly.  If you spill on flesh it will burn long and deep.  Do not make candy with young children around, and take care not to spill on yourself when handling hot sugar syrup.  If you do, immediately plunge the syrup-covered area into ice water to cool the syrup and stop the burning.

* Funny story: In my apartment the smoke detectors are extremely sensitive.  As it turns out, every time I make toffee, they start wailing right at the moment when the toffee is ready to remove from the stove.  I don’t even have to drop-test the syrup any more!

So here’s one of my favorite fix-it-in-five-minutes meal recipes that you can also use as a last-minute party dish.  You can throw together with stuff that’s probably already on your pantry shelf.  AND it’s low fat, low-cal, healthy and delish to boot!

Hummus

1 15-ounce can chickpeas* (garbanzo beans) drained – save liquid
1 teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried parsley or 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
¼ teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove fresh garlic
Juice of ½ lemon
6-8 sundried tomates, cut into ¼” pieces (use scissors)
Salt to taste

Into a food processor, put everything except olive oil and reserved liquid from the chickpeas.  Turn on, and gradually add 2 Tablespoons of reserved liquid from the chickpeas, just enough so that the mixture blends smoothly in the bowl.  Add olive oil – less or more, depending on how low-fat you want this to be.  Process until smooth.  Serve with pita bread, crackers (I like RyeKrisp Light) or dipping veggies.  Makes about 1 cup.  (Hint: it’s more flavorful the second day.)

*If you don’t have chickpeas, you can use any canned beans.  For a Mexican twist, add some hot sauce or chipotle peppers.

Read the complete post at http://spiromandalas.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/starfish-monarchs-glowing-jellyfish/

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When I was growing up, we always had crepes for Sunday breakfast (brunch, really) after church.  Being a large family (6 kids in total), we tossed an entire dozen eggs and a quart of milk into the Kitchenaid.  We all knew the recipe by heart, and learned to cook them at a really young age — that will tell you how easy they are to make.  Usually we just rolled them up with butter and maple syrup or jam, but over time we developed more fillings and toppings.  Whatever you serve in them, they are a delicious, fun and sophisticated way to make a meal or dessert or both.  (And, they freeze well.)  Enjoy!

French Crepes

These measurements will make about 2-3 dozen 10″- 12″ crepes. 
Use the measurements in [brackets] for a smaller batch.
1 quart milk [2 cups]
12 eggs [6]
3 cups flour [1-1/2 cups]
1/3 cup oil [2-1/2 Tablespoons]
1 teaspoon salt [1/2 teaspoon]

Fillings (choose any of these or make up your own)

Sweet: Nutella, Bananas, Yoghurt, Fruit, Jam, Maple Syrup

Savory: Chicken or Turkey & Broccoli with bechamel sauce & parmesan cheese, Ham & cheese, any leftovers

In a large bowl, beat the eggs just until evenly blended.  Gradually mix milk into the flour (this prevents lumps from forming), then gradually blend the flour/milk mixture into the eggs.  Stir in the oil and salt.

Heat a frying pan of whatever size you want the crepes to be.  Brush with oil and heat until a drop of water dances across the surface of the pan.   Reduce heat to medium.  Pour about 1/3 cup (for a large frying pan) batter into the pan and roll the pan around to spread it thinly across the bottom of the pan.  (The layer of batter should be less than 1/8″ thick; adjust the quantity of batter accordingly.)  Cook until the top of the batter is no longer shiny, then carefully flip the crepe over and cook it for about another minute on the other side.  (Usually the first crepe you make will get shredded when you try to do this — Morgan, my dog, always waited for it!  The first crepe “seasons” the pan.  After this you will not need to oil the pan again, and you’ll have the right heat.)

Serve rolled or folded with your choice of fillings and/or toppings, or build a “layer cake” by stacking them with layers of filling in between.

To freeze:
If you’re freezing them flat, put a layer of plastic wrap between each crepe.  Or, roll individual crepes and separate them with plastic wrap.  Depending on what you fill them with, you might be able to freeze them filled — convenient if you want a quick, no-prep meal or dessert.

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Banana Upside-Down Bread Pudding

1-1/4 cups milk
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Dash salt

1/2 loaf white bread, crusts removed, and cut or torn into 1-1/2″ chunks
3 ripe bananas
1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) butter
1/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Melt the butter in the bottom of a 9″ x 9″ baking dish.  Slice 1-1/2 bananas in circles 1/4″ thick and lay over the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle brown sugar over the bananas.  Lay the bread over the bananas.

In a blender, combine the milk, eggs, 1-1/2 bananas, salt and vanilla.  Blend until smooth.  Pour over bread in baking dish and with a fork press the bread down so it soaks up the milk mixture.  If you used fresh bread, bake immediately.  If you used stale bread, let it sits for 10-15 minutes so the milk can soak into the bread before baking.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  When serving, turn upside down in bowls, so brown sugar and bananas are on top.  Serves 4

More ideas: You could add walnuts, pecans, swirls of peanut butter or chocolate chips, depending on how decadent you want to go.  And if it’s for breakfast or dessert.  (Personally, I find there’s a fine line between the two — just ask Bill Cosby about chocolate cake for breakfast!)

9/27/11: I made this last night with pineapple on the bottom and coconut milk instead of milk mixed with the eggs.  It was okay, but next time I would make the milk mixture a bit sweeter by replacing some of the coconut milk with juice drained from the pineapple.

NY Times Fruit Desserts

I love that none of them have pie crust which, as the author points out, adds LOTS of calories but not much flavor.  Make sure that the fruit you use is well-ripened and juicy.  Yep, dessert without the extra calories to add “batting” to my body while I’m spending hours quilting at the sewing machine.  I’m jumping for joy!  (And that burns calories too….) 

Let me know which one is your favorite . . . Happy quilting!

RaNae 

I have been making soup stock — usually from turkey or chicken bones — my whole life.  It always turned out to be this watery, flavorless stuff that hardly seemed worth the effort, but the frugal part of me wouldn’t ever let a good chicken or turkey carcass go to waste. Finally, this week, I consulted a cookbook. Three, in fact, to see if I could figure out the secret to good stock. And I found it: thyme and time. All three recipes included, in addition to the usual carrots, onions, celery and parsley I always used, a generous dose of thyme (tomillo, in Spanish, I learned from my current grad student, Nydia from Peru). So I tried using thyme — and time (letting the bones simmer uncovered, for 3-4 hours to reduce the stock) — and Voila! delicious stock. I also learned, don’t salt it before it reduces, since the salt will become more concentrated during reduction.

Here are the ingredients for my chicken stock.  My three sources: James MacNair’s Soups, Southern Living All-Time Favorite Soup & Stew Recipes, and Chez Nous, by Lydie Marshall.

4 to 5 pounds chicken, duck, turkey or other poultry bones, can also include giblets (except for liver!)
4 quarts cold water
4 large carrots, unpeeled
2-4 celery stalks with leaves, cut into 3-inch pieces
2 large unpeeled onions, cut into slices (James McNair also includes 2 whole leeks, split lengthwise, but I don’t usually have them around)
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
4-6 sprigs fresh parsley
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1-3 teaspoons dried thyme (don’t overdo this — it’s powerful!)
1-3 bay leaves
1/2 – 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
Salt (add near end of cooking)

Southern Living adds 6 springs fresh dill or 1/2 teasoon dried dill (I didn’t put it in mine).

James McNair gives this Asian variation: Omit the vegetables and herbs. Add 8 thin slices unpeeled fresh ginger root and 4 green onion, include the green tops, cut into 3-inch lengths. Substitute Sichuan peppercorns for the black ones. [I have no idea what the difference might be, but maybe I'll pick some up next time I see them at the grocery store.]

James McNair says to put just the bones into a pot, add the water and bring to a boil, then skim off the foamy scum that rises to the surface, before adding the vegetables and herbs. I’ve never tried this, but I think it probably makes for a clearer broth. Also, I’ve read that after the stock is finished cooking and you have removed all the solid stuff from the broth, you can stir in a beaten egg white to clarify the stock. I think it somehow “gathers up” all the little bits that get left behind.

Anyway, whether you do it at the beginning or, as JM says, after you have skimmed the foamy stuff from the top of the boiling bones, add the vegetables and herbs. Bring the pan to a boil and simmer for 3-5 hours. JM says it should be covered, but in my opinion, it reduces better if it’s uncovered. When it’s done, strain through a colander or large sieve into a bowl (several layers of cheesecloth make for an even clearer broth, since it filters finer solids than a colander does). Chill the broth, then remove any fat that hardens on the surface. If you wish, you can pick the remaining meat from the bones before discarding. (Sometimes I save the carrots too, and immediately put the meat, carrots and some broth, with some noodles, back on the stove to make chicken noodle soup.)

The broth will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, but usually I freeze it as soon as it cools. I freeze it in 1-quart Ziplock freezer bags lying flat so they stack easily in the freezer and thaw quickly when I want to use them. Each bag holds 1-4 cups: I label each bag with the quantity so it’s easy to take the pre-measured amount I want out of the freezer when I need it.

Bon Apetite – and Happy Quilting!

RaNae

This week Joan is featuring her Spiral Miranda Bag on her blog.” And I’ve decided to  . . .

. . . Give away my Spiral Miranda Bag!

Enter for your chance to win the one of two great prizes by clicking
HERE.

1st Prize
My original Spiral Miranda Bag — one of only two
that Joan Hawley and I made together (shown above).

2nd Prize
Joan’s Miranda Bag pattern and one of her specially-designed
Bag-e-Bottoms to go in the bottom.

To enter the drawing, click
HERE.

Good Luck!

(And P.S., yes, I’m creating a spiral supplement
to go with Joan’s pattern for the Miranda bag)