Friday Favourite - Salt

Hubby is addicted to salt.  Seriously.  Almost nothing is salted enough for him, he loves salt and vinegar chips, and actually licks his finger and dips it in the salt pig.  One Christmas I nearly bought him a salt lick as a joke, until I realized that I would be the one stuck finding a real home for it.  In true fatherly generosity he passed this love on to The Monster.

Daddy salts his food, she wants salt on her food.  Mama seasons the sauce, she has to season the sauce.  We've developed the fine art of faking it for her.  She is a wickedly smart girl, but somehow the motion of salting her food satisfies her, even if she doesn't see any salt crystals falling from our fingers.  We're either that tricky or she's only two.

With the past few weeks filled with a lot of sick days we've turned to baking as a way to keep her engaged and away from Yo Gabba Gabba (she is a child obsessed).  When she asked to bake cookies this week I inquired as to what kind.  

"Salt."

Yup, salt cookies.  In a freaky twist of fate, I had pulled out my Cook's Country cookbook and had it open to the cookie table of contents.  Wouldn't you know, they have a recipe for salty thin and crisp oatmeal cookies?  Considering it was a real recipe and all, I figured we had a better chance than last week, when she requested salt muffins.  In case you didn't know, salt as a crunchy topping on a banana muffin is okay, but not something I have a desire to repeat.  Salted oatmeal cookies are another matter entirely.

Crispy, thin, and with just a touch of salty crunch.  These are good cookies for people who don't like sweets.  Such a change from dense and chewy oatmeal cookies.  Equally delicious, and I'm not a big fan of salt.

Salted Oatmeal Cookies

(adapted from Cook's Country)

Makes 2.5-3 dozen cookies

1 cup flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp table or kosher salt

14 tbsp unsalted butter (2 tablespoons less than a cup)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick or instant)

fleur de sel or Maldon salt

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt.  Set aside.

3.  Beat together the butter and sugars  until fluffy.  Scrape down the bowl.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.  Slowly add the flour mixture until just blended, then stir in the oats until well mixed.

4.  Roll cookie dough into balls about 1.5 - 2 inches around.  Place them 8 to a cookie sheet and press down with your palm.  Cookies should be about 3/4 inch in thickness.

5.  Sprinkle with fleur de sel or Maldon salt, a generous pinch per cookie.

6.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are spread out and lightly golden.  Let them cool completely on the cookie sheet.

In The Category of Insane

Most certainly I should be committed.  I am feeling a bit overwhelmed some days as it is.  And on those days I feel like the crazy lady in that scene in "Airplane" where people line up to slap her because she is going a little blinky.  Hubby would probably be first in line and I would slap myself second, third, and fourth.

So, what do I do?  Sign up to volunteer of course!  I've just taken on the challenge of developing a day and a half professional development event as part of Quilt Canada 2010.  Planning an event like this is certainly in my skill set, but it is a lot of work.  Thankfully most of my immediate responsibilities have to be concluded before I return to work in May.  And the event isn't until next April/May.  Phew.

Oh wait, but there is still a lot of work to do.  That's where I am hoping you, my fantastic readers, can help me out.  If you were attending a conference/workshop as a quilting professional (teacher, judge, designer, store owner, writer), what would you want to see?  This isn't about technical skills or new patterns.  This is professional development for your business, yourself.  Some of the topics we've thought about are incorporation, getting your quilts appraised, branding, breaking in to markets, the ergonomics of craft, and lots more.  Any suggestions?

As the event planning moves along I will also keep you in the loop.  Maybe some of you will join us?

Taste Adventure - Haggis

We've all had those moments in our jobs where we want to run screaming from the building, hands pulling out hair, and screaming obscenities.  Okay, maybe I'm the only one.  Last week was one of those weeks.  Drowning in dishes, snotty noses, laundry, and baby food I very nearly did run from the house.  Lucky for my kids, I know I'm better than child services, even in my frazzled state.  Two things kept me going - the new laptop Hubby bought me and the promise of a date night for Robbie Burns Day.

Months ago I'd signed us up for a scotch tasting event for Robbie Burns Day.  Technically there is some Scottish in Hubby, although you wouldn't know it.  He isn't a crazy Scot, just a little wonky.  Last week I was the crazy one and a lot of Scotch was going to help me get over it.  This was not a night for the girls.

The event was hosted by J. Webb Wine Merchants.  Conveniently we live only a few blocks from their flagship store so we are familiar with Lee and the folks who run the joint.  Their first Burns Night saw them bring in a number of scotches all made by independent bottlers.  These are scotches distilled by certain owners who then sell their casks, in all or in part, to bottlers.  Having generally stuck to certain distilleries in our scotch adventures in the past it was a somewhat welcome change.  Only somewhat because most of the scotches on hand were milder than what we generally like.  It was an interesting comparison nonetheless.

And yes, there was haggis and the requisite crusty Scotsman in a kilt reciting Robbie Burns.  We loaded up our plates with a good portion of haggis, some oatcakes, gravlax, and a wonderful strong cheddar.  Being the adventurous eaters we are, there was no hesitation in tasting the haggis.  It smelled like a combo of meatloaf and pate, and tasted as such.  Considering what it looks like - cooked in a pig's stomach and all - I chose not to photograph it for here.  No great complaints, but I wouldn't gush about it.  I'd rather have a Valbella pate.

All was going well until one of the presenters suggested that it was very Scottish to pour scotch on your hagggis.  Let me tell, that was a bad idea.  It took a beer from the Wild Rose Brewery to take that nasty taste combination out of my mouth.  Leave good scotch alone and we'll all be happier.  As was I at the end of the night.

Moving Forward

My Project Improv has begun!  I could tell you all about our house re-ordering, bedroom moving, infant separation anxiety, new laptop(!), sick kid, and date night adventures, but that all seems so ordinary compared to my latest quilt project.

Can I make a confession?  While I like the look of wonky log cabin blocks, I don't love them.  There are some gorgeous examples out there, but I've made a few myself and now I'm done. When it came to my own Project Improv I wanted a different challenge.  I turned to my latest obsession: triangles. 

These blocks are made with the same technique as you would a wonky log cabin.  You start with a center shape and sew strips on one side.  Open, press, rotate and sew on another strip.  So on and so on.  To get the triangle shape I started with a small triangle.  And because I wanted distinct triangle shapes I went white - colour - white.  To ensure I got to the desired size I created a template that I used as a guide.  It let me know if I needed a thicker or thinner strip when it came time to sewing on the outside white triangle.  I then used the template to trim the blocks to size.

The entire thing is a scrap/stash quilt.  Each coloured portion of the triangle is different, with colours from nearly every bin in my stash.  I really liked the white with multi-colour effect of Amanda Jean's Snippets quilt.  In my first fabric pull I grabbed about 30 fabrics.  After laying out the first group of finished blocks I've decided that I need to make some more blocks, and I might vary the size of the triangles.

Now it's time for my second confession.  I don't like making wonky log cabin type blocks.  I find it tedious.  Yes, you can get a lot of blocks done, but the construction part is boring.  Well, it is for me.  But I am committed to this and I am liking the way it is turning out.  We'll just have to see where it goes.  In the true spirit of Improv I don't have much of a plan right now.