Gingerbread Cake

This is the cake that very nearly saved my life. Not changed my life, saved my life.

I have a very bad habit of waking in the middle of the night and snacking. I totally blame the tiny bladder I was blessed with, it wakes me and I'm left with nothing to do but snack before I try and get back to sleep. One April morning I awoke and tried to talk myself out of the extra ten steps to the kitchen for a piece of leftover gingerbread cake. I have no will power when fully awake, let alone at 3 am.

There I found myself, a piece of cake in hand and staring out the window when I noticed an orange glow. It took a few seconds to register that the glow wasn't actually supposed to be there. And a few seconds longer to realize that the glow meant fire.

Hubby's car was parked behind our garage on a parking pad. The car was the 1975 Triumph TR6 he bought a decade before. For years it had been in need to repair. In our garage sat the engine and an extra transmission. We'd moved 6 months earlier and he borrowed a flat bed to transport it all 3 hours down the highway. He knew exactly what he was going to do to the fix that car.

Having it lit on fire wasn't part of the plan.

In that eventual moment when I realized the car was on fire I screamed for him. He came running out, yelling at me to pick up the phone and call 911, then raced outside to grab the fire extinguisher from our daily driver in the garage. The garage two feet away from the burning car. I'm freaking out while the 911 operator is quite calmly and kindly reminding me that cars blow up and perhaps we should not be standing in front of the windows, let alone trying to put it out ourselves. That's when Hubby reminds me that there is no engine in the car and the gas tank would be empty. I'm obviously not very smart when faced with fire.

Fire trucks come and with very little ceremony the flames are doused in just minutes. The facts all point to someone having thrown accelerant on the hood of the car and tossing a match. By the time I'd discovered the fire there wasn't much left.

The garage was also hot and had to be hosed down on one side, siding eventually replaced. If the garage had gone up we would have lost our other car, the one with a full tank of gas, and who knows what else. As sad as Hubby was at losing his car, we were thankful that that was all we lost.

We came in the house as the sun was coming up and cracked a beer, a bit charred ourselves. When I went to put the bottles away I noticed the cake. One piece of cake fallen on the counter, with a single bite taken.

Peterson Gingerbread Cake

This is the recipe of my sister-in-law's mother. Their family likes it with Bird's Custard Sauce or even cream cheese icing. I'm partial to it with some maple butter. It is moist and heady with gingerbread.

1/2 cup shortening (I use butter)

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup molasses

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

1 cup hot (not boiling) water

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8'' by 8'' baking pan.

2. Cream shortening/butter. Gradually add the sugar, then the egg. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the molasses.

3. In a medium bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. Add to the batter, 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with 1/4 cup water. Beat until smooth after each addition. Pour into pan.

4. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

1 cup molasses

Eye Candy

These books are feast for the eyes! Full of bright and very energetic quilts, the two Material Obsession books are some great eye candy for the modern quilter.

Actually, I think these books would be fantastic transitions to modern quilting. There are a lot of elements and inspirations from typically traditional quilts. The adaptations, designs, and fabric choices make them decidedly modern. They are bright, they utilize an array of popular, designer fabric, and many of them are updates on traditional inspirations.

Both of the books are essentially books of patterns, with a brief discussion on basic techniques. No extra text in there, but loads of pictures. To me, they are books I would pick up for some new ideas. I'm not one to go out and make THAT quilt specifically, but there is definitely a lot to inspire from construction techniques, colour choices, or block design.

If you did want to make THAT quilt from either of the books, know that these aren't beginner quilts. Some of the patterns are easier, but a neophyte would probably have a hard time getting through most of them. Confident beginner willing to try? Go for it.

The book runs the gamut of techniques as well. I really liked the applique quilts and was drawn to all the angles in some others. They advocate a number of speciality rulers. If I were to make one of these quilts I would hesitate before buying some of the rulers and probably want to paper piece instead. That's probably just me, though, as I don't like a lot of one-use items around.

The photos are stunning and literally peppered on every page. Tonnes of detailed shots and a plethora of quilts draped here and there kind of shots. I did not like that you didn't get a full on quilt shot until the end of the pattern in Material Obsession. Material Obsession 2 does have small images on the first page of the pattern, but then they would face that page with a draped quilt shot. I'm not a fan of the draped quilt shot, personally.

The books' authors, Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke, were owners of the drool worthy store Material Obsessions in Australia. Kathy still runs the store, but Sarah is on her own now as a designer and the creative director at Sewn.

You know me, I'm not a pattern follower. I will, however, be returning to these books every now and then for a little inspiration. So many details to take in.

Kingsland Farmers' Market Opens

There's a new market in town. Well, not entirely new. Kingsland Farmer's Market opened this past summer, with a strictly outdoor show. Now, the indoor show is open.

The Kingsland Farmers' Market is a player in the not quite saturated market game in Calgary. There was a lot of controversy about the Calgary Farmers' Market this past year, controversy I have no interest in getting involved in. The Kingsland Market is a welcome response to all of it.

I say welcome because there is a host of new vendors at this market. Well, new to this regular of CFM and the Hillhurst Sunnyside Market. I am also totally biased because, with good knees, I could walk to this market.

The indoor market opened last week. The building, a not quite renovated completely former car dealership, is more spacious than expected. While only a few dozen of the vendors were open for the first day of operations, I can see that there is room for a lot of interesting sellers. As the building gets completed and the word gets out, I can see this being an attractive spot for vendors. Rumour has it that some new to Calgary vendors will be there soon.

It is also an attractive spot for shoppers. Already there is a wide variety of vendors with produce, meat, dairy, and bakery options. When the market started there was a really strong focus, on paper, for the make/bake/grow commitment. For the most part, that is there. But there are some fruit resellers there - mangoes can be found at times in the midst of Southern Alberta cucumbers. Then there are the treats - pastry, chocolate, wine, mead, cookies, and more pastry. Seriously, two great pie options here. That includes these gimmicky but very good pie pops.

The location is ideal for more that people in my neighbourhood. I predict that it will hit commuters well with the Macleod Trail location. If you commute that way how could you not stop? You have no excuse now.

Maybe it was because there were more vendors than shoppers that first morning, but I was hooked when one vendor loaned me cash when the ATM was down, another captured my runaway toddler, and one more kept the bag of groceries I forgot in her stall until I returned to claim them. I'm not saying you can't get great service at the grocery store, but in the months, as I get to know these people I hope that we can all laugh about the day my Evil Genius stole your stickers and ate all your goat cheese samples.

Always Learning

It was our Christmas party at guild the other day. We had instructions to make a stocking, according to this tutorial, then fill it with treats. Um, okay.

Except when you have to eyeball the pattern because your computer/printer connection is spazzing. Then you eyeball that pattern quite oddly and make a little elf toe that refuses to get turned right side out. At least the string piecing went well. And you just know that your mostly traditional guild will balk at the bright colours.

Well, maybe they didn't balk at it. I would say, however, that mine was certainly the brightest on the table! The rest were all gorgeous though. So much thought put into the details and some very fine work.

These stockings are a perfect example of the guild for me. There are a handful of us under 40 there. The rest of the ladies are full of more life and I love sitting and listening to their stories and advice. I've got a lot to learn and to live. It's the same when it comes to quilting. There are some incredible skills in the room - from painting to embroidery to machine quilting to handwork to design. So much to learn.

Don't knock the elf toe and don't knock the traditional guild.