Old Cravings New Friends (Recipe: Coconut Cream)

After the birth of my second daughter I went through months of intense cravings. More so than even when I was pregnant. I wanted all things bitter and anything coconut I could find. I'm sure it all meant I was deficient in something, in addition to sleep. It lasted months. Then it drifted away. I didn't think about coconut much again until this past summer.

I've got a few friends who can't or won't eat dairy. Frankly, I hope this is something that never happens to me because I love a cold glass of milk. But one of them told me about this awesome alternative to whipping cream. I sat on it, letting it fester in the back of my head where food ideas grow like weeds until they crowd out the real thoughts.

There was a late summer party planned and a guest with a strong dairy allergy. I had a strawberry shortcake bar planned and thought it would be awful if he couldn't participate. And I didn't want him to feel singled out either. So I grabbed this idea and whipped up a batch of coconut cream. Then another, during the party.

It wasn't the little guy who can't eat dairy who ate it all and then some. It was the rest of us.

Creamy beyond belief, rich but not sweet. It keeps in the fridge without separated or deflating. Perfect just about anywhere you would want whipped cream. Like pumpkin pie, shortcakes, hot chocolate, on a bowl of raspberries, over a banana sundae, topping grilled pineapple, on a slice of pecan pie...

Coconut Cream
Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups

1 can coconut milk (do not use the low-fat kind)
1 tbsp icing sugar

Chill the can of coconut milk, unopened, in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. Keep it upright and don't shake it.

When fully chilled open the can and scoop out the hardened cream on the top. It will be about 2/3 to 3/4 of the can. Set aside the milk at the bottom of the can, perhaps using it as a substitute for water when cooking rice.

Place the hardened cream in the bowl of a mixer. Whip for 1-2 minutes. Add in the icing sugar (a bit more if you prefer it sweeter) and whip until incorporated.

Serve immediately or place in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap, until ready to eat.

The Apple Lover's Cookbook (Weekend Reads)

When my oldest daughter decides she likes something she develops obsessions. Not fads, but all-out her world revolves around them fixations on the topic. Like stripes, learning about the human anatomy (the insides, folks), tigers (see stripes obsession), and now, Bigfoot and apples.

Oh, the apples. I've endured tears when I wouldn't buy them over the summer in favour of peaches and sweet melons. She nearly lost her mind when her first teeth started losing their grip in her mouth and she thought she would never bite into an apple again. When she sees the apple stand at the market she pretty much acts like a lunatic, or ravenous dog, literally drooling over the apples.

Weird kid.

So when I saw The Apple Lover's Cookbook by Amy Traverso a while back I knew I had to get it for her. We've pored over the text, learning about the amazing variety of apples out there. We dream about apples our Canadian Prairies will never see. And she picks out recipes for me to try. So far we've tried Apple Brownies, this Pork and Apple Pie with Cheddar Sage Crust, and the Classic Applesauce for the baby. And there are dozens more on the list for getting us through an apple obsessed winter.

I do like this book for a few reasons. One, for all the descriptions of the apples. So many varieties I've never even heard of, and not a Red Delicious in the bunch! Two, the recipes run the gamut from apple pie to apple gingersnap ice cream, from Welsh Rarebit to cocktails. I feel like I could cook a recipe from this book at least once a week and live in an apple scented heaven all winter.

Finally, the writing in this book is engaging, entertaining, and informative.  Yes, I read cookbooks. And bad writing, or none at all, does not grab me. The tone of the writer's voice is crisp, sweet, and refreshing, not unlike an apple.

Now, to find me a tree, a quilt, and a cup of hot apple cider to warm the rest of my weekend.

Friday Favourites: Hang-It-All and New Boots

Our little old house does not have a front (or back) closet. Oh yeah, we don't really have an entrance either. You just walk into our living room. That means shoes and coats and all the detritus of living in a cold climate are often scattered throughout the room.

In an effort to get the front entrance a bit more organized I bought this long lusted after Eames Hang-It-All. It really is a fun piece and oh so practical. Actually, too practical. It is generally covered in coats. So much so that you can't actually see it. I can't complain though, it is getting used and that certainly helps. I did clean it up for this photo and removed 5 jackets belonging to the girls and one belonging to Hubby. And this was before the snowpants returned.

I also wanted to share my sexy new boots. Vanessa was doing a giveaway the other day and sent so many folks here (Welcome new friends!). In jest she told people to tell me I had great calves. Well thank-you Vanessa and those of you who did just that. I'm pretty happy with my calves these days.

Despite no exercise other than the walks to and from school these days (That leash in the photo doesn't get used because the dog is too old.) I've managed to get back to pre-pregnancy weight plus a little bit. Just with careful eating. That gets me halfway to my goal weight loss. So, a few weeks ago, I decided to treat myself to some new clothes and shoes. And these sexy boots came home with me. Hells yeah!

Thirty Three

You know when you move or at least do a major clean you uncover a wicked amount of crap... er, stuff? Yeah that.

Yesterday two of my local quilty friends, Andrea and Lee, came over to help me get prepped and start moving my scattered quilting stuff to my new space in the basement. It isn't quite done yet, hopefully by the end of the week. But the closets are in and were ready to be loaded. So load and fold and inventory we did.

I love my fabric, but I must finally admit that I do indeed have enough. I've really got to use more before I buy more. Or find it a new home. But I've known that for a while. What was more.shocking to me was the amount of quilt tops, WIPs, and intentional quilts that I had.

O   M   G

Instead of burying it all back in bins and ignoring that I might perhaps have a problem with starting and not finishing quilts I decided to actually inventory all those piles. And because I believe in full disclosure of my faults here is a full listing of all the projects awaiting my attention. I've numbered them for full effect.

Quilt Tops - Ready for Quilting

1. Anniversary Quilt
2. Cosmos Blocks
3. Wine Gums
4. Improv Sampler
5. My version of Checkerboard from Sunday Morning Quilts
6. Slaveship Quilt Inspired by The Book of Negroes
7. Gum on Concrete, my version of Splash from Sunday Morning Quilts
8. An old Amy Butler quilt top I picked up a sample sale

Quilts - Basted and Started Quilting

9. Girlie Quilt
10. Low Volume Circles

Works in Progress

11. Mid Mod Bee - Blocks to be assembled into a top
12. Unscripted Bee - Waiting for a couple of blocks, then to be assembled
13. Hand Pieced Diamonds - always ongoing
14. More Cosmic Burst blocks - I have a whole other set of blocks for a baby quilt
15. Voiles - Still cutting and piecing every now and then
16. Name quilt for my daughter - haven't done anything since this post
17. Chandelier quilt - was so close, then discovered a big mistake and have never fixed it
18. Mountain Meadows - have made no more blocks since
19. Liberty Circles - I make a handful every now and then but I'm still not assembling the top
20. Blue and green Christmas Tree quilt - I cut the pieces last year then promptly put them away
21. The alternate pink/black/white blocks I started when working on the girlie quilt
22. Respite - a project started in a Bill Kerr design workshop
23. Pieced Stars - a BOM I started years ago when I wanted to do some precision piecing breaks when doing a lot of improv
24. Japanese Curves - Fell in love with a Japanese fabric and a curvy pattern, took a class, never finished
25. The Water Quilt
26. Maple Leaves

Class Samples (Pieces I work on while teaching, as examples)

27. A values quilt in neutrals
28. Green/Yellow/Orange Improv blocks

Intentional Quilts

29. Sympatico and Organic solid stack
30. Lucky Penny Bike Path
31. Some vintage feedsacks intended for Amanda's quilt from Fresh Fabric Treats
32. Turkey reds, blues, and whites for a striped project
33. A collection of screen printed and low-volume favourites

To cap all this off, as Andrea and Lee were leaving the mail arrived, and in it was a fat quarter collection of Architextures, my friend Carolyn's new line.

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!