Hello again! November has been quite glorious so far!
We've gotten loads of rain and had lovely mild days
in between. That means perfect weather for both the
golfer and the quilter in me. Grab a cup of something
warm and join me as I go over how things have been
progressing around here...
Week 44 Priority Goal
Petite Antique Lace: Finish all 30 blocks
Yikes--did I really think I could finish all 30? I'm at 20
and I have the layout down so the seam ripper has been
idle for days now. (I just jinxed myself, didn't I?)
2) Pic and list Tumbling Leaves
Tumbling Leaves (76x82)
Hoorah, it's finally completed!
I'm not sure it has ever taken me so long to get a quilt
from start to finish AND listed! Circumstances were
beyond my control (travel, etc) but I'm going to do my
best to never let that happen again. I do NOT like any
project to go more than couple weeks, let alone months!
3) Off the Shelf Cooking Review
A challenge to make one recipe/week from my actual
cookbook collection (not from online).
Last week I flagged 3 recipes from Purely Pumpkin, a book that
I picked up in the Sleepy Hollow (NY) gift shop--happy memories!
I did overachieve a bit by making two of them; I think I'll save
the third one until a little closer to Thanksgiving.
* Pumpkin Gnocchi *
I was concerned about what the yogurt would do in a pasta
that should be starchy; plus, I couldn't remember ever seeing
a dairy product in a gnocchi recipe. Also, every pumpkin differs
in water content. After adding so much flour, I finally gave up
and shaped them out, wanting to be done. They weren't very
pretty but I got the idea and, flour issues aside, I learned they're
really easy and don't take as much time as I always assumed.
The fact that you can freeze them easily has me thinking this
might be one of those therapeutic tasks that
I could do that all day long...
I'm still not sure why the author added yogurt. If she was
trying to keep it healthy, I think the pumpkin (instead of potato)
took care of that already. The yogurt did give it a lighter flavor
(read: less flavor!) if that's what you're after. The key to gnocchi
is really what you serve it in/with anyway. I served ours up in
a browned butter sage and pepita sauce, making it a nice
side for pork loin and fresh peas.
The final word: Definitely making gnocchi again, and likely
squash/pumpkin ones--just a different recipe. I've added
a gnocchi board to my Christmas list.
* Gingerbread Pumpkin Cheesecake w/Pecan Oat Crust *
Sorry no pic here. The cheesecake was good but nothing set
it apart from other similar recipes. The pecan oat crust sounds
yummy but it was very moist and our preference is crispy.
I also felt it needed just a tiny bit of sweetening so I wonder
if a bit of white sugar in place of the required 1 T molasses
(which I thought made it bitter) might have crisped it up?
* Cranberry Pumpkin Clafoutis w/Oat Flour *
(Saving for next week.)
3) Holiday Prep
* Clean out pantry and fridge: not done
* Menu plan, shop/stock non-perishable items: mostly done
* Get carpets/ducts cleaned: ducts being cleaned this week
* Clean/tidy guest room(s): done
Week 45 Priority Goal
Petite Antique Lace: Finish all 30 blocks; sew together.
2) Choose next quilt project
Time to move into Christmas quilts even though
I really want to keep going with fall.
3) Christmas Prep
* Wrap lights on outdoor shrubs if weather is nice.
(Not turning them on yet though).
*Put up tree in basement
I can never get enough of fall colors/decor so this is unusual.
Traditionally we NEVER put one up early but there are so many
reasons I'm wanting to start very early just this once. I may even
put up the main floor tree the weekend before Thanksgiving.
Our trees stay up through the entire traditional Christmas season
and I love to see them so I don't get tired of them. What I am after
here is to be able to sit and enjoy a book or a movie by them
before Christmas instead of always being to busy. Hubs isn't
very happy about it but we're hardly ever here so he may not
even notice it (LOL) and I won't have to store gifts in my closet.
**PS Not sure what happened but I did not receive the email-comments
from last week's post so I was unable to reply? I'll work on that.
Happy quilting!
Linking up to:
Comments