Saffron pumpkin buns and winter quilts!

With cold winter weather, I felt like baking today! These were a big hit!

A friend had given me some saffron, then I saw a chef making pumpkin buns with saffron on P. Allen Smith's show....I found a similar recipe.

In my pantry, I also had this specialty flour from Italy. The flour is made from an ancient wheat called einkorn.

I got it at our local Natural Grocery store and was anxious to try it! It has a less offensive protein than the gluten found in modern wheat!

I do not have a stand mixer, with a dough hook so I "kneaded" the dough in the big crockery bowl with a wooden spoon for quite awhile...until it was ready for it's rising time. ( watched some TV while doing this!)

After rising and being rolled up around their filling, the rolls baked up perfectly, very moist with the canned pumpkin as an ingredient!

Here is a link to the recipe: http://www.thekitchykitchen.com/?recipes=/pumpkin-saffron-rolls/

These will be our breakfast tomorrow, Saturday!

I plan to sleep in, so it is nice to have the breakfast all prepared!

***********************************

A couple of quilts have been finished lately, crib size! This (above) is a scrappy 16 patch with turquoise lattice.

I used a bright busy fabric for the binding! See a small piece of the blue background binding fabric in the lower left of this photo...(below).

It gives a very nice effect!

The other recent quilt is this one for a baby girl who is coming into the world this March!

It is called "Baby Bricks" and can be made using a fabric "jelly roll"! Mine is just from my scrap bin of 2.5 " strips!

Above our fireplace I now have a favorite wall hanging. Inspired by Sujata Shah's Cultural Fusion book!

These blocks were being tested before sewing together.....

This is Sujata's original called "Winter"! I love the soft grays, but the pink just "makes" it for me!

Here is Sujata hand quilting on another of her wonderful quilts! She is coming in October to do a lecture and workshop for our quilt guild!

I am so excited!

 

Time to find my quilt/covers for tonight...the heat is turned down and it is time for a long winter's nap!

****************

Sunday update.

I finished knitting my "Queen Street Sweater" using a pattern in Knitscene magazine (above) Issue winter 2015.

Mine is in yarn by NORO a blend of silk and rayon. A tweedy green as that was the only color with enough skeins at the local yarn shop!

The unusual pockets were what caught my eye in the pattern....

It actually fits nicely and I am very pleased with. It's the appearance and the feel, soft comfy and not too warm...just right! (Silk is a good insulator against cold winter days!)

 

Feeling almost OK

I tried a workout today, made it for a while on the treadmill before I surrendered.

Still a bit under the weather!

But I tried making gluten free biscuits....using the recipe for 7up Bisquick biscuits. I substituted GF baking mix, club soda for the 7up and Greek yogurt for the sour cream!

4 ingredient (melted butter is the fourth) easy, handle gently recipe!

It was pretty successful!

I didn't cut round biscuits, and some enede up with flour side up in the pan of melted butter...but the one I tried, still not with butter and honey was a treat!

 

 

I don't really need to add more carbohydrates to my diet, but it was fun to try this!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Then our local yarn shop was having a sale, so I treated myself some more.....10 skeins of NORO for a sweater... The Queen Street Sweater in the latest Knitscene magazine.

Love the kangaroo pockets!

My yarn is green, silk cotton and viscose! Delightful!

 

I also bought some pink washable wool because 4 year old Nina wants me to knit a hoodie for her, with a pocket, pink with red trim...of course!

Her twin sister already has a navy blue handknit-by-grandma hoodie....

Speaking of the twins....

They had breakfast with Santa today!

!

 

Writing from Idaho

A long awaited trip!

 

We love being here with our son's family!

These two made breakfast for me the first morning!

someone is full of energy and very busy!

Baby Boy is busy sleeping and growing! He has a great little sparkly smile sometimes!

And big wondering eyes! He just melts my heart!

Love his little dimpled chin, too!

 

Our son treated me to lunch that first day, at a tea room. Veggie sandwiches on gluten free bread AND they had dairy free green tea (matcha) ice cream! We shared this, it came with two little spoons!

Yum!

*********************************************

This one loves riding his bike on their quiet street, very little traffic and lots of kids!

 

 

Mary, the peaceful mother of the energetic youngster,

loves holding the baby

Here are two more of the baby....and I may return later with even more!

 

, playing toss the tennis ball with grandson and Juniper! When Someone happens to miss the catch, doggie Juniper retrieves and brings it back to Grandad!

Fence staining.

Cuddling baby .

 

**************************************

On another note, this is National Sewing Machine Day!

Here a kindred spirit has collected a few Kenmore 3/4 size machines from the 1970's! I guess the addiction is a shared one!

 

 

Matcha again....a magic matcha custard cake---gluten free too

This is a cake sort of like the impossible pie idea. It makes 3 layers when baked. A soft crust on the bottom, a custard like middle layer and a foamy soufflé like top layer.

I found the recipe which I had to try...from Yummly via Little Accidents in the Kitchen blog. It was her photo, above which made me want to make this....but as I had been making greener mug cakes, I used a little more matcha maybe....3tsp.= 1 tbsp. is how I measured the matcha powder.

 

I used coconut and almond milk for the 2 cups of milk in the recipe. AND I used gluten free flour, part of which was almond flour and part coconut flour.

Real butter and good eggs....a little honey for part of the sugar which is called for.

Making it was not hard, the directions are good. One ends up with a butter, egg, flour and matcha batter in one bowl and and stiff egg whites in the other.

Then fold in the egg whites...help, I need larger bowls at this point...but I managed.

 

Then there was more batter than seemed right for the size pan she called for. So I baked a wee pan on the side rather than overfill my 8x11 pan. 45 minutes at 325 (I upped the degrees a tiny bit too..). And "Voila"...it was ready

This photo is after it cools and collapses down a bit like a soufflé ....I accidentally touched that one spot on the top...very soft and spongy.

It cut easily and came out of the pan nicely too. The cake is pleasant, vanilla and matcha green tea, not overly sweet!

 

Easter breakfast

Photo through the glass door of the new oven...a oven pancake.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Blend together -- 3 eggs, 1/2 c. gluten free flour, 1/2 t. vanilla, dash of salt (optional), 3/4 c. milk, 3T. butter-melted and in the baking dish. ( you can use a pie pan or a cast iron skillet )

Pour batter on top of melted butter. Place in preheated oven and bake at 450 for 15 minutes.

Turn,the oven down to,350 degrees as the pancake continues to bake.

 

While it is baking, prepare sliced fruit. I used fresh strawberries which were then warmed in a glaze of raspberry jam mixed with orange juice....beautiful!

The original recipe calls for lemon juice and powdered sugar to top the pancake before adding fruit.

Remove puffy pancake from oven...

It will collapse and can be sliced like a pie.....

Top with strawberries and enjoy!

This is one of my favorite spring time breakfasts.....Today I had to work quickly to get to church for Easter mass at 9:00 a.m.

It was a great service, so many families, children dressed up little girls with hair bows and pastel dresses...longer service than normal of course! I enjoy seeing many different ethnic faces in the congregation,which inspires me to want to paint faces!

 

Heavy frost and new kitchen range....

Monday night we had a heavy frost warning......I covered my plants...

Tuesday morning at 9:00 before going to work, I went out to uncover and see.... First of all, the water in the birdbath was frozen over. Frost was on the cloths covering the plants.

 

 

Lots of little flower sprouts survived, I will have to thin these, LOL!

Tulips were not damaged! In fact they look better than ever this year, they were planted several years ago!

The lilac bushes are wonderful! For years, they did't get enough sun and never bloomed. After an ice storm several years ago took out a couple of trees, the lilacs are getting better each year, too!

So, I found a bouquet this morning.....maybe a painting soon....

#########################

Remembering back to Saturday, I had a wonderful b'day celebration with my good friend, Sally. [It was Sally's birthday we were celebrating.]

Sally, I and 2 other friends went to lunch in Siloam Springs, AR. The restaurant is 28 Spring. Very nice!

I had my friend, Liz took a photo for me, of my Thai beef salad.....which was gluten free (buckwheat noodles) I think!

It was such a warm sunny day, windy though.....we walked around the historic downtown exploring a couple of flea markets and some shops. We had heard, though, that the frost was coming...

 

********************************************

Out with the old.....has this range been here since 1970? Maybe. I finally bought a new one....and ....

I'd say there is enough dirt here to be from 40 some years ago. [Don't look if you only like clean and shiny!]

After a quick cleaning.....they tried to install the new range yesterday when they delivered it. Of course the last century cut off valve didn't fit this century's hose for the gas line.....so as I write today, a plumber is fetching the right valve and will soon have me "cooking with gas"! [ which of course brings to mind " fracking issues" ....sigh...]

 

I have a feeling that my spring project will be to repaint the cupboards inside and out.....and maybe give away some dishes!

Here it is finally installed!

 

 

Let's look at those lilacs again....enough dirty kitchen talk!