I was sewing and cooking today and kept putting off the blog. I kept thinking about it, until my fiancé got home from work and he was not feeling well (breathed in some kind of dust at work) so I had to concentrate on that. All of a sudden, it was bedtime, and I hadn't done the blog yet.
That's life, folks.
So I decided to put on my PJs, make some hot cocoa, and type out something for you good people to read about.
Just life.
So, what to go on about? How about spur-of-the-moment sewing projects? The missal cover for my 1962 Missal was grating on my nerves. I had mocked it up out of some different pieces of thin Wally World flannel, different barely matching or mismatched pieces, just to see if I could do it. It worked OK, so I left it on, all the time meaning to update it to something that actually looked like an adult owned the missal. I was working on plans for a commissioned missal cover, realized I didn't have the correct measurements (but I did get some useful notes written down), and all of a sudden decided to make a new missal cover for my missal. It was good practice. Any time you can not only practice your skills but use whatever practice piece you made for a practical purpose, that's a win-win situation right there. Sometimes you just have to take some scrap pieces and try something out that will never be used for anything other that headers or footers or a scrap quilt, but if you can, use your practice to make a coaster or a place mat or just some little doo-dad. You'll be glad you did.
Most of the day seemed to fly by. I made another napkin out of another fat quarter. I realized they are slowly making fat quarters smaller. They used to be 18" x 23". Now they're about 18" x 21". If you're lucky. I'm old enough to remember Andy Rooney's rant about coffee. I think it was about how a 5 lb bag of coffee wasn't 5 lbs anymore. At least, I think it was about a 5 lb bag. And this was, what, 30 years ago? More probably, I don't remember when he did that one. I think I watched it live on TV. Who buys a 5 lb bag of coffee anymore? Mostly I find 3 lb bags at the store now. Everything is getting smaller, I swear.
Spice jars! Those are way too small. And so expensive! But still, if you can, make way in your spice cabinet or on your spice rack for some new spices this year. I know we're halfway through, but why not try something different? I just decided to try working mace and cardamom into my recipes. In fact I made my own spice blend including those two things. And I made my hot cocoa a little mysterious tonight by adding some mace. Mace is like nutmeg, in fact it's just made from a different part of the nutmeg nut. Nutmeg spice is made from the actual nut, and mace is made from the coating of the nutmeg nut. (By the way, it has nothing to do with the stuff you spray on attackers. That's something else.) I haven't side-by-side compared the two, but nutmeg is supposed to have the stronger flavor. I'm not sure I agree. I generally like cinnamon and nutmeg in my hot cocoa, but the mace is good, too, and just a dash perked up my cocoa more than I think a similar amount of nutmeg would have done. Perhaps it's not stronger, but maybe a deeper flavor? More experimentation is certainly in order. Cardamom is a completely different flavor profile. I'm not sure if I would prefer it in sweet dishes or savory dishes. I'm thinking it could work equally well in both. It seemed to me to be a kind of fresh pop of flavor and fragrance. And by the way, if you're interested, here's my spice blend:
Well, I'm getting to the end of my mug of cocoa, and it's quite late here. Have a good week, all, and take time to relish a bit of flavor when and where you can.
Ciao!
That's life, folks.
So I decided to put on my PJs, make some hot cocoa, and type out something for you good people to read about.
Just life.
So, what to go on about? How about spur-of-the-moment sewing projects? The missal cover for my 1962 Missal was grating on my nerves. I had mocked it up out of some different pieces of thin Wally World flannel, different barely matching or mismatched pieces, just to see if I could do it. It worked OK, so I left it on, all the time meaning to update it to something that actually looked like an adult owned the missal. I was working on plans for a commissioned missal cover, realized I didn't have the correct measurements (but I did get some useful notes written down), and all of a sudden decided to make a new missal cover for my missal. It was good practice. Any time you can not only practice your skills but use whatever practice piece you made for a practical purpose, that's a win-win situation right there. Sometimes you just have to take some scrap pieces and try something out that will never be used for anything other that headers or footers or a scrap quilt, but if you can, use your practice to make a coaster or a place mat or just some little doo-dad. You'll be glad you did.
Most of the day seemed to fly by. I made another napkin out of another fat quarter. I realized they are slowly making fat quarters smaller. They used to be 18" x 23". Now they're about 18" x 21". If you're lucky. I'm old enough to remember Andy Rooney's rant about coffee. I think it was about how a 5 lb bag of coffee wasn't 5 lbs anymore. At least, I think it was about a 5 lb bag. And this was, what, 30 years ago? More probably, I don't remember when he did that one. I think I watched it live on TV. Who buys a 5 lb bag of coffee anymore? Mostly I find 3 lb bags at the store now. Everything is getting smaller, I swear.
Spice jars! Those are way too small. And so expensive! But still, if you can, make way in your spice cabinet or on your spice rack for some new spices this year. I know we're halfway through, but why not try something different? I just decided to try working mace and cardamom into my recipes. In fact I made my own spice blend including those two things. And I made my hot cocoa a little mysterious tonight by adding some mace. Mace is like nutmeg, in fact it's just made from a different part of the nutmeg nut. Nutmeg spice is made from the actual nut, and mace is made from the coating of the nutmeg nut. (By the way, it has nothing to do with the stuff you spray on attackers. That's something else.) I haven't side-by-side compared the two, but nutmeg is supposed to have the stronger flavor. I'm not sure I agree. I generally like cinnamon and nutmeg in my hot cocoa, but the mace is good, too, and just a dash perked up my cocoa more than I think a similar amount of nutmeg would have done. Perhaps it's not stronger, but maybe a deeper flavor? More experimentation is certainly in order. Cardamom is a completely different flavor profile. I'm not sure if I would prefer it in sweet dishes or savory dishes. I'm thinking it could work equally well in both. It seemed to me to be a kind of fresh pop of flavor and fragrance. And by the way, if you're interested, here's my spice blend:
- 1/2 tsp roasted garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp ground mace
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
Well, I'm getting to the end of my mug of cocoa, and it's quite late here. Have a good week, all, and take time to relish a bit of flavor when and where you can.
Ciao!