Coming attractions...

Just a few of the patterns that i'll be listing soon at Fripperie - stop by to see what's new (er, old, but new...)!

Fitzgerald again

I was a bit desperate about Christmas gifts this year, trying to make as many as i could with things i already had on hand.  Happily, i had some printing supplies about, so i decided to adapt this photo of Fitz for a block print - the shot was brightly backlit, and he's a black and white cat, so with all that contrast, it seemed like a good candidate to carve.

I plunged ahead, despite the fact that that i'd never worked from a photo, and it was only the second block i'd ever cut.

I think it turned out pretty well, actually.

In addition to the ones that went out as gifts (or, ahem, will go soon), i sold one to a friend, and there are a few prints available at O'Hurley's General Store in Shepherdstown.

Back to baking

Most of last year, i baked our bread.  It was cheaper, and much, much nicer to eat (especially when hot from the oven, and spread copiously with butter...) than the store-bought stuff.  But over the holidays, it went by the wayside, amidst the general chaos.  But yesterday i finally turned out a loaf, and half of it was gone by the end of breakfast this morning, so i think i'll be doing more soon. 

My secret to making this work in real life is to prepare mixes with all of the dry ingredients that don't live in the fridge - i'll set up about six loaves at a time, bake one, and put the rest on the shelf.  A mix for one loaf just fits in a quart mason jar, and it's not nearly as daunting when you only have to add a few things to get the dough started.

For everyday, i use this recipe from King Arthur Flour, with a few nudges (more whole grain flour, less all-purpose) and substitutions - a buttermilk powder instead of the dried milk (i like the Organic Valley stuff when i can get it), vital wheat gluten in place of the "bread improver" it calls for, and instead of their grain mix, i use a locally milled multi-grain flour from Burwell-Morgan Mill, a restored 18th century grist mill over in Millwood.  Well, i do when i can get it - i didn't get my ducks in a row to stock up before they closed for the season this year, so i'm out until spring.  But as soon as they open up, i'm heading over there to get a few bags!

A giveaway - and an adventure

It's my birthday, and there's all that general holiday goodwill about, so i decided it's high time for another giveaway.  My grandmother is also a December baby, and because it makes me think of her, this time i've picked out a great 1940s suit (wartime, i suspect, from the admonitions to conserve that are printed on the instruction sheet), number 6300 from Superior, which was the house pattern line for Sears.

The jacket has the most wonderful pockets, which join into the front dart.  The skirt is a no-nonsense eight gore number.  A tied belt softens the lines of the whole thing just a bit.

 

Now, here's where the adventure part comes in: i'm not positive of the size of this pattern.  It's stamped on the top right corner, but it's not a complete impression.  I think it's a Size 14, which would in this case mean a 32" bust, but it's also possible that it's a Size 16, which would be a 34" bust.  But isn't a jacket this slick worth a muslin to get the fit right?  I thought so.

What do you have to do to have a chance to win this lovely stocking stuffer?  To enter, all you need to do is to stop by the shop, pick out your favorite item, and leave a link to it in a comment here.  I'll draw for a winner on Thursday, December 16, at 3:00 p.m. EST, so be sure to make your choice and leave your comment by then!

(For those who want more details on the pattern, it's pre-cut and complete, instructions are in good shape and the envelope is quite nice; the skirt pieces appear to be unused, but the jacket front and back show wear at notches and perforations, and on the jacket front there's a small tear at the inside of the curve of the pocket, size uncertain but probably a 32" or 34" bust measurement.)

Revisions

Last year, i tried out the pumpkin pie recipe i'd found in a cookbook published in 1914 by a ladies' club in Western Maryland.  It's a pretty basic pumpkin custard, with the addition of "1 wine glass of rum and brandy each" - a wine glass, when used as a unit of measure, translates to four ounces, or half a cup.  (This useful fact i discovered in another vintage cookbook.)  It makes for a very boozy pie indeed, actually too sharp to be pleasant with the pumpkin.  Even when slathered with lots of whipped cream...

So this year, i set out to tinker with the recipe, because i thought the idea had promise.  Here's my current version:


4 cups pumpkin (cooked and puréed)
1 pint half-and-half
4 eggs
sugar to taste (this can vary substantially, depending on the sweetness of your pumpkin - i used about a cup and a half, with a fairly sweet pumpkin purée)
1-2 Tbsp. molasses
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/3 cup rum
1/3 cup brandy

In a large bowl, add half-and-half and eggs alternately to the pumpkin purée.  Sift the salt and spices with the sugar in a separate bowl, and gradually stir into the pumpkin goop, mixing well.  Add molasses, rum, and brandy, and stir, being sure the molasses doesn't just sink to the bottom of the bowl.  Pour into pie shells (you'll have plenty for two regular pies, or possibly one regular and one deep dish) and bake promptly, at 350F.  I'd start checking it after an hour, but especially if you've prepared your own pumpkin (which always seems to be wetter than the canned stuff), it will probably take more like an hour and a half to bake before it's set.

Not quite as planned...

Home late, gather wood, relight woodstove, preheat oven, bake bread that had to be abandoned earlier in the day, wash dishes, fetch more wood, feed critters... collapse in a heap.

And i felt so organized this morning!  (Well, technically, that's yesterday morning now.)  But the afternoon sort of went haywire, and took the rest of the day with it.  Not that it was all bad - bits were quite pleasant - but i'm definitely ready to wrap this one up.

Here's hoping Thursday is less... unruly.

Fa la la la la...

I'm a sucker for Christmas music.  And i love getting to play it with family and friends.  No formal concerts scheduled this year, but in addition to whatever we play at home, we'll have music at the Thursday sessions at O'Hurley's (the photo is from Christmas time at O'Hurley's last year, with Jacob trying out the wonderful Copeland whistle i'd gotten as a birthday present), and the beloved Eat-and-Sing at Goose Creek: a huge potluck at the meetinghouse, followed by carols, including a very silly rendition of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and my favorite traditional carol, "Good King Wenceslas" (the men singing the king's part, and the women, the page's - except for the years we decide to switch).  A few years back, the scheduled night for the event coincided with an impressive ice storm, which knocked out power to the meetinghouse, but thinned the crowd not one bit.  We went ahead by candlelight, and it was a magical evening... (though no one was quite sure what they had put on their plates at the potluck).

What's the music that makes your holiday season?