Island Baking

 Have not found a bakery that does cinnamon rolls really well. So decided to make my own. It happens that Michael Smith who is a great Island chef was coming out with his new cookbook "Back to Basics" and I had to get my hands on it. A trip to Charlottetown to the Indigo there and lo and behold there it was but to my surprise this was the only book they had of his? So no cinnamon roll recipe. I had watched his cooking show the other day where he made some and it got me hankering for a pan of them. Off to his website where he has some of his popular recipes and there it was. Yay!

So gathered all my supplies with a trip to Paderno's for a lovely ceramic pan which matches the round one my Mom gave me last year for Christmas, so I was pleased with that purchase. Off to bulk barn for some basics...no King Arthur flour my go to staple nor did I expect any :( I always travel with my own Vietnamese cinnamon but forgot the vanilla.Then to find a rolling pin, of course not to be found and none in the cottage that I could remember. Got back and realized I forgot the yeast, so no baking that day.

So having held off for a day - we were going to the eastern portion of the Island to visit a couple of spots and I thought - Brenda Watts - wonderful woodworker..She is bound to have a rolling pin for me. Called her to find out she was shut down for the season but was happy to have me come to her shop - Islanders are like that. She had the perfect rolling pin. A french one with tapered ends handcrafted by her. Fell in love with the colour and was happy - the last french one which is what I wanted. You can see it in the picture above. So back we went and I went to work the next day on these rolls.

This is the first time I have made cinnamon rolls. I loved making them. They don't need a lot of ingredients and you have to raise them twice but oh my they are glorious. The cinnamon makes the difference and I am sure you could add pecans or raisins if you wanted but I like them just plain old jane. 

The next time I make them I won't ice them right away. I'll just keep the icing in the fridge and warm them up in the oven when I want one and ice at that time. We are only two so we have been having them for breakfast all week.

 Here is the link for the Michael Smith recipe.. worth a try...Cinnamon Roll Recipe.

Have a great day... Joni

It's Fall and It's Baking Time

It's been almost a month that we have been away from home and loving every minute of it, but all good things must come to an end. Until next year - we'll be Island bound again. Yesterday I took a wonderful baking class at Annie's Table. On the menu was pie making - yummy. Now I can make cookies and squares but my pie crust has a lot to be desired. Well after this class - pies will now be baking in my oven. The most important thing I learnt was everything must be COLD. We made an apple pear rustic tart (pictured here) and a mock cherry pie. The latter is a pie made by Lucy Maud Montgomery using cranberries and raisins because cherries at that time were not available on the island and by the time they got here they were rotten so islanders made do. 

To be honest I am not fond of cherry pie but this one with the cranberries is delicious! The crust was so flaky - I had never tasted any pie like that. Along with that we made lemon lavender scones - delicious little three bite scones perfect with a cup of tea. Another use for my lavender growing in my garden. If you are on PEI , take the time to check out Annie's Table - Culinary Studio, well worth the visit and a class!!

Just a couple of pics from my deck... you can see the Cabot Provincial Park - I think that may be a rug in the works. When I am here I often just go down back roads and explore bits of the island I have not seen. I love old barns and this was one I saw just perched on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. A beautiful spot! Off to do some more exploring - have a great day! Joni

Winter Days

If you have read some of my blogs in the past you know that I am a fall/winter person. On that theme I came across this blog Island Sweet who recommended this book. She lives on The Rock (Newfoundland) and their winters are long and can be pretty severe. First off, the cover caught my eye - looks like it could be a rug! Then I went in search of the book on Amazon, downloaded the first few pages and was hooked. Now I don't usually read much non-fiction, (except art books and cookbooks) but I must say this one is thoroughly enjoyable. Makes me appreciate winter all the more! You can find the book by Adam Gopnik on Amazon. The book consists of five essays - romantic winter, radical winter, recuperative winter, recreational winter and remembering winter.

" A mind of winter, a mind for winter, not sensing the season as a loss of warmth and light, and with them hope of life and divinity, but ready to respond to it as a positive, and even purifying, presence of something else - the beautiful and the peaceful, yes, but also the mysterious, the strange , the sublime- is a modern taste."  Adam Gopnik - Winter 

 I am not a sporty outdoor person in the winter. I do like my walks and sitting outside in the sun on a beautiful afternoon but I prefer my creature comforts and I am all for hibernating. That means I cruise the internet more and hence my new found love - Pinterest. It is a great tool for cataloging ideas, inspirations or anything that has a photograph attached to it. I joined about a month ago and have boards dedicated to rug hooking, knitting, crochet, cupcakes, fur babies - let's just say there are 39 of them and they keep growing. All your followers, get to enjoy your photos and vice versa for those you follow. There is a wealth of information on this site. Here are examples of some of the photographs I have collected in my fur babies board. Too cute to pass up. Now these are snow babies!

If anyone is interested in joining PINTEREST I can send you an invite. Just e-mail me.

Winter beauty.....

and.... since it was snowing today - well a few snowflakes - I got the baking pans out and whipped up this yummy golden vanilla pound cake which is a King Arthur Flour recipe. I added a raspberry coulis. I like baking on a Sunday. Have a great evening ... Joni

If You Like Mocha!

Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

These cookies were easy to make and used a method I had never tried before. You put all the dough in a plastic bag (gallon size) roll it, refrigerate it, cut it, then bake. It's got espresso in it and I used dark chocolate with toffee bits. Now I have to tell you I do not drink coffee as I am not fond of it, but love the smell of it and the taste of it in baked cookies. Here is the link to download the recipe if you want to try your hand at these!
Have a great evening...

Family and Baking

It's been a busy few days as it always seems before Christmas, for a lot of you too I am sure! Mom's birthday was celebrated on the weekend and the family got together at Madison's for a lunch get together. There were 13 of us and it was nice to see everyone. This is not the entire family - I don't even know how many we are - easily 25 - I guess... and no I am not in the picture.

I have been baking up a storm. I managed to take a picture of my specialty (meaning I make it every Christmas), they all seem to like these cream cheese pastries. Here is the link for the recipe if you want to download it.. I also baked some chocolate espresso cookies but the picture did not take on that one. Will try again before they are all eaten. It would be kind of nice if we had some snow though - it certainly would make it more like Christmas. I hope it will not be a green Christmas. That will be a first in a long long time! More baking scheduled for this week. 


I have been doing some rug hooking. I am doing a series of owls.. Why owls I don't know! I think I was inspired by a calendar that was done by my cousin Susan Black (Etsy Shop), and thought I would try my hand at sketching some designs. They are pretty simple and not very big. Can't seem to handle too many big projects these days. Yesterday I got my proddy tool. I looked at it and said "Now What". I had no clue as to how this thing worked. With the help of a friend I have mastered it LOL. I am going to Proddy the edge of a snowman rug (aka pillow)...We'll just see how that turns out. 


I am a little slow in posting/pictures as I am without glasses right now - broken - no spare - bad news. So working half blind...at least I have my sunglasses to drive with. Hopefully get them today.. so that has slowed me down. Off to do some more baking.. Have a great day! Joni 

Getting Ready...

Hubby has gone up north into the mountains this weekend for the annual men's get together. So the first thing I did was flip through cookbooks and checked my list not once but twice for cookie recipes for the annual seasonal bake-a-thon. I used to make about 20 different baked things each Christmas but in recent years that number has dropped significantly. Now we are down to about six! So I cleaned out the baking pantry, inventoried what I had and I am all set for next week's start.


This year I will be making the annual cream cheese pastries. They are a favourite of the family and I usually do 4 different flavours - chocolate, pistachio, hazelnut and almond. So rich and buttery! The others will be: 
- shortbread made with tiny cookie cutters and then dipped in dark chocolate
- shortbread peppermint chocolate cookie with vanilla creme icing and candy cane sprinkles
- white snowballs with walnuts
- and a gingerbread cookie or square with some lemon icing and gingerbread men sprinkles. 
I found this great site "Sweet Estelle Baking Supplies" on Etsy that sells these cool sprinkles and I am going to give them a whirl.


Hopefully I will get these recipes onto my website as I complete them. It seems that all I have there are "sweeties"..love my sweets!


So what are you baking this Christmas? Any family traditions?

It's Been Awhile

I have been missing in action on this blog for two months. Got back from Maine (where we had a lovely holiday by the beach) and got called to the hospital for surgery. It's been a bit of a recovery, with doing very little. To top it off I came down with some kind of virus and that had me down for the count. So hopefully I will be back creating and blogging next week.

One thing I did do was make some pots of soup. One of my favourites being, leeks and potatoes. Soup seems to be my comfort food. Although we were in the midst of a heat wave - the state I was in called for a nice healthy soup as my food blankie.

2 leeks (washed and chopped)

3 potatoes (diced)

1 onion

Saute leeks and onions in 1-2 TBSP butter for about 5-10 minutes on medium heat.

Add potatoes and saute for a few minutes.

I use commercial low salt chicken broth, but if you make your own - great. I use what is quick and on hand.

Pour in about 6-8 cups - depends how thick you like your soup.

Add some sage and pepper to taste. I also put in a little sweet smoky paprika. Simmer for an hour or so.

Serve.

I rarely use recipes when making soup - usually it is what I have on hand and herbs/spices are added depending upon the mood I am in.:)

I did work on one project  - a wool applique kit by Primitive Gatherings. Needed something simple and not too demanding. Everything is provided and all you do is cut and sew. I had not done one before and since I am selling them on my website - I thought I would try one out. This one is called Redware Crow. Here are the materials provided in the kit. The reason I chose Primitive Gatherings is because I loved the wool colours they dye. It is so much like my own dyes that I thought it would be a great fit. As soon as I got the kits I knew it was perfect - they are saturated with colour and look so primitive!

This is the completed piece.

The next one I think I will try is called Prairie Rose and is available on my website under Wool Applique.. along with some more of their wonderful kits. If you are looking for a fast - easy project I have decided Wool Applique is the way to go.

Have a great evening! Joni

British Wedding Date

This morning I was up at 3:00am - TV turned on - Roby brought out for his P&P - did not want anything to take me away from the TV. Set myself up for a few hours of royal watching and it did not disappoint. Just loved it! She was beautiful, he was handsome - they looked so much in love and I hope they have a long and loving life together. Of course I did not want to miss a minute so there was no needlework going on for these idle hands.
The Brits sure now how to put on a party with pomp and circumstance.
My sister came over for the balcony kiss (es) and we had our own little British breakfast.
Pink grapefruit, raspberry scones with strawberry and rhubarb jam, and scrambled eggs with a cup of tea- delightful as they say. I served it on my only purchase from London when I was there - a breakfast dish set.. how appropo.
To bed early for this gal .. have a good nite...Joni

First Day of Spring Really???

10 good reasons to make biscotti. Starting with crunchy Cherry-Pistachio. King Arthur Flour – Baking Banter

Every Christmas Mom makes biscotti for us and it does not matter that I make it all year round - hers is always special. I just love biscotti. It is something I dunk in a cup of tea and mostly have during the winter months. It's when I curl up with a current read and a favourite quilt to cuddle under. It is a big sigh of happiness with snow carpeting the ground and there is a nip in the air. What! stop -  why am I talking about snow and nip in the air on the first day of spring. Well Mother Nature played a trick on us today and put us in the midst of a snowstorm. I know the snow won't last but it sure is a reminder of who is in charge.

So Monday was spent on the road driving through a snowstorm to Cornwall, Ontario and not in my favourite leather chair reading my book with a cup of tea and a plate of biscotti. It was that type of weather though! The trip to Cornwall was for a very good reason and well worth the drive. Cheers to Derek!
G'Nite all 

Monkeying around: A lesson in cinnamon pull-apart bread | King Arthur Flour – Baking Banter

From my favourite baking store - perhaps this will be on the menu for next week! Yummy....

Below is the link with pictures of a children's baking class. I wil have to get myself physically down there and take a couple of courses.

Monkeying around: A lesson in cinnamon pull-apart bread King Arthur Flour – Baking Banter

Ended up a Baking Day

Yup the car never started - appointment cancelled.. what to do today....hmmm..baking always a soothing pastime and it seems to be more of a winter thing for me. cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger wafting through the house. time for carrot cake with cream cheese frosting baked in individual cake molds... a nice tea time treat with a cup of green tea. Could have been worse :)....

Waiting for Santa



Cream cheese pastries with pistachio nuts

We are waiting for you Santa. Last I heard you were in South America and soon to be here..........Merry Christmas to all. Have a wonderful holiday with family and friends.
g'nite... Joni

Fond Memories

 You can tell in our house when the Christmas season is upon us by the cookies that are being baked in the kitchen. This one is only made at Christmas time and comes down through my husband's family in a cookbook that I now own from 1946. I am not fond of coloured cherries and prefer my shortbread plain jane but once a year I make them like this for Peter....They do look pretty though! They bring fond memories of those now gone sitting around the kitchen table decorating these little cookies.
You can print the recipe from my website under "In the Pantry".

SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD


1 cup butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

BUTTER ICING

1/3 cup butter
3 cups icing sugar
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp milk

Mixing Instructions:
Cream butter and add sugar gradually. Add the sifted flour,baking powder and salt slowly to the creamed mixture.
Roll 1/3 inch thick then use a cookie cutter of your choice. I like to keep it simple with a round one (1-1/4"). Prick with fork and decorate if desired. I do the decorating after they are baked. Bake 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Watch the time carefully as it will vary depending upon the size of the cookie cutter you chose. Or bake until lightly browned. Makes a minimum of 24 cookies.

To Make Butter Icing:
Blend butter and icing sugar. Combine milk and vanilla and gradually add to butter and icing sugar. You can add flavourings, like almond, lemon etc.
Decorate the cookies with the icing and a piece of coloured cherry. I am not a candied cherry person but there are some in the family who love them. You can sub with an almond or any other nut.

Enjoy!

Yum - Holiday Baking

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A holiday season favourite!
Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg yolk beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp clementine zest
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp clementine juice
1/2 cup chocolate melted (semisweet)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
silver sanding sugar (optional)

Mixing Instructions:

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and zest and set aside.
Cream the butter with the sugar until well blended. Stir in egg yolk, clementine juice and vanilla. Add in dry ingredients andmix to make a soft dough. Chill until dough is firm.
On a lightly floured board, roll out cold dough to about a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into fancy cookie shapes. The size of the cookie cutter will determine the amount of cookies you will get.

When cookies have cooled you can dip them in the melted chocolate. Chocolate should be melted in a double boiler to avoid scorching from direct heat. Once dipped you can then sprinkle some sanding sugar on them while chocolate is still soft.
Let chocolate cool throughly. Enjoy!

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 8-10 minutes on cookie sheets that have been lightly greased or lined with parchment paper.

Cool on racks.

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You can find the recipe on my website under IN THE PANTRY where you can print the recipe. I'll be adding some more in the upcoming days. It is the start of Holiday baking!

Where has October gone?

I can't believe it is already November. I don't know where the month has gone. Thanksgiving has come and gone here in Canada and I am into Christmas mode now. Time to do the craft fairs and see what creative things are being offered. Time to plan my gifts and get knitted ones finished. I think that this year I am ahead of the game. It is this time of the year that I also get loads of ideas but unfortunately not enough time to execute everything.

I love these felt bags that are from Nepal. They are a nice thick wool and I can think of lots of uses for them. They also make great gifts. So with that in mind I have designed a punch needle called A Simple Life and I've got step one done. Now to embellish the clutch bag with wool applique and beads and this will be offered as a kit on my redesigned website.

Yes I am going to have a new look for my website with lots of new features which I hope will make finding and buying items a lot easier. I love user friendly technology. I'll be concentrating on my first love wool and will occasionally offer some primitive items that I am dabbling in. Whenever I do decide to quit the 9-5 job I know that boredom will never darken this gal's doorstep!

Here is one of the felts bags that I did for the fall season. You can find it on Pfatt Marketplace under Fully Wooly Primitives.

Don't forget to visit http://www.theprimitivegathering.com/ where we are giving away free items. You just need to sign up for a newsletter. I have a punch needle pincushion in the draw.

Just listed some snowman rug hooking kits which make up quickly as wonderful handmade gifts! They can be found on Etsy. The link is on the left hand side. Also all the Christmas punch needle patterns have been listed.

And with all that some baking has been going on - after all the crisp days and crunch of leaves underfoot leads to longings of comfort food - one of my favourites pumpkin pie and fresh apple cake. The recipe can be found at King Arthur Flour.

So considering all the bustling that has been happening at the Black homestead I can see where the month has gone.  Good night all..Joni

Baking Day

It was one of those days. Cool crisp air, falling leaves and the smell of wood burning stoves. A typical fall day before the snow starts flying. I love the changing of the colours. It is a ritual to go for a drive and see how many different colours of red, burgundy and yellow you can find. This year I stayed home and did some baking as the weather was overcast and it looked like rain. It was just one of those days to bake! Maybe next weekend will be a good time.

I go through a process of re-organizing my counter space - out with stuff I don't use and clear up lots of room to perch baking sheets of cookies and other baked goods. I am lucky that I have lots of counter space and also a wooden side table that gets laden with cookies come November. That is peak holiday baking season in this house .

Today I made some caramel pecan gingerbread cakes and some peach scones. Tomorrow I have rugelach planned (a cream cheese pastry filled hazelnut or almond paste). The dough gets done tonight and refrigerated. I then roll it out in a circle, spread the paste and cut into 8 wedges that are then rolled into a spiral. Probably my most favourite pastry.

 In between bouts of cooking I have a sit down with a good book and a cuppa of tea. Right now I am reading Kate Atkinson's Case Histories. A page turner of a mystery.

Next weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. It is not as big a holiday as in the US but we still like to have our turkey and pumpkin pie.

Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West,
From North and from South, come the pilgrim and guest,
When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board
The old broken links of affection restored,
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before.
What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye?
What calls back the past, like the rich pumpkin pie?

- John Greenleaf Whittier

Off to have a peach scone and start working on a piece for listing on PFATT the 10th of this month. Of course it will have to be Hallowe'en related :)

Good nite.. Joni

a public domain picture

Vermont Jaunt

Round Barn copyright warren kimble

Just got back from a lovely trip through the green mountains of Vermont. It is the closest you can get to nature! I do love the mountains but the ocean is still my favourite place. I go down about 3 times a year and just relax and do some shopping. It is the only time I really enjoy shopping. Of course I had to visit my favourite baking store King Arthur's Flour which has a great blog with lots of wonderful recipes.

I picked up their boiled apple cider which I cannot wait to use to make their apple cake. I will have to dig out the skillet for this one! This is the time of year when I love everything about baking.

Besides selling all the ingredients a baker would want they also sell mixes that they put together. Although I usually make everything from scratch I love to have a couple of these on hand for last minute rushes. Doesn't this one look tasty... Caramel Pecan Ginger - we are great lovers of anything ginger. I like the idea of these individual little cakes.

It is also time to go to the local apple orchard and see what is available in this year's crop. Now that is a lovely fragrance! Yes it is that time of the year where the apples are being harvested - the air is crisp and cool and there is a smell in the air that tells me fall is just around the corner - well of course next week is fall (dare I say my favourite time of the year).

Of course a trip to Vermont usually means a stop at the Shelburne Museum. As we drove up it was unbelievably crowded - oh boy - what was going on? It was the "Museum Goes to the Dog Day". That is the day they open up the grounds to the dogs and their owners. It is a fun filled day of activities. So we sat a bit and watched the parade of beautiful dogs - oh my and then made a visit to the museum store. We passed on the museum itself as it was so crowded. Though they were having a Warren Kimble exhibit.

copyright warren kimble

I may take a quick jaunt down in October and see that exhibit before it closes. He is one of my favourite folk artists along with Charles Wysocki .

Another wonderful exhibit at the Shelburne is that of rug hooker Patty Yoder. She had a style all her own and her rugs are well recognized and very beautiful.

"I am in love with wool. I love to bury my hands in the living wool of our beloved Border Leicester sheep. I love the feel and smell of new sheared wool when I gather it into bags as our shearer does his work. I love the yarn produced from each individual fleece. But most of all I love the glorious pieces of dyed wool fabric stacked by color waiting for the perfect spot in a hooked rug that I will create." --Patty Yoder

"Y is for Yoder" copyright Patty Yoder

All in all it was a wonderfully relaxing trip that encompassed good food, lovely company (my mom) and beautiful scenery. Have a great day.. Joni