Hamentashen for Purim

This year I tried a new hamentashen recipe along with the old standby. Chocolate Brownie Hamentashen with peanut butter filling (recipe here). I also used nutella for some, and cookie butter, (also called Biscoff or Speculoos spread) for some. Pretty delicious.

I tried to get Jenna interested in these, but she only wanted the traditional style, with nutella filling. I did make traditional (cookie dough) hamentashen with several other fillings: fig butter (and they tasted like fig newtons-delicious!), cherry jam, and cookie butter. My favorite flavor is poppyseed, but I did not make any this year, since I am the only one in the family who likes them. I don't need a batch of my favorite hamentashen calling my name every day between now and Passover.

Next, I will try my hand at some baked doughnuts, just for fun.

A Leather Bag Handmade by Me

I can't believe I did it! There were almost tears, and it was harder than I expected. The pattern is the Town Bag from WEEKEND SEWING by Heather Ross. I got the leather scraps at the FIDM Scholarship Store (in downtown LA), and the total cost for the leather pieces was $20. The main body of the bag is made from a piece of baby blue leather that is a little too thick for this project, but I did not know it until I was already in the middle of construction! The strap and side pieces are made from a much thinner piece of brown leather. The lining is cotton that I actually purchased in Tel Aviv a few years ago.  I added a magnetic snap inside the top of the bag.

      I will use a light weight piece of leather for the main body next time. The hardest part was sewing on the side pieces (brown strips) over the thick side seam of the blue leather. Here is the finished product:

Jenna liked it so much that it is now hers! I plan to look for a light weight piece of leather soon to make another one. This was a challenging project, but I will try it again.

More PJ pants for Jenna....

.....from my own hand-drafted pattern. She likes them! I made these about two weeks ago. They could be a bit slimmer/smaller next time; I will have to adjust the pattern a bit more. Overall, though, pretty cute!

     

I'm Quilting for Good Health

Why quilting improves your health in ways even exercise can't manage

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
UPDATED: 04:36 EST, 13 June 2011

I love this article from the Daily Mail about the health benefits of quilting....it would probably be even better if I did not occasionally snack on m&m's or jelly beans as I stitch!

I learned another new sewing skill last week, which makes me feel great. I learned to make a double stitched hem (on the regular machine, the Bernina, not the serger for a change!) A double stitch hem makes garments look more polished and professionally finished.

I also finally submitted a couple of pieces of writing I had delayed finishing (one sat in a file for much longer than the other.) It feels great just to have finished them. Why did I wait for so long? Why am I suddenly feeling so brave? When I figure it out, I will let you know. Is it the daily vitamins I started taking, or drinking more water? Or is it just the Trader Joe's dark chocolate peanut butter cups that call my name after lunch? Sweet mysteries of life.

Some New Recipes

I recently (this week) tried these 3 recipes and liked them all.

First a delicious Banana Nutella Bread. Not too sweet, and I made this as muffins. It made 24 with a little batter left over (enough for about 1 more muffin). I baked these for about 25 minutes, I think.
Nutella Swirled Banana Bread
I did not take a photo.

Next, some gluten free chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. This is my first experience with GF baking, and I used Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour (purchased at Whole Foods) and Trader Joe's gluten free oats. Cup 4 Cup does contain Xanthan gum, so no need to add it separately.

These are delicious, gluten free or not! The only change I made was to grind the oatmeal in my food processor, as I do for my conventional oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
Here is a picture of my cookies. Recipe link is below the picture.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Finally, I get a CSA box delivered to my home every Thursday by  Good Life Organics. I also get a weekly email from them with details about the contents of that week's box as well as recipes and storage tips. Lately, a bunch of kale is included in the box almost every week, so I am always looking for interesting ways to use it.

I have made delicious Kale Pesto several times using this recipe.

This week's email included a recipe for a delicious kale salad. I made it last night, and will be adding it to my file of kale recipes-yum! I left out the raisins, but will add them next time. Dried cranberries might be good, too. Here is a photo of my salad, and the recipe is below. Happy cooking and baking!

Melt in Your Mouth Kale Salad with Pine nuts

Once you try this, you will be hooked! If your family members aren't huge kale fans, this salad might convert them, and you can also lighten this up a bit by adding an equal part of chopped butter lettuce to the minced kale.

• 1 bunch of lacinato kale, stems removed, rinsed and patted dry
• ⅓ cup currants (or chopped raisins)
• juice of one lemon 
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tsp local honey
• ½ cup pine nuts toasted
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 tbsp grated raw parmesan cheese

1. In a food processor, process kale into small chopped pieces (or you can do this by hand with a chef's knife!) 
2. To make dressing, stir lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper together in a large bowl
3. Add chopped kale, currants, pine nuts and parmesan to bowl with dressing
4. Stir all ingredients together and serve
5. (Optional - Save some pine nuts and/or parmesan cheese for top of salad before serving for presentation purposes)
6. Recipe and photo from foodbabe.com. Thank you Laura for sharing! 

SERGER MADNESS!

Well, it is official. I am obsessed with a sewing machine. And not just any straight stitch machine, or even a fancy embroidery machine. No, it's the one pictured below.

I bought this machine over two years ago and have barely touched it until now. I was scared, and I had never had a serger before, and learning to use it seemed quite daunting. Last year I signed up for a class on Craftsy to learn to use it. Last month I finally got brave enough to try. And now I almost can't stop.

This boxy zippered pouch was the first project I tried as part of the online Craftsy class. After learning to thread the machine and adjust the tension using different colors of thread, I was excited to sew an actual THING instead of practicing on scraps. I love the way it turned out, and it was FAST! No pressing seams open, since the seams are covered. 

**UPDATE**

I signed up for a Craftsy class to learn to use my machine and it was a huge help. I would recommend “Beginner Serging” with Amy Alan to any of you who are new to serging. Threading the machine with 4 different colors of thread was well worth the time I spent on it and really helped me understand how my serger works.

I was ready to move on to something I could actually wear....

This is the Hemlock Tee, by Grainline Studios. The pattern is one size and is available free online (link) and I used a piece of knit fabric I bought for $2.00/yard at the FIDM Scholarship store. I did it! I even added cuffs because I thought the sleeves were too short! I promptly cut out and made a second one, using other bargain bin fabric I had in my stash....

Next I decided that I felt confident enough to try my hand at some PJ pants for Jenna. I made my own pattern based on some online instructions, by tracing a pair of PJ pants that I knew fit her. I used another piece of long stored fabric that I had bought super cheap, and just went for it. Et voila!....

And they fit! I am planning another pair, with a few minor adjustments to my pattern.

Finally, my latest Hemlock Tee, made yesterday afternoon. This is a rib knit fabric, so I thought it might be a little more difficult to work with, but this tee came together so quickly and easily that I just want to make one every day.

This much fun should be illegal.

Other 2013 Sewing

    Here are most of the other things I made in 2013. I am sure there are a few missing, since I sometimes forget to take photos before giving the items I make as gifts.