Twig Art and Lime Buttermilk Chess Pie

SIL Jack sent me a link to twig art by Patrick Dougherty from North Carolina.  Jack took this picture of Dougherty's work displayed in Rock Hill, SC.   Cool picture, eh?

More Dougherty artwork:

From a linked link on the Deep Fried Kudzu website (i.e, the sidebar had a link) the original recipe for Lime Buttermilk Chess Pie was given, and since I am a big fan of chess pie, I just had to make it.  But I digress.  Here is the recipe from Ginger:

1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp cornstarch
splash good vanilla
pinch of kosher salt
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
3 large eggs
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tbsp lime juice (I think I actually used a little more. Taste the mixture and add more if you think it needs it, but be careful.)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Mix the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl, add vanilla and salt. Set aside.

In a Kitchenaid, mix buttermilk on low speed until frothy. Add eggs, butter, lime juice. Add dry ingredients. Don't mix for a long time - just incorporate. (my note: the idea is to keep all of this nice and cool. Frank says to cover and put the mixture in the refrigerator for two hours, but again, it was late in the evening.) Pour the mixture when it's nice and smooth into the pie crust. Bake at 300 degrees F.

The cookbook says that this needs to cook for 20-25 minutes, until the filling is just set but still jiggly in the center. At 25 minutes, this filling was only beginning to set at the very edges. It took about an hour for it to cook properly (and again, you don't want it to be completely set in the middle

Here is how it looked after an hour of cooking time:

but with three modifications: 1) added the zest of one lime; 2) covered the edges of the pie crust with foil; 3) cooked it for 60 minutes. Note: this pie was cooked at high altitude, so it took longer to bake.

Ginger at Deep Fried Kudzu says to let it set overnight and it will firm up.

Fascinators (Women's Hats)

The Royal Wedding showed off its finest.  Some links for your enjoyment are included at the bottom of the post relating from fashion to the sanctity of marriage.

But first, let's talk about the hats almost all wedding celebrants were wearing yesterday.  I learned from a television commentator a new term for those hats that sit on the side of the head: "fascinators".

The hat style, as SIL Charlotte remarked, it not new.  In fact, fascinators were quite in style in the 18th and 19th centuries.  Here is Marie Antoinette in what could be called a fascinator on her head:

Hats are not required to sit atop the head, but can be an adornment to an elaborate hairdo.  Marie shows her up-do to advantage with the fascinator adding at least 10-12 inches to her height!

From yesterday's ceremony, note the hat that Posh Girl wore yesterday with a sleek pony tail:

Kate Middleton has generally favored Philip Treacy as her favorite hat stylist.  Now that she is Catherine, Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cambridge, Mr. Treacy will likely continue to be a designer icon world-wide.

Remember Catherine in this Philip Treacy hat?

So an old made new style is coming back for hats.  The Fascinator!  Let's all run out and buy a few.

Satanica on Etsy has these lovely fascinators for sale at a reasonable price; swing over to this page to see more and/or to purchase on Etsy (everything hand made).

As promised, web links, courtesy of Living the Grand Life:

• The Commitment
• Wedding and War
• Stunning in Lace and Satin
• We See an Ideal, Not a Fairy Tale

Top Down Summer V Neck Sweater #2

Finished is Heidi's Top Down Sweater, rendition 2, with a lace inset under the neckline:

While listening to the Knitting Pipeline, Paula mentioned that BConstanze on Ravelry uses Picasa to make collages of her knitting projects, so I thought I'd give it a try and came up with this:

All Pink!

Details on this sweater can be found here.

Updates on the Tea Party for the Royal Wedding (from Ravelry)

Sharing updates from the Anglophile tea party group on Ravelry...

Queenie, complete with this avatar she has on her informational page, said

As you can guess by my user name, I think I am royalty. I have always said that I just need the birth certificate to prove it. That said I have backed out of a girls weekend, and tickets to the opening night of the Joffrey so I can devote the entire day to my pretend world. Years ago my DH bought me a tiara with genuine cut glass “diamonds” so that will be atop my head all day long. I am a sad sad sad individual

And Auntsugar adds:

While I wish I could come to your tea party I suspect I will hostess one of my own with the neighbors across the road. I will also be making pastry cups for the curds I preserved last summer,both made with the luscious very dark large egg yolks from her mothers chicken eggs, and the fresh, huge raspberries off their bushes! This is an Easter treat for her whole family. I wonder if the weekend figured in the bride and grooms decision to marry that weekend? The commute for me would be too long even in the virtual world. So do enjoy and savor you lovely scones and creme.

I added:

Yesterday I cruised over to WalMart for the weekly haul, strolled through the kids’ toy section, spotted a rhinestone tiara, thought hard about it, but then walked on by.

I am still thinking I should go back and get that tiara and wear it at breakfast.

Cristi adds:

I’ll be watching the wedding in real time.. since I live in England.  I’ve been getting wedding “fever”.. I’ve just finished watching the William and Kate special on BBC1. I’ve got all my wedding kit. :) and the day off.. because the day has been made a bank holiday.. yay!!

I took this picture in Sainsburys the other day.. yes I’m a saddo.. but I bought a bit of everything.

Looking forward to Friday..

Our Colorado/English breakfast menu is still being discussed.

Easter Dressing

Aww, my girls way back when in Billings, Montana:

You know it was a long time ago if black and white film was still in vogue.

Martha Stewart tells you how to make these carrots filled with trinkets.

Instructions are here:

Maundy Thursday

What is Maundy Thursday?  In short, it is the day commemorating the Last Supper with Jesus and his disciples.

More information about the word "Maundy" from here:

1. (obsolete) A commandment.
2. (obsolete) The sacrament of the Lord's supper.
3. The ceremony of washing the feet of poor persons or inferiors, performed as a religious rite on Maundy Thursday in commemoration of Christ's washing the disciples' feet at the last supper.
4. The office appointed to be read during the ceremony of feet-washing.

Jacopo Bassano (1542)

Jacopo Bassano's Last Supper, painted in 1542, is one of the masterpieces of 16th century Italian painting. Instead of the elegant grouping of figures in Leonardos' painting, which inspired it, this dramatic scene features barefoot fishermen at the crucial moment when Christ asks who will betray him, and the light passing through a glass of wine stains the clean tablecoth red. Recent restoration has only now revealed the extraordinary original colours, which had been heavily painted over in the 19th century, when the emerald green and iridescent pinks and oranges were not in fashion.

and about the dog at the bottom of the painting:

The themes painted by Bassano are predominantly religious but in the Mannerist style he includes many every day articles, rural people, barns and farmhouses. His work is devoid of the grand temples, the silk and furs of his contemporaries; Bassano’s depictions are of normal people, undertaking daily tasks. Many of his works are Franciscan in content, full of nature and animals, the focal points of his pictures are often surrounded by detailed images of farm animals, dogs and cats. His painting Two hunting dogs tied to a tree is credited with being one of the first animal portraits in Western art in existence.

A Party Invitation For Wills & Kate

Are you caught up in the Royal excitement of the wedding? If so, please come join in the party on April 29, 2011.  All details can be found here, where the party invitation says...

Let’s have a virtual tea ... to celebrate the Wedding of the New Millenium!

What are you knitting whilst preparing for the celebration? What are you reading (British literature, of course)? What are you planning for Aprll 29?

My husband and I will awake early (2 AM in the MST zone of the USA) and prepare a royal breakfast. Please bring a virtual British treat, along with the shared recipe, and join us for breakfast. We will discuss it all in the next week. Join in!

Supportive husband will be making a true English breakfast, including the full monty of

2 links good quality sausages

2 -3 slices bacon

2 flat mushrooms

1 -2 ripe tomato

1 large egg

1 slice bread

Optional Extras

1 slice black pudding
baked beans
cooked potato, thinly sliced

Later in the afternoon, we shall have scones and champagne!

And hats! Wear your hats!

One British Ravelry friend, HandWashOnly, said:

I work in a British boarding school. We will be at work on the 29th but we have the lessons off to watch the wedding (if we want) and are organising a whole school picnic lunch with bunting and plastic union jack bowler hats. We will be wearing red, white and blue!

I think regardless what people feel about the royals, the wedding is a fab reason to get together as a community!

So, because things might get a bit hectic as we try to sort our own celebrations, I am going to leave some bunting here and wish you a happy tea party!!

I shall be knitting on my V-Neck SummerTop Down Sweater whilst watching the festivities on the telly.

 

Please provide your virtual presence, complete with festive hat, perhaps a cucumber sandwith and an authentic English recipe. See you (virtually) around 2 AM here in the States. 

 

(No pajamas allowed.)

PS: Gifts for William and Kate may be given to their charitable trust that will support 26 charities of the couple’s choice, incorporating the armed forces, children, the elderly, art, sport and conservation.

Sheep Picture by Craftlit Friend Amy & Watercolor

Fellow tourist to Wales in the UK took this picture.  Actually, this is a screen shot, and the original was much clearer.  Is that a magpie on that sheep in the background?

Here is my watercolor rendition of a sheep:

This sweet picture of a fairy is my next watercolor effort. My first attempt ended in the wastebasket because it had too much color in the background.

More Flower Fairies can be seen here.

Small Places

North Carolina friend Carol sent me an article about a 90 sq. ft. apartment in New York City.  The entire article with more pictures can be found here.

Obviously, there is a place for everything. And at $700/month rent, WOW!  Her back yard is Central Park.

But I am still impressed that one of my Scrabble friends in Calgary, CA has moved into a renovated loft above a 100 year old pub in a toney part of the city.  His apartment is a bit over 300 square feet.  (And cost is not a concern for him, as he is wealthy by most middle American class standards.) 

It is all in the mindset.  Now I need to go get rid of a few clothes.

After posting this, my friend The KnitNurd gave a further link to TumblewoodHouses, tiny houses that pack a wallop.  Wouldn't you LOVE to have one of these?

Grandmother's Bread (with yeast and fairly sweet)

From the 1960's, this recipe was my favorite food item my grandmother made on a regular basis. I copied it down at the kitchen table while she spoke it. I knew I would want it later.  Boy, am I glad I did because I have used this recipe for these many years after she has been gone.  It is a real comfort food for me.

Favorite parts of the recipe include the words "beat with rolling pin" and the stains on the paper showing the age of the recipe.  And I do remember Mom beating the dough with a rolling pin!

Yesterday was cool and cloudy, and I made three loaves of this bread, although the original recipe said "Makes 4 loaves".

Loaves "under-cover"

All said and done, it was overcooked at 55 minutes (I confess to falling asleep while waiting for the stove buzzer), but still mighty tasty.

Aprons: Some Free Vintage Patterns

From The Sew Weekly, this week's theme is aprons.

As hard as it is to believe, there was once a time when women cooked in clothes that they didn't want to get dirty! Yes! It's true! And then the 1960s happened, clothing got a whole lot cheaper to make and buy and the idea of *not* wearing your party dress while you made some sort of gelatinous dish was born. While wearing an apron today has become more of a kitchy nod to the past, there has certainly been a resurgance of aprons as textile art.

Although I am not in that perfect age group to wear aprons, I still do it.

And IMHO, the perfect age group is either young (ages 4 to 29) or old (just a bit older than I!). 

Last week, I wore this apron to painting group, and got a funny look from a guy in an even older age group.  It probably is not attractive from the back view, if ya know what I mean, but it is very cute from the front:

pocket with embroidery, watercolor and crayon embellishment

A big lot of vintage FREE patterns for aprons can be accessed here.  Now go make one!