sewmuchfun

Candied Watermelon Rind

2011-06-16T15:57:00.000-07:00

It is watermelon time again. I don't like to throw away the thick rind so I looked online for a recipe using the rind and found one for cherry-flavored watermelon pickles. http://www.mysisterskitchenonline.com/2006/08/15/watermelon-picklesor-is-it-candy/ I used fresh beet juice for the red coloring as I had only 1/2 jar of maraschino cherries.

I tried it and liked the results so much I began trying other flavorings. I used cherry and rootbeer oil flavorings that I had on hand for candy making. I added a dusting of powdered ginger to the rootbeer batch. Don't use a lot of ginger unless you like it peppery. Now am experimenting with salty, hickory smoke(like bacon), and licorice using anise. This is just the beginning of my flavoring experiments.

Candied root beer-flavored rind

I decided I couldn't eat so many pickles so I am drying the candied rind. One person said she used the flavored rind in fruitcake which gave me the idea of drying. Now I have many flavored chunks drying on parchment paper on cookie sheets. I turn the chunks once or twice a day. One flavor is drying in the sun window and 2 more are drying in a cold oven. A dehydrator could be used instead. I live in the dry desert so have no problem with humidity.

I will try storing the dried candy in glass jars. Wonder if it will be sticky. May have to dust the chunks with cornstarch.

Hope you will try the cherry pickle recipe and enjoy it.

Mother's Day Flowers

2011-05-06T17:02:00.002-07:00

The May project was designing these paper flowers for the tables at the local soup kitchen. Usually I make one large centerpiece for each table. This time I made 23 single flowers and put 3 on each table so that three people at a table could each take one home instead of just one person. After lunch there were no leftover flowers.

The blossom is made like the folded snowflake and creased for 3-D effect. I made the base like a box that is open on the bottom. The chenille stem pokes through the blossom center and is covered with a circle of the flower color. The leaves are cut on the fold and a small hole poked in fold center. Then the stem is pushed through the hole in the leaves, into base, and into second piece of cardboard inside the base so flower will be able to stand upright. I printed the words on sticker paper and cut them to fit the base which is made of marbled paper.

Several flowers without the bases could be used in a bouquet or put into a card.

Nailed for Me Cross Magnet

2011-05-06T16:23:00.000-07:00

This Cross magnet was given out by me on Good Friday to 50 people eating at the local soup kitchen where I volunteer each week. I enjoy designing different things to take there each month.

I used the square nails(mason nails for masonry) that I was given by my cousin. She used them in a project for her church.

The design had to be printed several times before I had the right size to fit the nail and the words. I got 8 designs to fit on a page and then cut them apart. A small nail was used to start the holes. On the back of each nail I attached a round magnet using a piece of carpet tape. That tape is very sticky. This strong magnet holds the heavy nail. I got the set of 50 magnets at WalMart.

Paper Daffodils for Spring

2011-05-06T16:03:00.000-07:00

For March I was inspired to make daffodils to brighten up the dining tables at the local soup kitchen. I love yellow daffodils and they look pretty in the green vases. I first made these paper flowers when I taught second grade and used them as an art project for the students.

It took a few tries to get the correct, center trumpet shape. I made flower heads for 3-4 days as 21 flowers were needed and then did the leaves and stems. The leaves and stems are folded lengthwise for stability. I put 3 flowers in each vase with about five leaves.

The vase is a lemon juice bottle. I have a supply because the empty bottles are too pretty to throw away. I removed the label of each bottle and cut the bottle into two pieces. The top half of the bottle has a circle shape of cardboard attached to bottom with glue. The edge of lower half of the bottle has been cut about 12 times to a depth of 1 inch or what ever will create a 3/4 inch diameter hole in center when the sections are bent inward to the center. The sections will overlap and stay in place. This way I get 2 vases out of one bottle. I think the Royal brand lemon juice bottle has the best shape.

After 2 weeks of use I gave each vase of daffodils to whomever wanted one.

Refinished Chest of drawers

2011-02-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

I found this green chest of drawers at the local thrift shop and loved it. I got it home and found that 2 drawers needed gluing which I easily did. Then I discovered that each leg had a socket so I added casters that I had on hand. I love furniture on wheels.

As I sanded the green paint off an incised floral design emerged. I didn't have time to refinish chest so I painted it white and wiped it with a gold-beige glaze in keeping with the beige carpet.

Click on photo to see larger one.
This is the first piece of used furniture I have refinished and I want to do more.

New URL on Blogspot

2010-03-06T19:41:00.000-08:00

My sewmuchfun blog is now live at my new URL:

http://gayleart.blogspot.com/

This blog has moved

2010-03-06T19:11:00.001-08:00

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Millet-Quinoa Cereal

2010-02-02T17:01:00.000-08:00

This morning I cooked my new cereal using millet and quinoa because I was tired of oatmeal. For one serving put 1 Tbsp. millet, 2 Tbsp. quinoa with 1 1/4 cups water into a grabbit bowl(it can be used on the stove) or small pan and simmer for about 20 minutes. To this add 1 Tbsp. each of nutritional yeast, wheat germ, and 1 tsp. flax seed meal. Optional, add chopped up fresh cranberries at the beginning or raisins when cereal is cooked. For sweetener I use agave nectar or stevia. With the cereal I had fresh squeezed orange juice and toast with coconut oil-olive oil "butter".

For the dairy-free "butter" I mix 1/8 cup each of extra virgin coconut oil with extra virgin olive oil and a dash of salt . The coconut oil is for firmness and olive oil for color. Store the "butter' in a small glass jar in the refrigerator. This "butter" is great for making garlic bread. I don't miss dairy butter anymore.

Banana Bread made with Cornmeal

2009-08-18T17:07:00.001-07:00

8-17-09 I wanted to make cornbread, but the bananas were very ripe and needed to be used. So I compromised by making banana bread and replacing some flour with cornmeal. The bread baked in my homemade, cardboard solar oven and is delicious.

Here is my recipe--adapted from recipe in Fanny Farmer Cookbook

Prepare 1 loaf pan or 2 mini loaf pans by greasing inside area or line with parchment paper. I use the paper so I can always turn out the loaf in tact.
Preheat oven to 350°F or preheat solar oven in sun to 200°F/250°F.

Mix in a bowl:
2-3 ripe bananas
2 Tbs. flaxseed meal |_ or 2 eggs
¼ cup water | no water

Sift together:
1 cup unbleached flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup cornmeal
½ cup unbleached sugar --I use Zulka brand
dash of stevia if you want it sweeter
1 tsp. salt

optional, ½ cup of chopped nuts

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients.
Then add 1½ tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 Tbs. warm water and mix gently. Don't stir too much as the bubbles with deflate.

Quickly fill the loaf pan or pans and place into hot oven. Bake 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

for solar oven: cover pans with foil or plastic wrap or place in covered baking dish. Bake about 1½ hours at 200-250 degrees F.

Sprouted Flat Bread-dehydrated

2009-06-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

Thursday evening I made two different batches of flat bread to use up the sprouts. I used my 2-cup food processor to blend 1/3 cup each of garbanzos, aduzki beans, sunflower seeds(with green leaves), almonds, lentils-both colors, and mung beans. Then I added 1/3 cup nutritional yeast, 1/8 cup wheat germ, 1/4 tsp. sea salt, and 1/4 cup quick oats. To one batch I added 2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice. To the other batch I added 1 Tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar and 1 Tbsp. honey, hoping for a sweet-sour flavor.

Then I spread the mash onto parchment paper cut to fit the dehydrator rack and set temperature at 110. After 5 hours I flipped the mash so as to expose the underside to the warm air.

After another 3 hours I shifted the almost dry flat bread to a mesh that I cut to fit the rack.

The flat breads are good and filling. I think it is the intense food value and chewing that gives a sense of fullness. The batch with the green sunflower leaves is a little bit bitter. I will not use the sunflower sprouts with green leaves again. I like the sweet-sour bread even though it is more sweet than sour. This was a successful experiment and I will be making more sprouted breads.

Note: By using the silicon parchment paper I use less effort in cleanup and think that the paper helps in drying more than the solid liner. The polyester mesh has smaller holes than the rack, giving better support. I made the liner from a a polyester laundry bag found at the 99 c store. Used the paper as backing so you could see the white mesh.

Growing Sprouts

2009-06-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I was reading online about sprouting and decided to try it. I got a little carried away and started 8 jars of different seeds and beans. These are the things I soaked: 1/2 c. adzuki beans, 1/2 c. garbanzo beans, 1/2 c. raw sunflower seeds, 1/4 c. lentils, 1/4 c. mung beans, 1/4 c. red lentils, 1 Tbsp. alfalfa seeds, and 1 Tbsp. sweet brown rice (took 6 days to finally start sprouting). So far I have not been able to get raw nuts to sprout. I will try millet, quinoa, wheatberry, and groats.

I know now to start with only 1-2 tablespoons of 3-4 seeds, or grains and 1/8 c.-1/4 c. of larger seeds, nuts, or beans so I won't be overwhelmed with sprouts. Maybe you will try sprouting some seeds or grains and enjoy the living food with healthy, live enzymes.

This week I am trying to find recipes to put all the excess to use. So far I have made 2 garbanzo bean flat breads that I dried in the dehydrator(110° for 12 hours) and they are good. I call them flat breads because the mix is flat. Does anyone have a better name for dehydrator mixes? I was going to have sprouted salad, but suddenly the weather turned cold and I was not in the mood for cold salad. Next I will try adding sprouts to my vroast that I will bake in my homemade solar oven.

Yogurt Cheese Fudge

2009-03-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

My new food interest is no-fat yogurt. I have been making yogurt cheese by draining off the whey . Today I tried adding melted coconut oil, cocoa, and powdered sugar to the firm yo-cheese to get fudge. It was a success. I put the fudge in a butter mold and chilled it. The coconut oil will become firm when chilled below 76 degrees. This candy has a rich, dark chocolate flavor. See www.gayleart.com for other foods.

Cat Pillows--simple to sew

2009-02-20T16:55:00.001-08:00

Here is a sketch of pattern.

from gayleart.com
I cut the pattern from a square and then cut a out two sections--one for the back of cat and one to make ears. I used a copier to reduce the pattern to create 4 sizes. These cats are made with soft, suede-type fabric. It was difficult to machine-sew the seams as the needle dragged. The backing seemed to be rubbery. The opening, left at the bottom for stuffing, was easy to hand-sew shut. I drew a face on paper pattern and then cut out areas to use as guide for face. I used dry-erase markers for the faces. Dry-erase markers are usually permanent on fabric. I wanted the pillows to be safe for children.

Cook Rice and Millet in Solar Oven by GayleArt

2008-06-29T12:31:00.001-07:00

for www.GayleArt.com

Now that it is summer I tried cooking rice and millet in the solar oven(cardboard box) and had success. I put 1/2 cup of rice and 1 cup of water into a glass jar and covered opening with plastic wrap and covered sides with black paper. It took 2 hours at 200º to cook the rice(12 p.m.-2 p.m.). For the millet I used 1/3 cup with 1 cup water and covered jar in same way. Outdoor temperature was over 100º. Photo taken after cooking.

I experimented with making millet milk and rice milk with the hot mixtures. I used 1/2 cup of the rice or millet and 1 cup of water---adding 1/4 cup at a time as I used hand blender to blend the mixture. For sweetener I used stevia, but honey or brown rice syrup would be good. Add more water if a thinner milk is needed.
Cooked millet on the left and rice in jar on the right. "Milk" is in the center. I used the milk for milkshakes. See larger photos at www.gayleart.com .

Coconut-milk Shake Recipe

2008-06-04T10:15:00.001-07:00

Strawberry Banana Shake from GayleArt.com

Into blender put
1 ripe, small banana or 1/2 of a medium banana
5-6 ripe strawberries-cut up
1-2 Tspn. water
2 Tbspn. coconut milk, I use Savoy brand
1 tray of mini ice cubes
Stevia to sweeten to your taste

Blend until smooth and enjoy. Makes about 2 cups.

For more milkshake recipes go to gayleart.com

Two Interesting Design Contests

2008-05-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

05-30-08 gayleart.com blog--I have been looking at graphic design sites and each one has links to others. It is an interesting way to find good design sites. Yesterday while following links I found the an interesting site http://www.threadless.com that has a variety of unique designs on T-shirts. If you are a designer you can enter your designs in their contest.

Another site that has need of designs is http://99designs.com There are many businesses needing designs. The information and payment are listed for each design contest so you can choose any that interest you and enter a design for one or more. The designs are viewed by client and one is selected at end of 7 days. Today I will follow more graphic design links.

Hand Lotion without Mineral Oil

2008-05-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

05-28-08 This week I discovered that Suave brand now has a hand lotion without mineral oil in it. It is the lotion with oatmeal and petrolatum in it. For a long time mineral oil has been the standard ingredient in most lotions, even in the expensive ones. It has been difficult to find lotion of average price without mineral oil, so this is a wonderful discovery for me. I don't like mineral oil as it sits on the surface of my hands and could rub off onto the fabrics with which I am working. I like the petrolatum as it is absorbed into the skin. So far there has been no problem using it.

UPDATE 8-4-08
A comment was made that "petrolatum is mineral oil". I was differentiating between greasy oil and an absorbent gel, not the source of the ingredient.

Mineral oil and white petrolatum are not the same. These products might come from same source, but are used differently. I buy lotions with the fewest ingredients. If the list is 1 inch or longer I put the product back on the shelf.

I have researched white petrolatum to see if was healthful for me. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_jelly
White petrolatum is absorbed by my skin and does promote healing for me.

Mineral oil sits on my skin and remains greasy to the touch. Read definition here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_oil
This is an interesting site http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-mineral-oil.htm

These are my opinions. You have to decide for yourself what to use. Everyone has different needs.

Heat Wave Good for Solar Cooking

2008-05-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

05-18-08 www.gayleart.com blog-- During the recent heat wave I have been using the solar power to dry and cook my food.

I cut fresh pineapple into pieces about1/4" thick, placed them on mesh-covered rack, and let dry in my garden window that faces south. It only took 2 days to dry the juicy pieces.

Pineapple pieces ready for drying in garden window.

Storing dried pieces from one-half pineapple.

Also, I dried Texas Ranger leaves and blossoms for herb tea.

I baked a vroast(vegetarian roast) in solar oven at 225º-250º for 3 hours. I wrapped vroast in parchment before using foil so as to keep vroast away from aluminum. Also, I fry vacon and boil vsausage.

The vroast is wrapped in foil and ready to be put into solar oven.

I thought all wheat meat(gluten) had to be boiled and learned from reading different websites that it could be baked.
My first roast recipe came from post punk kitchen.
http://www.postpunkkitchen.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=15959&p=1

This site has a wheat meat roast that uses a broth.
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/hamseitan.htm

This story of the grain roast really inspired me.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/200927_turkey24.html

Easy Strawberry Jam to Make

2008-05-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

I have been looking at jam in the stores, but the price, the high fructose corn syrup, and the preservatives stopped me from buying some jam.

So this week I made strawberry jam. I bought strawberries on sale. I chopped up one pound and cooked them in small pan with water to cover bottom of pan. I stirred the fruit, cooking over medium heat, until the juices ran. Then I added one-fourth cup cane juice sugar(beige color), and a teaspoon or so of lemon juice, and cooked jam 2-3 minutes to dissolve the sugar. (The sugar is the preservative so don't try it with fake sugar. I tried it with a sweetener and the jam spoiled.) I poured the jam into a pint jar(saved from store jam use) and let it cool before putting it into the refrigerator. The jam is delicious and lasts a few weeks for me. I wonder why I didn't do this before now. Also, I have made papaya jam and pineapple jam in this same way. Now I can have as many different flavors as I want to enjoy.

For raw jam try putting the firm strawberries into the juicer. To the thick liquid add some sugar. The sugar will dissolve without cooking and jam needs to be eaten within a few days. It was very good.

Using wheat gluten to make wheat meat

2008-05-12T17:08:00.000-07:00

I have been working with wheat meat recipes for about a year. I enjoy creating a recipe that has the highest amount of nutrition with lowest amount of calories. I use a small food processor to mix a recipe of this size. For a larger amount I use my Kitchenaid mixer.

This recipe variation I made last might. I do love the flavor of this vacon. I have been frying vacon for breakfast for a few weeks. The patty is delicious in a bun with mustard, lettuce, and tomato.

5-11-08 Bean-Rice Mix for Wheat Meat. I don't care for the word"seitan".
The dry ingredients go first into the processor:
½ cup wheat gluten
½ cup nutritional yeast
¼ cup oat bran
2 Tablespoons toasted masa(corn)
2 Tablespoons garbanzo flour
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon garlic salt
Opt.-- ¼ teaspoon each of paprika, cumin, allspice, cardamom
Process to mix

In separate dish mix wet ingredients:
2 Tablespoons salty smoke*(liquid smoke mixed with saltwater or soy sauce)
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 -3 Tablespoons water
Should be about 1/3 cup liquid
Pour into processor with dry ingredients and pulse until mixed

Add
½ cup cooked millet or brown rice
½ cup cooked red kidney beans(soft but not mushy, as they will make dough too gooey)

I add these ingredients last as I like the bumpy bits in the patty. The texture is more like a beef burger.
Pulse process until dough is stiff . It will be sticky. Take out and knead the dough adding
2-3 Tablespoons whole wheat flour as needed. My processor is too small for me to add the flour. Knead until dough is stretchy like bread dough.

Form into roll and cut into 8 pieces. I cut roll into same size sections so as to be able to figure the calorie count. Each of these can be formed into a patty and fried like a burger. Fry about 2 min. on each side to brown and then turn as needed to finish cooking. It is not a precise method. I add peanut oil to help brown the patty and enhance flavor.

One of the 8 pieces can be cut into 4 smaller pieces and each piece rolled out to 1/8" thick strip to form "vacon"(bacon). If strip pulls apart roll and fold end to end to exercise the gluten. then roll out. Marinate strips in salty smoke(about 5 min.) before frying.

Fry the strips in lightly greased pan(I use a cast iron skillet), browning on each side. Then add a bit of oil to each strip and fry until crispy. Watch carefully as the oil will cause the vacon to burn. It is a matter of practice. I am still trying to get perfect vacon without burned spots.

I figured out the approximate calorie and protein count. It depends on how much oil you fry the patty or strips in. I use about a teaspoon for 8 strips or 2 patties.

Patty=160 calories, 12g. protein Strip=40 calories, 3 protein
Enjoy

This recipe is for your enjoyment only. It is not guaranteed.
See Gayleart.com for bean burger recipe.
*I use salty water as I am allergic to soy products. I get the hives. It is Another reason I make a lot of my own recipes.

Recipes will be added soon

2008-05-04T02:37:00.000-07:00

Now I have enabled the comment tab. There are so many tabs to learn about that I missed this one. No time to sew these last few months as I have to be in the yard doing spring cleaning. Soon it will be too hot to be outside and I will sew again.
Also, I will be adding recipes I have created. The creative process is sew(so) much fun. I create with wheat gluten,
nutritional yeast, beans, rice, nuts, seeds, grains, and fruits and vegetables. You can see that I am a
vegetarian. It is more fun to make "meat" than just to cook meat.
I welcome suggestions for themes for the free geometric designs on my website www.gayleart.com.
Labels: recipes to come, vegetarian

Quilted Art-Bowl of Flowers

2008-01-21T20:20:00.000-08:00

Was creating with food for the holidays so no time for sewing. Now I am back to working on pentagon designs. I enjoy the challenge of the irregular shape. This quilted art, Bowl of Flowers, was created in August and finished Sept., 2007. I used my hand-dyed cotton fabrics and hand-quilted the art. It is about 18"x 18". Just the right size to handquilt and not take months to do. I used the light-shadow areas to depict the sun shining on the flowers --more quilting on light colored fabrics and less quilting on darker fabrics. The bowl is "cut-glass" style.
For new project am trying to decide whether to piece a new design or trying painting it. Painting would be quicker and I could get to do the handquilting sooner.

Denim Teddy bears

2007-12-08T19:17:00.000-08:00

Here are the results of my denim experiments using worn-out jeans.
I sewed three denim teddy bears and learned that denim is difficult to turn after sewing the seams. The long-legged teddy bear pattern I got from a magazine. The bear is meant to be hung from a door for a holiday decoration. I put beans in the paws and like the posing ability of the long arms and legs. I hand-sewed the muzzle and really wore out my fingers. Not doing that again.

Any bear pattern could be made this way by using long legs instead of short legs. Cut two straight strips with a slight curve for the paw for each leg.

Next, I made the smaller bear with a machine-sewed the muzzle, but still difficult to turn to right side. This muzzle shape makes me see a cat instead of a bear, but still a cute animal.

Then I used same small bear pattern to experiment with denim faux chenille. It took three tries and photos show final results. The side seam is machine stitched wrong sides together so there is no turning needed. It was easy to leave 2" opening for poly-stuffing and then to machine stitch closed. Photos show the bear after wash/dry cycles with long strings; then with strings trimmed off.

Testing stretchy fleece for Teddy Bears

2007-12-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

Today I sewed several items using the stretchy fleece and learned that it is difficult to sew small projects. Scraps of stretchy fleece are good for simple finger puppets. The Door Bear sample was the easiest to sew. I used the soft fleece trimmings(from serger) and scraps left from cutting out the pattern pieces to stuff the bear. Fleece was too dark for a photo. Here are the trimmings used for stuffing.

Next, I will try the denim bear.

First Blog, try a photo

2007-11-30T14:28:00.001-08:00

It is raining(not just a 5 min sprinkle) for first time in 2 years and it is wonderful. I feel energized.
I read a lot of information and fine print about blogging and programs before setting this one up. I used advance setup as I have a website and that took a while to figure out. I hope I filled in the blanks correctly. I didn't so am trying to redo blanks.

Have teddy bear pattern pieces and old denim jean fabric ready. I am sewing bears for local charity group. Also, have dark fleece scrap to try as a bear.Last week I sewed 8 teddy bears(8" tall) using different colors of fleece. The fleece and denim jeans were given to me by the charity group. They know I will try to recycle almost anything.