A Million Ways to Eat Eggs

O.k., maybe I'll only come up with 50 or so. Who knows. One thing is for sure- with the chickens laying again (they quit for a bit when it got cold) we have more than enough eggs to cook with. I am so glad- these eggs really are the best, though I will say when the chickens weren't laying, I found Born Free brand Free Range eggs to be better than most.

I like to incorporate these healthy eggs into a lot of our meals, as I avoid eating and cooking meat for the most part, and we must include other types of protein in our family diet. I have posted before about pudding from fresh eggs, and I thought it would be fun to post recipes and ideas for using eggs that might not be in everyone's regular rotation.  

So, to start, here is a breakfast I made for the baby and I that is easy and sure to please- Eggs in a Basket.

1. Heat a frying pan with a pat of butter to medium heat. Don't get it too hot. 
2. Use a cup to cut a hole in a couple slices of bread.
3. Put the bread in the pan and crack an egg in the hole.
4. Cook until done on one side, and flip. Continue cooking on side two until your eggs are as you like them. If you like them scrambled, I imagine you could just beat them before pouring them in.
5. Put a pat of butter on top, and drizzle with a bit of maple syrup. Mmmmmmm.

I made ours with Pannetone, but of course, their are a million ways to switch this recipe up further- you could use a variety of breads, add cheese, add herbs and spices, garlic, onions, peppers, or sauces, such as hollandaise. Give it a crack! Oh, the terrible puns!  

Delightful Objects- Vintage and Antique Books

Today I'm sharing another of my mini collections. My vintage and antique books bring me joy even if I don't dare handle them too much. There are a few I've had since high school, a few that are recent acquisitions, some gifts, and perhaps one or two that are of monetary value, while every one of them has intrinsic and sentimental value.

 We keep two book cases in the house- the other is slightly larger than this. In recent years, Brian and I have tried to cull our collections and get rid of texts that we have lost interest in. I keep all sorts of literature (the other set of shelves houses all of my textbooks from college), and Brian is attracted to non-fiction; he keeps and reads books on history, religion, philosophy, politics, and knock-knock and yo mama jokes.

The second shelf down on the left houses my very small collection of old books. Among them are

If you're familiar with O.W. you can probably imagine that most of these are to dark for actual children's bedtime reading, but it is a lovely book nonetheless, with very pretty illustrations.

A copy of A Christmas Carol that someone received as a Christmas gift in the 30s.  

This Pride & Prejudice belonged to my grandfather's sister, Mary Agnes, known affectionately to us as "Aunt Sissy"

Ok, this one is not as old as the others, but it has an interesting page just inside the cover on Communism and how the publishing house established a royalties account for the author in the U.S. It states that "should he ever come to the United States, the royalties earned by the book will be turned over to him directly [...] In the event that within the next ten years Mr. Solzhenitsyn does not come [...] the royalties will be turned over to a worthy anti-Communist cause."

This beautiful Pride & Prejudice set was a thoughtful gift from my M&FIL. Isn't the cover art lovely? They also gave us Springs of Friendship, which is a small collection of quotes with lovely flower depictions that is dated 1970, but looks older.

I think this is the oldest of my books-
 printed in 1871.

 The two books of Irish literature were gifts from my father and stepmother. I am really into Irish literature, Irish culture, and Irish vacations.

 My father bought two volumes of this Poe collection at auction for me when I was in high school. I have always been a super book nerd.

 This is among my favorites. I love Hemingway, and this is a first year printing of A Farewell to Arms. My father sent this to me, and you can imagine my excitement upon tearing off the paper it was wrapped in!

I should probably do some reading up on how to properly store old paper, and if any of you have any suggestions, I would appreciate them. The one thing I won't do is tuck them away. Books are meant to be handled and enjoyed, and I certainly am delighted by my modest collection of lovely, dusty old books!

Make it Better Yourself- Quickie Salad Dressing

Okay, some salad dressing is harder to make yourself- like Caesar, or ummmmm, hmmm, maybe good Ranch. But I can't make sense of purchased vinaigrette dressings, when I can make an awesome vinaigrette in a minute for pennies. Here is my quickie dressing recipe:

Get a jar with a lid. Put one part olive oil to one part cider vinegar in the jar. Add a couple cloves of garlic mashed through a press. Throw in a spoonful of good quality loose jam (I used Bonne Maman Blueberry Preserves) and a bit of your chosen sweetener (I used 1/2 tsp. of Truvia, but I also use honey and maple syrup).

  Now, put the lid on and shake it, shake, shake, shake it like a Polaroid picture.
FIN.

I love this stuff. It is soooo good, and it's easy to tailor your tastes. Sometimes I add herbs, use Balsamic vinegar and worchestire sauce, and leave out the jam. Another good variation is equal parts cider vinegar, honey, olive oil, mustard and yogurt for a quick honey mustard dressing.

I eat a lot of salad. Enjoy!

New Clothing Tags for 2012

I made new tags for my home sewn garments last week, and this time I decided to go for a little camp. Let's face it; I'm campy.

The image was lifted from Butterick 6517 (my image at the Vintage Pattern Wiki), and I just used a label template on Microsoft Publisher for the layout. I printed to iron on transfer paper, and ironed the sheet on muslin before cutting it into tags. Sometimes I sew them in, but lately I have been simply fusing them with a double sided fusible web. Here is a link to my post on last year's tags.

Interestingly, I discovered I can print directly to fabric. I was wondering if it were possible, so I just starched the hell out of an 8 1/2" by 11" piece of muslin and ran it through my inkjet printer with my fingers crossed. It came through fine, without even a hint of a jam (but please don't hold me liable if you try this and your printer jams up!) Of course, without anything to seal the ink in the fabric, it washes out easily. I am thinking about experimenting with Scotch Guard spray or something of that nature to seal the ink in. I'll let you know what I come up with.....

Hello, I've waited a long time for you....

It's finally mine!

I have been wanting McCall's 2427 for a looooooooonnnnnnnggggg time. I've bid on it once or twice before, but I can't justify paying $40+ dollars for a pattern right now, so I had to let it go. This time it sold for far less... and to moi! Sorry, does this sound like gloating?

On another related subject, can anyone tell me why I love this pattern so much? I mean, I have stalked it consistently on eBay for over a year. I posted this on Sew Retro (now We Sew Retro) back in December of 2010. I'll admit that I love camp, and this is nothing if not campy. I love the applique designs. I love how the dress is full without being a crazy, puffy circle skirt that uses excessive fabric (this is a factor in my love of early 60s styles in general). I love the browns as depicted in the pattern illustration, even if the model looks (more than) a little bit like an alien with a blonde wig.

Alas, it is mine, all mine! It has shipped, and I can't wait to get my greedy mitts all over it! Be forewarned, you might see me at Pickin' on the Square or a local bluegrass show (or at the P.O.) in this fabulous get up come summer.

I have been in a sewing frenzy for the past couple weeks– it came on with the new year. But, I have to make time for fun activities with the kiddo, and she loves to cook. Here she is pretend cooking with pots and pans her Noonie gave her for Christmas on a stove I made by drawing burners on a diaper box with a red Sharpie. Kids are really pretty easy to please before they are tainted by consumerism.

So, a couple weeks ago we bought one of those bags of bananas at the grocery store– you know, the one that is full of bananas turning brown and costs a dollar. I thought, “Oh, I’ll make banana bread.” And then I took the bag home, and watched as the bananas aged every day, admonishing me from their bowl on the counter. As if I need more stress in my life. So, I gave half of them to a friend to lighten the emotional load, but still they sat. Soft and brown. Mocking me.

I finally got my rear in gear mid week and the baby and I donned our aprons for  a cook down. I started  by cooking with the apple baker full of potatoes, apples, and garlic (love roasted garlic mixed with olive oil as a condiment). Then, Gremel Lynn and I got to mashing, sifting, greasing, measuring, folding.... 

 It came out quite well, but I will use a smaller pan next time, as the center did not want to cook. We promptly gorged on it, and then ate more later, and some for breakfast the next morning, and again as a snack. What's left is in the freezer. 

I like this recipe because it uses 3 bananas per loaf. I modified it by subbing dates for walnuts (it's what we had at home) and adding a tablespoon of mayo per loaf. My family can find a way to put mayo in anything. Hellman's only- it makes the bread moist. Don't tell my sister I told you. Oh, and I sprinkled sugar on top, because crusty, baked sugar is yummy. 

Here is the recipe from the banana bag:

Banana Bread

8 tbs. (1 stick) butter, at room temp

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup whole wheat flour

3 large ripe bananas mashed

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup shelled walnuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5x3 bread pan. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt together, stir in whole wheat flour and add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Fold in bananas, vanilla, and walnuts. Pour mixture into pan, bake 50 to 60 min. or until cake tester comes out clean- cool in pan 10 min. on rack. Makes one loaf. 

A New 49er for 2012

It's been some time since I last posted, but just because I've neglected to report on it, doesn't mean I haven't been up to anything! For one, I have been doing a lot of sewing (what else is new?), and I just finished up what is probably my favorite garment that I have made so far, a 49er style jacket.

Several months ago, I found a yellow and gray 49er jacket (posted here) in one of the bins at the Goodwill Outlet near Asheville. I wouldn't have known what it was, except I'd read some posts about them written by Lizzie of The Vintage Traveler. Here is a link to several of her posts. And here is a picture of that 49er-

I was very excited, and it turned out to be a perfect fit. I have gotten a lot of use out of it, but truth be told, the jacket has seen many better days....probably somewhere back in the 50s. Now it is peppered with moth holes, the wool is more felt and less fluff, and the buttonholes at the cuffs are torn. Also, someone replaced the buttons down the front somewhere along the line. Anyway, you get it! I wanted another one that was in nice condition. I found an excellent pattern match via Pattern Review, and the reviewer said it produced an authentic copy.

I bid on a small on eBay a.s.a.p. and hoped the fit would be ok.

WARNING- It's all sewing geek from here. If you aren't in to that, get out while you still can.....

Materials:
Thrifted wool blend- $2.00 for 1 1/2 yards
Thread from stash
Vintage mother of pearl buttons from Flea Market- $2.50?
Fusible interfacing

This pattern was absolutely perfect- when I first received it, I compared the pieces to my real 49er, and I can say that I wouldn't be surprised to learn that someone at McCall's had simply taken a 49er apart and used that as the pattern for this jacket. It is a near exact copy (there is a slight size difference in the pockets).

This was quite a project for me, as I have never sewed with plaid before, and I am just experienced enough to know that I need to try to match the plaid without really knowing how. So, I spent all of my free time for two or three days just prepping and cutting the fabric to the best of my ability. Overall, it came out pretty durn well, and I am really happy with how the side seams and sleeve seams match up.

I am also pretty pleased with the bodice front symmetry, and pocket and cuff symmetry that I somehow managed on this first go with plaid. The only place I wish I could have matched better is the front facings, as I forgot they would always be rolled out at the top. Well, I had only a yard and a half of this fabric in a 60" width, so I had to make due. I really love this jacket, so I'm not going to (figuratively, yuk yuk) pick it apart, and I say that about the facings only as a reminder to help in the making of other 49er knock offs.

In a nutshell, my advice on working with plaids is to take your time and cut them carefully, and if you have a limited amount of fabric, as I did, you will want to focus on matching the pieces in order of importance- the front bodice pieces first, next the back on the fold, then sleeves, pockets, etc.

From there, I followed the instructions closely (for the first time in a long time!) and hand basted EVERYTHING! I am learning that what seems like a lot of work actually saves time in the long run and obviously can lead to a more polished finished garment.

Other new methods I employed were helpful and fun to do. I found a great tip for turning points in Threads #157 pg. 78. I can't find it online, but it involves folding rather than trimming seam allowances when turning points, and I like it. Yeah, yeah, I like it.

 I cut the yoke on the bias for interest, and then I accidentally cut the yoke facing on the bias as well- unfortunately, that meant there was no straight grain piece for stability. So I used a light medium fusible interfacing on the back of the yoke facing. Remind me never to use fusible interfacing. I really don't like that stuff. I followed the instructions, and it did not want to fuse. So I turned the heat up high, and steamed and pressed the hell out of it, and it finally fused but seemed to be bubbling before I even had it on the jacket. That's ok- I already knew I didn't like fusibles, and that's why I put it on the facing where it couldn't cause too much trouble. I like how the yoke looks.

To finish it inside, I serged the side seams and sleeve seams and sewed them flat, like mock flat felled seams. The pattern leaves the collar, shoulder, bottom yoke seam, and cuffs finished nicely. I couldn't just leave the armscye seams, so I bound them in homemade navy bias tape. I also made shoulder pads using the tutorial from Casey's Elegant Musings, and I covered those and bound the edges as well. I used bamboo rayon and organic cotton batting for the pads, and it made me feel damn fancy. For those of you who love vintage patterns but have resisted the shoulder pad (no doubt due to memories of horrible 80s incarnations), you'd better learn to like them. If a pattern calls for them, it was drafted for them, and leaving them out will give a hollow spot and wrinkles across the upper chest. I don't mind them when they are smallish- I think they give a nice structural look to the jacket.

Finally, I just need to say this jacket represents everything I love about 40s fashion with my limited knowledge (the pattern is a 50s pattern, but the jacket debuted in '49, of course!). It is very wearable, and the design is all feminine details- the flanged shoulders, the gathered yoke, the pleats and gathers at the cuff, the top stitching and edge stitching, the wing-like collar, the bias patch pockets....I could go on.

They just don't make 'em like they used to. No, really. The new 49er has a trimmed back collar. I'll take the wings any day! See? My points turned out all right...pun intended! Har har! Get it? It's a sewing joke, snort!