One New Thing Week 22!

Baking with rhubarb!  We recently signed up for a weekly delivery of local organic produce.  Our first delivery arrived a few days ago which included several stalks of rhubarb (along with a slug - yuck)!  I don't think I've had rhubarb since I was a kid and picked it out of our neighbour's yard!  I've never forgotten the taste, though! I remember biting into the crispy stalks and the sweet, tart taste - it was delicious!  Here's our rhubarb...

 



 

These stalks were pretty thin and quite tough so I had to do a bit of peeling.

I searched the Internet for recipes and decided on rhubarb mini loaves...

 

 

Aren't they cute!  My husband ate one before I managed to get a picture.  They tasted great, although not very rhubarb-y! If I make these again I will toss in a few strawberries!

Recipe here!

 

ONE NEW THING WEEK 21!

This week's new thing is something I came across on Pinterest and decided to give it a try - oven-dried strawberries!  I've been buying tons lately - they are sooooo delicious and good for me, too!  Tons of vitamin C and not too many calories! A quick Internet search revealed quite a few different methods with regard to slicing, quartering, oven temperature, length of time, etc.  I just decided to slice mine and let them sit in a 200 degree oven for about three hours turning them once.  Here's what they looked like after coming out of the oven...

 

They tasted okay and I can see how they would make a healthy treat! I'm going to give this another try - this time cutting them in quarters and giving them more time in the oven.

 

In other news, guess what I got...

 



Direct from London, UK!

Some family members were travelling to England a few weeks ago.  I just happened to mention that if they just happened to be near the Liberty store to pick me up some fabric...

I got a phone call one morning from my SIL saying she was in the Liberty store and to tell her what I would like!  After I collected myself I gave her a few guidelines.  This is what she picked out for me...

 

Isn't it pretty!  I just love it! I have a project in mind but I think I need more time just to stare at it.  Oh, it's going to be hard to take my rotary cutter to this. Some fabric just isn't meant to be cut up (in my opinion)!  I've been dying to get my hands on some of this fabric.  I think it is so pretty and the colours are fabulous! Thank you, Jeanette!  You hit the nail on the head!

 

 

ONE NEW THING WEEK 20!

I'm a few days late...but I managed to get my new thing done for this week!  I've been wanting for ages a while to make a little thread catcher for my sewing room!  I came across a pattern here so gave it a try!  Here's the finished product...

 



The picture is a little blurry but you get the idea!  I think it turned out pretty good. The pattern is well written and easy to follow with lots of different finishing options. I chose to use linen with a little strip of patchwork.  The pattern calls for Essex linen. I wasn't sure what that was so I just bought regular linen and used my favourite colour for the lining!  I love trying out these little sewing projects - they're great for sharpening my sewing skills which I seriously lack!

 

In quilting news, I decided I couldn't wait to get Allison's new book so I downloaded the e-book version to my Kobo (that's a Canadian version of Kindle)! I wasn't sure I would like having a quilt book in an electronic format as I LOVE flipping through quilt books but it's great.  There is even an option to print the patterns! Anyway, her quilts are adorable and I want to make every one in the book!  I managed to get started on one a few days ago...

 

 

These little blocks are so cute and were fun to make.  Hopefully I will have the top finished this week so I can give you a little peek!

 

ONE NEW THING WEEK 19 (YUM!)

Due to time constraints, this week's new thing needed to be something quick!

I have wanted to try a flourless chocolate cake recipe for ages. I don't have a gluten allergy (thank goodness), but I've been intrigued for quite some time with the idea of a cake made without flour.  A quick Google search revealed tons of recipes - some simple and some more complicated, but I decided on this one.

Let me just say, this is the.most.delicious.thing I have ever made.  I'm kind of embarrassed to show you a picture - I should have taken it before I cut into it because once I started eating it I couldn't stop...

 

 

Looking at this photo, I think I went overboard with the powdered sugar!

Anyhow, this cake came together so quickly - probably about ten minutes.  While the chocolate and butter were melting I put together the other ingredients and assembled the batter, dumped it into the pan and 30 minutes later voila! It baked up perfectly and popped right out of the pan with no sticking!This would be the perfect thing to make as a last-minute dessert.  Except for the chocolate, all the ingredients are items normally kept on hand - just the kind of recipe I like!  The consistency is definitely different from a regular chocolate cake, but I loved the texture and the chocolate flavour was fabulous!  This will definitely be one of my go-to recipes and I urge you to give it a try - even if you're not a chocolate-lover like me!

 

FINISH IT UP FRIDAY!

Hurray! Another finish! I've been feeling a little guilty as I've amassed quite a pile of tops patiently waiting in line to be quilted and I need to make a dent in those before I start anything new (yeah, right)!  Anyway, I finished up my rail fence quilt this afternoon (see this post)! I'm really pleased with the way this turned out, although I did struggle over the binding for ages a little while...

 

 

In the end I settled on a soft yellow with tiny flowers which I found in my stash! 

 

 I'm not sure if I like the front or back of this quilt better...

 

 

I think this print is so pretty and I wish I had more!

I've always loved rail fence quilts.  I haven't made one for quite a while - it's nice to return to a classic pattern every now and then!  I have an idea percolating in my head for another one.  But first...back to those tops!

Linking up with Amanda Jean!

Have a great weekend!

(Quilt Stats:  The Sweetest Thing by Riley Blake.  21 2 1/2 inch strips for a total of 42 blocks with a 6 x 7 block layout.)