Puff Oven Pancake

It is no secret that I love me some pancakes. But this one really takes the [pan]cake. A few years ago, I was introduced by my sister Amy to the Dutch Apple Pancake at the Pancake House in Savannah, Georgia. It's basically a pancake that you bake in the oven, and it puffs up all gloriously and has apples baked into it and drizzly sweet goodness all over it. Heaven.

One lovely Saturday on a brisk January morning, I was hungry for some real breakfast food. Something substantial and glorious to get my day off to a yummy start. I flipped through cookbook after cookbook trying to find something that would not require me to get dressed and go to the grocery store. And there is was. Like a long-lost friend: the Puff Oven Pancake. I looked through a couple of cookbooks trying to find a recipe that would incorporate the lone apple I found hiding in the refrigerator drawer. Generally I lean towards the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, but this time Betty Crocker came to the rescue with a recipe for an apple puff oven pancake. For your culinary delight [understatement], here is the recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. But 2 tablespoons of butter in a pie plate, and stick it in the oven.
3. Peel and slice an apple. (I use one of these lovelies.)
4. Once the butter is melted, make sure it coats the bottom and sides of the pan. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of brown sugar (a.k.a. edible glory) and about 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon in the butter. Then place the apply slices in a single layer in the goodness.
5. Mix 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of milk, 2 eggs, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. (Do not over-mix, or the pancake will not puff.) Pour it over the apple slices.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until it is golden brown.
7. Loosen the sides, and flip the pancake onto a plate.
8. Optional (kinda): top with banana slices, warmed preserves or syrup, and powered sugar, or whatever other combination of sweet/fruity yummyness you have on hand.
9. Do not try to conceal one ounce of your satisfaction.
(Note: it's easiest to eat if you cut it into slices with a pizza wheel.)

And that's it! The best breakfast ever (if you add a side of bacon, of course, which I did, of course), and oh so easy!! I used my strawberry lemon marmalade to top the pancake, which added a nice little zip to the otherwise completely sweet concoction. Here is a picture for you:
(Disclaimer: I promise it is better than it looks.)
Don't you want to just jump up from your desk, run home, and make one right now?!? I know I sure do. Can you tell I'm a little excited about this pancake?

Hope

Notice how my makes have gone from varied and grandiose in December to sweet and simple in January? One of January's weekly makes was a crayon drawing. It had been a long time since I've colored. It seemed like I was due. So I picked up my pad of paper and my box of crayons and set out to color something abstract, something to capture how I was feeling. And here it is:


Each color and shape represents something different:
The yellow is a part of a star, signifying the light I so want to be. (You can read more about that here.)
The green is a fern frond, for growth and how I am opening myself to God.
The purple is a flower petal, for the beautiful things I want to make.
The orange is a flame, for the warmth of God.
The copper/brown is a path, leading me to new places and in new directions.
The red is a brick, for the house that I will have someday.
The deep blue/black is a music note, for my realization that whatever new inspirations my life holds, music will be among them.
The blue is a wave for the constancy of change.
The background is signifying my gray skies turning blue.

And the picture is entitled "Hope." At the moment, I can't divulge the epiphanies and the movements that are turning my spirit from despair to hope, but I can say for the first time in a very long time that I am excited about where my life is heading. I can say with confidence that God has good things in store for me. And that is giving me hope.

Motifs

Two of my January weekly makes have come out of Beyond-the-Square Crochet Motifs. Jason got me this book for Christmas, and let me tell you, it was a challenge to finish up those granny square slippers when I had this puppy lying around. This book gives charts and patterns for 144 different squares, circles, triangles, hexagons, and other crocheted shapes as well as inspirations for projects and ideas for how the pieces can be puzzled together. Pretty sweet, huh? I think so, too.

So here are the two that I've made so far:
I don't know "what they are" exactly. Trivets? Decorations? Pieces of something else yet to be made? I don't know. But I do know that I love them, and I love making them, and there will be many more of these to come, partially because they have quickly become my Sunday night "I haven't made anything yet" go-to project, but mostly because they're fun, and they satisfy my right brain/left brain, creative/mathematical desires quite perfectly.

Handmade Goodness for Me

Disclaimer: I did not make either of the things highlighted in this post. But I can't help sharing them with you. They are just too cool. And they are handmade. So they still fit the genre of my blog, even if I didn't make them. End disclaimer.

This year, my favorite two Christmas presents came from my parents. One was such a happy reminder of where I've come from. The other, a wonderful encouragement for where I am going.

Over the past several years, my mom has been putting together a book of Traditions.
It includes all of our family recipes, stories, and holiday traditions from New Year's Eve to Christmas. I cannot even begin to describe how blown away I am by this book. It's all typed out and organized in plastic sleeves with blank pages included at the end for us to add our own traditions. It's all laid out by holiday and also includes a section of top secret jam recipes. This is a HUGE undertaking. My family has a lot of traditions. And I am so impressed by and proud of my mom for putting this together, for digging up all of the recipes, for the long hours in front of a computer, for documenting stories that will now never be lost to future generations....I am just overwhelmed to bursting over this little book, which is now one of my most treasured possessions.

My other favorite present was another very large undertaking. When I arrived in Jersey on December 23rd, I saw it wrapped up under the tree. I really wished I hadn't seen it because now I would be trying to figure out what it was until Christmas morning. For the next two days, my mind was a constant battleground between my incessant compulsion to figure it out and my intense love of surprises. Was it a dog house? I'm not allowed to have a dog in my apartment. Maybe my parents bought me a puppy and would keep it until I lived somewhere more pet-friendly. No, that didn't make any sense. Don't think about it. You want to be surprised. Maybe a giant bird house? But I live on the 2nd floor with nowhere to mount a bird house. Stop trying to figure it out. You'll ruin the surprise. A large manger scene? Tiny apartment = no room for a large manger scene. Think about something--anything else! Let it go so you can be surprised!!! But of course, when you're trying really hard not to think about something, that's all you can think about. Thankfully, the present was something I couldn't have imagined.

My parents made me a display cabinet for when I do craft shows. How awesome is that?!? It was my mom's idea, and she brought it to my dad. And my dad designed it and my mom improved on his design and he improved on hers and then he made this lovely cabinet for me:
I love this cabinet for a couple of reasons. First of all, its things like these that make me understand why my parents got married. My parents are two very different people. I don't think I can do justice to their differences here. Please just take it for granted that my sisters and I were always puzzled by the match. But when they brainstorm and create something together, it's nothing short of magic. From designing and building our house to staging Revolutionary War reenactments in our backyard to landscaping a garden, one of them will have an idea and the other will figure out how to make it work, and their artistry and creativity feeds off of each other until the lines get blurred and you can't tell what's Gary and what's Niki. It's just something wonderful and new.

The second reason that I love this cabinet is because it's beautiful! I knew that my dad was a gifted carver and artist, but I had no idea he could make furniture. Pretty freaking sweet.

And third, I love this cabinet because it will make my display awesome. This promotes me from casual crafter to serious business person. And to me, this isn't just a cabinet. This is my parents saying, "You can do this." And that means the world to me.

They didn't paint or stain it because they wanted me to pick the color. I knew right away what I wanted. So I went out and bought some lime green paint. When my dad saw it, he said, "If I knew you were going to paint it that color, I wouldn't have made it." He was joking. Mostly. I told him I wanted to thin the paint so the grain would show through, and then I wanted to wax it to give it an antiqued look. In my head, it was awesome. My dad needed some convincing. But it was my cabinet, and I was free to do what i wanted. So I helped him sand it. Then we wiped it down and vacuumed it to remove all of the sawdust. We mixed the paint with water, and I got to work painting it. Once the paint was dry, we rubbed minwax all over it. (This was backbreaking work.) We let the wax pull the grain out, and then we buffed it all over. (Jason helped with this part because I was too weak to get the desired buff.) And then we stepped back...and it was glorious. Exactly what I had envisioned. The wax toned down the lime green so that it turned out a perfect blend of funky-retro and classic-antique. The perfect stage for my lines of crafted goodness to come.

Here it is full of handmade goodies made by every member of my little family:

And with that, I am fully 100% caught up with Christmas posting. [Hooray! Streamers! Confetti!] So now I just have to catch you up on January... [insert the sound of a balloon deflating.] Someday I will be on top of this blogging thing. Really.

Unfinished Business

I tried very, very hard to get everything done in time for Christmas. And I had some big plans. And almost everything got finished or substituted so that I was on top of everything come Christmas morning. The exception was an apron for my mom. It's true that this is the 4th apron I've made for my mom this year. (A Mother's Day gardening apron and two utility aprons account for the other three.) But it is the first kitchen apron. Back in October, she came with me to my church's women's retreat at a convent in Maine. And one of the nuns had an apron with an appliqued sheep on the front. My mom mentioned that she really liked it and that she wanted one like it, which I stashed away in my little Christmas brain.

So I started making an apron for her from One-Piece Wearables, which contains a ton of patterns that I love and would wear. This apron was one that I've been excited about for some time, and I figured that my mom's sheep apron was the perfect opportunity to try it out. But of course, I can't follow a simple pattern, and I changed it because the pattern had three large gathered pockets on the front, which are really just unnecessary in a kitchen apron. So I got rid of the pockets, made it a little longer, flared the bottom a bit, and added my own ideas for decoration. The basic shape of the apron came together pretty easily, even with my modifications. I edged the entire thing in bias tape I made using this handy-dandy tool, which I love love love. And I added straps that cross in the back and are strung through little loops on the sides. So the basic construction was a huge success despite the late-night/early-morning hours at which it came together. If I had to do it over again, I would choose fabric that is a little more my mom. But these choices seemed appropriately sheepy, and I had them on hand the night I was inspired to start. So there you have it.

So the apron was complete except for the sheep, which were the whole point of the thing. And I mean sheep plural rather than sheep singular. I decided to have three sheep on the top (representing her three girls) jumping over a flower and a mama sheep pocket on the bottom. And this is where I got hung up. Because the shape of a sheep is nearly impossible to applique. It's true. It's just not possible to turn the fabric under where the little woolly bumps come in. And I still haven't figured it out. So my mom's sheep apron remains unfinished. I gave it to her on Christmas morning with the sheep pinned to the top so she could envision what it would look like when someday it is finished. Which hasn't happened yet because 1) Christmas making did burn me out quite a bit, 2) the deadline has passed, which means that all my adrenaline energy is gone, and 3) I still can't figure out how to do it. I think that the solution probably has something to do with fusible webbing, which I have never used and know nothing about. I'm hoping that someday soon, inspiration will strike and I will schlep the 700 miles to Joann fabrics, buy some webbing, figure it out, and finish the little sheepies so my mom can have her Christmas present back. In the mean time, it is sitting under my adorable, newly acquired (free, found by the dumpster) ironing table. Here it the apron in its still unfinished state:
Amy's and Megan's birthday presents are also on my unfinished business list. Megan's birthday was in November. She's getting a little felted gnome sitting in a little copper beer stein. I've already felted his head. He just needs a hat and a body, and he's done. And Amy's birthday was in December. I crocheted a bag for her that is nearly completed except for the fabric lining and two simple seams to assemble it. I don't know what's holding me back aside from the aforementioned Christmas making burnout. But again, I'm hoping someday soon, inspiration (or a sugar high) will strike at just the right moment, and I'll finish those, too.

From Head to Toe

For my sisters this year, in addition to a few other little odds and ends presents (pencil supplies for Megan, vintage buttons and crocheted doilies for Amy, gLee soundtracks for both), I made each of them a headband and a pair of slippers.

I'm pretty excited about these headbands I've learned to make. They are reversible, comfortable, and in all other ways awesome. And I have them down to a pretty streamlined process. At least, I would have if I hadn't been making them post-2 o'clock in the morning. That's probably why it took me so long to pick out fabrics for Amy and Megan, who I usually have an easy time spotting in fabrics. I'm still not sure I got them right. But the headbands were finished before Christmas, and they liked them, so all [seam-ripping, wrong cutting, remeasuring, furrowed brow, indecision, etc.] is right with the world.
And I liked the headbands so much that I made myself one as well to keep my hair out of my face in my flurry of Christmas crafting. Merry Christmas to me.
And then there were the slippers. A few confessions about these slippers:
1) I really wanted to make them. This was definitely one of those instances where I gave presents that I wanted to make more so than what I thought they would really want or need or use. But I knew that they would like them, and really...who doesn't need a pair of crocheted slippers? Answer: no one. Everyone needs a pair of crocheted slippers. It's a fact. And I would have made a pair for everyone on my list if I hadn't run out of time, which brings me to confession number 2:

2) I gave Megan a bundle of unconnected granny squares on Christmas morning. And a slipper that I had messed up the colors on. So she didn't get her slippers until after Christmas. And Amy's were finished post-Christmas, also, which is what delayed her and Jared's presents.

3) Because of the color mistake on that one slipper, I ended up with an extra odd slipper. I told Jason I'd make the second slipper and give the pair to him, but then he went out and bought a really nice pair of sheepskin slippers with rubber souls. So I don't know if those slippers will ever get finished for him. We'll see.

Here's Megan modeling her slippers (and her black lab Duncan in the background):And Amy's slippers, waiting to be shipped off to South Carolina:

And with that, we are just about caught up with my Christmas makes. Consider the next 2 posts (Handmade Goodness and Unfinished Business) the "deleted scenes."

A Camel and a Cookie

Last year, my sisters and I collaborated on a present for my mom. I can't remember if Amy or Megan initiated it, but they decided to felt a nativity scene for her. Amy is the best felter of the three of us, so she got "the big show," (Mary, Joseph, and Jesus). Megan did the shepherds. And I did the wise men. This year, we added to the set. Well, I think my mom is still waiting on a sheep or two from Megan, but Amy felted a donkey, and I made a camel. Meet Humphrey:
Ha ha ha! get it? Hump-hrey. Cause he's a camel. I'm hilarious.

Humphrey is loosly based on Joshua from The Little Drummer Boy Christmas claymation. I don't know why I thought it was necessary to make Humphrey so emaciated. But I think it adds to his charm. Here he is happily united with the wise men I made last year.
Another little felting project was this cookie ornament:This takes a bit of explanation. Umm...maybe a lot of explanation. Here goes: I don't really ever remember believing in Santa Claus. It's one of the results of being the youngest of three with two older sisters who find it necessary to explain the ways of the world to you before you really need the magic destroyed. So I knew that all of the presents under the tree came from my parents. But the stockings were still "Santa's" responsibility, and they were one of my favorite parts of the whole Christmas hoopla. Stocking presents were always wrapped in white tissue paper, which you could usually see through because Santa didn't have a lot of time to spare for wrapping. The stockings would always be bursting with little white presents and there would be a pile of white tissue-paper-wrapped presents under each of our stockings, which would always include a calendar and usually a few movies, books, and other such goodies. And inside the stocking would be a toothbrush, a pair or two of socks, candy, some kind of jewelry, other little knickknacks, a clementine in the toe--it was supposed to be a tangerine, but clementines are just so much better--2 candy canes hanging on the side, and--I promise I'm making my way back to the cookie--an ornament. So when Jason and I got married, I had a full collection of ornaments to decorate our tree, courtesy of Santa Claus.

And here, our story takes a dark turn. Jason never grew up with the illusion of Santa Claus, and he never had a stocking!! He said that it was because they didn't have a fire place. (Let it be known that I think this is a poor excuse. Before we finished our family room, my family hung our stockings on a cabinet.) So I believe it was the Christmas following our engagement that I made Jason a stocking. Because if he was going to be a part of my family, that was one bit of Christmas tradition whose absence I would not tolerate. And every year since then, I have included an ornament in his stocking. Because that's what you do. It's tradition.

But man oh man, ornaments are expensive! And Jason and I set budgets for each other for Christmas so we don't go crazy, and these past two years, I've budgeted for ornaments only to not have the wiggle room when it came time to go ornament shopping. But thankfully, I'm so crafty. So last year I felted him a penguin. This year, I put a lot of thought into it, knowing that I would be felting him another ornament. I thought and thought and thought about what Jason likes best, and the answer was "chocolate chip cookies." When I am unhappy, having my hair in two french braids is guaranteed to make my day better. And for Jason, french braids are chocolate chip cookies. Sadly, Jason refuses to learn how to french braid, and my arms are too weak to do it myself. And I am rarely in the mood to make chocolate chip cookies. So we're both kinda outta luck. But I told him that his cookie ornament was also a coupon for him to redeem at any time that he wants chocolate chip cookies and I don't feel like making them. When he redeems the coupon (which he will do by saying, "I would like to redeem my coupon," and singing "C is for Cookie"--hey, I make the coupon and the cookies, so I also get to make the rules, right?), I will make him cookies whether I feel like it or not, no matter what time of day or night it is. Merry Christmas to Jason.

That was a very long story for such a very small ornament.

And now we are finally making some headway in the great Christmas catch-up.