Oh, Happy Quilting Day

In the midst of a very long week (wait - is it only Wednesday?!!?) of fevers and boogers and a hopelessly messy house, the EMS truck pulled up the driveway today carrying something to brighten my day. Something exciting for me from Japan!

To date I've kept myself from buying any Japanese fabric because I knew once I did I would add some serious fuel to my fabric addiction. But it's all over now - I'm hooked.

This fabric is so gorgeous and it came packaged so beautifully! It was folded up and placed in a cellophane envelope, sealed with a tiny piece of very Japanese-looking red and white tape. When I opened it, a tiny knotted piece of silk cording fell out with it. That just put me over the top. This had obviously been packaged with great care by someone who loves all things beautiful. And all the way from the other side of the world! I'm still surprised that such a small gesture could have such a big effect on me, but I've been smiling about it all day.


The fabric is for a very exciting special order quilt I'm working on. Above is a collage I put together of the fabrics I'll be using - it's going to be so great! I had a blast working with the customer to choose these fabrics. I already know this one is going to be hard to ship out - I'm attached already!

P.S. For your own fabulous Japanese fabric-buying experience, go here.

Miracle Meringue Cake

Yesterday was Brett's birthday, which meant my once-yearly attempt at making this cake. It is my Grandma's recipe and, like all her recipes, only has some pretty non-specific instructions on how to make something really complicated. Last year I totally messed the whole thing up, but this year I think I mastered it! I'm even more proud because I did it while holding a very fussy baby and taking care of a feverish 3 year old at the same time. Happy Birthday Brett!!!

CAKE BATTER:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup rich milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup cake flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Cream butter with sugar very thoroughly. Add 4 yolks, beating well after each addition. Then add milk and vanilla, beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes more after all ingredients are combined. Spread in 2 greased 9 inch cake pans and set aside.

** I did this last year and found that the above recipe only made two VERY thin cake rounds, so this year I doubled the cake batter recipe and it turned out much better - thicker cakes. It didn't even affect the baking time!

Make the meringue...

MERINGUE:
4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Beat egg whites till stiff. While the mixer is still running on high speed, add the sugar slowly (seriously - go SLOWLY because otherwise your meringue will turn to taffy) in a trickle until it is all added. Add vanilla slowly in the same way. Beat another minute after all ingredients are added. Spread meringue on top of the batter in pans. Do this lightly so that it is in uneven peaks and touches sides of pans. On one layer sprinkle the nuts. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.

Set baked cake layers aside to cool in their own pans. Make filling:

FILLING:
1/2 pound dried apricots
2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream

Simmer apricots in water for about 25 minutes or until tender. Add sugar and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and mash. Put in fridge to cool. Whip the cream in a mixer and fold into the apricot mixture once it is cooled to at least room temperature.

Assemble cake: Place the non-nutty cake layer meringue-side-down on a cake plate. Spread 1/4 of the apricot filling on top of this layer. Place second cake layer meringue-side-up on top. Spread remaining apricot filling around outside of cake.

Take it from me: your messy kitchen will totally be worth it. Enjoy!!!

Happy Easter!

I hope you had a lovely Easter. Things here were different than usual since poor Moses came down with Pink Eye last night. His goopiness kept us from going to church - instead we made a morning run to the doctor to pick up eye drops. That was a big bummer because Easter has always been my very favorite day at church, and I always try very hard to focus on the real reason we're celebrating. However, it was nice to have a relaxing day at home. Brett's parents and brothers braved the germs and came up for sandwiches and to watch the one-man Easter egg hunt. Goopy eyes and a fever were not enough to keep Moses away from THAT anticipated activity! (And if Pez and Jelly Beans could cure Pink Eye, Moses would be completely healthy by now. I can't believe I let him eat candy while he had a fever! Yikes!) It was wonderfully laid-back.

Things were made even more wonderful by the fact that my little brother (can I still call him that?) got engaged last night to awesome Cindy. Hooray!

What could have been a long day with a very sick kiddo somehow turned into a fun day with family. As long as no one else gets Pink Eye I think everyone else would agree that it was a wonderful Easter.

Can I Brag About My Husband Again?

Some of you may remember my post from a while back about my hubby's landscaping skills. Well, I had to do it again because this yard he put in is GORGEOUS! He built this bridge. Seriously. I love being married to a guy who can pretty much make or fix anything.
The homeowner on this project wanted a low-maintenance solution to the back yard area of his home (no lawn to mow or hedges to trim, etc.). So, Brett came up with the idea of putting in a meadow - he searched long and hard for the perfect seed mix and this is how it turned out. I think it is so beautiful - you would think this stuff had grown naturally. And you can't see it, but there are a lovely little play house and tree fort that Brett built for the kids, both nestled in the midst of the meadow. Perfect.

Good work Brett! (See more about his company and his work here.)

Somebody's Special...

I busted out the über-fancy (is that the right way to write that?) stuffed bell pepper recipe last night as a surprise for Brett. These guys are GOOD! I don't make them very often, though, because it is a 4 step process (which is why I'm not writing the recipe here on the blog.) and a lot of dish washing! I got it from the America's Test Kitchen Cook Book, which is definitely worth the purchase. Everything in it is great!
The best part about these guys is that there are always left-overs, so no cooking tonight! :)

Sale in the Shop!

Junie None is having a sale! Go check it out - you might get a great deal on something you've been eyeing... :)

First Digital Art Work

Moses "painted" this today on Photoshop - I decided it was high time he learned what a "mouse" was other than those annoying little guys who keep eating the rice in our cupboard. Doesn't it look cool? He especially loved choosing what colors to use. Now I need to get a good color printer - my brain is full of ideas for kid-created artwork for our walls...