On Good Friday my church performed The Seven Last Words of Christ by Théodore Dubois. It was a joy to perform with so many great musicians, including soloists Susan Hagler, Bill Johnson, and Jose Sacin. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. (It starts around the fourteen minute mark, so scroll ahead.)
Here's a set of potholders I made for my friend's bridal shower. I received several wonderful boxes of fabric scraps from my husband's grandmother a couple years ago and always love to find a good use for them. First you see all the pieces of one of the potholders laid out (pattern, backing piece, two inside pieces from towels, and the three front pieces).
Here are the two smaller potholders complete on the top, the larger one to the left pinned with the front pieces and inside towel layers sewn together, and the larger one to the right with a basting stitch ready to attach the bias tape.
Finally, here are the fronts and backs of all four completed potholders.
Tonight I returned from an overnight camping trip to Belle Isle for my friend's bachelorette party. Belle Isle is a peaceful place - beautiful water, good friends, a sunset, a campfire, delicious food, s'mores, birds chirping in the morning, and long hikes. Here's a peek at what we experienced together as we celebrated her marriage.
My aunt made this delicious banana-cocoa snack cake while we were in New York several weeks ago. We were grateful for a dessert that we could eat, and it's free of all allergens that I can think of except gluten. This cake would be great for breakfast as it isn't overly sweet. I would have taken a picture of the whole thing, but it was eaten too quickly.
We are back inside after a quick trip around the block for fresh air before the storms hit. We brought a little of the outdoors inside with us for a quick homemade bouquet (picked from our backyard). I am enjoying all the flowers surrounding us this season.
I wanted to mention that I've had success cooking the frozen baguettes. When I'm making the bread fresh, after I finish all the rising and shaping and rising again, I pick which loaves will go into the oven and put them on a pan. I take the remaining loaves, put them on a pan, and place them in the freezer. After they're hard, I wrap them up and stick them in a freezer bag. When I want to bake the frozen loaf, I take it out the night before and put it in a couche on the counter to defrost overnight. In the morning, I heat up the oven normally to cook the baguette. The crust isn't quite as wonderful as being fully fresh, but it's very good and great considering how little work I had to do to get fresh bread in the morning! I'm curious if I could put the frozen baguette directly in the oven. I may try that at some point and report back.
We have several types of fried rice we make regularly, and here is one of the egg free versions. I thought fried rice always had eggs in it, but I guess most anything can be modified (reminds me of my egg free quiche...). This recipe is another great one for whatever leftover meat is laying around ready to use, or leave the meat out. You can also throw in veggies you have on hand. Though only peas are called for in the recipe, I added shredded carrots I had prepped and frozen over a month ago, as well as fresh chopped mushrooms. Lots of nutrition in every bite, and it's tasty, too! Remember to prep all ingredients before starting to cook, since the process goes quickly.
Fried Rice modified from "Bakin' Without Eggs"
INGREDIENTS
1 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP grated ginger root
5 cups cold, cooked rice
2 cup frozen baby peas
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
5 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce
6 TBSP chicken stock (use water if none available)
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/8 tsp white pepper
METHOD
Yield: 4 servings
