crossing the line

 

My quilt Crossing the Line was selected for the Lines challenge run by Aotearoa Quilters. 

day 26

The jam making continues.  When the world is in crisis...make jam.

fig and ginger jam

This is the taste of my childhood. I made it for the very first time and it tastes just like Grandma used to make. She had her own fig tree, purely for the purpose of making this jam.

birthday week

It's been a busy week with a quilt to finish for Iggy's second birthday. Amazing what can be achieved in one week of school holidays. And baking to do for the joint birthday party. 

kinda looks like christmas

The cake is iced, the tree is decorated..kinda looks like Christmas.

christmas cake - √

The Christmas cake is made. I bake it in a wooden box which cooks it perfectly with no burnt edges. It has been 'fed' with brandy top and bottom, wrapped and put away. I will feed it once more at the beginning of December then again when I ice it. Feels good to be organised and I know it will taste all the better for it.

I have finished!

I began this quilt in January 2010 - see post I have started!
Wow, it took me 4 years to complete. I have made two other quilts in that time but it certainly shows just how unproductive I am. It sat for several years waiting to be quilted and actually I really enjoyed machine quilting it once I got started. And of course there's the issue that I began this quilt when in a very traditional phase, and now I would have preferred something less traditional.
Note to self - plan, make and complete a quilt within a year of beginning!
However it does look nice on the sofa.

mille feuillé

I loved custard squares as a child. However as I aged and my palette became more sophisticated I was aware of the gluggy pastry and the Edmonds custard. Then I went to Europe and had a genuine French mille feuille. So this is what the bastardised NZ version is based on? Divine.
A mad french woman named Marianne opened a cafe in town about 10 years ago and she made her own mille feuille with passionfruit icing - great kiwi modification! Predictably the cafe was sold to the usual conglomerate that purchases and destroys many excellent cafes in NZ, but that's another story. However since then I have gradually mastered the art of making mille feuille. They are not yet perfect and unless I become a french pastry chef then they are probably as good as they will get and that's pretty good.
There is quite an involved process in making them and I only make then once a year for either Mothers day or my birthday - which could be why they took so long to perfect. Maybe there is another mille feuille addict out there that will appreciate all my 'research'.

To make 8 large or 16 small mille feuille.
Pastry Creme
4 cups of milk
2/3 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of standard cake flour
6 egg yolks
vanilla extract

Separate the eggs, put yolks in a large heatproof bowl and beat in sugar until pale - about 1 minute.
Sprinkle flour over top and beat until combined.
Heat milk carefully until just about to simmer.
Ladle milk into egg mixture one spoon at a time and beat between each addition to ensure egg does not curdle.
Pour mixture back into saucepan and gradually bring to boil stirring constantly so it does not catch on the bottom. When cooked add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Pour into a dish and cover with Gladwrap pushed down onto the top of the creme to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate over night.

Pastry
I use Edmonds flakey puff pastry sheets. When I retire, I will learn to make my own.
Place the pastry sheets between two sheets of baking paper weighed down with another tray or two to keep pastry flat. Bake at 210 degrees on a hot tray for 16 minutes.
Remove from oven, remove trays and top baking paper. Sprinkle generously with icing sugar and return to oven. Watch carefully as sugar caramelises then remove quickly from oven before it burns.
Flip pastry sheet over and repeat on other side. Cool on wire trays.

Icing
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
passionfruit pulp
Heat approximately 1/4 to 1/3 cup of passionfruit pulp in the microwave and add to icing sugar gradually. Adjust quantities as needed to make a thick but smooth icing.

Assembly
Spread half on the pastry creme over the first sheet of pastry ensuring it goes all the way to the edge.
Place the next sheet of pastry on, repeat and add top sheet of pastry. Ice with passionfruit icing.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes minimum. You will be amazed at how well this cuts with a sharp knife. The custard creme does not ooze out when you cut it. You can trim the edges if you want perfect looking mille feuille or leave them for a more rustic look. They are best eaten on the day they are assembled for crisp pastry. Bon appetite!

knit one purl two

I grew up in the 60s when everyone knitted. Except me. Hated it, refused to learn. Just like crocheting, which I had to get mum to teach me in 2011 so I could crochet a blanket for my then expected grandson. Well Max is 20 months old now and I am knitting him a jersey. First thing I have knitted that requires reading a pattern since I knitted his mother a very cool hooded jacket when she was about his age. That's over thirty years ago. Reading a knitting pattern is like reading another language - and I was never any good at that either. I now remember and appreciate the constant stream of gorgeous home knits my mother produced for my kids, until they weren't cool to wear any longer.
The things an Oma does.

busy as a bee...

...with a bum full of honey! It's one of my favourite expressions - always brings a smile to my face. As a lover of blue flowers, my garden is full of these busy bees doing their thing. Thank you bees.

shiny new

I have indulged myself with the purchase of a new coffee machine, one that grinds it's own beans.  One early morning coffee a day -  without having to leave the house -  one of life's little luxuries.

necklace

Sometimes you set out to make something and it just works. I love those day.
Made a necklace for my nieces wedding with beads and ribbon purchased in Coromandel Town.

Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve, the pressies are wrapped, the baking is done.
Merry Christmas!

Feijoa Jam

This has been the summer for jam making. Started with plums as I have a mega plum tree - it is so easy to make with this new jam sugar you can buy, but plum jam is a bit ho hum. Then Sonya and I made rhubarb and ginger jam which was anything but ho hum. This weekend I made feijoa jam - again - the first time it was so delicious! I've made 9 more jars so there's plenty to go around. I'll take some to the Netherlands with me when I go - for Sonya.