Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks - Volume 10

Cover Girl!

My block made the cover of Quiltmaker's

100 Blocks Magazine - Volume 10!  There

she is, second row from the right, second

block from the bottom, named Dutch Treat.

I also submitted a quilt using the block 

and it was chosen to be in the Designer's

Gallery.

Here is my photo of the quilt, I call it

"Going Dutch".

Merry Merry Christmas!

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas

from American Homestead!

Elle's Kitchen: Cape May Mushroom Soup

We have moved into the grays of Winter around

here and to warm up from the chill a lovely soup

is always a great addition to the menu.

Many, many moons ago, Mr. Wonderful and I

got engaged in one of our favorite places ~ Cape

May, NJ.  Cape May is a lovely little seaside 

village located at the southern tip of the New

Jersey peninsula.  When you drive to the very 

end of the state, it looks like you have come to 

the end of the world so it is nicknamed, "End of

the World, NJ".

Cape May is a Victorian jewel.  There had been a 

devastating fire that burned much of the town during

 the Victorian era.  Since it was such a popular vacation

destination, the town was quickly rebuilt and we now 

have a wonderful collection of Victorian architecture

in one small town.  On this visit, we were getting engaged

and we stayed at the Columbia House.  We chose this 

place because we could rent an apartment with a 

kitchen.  Even back then we were cooking on our travels.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound mushrooms

2 mediums onions

2 cloves garlic

1/2 stick butter

3 tablespoons dry white vermouth

5 cups mild chicken stock (reduced sodium)

3 egg yolks

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

salt and pepper

Peel and chop the onions and garlic finely 

and melt the butter in a large pan.  Sweat 

the onions and garlic in the butter while you

chop the mushrooms finely.

Add the mushrooms to the onions and stir them 

around for a few minutes and then add the vermouth.

In another pan bring the chicken stock to the boil

and then pour it into the vegetables.  Simmer for

15 minutes or until the taste of the mushrooms has

really permeated the broth.

Beat the egg yolks with the cream.

Add a few ladles of the soup to the eggs and 

cream to temper them.

Pour the mixture into the soup.  Season to taste.

Depending on the stock you use, you may not need

any more salt.  Heat very slowly, stirring.  Do not 

allow the soup to boil or it will curdle.  When the 

mushrooms are suspended in the soup, serve

immediately.

I made some popovers to go with the soup 

that really formed some prehistoric looking

shapes ~ but they were tasty!

We have been making this soup for decades.

The vermouth adds a nice touch and the soup

isn't gloppy like so many cream of mushroom

soups can be.

I can't remember where I got the recipe, so 

we just refer to it as Cape May Mushroom Soup.

When I make it, it always takes me back to that

kitchen in the Columbia House when we were

filled with the hopes and dreams of our future.

And we are still cooking.  Tomorrow we are 

heading down to Mexico for a few weeks and

we will be cooking.  We have already decided

we can get terracotta dishes down there to 

make  Gambas al Ajillo, but think we better 

bring our own scallop shells to make Coquille

St.Jacques...

Enjoy!

Happy 4th Birthday American Homestead!

Happy 4th Birthday to the American Homestead

blog!  Four years ago today I started my blogging

journey, it also happened to be my birthday so I 

thought that would be good luck.  I had no clue 

about how to blog, I didn't really know how to 

upload photos from my camera and I think I was

a bit shy about writing whatever I wanted for all 

the world to see.  Oh , how times have changed!

My daughter sent me off to eastern Europe four 

years ago with an index card with a few instructions 

written on it and somehow I figured out how to do it.

Avalon, our American Homestead, has been filled with 

people who have come to visit for Thanksgiving week.

Kasey, our Hawaiian daughter (Kate's former college

roommate) lives on the beach in Hawaii but makes us

happy by spending some of her Thanksgivings with us.

Last night, to kick off my birthday celebration, she made

me Haupia ~ a coconut custard that tastes like a pina 

colada, it was delish!  Thanks Kasey! (And Kasey's Mom

who sent out the mix from Hawaii).

It has been a busy week of movie watching, talking and

feasting.  Photos of our feasts will be sure to show up on

future blog posts.  

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and thank 

you for visiting the American Homestead!

A Beautiful Day in Bloomington

Yesterday we headed south to pick up our

guy in Bloomington.

It was a cold day but still beautiful

with the sun and blue skies.

We took a quick walk around campus.

This is the Well House, one of the oldest structures

on campus.  Legend has it that a couple will be together

forever if they kiss at the 12 strokes of midnight on

Valentine's Day.

This is a great old building but with 

something new this time.

Here is the new statue of the famous Hoosier,

Ernie Pyle, a one time student at Indiana University.

It has quickly become an infamous statue

due to the misspelling of the word "Corespondent".

Then we headed back indoors to have

a  lovely lunch at the Tudor Room.  I 

always feel like I am at Hogwart's when

I eat here.

Early Bird Baking

In a few days our Thanksgiving week company

will start arriving and that means we will be having

a few Dutch Breakfasts.  And with those breakfasts

I always like to serve some baked goods.  When we

are in Europe and can run down the block and buy

beautiful pastries, that little jaunt is a pleasure but

when we are home on the prairie, we don't have as

many options for breakfast baked goods.  So, I make

my own.  Now I could get up really early and bake 

and mess up the kitchen and wait for the tea breads

to cool but that's too much stress and work when 

what you really want to do is have fun! Last night,

before, during and after dinner I baked a few tea

breads, I made Irish Tea Bread and Pumpkin Bread.

Remember to ALWAYS grate your nutmeg, it 

is so beautifully fragrant.  It makes the ground

nutmeg you purchase look like dust...

When mixing together your dry ingredients,

use a whisk, your ingredients will be perfectly

mixed.

In a few hours I had my baking done.  Now since

I will be using them next week and they don't 

have preservatives, they wouldn't last if I left

them as is.

I cut each loaf in half and wrap in paper.

Then into freezer bags and into the freezer.

I pull a few halves the night before I need 

them and by morning they are perfectly

thawed and ready to slice and eat.

Enjoy!

Homekeeping: Pre-pressing Table Linens

Thanksgiving week is our biggest time for

entertaining in the entire year.  Our guests 

start arriving on Saturday and we will have 

a house filled with people we love.  We are

all cooks and that means most meals will be 

at home.  I love to set a pretty table and use

the many linens and dishes I collect.  To save

time I iron all my linens ahead of time.  I use

skirt hangers to keep them neat and hang 

them out of the way on a rod in my laundry

room.  

I keep a little weekly planning list so

if I'm busy I can send one of the kids 

to gather the correct items to set the 

table.

After all, it's much more fun to spend 

time with your loved ones than to be 

off alone ironing when everyone else

is having fun.  A little planning can

 make entertaining a breeze.

That's ME! ~ In the Land of Wonder, the Land Down Under

What a way to warm up a frosty day in the

American Midwest.  A copy of Australian

Patchwork and Quilting arrived from all the

way on the other side of the world.  AND, it

has an article about me and my book.  Oh,

thank you so much Australia ~ I can't wait 

to finally get to see you next summer.

I apologize if the photos are a bit blurry

but I admit I was a bit teary when I was

taking the pictures.  It was a mix of happy

and sad tears.  You see, the article talks

about how my Mum encouraged my 

interest in embroidery and our trips to the 

Five and Ten store where I would always 

want to buy embroidery floss while other

little girls were buying paper dolls and candy.

So, I sat down and had a big boo hoo.  We miss

our sweet girl so very much... But I know she 

would have loved this article, after all, it's why

she encouraged my interest in crafts all those

years ago.

Thank you so much Ally!  I love it!

I'm A Cover Girl!

Well, okay, not me... but my design is on the cover

of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Magazine - Volume 10.

I just received my advance copy today and I was 

so thrilled!

I can't show the design yet but you can be sure I 

will once the magazine hits the newsstands.

If you look inside you will also find a quilt I made

using the applique block I designed.

Stay tuned!

Working With Wool/Felt: Changing Colors

I've been working on making new samples

for my wool applique lecture that I give at

Guilds and Quilt Shops.  This is my Grand

Isle pattern made from felted wool.

Here is the same pattern made with wool

felt.  Wool felt is the easiest way to applique.

And here is another one made with wool

felt.  I love that changing the colors can 

make it look like a completely different 

piece!

I'm using this one in my studio this week

for Halloween.

THE HUNT FOR RED (...and yellow, and orange, and maybe some purple) OCTOBER

We are having a glorious Autumn here in 

the American Midwest.  We live in an area

known for beautiful leaf color in the Fall but

this year seems to be particularly beautiful.

I have heard that it is a combination of 

temperature, sunlight and soil temperature

that makes the leaves so vivid.

In this area, people who go out to see the

Autumnal color are called "leaf peepers".

For the past two weeks we have been trying to

figure out when the "peak" of the color will be.

On our days off we would make plans to go

out for a drive to see the foliage but each time

it was very overcast or raining and that doesn't

make for good photos.

I hike in these woods every day and for the 

past week I have forgotten to bring my camera

on my hikes.

Today we were off and the sun was out finally.

It was a perfect Indian Summer day, the temperature

reached 75 F!

But sadly, we missed the peak time, many of 

the leaves are off the trees already.

So no sweeping vistas of trees of many colors...

And with the breezy weather we had today,

the leaves will all be down soon.  They were

falling like snow today.

So enjoy these photos of the color I could find 

on my hike today.

The sky was so blue.  As my old friend

Lucie Anne from England used to say,

"that beautiful American blue sky".

From our American Homestead to wherever you

may call home, I hope you enjoy the show from

Mother Nature.

Enjoy Autumn, Winter is coming soon enough.