Barn Dance Photos

Starring Sugar Pie

Photo Feature: Handquilt Queen Size Bed Cover

This is the result the "Yellow Brick Road Pattern" that I availed at a craft store in Lincoln City, Oregon last August. I used three fabric set of white, light brown and baby blue.

The quilting safety pin is attached to the portion of the fabric that needs to be sewn together with ease.

A quarter of an inch is the allowance given for spacing in terms of quilting and piecing together (sewing by machine) each portion of the square or a rectangle. The back part is ironed after the pieces were sewn together so alignment is easier to deal with when connecting more patterns in the progression of the quilt design. It is a trick I learned from the books. To iron each piece, the light colored fabric is pressed against the dark ones so it does not give a "shadow effect" once the quilt patterns are finally organized together into one whole piece.

This is the back portion of the quilt, otherwise known as the "backing." Knots are not acceptable to be seen in the quilt so you need to pull it through the fabric until it gets hidden and then you start your sewing routine. The backing must have a "smooth touch" for you to enjoy your quilt work. Sewing must be neat and tidy.

I decided to sew the boarders by machine like my own quilt I bought 4 years ago, and it is tucked inside the three layers of the fabric. Making a quilt is fun if you like sewing. To simplify it- it is like sewing a gigantic pot holder. Anyhow, the traditional way of sewing the boarder is to do it by hand like sewing the hemline of a dress. I opted to do the other way around.

French Baguette With Oatmeal, Italian Spice, Parsley, Garlic Grain, Kosher Salt and Oregano

I baked this last weekend and it was perfect to a T! Best served while still warm with pesto dipping sauce.

Machine Quilting And Hand Quilting

Some updates:

I started machine quilting- basically by piecing together the squares and rectangles last month. Cutting the fabric by rotary cutter on rotary board took me a week to finish it for a queen size quilt. Sewing them altogether ate at least a week of my time. When I did the sandwiching of the batting, backing and quilt (topping), I didn't realize how tough it is to work on this alone. I had to endure the trials and tribulation at this stage because I didn't have the large space to spread out the three layers together. My antidote?

First, I did it on the carpet. Second, I did it on the bed and that is where I did the basting. Third, I worked on it at the dining table to finish up and this was so far the better part of the deal. I was able to sit down decently while sewing.

I did a combo of basting and using the "quilting safety pins" by Singer to connect all three layers easily. You just can't use ordinary safety pins. They got to be the quilting pins or they don't easily get through the fabric. Moreover, they break your piece if you force it in. Luckily, Walgreens in Stockton carries Singer Sewing Machine brand of quilting pins, so I availed them and bought several packages. They are costly, I must tell you like $3.50 per small packet but they are a life saver!

As for the quilting work per se, I was naturally thrilled to get started on with it and with my excitement to use my new hi-tech Singer Sewing Machine, I decided to do it by machine and did set the control panel to the flower desing embroidery stitch that turned out to be a disaster. Because of the large size of the material I was working on, I didn't know the fabric was bumping the setting of the stitch's width to its narrowest setting. To my nightmare, I only noticed after I have done a lot of work on the three layers. Imagine my anxiety!

I was deeply frustrated and lost track but I didn't give up. I am this type who is driven to finish off whatever I started as a task so this disaster didn't quite lure me to quit. I opted to be patient and unraveled the large space of the queen size quilt for quite a bit.

After about 4 nights of doing it~ unraveling to the tiniest stitch, I finally finished the task! And around Tuesday this week, I began hand quilting which seems to take forever to finish but it is therapeautic for me. It has a calming effect on me that it just keeps me working on it up until 2 AM!

Now being the 5th day of autumn and being nippy and chilly, it is quite comforting to have this quilt to sit beside me, be with me, and envelope me as I stitch it bit by bit.

I will upload photos later, as it is only 3:41 AM here and it's still dark. I can't sleep and got out of bed to blog. Well, then this is all for now. Cheers!

Jolliebee in 4th Street in SFO

Driving to Redwood City last Sunday, we passed by 4th St. and saw the balloons in front of Jolliebee branch in the heart of San Francisco, near the Financial District, Metreone and the Yerba Buena Park. It was their opening last Sunday. We'd check this branch this Sunday.

Beef Jerky Home Project- A Success!

Husband and moi decided to extend the meat drying time from 12 hours to 18 hours. With this, the jerky became chewy and dry enough but not too chewy that it would torture our jaws to munch it. The flavor is very good; the saltiness is just right and the sweetness is mild but it is not spicy enough for our spicy palette. So, I will modify this recipe, the next time I do this.

Cost: $40.00 for the beef, bungee cords, and airconditioner filters inclusive of the liquid smoke, onion powder and Worcestershire sauce. Add the honey and soy sauce and you'd spend more.

To do this jerky, you'd spend like at least $50.00 total. But consider this: the second yield should not be too painful in the pocket since by then you already have the basic tools and ingredients to use. You only needed to buy the flank steak! Hopefully, next time, I could find a butcher elsewhere who could cut the flanks with an electronic knife, so the jerky could be as thin as a perfect bacon should be! Ciao!

Homemade Beef Jerky

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown* of www.foodnetwork.com

I did this "project" last night, starting out by cutting the 2.8 lbs of beef flanks into strips, mixed all the ingredients, placed the beef and the brine inside the ziploc bag and let it stand for 8 hours (I woke up late, so it got extended to 2 hours more which is not bad). Next, I drained the beef for the whole morning (we just came home from Redwood City around 3 PM this afternoon) then laid down each strip of beef in the a/c filter. All the rest of the information is down below. Read on. It's easy to do. Right now, it already smells like a real beef jerky, am excited to report to you the results tomorrow. Enjoy!

P.S. The only tough part regarding the purchase of ingredients is knowing where to find the "liquid smoke." I thought it was a joke when Alton Brown was talking about it. But he actually showed it on TV on how a liquid coming from the moisture of the ice, placed inside a bowl, over the covered portion of the bunch of woods , made it all possible to gather the liquid from it, and have the smoke aroma derived from the wood to emit its scent in the liquid. And what you got? Liquid smoke! But for us who does not have the abilities, skills or time to do it the authentic way, you could avail it online or in your favorite grocery store or supermart. Husband walked down SAFEWAY in North Point here in North Beach and luckily found a small bottle of liquid smoke. From now on, I'd add it to my oven barbeque for more aroma and flavor!










Special Equipment: 1 box fan, 4 paper air-conditioning filters, and 2 bungee cords


Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak
2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes






Trim the flank steak of any excess fat, place in a zip-top bag, and place it in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours in order to firm up.
Remove the steak from the freezer and thinly slice the meat with the grain, into long strips.

Place the strips of meat along with all of the remaining ingredients into a large, 1-gallon plastic zip-top bag and move around to evenly distribute all of the ingredients. Place the bag into the refrigerator for 3 to 6 hours.

Remove the meat from the brine and pat dry. Evenly distribute the strips of meat onto 3 of the air filters, laying them in the grooves and then stacking the filters on top of one another. Top these with 1 empty filter.
Next, lay the box fan on its side and lay the filters on top of it. Strap the filters to the fan with 2 bungee cords. Stand the fan upright, plug in and set to medium. Allow the meat dry for 8 to 12 hours. If using a commercial dehydrator, follow the manufacturer's directions.

Once dry, store in a cool dry place, in an airtight container for 2 to 3 months.

A Friend Got Married In Houston, Texas...

...And here we are, her friends who are scattered all over the globe are happy about her marriage to Charles! Charles and Delia tied the knot last September 18 at the city hall in Houston. Present were Charlie's dad, son, and Delia's friends. Best wishes and congratulations to you, Delia and Charles!

My First Quilt In Progress: Queen Size Quilt

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This is my first real quilt project. Months ago, I practiced and did a self-study on how to do it. After my trip in Oregon, I was inspired and bought a book, ordered books from our library and learned the ropes. Now I am quilting and have sandwiched all three layers together: backing, batting and topping which is the quilt design.
In photos here the set before I sewed them altogether. I started to hand quilt then moved on to machine quilt which turned out to be a disaster. Am right now unraveling that mistake machine quilting it and hopefully, I could get back to handquilting this piece which is a reminder for a Hollie Hobby theme for me. What do you think?

English Shortbread With Coffee Beans

I baked these cookies last night, they melt in your mouth! It's easy to bake and the ingredients are easy to remember:

Flour (4 c.)

Cold butter (2 cups)

Sugar (2 cups).

Preheat oven to 325 F.


HOW TO BAKE:

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

2. Mix until they form like small peas.

3. Pour into the kneading board or table.

4. Knead all ingredients for 10 minutes. It would look ovewhelming to handle because after mixing them all, they spread all over the kneading board. However, it will be like this because there is no water or any liquid ingredients to hold them together. But as you go on, the cold butter will start to blend in with the sugar and flour due to its change of temperature outside of the fridge where you got it from. At this stage, the kneading will start to get better and a lot easier to handle. It will begin to firm up and gets smooth around this time. Do it up to the max of 10 minutes only.

5. Pat the entire dough on the jelly roll pan (12 X 10), ungreased and spread over flat the dough.

6. Pierce the dough with the fork for that butter cookie-look.

7. Bake as it is or top with your preferred topping.

Personally, I used coffee beans. I had eaten this shortbread type while in Honolulu last week and it is great. So I added the coffee beans. This recipe is truly delicious, melts in your mouth plus the coffee beans give you that crunch and a bite of a real whole coffee taste! Best served with newly brewed coffee. Ciao!

Pre-baking photos







Post-baking photos

NOTE: Shortbread is similar to the Spanish and Filipino powdered candy called, "POLVORON." The only difference is polvoron comes out powedery after you put it in your mouth. To make it, the flour is roasted in the pan on medium heat until it gets to be brown; butter is melted then the roasted flour is poured in with the sugar. You go on mixing it until well blended and dry. After which, you press it in "Polvoron press" to shape it up.
Whereas, "Shortbread" is baked and it is an English cookie. "Polvoron" is Spanish origin in terms of making it. Otherwise, they taste kind of similar.

Photography by MURIEL

My 11-year old niece and I had a chat last night and she shared with me these photos. I asked her permission if I may feature them here and she said "YES!" I think she has the eye for photography at a very young age. Sugar Pie, as we fondly call her, is truly a child artist. Enjoy!

Dalaga (Young Girl) Is Beautiful

*Click photos to enlarge*

She is my eldest niece. I thought I'd post her photos here from her blog so her cousins could see them easily. I had a stiff neck looking at them as she uploaded them all diagonally and or upside down... Santa Banana!!! Anyhow, here come take a glimpse of her. I'd try to upload some more photos of her cousins, too. Ciao, bella signorina (beautiful young lady- in Italian)!

Sunflowers

Coming home last night from the airport was exhausting but after seeing our veranda all lighted up and the sunflowers all abloom made all my anxieties to go away. What a joy to see these yellow sunflowers all over our little garden place in North Beach! One of the largest is here in the photo. When we left for Hawaii, the roses were in full bloom, and then coming back, the petals were getting off. This morning upon waking up, I pruned them all. Next spring, I'd plant early (sunflowers- from the seeds) and transplant each seedling in one large pot each. This way they would grow as big as a plate! And when that happens, the seeds will be bigenough as they begin sprouting from the corona. Then, I'd collect them for the next season! Just a thought. Am just happy to note that this spring was my first time to ever plant sunflowers and am absolutely thrilled they just flourish beautifully this summer! Ciao!

Thunderbird USA Airforce Practice, September 13, 2007

We watched this and recorded this set of video files from our veranda in Waikiki Marriott- Honolulu, Hawaii last Thursday. They practiced for the "Aloha Festival" in the island today Saturday, September 15th.

More, More Pix in Hawaii!

Pink orchids

White flower- name unknown to me

Pink flower
Ukelele is almost Hawaii's national musical instrument...its cost ranges from $9.99 to over $3,500. Beat that?

Orchids are planted in Hawaii (at least at the Marriott) straight into the soil. They are not placed in the hanging pots that are then attached to trunks of trees or hanged elsewhere.

Hawaiian Barbie...oh-lah-lah!

Tropical flowers are all over our hotel domain in Honolulu. This is is captivating!

Our Hawaiin Airlines was going through some engine problems from the time we were waiting to board. After two hours, we were advised to board into another aircraft, but still the same carrier. We arrived and touched down in SFO at 10:15 PM, instead of 8:00 PM time schedule.