Oatflour pancakes without sourdough

 I ususally make my pancakes using my sour dough but this morning I decided to try out a recipe for oat flour pancakes without the sour dough.  It worked out much better than I anticipated.  They were nicely browned and held together very well.  This will give me an alternative for pancakes at the last minute when I don't have time to feed my sourdough.  Here is the recipe (Marissa Moore) I used with the modifications I made.  

Healthy Oat Flour Pancakes

1.5 cups of old fashioned oats (blended into flour)

1 egg

1 cup of milk (soured with lemon juice)

1/2 tsp of baking powder ( I used soda)

1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon (did not use)

splash of vanilla (did not use)

butter for cooking ( olive oil)

Stir the ground oats with the milk. ** I set aside 2 tbsps of the oat flour to which I added 

my soda which makes it easier to incorporate just before you make your pancakes.  I let the flour and milk sit for 10 minutes while my griddle warmed up.  

I stirred my milk and oat flour mixture then added the egg and mixed it in.  

Once my griddle was hot I mixed in the oat flour/soda I had combined earlier and gently combined them into my batter.  

I added a bit of oil to my griddle and used a large spoon to create my pancakes on my griddle.  Cook until bubbles form and flip over.  Serve with your favorite pancake toppings.

These browned beautifully and really held their shape.  The recipe indicates that you get six 4 inch panckes.  I got twelve pancakes which were just a 

bit smaller and between Brian and I we ate seven and I put five in the freezer. 

This recipe removes the white flour which I use to feed my sour dough so in the end is really a gluten free option.  Will certainly be making these again!!! 

Therese

Kitchen Aid mixer in the shop

I have been having a bit of trouble getting my Kitchen Aid mixer to stay in the off position lately.  It has turned on a couple of times with the unit up in the middle of making a batch of muffins.  Fortunately, I was able to stop it quickly but I could see the potential for damage had there been a spatula in the attachment, etc.  I asked Brian if he would be willing to look at it.  He did some research on line and found a YOUtube video which gave the complete step by step fix for the problem - simply a loose screw!!  It pretty much had to be disassembled, the screw tightened and then reassembled but it is a fix and my mixer no longer has screw loose!!  It apparently is a known problem and I am very grateful that there was a good video for the repair.  It took an hour with the laptop in the shop to get it done and I expect it will serve me well for another 15 years!!!  I am much in debted to Brian's keen ability to take things apart and get them back together with all the pieces in the right place.    Therese

Fabric gift wrapping - a few more!!

 I made a few more fabric gift wraps with fabric I had pulled from my stash the other day.  Again they range from 36" to 24".  I found a square scarf while I was in there and it makes a wrap with no work involved!!  I wanted a bit more variety before I started wrapping gifts.  

Therese

Another small quilt - pink and green

 I made another small quilt last week using a pink, green and yellow panel (34" x45") which used to be a table runner.  I added the four green triangles (used to be placemats) to the odd shaped piece to make it a rectangle.  I found the hydrangea fabric in my stash but did not have quite enough to make a strip on each side so I added two little pieces of green in the centers which worked quite well.  I used a thin cotton batting and a nice coordinating cotton on the back.  I added quilting lines in the green line and the brown line in the pattern and in the ditch of the center seam.  I found the dark pink in my stash and had enough to make the binding.  I did the one fold binding again but did not get the corners quite right - they are rounded instead of square.  I will have to print the directions and put them in my quilting box.  I added lines of wavy decorative stitching to the bindingand the green triangles.  This is my favorite colour combination and I am really happy with how it worked out.  I am enjoying playing with panels and pieces.  I have several others in my future quilting box which will appear as time permits!!

Therese

Fabric gift wrap for Christmas

 I have decided to embrace fabric gift wrap this year.   I did a bit of research this week and decided to try Furoshiki  - a Japanese technique of gift wrapping which uses just squares of fabric tied with two knots.  They are a gift in themselves as they are completely reuseable.  I decided to delve in my stash of fancy fabrics and see how many I could get done in a day.  I managed several different ones and six of the red ones.  They range from about 36" square to about 15" square.  Online, they indicated that 12" x 12" was a mini, 15" x 15" was small, 24" x 24" was medium and 36" x 36" was large.  I used what I had for fabric and made them about 34" square.  The pink is the smallest and was ready made in my stash - a dyed hankerchief.  The purple and orange are a bit see through so may have to have another one layered below them but that is easy enough to do.  I really like the shimmery one which I used to tie up a gift in the first photo.  It is very quick and easy to use these fabric wraps and they look elegant!!  I have a few more to finish but I should have what I need to wrap my gifts for the box that I am sending off soon.  I will be able to make up a few more if I need for closer to Christmas.  It was a full day in the sewing room but I am very happy with my progress and will be augmenting my stash of wraps over the next year or so I can liquidate the bit of gift wrap and curling ribbon I have on hand.    Therese

Green and pink baby quilt featuring a panel of hearts and baby images

Suzanne gave me this panel a while back and made a quilt with it last week.  It is 34" x 43.5", has a cotton batting and this fun pink and green plaid fabric for the backing and part of the front.  I started by cutting the batting, then stitched my panel to it using wavy lines of straight stitch.  After measuring and cutting my backing I laid the batting/panel piece in the middle and pressed and pins the sides in place the stitched them into place.  Next I tucked in the top and bottom into each other at the top and bottom and stitched those together using a wavy decorative stitch.  I added rows next to the straight stitching on the two sides of my panel as well.  That finished my quilt in one go at the sewing machine!!  I added straight stitching to the dark pink squares in my panel to quilt all the layers together.  It took me less than a day to get it finished so I can see how quilter would be willing to use panels for small quilts.  Now that I have done one, I will keep an eye open for panels when I am out shopping at thrift stores.  It was really nice to have everything be neat and not bunch up and to have it finished so quickly.  Therese
 

Fall colours quilt

I finished this fall coloured quilt yesterday.  It measures 34" x 45".  The center section was a find in Nanton earlier this year.  I added the border around it three weeks ago using scraps dark on the light side and light on the darker side.  Yesterday I went looking for enough fabric to make another border to make the quilt large enough.  I found this swirly leaf fabric which was almost enough - I stitched the fabric to the two sides and then measured to make sure there was enough and I was missing a few inches so I dug out my scraps and found a couple that worked and added them to the ends of my strips on the top and bottom.  I did horizontal quilting to attach my batting (polyester) to my top and then vertical stiching when I was attaching my back to the batting/front.  It worked quite well and I managed to have enough of my green backing to self bind.  I did two rows of stitching on the binding as it was quite wide.  I have a few ideas on the back burner for the next quilt so we shall see what rises to the top next weekend.  Therese

 

Rearranged my sewing space.

 I have rearranged my sewing space to accomodate a new little desk which my Mom gave me on the weekend.  It comes with a serger so I will have to give that a try and see how it goes.  With it tucked up to my sewing desk it will provide support when I am stitching my quilts.  I have decided that this area needs to be used only for sewing and cardmaking cannot be allowed to encroach.  

Therese

New tea towels

I have made myself six new tea towels using two pillow shams made of 55% linen and 45% cotton.  They are in a nice plaid fabric with light and dark gray stripes on a warm gray background.  They turned out to be 24" x 26" and I finished their edges with a simple fold which I stitched with a decorative stitch using dark gray thread.  I forgot to add loops for hanging so added those afterwards using white twill tape.  I am looking forward to using them and seeing the benefits of linen  - natural antibacterial, very absorbent and quick drying.  

Therese
 

Washed the car inside and out

 

The weather has been gorgeous so Brian and I took the opportunity to wash the cars.  I did mine inside as well being as it had been quite a while since it had been done.  Feels good!!

Therese

Trip up north

 Lunch together before we headed home!!  It was good to see each other and have time to talk a bit about options for Mom and Dad as time goes on!!

Therese