Just the head space I am in

I laid out another quilt last week.  It is really where my head is.  I have been having problems with allergies since Harvey blew through and concentrating is difficult.  Quilts are not concentration for me.  They are color and texture.  Counting.  This one seems to have a bit different feel for some reason.  Maybe I should lay out quilts more often when my head space is strange.

I also have so many nine squares.  Probably enough to make another quilt.  Which is not a bad idea.  It lets me mull over life and sometimes not mull at all.  

My biggest decision right now is trying to decide the color on the edge of the cardigan I am making.  Then it will be buttons.  Where to put in seedlings in my strange garden the city hates.  I do not conform well when it comes to my garden.  I am just waiting until it is a bit cooler later in the week for me to do much work there.  I am ready for cool.  In the evening, I keep working on sweaters.  It will be cool someday.  Or I will head to the mountain!

salsa

One of those things that is still on the shelf after Harvey, is salsa.  That is a crazy thing but true.  It may only be the flavors I care for but they are thin on the shelf.  I decided to give salsa making a try.

I used a can of Barrio Whole tomatoes.  I blended them.  Then I chopped a lot of fruit and vegetables to go in.  More tomatoes.  White onion.  Nectarines.  Mangos.  Jalapenos.  Mixed it all up.  Salt and pepper were added.  Then it was mentioned that it needed more spice, so chipolte and ancho were mixed in.  Just a bit.  It is pretty good salsa.  Is this the end recipe?  That I am not sure of and I am not sure of proportions.  Just a lot of everything in almost equal portions except the jalapeno and the ground spices.  

It went really well on the taco salad I made.  Maybe I will get it tweaked well enough that I want to write the recipe down so I can reproduce it.  It is a possibility!

I have one sleeve on on the sweater I am making.  One more to go and then a decision on border color.  Or do I wish one and will just keep the border white?  I am thinking color.  Most of the projects I am working on seem to be taking a bit of time.  Not a bad thing but it does make it difficult to write about.  Not that my head is really on straight.  Harvey did blow in some interesting pollens and my allergies are bad.  This has been a tough allergy week.  I need to remember that it is okay to slow down.  I have a hard time with that.

Possibly tomorrow.  

sourdough pumpkin cake

I have gotten asked if I could make a cake with sourdough.  And I have been craving cake.  But not cake with frosting but what I call an everyday cake.  Where it is a little bit sweet, may be toasted, goes well with tea.  Why not?  

I had some "extra" sourdough starter.  Actually, I took a cup from a pizza dough I was preparing.  I used it in the cake.  It meant I did not need to use baking powder, which I can not stand the taste of!  It also means, depending on the consistency of the starter, I do not need to add any extra milk.  Also, I could use water instead of milk here if I wished too.

By the way, this is one of my current favorite breakfasts.  The cake gets toasted, some butter is smeared, life is good.  It is not as bad for you as you might think.  Olive oil is used instead of butter.  I used white whole wheat flour.  I am getting requested for cake about once a week currently.  It is a good thing I walk over 7 miles most days.

sourdough pumpkin cake

1 cup sourdough

1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 14 ounce can of pumpkin (not pie filling)

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

(1/2 cup milk or water)

2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour (you can use all purpose here)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspong ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Butter and flour a loaf pan.  I bought the Vardagen loaf pan from Ikea.  Is is 5.25 inches by 3 inches by 12.75 inches.  It holds 1.9 quarts and works perfectly.

In a large bowl, put the starter.  If the starter is a 100% starter by volume, you will not need to add any extra liquid to the batter.  If the starter is a 100% starter by weight, you will need to add a 1/2 cup of either water or milk later in the process.

Mix in the olive oil and sugar.  It might be a difficult mix depending on the consistency of your starter.  Mix in the pumpkin, egg, vanilla, and if you are using a 100% starter by weight, either the water or milk.  Mix well.

Sift in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.  I usually have some bran from the flour that needs to be dumped into the compost.  Add the salt.  

Mix well.

Pour into the loaf pan.  Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes.  It will depend on the consistency of the starting batter.  I start checking at 1 hour with a knife to the base of the cake.  When the knife comes out clean, let the cake cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes, if not 30.  I always have someone who cannot wait.  If you do not let this cake cool in the pan, it will collapse from its own weight.  Still very edible but there is usually a bit that gets very dense.  Obviously, I did this.  It was a very wonky cake.

An everyday pumpkin cake.  I have not tired of this one yet.  I have a chocolate version as well but so far, this is the one that gets requested the most.

playing with wool embroidery

I have seen some really pretty wool embroidery on Pinterest and Instagram.  Embroidery is one of those things with crochet that has a tendency to relax me.  Embroider is also much more portable then my sewing machine.  It is portable sewing for me.  Outside of just taking knit fabric with me to be sewn.

This was fun.  I took bits of hand spun yarn that just was not enough for a project.  Or I had used it in another project.  When you spinning a whole fleece, there can be a lot of yarn!

I do think I will make another if the right base hat comes a long.  The only negative is just the length of time it takes.  But it is a form of meditation.  I decided to put it up for sale in my Etsy shop.  I find as much as I like to make hats, I always tend towards my favorites.  The same can be said about shawls.

for a small tree boy

Remember that wedding dress I made last autumn for my Beloved's assistant's fiance.  Where I came to the rescue.  Well, they had a small boy last month.  This small boy's birth did not even go close to plan.  We are grateful that mom and babe are alive.  All due to screwed up medical choices.  Not hers!  

Then, before the small boy had even been in this world a month, this small storm blew through.  Harvey.  Their home is fine.  Some repairs may need to happen but it was not flooded.  

There were a few other things that happened that month for this family.  Not good things but get through things.  In long term, everything will be fine.  Short term, it is hard.

This quilt is going to Rowan.  He likes patterns.  And he will be rolling in the next couple months as well so this could be a place for him to roll.  I took longer on this quilt then I did on her wedding dress.  Because there was not a deadline!

Life is strange.

Good but strange.  

Dad already likes this.  It will be interesting to see what Mom thinks.