Padding, Pillows, and Plenty of Pudding

Before our current cold snap, I was able to get out in the yard and get some much-needed work done...under careful supervision, of course.

My sister brought over a big load of rich, healthy compost, which I'll till into our poor soil soon to add some much-needed nutrients.

Everything seemed to come to life at once. My autumn sedums look like miniature lettuce heads. They'll make a beautiful display in September.

I found another nice natural groundcover. This is persian speedwell...tiny blue flowers that spread in bright patches in our yard.

Blue is such a lovely color in the garden!

The columbines are making great headway. I expect to see stalks within two weeks.

Not to be outdone, the lilacs are showing bright green leaves all over. I simply can't wait until they bloom! I have the most beautiful bouquets in nearly every room in the house.

I found evidence of past life...some insect spent some time here in the fall!

Best of all, though, I found evidence of future life: the ground under our big pine tree is littered with tiny bits of fuzz, which the birds nesting above have dropped from their nests.

Lots of activity inside, too. Single flowers make beautiful displays in egg cups, assisted by a few pebbles within to help the stems stay upright.

Besides flowers, I've been thinking of more ways to bring some bright color into the house. I recently bought this pillow at IKEA for, I believe, around $10. I wanted to buy more, especially the blue plaid counterpart, but that could get expensive pretty quickly. How hard could it be to make my own? As it turns out, making a pillow is incredibly easy.

I found a man's button-up shirt at a thrift store that I thought would work nicely. Cost: .75.

I found an ugly old pillow that the cats had been kicking around on the front porch. Origin: unknown. Cost: free.

I placed the pillow on top of the spread-out shirt...

...and cut out around the pillow, making sure to leave a wide margin on all sides. I should've left a wider margin, but that was easily solved by removing the cover from the brown pillow to make it a better fit.

Then, I turned the shirt inside-out and simply stitched around the edges, making a nice, even square. I did this by hand, which took less than an hour. If you use a sewing machine, this would take mere minutes.

After your pillowcase is sewn, unbutton the shirt and turn it right side-out. Slip in the stuffing (or the pillow you're covering) and button the shirt up again.

Ladies and gentlemen, that's a pillowcase!

Or, if you prefer the flip side:

I'm really pleased with this less-than-$1 DIY project. The two pillows are complementary, I think, and make a good pair. I'm envisioning a whole stack of beautiful plaid pillows. All I need is a thrift store shirt!

I can't wait to go back!

My knitting needles have been clacking along, albeit slowly. I haven't had too much time to work on my cardigan, and certainly a sock yarn-weight cardigan takes much longer to knit than one knit with the typical DK- or worsted-weight yarn. I'm pleased with the way it's turning out, although I'm still a bit nervous about the modifications I'm making: lengthening the body, raising the neckline, and lengthening the sleeves, not to mention the size and gauge guesses. I will make it work somehow! I think it will be a perfect cool-weather cardigan.

Of course, I've been very busy in the kitchen as well. We just finished off the last of the coconut cream cupcakes, and my homemade butterscotch pudding with carmelized bananas and homemade whipped cream only lasted 2 days. But I did have time for another sweetie...any excuse to use my new tart pans!

From-Scratch Chocolate Pudding Tarts
Adapted from food.com
Serves 4

Pudding
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
4 - 6 tablespoons butter, melted

To make the crust, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and then carefully press into your pie or tart pan. Bake for 5 - 7 minutes.

For the pudding, mix all ingredients but the milk and vanilla together, and then add milk. Whisk until fully combined, and then microwave uncovered for 3 minutes.

Stir.

Then you'll continue to microwave in one minute increments, stirring after each minute. You'll notice after 4 or 5 rounds that a thick brown "skin" covers more and more of the pudding's surface each time. I usually stop once there's just a small bit of light brown remaining in the center.

Mix in the vanilla, and you're done! Note: if you like a sweeter pudding, add 1/3 cup sugar instead of 1/4 cup sugar. I just prefer the "darker" taste of a less-sweet pudding.

Spoon the thickened pudding onto the graham cracker crust and refrigerate.

YUM! These cool in a few hours and are ready to eat. They're absolutely delicious. I've been making the homemade pudding for years - I'll never go back to the powdered stuff! - but this is the first time I thought to pair it with a graham cracker crust.

It's a good match.

You'll notice that I don't have a photo of the tart out of the pan and ready to eat...a certain someone likes these a little too much, I think! They didn't last long enough to photograph. That's all right...it's quick and easy to make more!

I hope you'll give them a try. Have a great week!

Don't Be Koi...Have a Cupcake.

Even though we've got some green coming up in the garden, it's been too chilly to do much digging. I was gratified to see Clarence recently, though. He made it through the winter without too much trouble, although he's gotten so fat that he can barely balance himself on the fence post. Still, a tiny handout can't hurt much!

Clarence is my garden companion. He's good company, sprawled out on the walkway, watching as I dig. He's always ready to lend a helping paw...well, mostly when he's helping himself to more food!

But I don't mind. Anyway, we haven't spent much time together lately. Mostly I've been paying attention to indoor plants. My succulents made it through the winter without much damage, and my geraniums are fine. I love their leaves!

I've continued to bring in more fresh flowers to arrange in vases around the house...mainly tulips, and sometimes mums...

...and this week, cheerful yellow daisies.

I had a mystery plant growing alongside my geranium, so I pulled it and repotted it in an egg cup. It's very nice for spring!

Next week I must get out in the yard and start clearing away debris. This week, though, I've had time for guilt-free knitting. Regrettably, my latest project is a bit of a bust. I've had the Kissing Koi mitten pattern for a while but didn't feel secure enough in my fair isle abilities to begin it. However, I decided this pattern was just what I needed to get me out of my knitting funk. The fair isle went smoothly. No puckers and no loose gaps, either. As you can see, the front is a koi fish and flowers...

...and the back is a simple diamond pattern, in place so that you won't have long floats of yarn to catch your fingers on. The orange line is my afterthought thumb.

I have very small hands, and for this size the pattern suggests size 1 needles. I decided to use size 0 needles - the smallest I've got - and still, this mitten is oven-mitt big. I've read notes on the pattern that indicate that it runs large...there's a lot of detail to fit! I'm unwilling to frog it and re-knit on size 000 needles, when it still might be a bit too big. I may make it into an oven mitt, or chalk it up to a learning experience, frog it, and use the yarn for something else!

I'm starting on a cardigan, using the snowflake fingering-weight yarn I ordered from England this winter. This is another experimental project. Gauge is 18 sts = 4 inches. Recommended needle size is 7. I had to go up to a size 10 needle to get gauge, and then the fabric is too "open" for comfort. So, throwing caution into the wind, I'm using a size 8 needle (gauge is 22 sts = 4 inches) and knitting a 40" cardigan in hopes that the cardigan will end up being 36". I think it will work! The thought of frogging a fingering-weight cardigan is something I'm unable - or unwilling - to contemplate, so I'm crossing both fingers and toes that my calculations are correct.

I've baked some beautiful loaves this week...

But man cannot live on bread alone. So, I made cupcakes! This was an unusual and last-minute choice. I had picked a double-raspberry chocolate cupcake recipe from Annie's Eats. But, as I stared at the 2 sticks of butter coming to room temperature on the counter, I started feeling guilty. I want to make nice treats for my husband as he's hard at work on his dissertation, but I don't want him to develop coronary heart disease as the result of my attentions. I decided to make several modifications. Instead of making a dense, rich chocolate cake, I found a pudge-free brownie recipe and went to work!

Pudge-Free Double Raspberry Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes (phew!)
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcakes
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vital wheat gluten
2 egg whites
3/4 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
a splash of vanilla

Filling
Raspberry Jam

Icing
4 ounces neufchatel cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup raspberries
1/4 cup raspberry jam

For the cupcakes, mix together the dry ingredients. If you don't have vital wheat gluten, don't worry about it...but it does help your cupcakes to rise a little higher. Add wet ingredients and mix well. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake cupcakes for 18 - 20 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool.

I was pleased with the rise. The recipe is for brownies, not cupcakes, but adding the egg whites gives it a more cake-like consistency.

After your cupcakes cool, take a paring knife and cut a hole in the middle. See the little triangle you pull out? Cut the bottom part off and feel free to eat it...just to make sure it tastes all right, of course! ;)

Take 1/2 cup raspberry jam and heat it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Stir well, and spoon a bit into the center of your cupcake.

Cover it with the piece you put aside. Voila! You've got filled cupcakes!

To make the frosting, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Because I used fresh raspberries, my frosting wasn't very stiff. If you prefer a stiffer frosting, leave out the fresh raspberries and just use jam. I piped it onto the top of the cupcake without any difficulties.

If you're a chocolate and raspberry fan (like my husband!) you'll love these! There's just a bit of butter and sugar but you've got a chewy, brownie-like cupcake with a double shot of raspberry - the stronger flavored filling, and the lightly-flavored icing. It's a nice balance. Let me just say...Todd's already had three, so I think they've got the stamp of approval! And they're relatively guilt-free.

Enjoy!