We’ve been bitten by the soccer bug around here. It started innocently enough last summer but has manifested into a full blown obsession this year. And as far as an obsession goes it’s not too bad. We leave the house, we socialize, even make NEW friends, support a local team and have an excuse to try all those grilling recipes we’ve been hoarding over the winter!

And more importantly it’s an excuse to tailgate. I’m not sure I’d ever been to a tailgate before we started going to Sporting KC games but I’m hooked now. It’s like you get to put on a little dinner party for you and your friends every game but you don’t have to worry if you have enough chairs because a cooler doubles nicely has a bench!

This past week we went fairly traditional with burgers and hotdogs. There was even an attempt make my own hamburger buns after sampling what the grocery store had to offer. I used the Smitten Kitchen recipe for Light Brioche Buns and they tasted marvelous and the texture was pretty spot on. The only problem was that I let them rise a smidge too long and they became one homogenous roll. Next time, and there will be a next time, I will place the formed rolls on TWO parchment lined sheets and heavily coat the plastic wrap with cooking spray. I lightly sprayed mine and seriously deflated the rolls while trying to remove it.

Our burger ‘recipe’ is pretty simple, but with a splash of ketchup and a crisp pickle it hits the spot. I’m not sure where the grated onion idea came from, I think Rachael Ray deserves the credit here, but it allows you to use a lower fat content beef while still retaining moisture!

1lb ground sirloin (we used 90%)
1/2 an onion grated on the small side of a box grater, it will end up being very pulpy
1 t pepper
1 t salt
1 t garlic powder
1 t worcestershire sauce

Mix it all together with your hands, but try not to over work it or the beef gets tough. Form into 4oz patties about 3/4 inch thick. To keep the centers from puffing up while cooking use a spoon to make a little divot in the middle.

Matt didn’t want all the charcoal to go to waste so we went looking for grill able sides. We found a recipe for garlic and rosemary infused new potatoes. With a little guidance from Cooks Illustrated we halved, skewered, marinated and par cooked red potatoes in the microwave. Then we just tossed them on the grill to finish cooking.

And since it was Saint Patrick’s Day I thought was should have a little green on our menu and opted for a mint layered brownie after seeing Marta’s post! I used my go-to one bowl brownie, layered with my standard buttercream doctored up with mint extract and green food coloring. The final layer was a rich semisweet ganache!

Paired with some beverages and lovely company the first tailgate of the season was a success!

Please excuse the quality of the photos, I quickly snapped them with my phone as we were hustling out the door!

I have had the same stocking since I was born. It is very detailed with a mohair bearded Santa and my name stitched into the top. It was a beautiful work of art but time has not been kind to it. Years of crayons and cinnamon bears have stretched the yarn and it seems that moths have been snacking indiscriminately.

Please disregard the bangs, it’s my understanding that they were the result of a few minutes left to my own devices behind the rocking chair.

So it was time to find a new place for Santa to hide his treats. And since all the stockings have to match everyone got a new one! Which is especially nice for Matt since he had been using an actual sock. My knitting skills are pretty basic, I know how to caste on, so recreating an elaborate santa with a hat and bells was out of the question. I choose felt as my medium, cut some snowflakes, added a few polka dots and a quick run through the sewing machine and this was the result…

I was so happy with the finished product that I thought this year everyone could use a cute new felt stocking and have listed them in my Etsy shop!

I will admit that come Turkey day turkey is at the bottom of my list. When there are creamy mashed potatoes, perfectly caramelized sweet potatoes and stuffing with Walnut-Sage bread the bird takes the back seat. However all of these delicacies are really there to set the stage for the pie. Now I have found a pumpkin pie recipe that is pretty good, the secret is yams cooked down with the pumpkin prior to sliding into the shell. But pumpkin, much like carrot cake, does not seem festive enough for a holiday. So at times I’ve made pecan pie, though never meeting the bar set by Aunt Lulu’s pecan pie.

So this year I thought I would try something different for those of us who find pumpkin little lacking. The obvious choice was chocolate and I remembered a Cook’s Country episode a few weeks back where Bridget made a lovely French Silk pie. So in an effort to not have disaster the day before Thanksgiving I decided a test run was in order. Armed with heavy whipping cream and bittersweet chocolate I dove in, albeit a little late in the evening. The smell alone was divine and the swipes from the spatula were enough to convince me to stay up until the pie was set.

So at midnight we pulled out the pie server and let me tell you it was worth staying up past my bedtime. It was creamy and airy with the perfect cocoa flavor. Not overly sweet and certainly different than the Village Inn version I’ve been known to turn to in a pinch/crisis.

I can happily report that much like chocolate birthday cake this too can be sampled with your morning coffee. I was about to wrap up the remaining portion to take to work when Matt made a valid point about monitoring the pies longevity and freshness. So in the fridge it sits, getting suspiciously smaller every time I open the door.

I have a pretty strict rule that I do not turn on the oven in the summer, especially this summer. So we have been pretty light on baked goods around here, sure there were the occasional spoon cookies (no bake cookies) and plenty of ice-cream to go around but no cakes or cookies or pies. This is a little sad given all the wonderful summer berries but I am not willing to roast for pie, even warm bubbly blackberry peach pie.

However the wonderful mood enhancing fall weather has arrived and with it came the desire to bake. It just so happened a coworker was celebrating their birthday last week and I used it as an excuse to whip up an apple pie.

I admit I was a little rusty, the crust a little thicker then I like, but minimal swearing during the process. I used the Cook’s Illustrated No Fail pie crust, the one with vodka, and loosely followed their basic apple pie recipe. It went over well, just a small sliver made it’s way back home for Matt.

So here is to pie season.Orchard season. And weather that doesn’t hurt!

And since we’re talking about seasons I suppose we could talk about the holiday season. For once I actually got my act together and made stockings. A few are at Made and hopefully I will get some listed in my shop this week.

Those of you who have had the privilege of attending a potluck where Matt’s mom was in attendance undoubtedly know the magic of the Scotcharoo. It’s similar to a rice crispy treat but with peanut butter, chocolate, butterscotch and a little magic. They are crisp and chewy, sweet and salty, melt in your mouth wonderful. And luckily for me there always seems to be a pan on the counter when we come home.

The recipe came from a cereal box years ago and has been a staple of family gatherings ever since. In what I choose to view as a stamp of approval Matt’s mom gave me the recipe awhile back. And I have made them on a few occasions, but they never taste quite right. They are good and the batch disappears much too quickly, but they are missing something I can’t quite put my finger on.

Enter the pan. Through a little sleuthing I have come to realize it’s the pan the Scotcharoos are made in that makes the difference. My pans are new(ish) and glass and don’t have the seasoning required for excellent Scotcharoos. So I have been on the lookout for an aged metal pan, preferably one with a snap on lid to keep them fresh. As a semi frequent auction goer I thought finding one would be fairly easy. Every auction has a couple boxes filled with pots and pans, and even 9×13 metal cake pans, but they never have their lids. Finally at an auction this weekend I found one! Slightly dented and with enough crosshatch marks in the bottom to know it has been well used. However the torrential downpour almost got the better of me, but I braved nature and stood outside with my dinky travel umbrella in order to bid my $1.00.

So all that’s left is to pick up a box of rice crispies and hope that magic will do its part.

UPDATE : While I am not a professional, though Matt is a lifelong connoisseur, I think these were pretty close to the real deal. A little tougher then I would like, but I think that came from over boiling the sugar mixture. The pan pulled through wonderfully! Some were packaged up and taken away and far too many were left here… for us to eat. I think that a few more trial batches will be required! And I have yet to test if they mail well, any volunteers?

So with the name came the new site, new business cards, new labels and a pretty new stamp! I knew that I wanted the new logo on all these items in some form but it took quite a bit of trial and error I found the look I wanted.

The business cards were fairly straight forward once I decided to orientate them vertically instead of horizontally. The real drama came when I tried to get them printed. I really wanted to go with an Etsy vendor, but struck out on a number of attempts. Then I was in a time crunch and went with an office box store and it was a disaster. The printing was not evenly spaced, the ink was the wrong color, the paper was too flimsy and the edges on 1/3 of the cards looked as though they had been smacked with a hammer. Finally I went to a local store, that aside from their inconvenient hours, was amazing. The people were friendly and easy to work with, even though my order was probably their smallest to date.

For the labels the problem was not the vendor, I knew that I would go with JenniferJewels, I have used her in the past and am always thrilled with her work. The hang up was the design because the sky is the limit with Jennifer. She can do any size or color, you can choose sew in or iron on. Once I inverted the design the rest was just tweaking the proportions and sizing.

The stamp was something new this time around. I had previously gone with a customized embossing plate, but it was a little limiting and cumbersome. This time around I decided to have a rubber stamp made. I went though the same shop that made my business cards and once I brush up on my inking skills it will be perfect!

This store has been on my radar for a few weeks, but I just hadn’t had the chance to make a trip to Kansas City to check it out. Now that I have I think I need to go once a week just to make sure there is nothing new I need.

While the website looks a little sketchy and the stores location leaves a bit to be desired, unless you have a craving for butter laden Fazoli’s breadsticks, I can assure you that a trip is well worth your while. A side note for those in the area that might be planning a trip, there are TWO Metcalf Avenues that run parallel to each other, you want to take the Eastern one, trust me.

But back to the business at hand. I did not see a fabric over $7.99 a yard. And they had hundreds of bolts of decorator fabric, in any color/print imaginable, including some patterns I have seen recently in local shops. The real bargain came from the clearance fabrics which were $2.00 a yard. Yes $2 for 1944 square inches of fabric, that makes each square inch of fabric .001 cents, they are basically giving it away.

I did show some restraint and only purchased 9 yards. Five of which I am hoping inspire me to finish decorating the bedroom. I am unsure of what I will do with all the fabrics but I’m sure i will find a project or two to start.

So while it may seem that I vanished into the abyss I assure that I have been here. Not doing quite as much quilting/sewing/baking as I would like, but still here. And speaking of here, here is a new place. For those of you looking for me at Food Fabric & Paper you were redirected here, to this lovely spot in the internet configured with much patience and Boulevard Wheat by Matt.

Among the things I have been doing and failing to share with you has been my foray into the retail business of downtown Lawrence. An adorable shop opened a few months ago called Made. It’s filled with 100% handmade things, a brick and mortar Etsy if you will. A friend of mine convinced me to take some of my wears down a few weeks ago and today I dropped off my first order of iPad2 and Kindle sleeves! I’ve been selling things online for a few years, but somehow the idea of them being a an actual store makes me giddy.

So if you happen to be in the Lawrence area take a stroll downtown, not a long one though you might collapse from heat exhaustion, and pop into Made, I’m sure you’ll find at least 4 things you can’t possibly live without.

I suppose we could move through the pleasantries of ‘how are you’ and ‘where in the world did you go for a good portion of 2010′ but I think it’s best to just jump right back in.

That being said Santa was especially impressed by my behavior this year as evidenced by this beauty…

A Viking 6440.

For those keeping track at home I have sewn my way through three previous machines. They were great little machines but seemed to only last a year before I was headed back to Target for another. I was in the market for a better machine but was unimpressed with the current variety on the market. I knew I didn’t want a plastic, I didn’t want a bunch of computerized nonsense and it couldn’t cost a fortune. Which led me to the world of refurbished machines. And with a little collaboration and some impressive eBay maneuvering this 26lb work of art was tucked under the tree for me on Christmas morning. Yes I did say twenty-six pounds, I am considering a pulley system for when I need to move it.

I have yet to try out all the bells and whistles but I have managed to find my way to a straight stitch. Which is handy because some nice boy gave me a Kindle for Christmas, which fits nicely in my purse but it was in desperate need of a barrier between it and the things that live in the bottom of my purse. (On a semi related note how does all that stuff make its way into my purse? I swear there are receipts from five years ago and enough crumbs to live on for a month, even though I cleaned it out last week.) So after a little pep talk I plugged it in. And it was amazing. I was able to whip of this adorable sleeve and a few others for the etsy shop in an afternoon, with not one tear shed or exasperated sigh released.

I was also able to finish a quilt for an adorable little girl who may have been born back in April. I have decided to call it an early birthday present.

I have been waiting for today since Monday, at about 8:32am. Not for any reason in particular, just for the weekend and its lack of expectations.

Today began with muffins. Warm and sweet with the perfect crumb and a burst of tart blueberry. I started with a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, one that she readily admits tinkering with and added a few of my own alterations. The original recipe was for bread, but as we all know ‘quick breads’ just don’t cut it in the morning when you have a hankering for warm homemade bread, now. So I took the recipe found here, added a handful of fresh blueberries dusted in flour so they wouldn’t sink to the bottom, and topped them with a toasted pecan streusel.

I knew the baking time and temperature would need to be different for muffins and because I like instant gratification if at all possible I opted to bake them at 450 degrees for 8 minutes and then 400 degrees for 5. They turned out a little dry around the edges and stuck to the paper liners a bit, but they were pretty darn wonderful. Especially when paired with a warm cup of coffee! Which I have recently learned is amazing black, sans a drop cream or grain sugar.

Streusel

1 T cold butter
1 T flour
1/4 cup-ish of brown sugar
some cinnamon
some toasted, chopped pecans or not
This made enough to top a dozen muffins, but I could have used a little more top the last few muffins

In other news I did finish the Jungle Circles quilt AND the Spider-web quilt, and put them in my Etsy shop. But then they sold. Within a day of being there. I admit I was sad to see them go so quickly but they are off to a good home. And it means I should really get working on all those WIPS (works in progress) that are stacked on the shelves in varying states of completion.

One of those WIPS features robots and space, which makes me think I might have to tear if from Matts hands when it’s finished. I hope to add it to the shop by Monday, but we’ll see, there is Jayhawk basketball on today! When I was debating on fabric for the back of the robot quilt I came across this WONDERFUL Denise Schmidt stripe. Which was sitting right next to these little green sprouts from Jessica Levitt. They screamed spring to me, which for anyone else in the midwest or the eastern seaboard for that matter can’t come soon enough!