Angel Cake

Monday was Leanne’s day to be Pastry Chef.

We took a break from school work to study equally (more?) important things

like separating eggs (she was a pro by the time we finished the needed dozen),

beating to form ‘soft peaks’ (we took turns since it takes awhile)

and sifting, then gently folding in, dry ingredients.

A little baking, a little cooling and voila,

a yummy base for fresh strawberries and chocolate sauce. 

Leia Day

Friday was our Leia day. She started out in Ojai,

visiting the baby squirrel 

her aunt is rehabbing. 

So cute!

Then it was time to turn on the air conditioner and fire up the oven.

We started with chocolate lava cakes, a first for both of us.

Leia learned several new skills, including separating eggs, which she really liked.

I’m still amazed at how easy - 

and how delicious! -  these were. 

We’ll definitely be making them again. 

Next up was a lemon jello cake from a recipe my mother used to make.

Leia doesn’t like lemons (or anything fruity or sour) so she wasn’t very enthusiastic before we started. But she’s a true Baker at heart - give her a measure cup and a mixer and she’s happy. 

This wasn’t the prettiest cake we’ve made but it was sooooooo good. The "icing" is a can of frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed and spooned over the still warm cake. Perfect blend of sweet and tart. 

And our final project was a pot roast dinner, complete with potatoes, carrots and green beans, all cooked in the Instant Pot. Leia learned to peel carrots (she liked it), snap green beans (not a fan) and season a roast (didn’t hesitate to get her hands dirty - that’s my girl!) An added bonus was Leia learning she really, really liked fresh green beans. 

Now if she would just learn to clean up after herself . . . (Just teasing - Leia did an incredible job with all the cooking and baking. Proud of her.)

Another Finish

While digging through my mountain of quilting UFO’s, 

I found the fleece blanket kit I bought almost 2 years ago for Leanne and I to make together. 

I sewed the layers together, then Leanne made quick work of the fringe, using the special rag-quilt snips Rachel gave me. 

It was the hottest day of the year, but these two insisted on giving the blanket a trial run. It’s a success!

One For One

My newly implemented Quarantine Quilt Rule says that for every new quilt I start, I have to finish one quilting UFO.

I got the bug to make Jac an Elsa quilt - 

Jac looooooooves Elsa so much, there might as well not be anyone else in the Frozen movies -  

along with a matching pillowcase, soooooo

Donovan (finally) got the signature quilt from his baby shower - 

it’s only two years late (sorry, Mary!) - 

and a Cars pillowcase to go with his big boy bed.

Except for the Cars fabric, everything for these projects came from my stash. I bought the Frozen panels when the first movie came out years ago, making Leanne a big sister quilt in 2016 from one and stashing the other. Very pleased it finally found a home with a very happy 3-year-old.

 

Blocking The Camera

I was trying to take a picture of my flowering cactus

but something

kept getting 

in the way. 

Silly flower child. 

Soufflé Leia

I saw an easy chocolate soufflé recipe online, complete with video how-to, and thought what a great project for Leia. 

And it was!

Lots of firsts and skill-builders for her, from sugaring the ramekin

to separating the eggs - she loved it! - 

scalding milk, melting chocolate,

then beating (and beating and beating) egg whites

until those pretty peaks formed (“this is boring . . .”),

before gently folding everything together

and putting it in the oven. 

The final result wasn’t especially pretty* but Pop and I thought it was delicious. 

 

 *You may notice the ramekin is a teeny tiny bit too full as it went into the oven -  not sure if my new dish is the wrong size or what - but oh what a mess it made while baking.

We got the windows open and fans set up before the smoke alarms went off, but it was a very near thing.  

It’s A Hard Life

Distance learning is tough. (not!) 

Leanne is going to hate sitting at a desk when she goes back to school next year. 

Lucy Progresses

All Lucy’s blocks are snowballed, trimmed up 

and in design order - except for that wayward red in the bottom corner.

I started sewing 4-patches together while Leanne read aloud today

but Whirlwind Jac, combined with Leanne’s least favorite subject ("but what does the reading mean?"), meant grumpy distance learning participants. 

I’d hoped to get all the blocks sewn together today (overly optimistic much?) but I’ll settle for the two rows I finished. More blocks tomorrow, then sashing on the weekend. I hope.