When You Just Want to Buy Some Buttons…

you may see several  pretty fabrics. Suddenly you remember* that there is a big empty space on your dining room table and you have to make a table runner for it.

This was so much fun to make! The front (including the border) is a panel and I quilted around the squares to make it look more like a pieced quilt. For the back they had several fabric options, but I chose the striped fabric from the border,  because – as you know – I love stripes. To give the table runner a little loft and make it  heavier I used white flannel as batting, which worked really well.  For the binding I applied this speedy method.

All in all it was very quick: I bought and washed the fabric one day and finished the quilt the following evening.

*I don’t want to mention names here, but somebody ruined the other table runner, by blowing out the candles so forcefully that red candle wax splattered all over it and it was not me! ( But I did drop the coffee mug.)

Let’s Postpone it!

I have decided to celebrate Christmas in January and it seems I am not alone.That is why I can sit back totally relaxed and knit a sock just for myself.
The yarn is my own hand dyed in Salsa and the pattern is the Lacy Ribs Socks ( Ravelry Link) from Socks From the Toe Up. It is fun to knit, but I can’t tell you how many times I forgot a yarn-over at the end of the lace pattern.

So who am I kidding? I am so behind with my Christmas stuff that I am close to panic. I better get back to work! I hope you are doing better than me.

But it does feel good to take a break once in a while and knit a bit. Just don’t tell anyone who is expecting a gift from me this year. OK?

Please Have Some!

I made 2 of these last night and there is something about Irish Soda Bread I find quite irresistible. It is quick and easy to make and tastes heavenly with a bit of butter and jam.

Ingredients for 2 small loaves:

3 1/4 cup flour
2 cups ground oat flakes
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups and 4 Tbsp buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 475F. Use a baking stone if you have one and add a roasting pan to the bottom of the oven to make some steam later.

Ground the oat flakes in a blender until you have a mixture of oat flour and oat flakes. It takes just a few seconds. Blend all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and add the buttermilk. Stir until the dough comes together. Divide the dough into two, shape them into a ball, flatten them and push a dough scraper or a knife 2/3 down into the dough to shape a cross.

Bring a cup of water to boil. Slide the 2 loaves onto the hot baking stone using some semolina or cornmeal to prevent it from sticking. ( I prefer semolina because it does not add a different flavour.) Pour the boiling water into the pan on the bottom of your oven and shut the oven door quickly.

Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 450F and bake for another 15 minutes.

The Tradition of Celebrating Advent

In Germany it is custom to celebrate Advent, which starts four Sundays before Christmas. This year the first of Advent was last Sunday. On the Sundays of Advent you have a special Kaffeklatsch with a wreath and, most important, Christmas cookies. The wreath has four candles and on every Sunday of Advent you light one more candle. Traditionally the Christmas Tree is set up very close to Christmas Eve and taken down after January 6th, which is the day of the Three Magi.

Many German women are very proud of their cookies. I remember every year there would be a fierce competition between my mother, her sisters and my Grandma who could bake the most different kinds of cookies.  Often a family has its own favourites and “secret” recipes.

I am very lucky that most of my recipes come from my husband’s Grandma who was born in 1908 and a chef in Vienna, Austria. Who knows how old some of these recipes might be?

My new favourite this year is a coffee cookie. My Grandma used to make them when I was a kid, but I never got her recipe. I managed to find one in a magazine and with the help of Starbucks instant coffee they turned out really well.

You need:

100g butter
100g sugar
a dash of salt
1/2 tsp Dr. Oetker Vanilla Sugar or 1/4 tsp Vanilla
2 pck or 1 Tbsp Starbuck’s Instant Coffee ( Italian Roast)
1 Tbsp Cocoa powder
1 Egg
75g ground semi-sweet chocolate
50g ground almonds
150g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Beat butter and sugar, add vanilla, salt, coffee, cocoa powder and egg. Mix until well incorporated. In a different bowl mix flour, chocolate, almonds and baking powder. Add these to the butter mix. Let the dough rest in the fridge for about 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350F/ 180C

Shape the dough into small balls or use a small (2 tsp) ice-cream scoop and drop onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes. Let cool.

Decorate with melted chocolate and top with a whole almond, coffee bean or a coffee-flavoured chocolate bean.