Lemony lemon-ness

So I hung around the house and baked a little...

I found the recipe for this pretty "brownie" here.  After I saw it on Facebook, dontchaknow?

I must say that if you're zesting, try for organic lemons.

I have a few issues with the recipe, though...it calls for about 4 2/3 tablespoons of lemon zest coming from 2 lemons.  Holy cow, they must have been the size of foot balls!  

Note that these aren't foot ball sized.  :s

An interesting factoid:  It's best to hand wash depression era glass, like the juicer there below.  Mostly to keep the surface of the glass from going cloudy.

These yielded about 2/3 cup of juice and 2 tablespoons zest.

I lined the pans with parchment for easier removal...and easier clean up.

After beating for 2 minutes, the batter got a little bit fluffy.  I could-a eaten it like it was!

Looks almost like frosting, no?

Here is is turned out onto a milk glass plate.  At this point I would eat it, but I wanted to try it with the glaze, first.

It's almost cheesecake like in texture!

Violets from the (pesticide/herbicide free) yard make a pretty, colorful and edible garnish.

Yep, I don't mind looking at the picture again, either. LOL

Zipped Up

I did get a little more work done on the D20 bag...All the faces are sewn together, and the zipper is on.

I'm not too thrilled with the zipper instillation, but it's going to have to do.  I still have quite a bit of trimming and grading to do inside the bag, as well as the embroidered numbers, but it's rolling along (yes....pun intended...LOL) quite nicely now.

It

turned off rather dark and cold following the storms that rolled through during the wee morning hours.  It's so dark and cold, that I'm nearly pressed against the window glass to work on my paper piecing.

*Hot chocolate+hand sewing=love.

Though I am making a bit of progress...

Hmm...cocoa scented tea+hand sewing=love, too.  Does this make me fickle?

What is it? LOL...a dice bag.  In the shape of a D20.  Never mind the above photo makes it look more like something Darth Vader might fly around in.  I marked the zipper opening with contrasting thread.  You can see the zipper I picked out of the recycled zipper bag...though I'm wondering it it isn't a bit heavy for the little bag.  

It's hard to tell from the pic, but both sides of the zipper opening are sewn together, and I might work a bit more on placing the zipper later tonight.  It's so hard to work on this after the sun goes down.  Dark materials are getting harder and harder to work on with out natural light be it knitting, crocheting or sewing.  The joys of middle aged eyes, I suppose.

Ten of the twenty faces are sewn, so I'm halfway there.  Then comes the fun of embroidering on all the numbers.  I think I may have gone about that a little back-asswardly.  Maybe I should have embroidered the numbers on first, then sewn the faces together.  We'll see, soon.  :)  As for the embroidery,  I thought of just doing some back stitching, but I really like the whipped running stitch here.  

*<sigh>You'd think by now, I'd remember to not wear an orange t-shirt to take pics, but no.  I did.  And you can tell in the first pic that I did by the weird orange-y glare.

A New EPP Project:

Mmmmmm

Tonight's dinner was home made pizza. Ohmygoshitwasthebest. Pizza. Ever.

I put some of our favorite toppings on the pie, though I did have to adapt some (as always...LOL...everything in life is an adaptation, I guess).  Crumbled bacon, link sausages cut into bite sized pieces, red peppers, green peppers from last year's veggie garden, thinly sliced onions, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, but the crust made it a fine feast tonight.

It helps that Don used to work in a pizza joint, so he knows how to slap that dough around, which he did for me tonight.  But here is the basic dough :

Pizza Dough

3 cups flour--I used unbleached, all purpose flour

1 package active dry yeast

3/4 teaspoon sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup olive oil--use a tasty one

2 teaspoons finely grated parmesan cheese

1 1/4 cups warm water--not more than 110 degrees Fahrenheit

1. Sprinkle yeast and sugar in warm water and stir to mix well.  You may proof it if you wish, in 1/4 cup of the water, but I didn't bother.
2. Combine salt, parmesan cheese and flour in a large bowl, I use the Kitchen Aid stand mixer for this, but feel free to mix by hand.
3. Add yeast/water mixture and oil and beat together (dough hook!) until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  If you're hand kneading, do it for about 10 minutes. I let mine go in the mixer for quite a few minutes after the dough pulled away.  When it was done, it was very pliable, sticky, and soft.  Yep, like a baby's bottom.
4. Place in refrigerator for 1 hour to firm up and develop flavor.  Don says this is crucial, and not to skip this step.  The dough should be right at about 60 degrees Fahrenheit for ease of hand tossing. 
5. He places the round of dough on the board and presses a ring about an inch from the edges--this makes the "edge lock" on the outer edge of the pie.  Press down firmly in the center, breaking any bubbles in the bottom.  Flip over, and repeat. Then, hand toss to size.  Ours was about 14 inches in diameter.  I always love this part!  He is sooo good at flipping that dough around!
6. Top pie as desired. And place in 450 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

This dough is really versatile--it makes great bread sticks, and calzones, too! 

Waxwings

For the past week, the cedar waxwings have been hanging around, gearing up for their trip back north for the summer.  The neighbor's crab apple trees have been a favorite stop for them...they've been munching down flower petals like potato chips, and in the process, pollinating the trees.  I'm sure the bees are really confused, I can hear them saying, "Wha?  That's our job!"

I usually notice them late in the winter, arriving in flocks of 20 or so.  They lurk about the yard, hunting for stray berries, and bathing in Dad's old fish pool.

But today, it was all about the crab apple trees.  They're not too clear in the below photo, but they're there.  And on the ground, looking for fallen petals, and I suppose, fruit.

I do have to apologize for the glare in these pics...I got the shots from the truck on the way out to go shopping.

Tractors and Chooks

Don got the tractor started up today and did a little bit of plowing in front of the veggie patch.

Steady as she goes...

Isn't he cute?

Swoon!

My dad's old tractor still turns a nice furrow...

Freshly turned earth

Though the girls weren't too sure about all the racket--especially Baby Doll.

Boy oh boy, did she ever worry about that tractor!

The girls did enjoy being out in the run, even if it was kind of windy.  They've really feathered in nicely, and I forget that they're just 3 and 4 weeks old.  

Girls+General picking around

The General is becoming quite a handsome teenager...I can't wait to see him molt into his adult plumage.

Handsome 'roo

And Mei-Mei was really checking out the camera, and wondering if it was edible.

Are you food?  I'm hungry!

Bright!