I love craft books (especially from the public library)

Work in Progress: Doghouse Quilt

I attempted to sew a pet postcard in March for a Chicago SPCA fundraiser but couldn't figure out how to quilt stiff fusible web. And so just consider this an audition for a quilt of doghouse blocks. I found fabric to fussy cut and sew log cabin strips around.

Sewing: French Seamed Pillowcases

These are pillowcases I sewed a few years ago in a class taught by Winnie Wong offered by San Mateo Parks and Recreation.  I still had the sewing bug, and Yarn, Paper Scissors had closed in Burlingame.  I wanted instruction.  These pillowcases were so doable and fun that I should make them again as holiday gifts.

Ceramic: Tiles

Clay:  B-mix with grog

Firing:  Cone 5

Underglazes, Minnesota Clay Pad, Clear

Work in Progress: Quilting Matchstick Lines

Since my heart quilt is a sampler and is rather busy, I decided to keep the quilting simple......plus stitching straight lines with a walking foot rather than free motion stitching with an open-toed foot is in my skill set.  Well even quilting straight lines can be difficult! The lines are rather wonky, but I'm embracing the wabi sabi and falling in love with its homespun look and think I will enter this "l'amour est tout" quilt into the county fair.

Work in Progress: Love Quilt

Remember this quilt top I finished in February?

Well I just finished the backing!

Now I just need to figure out how to quilt the layers.  And I'll probably stitch in the ditch this coming Tuesday evening in Stashbusters.

White Pizza! How to Prepare and Bake a Mushroom, Thyme, Goat Cheese with Truffle Oil Pie

I'm a huge fan of hand-stretched, thin-crust pizza blistered in a wood-fire oven.  Alas! I have no spacious garden to house a clay or stone pizza oven, but I think a pizza stone and/or an extremely hot oven can reproduce a pie reminiscent of my favorite pizzeria.  This type of pizza is also not doughy, nor slathered with a heavy sauce and laden with a pound of meat, cheese and vegetables.  White pizza is quintessentially crispy on the outside, yet chewy on inside with a scant amount of sauce or none and just a few ingredients scattered on top.  I wasn't very Northern Italian with my pizzas above.  My husband had a bumper crop of onions from our spring garden, which I sautéed with a package of Costco mushrooms.  I also had a Costco-sized tub of Laura Chenel's goat cheese and leftover spicy Italian sausage.  How could I not overload my pizza?!?

I pride myself on cooking from scratch, but that doesn't mean I won't avail myself of the shortcut of purchasing pre-made pizza dough from the grocery store.  Per directions on the bag, I take out the dough 30 minutes before handling to take the chill of the refrigerator off.  Preheat your oven to 450 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit to also warm your kitchen.  On a baking sheet, I spread a tablespoon (or more if you like crispier) of extra virgin olive oil.

While my dough is rising a bit or increasing in volume, I go into my garden to snip some twigs of fresh thyme and then slice an 8-ounce package of white button mushrooms.  Remove the thyme leaves from the branches and then chop with either a couple of shallots or half a white onion.  I melt a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and then sauté over medium-high heat the onions, mushrooms, and thyme.  Set aside to cool.

On a floured cutting board (or your clean counter), knead your pizza dough.  A few holes here and there is okay for a thin crust pizza.  I like to let the dough hang off my hands to stretch out the thick spots, and when laid down on the pan, I also tug here and there on the dough again to thin out doughy areas.

The fun part!  Scatter your sautéed ingredients on the dough.  Then crumble an 8-ounce log of goat cheese and strew atop your pizza.  Next drizzle truffle oil all over.

Bake your pizza in the hot oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden and bubbly to your liking.  Lastly, I sprinkle truffle salt because I have it and because I didn't sprinkle salt into my sautéed mushrooms and onions.  However, if you don't have truffle salt, just remember to salt your vegetables a teensy bit.