Christmas past and present Sixteenth-century sausages and powdered goose. Well, what else did you expect?
Buzz up!
Digg it
Heston Blumenthal The Observer, Sunday 14 December 2008 Article history Butter beer
This is a curious oddity from history that conjures up images of buxom wenches with steaming tankards of beer for thirsty travellers. When we first tried to recreate it, we didn't have much success, but eventually we found a great old recipe and adapted it to make it our own delicious version.
SERVES 6-10
2 cans Old Speckled Hen ale
¾ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
¾ tsp ground nutmeg
120g caster sugar
5 egg yolks
20g unsalted butter
Pour the ale into a saucepan and stir in the ground ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Gently heat this mixture until it is warm (to approximately 52ºC if you have a thermometer).
In the meantime, using a hand-held blender, blitz the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until light and creamy.
Once the spiced ale is warm, add the egg yolk and sugar mixture and return to the heat, stirring constantly, until the liquid starts to thicken slightly (no hotter than 78ºC). Be careful not to let the saucepan get too hot or the eggs will scramble. Maintain this temperature for 2 minutes.
After 2 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter until it melts. Then froth the mixture with a small cappuccino whisk until it looks like frothy, milky tea. Pour into small glasses, mini tankards or espresso cups and serve immediately.
Not bad but I like Mead , Wassel and honey Beer
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Rusted Bells Recipe
Primitive Rust Bell recipe.
First, place your items to be rusted into a container that has a lid
Pour enough bleach into the container to cover the items you are rusting,
and then put the lid on.
Let it sit like this for about 24 hours.
Drain the bleach into the toilet , leaving the metal items still damp in the jar.
Next cover them with cider vinegar and add in a healthy dose of Koser salt.
Cover again, and let sit overnight.
Pour the used vinegar down the drain , leaving the damp bells /safety pins /whatever goodies have you in the jar.
Put the jar out in the sun to dry, uncovered, and the metal items in it will rust as they dry.
Good Luck !
First, place your items to be rusted into a container that has a lid
Pour enough bleach into the container to cover the items you are rusting,
and then put the lid on.
Let it sit like this for about 24 hours.
Drain the bleach into the toilet , leaving the metal items still damp in the jar.
Next cover them with cider vinegar and add in a healthy dose of Koser salt.
Cover again, and let sit overnight.
Pour the used vinegar down the drain , leaving the damp bells /safety pins /whatever goodies have you in the jar.
Put the jar out in the sun to dry, uncovered, and the metal items in it will rust as they dry.
Good Luck !
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The T-shirt Quilt Update
Materials
Tee shirts (4 to 36 = number depending on size of quilt), Interfacing (fusible, woven type), woven cotton fabric for sashing and borders, fabric for backing (woven cotton, flannel, or polarfleece) and batting if you choose to use it.
Interfacing
There are many brands of interfacing. Look for a woven type or a nonwoven that is not stretchy (don't use a knit interfacing). You are using the interfacing to make the knit tee fabric non-stretchy for ease in sewing. Some interfacing needs to be pre-shrunk with water to avoid bubbles on the surface after fusing so read the directions from the manufacturer and test on a plain piece of tee shirt knit fabric.
Cotton Fabrics
You'll be using woven cotton (ie. regular quilting cotton) for the sashing and borders of your quilt. You want the stability of a woven cotton, not stretch from a knit. Pick a fabric that will frame your tee blocks nicely. You don't need to use a sashing, you can sew the blocks directly to each other.
Batting
You may want to use batting. A polyester batting with loft is fun if you are going to tie your tee shirt quilt. A cotton batting or blend is better for a machine quilted project. If you want a thin style quilt you could leave the batting out completely.
Backing
You may want to use tee shirts pieced on both sides if you have a lot of them. If not, a plain cotton backing used with batting is good. Or a flannel or polarguard backing is cozy and you can leave out the batting with these, too.
Preparation & Techniques
Decide Layout
Assuming you have all your tee shirts out and have studied them and possible layouts so you know your block sizes (see the section here on Blocks and Quilt Layouts to help plan, also look at the Gallery page to see sample quilts).
Washing & Cutting
Wash all tee shirts, if not previously worn you may want to wash them twice. Take the side seams apart (or if they were knit in the round you can slice one side and remove sleeves. Remember to save all the image areas if you t-shirt has small logos on sleeves, etc.
Fusing
Pre-shrink the fusible if needed. Cut the fusible interfacing about 2 inches larger than the size of your unsewn blocks. You may want to use a 1/2 inch seam allowance for your tee shirt blocks rather than the traditional 1/4" of quilting to make sturdier seams. Following fusible manufacturer's advice, fuse the interfacing to the tee shirt sections you plan to use.
Cutting the fused tee shirts
If all your blocks are to be the same size, you will find it convenient to make a template from cardboard, mat board or plastic template material. If you are a quilter with a rotary cutter, this is definitely the tool to use. Cut using a long acrylic rotary ruler and a mat. If using scissors, trace your template and cut. Cutting the sashing and borders: remember to leave 1/2 inch seam allowance if you choose to have extra. Thus a 3 inch sashing finished sewn size will mean you should cut a 4 inch wide strip.
Arranging blocks
If all your blocks are one size you can go directly to arranging their order. But, if you are using some smaller units of tee shirt images to make larger blocks (in a 4 patch block for instance) sew those first. Then clear off a place on the floor, a bed top or hang a big flannel sheet or batting on the wall to arrange your blocks.
Sewing
Sew blocks in rows, either horizontal or vertical inserting sashing pieces (if desired) as you go. Then assemble rows and add the borders.
Finishing
Layer top with backing and batting (or leave batting out if you choose) and quilt. You may want to finish this tee shirt quilt in the "reversed bag method" which is especially easy for a tied quilt. Layer the parts this way: put the top of the quilt right side UP and tape to the floor or tables with masking tape evenly around all edges, then put the backing fabric right side DOWN against the top (ie. the two right sides are together), then place the batting on top (if desired to have batting). Pin or baste to hold the edges together. Sew around 3 full sides and 2/3 of the 4th side leaving an opening with a 1/2 inch seam. Trim the batting close to the seam, but don't trim the fabrics and turn the whole quilt right side out. Hand sew the 1/3 opening on the 4th side. Tie closely every 4-5 inches or quilt the quilt
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