Farm Girl Studio

YUUUUUMMMmmmmm!

  I finally got to fix my pie craving temporarily at last. This was taken care of by a quick trip to the Grand Traverse Pie Company. It is a local restaurant that has quickly grown to several other chains across Michigan and Indiana. This past saturday the employees were busily running around serving pie and taking orders for Thanksgiving. I just stepped back and enjoyed the free aromatic smells, of the crumb crusts, berries and hot coffee! I bought 4 slices of an assortment of berry crumb pies and quickly took them home to savor with a hot cup of tea! YUUUUUMMMmmmmmmm!

   My friend,past teache,r and peace pie baker Susan Shie didn't want me to forget the perfect pie classic movie the Waitress (2007) with Kerry Russell. How could I forget that wonderful movie! Her character was a pistol! I need to add that on my rental list again. After seeing that movie the first time I remember being inspired by pie baking.

  So why this sudden interest in pies I may ask? Is it helping me get back to my roots, the comforts, back to basics, trying to revive a dying art...who knows, but the pie search continues!

  

Dreaming of Pies!

   After watching the Martha Stewart Pie Contest Show all I could do was dream of pies. It seemed as if my life was enlightenment with the pie goddess herself! Recuperating with the Swine Flu, I stumbled into my  library and found a travel pie book that I put away several years ago. I hear the author on NPR talk about her pie book. I have read a few chapters and already have fallen in love with Pascale's book. See my Fall reads below.....

  If you didn't see the Martha Stewart Pie Contest, I suggest you look at this link. This sweet, talkative lady for Minnesota is a real hoot. She and Martha were hilarious together. I am looking forward to trying out her recipe as soon as I feel better!

  Another Pie Artist is my friend and teacher Susan Shie . She is a wonderful, and creative quilting artist and if you are in need of inspiration as I am for baking.

   This is a creative time of the year for pie baking and I hope all of you

success in your kitchens! 

from www.whipup.net

  

At home with the Flu

 Just wanted everyone to know that I may be offline for a bit. I am resting at home with the H1N1 virus. We are hanging out here at the Hacienda and Tom has taken the reigns for awhile. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

Friday Gratitude List

1- Watching birds at my feeders.

The newest member at my feeder: A Red-Breasted Nuthatch

2. Listening to Jack laugh.

3. The beautiful sunrises on the Peninsula.

( This is actually a sunset at Chateau Chantal)

3. The ability to talk and skype to my family across the miles!

Happy Friday everyone!

Gratitude List

 It's been a hard few days with a sick baby, a busy husband and a tired Momma. I needed to get myself back into gear and realize how lucky I am, and how grateful I should be. The perfect answer to that, a gratitude list!

1. A family!

(Early Summer in Nathan's/ my brother's 

 Net Jet Plane.)

2. living in a beautiful quiet place, the Mission Peninsula!

3. Tom's job.

( Change of Command, Early June)

4. the ability to stay at home with my son.

5. A great dog! Buzzbomb!

 

6.the ability to create!

Monotype from Charleston, SC 

                  

 Quilt Commission for Erin 

7. My wonderful parents!

8. The birds at my bird feeders

9. A hot cup of tea or coffee ( Hominey Grill Blend/ Higher Grounds)

10. A growler of hard cider from Tandem Ciders

11. Jack's Blue Eyes

More to come!!!!

Holiday Show at Children's House

Just wanted to share a few images of some of the sweet items I have made for the Children's House Holiday Show:

 

 

5363 Long Lake Road at the Children's House

Friday 3-7

Saturday 10-4

South Carolina Visit

    Last week Jack and I visited my family in South Carolina. It was my first plane flight with Jack solo. With any youngster you have no idea what will happen, but our trip went well. We saw many Mother's with their babies in tow. I had a nice conversation with a woman and her eight month old son going to Madison, Wisconsin and we mostly spoke about teething,strollers, and making our own baby food. It made our three hour lay over in Chicago go faster.

 

    My family could not wait to see Jack and my little niece Aleena was seeing Jack for the first time. Of course, Jack's Ga Ga could not wait to rock her grandson!

 

     Jack's cousin Aleena watching Dora and showing him her Dora book.

    One of my anticipated things on my trip was a trip to Charleston with my Mom. An Girl's Day out! Our first stop was to one of the Ultimate Quilting Stores People Places and Quilts in Summerville. 

    I was on a mission to buy some fabric for my sister-in-law in New York who is expecting a baby girl any day! 

    The store is so overwhelming with vintage fabrics, Kaffee, Free-Spirit, Amy Butler and more! Also their store displays made me drool!

 

    I also wanted to shout out a special thanks to my favorite PPQ employee Ed, who is the ultimate sewing guru and Janome expert! It was so nice to talk with you! If you are ever in the neighborhood stop in and say hello to Ed!

Onward to our next stop.........

 

    The best restaurant in Charleston! They serve up the best southern fare! Ask for their complimentary boiled peanuts! I couldn't wait for some Ice Cold Sweet Tea after all that shopping at PP&Q!

 

    I ordered their fried chicken livers, Jasmine Rice, Okra and Tomatoes and Cornbread. Usually I go all the way and order their famous coffee and a dessert but I was stuffed! My brother did make a request to make a stop at Whole Foods market in Mt. Pleasant and get a bag of their coffee by the pound. You can also order it at www.counterculturecoffee.com  I am a true coffee snob and honestly you can't get better than Hominy Coffee!

My little niece made a special request to take her cousin Jack to the Columbia Zoo on the weekend. We truly were lucky we had great cool weather for our trip, a rare occasion in South Carolina at this time of the year.

 

My brother feeding the Giraffe's

 

    You may have seen one of these guys on CNN this past summer! I guess one of these guys got a little thirsty and decided to take a run for drinks escaping their habitat and jumping over to the the drink cart! YIKES!

    Jack visiting the Tortoises!

 

My Mom and Aleena watching the Brown Bears.

Going to the zoo with a two year old can be a fast and funny trip. We did a lot of running through the zoo after Aleena and taking little snack breaks eating Peanut Butter Cracker.

Quick pics of a two year old....

 

    After visiting the zoo we went for a lunch break at Mellow Mushroom Pizza one of my family favorite pizza places! We had salt water pretzels and salt water dough pizza! Yum!

    One of our last family adventures before I left was the Sumter County Fair. This year Aleena could really enjoy the rides!

    My trip went so fast. I just wanted to soak up ever moment with them.

Dad, I wanted to personally thank you for the plane ticket it was such a wonderful gift for all of us!

Last Minute Granola

  I wanted to make sure Tom had enough to eat while Jack and I are in South Carolina visiting my folks.I found this awesome recipe for Granola. I am always on the search for the perfect Granola recipe and I think I found it. Beauty that Moves is a blog that features making good food, caring for the environment and her yearn of moving to rural Vermont . I tweaked her original recipe and added more nuts and baked them in the oven rather than adding them after the baking process. Here is my version:

12 c. uncooked oats

1 c. shredded coconut

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

1 Tbsp of cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp salt ( I use sea salt or Kosher)

2 cups of light olive oil, canola, or safflower

3 c. of honey

2 Tbsp. vanilla

2 cups or raisins

Nuts are optional

2 c. of chopped peanuts ( plain)

1/2 c sunflower seeds

1 c. pumpkin seeds

1/2 c flax seeds

1/2 c sesame seeds

In a very large bowl, and I mean big! I usually use my grandmother's old punch bowl. ( This yields 24 cups give or take!) Combine oats, coconut, flour, spices, salt, and all of your nuts. Mix well. In a saucepan heat the oil, honey and vanilla. Pour this mixture over your granola mixture and stir well.  Spread a thin layer on cookie sheets and bake at 300 degrees for approximately 45 minutes until its a light golden brown. You should switch your trays ever 10 minutes for good results, and also stir with your wooden spoon. Put mixture in the large bowl to cool. As it cools it becomes harder and more chunky. When completely cool add raisins. Store in air tight container. Yields 24 cups give or take.

Afternoon at Shelter's Dairy

 

    Yesterday the little family went to visit Amazing Graze Farm and Shelter's Dairy. The dairy farm has an annual open house where you can visit the bottling plant, take barn tours, see the dairy cows, spring calves,take pony rides, hay rides, walk through a hay maze, eat ice cream and even have free cookies and milk! It was a beautiful fall day in Northern Michigan for this event! We are planning to go next year when Jack will enjoy more of the experience when he is older.

The spring calves

Tom talking to the dairy farm owner about Ursula and Carla.

Getting Ready for the Show

 Jack's school is having a holiday show in October and I thought I would participate this year. It's also been a great push to get me to post things online for my esty site.Tell me what you think?

    The little sweaters are made from the repurposed cashmere sweater I found at the Salvation Army. My market bags are in full swing again with a new log cabin quilted pocket and they are still lined.