More Love for the Market

I tell you what, I have not stopped in a week! We have been zoom zooming all over the place what with play dates, pre-school music classes, sewing, baking and just plain living! I love it. My favourite part about last week had to be the nature walk with Ron and Wednesday. Pictures of that here on Flickr.

Today though, I thought I would bring you pictures of what I whipped up yesterday,because gosh darn it I am ever so proud!



These are my new pretty market bags. I have lots of fabric shopping bags, each from their respective retailers but none that I had made, or thought were aesthetically pleasing. So with my confidence up from the Silky Eye Pillows and Cozy Pockets I thought I would give the Broadturn Bag pattern from Amanda Blake Soule's Handmade Home a try. It was so easy I made two!

I cheated and well I paid for it. Instead of giving the bag two side seams I folded one thirty inch piece in half and only sewed one side seam. Well, when it was time to attach the bottom I had too much fabric. Had I sewed two half inched seams it would have been perfect. Still, it was the bottom and no one will ever notice and I love love love them! They are so pretty and bright and cheerful. Another great excuse to head to the Farmers market(because I need another one lol).

That makes something from each chapter of the book save one. I am hoping to make a couple of the mama bags this weekend as a start to my Christmas gift making. That would make something from each chapter and it also gives me a good base of practice to jump in feet first into both the book and Christmas gifts. I won't scare you buy telling you how many days until Christmas but it is coming too soon for this cat.



Okay, I gotta run and entertain my babe. She has been incredibly patient with me and these pictures and this post. Happy Humpday!

Ahhh weekends, these are the things dreams are made of.

The weather this weekend has been truly wonderful. Cool crisp mornings perfect for farmers markets and long walks at the beaches and wonderfully warm sunny afternoons great for lounging outside and baking inside.

It was a wonderful weekend. I have the photos to prove it. We started out at the farmers market where it was kids day with the local health unit putting on small events like zucchini car races and a colouring contest.



We bought some great stuff. Buckwheat honey and apples which I used to make some upside down apple muffins. I also bought tomatillos but I have not quite figured out how I will use them. Some seriously sweet baked goods and whole wheat bread and of course cherry tomatoes for the wee one. Wednesday loves "tatoes".

We thought we were going to go to another market in "The County" (Prince Edward County) but instead ended up at Sandbanks Provincial Park and wandered along a rockier part of the beach. It was absolutely gorgeous.





Wednesday fell asleep for the long sunny drive home. When we got home I fought off a case of the dozies (from the sunny drive) but baking with the apples. In addition to the aforementioned muffins I baked an apple crisp with my mom's recipe but I did not know she doubles the topping and although it turned out okay, it was not awesome. Next time.

For giggles Ron and I went to the movies to see Whiteout. It was okay. I don't think I would tell anyone to spend thirty bucks on tickets and munchies to see it but definitely a renter. Kate Beckinsale looks a lot like Neve Campbell but thankfully she doesn't act like her. Because it is set in Antarctica it does not take too much to weed thorough the who-dunnit but still, not bad and I definitely liked hanging out with Ron.

Today we rose and ran early again. This time to walk the newly refurbished boardwalk at Presqu'ile Provincial Park. It was gorgeous. So...marshy. We did not get to see much wildlife but the scenery was beautiful and Wednesday loved running around. She managed to stay on the boardwalk the entire time, no trips or falls. When we walked through any wooded areas (or drove through later) she kept saying "Mommy, it's dark." Now, she is not afraid of the dark so I haven't any idea where that came from. she wasn't scared but felt the need to point it out, every single time there was heavy shade. Kids are so darn cute.

Speaking of cute...





The wee one is napping now. I think we are taking her to visit Ron's parents this afternoon. The home for lasagna and hopefully some sewing to share this week. If you like you can see more pictures from this weekend at my flickr photostream.

See you tomorrow for Mmm good Monday!

A morning at the market means an afternoon of baking.

Yesterday I was actually raring to go at an obscenely early hour and so I decided Wednesday and I would walk downtown to the farmer's market. I bought wax beans (my favourite veggie) rhubarb, peaches and raspberries. Well, because the gentleman at the market packed my peaches and berries wrong without my knowledge the berries were not much good whence Wednesday and I stopped at a park to enjoy some shade. The peaches had crushed most of the berries so I ate myself sick almost so they didn't go to waste. Oi vey.

BUT! The peaches were fine, mostly due to their not-quite-ripe-ness. So when I got home I chopped up the rhubarb and blanched the peaches to peel them and proceeded to make a crisp. My mom makes the most amazing (and amazingly simple) apple crisp and so I compare all similar to it and this one really stacked up well, an instant favourite. This is the recipe (Found @ myrecipes.com) and this is the result:



You ever eat something and with that first bite you feel home? Like true comfort food. Well, maybe because of my mom's apple crisp maybe not but this dish, is comfort food at it's finest.
I should mention that using fresh instead of frozen meant I should have upped the granulated sugar to 2 cups. But thanks to the French vanilla ice cream it was a nice little sweet and sour desert.

Peach-Rhubarb Crisp


Prep: 15 min., Bake: 50 min. Rhubarb adds fresh, tart flavor to compotes, crisps, and pies. Serve this dish warm with low-fat vanilla ice cream, vanilla yogurt, or low-fat whipped topping.

1 (20-oz.) bag frozen peaches, thawed (I used 6 fresh)
2 (16-oz.) packages frozen sliced rhubarb, thawed (I used 5 cups diced fresh)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (If using fresh I would add 1/2 cup more)
3 tablespoons lemon juice (I used juice of one lemon)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
Vegetable cooking spray
1/3 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl; add 1/4 cup flour, stirring well. Pour mixture into a 13- x-9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

2. Combine oats, brown sugar, and remaining 1 cup flour in a small bowl; cut in cold butter with a fork or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle mixture evenly over fruit filling.

3. Bake at 375° for 45 to 50 minutes or until bubbly.

Note: Nutritional analysis does not include ice cream.

Yield: Makes 10 servings

CALORIES 308 (0.0% from fat); FAT 6.4g (sat 3.9g,mono 1.6g,poly 0.4g); IRON 1.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 16mg; CALCIUM 188mg; CARBOHYDRATE 61.4g; SODIUM 48mg; PROTEIN 3g; FIBER 2.7g