Time is Slipping By

Pennsic is coming up so fast! With only a little over two weeks left before I leave, I still have quite a bit of sewing, a little bit of cooking, and a bit of food shopping left to do. Plus, you know, that whole 'working' thing.

I have completed one new dress, from drafting the pattern, checking the size with a muslin, sewing the final dress, and attaching a bunch of tiny buttons. I'm going to create another new dress, using the same pattern and I'll attempt to chronicle that process with photographs so I can do a step by step sort of thing on here. I'm not going to show the drafting process: it's long and tedious and not very interesting. I also have a bodice, a couple skirts, and a gown to do repairs on and to refit before I go, but those will be small projects. I also have to make a coif (a little fabric cap). I made one for last year, but I made it so quickly that it didn't turn out very well, so this year I've altered the pattern and I'll be taking my time with it. I'll try and document that, too.

I'm planning on making some mead and possibly some rhubarb liqueur to have at camp, too.

I terms of cooking, I always make a big batch of boeuf bourguignon a couple days before I go, freeze it solid, and let it slowly defrost in a cooler while camping. After about 3 days in a cooler, it's defrosted slightly and is ready to be reheated in a pot over the fire. I use Ina Garten's recipe from her "Barefoot in Paris" cookbook. Her recipe turns out very salty, so I try to use low sodium broth and I don't add any salt until after the whole thing as stewed for a while. Last year, someone (I think Megan) had the wonderful idea to bake spice cakes in orange rinds over the fire. They turned out very well, and this year I saw a recipe for doing a similar thing with cinnamon rolls, so I want to try that this year. I'm going to be doing at least one more dinner for everyone, but I haven't decided what to make yet. Ideas, so far, include a pancake and bacon dinner, spaghetti, chicken chili, or curry. I'm leaning towards chicken chili, because it can be made ahead and it's a crowd-pleaser. When I went away for a camping weekend at the beginning of this month, someone made pita pizzas. They were super awesome, so I might try for those, but they require a lot of ingredients and can't be made ahead.

Does anyone out there have any good camping meals/recipes to share?

Summer Reading List

In a blatant rip off of a friend's blog post (btw, you should absolutely check out her blog: http://megan.soder-shef.org/) I'm posting my reading list for Pennsic.

"A Distant Mirror" by Barbara W. Tuchman. This is a history of life during the 14th century.
"Silver" by Andrew Motion. I got an advance reader of this sequel to "Treasure Island."
"Seating Arrangements" by Maggie Shipstead.
"A Kiss of Shadows" by Laurell K. Hamilton.
"A Caress if Twilight" by Laurell K. Hamilton.
"The Spirit Thief" by Rachel Aaron.
"The Spirit Rebellion" by Rachel Aaron.
"Wanderlust" by Ann Aguirre.
"Doubleblind" by Ann Aguirre.

I doubt I'll get through all of these, but it's important to be prepared. I'm also open to more suggestions :)

What to Put in Your Perfect Pie Crust

Rhubarb pie is my favorite dessert of all time. Please don't ruin it by adding strawberries.

When I was little, my parents had a garden with rhubarb growing in it. I would take a small bowl of sugar out into the yard, pick a fresh stalk of rhubarb, dip it in the sugar, and eat it raw. I loved it, but I think most people who have tried raw rhubarb think that eating it raw is a bad idea; rhubarb is very tart and can be tough and stringy (like celery.) To make it taste good, you have to add a ton of sugar and really cook it down.

My second favorite pie is cherry pie. It's more of a crowd-pleaser than rhubarb, but it can be hard to find the right cherries for it. My recipe requires tart, canned cherries. You at least need to make sure they're tart.

I have recipes for both of these pies:

The Serious Business of Pie

Anyone who has known me for very long knows that I am a baker. There is no baked good more sacred to me than pie. Specifically, fruit pie. My maternal grandfather taught me to make pie using the recipe that my maternal grandmother used. Sadly, she was too ill to teach me herself, but she taught her husband very well, and he taught me very well. The pie recipes (both filling and crust) I use to this day are modifications of those very recipes. Today I'll discuss the crust.

Stained Glass Sign for Compass Rose

For Pennsic this year, I've made a faux stained glass sign for my group. 

I wanted a sign that could be illuminated at night (ideally from candles or torches) and that would hang from either a tree or an iron hook (I think they're usually used for hanging lanterns or plants.) 

My original idea was to build a frame that would hold the glass but that would also hold a shelf behind the glass where I could set some candles. In order to hold the shelf and protect it from the elements, it would have to be a deep frame (I don't really know how else to describe it) so that is you where to hang on a wall like a normal picture frame, it would look like a box sticking out from your wall. Of course, building even a normal picture frame would have been a big undertaking for me, given how little woodworking experience I have.