Pumpkin Roll

For some reason, I got in the mood for a pumpkin roll today and it is not even November yet.

My cousin, Vera, has a great pumpkin roll recipe that has been around for a long time. It is in our family cookbook that I put together in 1996. I have since put together another family cookbook.
I am bragging here, but I have a family of great cooks!

PUMPKIN ROLL


INGREDIENTS for cake:
3 eggs beaten
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
3/4 cup flour
1 t. soda
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t.  salt
chopped nuts (whatever amount you wish to use - just a handful, 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup)

INGREDIENTS for filling:
Cream together: 8 oz cream cheese, 1 t. vanilla, 2 T. butter and 1 cup powdered sugar.

DIRECTIONS for cake:
Preheat oven to 375
Grease a 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 jelly roll pan
Line with wax paper
Grease wax paper
Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar

Beat eggs, add sugar and gradually blend in pumpkin. Add salt, soda,  cinnamon and flour. Spread batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle with chopped nuts of your choice. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Turn onto thin, cotton kitchen towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Peel off wax paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool. Carefully unroll and spread with filling. Re-roll cake and wrap in plastic wrap.

Keep  refrigerated -  Freezes very well.

Doesn't look like any of those small, nice and neat pumpkin rolls 

you buy already packaged up in the store, does it?

Believe me when I say it is delicious. 

I ate two pieces before I stopped.

 I am in the process of putting together another cookbook. It is filled with recipes,stories and memories.


I have many food memories, good and bad!
Do you have any food memories you would like to share with us?

  Posted by Janet F. Smart on Writing in the Blackberry Patch

Easy Quilting

This is a re-post from waaay back in September 2008. That was the month I first started blogging.
According to my stat counter, this post gets many, many visits. Surprisingly many of the visits are from Turkey! It seems someone on a blog over there found my post and posted it on her site. I wish I could read their language so I could read her post and the comments it generated.

I don't have the time to sew like I used to, so I hope you enjoy this re-post about my quilt and Teddy Bears.

By the way, I have a winner from my last post. FOLKWAYS NOTEBOOK. I haven't heard from her yet, so Barbara, please let me have your address so I can send your apron to you.

Gather pieces
Watch it grow
Piece together
In long rows.

Make it useful
Make it bright
Start it right now
Start tonight.

The jeans and dress
Are now gone
They made a quilt
To lay on.

When I have time, usually in late fall and early winter, I like to quilt, craft and sew.

The winter of 2007 I made a blue and pink blue jean quilt. This is the 5th blue jean quilt I have made. The other ones were different shades of blue and the blocks were smaller. I back them with flannel and you don't have to put batting between the layers. I knot them with embroidery thread. They're easy to make and durable. I like the bigger blocks, because I am impatient!

The leading character in my Middle Grade story Family Treasure (which I have received numerous rejection letters on) made a quilt just like this.

Here is a detailed picture of some of the blocks. The pink block with butterflies on it came from a jumper and the small flowers were on the leg of a pair of blue jeans. I also left the pockets on some of the blocks.



Here is another picture. The large flowered blocks came from a large skirted dress. The pink blocks came from pink blue jeans!




I also had enough material from that flowered dress to make a matching teddy bear.

The teddy bears are another story. I have been sewing since I was young. I made my clothing when I was a teenager, my wedding gown, and Halloween costumes for my children when they were young. But the hardest thing I ever learned how to make were teddy bears! When I first started making them I made many mistakes until I finally got the knack of it. Needless to say, I don't make them any more. Below is what they look like. The one on the far left was the flowered one from the left over material I sewed in the quilt. The others were made out of an old tablecloth, a chenille bedspread and a very old quilt which was too tore up to save.


As I stated above, the quilts are easy to make. They are an easy way to get rid of the old blue jeans that the kids (or you) have outgrown. Or if you don't have any you can buy them at a yard sale or thrift store. Cut out the squares, sew together, put flannel on the back, then knot them together and put on the binding. Voila! You're done.

Happy sewing!

Have you ever made a blue jean quilt before? Or maybe a Teddy Bear or two?

Posted by Janet Smart on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Dressing up the Goose & Giveaway

UPDATE (a new prize) . . . Look Below
 
It sure has been cold outside lately.
Especially the last few days.
We've had to get our coats from the closet.

I decided it was time to dress the goose. She never had any attire for fall, except for an old, faded one that I had got at a yard sale. It was in very bad condition. I decided to take it apart and make a pattern with it.

Cut your choice of material 42" x 14"

 Hem the top and bottom of material.

 Two inches up from the bottom hem, sew on a large ruffle. 

If you want, you can also sew a ribbon on top of the ruffle, but this isn't necessary.

Put elastic through the top hem to make the gathered neck.

Fold material with right sides together and sew down the sides to make the dress.

For her hat cut an eight inch circle out of two pieces of material. With right sides together, sew around the circle, leaving a small section open to turn. Turn material, iron and go in about an inch and sew the inner circle. Insert elastic, sew together the outer circle. Cut two ribbons and sew on each side for her chin straps. 

Isn't she pretty?

As you can see, these are very easy to make. In fact, they were so easy, I made two of them.

Now my goose doesn't need two fall outfits, so I am giving one away. 

Do you have a cold goose?

Do you know anyone who does?

If so enter my contest to win the extra outfit I made.

Comment and let me know if you want entered in the contest. Post about my give a way on your blog and get another entry into the contest. If you are a follower of my blog you will get another entry. Twitter or put on face book about it and you will get another entry.

Good luck. I will announce the winner one week from today.

Well, so far it seems that no one owns a Goose. I have decided I will give away something else I have made to the winner, if they do not own a Goose. Let's see, how about one of my homemade aprons --- your choice of one of my denim aprons or one my calender dish towel aprons. I've posted about these before. But, you have to comment in order to be entered into the contest! 

You can go here and here to see these aprons.
 

Posted by Janet F. Smart on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.