chewy chocolatey goodness

I've been making lots of desserts these days. Mostly to make the hubby happy, but also because I enjoy baking, and I haven't done much of it the past two months. I decided to try a brownie recipe from MCC:FFR and so I fixed Brownies, pg. 281, the other night, following the recipe exactly but omiting the nuts. Hubby always finds brownies from scratch to be a novelty - he said he never knew such a thing existed before me! And he is not a discriminate brownie consumer - he loves them all. These weren't hard to love - they were really moist and chewy. So much so that they pretty much fell apart in your hand. I'm not sure if that is how they were supposed to turn out, or if I didn't cook mine long enough (I turned the oven heat down a bit b/c our oven tends to run hot). But either way, I'm not complaining. They tasted delicious and didn't last more than two days.

meeting mary emma in d.c.

Earlier this spring Joe and I took a roadtrip to our nation's capital. For me it was an overdue return trip, but for Joe, a history major who had never been further east than ohio, our journey took on the epic nature of a pilgrimmage. He would be satisfied with nothing less than stopping at every monument and walking the entire length and width of the mall until we literally couldn't walk any more. Fortunately for both of us, we had impeccable weather and even got to see a few cherry trees in bloom.

During our time in D.C. we stayed with a friend, Tim Kennel, who was most hospitable in sharing his living quarters with us. Although space was somewhat limited, we made ourselves at home in the living room and enjoyed the short metro commute downtown (although NOT the rats burrowing in the front yard).

So where does Mary Emma fit into all this? you may be wondering. Well, it definitely wasn't the Ethiopian restaurant in Adams Morgan. Nor was it the mall where we spent $15 on a lunch of hotdogs and pizza. No, Mary Emma of course was waiting for us at home, where Tim had fixed a meal of mostly-Mennonite recipes (the exception being a Pad Thai dish which is something quite unlike what you will find in MCC:FFR) In addition to the Pad Thai, we enjoyed Potato soup with Bacon and Browned Bread Cubes, pg. 40, Banana Bread, pg. 12, Hot Slaw, pg. 146, and Fruit Salad I, pg. 187.

Talk about putting us to shame! I can't believe we find fixing one recipe a month such a trial when Tim Kennel, in one night, can fix four of them. Of the four, Hot Slaw was a surprising hit - in fact it proved to be a favorite of almost everyohne at the table. The other three were, following in the tradition of our recipe book, rather bland, but certainly not objectionable. The banana bread was the same recipe I used for my last entry, and it was quite tasty. Overall, I was impressed with the endeavor and thrilled to be participating in the project away from my own kitchen table. It is so nice to enjoy a taste of Mennonite hospitality - whatever the recipes, it makes the experience so much sweeter.

Quiting Bee

A hobby I've picked up since moving back to the midwest - which shocked me as much as it might you - is quilting. I've never been much of a quilter. In fact, I've never really gotten over an inate fear of the sewing machine, which, like almost anything more mechanical than a #2 pencil, intimidates me. During the two-month period we were stranded at my parents' home, however, quilting was one of the few things that kept me from hitch-hiking back to the west coast. My work transfer took almost a month to process, so, instead of slinging coffee, I stitched fabric. Often it was tedious, but in the end I had a beautiful crib quilt to give some friends of ours who were expecting - so it was worth it.

Now I've taken on another quilting project, but upon finding that I was a little strapped for time, I decided to have a bunch of Mennonite women over to help me out - an old-fashioned quilting bee, so to speak. It was a good excuse to invite friends over to see our house as well as a great way to jumpstart the quilt. Of course, I fixed a spread of food so we could all have some sustenance during our sewing - we all know what a cardio work out the ole needle and thread are.

I tried to stick with recipes that are relatively simple and that I've used before, so I wouldn't stress too much over the food (believe me, getting the quilt set up and ready to go was enough stress - esp. when I discovered the day before that I had underestimated the amount of fabric I needed for the back and had to make an emergency run to the quilt shop). The big hit was the chicken salad sandwiches I made drawing heavily from LC's curried chicken salad recipe from Pgh. From MCC:FFR, I fixed Banana Bread, pg. 12 , which is really something you can't go wrong with. I cut it into small pieces and served it with whipped cream cheese and homemade strawberry jam (another project from this summer). Also featured were some of the leftover Chocolate Drop cookies I pulled from the freezer (sorry Jodi, never got around to sending you any!). I haven't ever been huge on freezing food and using it later, so the idea of eating cookies from a month ago was new and exciting - and of course, very Mennonite.

The whole experience of sitting around a quilting frame with a group of women felt right. Even though my stitches are large and awkward and it takes me forever to tie a knot; even though I'm not quite comfortable with the whole religious and cultural package, there is something deeply rewarding about being part of a community.