Wednesday, December 03, 2008

first things first

Since you are all clamoring for this recipe, I'll get it out of the way first. When I opened the foil on the pan tonight, 4 of the squares had gone missing. So I figured I would try one. Now another 4 are gone. Oh, dear. And I said they were too sweet. By tonight, the sweetness had mellowed and they were much better. I think the trick is letting them sit for a day. The recipe is below. However, I cut the sugar to 3/4 cup: 1/2 in the meringue and 1/4 in the cookie dough that is the first layer. YMMV. I used dark brown sugar, but I'm sure you can use light brown - or even white sugar if you don't have either of the above. They are very easy. Grammy's recipe for the Meringue Bars is--- 1 1/4 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder 2 eggs, separated 1 to 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar, divided 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup butter softened Mix flour and baking powder and set aside. In small bowl beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar until stiff. Fold in nuts and vanilla and set aside. In large bowl, beat butter, egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy. Stir in flour mixture until well blended. Spread into 9"x9" pan. Spread meringue mixture on top. Bake at 325 for 35 minutes until top is light brown. Cool in pan. Cut when cold. I did not leave the house today. In fact, I barely left my sewing room. Was I sewing? Nope, I was neatening and throwing, with a little ironing thrown in. It was/still is a logistical problem. I need to put a facing on a quilt. I can't do that till I trim the batting. I can't do that till I can use the cutting board. I can't use it till I have room to put it on the cutting table, which is piled up with the fabric I started ironing yesterday.(Does this sound a little like The House that Jack Built?) Of course, I couldn't put the fabric on my shelves because they were cluttered with other things. And I couldn't get near the sewing machine because there was so much STUFF in the way on that side of the room. So I started cleaning off the shelves on one side of the room and reorganizing/throwing the STUFF on the other side of the room. You get the picture. The ends of the room are neat because everything piled in the middle. I just need to get it organized before Monday. Earlier tonight I decided I needed a change of pace. So I started pole wrapping a couple of yards of linen I had dyed that came out ugly. It is an endless process. Here's what it looks like so far, with about 1/4 of it wrapped. When I got tired of doing that, I took a piece of random fabric from the table and decided I should clamp it and throw it in some dye. I finally found a use for those expired Garden State Parkway tokens. Odd how the resist areas didn't come out round, but have little round spots. If you click on the picture, you'll see them on the upper left.That's it for tonight. I have a piece on my wall and if I can only finish clearing off the cutting table tomorrow, I might finish the one that is first in line.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rayna,
I can so relate to cleaning the workroom! It's just one thing after another...
And I love the picture of the cloth where you used tokens. I have dyed a couple of shirts using can lids, and a couple of the circles came out with imprints of the pull-tabs still intact! Another piece I dyed last year using CD's and spring clamps came out with varied shapes resembling butterflies and hibiscus. That's the joy of resist dyeing. You never know what you're going to get!
Have fun...

Judy

Judy said...

Rayna,
Thanks so much for sharing the recipe! I know it will become a fave around here too.
I feel great that I got my sewing table cleaned off yesterday just enough to hem a pair of slacks for my Mom. The cutting table is another story entirely. How does that accumulation occur? I guess Judy Sall is right: one thing after another!

Can't wait to see how that poll wrapped piece comes out. Great way to use old tokens...thanks for the hint!

Enjoy your day.

xo

Rachel said...

Thanks for the laugh, Rayna. You've seen my "studio", so you know I can relate.

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