Update and some exciting workshop news!

Update on the ice cream:  I forgot to tell you that the fast way to cool the mix is to fill a bowl with ice, pour the mix into a food storage bag, seal it, and submerge as much as you can in the bowl of ice.  Stick it in the fridge and it should be cold enough in an hour or so to put in the ice cream machine.

News: I'm very excited that I'm going to be teaching in France in August 2017, at Clos de Lande Vallée, a fantastic Inn in Brittany!  They have been having painting workshops there for a long time - and I will be the first fiber artist to teach there!  Hooray! 

Just take a look at their website  - it is a fabulous place on the sea, lovely accomodations, and gourmet meals.  I'm teaching in French (and English, if necessary) and after my upcoming workshops in Geneva next month, I should be on my game:-)).

I have deliberately left lots of time in 2017 to be in the studio and do my own work --  the last two years have been nonstop and I'm ready for a break.  Booking now for 2018 with a raft of new workshops.

The rest of this evening I plan to move ahead with the quilt on my wall and maybe sit down at the sewing machine.  Tomorrow and Saturday, cooking for Rosh Hashanah, which begins Sunday night.

If you celebrate the Jewish New Year, I wish you a Happy, Healthy year ahead.

We all scream...

Ok, Ok.  Salted Caramel ice cream recipe(s).  I promised it, so here we go..

The first time I had this ice cream was at Jeni's in Columbus, OH, probably in 2008.  It was the best thing I had ever tasted...at least in the ice cream category.  

In 2011, I bought an ice cream maker. It's a Cuisinart basic one - you have to freeze the container (I just keep it in the freezer all the time).  If you are making more than one flavor, you'll want to have an extra container frozen, as well.  But I digress...

When Melissa Clark's recipe came out in the NY Times, I decided to make it. And it's about the only flavor I make, these days.

Here is Melissa's ingredient list as she wrote it, plus a link to the NYT cooking page where the whole recipe is, with step-by-step instructions.  There's also a link to download the NYTimes Cooking App, which I can't live without (and they don't pay me to say that).

BELOW this ingredient list is my adaptation, which uses less sugar, fewer eggs, and reverses the proportion of cream and milk.  Trust me, it is rich enough the way I make it. 

Salted Caramel Ice Cream
by Melissa Clark

Yield: About 1 1/2 pints
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016626-salted-caramel-ice-cream

INGREDIENTS

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
6 large egg yolks
¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)

Download The New York Times Cooking App on the App Store. 

Rayna's Salted Caramel Ice Cream (makes 2 pints)

NOTE: The process is the same as in Melissa's recipe. The ingredient proportions are slightly different.

2/3 cup granulated sugar (+ 2 T to add later)
2 cups  whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp kosher salt (or sea salt)
2 large egg yolks (you can use 3, but 2 work just fine for me)
1/4 tsp sea salt or kosher salt

I took these pictures and put the ice cream back into the freezer.  I am going to have a snack and go to bed.  Bad idea, but there it is!

Have fun with the recipe and let me know how you make out.

therapy sewing

Yes, I've been traveling.  Got home last week and it took me three days of feeling bleh to recover.

While I was recovering, I reorganized a small part of my fabric collection, which is now neatly stored in drawers under my cutting/ironing table.   Heh heh - this is what passes for neat in my life.  The labels on the plastic drawers have nothing to do with what they contain, but that's ok.  I have a lot more to do, but I'm too busy sewing. It's a start.

While I was sorting my ethnic fabrics - Indian, African, Maylasian, and Aboriginal -- I thought it might be a good idea to slice some of them up and sew strips. I needed to relax before I leave again in less than 3 weeks to teach in Switzerland.

So here is what is on my wall.   In my last class, I gave my students the assignment to work in neutrals and one color. So I challenged myself to work in prints that are primarily black/white/red, with a little off-white thrown in here and there. I think it is boring.

The units are not sewn together and I am resisting the temptation (for the moment) to slice one up and see what happens.

Then I thought of adding some bright yellow strips, but when I auditioned them I thought they looked too harsh.  

So here I sit, thinking I should leave them on the wall till tomorrow.  In the meantime, I will go make salted caramel ice cream.