Good Morning Everybody

Hey Kids!

No – that’s not a picture from my garden, my friend Terri took it yesterday over in Israel, and it is so beautiful that I just had to share it with you.    🙂     

Wow – I didn’t realize it had been 5 weeks since I’d last shared anything with you! Sorry about that, it’s been rather crazy around here lately.    🙂    

Anyways, I have lots of things in the works right now, and hopefully I’ll be able to tell you more about some of them shortly.  The creative juices have been flowing pretty well lately (by the Grace of God), and I just finished up designing 8 new patterns, and have a couple of other projects in the works as we speak.  I’ll keep you posted.    🙂   

Niki over at Stitchin Heaven is hosting a great fabric exchange for those of us on a self-imposed “Fabric Diet” this year.  I’ve been blessed to be partnered up with Melissa over at Wide World of Quilting . She is an incredibly talented lady, who has a great site that you will definitely want to go take a look at!  So drop by and be sure to tell her “Hello” while y’all are there.    🙂   

The lovely Ms. Pat Sloan is also having another U.F.O. Busting Weekend over at her Quilt Mashup  forum (and Lord knows that we all have a few of those to deal with).  If you have any U.F.O.’s that you need to get finished up, this is a great place to hang out! You’ll get the motivation/ideas you need to finish up your own – and maybe even a few ideas for new projects to start! Just make sure to say “Hi” to Ms. Energizer Bunny (that’s what we all tend to call Ms. Pat, LOL) while you are there (or on her blog), she LOVES to make new friends!!    😉    

Well, that’s all for now. I’ve got to go head off to “the day job”, so y’all have a great day and I’ll talk to you some more soon.

Promise.    🙂

Chocolate Almond Biscotti Treats

First of all, I need to apologize for being M.I.A. for the last few days – my ISP server went down, and then my wireless router decided to do a nice internal mess-up that kept me offline as well. Alas, all has been fixed and hopefully that will be the end of the Internet Gremlins!! I love technology – but, sometimes, I just want to use it for target practice as well….

So, while I’ve been offline, I’ve been working on blocks for Camp Sloanie (click on the button on the lower right side of this page for more info). I’ve gotten 36 of them done – but it’s a 2 part block that will turn those 36 blocks into 72 blocks once they are completed. Which means that I will hold off on showing them to you until part 2 of the block is done tomorrow (I hope). That way you can see the finished block/product and be able to get a better idea of what the layout will be. I love online quilt camps/retreats!!! Especially since I can’t get away much – this is perfect!  😉 

Most of the snow here has finally melted, however, they say more is on the way…..yuk! Although the one good thing about snow days is that you get to stay in and bake up some warm, yummy goodness! So, with that in mind, here is a recipe to warm your cockles and complement your cocoa:

 

Chocolate Almond Biscotti

3 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup softened margarine

3/4 cup EGG-BEATERS (or you can substitute 3 eggs for EGG-BEATERS)

1 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup whole, blanched almonds – toasted and lightly chopped

350 degree oven – preheated

In med. bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt – set aside.

In large mixing bowl, with electric mixer set at Medium speed, beat sugar and margarine for 2 minutes – or until creamy. Add EGG-Beaters and almond extract; beat well. Turn electric mixer down to Low speed and gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until blended. Stir in the almonds.

On a lightly greased/sprayed baking sheet, form dough into 2 – 12 x 2 1/2 inch logs. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of logs comes out clean. Remove logs from baking sheet and cool on wire racks for a minimum of 15 minutes.

Using a serrated knife, slice each log diagonally into 12 (1 inch thick) slices; place – cut sides up – back onto same baking sheet previously used, and bake again at 350 degrees for another 15 minutes, turn biscotti over and continue baking for another 12 to 15 minutes until they are crisp and the edges are browned. Remove from oven, and baking sheet, and place biscotti onto wire rack to cool completely.

Drizzle with a mixture of:

1 cup powdered sugar

5 to 6 tsp. water

Mix until smooth, drizzle over biscotti.

Recipe makes approximately 2 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!!

Shady