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Sunday, April 25, 2021

April Monthly Color Challenge Block

The monthly color challenge is hosted each month by Jen at Patterns by Jen, and she provides a pattern (free for one month) and a color prompt. The color for April is cherry!



I like this pattern for the subtle pinwheel in it. I think all of Jen's patterns rock this year! I made two of these before I had my surgery, so don't be fooled into thinking I'm using my foot to power the Janome! My foot is healing and getting better each day. I still have swelling that I control with ice packs and elevation, but I have been granted permission for partial weight bearing with a boot and crutches. That really helps me move around!


Naturally the color cherry reminds me of one of my favorite pies. I grew up eating my Granny Mitchell's pies and cobblers, and I loved everything she put between her flaky and delicious crust. As a kid I would eat the filling first then slowly enjoy the crust! She grew gooseberries and canned them, and her gooseberry pie was my favorite (let me know if you want the recipe). But it was followed very closely by her tart cherry pie. The pie isn't tart of course - it is sweetened with sugar!

I have a go-to recipe for a streusel cherry pie made with tart cherries right here, but today I'm sharing my tart cherry recipe for Cherry Streusel Coffee Cake. It's delicious anytime, but especially warm for breakfast.

Cherry Streusel Coffee Cake

Cake
1-3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup salted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream
1 – 14 ounce can tart cherries, drained
3 tablespoons sugar

Streusel
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons salted butter
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 9-inch square baking pan with baking spray.

In a small bowl whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside and cream butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix medium speed until smooth. Mix together vanilla and sour cream and add to mixture. Mix until smooth. Slowly add flour mixture until just blended.

In another bowl, combine dry ingredients for streusel topping; cut in butter with pastry cutter until the size of peas. Add almond extract and toss lightly.

Spread two-thirds batter in pan. Toss cherries with 3 tablespoons sugar and distribute evenly over batter. Spoon one-fourth streusel over cherries. Top with remaining batter and sprinkle with rest of streusel. Bake 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

While cake is still warm, mix together powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract until smooth, adding more milk or powdered sugar as needed to make it pourable. Drizzle over top of cake and serve warm. My husband tops his piece with butter!

Be sure to check out other pretty cherry blocks at Jen's linkup right here!
Friday, April 2, 2021

Outstanding Blogger Award - Who Me?

Imagine my shock when read Diann's blog, Little Penguin Quilts, and saw my name posted on the list of bloggers she nominated for Outstanding Blogger! What an honor to be included in that list. Her other nominees are below, and I have provided links to their blogs:

Joy at The Joyful Quilter

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color 

Deb at Happy to be Scrappy

Vicki at Vicki's Crafts and Quilting

Cynthia at Quilting is more fun than Housework 


The Outstanding Blogger Award is given as a way of supporting and acknowledging one another in Blogland. I think I first began commenting on Diann's posts in 2015 and made a QAYG (quilt-as-you-go) mug rug (see photo above, and posted about here) from one of her tutorials. She is encouraging and kind, and she is an inspiration to me every week!

To learn a little more about her nominees, Diann posed a few questions:

1. What got you started on your blogging journey?

My blog began on November 6, 2007 as a food blog when I had my catering business in Oklahoma. I began to incorporate quilts as part of my blog in 2010 after I took a quilting class, and as my hobbies changed, so did my blog name several times before I finally settled on Texas Quilt Gal


2. What's your proudest accomplishment as a quilter?

I made quilts for our son and daughter for Christmas 2018 (read post here.) They were made to resemble the yarn-tied "quilt" I made my husband with cheater fabric back in the late 1970s. That well-worn blanket was always their ideal quilt - lol! Their quilts were a complete surprise to both of them, and their delight was obvious. That made me so happy!

3. What makes you laugh the most?

Our family does group texts a few times a year. It's always fun, and my kids and grandkids make me absolutely weep with laughter at some of their comments. Also, we watch Everybody Loves Raymond reruns at night before we go to sleep. We never paid much attention to this sitcom when it was current (1996-2005), but now it makes us belly laugh!


Wool pressing mat

4. What's the best quilty gift you were ever given?

My husband surprised me with a wool pressing mat in 2018. Since I love to iron, it is one of my favorite things in my sewing room.

5. What's on your quilty bucket list?

  • I would love to someday own a longarm, maybe the Handi-Quilter Simply Sixteen. That would involve having a new room built onto our house - lol!
  • My hope is to make a quilt for every member of my family, including my niece and nephews and their spouses. I've made 10 out of 17 so far. When I finish the list I'll probably start adding great-nieces and nephews and hopefully great-grandchildren!
  • There are so many quilts I want to make, and here are a few:
    • Log cabin
    • Quilt using The Road to Oklahoma block
    • Irish chain

Normally a blogger who receives this award nominates their own candidates for Outstanding Blogger, but I would have a hard time choosing just a few because I love reading all your blogs. After all, my Blog List in the sidebar (sorted by most recent post) is named "Outstanding Bloggers"!