Mending and Repairing Grandma Ruby's Vintage Quilt

All of the binding has come loose and I am carefully making repairs.

It has been quite a while since my brother-in-law Bart and sister-in-law Pam gave us this quilt that Grandma Ruby had made.  The binding was in need of repairs even then.  At that time I was still working and in my head it went on my now infamous "list".  While many of you have traveled with me as I have knocked things one right after another off that list I am remiss I haven't gotten to this before now!

I love these bright colors and the yellow she bound it with!

My last trip to Hobby Lobby netted the yellow quilting thread needed and today is the day I have started!  At noon when I ait to start this I am half way around in sewing the binding.  The stitching was gone most of the way around only attached at all on one side and frayed.  There are also spots in the quilt top in need of a few loving stitches!  But by far the greatest repair is in the binding!

The happy quilt!

 

I have always loved this quilt as green is about my favorite color and I find this very bright and quite cheerful!

Persimmon Bread, Picking Wild Persimmons in the Woods of Southern Indiana

Wild Indiana Persimmons are usually about the size of an English
Walnut.

I remember at Grandma's house the lane that led from the barn lot to the "little woods" as my Dad's family called them. Just at the entrance there stood a tall and stately tree.  After the first hard freeze the walnut sized fruits on this tree would darken from their bright apricot color to a darker hue with a pinkish grey hue and become quite soft and sweet.  But if you dare to taste one prior to it's ripening your mouth would pucker with such severity you would NEVER forget the occasion!  Thus was my first taste of a persimmon one snowy day long ago.

They grow on Persimmon trees and are full of hard black seeds between the size of watermelon and pumpkin seeds.

We rode on a wooden wagon pulled by an old Ford tractor, one of several Grandpa had there on his farm.  Dad had driven all us kids out to pick the ripe persimmons.  We all stood much taller on the bed of that wagon and easily reached the soft fruit. After which my Grandmother baked the most delicious persimmon pudding topped with sweetened whipped cream. That was the day I fell in love with the wild persimmons of southern Indiana.

The recipe for her Persimmon Pudding is at this earlier link if you would like to see more about it.     thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2011/12/old-fashioned-persimmon-pudding-my.html

Today I am making something new Persimmon Bread.  My husband's friend who had the trees from where these fruits came Saturday asked my to make him Persimmon Bread so I am testing recipes today!

I cannot think of another way to remove the seeds from the pulp than a food mill.

The first step after picking the fruits is to rinse them off and remove the stems or caps.  Next you need to run them through a food mill to remove the hard black seeds found in the pulp. 

I add the juice of a half of a fresh lemon to 3-4 cups of pulp.

I add the juice of half a lemon to about 3 cups of persimmon pulp.  Most recipes call for 1 or 2 cups of persimmon pulp for a recipe so I froze the pulp in 1 cup packages today.  I yielded 10 cups and tucked them away in the freezer from about 10 pounds of fruit.

I have seen persimmon pulp compared to apricots and honey.  They do sort of look that way!

This recipe is adapted from James Beard's Amazing Persimmon Bread Recipe found on davidlebovitz.com  and it is my first attempt at baking Persimmon Bread.

The loaf came out a dark glossy jewel like loaf.

Ingredients for my adaptation of James Beard's Amazing Persimmon Bread:

1 3/4 C. flour
3/4 t. kosher salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 1/4 C. sugar
1 stick (1/2 C.) cooled melted butter
2 large lightly beaten eggs
1/3 C. Kentucky bourbon (Cognac, bourbon, or whiskey will due)
1 C. persimmon pulp
1/8 t. Fiori Di Sicilia (intense citrus vanilla flavoring) You may substitute grated orange zest and vanilla)
1 C. pecans rough chop
1 C. golden raisins

Butter loaf pan and line with parchment paper or dust with flour.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.  Stir altogether well.

Spread into the prepared pan and bake 1 hour or until a skewer placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and cool.  Yield 1 large loaf.

It is truly delicious!

Will keep well one week wrapped securely.  Persimmon bread also freezes well.

Oyster Stew, Simple yet Special Enough to Mark an Occasion.

Steaming hot oyster stew serve with crisp saltines.

Oyster Stew is another dish that often times has a love/hate evoking reaction.  Here it is a love fest as my husband loves any type of oyster or oyster dish.  It evokes lovely memories for both of us.  Brian's Grandma Ruby always served Oyster Stew on Christmas Eve and had us all over while she was still living.  I always thought that a really wonderful tradition.

Drain the liquor from the fresh oysters and reserve for the stew.

My Mother often made at my Dad's request Oyster Stew as well as Oyster Dressing for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Today while at Sam's Club I spotted the first fresh oysters of the season and snapped up a pint of them in a heartbeat thinking Brian would be tickled to have them in a surprise supper tonight!

Ingredients for Oyster Stew:

1 pint fresh shucked oysters, drain and save the liquor
1 C. sliced celery
1/2 C. diced onions
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
2 C. milk
1 C. cream or half and half
kosher salt to taste
black pepper to taste
pinch of Cayenne pepper or a few dashes of hot sauce to taste
juice of 1/2 small lemon

Saute the vegetables.

Melt the butter and saute the celery and onions until translucent then stir in the flour to make a rue.  Add the oyster liquor, milk, and cream stirring until slightly thickened.  Simmer until the vegetables are tender. 

Add the liquor, cream, and milk.

Add the oysters and seasonings and cook a few minutes until the edges of the oysters are curled and the oysters are opaque. 

Stir in the lemon juice and correct the seasonings. Serve hot with saltine crackers.  Yield 4 servings.