I’m one of those people who likes to hate plant foods just by looking at them. Usually I manage to avoid ever having to eat them at all, unless I find myself eating dinner in another person’s home in which case I take a “no thank-you portion”.
Really, I think most people should know by now that only lettuce should be served as a garnish for me, but thanks to those who don’t I’ve added 2 new veggies to my list of likes: Asparagus and Rhubarb. For those closest to me who are now peeling themselves off the floor, it is cause for celebration! Here’s a lovely low fat Rhubarb cake I got from cooking light magazine.
SOUR CREAM RHUBARB SNACK CAKE:
3 1/2 cups finely chopped rhubarb (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
5 tablespoons butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 cup fat-free sour cream
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
1 cup whole wheat flour (about 4 3/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Streusel:
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. To prepare cake, combine rhubarb and 2 tablespoons flour in a medium bowl; toss well to coat.
3. Place brown sugar and 5 tablespoons butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream, rind, and vanilla; beat until well combined.
4. Lightly spoon 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Fold in rhubarb mixture. Spread batter into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray.
5. To prepare streusel, combine turbinado sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in 2 tablespoons butter with a pastry blender or 2 forks until mixture is crumbly; stir in nuts. Sprinkle streusel evenly over batter. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
I’m a lot happier with this dress than the last one.
The lines on the bodice are much better because it’s lined rather than having facings. I managed to use left over fabric from the dress for the lining and saved myself the expense of buying extra material.
I also preferred doing the pleats instead of gathering. It took longer to get it precise, and I still think I didn’t make them straight enough. The skirt kinda billows and I’m afraid that people might think it’s a maternity dress if I wear it. You know, women of a certain age wearing an empire waist is always a recipe for embarrassment.
Here is the finished product on “mini-me”. It’s tighter on the mini-me than on me so I need to rename the dress form to something more appropriate. All suggestions are welcome!
Posted on May 18th, 2009 by Pamela in Music, sewing
I know you all have been waiting with baited breath to see what I was able to pull off on a long weekend.
I’m actually very pleased with how this turned out. It’s not perfect of course, how could it be? I haven’t sewn a dress since 1989. It was really easy to get the fitting of the dress perfect, having the dress form that I made with mom last weekend. There was one small hitch; I had to add darts in the back after I had put on the neck facings, but since it was my first go that was nothing, and with the material being really cheap and the style cute, it’s still not going to be my favourite dress ever.
Because everything went really well and only took me a day and a bit to finish, I’m going to go for a vintage pattern for my next project. something with a fitted skirt and bodice. Very Jackie O. You will have to stay tuned.
Thanks to Lauren for lending me her sewing machine until I get my own.
Now all we need is a Fabricland in town. There are too many fabric stores in this area dedicated solely to quilting. Maybe I haven’t had a good enough look around yet, if you know of any good places to get fabrics for garments, let me know.
And in keeping with my type, I’ve been exploring other avenues for my creative outlet other than cooking…
Of late, I’ve been really interested in trying my hand at sewing. Obsessing over the idea really. I even went as far as ordering vintage dress patterns online (fortunately they are pretty cheap), and just this weekend got my mom to help me make this:
Ya, now you want a custom dress form too, I can tell (they are sooo flattering), but making one of these is not for the faint of heart, I started getting light headed as mom started wrapping me in the 2nd out of 3 layers of Duct Tape.
Here’s my first kick at the can:
I’m doing the one on the bottom right. Although the one in the middle looks super cute too so if all goes well I may add the sleeves and the do-dad on the front.
In all, I’m sure everything will turn out perfectly and I will be starting my new fabulous career as a vintage dress maker by the end of the summer. How do I know this? Because I took it as a sign when my hair stylist offered to give me his brand new sewing machine. Plus my personality type didn’t indicate a tendency to exaggerate or get way ahead of myself.
I also preferred doing the pleats instead of gathering. It took longer to get it precise, and I still think I didn’t make them straight enough. The skirt kinda billows and I’m afraid that people might think it’s a maternity dress if I wear it. You know, women of a certain age wearing an empire waist is always a recipe for embarrassment.
