Get out of Jail! Free!!!

Before I get started on my post I want to mention that I've noticed a few new followers have joined my blog recently.  I want to thank all of you who have just joined and those faithful friends who continue to read my posts.  Please know that I do go to your blogs and read your posts though I don't always have time to comment. 

Welcome New Readers!  Dear Old Friends, I'm so happy when you stop in to read and comment!

Aaaaaah, the sweet taste of freedom!

I feel as though I have been handcuffed to the sewing machine for the past week-and-a-half.
Brad and Kami were getting ready for a major WW2 re-enactment and had lots of orders to fill and kept getting more at the last minute.  And of course, many were passed along to me.  Don't get me wrong!  They did their best, working from early morning to late night on this stuff.

In the past two weeks I made three pairs of piped shoulder boards, three bedsacks with pillows, repaired a dirndl top, made two pairs of men's pants and a  child's heavy wool overcoat.  I had to make up the patterns for the pants and overcoat.  Drawing patterns causes severe anxiety! 

I did have the comfort of loving kitties while I was working.  Izzy loves to lounge in fabric.

Deiter joins the confusion and decides that this is the ideal place to give Izzy a bath.
Come on, guys!  The table is getting a little crowded!

Zip usually leaves his guitar case on my loom next to the sewing table.  Penny loves to snuggle down inside and take a nap.

Penny and Reggie are a tangle of kitty body parts on a messy shelf where I keep supplies.

'By the way, Mom!  Your sewing is interfering with my nap!'

Everything is finished and was delivered yesterday afternoon.  The kids are leaving for Fort Indiantown Gap tomorrow.  Then all Zip and I have to do is feed their kitties.

So today I am out of sewing incarceration!  Absolutely FREE to do whatever I wish.
It was a nice change to get up in the morning and do dishes (can't believe I said that!!!).  Yes, they piled up nicely while I was otherwise occupied!

On Thursday, my friend Willa is coming here to make tamales.  I've been researching tamale dough recipes on cooking websites.  I like the milder flavor and fluffier texture of ones that made with a canned hominy base.  After reading quite a few recipes, I formulated my own ideas and wanted to try them out ahead of time.

My tamale dough recipe:

1 can of hominy (a can the size of a regular soup can)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup shortening (or lard, the traditional way)
pinch of salt
Chicken broth as needed to make a smooth, soft dough  (less than a cup)

I put all the ingredients into the food processor and blended until the hominy was finely chopped and incorporated into the cornmeal, adding chicken broth a little at a time.  I wanted the dough to be soft enough to easily spread on the cornhusks.

My filling was ground turkey breast, some cumin, taco seasoning and cilantro, with some finely diced white cheddar cheese and some cream cheese.

I will be taking pictures of the whole process when Willa and I make them again on Thursday.

I put the tamales in my bamboo steamer and cooked them for about a half an hour.

The dough turned out perfectly light and fluffy.  I wish I had added some more spicy kick to the filling, maybe adobo sauce, but that's for another day. 

Darn!  I wish I had some guacamole!!!