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23 March 2013

Photo fun . . . and a recipe.


Told you I finished something!  I have had this rolling around my UFO pile for the last two years. I am so happy it's finished. I've always really liked this design, and decided the Crazy January challenge 2011 was the perfect time to commit to it.  After the designer for Primitive Needle passed away so tragically that same year, I dedicated it to her--I still feel so awful about the way she was taken. But then life took over, and this, along with the rest of the Crazy January starts, fell along the wayside.   But now it's done, and really, when it comes down to it, this is a pretty good message for the way my life has been going lately--we just gotta keep going and hope for the best.

This is my problem child. This was kitted up by my LNS, and I don't have enough floss to finish it. I can pull the DMC from my stash, but the hand-dyed floss is another question. Even if I were to go back to the LNS and complain, the kit is from 2008, and matching the floss would be a problem. I'm just adapting the design as I can. And I am annoyed. This was not a cheap little kit. It's very cute though, so I am hoping I can finish it and not make it look too bad.  Wish me luck.



I don't know if I've posted this before, but I wanted to share a recipe that is part of my family's Easter celebrating . . . glorified rice. My gramma learned this recipe from her grandmother, and I've been trying to research where it came from, because so many of my gramma's recipes were, "til it taste me good", and it's hard to quantify how to make them. It's the one recipe that does not seem to be on the Internet, though, because I can find recipes that are close, but none that are exactly the same. It's not ambrosia, it's not rice pudding, it's glorified rice . . . and it's heavenly. So I wanted to share.

The ingredients: (yes, I use store brand for the most part. I do use name-brand vanilla, Penzey's to be precise. To me, it's the Ferrari of vanillas, but if you don't have it, use your favorite)

4 cups of instant rice, prepared per package instructions.
1 medium can of crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 C of sugar
1/2 t vanilla
medium container of heavy whipping cream



Combine the rice, sugar, and pineapple while the rice is still warm. It melds together a lot better that way.

I have seen recipes that use pineapple juice, not pineapple, and lemon jello, but I can't imagine how that would taste, plus it always makes me amazed that, in the early 1900s, in the hollers of Western Pennsylvania, my great-great-grandmother had access to and money for crushed pineapple. This was truly a special dish if she had that for her family.


When mixed, pour the cream over it and add the vanilla. You can use a little more or a little less depending on your preference. I have adapted it to be less sweet than my gramma's way because Left-brain won't eat it when it's too sweet, and you get enough calories from the cream. It's going to look soupy, but it goes in the fridge to "draw through" and thickens up.


This was a photo I took of the finished product. I love to eat that first bowl while it's still warm and yummy. It just doesn't photograph well. But it tastes, well, divine.




Katie "helped" me make it; she sat on the floor, banging pan lids while the water boiled for the rice. It's not fancy food, not to a modern palate, but it's good, and it's home food to me.

So that's all i have for tonight. I hope your weekend is going well. They are calling for snow on Monday here. Not sure if they're going to be right--the forecasters are started to laugh at their own ineptitude at this point. But Easter means spring is here and it has to warm up sometime.

6 comments:

CJ in OK ;-) said...

Congrats onyour finish very cute. Hope things turn out ok on the other cute kit. Your family recipe sounds yummy may have to try that CJ in OK

xstitchatoz said...

Great `Scaredy Cat` finish and I hope the snowman `problem child` will work out fine too. Can`t wait to try this recipe, it sounds scrumptious - I could have a bowl of it warm right now (after the 4th day of howling icy wind, blowing tiny pellets of hail... all over my poor daffodils!).
Happy Easter! xx

Miss LindaLee said...

Your finished piece is so cute. I've never seen that one before. Adorable! I hate it when I run out of hand dyed thread in the middle of a piece, but as you said, you can use your imagination and finish the piece the way you want. I'm sure you'll do a great job.

The recipe! Thank you so much for sharing it! My husband is a real sweets eater and we both love rice. I'm going to give this recipe a try.

You have a wonderful week.
LindaLee from
CrossN' My Stitches

Carol said...

Such a cute finish, Rachel! I have never heard of "glorified rice" but it sound delicious and what nice memories it brings back to you--true comfort food, I'd say :)

Wishing you a very Happy Easter!

Annie said...

Love your cute finish. And I'm sure you will successfully work out a way to make that WIP a winner as well.

Interesting recipe. Grandmothers often seem to have something unique up their sleeves, but in my case, their 'recipes' were in their heads and no one can duplicate them. This one looks like great comfort food!

Astrids dragon said...

Your finish is adorable! Sorry that you didn't have enough floss, it couldn't hurt talking to them about it, (TSP?) they could try and match it.

I'm not much for rice pudding, but I think I'll have to try your recipe out on my Dad!

I do my thing and you do yours. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, then it is beautiful. If not, it can’t be helped--Frederick Perls