Quilter’s Fruit Cobbler

 

Aren’t quilters the best cooks ever? That has certainly been my experience. Almost every memory I have of a special gathering with my quilting pals is sweetened with the image and taste of a heavenly treat. How fortunate I am to call these ladies—and sometimes gentlemen—friends.

I don’t get to spend as much time as I would like with my artist and quilting friend, Lynne Lee. But when we do get together during the summer, she always pulls off some fabulous culinary creation. Most are incredibly straight forward and don’t require any special ingredients.

My favorite is her fruit cobbler recipe, which I have tried with variations of fruits and toppings. All are good in their own way. I do try to use less sugars and fats than Lynne’s original recipe. That means less margarine, and using frozen fruit from my trees instead of canned pie filling. I occasionally add a crunchy oat topping, which is completely optional. Finely chopped nuts work just as well. It’s all a matter of whether you are shooting for a decadent dessert or something that is a little more healthy.

Ingredients

1/4 to 1/2 cup of margarine, depending on how much of a buttery taste you enjoy.

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1 can pie filling, canned fruit drained, or quart bag of frozen fruit drained. You may not need the entire amount.

Optional crunchy oat topping

3-4 tablespoons of margarine

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup Quaker oats

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

Soften or melt the margarine and put in the bottom of a 8 X 8 X 2” baking dish. The pan shown here is a little larger and results in a thinner cobbler. Lynne makes hers thicker with the cobbler spilling over the sides of the dish a bit.

Mix sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and milk with a wire whisk. Pour evenly over melted margarine. DO NOT STIR.

Spoon pie filling or fruit on top of the batter. DO NOT STIR.

Bake in the oven at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes. If you are adding the oatmeal topping, bake the cobbler for 20 minutes. Remove the cobbler from the oven momentarily to sprinkle the topping over the cobbler, then return it to the oven for another 25 minutes.

The cobbler is finished when it pulls away from the sides of the pan and the cake has a spongy feel to it.

Garnish with a light dusting of cinnamon if desired. This can be served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy! The corner pieces where all the margarine collects are the best.

My Bohemian “Oops” Bag

 

Some of my readers tickled me when they made nice comments about designing my own pattern for my yoga bag. Obviously. they did not see the first dry run that I scrapped in midstream because I just hadn’t taken the time to think things through before I began. The overall pattern design was just not working. And although I liked the colors, they just didn’t seem right for what I had imagined.

This is basically how far I got. I have replaced the two strips of fabric on the ends with what you see in the photo. Originally, it was a darker mauve pink. The color looked fine, but when I got the fabric sewn on and stood back to take a look, the fabric’s printed design was off-kilter. Up close the fabric did not read as having a stripe or strata, but from a distance, it sure did.

My original thought on this pattern was to somehow put darts, tucks, or gores at the bottom of the bag rather than sewing in a separate inset circle. I am fairly sure it can be done, but the solution escapes me at the moment—especially when figuring the logistics of also attaching the carrying strap and finishing the seams.

I really did like the playful fabrics in the piecing.

The large semi-solid square has tiny little crabs on it. The color blended perfectly, so I threw it in the mix.

But as much as I liked some of the elements of this work, a yoga bag was not going to happen.

Not to worry. I soon came up with another idea.

My friend, Corey, had brought a quilted tote bag to our Sewful Sisters meeting one night to share. It starts out as a small quilt, then is folded and stitched a certain way into a sort of a duffel bag.

Corey is on the right, and our friend, Janice is on the left.

Cloth handles are then sewn onto the bag for carrying. This one will be large enough to carry 2-3 quilts inside. Perfect for toting quilts to and from a show. Mine will be about half as large.

This photo shows Corey with a finished tote at her feet. I wish I would have gotten more pictures because it is truly an amazing creation. If I can’t recall exactly how she did it, I might have to give her a call. Or I might just wing it and come up with something of my own.

I will let you know how it goes.