Monday Munchies ~ Churros
Each Monday we will kick off the week with a Must have recipe to help get you out of the kitchen and back stitching ASAP!

I have no idea what has gotten into my husband but he decided while I was cooking dinner that he had to make Churros for dessert. Now, my husband is AMAZING in the kitchen and I highly recommend his creations (especially if you have a choice between his or mine). But this came out of left field. He had never made Churros before, but how hard could it be, right? For me, well let's just say the dog wouldn't even touch them! Deane's were gone in a minute. Here's his recipe, I obviously need to listen to him more....but don't tell him that!

Ingredients
1 cup water
2 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 quarts oil for frying
1/2 cup white sugar, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water, 2 ½ tablespoons sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir flour until mixture forms a ball.
2. Heat oil for frying in a deep-fryer or deep skillet to 375 degrees F(190 degrees C). Pipe strips of dough into hot oil using a pastry bag. (You can also use a plastic bag and cut a bottom corner at an angle) Fry until golden; drain on paper towels.
3. Combine ½ cup sugar and cinnamon. Roll drained churros in the sugar and cinnamon mixture.
4. ENJOY!

Find it Friday ~ Stitching Retreat

Each Friday we will showcase a product, service, offering or event that is a MUST to check out!

July 31st - August 2nd, 2009
A weekend for stitching your personal projects in an unstructured environment guaranteed to relieve daily stress.

The weekend offers an unstructured environment which provides two days for stitching your personal projects. Gayle is available to answer questions and improve your stitching knowledge and techniques through one on one instructions and/or weekend demos. Meals are cooked on the premises and served at 8 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. Coffee, hot tea, juices and ice water are available throughout the day in the stitching room. Soft drinks are available in a vending machine. There is also a small refrigerator available for the group to share. The sleeping rooms are awesome. They have two comfortable twin beds, a sofa, a desk, a large closet and a private bath. The grounds are secluded and have walking trails and benches and rockers interlaced throughout.

For more information please view the Accents Inc. website.

Would you like to go away on a stitching retreat? Or would like to recommend one to LTS members to check out? Feel free to e-mail LTS at Info@LooseThreadStitchers.com with your suggestions so we can be sure to add those to the website!

Whip it Up Wednesday ~ Ray Stitch

Each Wednesday we will choose a stitch to explore and post stitch diagram(s) to help you practice and master each.

Ray Stitch ~ also known as Square Ray or a Fan Stitch

Steps ~ Come up through the fabric on the top left hand side, go down 4 threads and go through the fabric. From behind the fabric go up 3 threads and over 1 thread to the right and come up through the fabric. Go down 3 threads and over 1 thread to the left and go through the fabric. From behind the fabric go up 3 threads, over 2 threads to the right and come up through the fabric. Go down 3 threads and over 2 threads to the left and go thorough the fabric. From behind the fabric go up 3 threads, over 3 threads to the right and come up through the fabric. Go down 3 threads and over 3 threads to the left and go thorough the fabric. From behind the fabric go up 2 threads, over 3 threads and come up through the fabric. Go down 2 threads and over 3 threads to the left and go down through the fabric. From the back of the fabric go up 1 thread and over 3 threads to the right, go up through the fabric. Go down 1 thread and over 3 threads and go down through the fabric. From behind the fabric go over 3 threads to the right and come up through the fabric. Go over 3 threads to the left and go down through the fabric. Repeat as necessary.

Ray Stitch

A Ray Stitch can be stitched left to right or vertically. It can also showcase 2 different ways together to create a stand out effect. View diagram below for a Ray Stitch Variation.

Ray Stitch Variation

Monday Munchies ~ Pork Chops Recipe
Each Monday we will kick off the week with a Must have recipe to help get you out of the kitchen and back stitching ASAP!

Fabulous Pork Chops Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 pork chops
• 1 teaspoon bacon fat, grapeseed oil, or olive oil (or other hot smoke point oil)
• Salt
• 1-2 teaspoons of dry rub*

Dry rub:

• 1/4 cup cumin seeds
• 3 Tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

Combine cumin, peppercorns, and coriander in a heavy medium skillet. Stir over medium heat until fragrant and toasted, about 8 minutes. Cool slightly. Finely grind toasted spices in blender. Transfer to a small bowl. Mix in sugar and salt. Makes 1/2 cup.

Directions

Heat a large cast iron frying pan to medium high or high heat (hot enough to sear the meat). While the pan is heating, sprinkle a pinch of dry rub spices (about 1/8 teaspoon or a little more) on each of the pork chops. Using your fingers, rub the spices into the meat. Turn the chops over and repeat on the other side.

Once the pan is hot, add a teaspoon of oil or fat to the pan and coat the bottom of the pan. Right before you put the chops into the pan sprinkle each side with a little salt, or you can salt the chops in the pan. Place the chops in the pan. Make sure they have some room and are not crowding each other. There should be space between the chops in the pan or the meat will steam and not sear properly.

Tip: Arrange the chops in the pan with the thickest, boniest parts towards the center of the pan where they get the most heat.

Sear the chops, about 2 minutes on each side. Watch carefully, as soon as the chops are browned, flip them. As soon as you flip the chops, if you are using a cast iron pan, you can turn off the heat. Cast iron holds heat very well and there will be enough heat in the pan to finish cooking the meat.

If you have chops that are a lot thicker than 3/4" (many are sold that are 1 1/2"-thick), you can put a cover on the pan and let the chops finish cook for 5 minutes or so (if you are using a cast iron pan and have turned off the heat, there should be enough heat if you cover the pan to finish the cooking of a thicker chop, if not, lower the heat to low and cover.

How do you know when the chops are done? If you wait until you see juice oozing out of the top of the chop, it is definitely done. Typically you can keep the chops in the pan, the heat is turned off, so the pan is losing heat. The pan initially provides enough heat to sear the second side. As it initially cools it is still cooking, though not searing the meat. After a couple of minutes, it's just keeping the chops warm.

Serves 4-6, depending on the thickness of the chops.