Mug Rug Exchange - Do it yourself style!

[Deborah W.]

Debbie - When traveling across Canada with all the kids a long time ago, we stopped in Sask. on the side of the road, and the lady was selling Saskatoon Berry Pie. She called her husband who dashed over from the house and gave us all a private inside tour of the grain elevator. I finally found a cheap ceramic one to be used for a piggy bank, and everyone laughed at me, but I came home a painted a prairie scene from the photos I took, including the grain elevator. . I was a great Canadian experience traveling from Quebec to Northern BC and back. Have been to NB and NS, but want to go to PEI and Newfoundland next summer.


Have you ever had Saskatoon Berries?

[Hannelore N.]

Stomping feet, pouting...... I want to see them!! That's one of the few things that I really, really want to experience. But how to make sure that they'll be up there in the sky when I'm looking for them?? Financially I will definitely only be able to have one crack at it, sometime after retirement.

[Rita C.]

Maybe an Alaskan cruise or a cruise of the fjords of Norway is the answer Lorchen. The fjords one is really calling to me at the moment....as well as a Caribbean....sigh!

[Maureen A.]

Stomping feet, pouting...... I want to see them!! That's one of the few things that I really, really want to experience. But how to make sure that they'll be up there in the sky when I'm looking for them?? Financially I will definitely only be able to have one crack at it, sometime after retirement.

Lorchen, I have seen them twice here in Scotland - beautiful. Once up near Thurso (Caithness) and once not far from here. We watched them at Glen Fruin where the sky was not polluted. Trouble is you never know when they will be around.

[Lois B.]

What a lovely day to start my day! .....drinking my coffee, looking at mug rugs and reading the international chatter going on amongst my quilting friends. I learned about Mooncakes and Mid Autumn Festivals by Googling. I still don't know why there is a rabbit on the cake although I understand that often there is. I'll probably have an answer for that by the next time I come back for a visit with my mug rug friends. Have a great day everyone!

[Lois B.]

Tap! tap! tap! of the finger....so where is the recipe for moon cakes then? you can't just leave us hanging like that Renata, it's inhumane! :P Beautiful mug rug by the way :wink:

[Lois B.]

I also googled the moon cakes and looked at some recipes. Not sure I would want to make them. They really did not sound good.

[Lois B.]

I was in China and tried some 'special' moon cakes......they weren't too special to me. Just saying....

[Rita C.]

There seem to be a few different variations on the moon cake recipe. I think they look interesting - just very different My Malaysian friend brought us moon cakes once and I really liked them. Perhaps it was the red bean paste that you didn't like Terrie - definitely an acquired taste I think. Renata, how were the home-made ones your friend brought? I bet they were delicious.

[Rita C.]

Since I am switching topics for a sec. I did it here as you ladies are so forgiving. Does anyone out there know the difference between a English rib and just a plain old rib stitch in knitting? I did look on line but there seems to be differences in opinion on how it is done.

[Rita C.]

The only ribbing I know about for knitting is 'knit one, purl one' etc, or if you want to get fancy, 'knit two, purl two' etc. but then I am not terribly up on knitting.

Where as 'ribbing' is much easier :wink: - how is your boxer short collection coming along Terrie?

[Rita C.]

I have never heard of English rib stitch. I just googled it and as far as I can see it's the same as Fisherman's rib.

[Jane R.]

Here's the recipe for mooncakes that I found which looked very tasty but I've nothing to compare since I've never eaten one. And not red bean ingredient either.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zester...b_3939027.html
What do you think of this recipe, Renata, authentic or not?

[Renata L.]

My friend made the layered version of moon cake and it was filled with mung bean paste and a savory flavored filling added in but in a very small amount. The layered version simply means that the mung bean paste filling is wrapped in two different types of dough, but in the end, the dough comes out as flaky and layered because you fold and refold the dough on itself. She got her recipe from Eupho Café http://translate.googleusercontent.c...aqambdlx1weV3Q and I used the translator so you can see this recipe in English. It is actually made with bean paste and salted egg.

There are so many versions of moon cake. Some vary by country, in China the fillings even differ from region to region. The fillings vary too, from different kinds of pastes to crunchy nut fillings, with salted egg, a double egg for double luck, etcetera. There are also the very traditional recipes alongside modern interpretations of moon cake (kind of like our quilts--traditional, modern, art? :lol: ) So, if you've only tasted one kind and were not impressed, chances are there is one out there you might like. Of course, there are some folks who don't like moon cakes, period!

The layered version is the home-made version for people who don't have the traditional wooden presses, although nowadays you can purchase plastic molds. In the past, I have made the traditional one because I have a collection of both old Japanese and Chinese hand-carved wooden presses that I've purchased at antique markets in both China and Japan. To purchase a boxed set of four moon cakes of high quality, you can pay anywhere between $60-$100. What I bought this year was acceptable and I paid $40 for the boxed set. Moon cakes are not cheap (if they are they are also not that tasty... :roll: ) and they are very labor intensive to make, especially because you are making everything from scratch.

Here are some of my wooden molds:

[Rita C.]

Those moulds are beautiful Renata. I particularly like the fish. Could you use those for shortbread or are they too deep? Moon cakes are far too labour intensive for me - it would 'eat' into my quilting time. :lol: