Still Not Easy and Certainly Not Fast

This project still continues.  It is very frustrating.  I tried to set it aside and even considered tossing it so I could just move on.  

Now that I have all the blocks made and arranged on the design wall, I have begun to sew the rows together.  The top row was difficult to sew and I have to sew even slower than usual.  It's interesting to see how much 1/4-inch seams really take up.  This pieced part of the quilt will finish 18 inches square.  The last row shown here will actually be included in the border.

Due East

I read a very interesting post on EarthSky.org this morning about the Spring Equinox.  It was news to me that on the Spring Equinox, the sun rises due east and sets due west. I'm not sure if I knew this once or not but it's good to know.  And it is true no matter where you are.  If you want the details and a diagram, click on the link above.  The sun rose over the mountains 65 minutes after the official sun rise here.

It's good to know where the sun is at different times of the year when you are planting or moving plants.  I will be making some changes this year with a goal of using less drinking water for a lawn.

Happy Spring!

Edited for the record... Due West

Dog for Sale

I subscribed to regular coffee deliveries and received the first box yesterday.  San Francisco Bay is the brand and they come 10 to a bag, a heavy biodegradable bag.  Excellent, although not resealable, but the remaining eight fit quite nicely into a quart jar. 

Upon returning from errands:

Min had helped herself to a bag from the box and ripped it to shreds.  A lot of coffee grounds everywhere but I could only account for 7 of the 10 pods.  I cleaned up the mess and made myself a sandwich and after a while, I wondered if coffee is bad for dogs.  Oh yes, it is.  The caffeine is toxic.  I called the vet.  I guessed she could have ingested it as long as two hours earlier and I estimated perhaps three tablespoons of dry grounds plus the plastic rings.

I poured two tablespoons of this down her throat and within 10 minutes everything was out on the grass.  It was a lot of coffee and plastic too.  She seems fine.

And a little later as I was picking up in the yard, I found what had interested her earlier in the day... a wee mouse.  I can't say if she caught it or it just keeled over dead but she had been seriously studying it,  thankfully not chewing on it. (I really did not look too closely at it, just close enough to find its tail so I could toss it in the bag.) Gross.

I think she's channeling Jack again.

Pi Day

It started out as a sewing day.  I had a three hour class at The Cotton Shop making a tote bag with pre-printed fusible web.  Very interesting.

I spent quality time bonding with Rachel, a small machine that I take to classes and have available for sewing guests at home.  This is probably the second time I have sewn on it and it's a doll but quite different from the big machine.

This machine does not have an automatic thread cutter and I was shocked at the pile of thread clippings I accumulated. The sales people tout the thread savings from the automatic cutters but I honestly thought that was just a sales gimmick.  Not so.

And of course since it was Epic Pi Day and Albert Einstein's birthday, I hung the flag out and made a spinach pie with a brown rice crust for dinner.  Very good!

Brown Rice Pie Crust
makes one 8" or 9" crust

1 ½ c or 2 c cooked rice depending on size of pan
1 egg
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Press into an ungreased pie dish. Bake (without filling) at 350 F for 10 minutes. Use for your favorite quiche recipe.

Spinach Quiche

2 oz. fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

¾ cup of milk
1 cup chopped onion
1T oil
2 eggs
1/2 t salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 c shredded Pepper Jack cheese

Heat oil in frying pan, add onion and cook for a few minutes, until onion are beginning to get soft.  Add in spinach and cook until wilted.

In a bowl, beat eggs and stir in milk, salt and pepper.  Add spinach , onions, and cheese. Stir together and pour into pre-baked brow rice crust.

Bake at 375 F for 25 minutes, until firm and starting to brown.

Deal.

We made a stop today at the Habitat for Humanity Restore.  Lori was looking for some wood pieces and they will cut to size for you, which was news to me.  I think they are happy to help you out and in the process get rid of things and make some money for the cause.

I was just wandering around and found a huge unmarked box of these a clips.  They are sewn onto a folded 23" piece of 1/2" elastic.  I took one up to the cashier and asked if she know what they were. Not a clue but she said I could have a handful for $1 and to make sure I got as many as I possibly could.

62.

A Classic

I had in mind something with eggs. green chiles, and potatoes for dinner tonight.  What I had on hand ended up as a classic quiche and where else do you go when you want classic, well maybe Julia but I found what I wanted online from Martha.  Still some substitutions since we were going with what was on hand but darn good.  Here is her recipe, different in some significant ways from my interpretation.  My version:

Bacon and Cheese Quiche – adapted from Martha

1 store-bought deep dish single-crust pie dough

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups medium diced yellow onion (from 1 large onion)

Coarse salt and ground pepper

6 large eggs

3/4 cup evaporated milk

3/4 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese (4 ounces) 

Follow package directions and prebake piecrust shell.  Let crust cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high. Add onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes.  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Add onion, bacon, and cheese and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Whisk to combine, pour into crust, and bake at 375⁰ until center of quiche is just set, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

(I believe this is the beginning of the Epic Pi Day celebration.)

Pureed Cauliflower

Cauliflower. I love it! I always requested it for my birthday.  Mom would boil a whole head, drain it and then spread Cream of Tomato Condensed soup over the top of it, sprinkle on some bread crumbs and broil it just long enough for those bread crumbs to brown.  Yum!!

Last night I had it pureed, sometimes I just mash it.  Not much too it; break it down into florets, steam until very tender and then mix in a splash of milk, butter, salt and pepper.  Mash or puree.  I think I will have it again tonight.

There was one disconcerting moment.  I opened a new tub of butter to find this:

I did laugh but am still wondering what the message is.  Can't wait to buy another tub though because maybe they are all like this.

I wonder who I will find in the fridge tonight.

A Wee Quilt for the Irish Celebration

Lucky Clover

Just a quick table mat to use up some scraps.  Not many scraps though as the finished size is just 12x15.  A fun little piece to do and as usual I learned some things, lots of setting triangles and more practice with glue and binding.

The postcard in the picture is part of a calendar from Temeculah Quilt Company.  The instructions for the quilt are on the back in a very small font.  

This is a great soup for March and the wearing of the green:
Reuben Soup  (Barefeet in the Kitchen) Yield: 5 servings
2 tablespoons butter

1 medium size onion, diced into 1/2" pieces
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup flour
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked corned beef, chopped into bite-size pieces
1 cup sauerkraut, drained
3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2" pieces
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon pickling spices
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt, to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded

Melt  butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper and sauté another minute. Sprinkle with flour, stir to coat and continue stirring while the flour cooks with the onion for about 3 minutes.

Add the broth and stir to scrape up any bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the beef, potatoes, sauerkraut, Worcestershire sauce, pickling spices, caraway seeds and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 12-15 minutes, just until the potatoes are tender.

Remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves and any large pieces from the pickling spices. Stir in the cream. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Scoop into bowls and top with cheese.

(I forgot to add the Worcestershire and I left out the caraway.  I used a coffee filter to make a bag for the pickling spices.)

QOTD

Who thinks we can cut a foot off one end of a blanket

sew it on the other end 

and believes we have a longer blanket?     

" Zephaniah"