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QOV Challenge

January 10, 2012 · by

Alycia issued a challenge for 2012.  I didn’t want to do it. It’s not that I didn’t want to do it.  I’d be happy to do it if I had 12 quilts sitting here that I could send but saying yes, I’ll do it  .. that will keep me awake at night because I hate to say I’m going to do something and not do it.  Then I was reading Mary’s blog and she mentioned Alycia’s challenge and that little voice in my heart that gets me into so much trouble said “Do it!“  The challenge for me is to make and quilt and bind and send to Alycia 12 quilts in 2012.  I’m going to give it my best shot.

The size and other requirements are posted here.  Before you panic about the size of your patriotic fabric stash, the quilts do not have to be red, white and blue.

Anyone else willing to do it?  Here’s the bribe prize I will offer.  If you’re a Patchwork Times reader and you send in quilts and your goal is to send in 12 quilts that you’ve made start to finish, please put a note in the box with your name, address, phone number, email address and that you’re a Patchwork Times reader.  Please also on your note somewhere write 1 of 12, and then 2 of 12 and so on.  Alycia will keep up with it (I hope . . I haven’t talked to her about this yet!)  A day or two before Christmas, Alycia will draw a name from those who have sent in 12 quilts and I will give one gift certificate in the amount of $300 to the Fat Quarter Shop.  You don’t need to tell me or announce  your intentions publicly, though you’re welcome to do so if you wish.

I sure hope I win!  :)   Seriously, my name will not be in the pot but if I make all 12 of my quilts, I might just treat myself to a $300 gift certificate from the Fat Quarter Shop too.  Maybe the winner and myself can have a contest to see who can get the most yardage for $300!  :)

Making and sending 12 quilts is a challenge and it is a sacrifice but I think of it as the least I can do for those who have sacrificed so much for our country through the years.

The first link to Alycia’s blog contains a link to a free pattern.  Your quilts don’t have to be elaborate but they should be good quality fabric, as well as good quality workmanship.  Now . . let’s all get busy and get 12 QOVs made!

 

 

· Filed Under: Quilting · 20 Comments

Who Wants Him

January 10, 2012 · by

The propane man came today and I was out chatting with him (told you I’ll talk to anyone and every one!).  He was telling me that for a house this size, he delivers about half as much propane here as to other similar houses.  He said “You must have a lot of insulation.”  The folks who lived here before us were an elderly couple and I know they kept it way warmer than we do but he said he had gone back and checked his records and this house has never used much propane.

Vince came home at lunch and I was again telling him how happy I am that we found this house and then I just got this email:

Obviously, I wrote him back and no, I will not tell you what I told him.  It wasn’t nice!  Just for the record, I don’t plan to ever have another house . . maybe another husband . . but not another house!  :)   What he sent was a joke . . I think.  But really, I don’t ever want to move again and even seeing that in my email caused me great distress!

· Filed Under: Worthless Chatter · 12 Comments

Crockpot: Pork in Red Sauce

January 10, 2012 · by

After reading through several crockpot cookbooks, and reading the advice from readers to adapt my own recipes for use in the crockpot, I’ve been doing just that and have had several very good crockpot dinners.  This one turned out excellent and had enough sauce left over that I made meatballs, added to the leftover sauce and we had those last night.  Vince said it was some of the best sauce I’ve made!

Pork in Red Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil
1 – 3 or 4 pound pork loin
Seasonings (salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper)
1 med. onion, chopped
4 – 6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 T. butter
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 T. dried oregano
2 small sprigs fresh rosemary
28 oz. can tomato puree
2 – 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1/2 c. dry red wine
1/2 to 3/4 c. fresh basil

1. Season the pork loin. (I did this the night before and let it sit in the fridge in a ziplock bag).
2. Brown the pork loin, on all sides, in the oil and place the loin in the crockpot.
3. Saute the onion and garlic in the oil/pan drippings. Add the fennel seed and continue to saute for another 2 – 3 minutes. Add this mixture to the loin in the crockpot.
4. Add the brown sugar to the crockpot.
5. Melt the butter in the same pot and saute the mushrooms. When they’re done, transfer them to a container and keep them in the fridge til right before serving time.
6. Add the oregano, rosemary, tomato puree, diced tomatoes and wine to the crockpot.
7. Cover and cook 6 – 7 hours on low. You may want to check the temp. Mine reached 145º after about 4 hours. Overcooking seems to be an issue with using the crockpot.
8. Once your meat has reached the desired temp, add the sauteed mushrooms and the basil.

There was so much sauce left over and I was glad because the sauce was great!   This recipe made enough for us to eat the pork with sauce for 2 dinners, and I froze a good chunk of the pork with sauce for another dinner, then Vince had several sandwiches with it.

I made meatballs and had enough for one dinner, meatball sandwiches for lunch and froze a batch of sauce with meatballs.

It’s safe to say we got at least 7 meals out of this recipe.

· Filed Under: Cooking · 11 Comments

Herbs in a Tube

January 10, 2012 · by

My preference is to grow my herbs and when I can’t grow them, to buy them fresh but even that doesn’t always work out.  With everything going on around here, I’m not even going to ask for a place to grow herbs.  I may end up with them in pot this first summer here, assuming I can figure out a way to keep the deer out of them.  Vince will eventually fence off a spot for a garden but that may not even happen this year.

Buying fresh herbs at our local grocery stores is hit and miss.  Sometimes they have them and they look good; sometimes they have them and I wouldn’t use them if they gave them to me (which they’ve never offered to do) and sometimes, they just don’t have them.

I’ve been real happy with these Gourmet Garden herbs in a tube.

Almost all the time I have fresh cilantro and fresh garlic but every now and then, I don’t.  These tubes last forever where the cilantro I buy in the store often doesn’t look very good and is horrible after a few days in the fridge.  Til I can get my own herb garden, I’m real happy to have these tubes in my fridge.

· Filed Under: Cooking · 27 Comments