January means more time at home, more cooking. I've been re-visiting old favorites, tweaking recipes, trying to get things just right, and eating the trial runs! Finally the blueberry muffins are perfect, tender and yummy, blueberries oozing out on my blue plate, topped with a drizzle of icing.
I've made artisanal pizza, deconstructed beef stew (incredible!), oatmeal cookies that will fill you up all day long. We are losing weight steadily because I truly believe made from scratch food, real food, is better for you than a diet. Oh, and a bit of moderation, which isn't easy when things taste so good.
Real French fries! I was moaning and complaining about how I don't even bother ordering them anymore with a meal in a restaurant as they are so generic, or so coated with batter. What's with batter on potatoes anyway???? Mine were easy, fast, crispy and melt-in -your-mouth good. Fresh ground sea salt dusted on them and they disappeared in minutes.
Pizza, also easy and delicious. It has taken more experimenting than with other recipes, but now I can whip one out quickly and be fairly consistent in quality. Below, one I made over Christmas, note the red/green cutting mats. Fresh ricotta cheese added little pillows of deliciousness.....yum. And fresh spinach for the touch of green! I was out of little fresh grape tomatoes, but usually add those for their sweetness and color.
Today we'll coast with very easy stuff, some avocados that I'll use for guacamole, as it is Green Bay Packers and the playoff game. Oliver likes football as there tends to be lots of yelling from His People as they watch.
Thanks for all the comments on Mud, and I know many of you will simply shake your heads and think wow, weird world of color that Diane lives in. Yes, I realize many of you simply hate anything dull or drab or hinting of olive green, but as you dip into your guacamole, consider that lovely color for a quilt!
Below, Kettle Moraine Star, my first true "mud" quilt, with khaki, the color of men's pants, as the background...................
Keep quilting! Your work gets better every day.....
Diane
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6 comments:
Yumm. Makes me want to come join you and Oliver while we watch the Green Bay Packers win (or so this California household hopes). I have a crockpot going for Beef Bourguignonne. Your Kettle Moraine Star quilt is stunning. I somehow struggle with thinking it as a "mud" quilt, but I enjoyed you sharing your insights on color.
QuiltShopGal
www.quiltshopgal.com
QSG, your Beef B. sounds delicious and I imagine the house has wonderful scents wafting through as it simmers. We hope the Packers will win too but we are braced for a hard landing, just in case.
I think my use of mud colors was a sharp right turn for the usual choices in quilting back in the 90's; most would have used a white, ivory, maybe even black background for a traditional Lone Star quilt design. Now of course color rules and hot pink, fuschia, orange.....whatever you LOVE would be the choice! I still love the way the star is showcased in a field of soft khaki.
Yeah, The Packers won.
We are exhausted from the big game, go Packers! Too exciting...
Actually, Diane, the "muddy" background gives the necessary contrast to make the brighter fabrics in the star appear to sparkle against a dark sky. It's gorgeous. I like bright colors, too, but I have learned the hard way that if I use too much of them in one quilt, it ends up looking like a big, messy migraine!
Oh Diane! It's so wonderful to see all the colorful pictures to help me get through the January gloom! I can already tell the days are getting longer, and I'm enjoying spending time sewing and quilting.
Also enjoying watching the cat watch the birds on the other side of the windows...
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