Pots and Pins

I've Got the Blues Quilt...

Blue is not my color.   It's not even in my wheelhouse.  I have very few blue things in my home, or in my closet - not sure why that is, it's not that I don't like blue, it's just that I don't really "see" blue...at a fabric store my eyes just seem to skip right past anything blue but I see red and gold and green and orange and those colors make me happy.  Blue leaves me feeling, well, blue!  So to make a quilt with blue fabrics is a chore...definitely not a labor of love...but I persevered!  However, my patience was put to the test when I decided to make a blue quilt that is modern and not symmetrical!  I might as well have had a root canal without anesthesia - because it was painful!!!  And if you don 't know what I'm talking about, then you are not a quilter...or at least a crazy quilter!  

This is the end result of all that blue...and let me just say right now...I love this quilt.  Oh, don't get me wrong, I hated every second of making it, but now that it's done, I'm totally smitten.

I love that it's "not me."  I love that it's modern and not traditional and I really love that it's blue!  Rosie loves it, too!  She insisted on being in the picture.

Poor Venom...his leg is now held on with tape and he is one step from the grave/trash but he has to make an appearance every Halloween.  The boy bought him at a garage sale about 20 years ago and loves him, curiously though, the boy said he didn't want him when he moved out...

The only thing that saved me when I was piecing this quilt is the blocks were totally random.  I didn't think past putting a light and a dark fabric together so if two of the same fabrics are close to each other that was fine with me...that would have been TOO much pressure!!!

So I guess when all is said and done...blue just might be in my wheelhouse after all! 

 

Now these colors...these are MY colors...my Halloween quilts are available to wrap up in so if you're in the neighborhood stop on by, I'll make you a cuppa and you can wrap up in a Halloween quilt and we can sing the blues!

 

Mississippi Pot Roast...

If a recipe has been shared over a million times on Pinterest and written about in the New York Times, then it must be a winner, and this one is.  No question about it, this one is a keeper and for good reasons...it's dang delicious.  Before you read the recipe though, please put away any preconceived notions you might have for using those little packages of dressing mix filled with monosodium-glutamate and other ingredients that make one glow in the dark.  I don't like using those things, not because I'm a purist - banish the thought!  But because I never have them on hand in my pantry and if a recipe calls for them then it means a trip to the store...see, not a purist, just lazy.  Now, about this recipe...it is the original recipe of a lady in Mississippi named Robin Chapman.  She made it for her family and friends all the time.  One day she made it for a friend, who later called and asked her if she could put the recipe in her church cookbook...and that's where it started to get a little traction.  The friend's niece wrote about it on her blog and little by little people started reposting...but very slowly at first, until Pinterest arrived on the scene and then it just exploded.  The New York Times became interested when the recipe hit the million mark for pins and they did the research and went from pin to pin until they discovered who originated the recipe. So I ask you, can 1 million people be wrong??  Well, yes, if you're talking about the election...but not if you're talking about this roast!

 

 

 

 

The New York Times doesn't like to use pre-packaged anything so naturally when they saw the recipe they were skeptical...but brave foodies that they are, they donned their aprons, made the recipe as written and declared it spectacular!  And then, they did what they always do, they rewrote the recipe so it could be made without pre-packaged dressings and declared it equally as good!   You can find their recipe here.

 

 

 

 

As luck would have it, right after I read about Robin's recipe on the NYT webpage, I turned on my TV to Food Network and the show, The Kitchen, and none other than Robin Chapman was on the show!!!  Robin was talking about her roast recipe and it's rise to fame - what a coincidence, no?!  Hearing her describe how she made her roast was a bit different from the written recipe and the NYT version - surprise, surprise, she doesn't measure, she just pours and tosses things in and calls it good...like most great home cooks! 

 

 

 

Here's the best thing about this recipe - it's quick and easy.  I decided to take the advice of the NYT and I seared my roast on all sides first, but Robin just plunks hers down in the Crock-Pot unseared.  That's the only change I made to the original recipe - and I do think it makes a difference.  This is the most delicious pot roast we have had and I can see why it's still burning up the internet...make this one kids, it's worthy of 5 Dangs on the ol' Meter...it's dang, dang, dang, dang, dang finger lickin' good!

Mississippi Pot Roast - Original Recipe from Robin Chapman

1 pot roast, 3 to 4 lbs., (you can use a chuck roast, top or bottom round or sirloin)

1/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons pepper

3 tablespoons oil, canola or vegetable

1 package Ranch Dressing Mix

1 package Au Jus mix

1 jar Peperoncini (I used about half of a 16 oz. jar, including half of the juice.  Robin said she often uses the entire jar, so put in what you like)

1 stick butter (a lot of blogs and the Times used less butter but Robin said she always uses one stick...so who am I to argue?!)

Put roast onto cutting board.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper on all sides.  Sprinkle with flour and then rub flour into roast, on all sides.  In a large skillet, heat oil until hot, then add roast and sear on all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.  Remove roast to Crock-Pot, set on low heat.  Sprinkle Ranch dressing packet on top of roast.  Sprinkle Au Jus mix on top of Ranch dressing.  Put Peperoncini on top of roast, along with juice from jar.  Slice butter into chunks and put on top of roast.  Cover with lid and let cook on low for 6 to 8 hours - roast is done when it can be easily shredded with a fork.  Serve hot with juice over egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes.  Used any left over roast in sandwiches (melt Provolone on top, so good!)  Serves 6.

 

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin Soup with Sage Pesto and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds...

For years the mister has refused to buy a generator, he's a Marine and he don't need no stinkin' generator!  Nevermind his long-suffering wife who DOES!  Well, well, well...guess what the mister sorely wants now but can't find?!  That's right, the OLD Marine has decided it's time to get plugged in (at least the TV as he simply cannot live without it because it's football season and Tennessee has a team this year!) and he is in a sour-state because he can't find one anywhere!!  He is desperate I tell you!  Desperate enough to make a late night trip to Home Depot to offer up our bank account and/or one of our children for a generator!  I'm sure they are still laughing, along with the generator guys at Lowes and Costco because they were all sold out the minute the weathermen announced the double-punch storm headed our way.  The mister should have floored it to one of those places immediately!  He did not.  He waited three more days and THEN, late at night, he decided the time was right and off he went, speeding down the hill determined to return with a generator 5 minutes before TWO major wind storms.  Now that the mister has been denied, he is at the end of his rope.  I know this because he asked me to find one ON-LINE and he thinks ordering anything on-line is of the devil - he doesn't trust anyone's security - he's still a money-under-the-mattress kind of guy - not that we have any under ours so don't get any ideas, but that's how he thinks.  So the first order of business this morning is to buy a generator on-line and have it shipped - sadly it won't be here in time to help us if/when the power goes out today but that's okay with me as I will be headed to a hotel the minute the lights flicker! 

 

 

 

 

Let's talk soup.  Pumpkin soup.  The kind of pumpkin soup that is ordered in fancy-schmancy restaurants prepared by uppity chefs who have 2 Michelin Stars.  The kind of pumpkin soup that after the first sip you sit back in your chair and say mmmmmm.  Yes.  Mmmmmmm.  The kind of pumpkin soup that has you wondering what's in it that is so velvety and seductive.  Oh, that would be the coconut milk.  This is that kind of pumpkin soup.  It's rich and rewarding...it will fill your senses and your stomach and you'll go back for more, I promise.  This pumpkin soup stands on it's own, too.  It doesn't need the Sage Pesto or the Spicy Pumpkin Seeds...it's dang good without them.  But.  Or should I say BUT?  Yes, this deserves a BIG BUT...so let me rephrase...this soup doesn't need the Sage Pesto or Spicy Pumpkin Seeds BUT it is absolutely 5 DANGS WORTH of Delicious with the toppings so make them...swirl the pesto into the soup... enjoy the crunch of the seeds and savor the mmmmmmm.

There are three steps to making this soup and all three are easy.  You can do them in advance, too, even days in advance.  The Sage Pesto will keep for a week in the refrigerator and the Spicy Pumpkin seeds will, too.  The pesto and the seeds make a lot, more than you'll need for one batch of soup, so you could even freeze the pesto and use it at a later time because you will want to make this soup again and again!

The soup is not overly spiced, and it's just a teensy bit on the sweet side.  If you want more heat, you can always add in more cayenne pepper, it's your funeral.

Look kids, it's Pumpkin Season.  Don't be like the mister and wait until the 11th hour.  Don't wait until the pumpkin shelves are empty at the market.  Could happen...just this week the water shelves at our local Safeway were swept clean - we LIVE in water and people were buying water!  I guess they don't know that when the power goes off the faucets still work?! At any rate, what if there WAS a run on pumpkin?!?!? Think how sad and devastated you would be then! So don't wait to make this, pumpkin season doesn't last forever you know!

 

Pumpkin Soup with Sage Pesto and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds - Adapted from Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest

Sage Pesto:

1 cup fresh parsley

10 large sage leaves

1/4 cup shelled pistachios

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup crumpled Blue cheese (or you could substitute Feta or Parmesan)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

 

Spicy Pumpkin Seeds:

1 cup Pepitas/Pumpkin seeds (I bought mine at Trader Joe's but Safeway also carries them)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Pumpkin Soup:

2 cans prepared pumpkin (15 oz. can)

salt and pepper to taste

6 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup finely diced shallots, (about 2 small shallots)

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups coconut milk

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to your liking)

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Make the Pesto:  In the bowl of a food processor, combine parsley, sage, pistachios and process until finely chopped, then pour in the olive oil, with processor running.  Add Blue cheese and pepper, and pulse a few more times until combined.  Taste for seasonings and add additional pepper and salt if needed.  Remove and set aside.  (It making a day or two ahead of time, refrigerate until ready to use.)

Make the Spicy Pumpkin Seeds:  In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, combine the pumpkin seeds, brown sugar, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Stir continuously until the sugar begins to melt and stick to the seeds and the seeds become fragrant and begin to brown slightly, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Remove to a cookie sheet or a piece of parchment and allow to cool.  When cool break into small pieces.  Set aside.  If making these ahead, keep in an air-tight container until ready to use. 

Make the Pumpkin Soup:  In a large Dutch Oven, or other heavy bottomed pan, add butter  and shallots.  Cook until soft and slightly caramelized, about 7 minutes.  Add the thyme and cook another 30 seconds.  Add the garlic and cook for one minute more.  Add the pumpkin, chicken broth, coconut milk, cayenne, nutmeg and maple syrup.  Bring soup to a low simmer and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.  Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper if needed.  Add more cayenne if desired.

To assemble soup:  Ladle soup into bowls and top each bowl with a dollop of Sage Pesto, then sprinkle Spicy Pumpkin Seeds on top.  Serve hot.  Makes 6 servings.

 

Now, before I let y'all go, I want to share my  FALL TO DO LIST with you.  There are several of these kinds of lists on Pinterest, and I found one I liked and added to it...okay, granted, some are lame-o, but c'mon, work with me, it was the best I could do!  Tick-tock, there's still plenty of time to get out there and enjoy this wonderful time of year!

99 Fun Things To Do This Fall

1. Make apple cider/applesauce/apple butter
2. Visit a corn maze
3. Go apple picking
4. Play backyard football
5. Visit a chocolate factory
6. Roast marshmallows
7. Go hiking
8. Read outside
9. Make Rice Krispies treats
10. Go to an antique show
11. Host a bonfire
12. Go apple bobbing
13. Make a “thankful for” list
14. Have a popcorn movie day
15. Go pumpkin picking
16. Create a leaf craft
17. Eat corn on the cob
18. Visit a farm
19. Drive through the country
20. Bake a pie
21. Go horse back riding
22. Make granola/trail mix
23. DIY a front door wreath
24. Visit a fall festival
25. Make pumpkin bread
26. Paint or carve pumpkins
27. Create your Halloween costume
28. Go on a hay ride
29. Make chowder
30. Rake leaves for a neighbor
31. Make candy apples
32. Attend a library program
33. Learn the history of Thanksgiving
34. Have a fall photo shoot
35. Make a breakfast casserole
36. Make pumpkins erupt
37. Update fire alarms
38. Make a scarf/wear a scarf
39. Eat candy corn
40. Try a new pumpkin recipe
41. Attend a football game
42. Go on a bike ride
43. Volunteer at a food pantry
44. Roast pumpkin seeds
45. Make leaf shaped sugar cookies
46. Go through summer clothes
47. Join a book club
48. Create a fall scrapbook
49. Watch the sunset
50. Make a caramel smoothie
51. Have a family game night
52. Tie a fleece blanket
53. Make a pumpkin dip
54. Collect rocks/leaves on a walk
55. Stuff a scarecrow
56. Make cinnamon play dough
57. Make chili
58. Jump in leaf piles
59. Watch a fall movie
60. Enjoy a foggy morning walk
61. Burn some new candles
62. Do a random act of kindness
63. Go thrift shopping for treasures
64. Put together a large puzzle
65. Make apple cupcakes
66. Try a new flavor of coffee/tea
67. Visit a haunted house
68. Make licorice caramels
69. Make pumpkin cookies with chocolate chips
70. Make pumpkin pancakes
71. Make “dead-man” meatloaf
72. Go to a craft show
73. Make a new Thanksgiving food
74. Make Pumpkin Butter
75. Record yourself/kids screaming to play on Halloween
76. Decorate your home inside and out
77. Wrap up in a quilt
78. Get a temporary skull tattoo
79. Plant cabbages, mums and pansies
80. Mix apple cider with 7-Up for sparkling cider
81. Make creepy Halloween food
82. Host a donut party
83. Make special treats for your favorite Trick-or-Treaters
84. Wear a hat
85. Take a cooking class
86. Make cheesecloth ghosts
87. Leave treat on doorstep then ding-dong-ditch
88. Wear a costume
89. Assemble “care package” in plastic bag, pass out to needy
90. Read It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
91. Put new batteries in Flashlights
92. Star gaze on a clear, cold night
93. Make Corn Pudding
94. Make Cranberry sauce
95. Wear rubber boots/walk in puddles
96. Have a weekly Family time
97. Tell ghost stories
98. Enjoy this wonderful time of year!

Rui's Breakfast Bars...

We have new neighbors on our street - which is both sad and fun...sad that our old neighbors moved away but fun that we get to meet new people.  Also a bit scary because now I have new people who have to be warned about the mister and his antics...walking around half-naked when he works in the yard, swearing at will, sitting on the deck late into the evening singing along with Pandora...out loud...yes, lots of things to warn them about and apologize for!!!  Good thing Grumpy Old Man Syndrome isn't contagious!

One of our new neighbors recently moved here from China and she and her family are just adorable.  Rui has a 2 year old daughter, whose name I mangle every time I try to say it...I thought her name was pronounced Shoo-Shoo...but apparently it's something like Shoorzeshorze!  I wondered why the little girl never looked at me when I said her name!!  Stupido Americano strikes again! I've gotten to know Rui a little bit (I'm helping her learn to drive!!!!) and have discovered that she is quite a good cook/baker!! 

 

 

Rui brought me over these bars, she called them Grain Energy Bars, and they looked like  granola/Kind Bars but they tasted much better!!  I couldn't leave them alone, every time I walked into the kitchen I grabbed another bar!  I changed the name of her recipe to Breakfast Bars, strictly so I could remember it and find it easily.  Hope you don't mind Rui!   I asked Rui for the recipe and she said it was in Chinese and she would translate it for me...which she did...but there were a few things that didn't translate!

 

One of the items listed on Rui's recipe is semen juglandis...Wikipedia said this is walnut seed or walnut kernel, which I assumed was the same as a walnut nut!  But as I read further I discovered this: 

"Semen Juglandis is used to;  1. tonify the lungs and kidneys; 2. To moisten the intestines and move feces."  Good to know!  Obviously I didn't have any semen juglandis nor did I want to after reading that! 

But this recipe is easy and very adaptable...you can use any kind of nut(s) you want and any kind of dried fruit.  If you want to add coconut or cinnamon or chocolate chips (YUM!  Wish I'd thought of that sooner!) then add them - you can make them to suit whatever kind of depression you have!! I used what I had on hand...which was macadamias,almonds and hazelnuts and for the dried fruit I used Goji berries and dates...they worked beautifully!

 

 

 

 

 

This is an easy recipe, made in 3 simple steps:  Toast the nuts and oats,  mix everything together then press into the prepared pan (line it with parchment for easy removal and to prevent sticking) and bake.  That's it!

 

 

 

 

Once it's out of the oven, allow to cool and then slice into bars...it's kind of pretty just like this, no?  I didn't bake this as long as I should have so it's lighter in color than the bars Rui brought me.  Next time I will bake for the full time, but know these bars are not crispy and hard, they are chewy and they definitely hit the spot when you're running out the door on an empty stomach!

Rui's Breakfast Bars - Adapted from Rui Zhang

1 cup oats (I used Old-Fashioned Oats, not quick-cooking)

1 cup nuts, finely chopped (I used 1/3 cup each of hazelnuts, macadamias and slivered almonds)

1/4 cup sesame seeds (white or black)

1/2 cup dried fruit, finely diced (I used Goji Berries and Dates but cranberries, apricots, raisins, any dried fruit will work)

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

4 tablespoons honey

*8-inch square pan with straight sides and parchment paper (or foil) are needed

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Prepare pan by lining with parchment paper (or foil).  Set aside.  Spread finely chopped nuts and oats evenly on a rimmed-baking sheet, bake in oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until just beginning to become fragrant and toasted.  Remove and allow to cool.  When cool, put nuts and oats into a large mixing bowl and add in finely chopped dried fruit.  Set aside.  In small sauce pan over medium heat, combine butter, brown sugar and honey.  Stir until melted and smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Pour butter mixture over nuts, oats and fruit and stir until combined.  Scoop mixture into prepared baking pan and push into pan and into corners until all is even.  Putting another piece of parchment on top and pressing down works great to make everything compact.  Bake in over approximately 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.  Remove and allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.  Makes 12 bars, approximately 1 1/2 x 4 x 1/2-inch.  These will keep in an air-tight container for up to one week. 

 

Thank you Rui!!!  We are so happy you moved into our neighborhood!

Quilt Group Friday...

It's so beautiful in Seattle, the leaves are turning colors, the air is crisp, albeit wet and rainy at times, but nonetheless, Fall has arrived and all is well!  And by well I mean, my head is still above water, just high enough for me to see the pretty leaves!  So nothing to complain about today!  And that fact should probably be noted on a calendar...the day I have nothing to whine about!  Let's talk quilts, shall we?  We were wowed once again at our meeting - see for yourselves!

This is Stephanie's "trash quilt."  Made from scraps many of us would have deemed too small to do anything with and thrown in the trash!  Not Stephanie though, she will sew minute pieces of fabrics together to make a tiny piece, which she will then sew to a small piece and by the time any of us have had a chance to blink, she's put together another beautiful trash quilt!  Pretty wonderful, no?

This green and purple quilt belongs to Neva - turns out Neva had been holding out on us!  We thought Neva was a "normal" quilter...someone who makes a quilt once or twice a year...not like the rest of our fabric obsessed group members who produce a quilt or two a month and sometimes more!  But Neva is just like the rest of us, as she proved when she showed TWO quilts at our meeting!  This quilt, as you can see, is big and beautiful and super soft!

Neva is making this quilt for her new granddaughter!!  Her daughter picked the colors (which, as you quilters know, can be somewhat of a challenge to work with colors that are not in our wheelhouse!) and Neva found these cute fabrics with kitties on them.  Neva's grandson and new granddaughter live in Hong Kong - just West of here!

Terry quilted this for one of her customers and she brought it in to show us (with customer's permission, of course!)  We loved it - especially the colors that were used!  In fact, we loved it so much several of us said we wanted to make one...and yours truly even went out and bought NEW fabric just for this purpose!  So in quilting time, that means I'll have a Fox quilt right around Christmas, 2025!!!

Helen has been at it again, sewing/quilting away like a mad woman!  I love this house quilt - and every time I see a house quilt I tell myself that I have to make one...one day...after the fox quilt...after the snowman quilt...after the bunny quilt...it's a sickness!  How many feet do you see in this picture?  

Helen occasionally like to prove to us she can make something other than a bright, happy, fun quilt...she can do "sweet!"  Here is her latest sweet quilt...maybe for a new grandbaby?  Or maybe it will just go on top of the bed where Helen lays all of her quilts out flat...soon she is going to need a ladder to climb up to get on top of that bed! 

This is another "Helen Quilt"...one we have seen before but definitely worth a second look.  Helen is hand-quilting this beauty and seeing it was a good reminder for me to get back to hand-work!  At night, if I have something to work on, I can't eat...food for thought right there!  Nicely done, Helen!

 

Denise made this baby quilt and every baby expert in the country would say it's the perfect quilt for a baby because of the contrast between the colors!  Babies apparently love that so that must make me the biggest baby around because I do, too!

As you might remember, Denise is our resident paper-piecer so it came as no surprise when she showed us this quilt and then said she paper-pieced!  Crazy is as crazy does!  But this one is a beauty - way to go Denise!

Yours truly did have a finished quilt to show and a quilt top!  Yes, I've finally been able to get in a bit of "me" time!!  I will show you them in another post...but I want to leave you with my latest creation for my sister, who is a rabid Kansas City Chiefs fan...as in crazy-out-of-her-gourd-nutso about them.  Every game day she is decked out in her Chiefs regalia, as is everyone in the house, including the dog and she must own every piece of Chiefs crappola they sell, except for a wreath for her front door...so I took pity on her and made her this.  Now she will owe me...which is just how I like it!

I need to offer up a disclaimer...if memory serves me correctly, and of course it doesn't, I might have mixed up the quilts a bit...and maybe I forgot one or two?  I kind of remember a red and white quilt and I think Barbara had a quilt to show but for whatever reason, this is all that was in my camera...so my apologies to those I left out - sure didn't mean to!