Pots and Pins

Cauliflower Buffalo Bites...

The mister is a weekend warrior.  He basically sits around all week but come Saturday he dons his raggedy t-shirt, way-too-short-shorts and heads out into the jungle yard on a search and destroy mission.  No weed is safe, no blade of grass is left untouched, no errant tree branch can escape...with his mighty tools in hand, he attacks them all.  This summer he added a new project to go along with his weekend jobs, he wanted to reseal the deck...first he pressure washed it.  It should be noted that he managed to do that without injury, a first!  Next up, he applied a new sealer...using the old can of sealer in the garage.  He was sure he had enough.  Nope.  Half way through he ran out so off to Home Depot he went to buy a new can...only he didn't purchase the exact same color...

 How could he not have noticed the difference in color?!?!?  He just kept putting it on...oblivious.  Oy vey...when he finally realized what he had done he came inside and asked me to come out and see if I noticed anything...he was hoping I'd say no, it looks great!!!

If you look closely you'll notice that a lot more of the deck was stained but he has already removed some of it...Now after work, instead of assuming his position in the chaise on the deck, the mister heads outside, fires up his trusty pressure washer, and goes over and over and over one little area to remove the obvious red stain.  I watch from the safety of my lounge chair, on the opposite side of the deck, and do my best not to laugh...but it is SO hard!

Want to know what else is hard?  Not eating an entire batch of cauliflower buffalo bites.  Because I could, they are dang good, and even, dare I say (?) good for you!!

 Make the sauce and do your best not to taste it - I mean, definitely taste it but that's it, just one taste, don't be sticking your spoon back into the pot over and over again and don't even think about putting a straw in there!  

 This is the cure for all that ails you.  This appetizer will fly off the plate - I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't love this stuff!  Take it to your next BBQ, it will impress even the die-hards and feel free to give them the recipe, they will most definitely ask!

 Cauliflower Buffalo Bites - Pots and Pins

2 large heads of cauliflower, washed, dried and cut into bite-size pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Frank's Red-Hot Wings Sauce (or another Buffalo Sauce.)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 stick butter, melted

1/4 cup ketchup

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Blue cheese dressing, celery sticks and baby carrots, for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment or foil.  In a large bowl, toss cauliflower with olive oil and salt.  Spread on prepared baking sheets; set the empty bowl aside.  Roast the cauliflower until it starts to soften and brown a bit on the bottom, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in the bowl, combine the Wings Sauce, brown sugar, melted butter, ketchup, onion powder, garlic and mix well.  Add in the roasted cauliflower pieces and toss well to coat.  Spread out cauliflower pieces, once again, on the baking sheets and bake in oven for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until starting to char just a bit.  Remove and serve hot or at room temperature.  Serve with your favorite Blue cheese dressing.  Serves 8.

Quilt Group Friday...

You know the saying, "Life is short, eat dessert first?"  Wise words...so with that in mind, we're starting with the dessert quilts first...quilts so yummy that you'll want another taste look...

This is small, maybe 30 x 30-inches but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in amazing.  This is Deborah's quilt - an "art" quilt, which is totally different than a bed quilt...oh I suppose one could have an art quilt on their bed but then rolling over onto thousands of little beads might not make for the best night's sleep!  Deborah was a charter member of our quilt group - then after a dozen years (?) she left us to go to work...truly our loss.  She has now returned and we are thrilled!!!  Deborah lived in New Orleans for many years, and she made this quilt after hurricane Katrina hit - it speaks volumes.  It's covered with thousands of beads and French knots.  So. Dang. Amazing.

Those lines that look like hand-stitching?  They ARE!!!!  Deborah said she used the thread as "a paint stroke"...stroke is the right word, as I about had one when I saw this and thought of the hours and hours and hours of love that went into this quilt!  I think Deborah said this quilt was in a show, as well it should be! 

Haha!  I love this picture...I believe those are Stephanie's cute toes!  This little ditty was on Helen's coffee table, so cute, hope y'all had a happy 4th!

Deborah calls this Starry Night, made in the tradition of Aboriginal art from Uluru, Australia...my oh my...each circle was hand-cut (Deborah likes using cuticle scissors for cutting the tiny circles) and hand-stitched with little, tiny stitches!  The background fabric did not have circles on it...those are all hand-stitched, too!  I know...W O W...just W O W.  This quilt was displayed at the Museum of History and Industry in Tacoma. 

Let's all give our eyes a rest from the little, tiny, amazing stuff and feast upon this amazing quilt, which you've seen before, but now it's all done.  Stephanie made the top from scraps...turned them from trash into something wonderful and then backed this quilt with the most fun fabric.  It's from IKEA, she purchased it years ago and would love to have more so if you have any in your stash that you'd be willing to part with, shoot me an email!  Love this, perfect fabric for a perfect quilt.

Another one from Deborah.  All hand-stitched.  Every little colorful thread.  I have no words.  Oh wait, I do...freakin'-fabulous.

Remember Tesselations?  This is one of those, made by Mary.  There's a trick to making a tesselating quilt, because each block has a piece that fits into the next block...I never learned the trick, for probably obvious reasons, but we'll stick to quilts and not my I.Q.  This is so dang happy that I feel the need to remind you that we have now passed the Summer Solstice and are speeding fast towards fall...don't put this quilt away Mary, Fall will be here in 82 days!

 Just look at this...every little stitch...and the border, with free-flaps of fabric (try saying that 3 times fast!) This is another Deborah quilt, hand-cut, hand-layered, hand-stitched with metallic threads...hands down fabulous.

 This is the back of Deborah's quilt - those are all threads - I took this picture because the back of her quilts are more interesting than most of the fronts of mine!  Now, here's the front:

My head is reeling...how does one even think about making something like this...and then does it?!?  Another circle quilt from Deborah...she has a few more (hundred) circles to sew on, by hand, before she calls this one done. Now after seeing a few of her quilts can you understand just how happy we are that she has rejoined our group?!?  Yay for us!

Helen showed us this beautiful blessing gown that was made for her granddaughter.  Helen appliqued the name and date on the dress as each child was born/blessed.  Anne in 1994, Abigail in 1996, Isabelle in 1999 and Eliza in 2004.  Now a great-granddaughter has been born and her name will be added to the dress when she is blessed!  Isn't this a wonderful heirloom/tradition??  The quilt the dress is on is an oldie-but-very-loved-goodie.  Helen brought it out to show Deborah, who taught our group many years ago, I think in 2003, how to make those little 9-patch blocks in a different way.  She'll need to reteach us as I'm sure we've all forgotten!

This is a tablecloth that Helen purchased a while back.  It was tea-dyed and embroidered and probably made in China...but what a wonderful and simple cloth this is!!!  We talked about how anything can be embroidered around/on a piece of fabric - family sayings, names, Christmas or Easter quotes - would make a great gift!

This is another Helen quilt - don't you just love the binding and the inner border fabric?  This is what I love about Helen's quilts - they are usually a simple design that is made interesting by color/fabric choice...it's really a talent of hers!

Every now and then Helen likes to show us that she can make "sweet" quilts - she doesn't always make wild and crazy...we believe you Helen!  This is beautiful and sweet!

Can't you just picture this quilt folded over the back of a white wicker rocking chair on the front porch of a Craftsman's home?  Or on top of a picnic table in the backyard?   It just screams ol'-time 4th of July to me!  Terry made this beauty.  Terry brought in her latest purchase...she recently became the proud owner of a Featherweight machine, "born" in 1955 and named Carrie Augusta!  Naming your sewing machines is a thang.  I failed to get a picture of Carrie Augusta but she's a real beaut!

I also failed to get a picture of Diane's Stars and Bars quilt and Marsha's latest baby quilt...in my defense it is very hard to talk, eat and snap photos all at the same time!  Another great meeting, another great show!  Summer has arrived in Seattle and not a minute too soon...time to get out there and enjoy it before the clouds roll back around!