Letters on a Quilt, Company Overflow, Zucchini Report

This definitely rates as one of the more interesting quilts I've worked on this year.

Very simple, design-wise.  But paper piecing the letters and the leaf block would not be my favorite thing to do.  The piecer did a super job on this, for sure!  It was quilted with a Canada flag panto which has been getting lots (!) of use this year.

Last weekend we entertained DH's family, so I was kind of overrun with inlaws for almost a week.  They started arriving on Friday and we waved goodbye to the last of them on Wednesday.  I managed to feed ten of us for lunch on Saturday and as far as I can tell I didn't poison anyone.  Yay me. 👍  However, it seems to have been too much for our front door.  DH went to open it on Tuesday and the door knob fell off in his hand.  It was only 30-some years old...I guess they don't make stuff to last the way they used to.  ha ha...

In the pic below you'll see seven quarts of onion soup, eight pints of peaches, eight half-pints of  Amaretto-Peach Butter, and a lonely jar of zucchini pickles. (There were originally several jars of pickles but I managed to give a few away, for which DH is eternally grateful.)  When I went to the market last Thursday to get some peaches, the peach guy talked me into buying four six-quart baskets of  'seconds', at a pretty good price.  I hate to lose out on a bargain but lemme tell you - I'm darn tired of peeling peaches!!  Last night I made a peach cobbler, so I'm down to the last eight peaches in the fridge.  They just might rot there.  Pfftt.  "OH NO" says my inner voice.   I spent three hours scrubbing the fridge before the inlaws came - it's not getting dirty any time soon.  And yes, it had been quite a while since the last cleaning.  Gross, to tell you the truth.

The onions out in the garden are WONDERFUL this year.  Big and happy.  There's enough to make another 30 quarts of soup, I figure (although that won't happen!).

ZUCCHINI REPORT (2 weeks worth)

With all the rain we've had this summer I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think the zucchini is thirsty.  I may have to water the garden.

Picked last 2 weeks:  15
Picked YTD:             74

I've got five or six in the fridge right now, so more zucchini loaf might be in my future.  But I've also got about eight starting-to-rot bananas on the counter which should go into banana bread, and the eight peaches in the fridge that need to be dealt with.

I may ignore the whole lot and go read a book.  I'm currently working my way through Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood.  I have waited months for it (the E-edition for my tablet) to come in from the library.  I love reading books on my tablet but when they expire they just POOF and are gone.  That is pretty friggin' annoying if you're on the second last chapter.  Interesting side note about this book:  every chapter features a pic of a quilt block.

Dresden Plate Quilt, Selvages, and Garden Update with Zucchini Report

The Dresden Plate is at the top of my FAVORITE QUILTS LIST.

I have made two of my own and I have a third in progress.  This quiltmaker repeated all of the fabrics identically in each plate, and also positioned them identically in the background square.  She used different fabrics for the centers.

I quilted S.I.D. around the sashing, outside of the plates, and around the inside circle.  Mauve thread was used in the sashing and inside the plates; the rest was white thread.  The maker requested feminine quilting, so I went with flowers.  So pretty.

One of my hobbies seems to be collecting selvages.  I have, probably, twelve pounds of them by now.  Never done a thing with them.  But LOOK!!!  I MADE SOMETHING!!!

OK, On to the garden update.  Can anybody tell me what the hell these are?

I swear to God, I planted Butternut Squash seeds.  I'm not sure any of them sprouted because I ended up with these football sized things, AND I have pumpkins growing too, which I also did not plant. I have "people" who do that for me. 😀 These HAD to come out of the compost, because that's where the pumpkin seeds would have been.  I am accustomed to butternut squash growing from the compost, so when I had volunteers back in the spring I gave some seedlings to my neighbour.  Won't she be surprised!  ha ha ha, I'm so bad....

Cherry tomatoes have been ripening for about two weeks now.  Oh, so good!  And the rainy summer has made the peppers very happy - look at the size of that jalapeno.  It is easily the size of the overfertilized produce that you buy at the grocery store, but mine are organic.  Yay me.

Now, what you've all been waiting for...
ZUCCHINI REPORT
Picked this week:  13
Picked YTD:         59

This week I made five jars of Zucchini Pickles from one of my Bernardin cookbooks.  I've never made them before, so hopefully they're edible.

Cool Summer Quilt, Zucchini stuff including a recipe & "the weekly count"

This quilt is so fresh & cool looking - perfect for summer.

Beautiful batiks.

So, as you can clearly see, it is August.  This is the first four loaves of the season.  DH had some for breakfast with peanut butter, and he managed to choke out the words:  "good zucchini bread, wife".  If you want my recipe, it's in THIS post.

ZUCCHINI REPORT
Picked this week (up to Aug. 5th):  10
Picked YTD:  46

On one of my excursions down to the dungeon,  I mean the fruit cellar, I noticed that I still have LOTS of jars of diced tomatoes from last summer.  And I have lots of zucchini in the fridge.  Oh, what's a girl to do???
Step 1:  pour a glass of wine.  Hah.  That's always my first step. 😀
Step 2:  get out the Looneyspoons cookbook.  That's usually my second step.  I love (!) that cookbook.  But sadly, Janet & Greta didn't have anything written up that would get rid of some of those two items that I NEEDED to use.  So I had to get creative.  And let me tell you - it was very, very good.  I've made this twice now so it was not a mistake.

Penne Pasta with Tomato Sauce, serves 4

Loosely based on Lawrence of Arrabbiata, Looneyspoons collection

4 sausages, any flavour seem to work

1 ½ c. chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup of any of the following optional additions – add as many as you like: diced zucchini, diced mushrooms, sweet peppers

1 small hot pepper such as jalapeno (optional)

1 quart jar of diced tomatoes (or a large can)

2 tbsp. tomato paste

½ tsp either crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper (you might want to skip this if you used a jalapeno – your choice)

1 tbsp. Balsamic or red wine vinegar

1 tbsp. each dried basil and dried oregano

12 oz (340 g) uncooked penne pasta, about 4 cups dry

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

·         - In a large frying pan cook the sausages until they are nicely browned.  Drain off fat but leave the crusty bits for flavour.

·         - Remove the sausages to cool for a bit.  When cool enough to handle slice into ¼” thick coins.  Set aside.

·         - Into the dirty frying pan add the onions and the garlic, sauté for a few minutes.  Add a bit of water if necessary to prevent sticking & burning.

·         - Add the optional vegetables and the jalapeno, sauté until they start to soften.

·         - Add the diced tomatoes, and stir for a few minutes, scraping up any crust from the pan.

·         - Add the tomato paste, vinegar, and the sliced sausages.

·         - Leave that pan to simmer gently for about 10 minutes.  Pour yourself a glass of wine.

·         - MEANWHILE...put a large pot of water on to boil.  Cook the pasta until al dente, then drain and return to the pot.

·         - Add the contents of the frying pan to the pot.  Combine and leave to sit off the heat for a few minutes, giving the flavours a chance to meld. 

·         - Add the parmesan.  Finished!!