Letting Go

This weekend is our neighborhood

rummage sale.  It is in typical Murphy's

Law fashion that this weekend the

temperature is skyrocketing.  Yesterday

it hit 106 degrees F. ~ in June~ in Indiana!

But we had cleaned our closets and priced

everything and we decided we wanted it all

out of the house so the show went on...

Now that the kids are both going off to college

we realize we don't need 3 different sets of

Christmas china or the Halloween set.  We

did use all of this stuff in the past but Mr.

Wonderful and I don't need to eat off snowmen

plates.  We have tons of Christmas and Halloween

decorations, we always decorated BIG but that can

go too.  I don't want any of it to come back in the

house, so please come buy it!

Elle's Kitchen: Eggplant Parmesan

For most of my life I didn't eat eggplant,

I thought it was icky.  As I traveled around

the world there always seemed to be an

eggplant dish on the table and to be a sport

I would taste them.  And they were fabulous!

What was I missing for all those lost years?

This is not a recipe for a busy night,  make it

some day when you are going to be around the

house, working on other things ~ it takes a

bit of time.

But it is worth it and this version is healthier

than the traditional style.

Ingredients:

2 good sized eggplants

olive oil

large container fat free cottage cheese

1/4 cup plus 2 tbls. grated parm

1/2 cut fresh parsley, chopped

1 egg

2 cups part-skim mozzarella, grated

large jar marinara sauce

can of fire roasted, diced tomatoes, drained

salt

Slice eggplants into 1/2" rounds ( it is best if you

end up with 24 rounds), sprinkle with salt

and place in colander for 1/2 hour to release

moisture,  then place on paper towels

 to soak up any extra moisture.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Place eggplant on baking sheet and brush

both sides with olive oil.

Bake for 25 minutes, turning halfway.

In a bowl combine cottage cheese, egg,

parsley and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.

In another bowl combine the sauce and

the diced tomatoes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Spray a 9" x 13" glass pan with cooking

spray for easier clean-up.  Put a bit of

sauce in the bottom of pan, then a layer

of eggplant, top with 1/3 of cheese mixture,

sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella and add some

sauce.  Repeat layers ending up with a layer

of eggplant topped with sauce, the final 1/2 cup

of mozzarella and the 2 tbls. of parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. 

Remove foil and bake an additional 10

minutes.  Remove from oven and allow

to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Chock-A-Block Wednesday

Pinwheel Flowers

I haven't been able to post to Chock-A-Block

Wednesdays since before Quilt Market.

Things have been so busy since then and

that's a great thing!  Please refer to past

posts as you need them and I will post blocks

again from time to time.

This is the June Block of the Month for

the Redbud Quilt Guild.  This pattern is not

mine, I'm just showing how I made my

block.  The block was presented by Nancy M.

Fabric Requirements:

Fabric A: White

12 - 3 1/2" squares

Fabric B: Medium green

4 - 6 1/2" x 3 1/2" rectangles

Fabric C:  Medium pink

4 - 3 1/2" squares

Fabric D: Light pink

4 - 6 1/2" x 3 1/2" rectangles

Note:  On all 3 1/2" squares draw a diagonal line down the center.  Then

on one side draw another line 1/2" away from the center line.

Fabric Fabric C 3 1/2" square on right

side of Fabric D rectangle with right

sides together.  Sew on both lines.

Cut between the lines.  Press to the

corner on rectangle.

Press seam in half square triangle to the Fabric C,

set aside.

Place a Fabric A 3 1/2" square on left

side of rectangle with right sides together

and repeat the process.

Make 4 of this unit.

Press seams in half square triangle to the

Fabric A.  Set aside.

Repeat above process using Fabric A

3 1/2" squares and Fabric B rectangles.

Make 4 of this unit.

Press half the seams of half square triangles

to the Fabric B and half to the Fabric A.

Set aside.

Make Quarter Units:

Layout as ahown and sew together taking

care with the point.

Make 4.

Layout units as shown and sew

together in 2 rows.  Press seam

in row 1 to the right and seam in

row 2 to the left.

Sew rows together and press final

seam open to reduce bulk. 

Square to 12 1/2".

Please Note:

The following differs from the

original pattern as I squared

the half square triangles to 2 1/2".

Square half square triangles to 2 1/2".

Layout half square triangles as shown,

the arrows show the direstions of the

seams.  Sew together in 2 rows taking care

"lock" seams together, this will give you

a precise point.

Press seam in row 1 to the left and seam in

row 2 to the right.

Sew rows together.  Press final seam up.

Make 4.

Layout units as shown and sew together in 2 rows.

Press seam in row 1 to the left and seam in row

2 to the right.

Sew rows together and press final seam open

to reduce bulk.  Square to 8 1/2".

The Dream of Things to Come...

Just outside the window to my studio is

a clothesline and nothing makes me happier

than seeing it filled with fabric that is about

to become a new creation.

Do you pre-wash your quilting fabric?

The Vegetarian Summer

We are enjoying a (mostly) vegetarian summer.

Our kids are home from school for the next few

months and one of our kids is a strict vegetarian

so to make it easier and healthier all around we

have all joined the bandwagon and are eating

mainly veggies.  We are pouring through cook

books and checking out recipes on Pinterest.

We have had some delightful meals and a few

clunkers...  I generally fill up a big grocery cart

each week before I even get out of the produce

area.  I think all these fruits and veggies are

making our bodies feel better.  I must admit,

when the vegetarian is not going to be home for

dinner we do take out an order of ribs or throw

a few kabobs on the grill.  Honestly, I could

really get used to this style of eating.



On Work & Play

We are all working so hard at our house

that it is hard to keep a balance between

work and play.   Yesterday Mr. Wonderful

did some repairs on our bikes and last

night we took a long ride through our little

town as the sun was going down.

It is often after 8pm by the time everyone

gets home but we still try to have dinner

together every night.

And every evening at 10pm we meet in

the gazebo for a bit of relaxation and

to throw off the worries of the day.

Building the Empire: Photo Shoots

The other day I had to leave Me Time

early because I had to take pictures

for some new covers.  Someone asked,

"how long can it take to take some pictures?"

I am now into day 3...

Ask most small business owners and they

will tell you they do it all.  My product is

(good or bad) all me.  I design it, I make it,

I write the pattern, I input it all into the

publishing program, it take all the pictures,

I do all the illustrations and I sell it.

The only thing someone else handles is the

printing, I just don't have room for those

machines.  This is not true for every pattern

designer,  there are some who send a sketch

to a pattern writing company and have

photographers and graphic designers.

This would not work for my Type C

(as in control) personality...

This is my little photo shoot set-up.

Various backgrounds which are just

scrapbooking paper, fake berries and

greenery that I pulled from arrangements

in my house, prop pieces that are decor

in my house.  It is quick and easy to

set up, and I can move it around to get

the best natural light.  You can use pieces

of white foam core board as bounce cards,

position them outside of the photo to

bounce the light around and eliminate

 shadows ~ they work great.

And now, back to work.

Hydrangeas

Years ago I planted this hygrangea plant.  It

never really took off, then it had to be moved

because we were putting in a new air conditioning

unit.  After moving, it never produced blooms.

It would leaf out but nothing else.

And this year, blooms!  I'm so happy!

Over at my Mum's house, this plant has

gone wild this year.

It is blooming in purples and pinks...

and even some yellow.

I love to take photographs of them

in the soft, early morning light.

We always had a hydrangea in the corner

of the backyard of my childhood home. 

That is probably why I love them so, I can

remember putting them in vases in my

bedroom.  Maybe that's why blue is my

favorite color ~ especially in the hydrangeas,

they have that sweet, heavenly blue...

Happy Father's Day, Mr. Wonderful!

I'm lucky because I can remember the exact

moment I fell in love with my husband.  It

wasn't because he was he was the big man

on campus or the life of the party kind of guy.

It was because he was nice and kind and fair

and I knew he would be a great father.

And he was cute...

This year will mark 30 years that we have

been together (!!!!).  We have enjoyed the

highs and lows and ups and downs of a

marriage and parenthood together.  We can

bask in the glow of having raised 2 beautiful,

smart, talented kids.  This morning we sat in

our gazebo looking back at the house we

completely transformed, the gardens we dug

and tended for all these years and we're happy.

We also flipped through the pages of the World

Atlas, making plans for travels for the coming

year.  I am grateful for being wise enough in my

youth to recognize that kindness, fairness and

being nice are great traits in a spouse.  And

he is a great Father.

I love you with all my heart, Mr. Wonderful!

Elle's Kitchen: Adana Kebab

We were in Istanbul recently and bought

some lovely metal kebab skewers ~ this

is one of the ways we use them.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pound ground meat ~ I

used pork this time ~ this would

not be used in Turkey.

1 onion, diced

1 tbls. dried pepper flakes ~ the

Turkish kind

1/2 tbsp. ground coriander

1/2 tbsp. cumin

1 tbsp. butter, diced

1 tbsp. red pepper paste

olive oil

salt & pepper

Add butter & onion to meat and mix.

Add pepper flakes, coriander, cumin, pepper

paste amd salt & pepper, mix.

Divide and place on skewers.  Coat with

olive oil.  Grill until cooked through.

It is extra nice if you can dine al fresco.

Enjoy!

Lavender Harvest

It's time to harvest the lovely, fragrant

lavender in my garden.  These trusty

plants have been producing for over 15

years.  I will dry them and soon they will

be in a sachet in my pillow and sweetening

my dreams...

Elle's Kitchen: Shepherd's Salad

My Take on a Turkish Classic

I had this salad on my recent trip to

Istanbul and I have to admit it was just

okay.  For me, it was a bit bland, so I have

jazzed it up a bit and now we love to include

this in our weekly menus.

Ingredients:

Cucumber - cut into quarters and sliced

Tomatoes, diced

Red onion, sliced thin

Feta cheese. about a 2" cube, crumbled

Mix together and add a viniagrette, I make

mine with some rice vinegar, salt & pepper

and a good olive oil, mix together and shake,

then I add a few drops of an excellent balsamic

vinegar and mix.

About the tomatoes ~ I have been using the

Compari toms, they have a great flavor, they

remind me of the tomatoes I had in Greece

which were the best toms I have ever eaten.

And that is a bold statement coming from

a Jersey Girl...

Enjoy!



Chocolates and Pinks

For Regina

My friend Regina lives in Germany and

loves to work in chocolate and pink American

Civil War reproduction fabrics.  When I saw

this display at my "home" shop ~ The Quilt

Shoppe in Anderson, Indiana, I immediately

thought of how much she would like it.

So Regina, here are a few little

ideas for inspiration.

This display looks like it was made just for you!

Imagine having all of these in your stash!



Elle's Kitchen: Yogurt Parfait

Healthy & Delicious

In the heat of summer I prefer this

parfait to ice cream.

Ingredients:

Vanilla yogurt

Maple pecan granola

Fresh raspberries and blackberries

Mint sprig

In a parfait glass, layer yogurt and

granola, top with berries and mint.

Enjoy!





Garden Tour

Early June 2012

This rose is new to our garden this year, it

is one of the roses I planted our first summer

here in 1995.  It is in the back of a large perennial

bed and I thought it had died off but this year it

has come back as a nicer, prettier rose.  I guess it

reverted to its original rootstock, which is what

happened with another one of our roses, sadly this

one is not fragrant...

The border in our butterfly garden is wild

with yellow blooms.

We have tomatoes on the Early Girls.

Using the frost jackets was a big help.

These toms are quite high for early June.

This bed has mini pumpkins and gourds.

Here are the zucchini, peppers, eggplant

and cucumbers ~ we are desperate for rain

around here.

Hurry up zucchini!  We have big plans

for you in our Vegetarian Summer.