When I need a winter food stash for a salad, a meal, or a snack, I break out a heartier version of my simple lentil salad to buy myself some "Quilting Time". I don't want to work too hard in the kitchen but want wonderful results when I do. I like something comforting and versatile to look forward to. Something that I can take to my studio or have quickly after a late night of teaching or sewing and still feel satisfied.
Winter Lentils with Bacon &Tomato
Serves 4-6
1lb. or 2c. French green lentils
8c. water
1 yellow onion roughly chopped
6oz. good bacon chopped into a 1/2" dice
1/2c. moist sun dried tomatoes snipped
2T. red wine vinegar
1t. sea salt
1/2 t. coarse ground black pepper
1. Cook rinsed lentils in 8c. water until tender 30-35 minutes. Drain and place in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.
2. Saute bacon and onion until lightly browned and beginning to crisp.
3. Add snipped sun dried tomatoes to bacon mixture stirring for 1 minute. Drain into a fine mesh sieve to remove excess bacon fat.
4. Toss with lentil mixture.
Serving Suggestions:
A snack- serve at room temperature spooned onto crisp bread or toasted french bread rounds
A salad- serve warm or cold piled on mixed greens
A meal - serve warm over brown rice
You need very little to accompany this dish, a glass of red wine at dinner, or a poached egg on top of a salad is perfect for addition for extra guests who pop hungry for lunch.
It's a wintry blustery day and I have a million things to do toward putting away our Christmas treats and trimmings. Part of me wants to take down the tree before the needles invade every crevice and carpet versus enjoying it's fleeting piney scent. What do I do? Nothing! I head to the kitchen to make Mushroom Soup. Now with my bowl of soup I spread out my quilting magazines that have been tempting me since Thanksgiving and enjoy the possibilities of what to make next.
Mmmm...Mushroom Soup
Serves 4
4T. butter
4T. flour
4c. Chicken or Vegetable Stock
1 medium onion finely chopped
10 oz. white mushrooms sliced
1/3c. sherry
1c. whole milk
2t. dried thyme
1t. sea salt
1/4t. ground black pepper
1. Melt butter in a heavy bottomed stock pot. Add chopped onion and saute 7-9 minutes until soft.
2. Stir in flour until onions are coated. Add 1c. of the stock stirring until well blended. Add mushrooms, the remaining 3c. of stock and the sherry. Simmer for 15- 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender.
3. Add the milk, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer another 5 -10 minutes until milk is warm but not boiling.
Cooks Note: I used goat butter and goats milk in this recipe which I find easier to digest than regular cows milk and butter. I have substituted and served this and similar cream soups to many guests with compliments.
Even though I want to quilt all the time every once in a while quilters need a day off to rest and recharge. Earlier this year I was gifted a bottle of Aki Plum Liqueur. I opened the bottle and took a taste wondering where to best use Keri's tasty present. Fortunately I think I found a great way to enjoy and share this lovely treat. Thank you Keri!
Keri's Summer Sangria
3-4 peaches
11/2 c. strawberries
1/2 c. Aki Plum Liqueur
1 1/2 bottles Vinho Verde white wine
1/2 gallon mason jar
1. Peel and slice peaches in to bite sized pieces. Add to jar
2. Trim tops off of strawberries. Slice into bite sized pieces. Add to jar.
3. Add Plum liquer.
4. Add 1 bottle of wine then enough of the second bottle to fill the mason jar.
5. Cap jar and shake a few times to mix the Sangria.
6. Chill for one hour or as long as you can wait to taste. Pour into wine glasses including some fruit in each serving. Have spoons ready to eat the fruit from the glass after you drink the Sangria.
Note: The half gallon jar fits nicely in my fridge. You can easily double the recipe if you have more thirsty quilters.
Happy Quilting and Relaxing,
Mary
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| Little white square |
When I applique I want to get comfortable and enjoy my handwork. I think about my chair, my tools, my lighting, and my time. Once I'm set up I don't want to get up!
I started to applique this butterfly block and found it difficult to thread my needle working over dark fabrics. With my bifocals, holding my needle and thread in front my light is always awkward and ineffective. I break and lose my needle threaders... I needed a simple solution to thread my needle!
I hate to struggle and love to overthink my situation to find an easy solution. I just needed a little light source to hold my needle over to thread.
The solution, a 2" freezer paper square ironed onto the corner of my block and voila!
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| Eye of the needle |
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| Needle threaded | |
Get a block together and try this! It works great and you can reuse the little freezer paper square several times before you need to make another one.
Happy Quilting,
Mary
I admit when summer rolls around it's hard to focus on the projects I want to work on in my studio. On sunny days I want to stroll on the beach or read lazily on the porch. I don't want to cook much but I still want to eat! This lentil salad cooks quickly and can be eaten hot or cold. Today is a bit cool and grey and calling me to get some quilting done. A perfect day for this salad!
Lentil Salad
1 lb lentils
2 medium leeks
2 T. olive oil
1/4 c. moist sun-dried tomatoes
2 T. chopped parsley
2 c. cooked brown rice
Balsamic Dressing
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1. In a fine mesh strainer rinse lentils picking out any stones etc.
2. Put lentils in a small sauce pan, cover with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil then simmer 20-25 minutes until lentils are tender.
3. Trim the leeks cutting off the root end and keeping 2-3" of the green top.
4. Slice the leeks in half then place cut side down on your cutting board. Chop into 1/4" half moon slices.
5. Put leeks the fine mesh strainer to rinse off any sand. Drain well.
6. Add 2 T. olive oil to a heated saute pan. Add Leeks, saute and stir on medium heat for 5 minutes or until tender.
7. Chop sun dried tomatoes and parsley. Set aside.
8. Make Balsamic Dressing.
9. In small jar or bowl (I use a pint mason jar with a lid for shaking and storing) add balsamic vinegar, finely chopped garlic, thyme, oregano, salt & pepper. Stir to blend. Whisk olive oil in a steady stream into balsamic/spice blend until combined.
10. Drain warm lentils, add sun dried tomatoes, leeks and the cooked rice. Stir to combine.
11. Drizzle balsamic dressing on the salad. Note you may not use all of the dressing. Stir and taste to see if you need more.
12. Garnish with chopped parsley and more salt & pepper if you like.
Eat warm or refrigerate for later. Leave a note for your mister. Quickly head to your studio to quilt!
Happy Quilting and Eating,
Mary
Egg on Bread
Some of my earliest childhood memories are of food. Consequently and luckily I grew up to be a foodie and a quilter! The other day wanting to get to my studio early, I whipped myself up a quick breakfast of Egg on Bread, and thought about it's history in my family.
This is one of my Dad's contributions to the family menu of memories. He learned this from his mom and he nicely passed it on to me. I remember cool school mornings having a hot serving of Egg on Bread and a "Man Lunch" to get me through the day.
A "Man Lunch" usually consisted of an overly mustardy sandwich, green pepper strips, and a pickle all of which probably mirrored his own lunch for the day. Not exactly a little girl lunch! At school I nibbled at the edges of my peppers and tried to wipe the mustard off my bologna or ham sandwich. Sorry Dad most of it went into the bin! I still don't gravitate toward raw peppers or most pickles but the Egg on Bread is a keeper.
Egg on Bread
A cast iron or nonstick griddle
1/2 tsp bacon fat
1 egg
2 slices of bread.
1. Heat the griddle to medium low (ours is cast iron) add the bacon fat and melt. When melted spread around the griddle with a paper towel.
2. Crack the egg onto the griddle. Using a fork quickly spread the cooking egg out into an enlarged oval shape while loosely blending the broken yolk and the egg white. You want a portion of egg yolk and egg white on each slice of cooking bread. Spread the egg out covering enough surface area to hold two slices of bread positioned end to end.
3. Place the bread on top of the cooking egg. Lower the heat and wait about two minutes for the egg to cook. I like to cut the bread slices apart at the butted bottom ends so the egg cooks through completely.
4.Remove from the griddle, plate egg side up. Sprinkle with a little salt. Roll one up and start eating from one rolled end.
Makes 1 serving.
Thanks Dad for this and many other things you taught me. Happy Fathers Day.
Happy Eating & Quilting,
Mary
I'm looking forward to teaching an all day quilting class tomorrow. That means my hubby is foraging on his own, grazing on whatever he finds in the fridge until he's satisfied. My secret is out these beets are a plant. I know he will reach for them. I've also strategically placed goat cheese and washed greens in sight just in case a salad magically happens to fall into his dish. This easy recipe makes enough beets to stash for more snacks and salads.
Beets with Cumin Vinaigrette
3 large beets peeled and cut into a 1/2" dice.
In a medium saucepan cover the beets with cold water, add 1/2 tsp sea salt, and cook for 20-25 minutes until fork tender.
Drain and toss the warm beets with cumin vinaigrette. Store in a quart glass jar.
(shake the jar gently to evenly coat beets with dressing before serving)
Cumin Vinaigrette
2T unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salsa verde hot sauce
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cumin
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
3T good olive oil
In a small glass bowl add the first five ingredients, stirring together until combined. Slowly stream in olive oil whisking until the dressing emulsifies.
Serving suggestions: Great with any combination of washed greens, goat cheese, avocado, garbanzo beans, cherry tomatoes, pickled eggs,or black olives.
Happy Cooking and Quilting,
Mary
