Comfort Food at Breakfast (Recipe: Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce)

The past few weeks have been a blur of mediocre motherhood wrapped around work. I've been completely slammed with work - the work that is only supposed to be part-time and done around the kids' schedule. Um, yeah, no. Thank goodness for my husband's flexibility and support.

And frankly, thank goodness for good food. Even at my busiest I manage to get dinner on the table myself 95% of the time. That is what my freezer is for. Instead of saving food for when times are lean, I save food for when time is hard to find. And no matter what, I always start with a good breakfast. It seems cliche, but it really does help me get through. And the one day this week when I tried to edit patterns with nothing but tea in my belly I had a massive brain fart. Math plus an empty tummy equals mistakes.

Times like this also require comfort food. As much as I would love to live on chocolate and cookies washed down with a scotch, that isn't very nourishing. Nor is it good for my attempts to regain some health. Thankfully one of the most comforting things for me is this dish you see above: Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce.

(Really, anything in tomato sauce for me is comforting. My husband may indeed be correct that I am the descendent of Italian gypsies because tomato sauce is something I could eat every single day. Every day.)

A small pot on the stove with sauce simmering greets both my son and I as the girls do their morning run around. He knows it, I know it; breakfast is coming.

To that sauce - about 1/3 cup per egg - I crack in some eggs. Usually two for me and one for him. A smack of the lid to close the pot, allowing some steam to cook the white around the yolk of the egg. It only takes a few minutes. Enough time to toast some bread or maybe cook some greens to eat on the side. I'll use whatever tomato sauce we have - something full of chopped veggies or the simplest tomato butter sauce. Farm eggs, whole grain bread. Good food.

After the girls leave he and I settle in for a warm breakfast. I like my eggs just a bit runny while he takes his firmly poached. We get tomato sauce on our lips and smile. And then, only then, can we tackle the challenges of the day.

Oh Canada

Oh Canada

72" by 48"

The Maple Leaf quilt is finally done! (Sorry, it's been done for months but it took me forever to get photos I liked.)

Made in complete proportion to the real Maple Leaf Canadian flag. All the coloured sections are made from slabs - scraps pieced together to make fabric. The technique is in our book, Sunday Morning Quilts. I wanted to show that the slabs can be used for more than straight blocks. I also wanted to share a little patriotism to show the Brits that the Union Jack isn't the only flag worth making into a quilt.

How awesomely Canadian of me to snap the photos on Lake Louise as we skated on a snowy days. Hockey skates, fires, mountain, snow... Damn, I love where I live!

Seriously, I do love where I live. Even when I have to pay my taxes and deal with dumb politicians (but those are everywhere, right?). I love our spaces, our vistas, our social leanings, our multi-culturalism, our healthcare (even when flawed), our cities, our variety in everything. I even love my accent. And that's PROgress if you know me.

For the quilting on this I used a combination of Aurifil 50w in white - to densely quilt the white sections with a lot of texture - and Presencia in coordinating colours for each flag section. There were a lot of threads to bury at the end, but it was so worth it.

I will be developing this into a pattern, I promise. Hopefully before Canada Day. I'll keep you posted.

11 months

Just sitting in the airport, my kids at home. There is an ache in my breast that is more than my heart. Yesterday was the last day I nursed my baby boy, my little man.

Don't get me wrong, I am beyond thrilled to be headed to Austin. Hubby is by my side (wondering why I'm blogging on our layover). The kids are home with Baba in baking heaven. I get to wear necklaces again, like mine from here and here. And I'm going to QuiltCon. Hello!?

But I nursed my baby boy for the last time yesterday. We shared a fleeting moment in the pre-dawn light, our last gathering in the dark, skin to skin. I can't admit to loving nursing, but I have loved the relationship it builds. That I am so needed, that we have something no one else can lay claim to. But he's a mobile, curious creature now. He's got more important things to check out (like his sisters) and greater things to eat. 

Seriously greater things, he has well earned his nickname of The Garbage Truck.

So I kissed him softly in the middle of the night as we tiptoed out of the house on our way to airport. If you see me this weekend, hug me gently or just slap my butt, because there is an ache in my breast.

Circles Everywhere - QuiltCon Prep

Phew. Finished my QuiltCon prep with less than 48 hours to spare. It might not have been that stressful if I hadn't decided to make all new samples for my class. If you're in my class be prepared to be overrun with circle blocks! Despite the work tossed around and in between school, dance classes, naps, and swimming lessons I had a lot of fun. Circles are just awesome. I may have mentioned that before.

It was great to just get in my fabric and play. Some wonderful colour combinations, finally using up some of my treasured text prints., and even cutting into my Indian cottons. I do hope that the students in my class appreciate the effort.

My QuiltCon schedule looks something like this:

Wednesday - Leave ridiculously early for the airport so we don't get stuck in customs like we did when we went to Spring Market. Fly. Eat BBQ, compare to Kansas City.
Thursday - Teach Perfect Circles. Drink Beer. MQG Leaders Meet-up. See the bats at the bridge.
Friday - Teach Perfect Circles. Convince my husband to wear the Adidas track suit I got him for the 80s party.
Saturday - Yoshiko Jinzenji pillow class. Lunch and catch part of the show and lectures. Lotta Jansdotter Printing class. Drink beer. Hang with my SIL and her Mom too.
Sunday - Denyse Schmidt Improv class. Book signing in the Stash Books booth 1 pm. Back to class. Drink Beer.

Of course, this schedule, particularly the beer drinking part, is highly dependent on my husband. Despite his terrible experience at Market he is coming to another major quilting event with me. I know it's because he loved everyone he met so much, and not the possibility of beer, BBQ, and visiting the new F1 track. Or because we are travelling without our kids.

If you see me in Austin feel free to accost me and say hello. I am loud and brash, but very friendly.