For The Love of Rhubarb

Walking the dogs the other night I was seriously tempted to do a little midnight gardening. Now, I'm a thirty-something mom with a mortgage, a real job (as opposed to a McJob), and significantly less alcohol running through my blood than I did 10 or even 15 years ago. Midnight gardening is not something I should be doing.  You know what I mean, right?  Sneaking into gardens to pull carrots, pick strawberries, and sneak raspberries?  Oh, maybe that's just what us bored kids in the 'burbs did.

So there I am walking the dogs in the near dark.  Business done, I notice this giant, neglected rhubarb plant in the corner of the alley.  Just tucked behind someone's garage, begging to be chopped down, this lush plant called to me.  "Pick me!  Come on, you know you want to do it. Pick me!"

The thirty-something mom in me prevailed and I went home with only a dog-poop bag in hand.

A few days later, however, we were working on the fence with the neighbour.  The girls wandered down the alley and when I chased after them I came across their rhubarb plant. I completely forgot that they have two of these plants.  Since they would never harvest and use all of it, and they really didn't need to store one more thing, I volunteered to take it off their hands.  Really, I'm that generous.

At this point it was necessary to bring out a bowl of sugar and introduce the girls to one of my favourite childhood treats - rhubarb dipped in sugar.  We pulled up a pile of wood, watched Hubby cut some of that wood and our neighbour shovel gravel, munching away.  Okay, I munched away, The Monster sucked sugar off and tried to peel her rhubarb, and Smilosaurus gummed the stalk and fought to put handfuls of sugar directly in her mouth.  Perhaps the introduction was a bit too early?

When it was time to get the girls out of the way of Hubby we came inside and baked. Conveniently, nature provides the perfect match for rhubarb, strawberries.  I know it seems a little cliche, but they really are made for each other.  There is a reason they mature together. Armed with the first of the BC strawberries I knew that nothing but a crisp was in order. Everyone else can have their cobblers, crumbles, and brown betty.  I love me a crispy crisp.

In my eyes, a perfect crisp has a slightly runny syrup, chunky fruit, and a crisp, oat-filled top. Pick your fruit based on the season, but don't mess with the top.  Ever.  No extra seasonings, no fancy additions.  Simple, plain, and balanced.  And whatever you do, please leave the nuts out. They just don't belong.

Where it does pay to be creative is in the filling.  Spice, limitless fruit combinations, and unexpected additions are all welcome here.  Looking to branch out  - just a little - from my usual strong vanilla accents with the strawberry rhubarb crisp I dug through my recently organized spices.  Cinnamon?  Nah, too predictable. Nutmeg?  Feels too wintery.  Cardamon? Ooh, now that could be nice.  Holy freakin' gawd, it was amazing!  Try this.  Now.

When it comes to cardamon, a little goes a long way.  It would have been a lot better if I had some whole pods to grind fresh, but a little ground, dried spice still worked wonders.  It really was a perfect compliment to the tartness of the rhubarb and sweetness of the fresh strawberries.  We invited our neighbours over for dinner.  Good fences do make good neighbours.  And rhubarb honestly got makes you a better neighbour.

Cardomon Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
(serves 4 for dinner, and possibly a little leftover for breakfast, topped with yogurt)

Filling
2 cups sliced strawberries
2 cups sliced rhubarb
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon - 1 tsp ground cardamon (depending on how strong it smells) 

Topping
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup rolled oats

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray an 8 by 8 baking dish (or similar size) with non-stick spray or butter the pan.
2. Gently mix together the fruit through to the cardamon.  Pour into the baking dish and set aside.
3.  Cream the butter and brown sugar.  Add in the flour and salt.  Finally, stir in the oats.  Do not overstir or mix because you can break up the oats and that diminishes the crispiness.
4. Using your fingers, top the filling with clumps of the topping.  Do not press down.  
5.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the filling if bubbling and the top is lightly browned.  Let cool and serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or yogurt. 

Backseat Adventure - Chinatown

We have Revenue Canada to thank for our day.  Yeah, I just said thanks to the taxman.  Due to ignorance on either my part or theirs (I'm going with the latter, of course) I had to make an unplanned trip downtown to the federal government building.  For those of you that don't know Calgary, said building is located smack-dab next to Chinatown.  How could I not take advantage of that?

It was perfect too since we were on a chopstick mission this week.  For The Monster's birthday dinner (on the day of) she chose sushi. After the forced affection and delivery of our Pocky and the carved orange we set down to eat.  The girls had pieces of sashimi and a pile of edamame.

All was well until she got frustrated with the chopsticks.  It was not dissimilar to her attempts to ride the tricycle.  If she can do it easily all is well the world.  Rainbows appear and choirs appear to be singing just for her.  But if it is even the tiniest bit difficult then the thunderheads arrive instantaneously and she throws aside her pride and her effort to pout.  Oh yeah, we're going to have fun with her in life. 

So it was with the chopsticks.  She tried them the way Hubby showed her.  No luck.  She tried the way she thought they should work.  Nope.  So she flounced back in her chair, ignoring even the edamame, and pouted.  Crossing our fingers we asked if they had kid-friendly chopsticks. MacGyver would have been proud of these take-out chopsticks configured with an elastic band and bit of paper towel.  And a chopsticks superstar was born.

So, thanks to Revenue Canada she and I found ourselves in Chinatown this morning (Smilosaurus was napping and Hubby working from home).  Sheesh, it's been a while since I wandered through this part of town.  We went into some groceries, a meat place, a bakery (steamed pork buns and pineapple cake!), and even a store selling Chinese medicines.  She walked around asking, "What's that?  And that?  And that, that, that, that?"  Of course, being the white girl with no real knowledge of Chinese I couldn't answer her most of the time.  

Her natural curiosity  - I wonder where she got that? - carried her through just fine.  It was funny to me that the crowds, new smells and sights, and people selling on the street were just fine to her, but the bustle and noise of the traffic on the main roads of downtown actually terrified her. She had an abject fear that a truck would run her over.  Sure, she can randomly run into the basement of a strange building because it has a funky ramp, but a dump trunk is going to jump the curb and squish her.  Is that just a three year old thing?

I loved chatting with the little old ladies selling plants and fresh onion, herbs, and garlic on the street.  They reminded me of my Baba in the worst way - if my Baba ever lived in a big city and thought to sell anything from her over-sized garden.  They were tiny, full of smiles, a little bit pushy, yet meek and quiet.  On plastic sheets in front of them they sold stuff picked from their gardens.  Wait, I'm assuming that last part because their English wasn't great.  But I want to think that they picked the stuff that morning from their backyard and brought it downtown to sell.

You can only just make it out above, but they also had a variety of houseplants for sale - in pots, plastic tubs, or margarine containers.  It was like they transported their houseplants to the street to share with everyone.  If I liked houseplants I definitely would buy from them.

You could eat all day in Chinatown and not even scratch the surface of possibilities.  I would love to take the girls to Dim Sum.  I think it's been twenty years since even I've been.  Honestly, I think need a tour guide to make sure I appreciate what I see around me - on the street and on the plate.  Maybe I should sign up for one of these?

That being said, I knew this place and couldn't resist taking lunch home for Hubby. Oh, the Thi Thi sub... excuse me while I mop my forehead from the heat and wipe the drool from the side of my mouth.  Sadly, the girls stuck to their steamed buns while Hubby and I sweated over our subs.  Yeah, thanks again taxman.

Now What?

I have my Hubby to thank for getting some quilting done this week.  No, he didn't magically win the lottery so I could quit working, nor did he take the girls out every evening so I had no interruptions.  But he had a busy week at work, so he was too bagged at the end of the day to do much work on the fence.  That meant I didn't have to work on the fence.  As much as I would love a fence, I really appreciated the quilting time.

With The Monster's birthday behind us we had a bit of breathing room this week, beyond the yard work.  So I actually got to sew during naptime today (I don't work on Fridays).  I got all the strips sewn for the water quilt.  Well, I say that they are done, but I'm not sure of that yet. I've got all these strips, now what?

Just to get an idea of the potential size of the finished quilt I laid them out on the grass in the park across the street.  Eyeballing it I would call this a large lap size at this point.  Maybe 60 inches square, depending on layout, or even up to twin sized.  The layout above with very random and done without any thought.  But it does make me happier with the project overall. It has the general feel I wanted.  I think it will come together into something interesting.

My next few posts are going to be photos of potential layouts.  I would appreciate any opinions or input.  I'm sure I'll have more stuff to piece and bits to cut out along the way.  And I have a few ideas for how it could all come together, but we'll have to see.  In the meantime, the grass across the street will be decked out in fabric.  I've got no design wall currently so that is the only place I can spread things out to see.  Let's hope there is no wind or rain in the coming days. Oh wait, if there is no wind or rain I'm on fence duty.  Crap.  Quilt or finish my fence and get a yard again? Rock, meet the hard place.  

Isn't this a cool photo?  A grass-eyed view of the quilt.

There's a Party in the Park

In case you were wondering, birthday parties for a three year old are so worth the effort. She won't remember it, but I will forever remember impatience for the last month - drama included - and the high of having all these people there for her, the Happy Birthday Girl.  The drama on her part, and mine, was worth it.

With so much competitive parenting going on these days I would like to think I am immune to it. We've been to our share of birthday parties of late and inevitably we do take notes. Usually those notes revolve around ways to make the party clean-up easier and how to sneak some wine into a kid friendly venue.  Thankfully we have a great group of friends and family that were more than happy to simply come and hang out with us on a finally hot Saturday afternoon. There is a park across the street from our house, a rather convenient feature considering that we still have no yard.  So we carried over a few picnic tables, a couple of quilts, a mess of sandwiches, some bubbles and balls for the kids, and had ourselves a picnic.

I realize that this fruit porcupine is more than a tad over the top for a picnic.  It was a fantastic way to keep a now three year old occupied with prep work.  Skewering grapes, a new way to kill time and fruit.  Plus, there were no post slurp watermelon rinds to deal with.  Keep in mind that this is not a way to serve things if you have any distance to travel to your picnic.

Remember the asparagus?  Edgar Farms is still picking, so I'm still eating.  On my continued mission to indoctrinate, er... feed my friends good food I blanched some, along with some green beans, and served them with some Gull Valley cherry tomatoes and a homemade blue cheese dip.  For the few moments when I sat down I was parked near this platter. I'm not sure how many people tried the asparagus with me hogging the plate.

The rest of the menu included grilled veggies and Boursin on a whole wheat baguette, a recreation of the famous Italian Centre sandwiches (very well received and a soon to be picnic staple in this house), tabouleh salad, Holy Guacamole (We Got Chips), and some brewed iced tea and lemonade.  And don't forget the cupcakes!

Speaking of the cupcakes, I'm pretty sure that the was the only food most of the other kids ate. I think my friends were maybe prepared for me and my tendencies because most of them brought their own food for the kids.  Hey, I made peanut butter and jam sandwiches too! I thought it was pretty kid friendly with the fruit porcupine and veggies, but maybe that is only my kids? 

No party would be complete without a little entertainment.  No clowns or facepainting here. We had Uncle Paul juggling fire!  Sadly fire is not that noticeable at 4 in the afternoon.  I can tell you that it is very noticeable after a few beers and once the sun finally sets in the summer. Unfortunately the kids always miss that entertainment.

Happy Birthday Monster!

I Used to Quilt

This about says it all.  A bunch of strips sewn together and just sitting there.  Just sitting there.

Phew, this was an exhausting week.  Work was hell.  The only thing getting me through the week was the promise of a drink with an old friend.   We haven't seen each other in over a year and in two short hours reconnected. Beyond work I had some heavy deadlines for Quilt Canada, I donated blood, and had to pull off a picnic for over 30 for The Monster's birthday this weekend.  Needless to say, I didn't get a lot of quilting done.

This water quilt is a work about process.  That is, I don't have a final design in mind.  A general idea of what it might look like, yes, but no final picture.  I've been sewing strips together in varying thicknesses and lengths.  At some point I'll lay them out and see how they look.  It could be complete crap for all I know.  So far, however, I do like the combination of fabrics.  It is soft at points and bold at others.  Serene, but a bit wild.  A bit like the ocean and only kind of like me.

Here's hoping that once I recover from the fact that my Monster is three (or rather, that I've been a mother for three years) and get the invitations out for my sister's baby shower and help Hubby build a fence and lay sod, then I can get more quilting done.  

More Confessions

The very nature of a blog is part confessional.  It's time for me to 'fess up.  I've never been able to make Rice Krispie Squares.   Yup, the laziest, kid friendly treat and I've never been able to make them properly.   If you want rocks filled with rice cereal then I'm your girl.  That is, until last week.  

My mom loves to make them for the grandkids and thus The Monster was asking for them.  It hurt a little, but only a little, to buy the marshmallows and boxed cereal.  I try to limit the processed food in the house, but I have to stop beating myself up for a few little treats. Besides, it is great dessert time fun for us to throw mini marshmallows across the table in an attempt to score one in a waiting, open mouth. 

And ultimately, score one for this mom - I've finally mastered the Rice Krispie square.  My mom told me to add a bit more marshmallows than the recipe calls for and to take it off the heat as soon as those fluffy bits of corn syrup melt.  It worked.  Squares that stayed together but weren't like rocks.  Oh, and The Monster was happy.  So happy.  Such simple pleasures.

I'm all for treats and baking. I have no qualms with them having too much sugar, they actually self-regulate pretty well.  But I didn't want the cereal hanging around, constantly teasing her and inviting the ceaseless begging of a nearly three-year old.

Then I recalled a recipe that I saw from my favourite bow-tie wearing baldy, Christopher Kimball. Have I mentioned my geek crush on him before?  I'm sure I have.  He's so damn nerdy and cute. I digress.  I remembered America's Test Kitchen doing a bit on perfect, crispy waffles. Guess what the secret ingredient was?  Hell yeah, Rice Krispies!  A perfect use for the cereal.

The recipe uses cornstarch to help lighten the batter.  Whipping the egg whites separately is not a new notion in waffle recipes, but the combination of the cornstarch, whipped whites, and cereal makes a very light batter.  The cereal essentially melts, leaving pockets of crispy throughout the cooked waffle.  I've changed the recipe a bit, adding some whole wheat flour to make myself feel better.  And I prefer brown sugar for the extra flavour, but it works perfectly well with white sugar too. 

We've now made the waffles a few times.  After so many attempts to find a light waffle that doesn't turn into a brick the second it comes out of the waffle iron I've finally found one. Seriously, these are crispy, light, and perfect for toaster leftovers.  I can make a batch on Sunday morning and the girls have a few breakfasts during the week. This is a great week for mom - dinnertime laughs, afternoon treats, and pre-made breakfasts.  And all from a box of cereal.

Perfect Waffles
(Adapted from America's Test Kitchen)

1 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup Rice Krispie cereal
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup canola oil

1.  Preheat a waffle iron.
2.  Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Whisk the egg yolks, milk, oil, and vanilla together in a medium bowl.
3.  Beat the egg whites with a wire whisk or electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir until just combined.  Fold in the whites gently.  Do not overmix.
4. Cook according the instructions with your waffle maker.

Water, Water Everywhere

Did you know that today is United Nations World Oceans Day? While it is against the laws of nature to make a quilt of water and fish - and would be kind of gross even if you could - I am starting a quilt inspired by water.

This is the first pull for that quilt. To be honest, I got the idea when I did the pull for my Key Lime Pie quilt. I just loved the looks of the greens with blues that I used for the limes. Still on the high from the memories of Baja these fabrics jumped out of the stash and begged to be sewn together.

As I said, this was the first pull. I always have that initial rush of fabric delight and pull everything out that my conceivably work with the colourful notion in my head. When designing heads prevail I weed out about a third. Then, as I cut, more gets culled from the pile and maybe some other ones get added in. It would be different if I started out with a specific pattern in mind. Because for me quilting if often about process rather than final design, the fabric choices are dynamic and continually evolving.

I'm curious to see where this one takes me.

Heritage Park Quilt Show

As promised, here is a report about the Heritage Park quilt show.  I managed to get a very fast tour in last Saturday.  Hubby graciously let me escape the backyard mess and the girls for a couple of hours alone, surrounded by history and quilts.  Peace.

Heritage Park is a historical village that demonstrates life on the Prairies and in the Calgary area. For the quilt show they display the quilts throughout the park - in tents on the grass, in the different homes and buildings, and even on the buildings and fences.  Wandering through the park you can see the park entertainment, visit the buildings, and enjoy the quilts.

To be honest, I didn't find much of inspiration in the show. In fact, the day confirmed that I really don't have a traditional bent for quilting, not at all. I can appreciate craftsmanship and good use of colour, but earth tones and traditional piecing kind of bore me.  Sorry to those who love it.  I'm sure my stuff is too much for some people as well. To each their own.

Here is the biggest building on site - the Wainwright Hotel.  I love how they hang the quilts from the verandas.  If you look closely, you can see my Tuesday Night Quilt hanging on the lower veranda.  The next picture shows it better.

See, there it is, hung randomly by that crane.  It doesn't seem like there is much thought put in to the relation of quilts from one to the next.  They do have 500 quilts to show after all.

Here is my black and white quilt.  Honestly, I was a little disappointed with the display of this one.  I didn't mind that it was inside a building, but folded in half and hanging over a counter? You certainly lose the impact.  Oh well.

Other than the fact that they hung this one the wrong way (see the original here), I thought it kind of looked neat on the washing line.  This building is actually the Chinese Laundry.  My black and white quilt was at the front of the building, and this was in one of the back display rooms.
Is it just me, or does this quilt look out of place in a replica turn of the century hospital?

This is a pretty traditional quilt.  Despite what I said above, I liked this one, especially the quilting.  Mostly the quilting.

My picture doesn't do this quilt justice.  The use of fabric and colour was amazing - the quilt was luminous.

I'm showing a close-up of this one.  These are actually square blocks, can you tell?  If anyone has seen something like this elsewhere, please let me know.  Otherwise I'll be studying the photo to figure it out, a lot.

The front of this quilt was nice, but I loved the back!  Those are gorgeous fabrics, but there was no note as to what they were.  They were ridiculously vivid.  The front had fabric with elephants and hindu gods, so I'm almost wondering if it was an Indian cotton?

Under the category of "why didn't I think of that?" comes this monster quilt.  So, so cool.  And the detailed quilting was phenomenal.

Here it is on the line behind the school, with some other kids quilts.

Heritage Park also has a number of vintage quilts in the Park's collection.  Isn't this one gorgeous?  I can't go anywhere without finding circles!

By far, this was my favourite of the day.  It is too bad the shade is dappled because it takes away from the luminosity of the quilt.  Interestingly, this quilt is made up of the same block, repeated.  At first glance it looks improv, but it isn't.  Unfortunately, there was no detail on the construction.  I can tell you that it is a lot of small pieces!  Don't you love the colour gradation?

I just love this image this display the best out of any in the park.

This is a Bento Box, but the entire thing is done with Denyse Schmidt.  I'm sure there are some of you out there who will love this, I took the photo just for you.

Oh, and in case you are wondering why I didn't share the artists or names of the quilts it's because the program has already been recycled.  Oops, sorry.

Luck Be a Pink Hat

This one has been a long time coming.  I had the top finished, and the back too, over a year and a half ago.  I managed to get it to the long armers shortly before or after Smilosaurus was born, I can't remember.  And it sat for nearly a year once I picked it up.  I simply had no motivation to get the binding on.  It's not like I dislike the quilt, I quite love the boldness of it all, I was simply lazy and didn't want to sew on a binding.

The motivation to finish it came because I entered it in the show over the weekend.  Nothing like a deadline to get your butt in gear!  So I found the perfect fabric, braved the bias cut, and got it done.

The center portion of the quilt is from a book called Strip Pieced Quilts by Maikke Baker.  I was at a retreat with some quilting friends in my Red Hat group, The Garnet Gals.  Yes, I know I am way too young for a red hat, but these great ladies welcomed me in and still share lots of life and quilt experience with me.  We decided to sew one afternoon and put this together from stash.  And we all liked it too much to donate it - bad us! - so we drew straws to see who got it. I won!

The borders were pieced from scraps, yet another black and white fabric, and more circles.  If you look closely in the bottom photo you will see that the purple we used had coloured circles scattered across the purple.  That's where the colour of my circles came from.

This is one of my favourite backs ever.  So simple, yet really bold.  My initial plan was to put the label in a circle in the green, but I couldn't print a small enough, yet still legible label for any kind of border on it. It still works.

It now seems that the girls can't keep their hands off any aspect of my hobby, er... obsession.  It was impossible to get a shot of this quilt without them in it.

I had this one professionally quilted by a local lady, Berny Sproule.  She used a purple thread in a swooping meander pattern to bring it all together.  

Now, don't get too googly-eyes staring at the photo!

Backseat Adventure - Asparagus Festival

Much to Hubby's chagrin I dragged him away from the yard and we made the drive to Edgar Farms' first Asparagus Festival.  He was tired and tried not to be cranky, but the rewards were sweet.  The girls sat on a horse and a pony, got to pet some brand new goats, ran around a hay bale maze and fort, and even went on a tractor ride.  But the highlight of the day for me, and possibly Hubby, was eating stalks of asparagus that we'd just picked from the ground.  It would never have occurred to us to eat asparagus raw, but we were trusting the advice of Elna Edgar, and she would know.

Elna and Doug Edgar own and operate their farm, with their daughter and son-in-law just South of Innisfail, Alberta.  They are a traditional grain and cattle farm.  But they also grow fantastic peas (so I am told) and Alberta's only commercial asparagus.  And they've been doing it for nearly two decades.  So, when Elna tells me to take a taste of asparagus right from the ground I do it.  

Wow, what a revelation!  Other than the fact that raw asparagus tastes more than vaguely like peas, it was crisp, light, and purely fresh.  Unlike tomatoes that you pick in the late summer sun this tasted like cool spring.  The Monster and Smilosaurus had as much as they could eat.  Good thing the baby got her front teeth a few weeks ago.

We saw the asparagus fields last summer, long after harvest.  Did you know asparagus is a fern? But as soon as it comes out of the ground the spears can be picked and will continue to grow. The only thing that stops the Edgars from a continuous harvest is the need to let the crowns rejuvenate to produce next year.  During spring, however, these custom pickers travel up and down the fields picking the tall enough crowns. It is a near continuous harvest for more than a few weeks as the crowns can grow over 6 inches a day!

Once we returned from the fields we tasted some freshly grilled asparagus from both Wade Sirois from Forage and Infuse Catering and dee Hobsbawn-Smith.  Grilled is my all-time favourite way to eat asparagus.  A little toss with olive oil then just a few minutes on a hot grill. You can drizzle some lemon or vinaigrette over top, but I will happily eat them like fries straight off the grill.

One of the best things was hearing people's surprise when they heard that no, you don't need to break off the ends or peel asparagus when it is this fresh.  And you don't get any fresher than off the picker's truck.
Asparagus Festival is over until next year.  Okay, this was the first one and there are no guarantees, but I'm betting that we and many more will be back next year.  You don't have to wait until then to go to Edgar Farms.  You can visit them daily at their farm store - where they currently have asparagus, rhubarb, their own beef, and a variety of asparagus pickles, relishes, and some sweet berry jams.

You can also visit Edgar Farms with the rest of the Innisfail Growers at farmers' markets around the province.  And make sure to stay on top of things through Doug Edgar's blog, he'll keep you up-to-date on harvests, this year's pea crop, and more on-farm events.

Giveaway Winner

Wow!  That was an unexpected response.  I hope I can keep most of you coming back with some new projects and tutorials.  

This was a great experience, I have found so many new sites to explore and blogs to visit.  I'm not going to get a damn thing done at work! And I really appreciate that everybody took the time to actually answer the questions, it was interesting to learn more about how people create.  I would say that most of you go with fabric first, then pattern.  That is generally how I do it. Although, my current project started from an idea of what I wanted the finished quilt to look like and I chose colours and fabrics afterwards. More on that project soon.

On to the winner...

Comment # 213 Nanaan

I have the feeling that this is going to be a great giveaway! just added you to my google reader -- I'm liking what I see.

Thanks!

Oh, and duh, pink/yellow. We're very girly in these parts.

And I actually started to say I start with fabric first, but I think that's a lie. I start with a pattern I want and then go out and buy the fabric. Which is probably why I don't manage to use my stash very well. 

I'll be back this week with reports from the Heritage Park Quilt Show and another quilt to share with you. For now, I'm going to bed.  Work in the morning.  Good news, we found an awesome nanny last week and she starts tomorrow.  The girls love her and Hubby can now get the yard done without endless interruptions and help from The Monster. Bad news, The Monster is reacting to some bites again.  This time we know they are mosquitoes, but she swelling up and welting like last time.  So, who knows how this week is going to go!

Taste Adventure - Jicama

Behold the simply boring jicama.  Crisp but rather bland, fresh but neutral.

I can't say the first time I had it.  I do remember an extensive search to find the first one.  Once Hubby and I gave up our weekly trips to the bar on Friday nights we often found ourselves, with roommates by our side, watching Iron Chef and the Chris Isaak Show on our crappy oak cabinet TV.  Somewhere in there we might watch Emeril Live and any other random Food Network show because the rest of Friday night TV sucked.  So I have no clue who made jicama look good, but we became obsessed with finding it.

Every grocery store we went into for years afterwards would warrant a trip to the special vegetable section, where they housed the so-called ethnic veggies, in hopes of seeing the vaguely potato-like root.  This was before we shopped around much, relying on the farmers' market and the neighbourhood grocery store only.  Now I not only know I can find it in most grocery stores, but I know more than a few speciality produce stores which carry it.  And I am thankful for that because I love that root.

The Monster loves crisp veggies, especially peppers.  And Smilosaurus handled greek salad well last weekend, so I thought both of them would enjoy jicama.  I was half right.

Jicama is common in Mexican and some Asian cuisines.  It has a simple, crisp flavour and texture - like a watered down apple or crisped up sweet cucumber.  It takes well to spicy or bold flavours like a sesame vinaigrette or chilis.

To prepare jicama you peel the thin papery skin and slice it, dice it, chop it, or julienne.  I've never eaten it cooked, but it is possible.  Truthfully, I like it as a simple raw veggie, alongside my carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes.  But my favourite way to eat jicama is to add it to slaw, maybe with some apples to compliment the simple flavour, or in a mango jicama salad.  

When I served it last night I gave some to the girls as a simple matchstick first.  The Monster happily ate the pile placed in front of her, munching away as I chopped mango.  Smilosaurus was pretty much indifferent.  I don't think she had a problem with the taste, but the texture was still too crunchy for a girl without molars.  When it came to the salad, Smilosaurus picked out the mango and left a pile of jicama on the tray of her high chair.  I was hoping for leftovers, but both The Monster and Hubby ate more than their fair share.  I guess I better hit the grocery store again.

This is an easy salad.  It is easily dressed up and added to.  If I have it, I will add in some chopped fresh cilantro, minced red onions, or diced peppers.  It is also very good with some shredded savoy cabbage, some additional lime, and fresh chilis.

Mango Jicama Salad

1 jicama, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 ripe mango, finely diced
1 lime, zest and juice
splash of olive oil
generous pinch of chili powder
salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together, season.  

Off to the Races

If you're here for the Sew Mama Sew giveaway, welcome. The giveaway is in the previous post. In the meantime, enjoy my latest quilt: Wednesday Night Races.

This is my Project Improv quilt. I pieced it entirely from scraps and stash, and sadly barely made a dent in my stash. The blocks are all triangles, pieced like wonky log cabins. I've said it before, it was a challenge to piece the top together and I couldn't avoid a few inset seams, but it worked out well. The whole thing squared up nicely too. (I know it doesn't seem like it in the photo, but it was a breezy day.)

The name came to me after I shared the photo of the top with the Project Improv Flickr group. A couple of people mentioned that it reminded them of flags at a marina. Back in my university days I would join some friends for the Wednesday Night Races at one of the sailing clubs in Halifax. It was an exhilerating, raucous, and slightly scary event for this Prairie gal. My friend did his best to scare the crap out of me, but I always came back. That wasn't entirely the experience with this quilt, but I liked the memory and decided to pay homage with the naming of the quilt.

The entire quilt is quilted with straight lines. I started following one triangle and went around and around it. This I repeated across the quilt with triangles of different sizes and filled in spaces with lines. Very bold. For thread I used a Mettler silk finish 100% cotton, my latest favourite for quilting, in three shades of yellow. White seemed too stark on the coloured parts, but I didn't want something too dark on the white parts. The yellow was perfect.

Sure, I could have used a multi-pieced binding, but because the quilt isn't that large (slightly larger than crib, but I can't remember the exact measurements right now) I thought a single binding would provide a bit of rest to the eye. I picked up a few pieces of Katie Jump Rope and Flea Market Fancy in a sales rack a few weeks ago and the green was perfect.

We had to take pictures in the park across the street from our house because we currently have no front steps. The Monster was quite keen on holding the quilt herself for me to take a picture. How could I say no?
Wednesday Night Races, along with this quilt, this one, and one more I have to share with you are headed to a show this weekend. My first quilt show! No, not just my quilts, let's not get too excited. But it is the first time I've shared my quilts in public, other than through the blog. If you are in the Calgary area please stop my Heritage Park Festival of Quilts for the show. They hang hundreds of quilts throughout the historic park - on buildings, fences, clotheslines, and in some of the old houses. It is quite the sight, really. I'll post some pics next week.

One Sort of Dinner Party

The Kitchn Cure wrapped up this weekend, with directions to take what we've learned with our new skills, clean spaces, and refreshed pantries and hot a dinner party.  Well, dinner parties at our house are way off the table these days.  Not because of the kids - that never stops us - but because our house is surrounded and seemingly filled with dirt.  Ah, renovations.

So it stops us from hosting make your grilled pizza night or a barbeque, but it doesn't stop the family from gathering for some relatively dry finger food on a child's picnic table in the midst of mountains of topsoil.  This is our kind of dinner party.  We're all together and munching on some tasty morsels of smoked provolone, Gull Valley tomatoes, cherries, and lemonade.  Hey, the dishes coordinated - a mark of a true hostess.

Regardless of whether your dinner party is in the dirt or around your mid-century modern teak dining table there are a few basics to keep in mind.

First, it is important to always provide adequate napkins or even finger bowls if your food is particularly messy.  If you are serving something greasy or sticky you might even want to consider a little package of baby wipes.  They are truly multi-purpose.  You should see what they do for dirt covered pickles.
Second, a good party is about more than the food.  Decor is usually provided with flowers, simple lighting, and perhaps some great tunes.  The right ambiance helps set the mood for a raucous gathering around a pot of chili or a quiet night with old friends.  In our case, the mountains of topsoil provided both an excellent backdrop for our gathering, it also provided some post-meal exercise.  

That brings up the third point, plan for some activity or entertainment.  This can be the food itself if the making of dinner is interactive, like pizza or tacos.  Or you can plan a post-soccer game barbeque or post-dinner game of Cranium.

Next, don't be afraid to get messy.  Lick your fingers of the hot sauce from the jerk chicken or the burger juices running down your wrist.  After all, that's what napkins were invented for.

Thanks for joining me for The Kitchen Cure.  And speaking of The Kitchn, pop on over there for my guest posts on making baby food.  And if you are joining me from there, welcome!

Trust Me

*** This giveaway is now closed ***

It's the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

I'm still feeling generous so I thought I would share more fabric.  It would make sense, then, to show you the fabric I plan to give away.  Yes, that would make perfect sense.  Unfortunately, my camera is not cooperating right now so I can't download the photos.  You'll just have to trust me.

Come on, you know I can pick the good stuff.  I love putting together based on colour and feel. In fact, quite often I will just pull fabric from my stash for some imaginary quilt. Maybe I'll bring home a new fabric that I bought just because.  Just because I liked it.  So I hit the stash and see what I have that works with it.  Maybe I'll even put that grouping aside for a while and let it simmer.  Maybe I'll let The Monster help me and see what she comes up with.  Maybe I'll even start a project then and there.  No pattern, no plan, just a pile of fabric and a little inspiration along the way.

For the giveaway please leave a comment telling me how you pick fabric for a quilt - does the fabric comes first or the pattern/design?  And tell me which colourway you prefer:
  
Yellow/pink
Green/Orange/Yellow
Red/Aqua
Green/Blue
Brown/Blue

I will pull from my stash 6 fat quarters in the winners choice colourway.  And I have no problem shipping internationally (I'm in Canada) so please drop me a comment by May 31

Don't forget to visit the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway site to see the rest of the blog giveaways. There is some good stuff out there.  Feel free to explore a little here too.

*** This giveaway is now closed ***

Recovery

Thank-you for all your kind comments about the Monster and the return to work.  She has made almost a full recovery now.  She is happily running around in her new rubber boots and keeping Daddy company as he works on the landscaping of the yard. Her arm is much better. And then she fell off the bed today.  Unfortunately she's inherited my propensity to bruise easily.  She is one beat-up looking kid.  And happy as can be!  Daddy was home with her last week and will be home again in the coming days.  Work is work.  I would much rather be quilting, er... home with the girls, but the bills need to be paid, right?

Okay, now on to the real news.  Who won the giveaway?!

The random number generator picked number 11, Michelle. There were 59 comments, but one person commented twice, so I used 58 as the number for the draw.

I hope you like your dots, Michelle.  Treats will be on their way to you in a few days.

Stay tuned this week.  I will be sharing two recently finished quilts and possibly doing another giveaway!  It was my birthday yesterday so I feel like being a little bit more generous. 

Popsicles


Thank goodness for grocery lists and meal planning.  No, seriously.  A few months back I made up a master grocery list for the house and started planning our weekly meals.  This was all in attempt to save money and have less wasted food at the end of the week.  Lo and behold, week 5 of The Kitchn Cure asked us to do just.  Glad I could cross that off my list easily and it sure proved itself this week.

After our lovely day on the farm I settled in for a rainy day with the girls, my last on maternity leave. Late morning came and The Monster was just attacking her arm and being beyond fussy. Close inspection revealed a bicep that would make Popeye jealous and a mysterious bite. Knowing a thing or two about bad infections we rustled the neighbours into babysitting Smilosaurus and headed up to the ER.  So much for baking cookies and painting.

So after a week of me back at work, no nanny, and many a trip to and from the hospital for IV antibiotics I was really thankful for a stocked pantry and some pre-planned meal ideas.  Okay, so I didn't exactly stick to my menu plan.  In all fairness, I wasn't planning on arriving home at six every night.  But I knew we had some good enough stuff around for sweet and sour meatballs and mac and cheese.  Besides, how could I compete with hospital popsicles?

Sad Days and Giveaways!

*** This giveaway is now closed ***

Maybe the polka dots will brighten my day?

Today is my last day at home with the girls - back to work tomorrow! Boo hoo. And since we don't have a nanny yet Hubby will be home with the girls. That somewhat eases the pain and makes the transition not so tough. Sort of.

Today is also wet, miserable, and cold. Snow was even falling at one point. To top it off, The Monster is sitting in the emergency room right now. She was bitten by something yesterday at the farm and her arm is swollen, red, and hard today. She's not in grave danger, but it sure looks ugly right now. Poor girl. What a way to spend a special day.

That's enough doom and gloom, on to the good stuff. I'm finally hosting a giveaway! To celebrate my return to work I thought I would try to share some cheer with the world. This is an 8-pack of cheery polka dots and liberal interpretations of polka-dots. Some are older and I'm not sure where they're from, but they make me smile. And there is some Amy Butler and Denyse Schmidt in there too. Each piece is more or less a fat quarter. I will send the winner of the giveaway the whole lot of them, and maybe a few other treats.

To win, leave a comment on this post between now and May 24 at 8:00 pm MST. I will draw a random number to determine the winner. Winner will be informed that night. Make sure I can contact you by email.

This week will be more than a bit crazy, so I won't be posting. But stay tuned for next week, I have a few quilts to share.

Update:
The Monster did indeed have a bad infection from a venomous spider bite! I didn't even know there were venomous spiders in Alberta. But after three days of IV antibiotics she is much better. Not that this slowed her down one bit. Me, on the other hand, I'm exhausted. Work was crazy and the week was stressful. I will be handstitching a binding tonight and watching crappy TV.

Farm Visit

Meet Jonathan Wright of Thompson Wright Small Farm.  This summer he and his partner, Andrea Thompson, and all the many folks they have helping out, will be our farmers.  They will also be the farmers of a few hundred other folks who signed up to be part of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program that Jonathan and Andrea are running off their farm East of Calgary.

Yesterday I took the girls to meet the farmers, the farm, and of course the animals.  Sadly Hubby was stuck with the necessary landscaping work at home. (One day we will have something other than mud.)  We drove in the first real day of heat and sunshine.  While the girls slept I ruminated on the luxury and necessity of supporting local agriculture through a CSA.

Yes, I said luxury.  Hubby and I have been talking about this a lot lately.  While feeding our family with the best possible ingredients, sourced as locally as possible is of prime importance to us (well, me, mostly) we have to admit that it is a middle class luxury.  It shouldn't be, but it is.  And for now, it is one that we also see as a necessity - as long as we can afford it. Maybe that's why I'm returning to work tomorrow?  It is a necessity - not just for the health of our family, but for the health of a diverse agricultural economy and a diverse farming community.

Jonathan and Andrea are perfect examples of people leading by doing.  They haven't spent a lot of energy getting involved in the foodie community or even selling what they do.  But they've spent a lot of time on their farm, working it and their animals to produce food.  Food, simple food.  Food that contains the sweat of a small family, some horses, water buffaloes, yaks, and the additional sweat of the supporters and helpers that come to the farm to work.

In speaking to Jonathan yesterday he said something that just ran through my brain.  "In order to have a sustainable world, a truly sustainable culture, we have to work."  It echoes comments made by Wade Sirois at the Local 101 event back in March.  He reminded the audience that no matter how you look at supporting local agriculture it means you have to cook.  It all comes back to effort, to work.  I better get The Monster trained up as a sous chef soon because we're going to have a lot of cooking to do this summer, thanks to Jonathan and Andrea's efforts.

This is the second year for the Thompson Wright Small Farm CSA.  In speaking to Andrea yesterday she is excited about the coming months and the supporters they have this year. The commitment from their members is strong, with most at the farm to support the ideals and work, not just get some good groceries.  

The farm is run by animal and people power.  When you drive onto the property you are struck by the lack of a powered tractor and the simplicity of the old metal plow.  I remember my dad showing me the one he used as a boy on the farm, long since rusted and now serving as a jungle gym to city kids visiting the farm.  Not at Thompson Wright.  The metal plow sits clean, almost proud, after recent use readying the fields for this year's crop of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peas, parsnips, kohlrabi, kale, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and garlic (and more).

The girls were in heaven running around to visit the animals.  Smilosaurus loved to pet the little chicks, but did not like getting licked by King, one of the two water buffaloes on site.  The Monster was fascinated by the chickens, gleefully calling, "Chock, chock chock!" to give them their molasses covered grain.  And who couldn't resist a three week old yak calf named Wild Bill?  Poor little guy lost his mother when he was born so I predict a gentle giant after his stint with bottle feeding is over.

It meant a lot to me to have Andrea, her son, and Jonathan welcome us and our toddler mayhem to the farm.  On the way home The Monster spoke constantly of the horses, mainly Sarah who wasn't big enough to be working yet, and her farm.  No longer was it the farm, it was her farm.  In a way, she's right. I do insist on giving credit where credit is due and that belongs to Jonathan and Andrea.  But they are our farmers.