Houston!

This week is the Houston International Quilt Show.  And this year I get to go!  So no more blogging for the rest of this week.  I'll be busy looking at quilts from all over the world, at the world's biggest quilt show.

Vegan Cookbook Review

The Happy Hervivore by Lindsay S. Nixon is a cookbook with all kinds of recipes.  From Vegan Worcestershire sauce to tofu chocolate icing, Lindsay has it all.  I tried out her recipes for cornbread, tamale pie, and blue corn chickpea tacos.  They were good!  There are lots of recipes that call for tofu or seitan or nutritional yeast, which I'm not quite ready to eat yet.  The recipes are fairly simple - some are so simple they are more ideas than recipes: like fresh applesauce made from fresh apple slices ground in a food processor, or salad made with "dinosaur" kale and salt.  But those are good ideas, and I had not thought of them before.  One recipe, the "5-Spice Harmony Bowl" is a lot like what I cook when I'm not using a recipe (minus the spices).  Overall, I liked this book because of the wide range of recipes, the simplicity of the recipes, and it has things that I may be able to try someday if I get up the nerve to eat tofu or nutritional yeast.  The recipes I tried turned out well.  You can see her recipes and try them for yourself on her website, www.happyherbivore.com

The asters are blooming!  Like all my favorite plants, these asters are easy to grow.  Once you plant them you don't have to do much at all, and they reward you by blooming every fall.  

Scary Spiders

This is a great activity to do with grandchildren.  We started with styrofoam balls and washable poster paint.  I didn't have black, so we used purple.  (The other Halloween color)  After the paint dried, we glued on two googly eyes and poked in 8 black pipe cleaners.  It's kind of tricky getting them to stand up, but don't they look like they could skitter around pretty fast on those long spider legs?  Scary!

Quilts, again

Today I worked on a quilt for a friend with cancer.  Hoping to send a little comfort her way.  Also, still basking in the glory of the two ribbons my quilt won at the quilt show.

Greens

I love greens!  This is a basket of swiss chard my granddaughter and I picked from the garden.  There is also  basil, rosemary, oregano, chives, thyme, and sage in there.  We sauteed onions and the herbs and greens, and added those and some tomatoes to our lentil soup.  Yum!

Ribbons!

My little kaleidoscope quilt won a blue ribbon and the Judge's Choice award at the quilt show!  I knew the quilting turned out well, but it's so different from what a judge usually chooses, so I was very surprised.  And happy!

Turk's Cap

This is one of my favorite garden plants.  First of all, because if I neglect it, it doesn't die.  Second, because it can grow in shade or sun.  In shade it gets lanky and tall like in this photo, and in sun it looks more like a bush.  Third, the flowers are such a bright tropic red they just pop out of their green background.  Fourth, they are perennials so they don't have to be replanted.  Is that enough reasons?

The Haunted Tent

My grandchildren started planning for Halloween in August.  I tried various activities with them - making candy, decorating the dollhouse for Halloween, and getting down all the decorations for our house.  But what they really enjoyed is making plans for the Haunted Tent.  Next week we'll set it up in the back yard, and they will get to scare their parents, grandpa, and uncle and aunt!  What could be better?

Kindle Cover

My son gave me a Kindle for Christmas.  It was getting scratched up in my purse, so I made this cover for it.   My friend was using a sock for hers, so I made her one too.

Vegan at the Steakhouse

What did the vegan order at the steakhouse?  No, it's not a joke.  It's my dilemma every weekend.  After eating my vegan cooking all week, my husband is always ready for a steak dinner at a good restaurant on the weekend.  So what did I order?  A house salad without cheese, a baked sweet potato without any toppings, sauteed mushrooms (to put on the potato), and asparagus.  It was plenty to eat and I just ignored the fact that the mushrooms were sauteed in butter.

Grateful for Green

When we were visiting a church in a small town, the person giving the prayer said, "We're grateful for the recent rains that have filled our tanks and greened up our fields."  Those words came to mind today, seeing our formerly parched lawn starting to "green up."

Volunteers

These sunflowers pop up in my flower bed every year.  They don't go with the landscaping plan, but I keep them in anyway.  They feed the birds and they make me smile.

Pretty Pumpkins

                                                  

Yes, this is an activity to do with grandchildren. My grandson would never pass up the chance to work with sharp objects. So it does require lots of supervision. These pretty pumpkins are made with craft store pumpkins, ordinary straight pins, small clear beads, and sequins.

Draw your design on a foam pumpkin from the craft store.  Then load a straight pin with a clear bead and a sequin, and push in the pin.  Use a thimble on your finger.  The perfect activity for a rainy afternoon.

Why Quilt?

Some of my quilting friends do most of their quilting for charity. They donate astounding amounts of quilts to organizations and individuals. Others quilt for competition, winning awards and ribbons at quilt shows. I do some charity donations and I've won some ribbons, but I think the main reason I quilt is to perfect my skills. The quest is a life long one, because there is no way you could perfect every quilting skill in one lifetime. There is always something new to learn, and some skill to get better at. And that's what I really love the most about quilting!

Vegan Cornbread

Cornbread without buttermilk???  without butter???  without sugar???  It seems impossible, but there is a great cornbread recipe in The Happy Herbivore by Lindsay S. Nixon.  The cornbread is good with jam, and also on top of tamale pie (another recipe in the book).  I made some changes in the recipe to make it gluten free for my husband, who has had to avoid wheat all his life.
Here is my version:
Vegan Cornbread
1 cup corn meal (this can also have a couple tablespoons of flax seed meal mixed in)
1 cup corn flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Then mix the rest together and put it into the dry ingredients.  Pour into 2 small greased loaf pans.  Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

Soccer Moms and Grandmas

I watched my grandson make four goals for his team in his soccer match today.  That was exciting.  Several players sustained minor injuries, mostly by tripping over the ball or their own feet, and no injuries were worse than knees covered with grass.  The injured players on each team ran off the field after the injury occurred, straight to their mothers, who hugged them until they were ready to play again.  Watching my grandson make a goal was exciting, but watching him run to his mother after he fell was sweet.

Favorite Plants - Basil

I love the smell of basil, and the taste of it.  This hot summer our basil plants did just fine.  But the heat kept me out of the garden, and the grass took over.  That means re-digging everything this fall.  Guess I will be getting my exercise.

Activities with Grandchildren: The Family Book of World Records

My sister had a great idea.  We want to make a family book of records, like the Guinness book of world records, but just people in our family.  I'm wondering what my record will be?  My niece says her dad has the record for the most sneezes.  My grandson probably has the record for most goals in a soccer game (7).  I can't wait to start compiling the records.  And for the ensuing competition to break them!

Halloween Costumes part two

This cape was made from the same pattern as the Little Red Riding Hood costume I posted earlier.  I love the skull button my grandson chose.  I made two capes, but the smaller one was unavailable to photograph, as we couldn't take it off my younger grandson.  His had a button that looked like a spider in a web.
I tried to take a shortcut by not stay-stitching.  Then the boys wore their cape linings while I worked on the capes.  The linings got stretched out and it was hard to fit the cape to the lining.  Should have stay-stitched!

Vegan Green Salsa

I made some salsa for the tailgate party this weekend that turned out well.  It was a combination of some other recipes.

6 tomatillos
1 anaheim pepper
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
fresh oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
dried cilantro
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Chop the onion, tomatillos, and pepper and saute.  When they are soft, smash garlic and add to it.  Then add oregano, sugar, cilantro, and cumin.  Keep cooking and kind of smash it until it is the consistency you like.  I like mine chunky, so I don't cook it for too long.  If you want it smooth, you can always blend it with an immersion blender.