Friday Food 01-21-22

                  Another "Round Dinner"!  Guess this is sort of my comfort food.  

Brussels sprouts, little tiny red potatoes, cocktail meatballs from TJoe's. 

I microwave the sprouts and the potatoes with a Tablespoon or so of water for about half time, then add the meatballs and set for the other half time.  Check for doneness and do whatever more time til they are done.  I like a little sauce and especially enjoy TJoe's Blue Cheese/Pecan dip, but think that is only available in the fall.  The onion dip is also good.  Just add a few spoonsful and stir it around. 

What you see in the picture is almost enough for two meals, if not I saute a few little mushrooms and add them to the reheated leftovers.   I also cook this with broccoli when I don't have sprouts.  But then it isn't all round.  

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Unique gift 01-20-22

 

Our Book Group members exchange small gifts for Christmas each year.  One member likes to give something from Heifer International and this year she gave a pig, a rather large gift.  So, she printed out a pig image, sliced it into eight book marks, added some beads and string and gave us each our part of the pig.  Such an imaginative way of doing it, I am so impressed.     I am in a rut and for at least the last decade have given each member a gift card to either Barnes and Nobel or Amazon.  

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Please forgive my silence!

I haven't blogged because I don't DO anything to blog about!  KoKo and I do our half hour walk twice a day.  I sew a little, but nothing to post, mostly mending.   I have been reading the Virgil Flowers crime series by John Sandford on Kindle.  The books can be a little raw and the language is bad, but I find the story line captures my attention.  I don't enloy Kindle as much as a real printed-on-paper book, but since I am not going out much I don't have access to actual books.  Guess Kindle is a blessing during isolation, huh?  I made sure my phone had a good charge on Friday because SCalifornia Edison shut off power in our neighborhood from 9am to 6pm.  Good, thoughtful friends Carol and Dick invited us over for a lovely corn chowder lunch, perfect for a cold, powerless day.  It was dark when the power came on and I was wondering if we would spend the night completely dark.  The house had not warmed up in the morning so it was cold all day and I didn't think we could survive the night without some heat.  I have a lot more sympathy for people who endure long term powerlessness.   These days there isn't a lot one can do without electricity.  Anyway, SCE replaced four power poles on Palm, the main cross street, so maybe this won't happen again for years.  

We have been sprinkled on several days the past week, but this morning it rained pretty good whilst we were on our morning walk.  We sheltered on a handy  covered porch for about 15 minutes and the rain let up to a light sprinkle.  Of course, we were damp when we got home, but it doesn't seem to bother KoKo, who gets a good toweling off and I just change my clothes.  

So, you see, I don't really have anything to write about!  I'll keep trying.

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Ruth McDowell quilt from TCQC 01-16-22

Two years ago when Covid appeared an exhibit of Ruth B. McDowell's quilts that are in the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection had recently opened.  Soon all museums were shut down and few visitors to Visions Art Museum were able to see these great original works.  Today Facebook ran a "Looking back" ;piece that first posted in 2020 announcing the exhibit.  I have hung "Amaryllis" in my family room as a reminder of that aborted exhibit.  It is actually more colorful than this image, but it is the best I can find in my picture files.  I enjoy all of Ruth's quilts, but this one in particular gives me joy. 

 "Amaryllis" Ruth B. McDowell (2014)   43"W x 39.5"L

Cotton Fabrics, batting, thread.  Machine pieced and quilted. 

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