August 06, 2012

Keeping it hot

August 06, 2012/ Phoebe Roth

So, I've been so busy lately that it's hard to know which project to tell you about first. I've been sewing, cooking, and trying to keep the garden alive in this heat. 113° in the shade is not helpful for tomatoes or cucumbers, but for some odd reason the jalapeño plants are in overdrive. This leads me to one of my new favorite things to cook: Salsa Doña.

So yummy!

July 23, 2012

Keeping it cool

July 23, 2012/ Phoebe Roth

So if you’ve ever been to Oklahoma from mid-July through August, you know that this is where Hell sends the souls who need extra punishment. It is so hot that I think I might die from it!

My devastatingly handsome husband modeling his brand new neck cooler!

July 17, 2012

Making Pickled Butternut Squash

July 17, 2012/ Phoebe Roth

So, here is the Pickled Butternut Squash I promised last week.

It wasn’t very hard to do, other than I went about seeding and peeling the squash in the wrong way.

July 13, 2012

Making Peach Bellini Jam

July 13, 2012/ Phoebe Roth

So I told my good friend a few weeks ago that I had been canning the extra produce from our garden, and she said she wanted to try out canning sometime. That, coupled with a sale on peaches, and a few recipes I've been wanting to try, led me to this week's activity.

Fabulous Peach Bellini Jam used as a sauce on grilled pork chops!

July 06, 2012

Making excuses

July 06, 2012/ Phoebe Roth

So every day there is a new excuse:

I can't follow my diet plan today because we are going to a party tonight.
I can't walk the dog today because I waited too late, and it's already hot.
I can't sew today because I need to work on business stuff.
I can't quilt today because the house is dirty.
I can't do X today because Y.

The list goes on, but the point of the story is that it must stop. I saw something on Pinterest last week that really hit the nail on the head for me.

July 05, 2012

Making tabouli

July 05, 2012/ Phoebe Roth

So Monday’s post really got me thinking about how I cook. It is impossible for me to follow a recipe as written. Part of the problem is that my small kitchen doesn’t have room for every single piece of equipment and spice. The other part of the problem is that I would rather use what I have than drive into town for some obscure ingredient that I won’t use all of. I don’t know that this is a bad thing, except when someone reviews a recipe on allrecipes and gives it a bad review because they “followed the recipe exactly, EXCEPT…” THAT drives me crazy.

July 02, 2012

Picking blackberries

July 02, 2012/ Phoebe Roth

So yesterday Mr. QuiltedPig and I set off with a good friend to pick blackberries. We had been to the same farm previously to pick sand plums, and we were very pleased with the 22 pounds we were able to pick in a morning.

June 30, 2012

Saving the wine...I hope

June 30, 2012/ Phoebe Roth

So a few weeks ago I made a gallon of peach wine using this recipe. And yes, I was a bad person and let it sit in primary fermentation nearly two weeks though the recipe says just 3-5 days. I have been completely unmotivated to deal with it, partly because it wasn't bubbling the air lock like I'm used to, and partly because I've been busy canning and dealing with other fresh things.

June 29, 2012

The first big harvest

June 29, 2012/ Phoebe Roth

So the harvest finally started rolling in this week. I've picked at least a dozen cucumbers, one tomato, and this giant pile of herbs!

June 17, 2012

A day of planned relaxation turned into a sew day.

June 17, 2012/ Phoebe Roth

But that's a relaxing day, right? I've been working on Old Field Road, a kit I bought during Quilt Across Texas last year. I loved the look, and the beauty of the pattern is that there aren't many points to match, but it sure is a lot of sewing! I guess I've been spoiled by all the big block quilts I made at the beginning of the year.

Journal