This rain is very boring......

Well it's still raining. We have had a couple of gorgeous Maine days but not nearly enough of them. The calendar is starting to fill up and this cabin is small for entertaining. But as they say about the weather in Maine, "Wait a minute!"

Today and tomorrow are errand days and Friday, my son and I will continue to plow through the barn. I am still playing with my photos and now I want to study changing this template.

I'm roasting a chicken tonight and roasting some Brussels sprouts as well. The recipe is simple and open to additions. The Brussels sprouts are trimmed and halved. Dice some pancetta and a shallot. Place the Brussels sprouts on a baking sheet, cover with the pancetta and the shallot. Sprinkle with olive oil. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Cover with thin slices of a lemon. Roast at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. Check them! They need to be turned a couple of times!

They were delicious!

Hopefully toorrow will be a nicer day. I need to get outside and take some pictures!

first efforts

I am still in my PhotoShop mode. This merged photo took a long time but was really fun. I will do a few more - hopefully in a shorter time.








It's time to get back to the sewing machine and finish my One Block Wonder. This picture was taken in the class I took at Sew Worth It in Sarasota. The 2 day workshop was wonderful and all the different fabrics were inspiring. I made a One Block Wonder 2 years ago and thought I would lose my mind but the end result was spectacular I thought. This new one uses hexagon cubes to break up the kaleidoscopes and transition color.



I made some hexagons in the class (above) but the real work started at home. For a quilter, the design wall is a necessity. You need to be able to step back and see how the quilt is going to look. A reducing glass (like a magnifying glass) shrinks the quilt to give the quilter an idea of the finished quilt.













Just looking at the pictures has re-inspired me!




So, dinner will have to be easy. Reservations would be good but we are stay-at-homes when it comes to going out at night. Pizza is always good. I use pizza dough from the market. I know I could make it but the cabin is small. Jack cuts up 3-4 yellow onions and we caramelize them. A little butter, a little oil and a heavy pan. We cook them for exactly 1 hour. I read recently that the best way to caramelize onions was to walk away from the pan. We don't but we try to resist the urge to constantly stir. We set them aside until we are ready to build the pizza.

Like many of my dishes, very rarely are the results the same. Tonight the pizza will have some leftover sauce, slices of grilled Italian sweet sausage, sauteed mushrooms, fire roasted red peppers, fresh basil and mozzarella. The onions go on top and I sometimes top it all with freshly grated Parmesan.

A sunny Sunday.....

I am experimenting with PhotoShop! I see the most beautiful collage pictures on many blogs and I want to do one. I don't think I can edit the Html yet - that sounds terrifying but I think I can collage some of my photos. I don't even know what the Html is!

So, no recipes this blog. I am going to take some time and play.

Trying to remember sunshine.....

It's not raining right this moment but it's not sunny either....Everything is soaked and my plants are full of slugs. They are nasty and slimy and hungry. Jack and I just cleaned up some of the pots and he took no prisoners!

I cooked a pot roast last night so we will have leftovers for dinner tonight. I will make a salad as well. Oh, for a meal from the grill! I have some Italian sausages that I would love to grill and we haven't had pasta for a couple of weeks so maybe we'll get a break in the weather over the holiday weekend.

Reading other blogs is fascinating. I would love to have some pointers on photographing the tablescapes. If it keeps raining I will try to find some pointers on the internet.

If you check my profile, you can see the blogs I am following.

I spent the day with my son and grandchildren cleaning the barn. My house in the village is for sale and there is much work to do. We went through box after box and I found many "treasures" that I thought were gone and lost forever. While we sorted, the sky got dark and we had quite a storm. We had hail!

It might be nice on Sunday! We will wait until we know for sure and will run to the market and get hamburgers or steaks. I will make this casserole early in the day and if we have company, there will be plenty.


Heavenly Casserole
Serves 12

1 box frozen French style green beans
1 box frozen baby lima beans
1 box frozen small peas
3 peppers, seeded and cut into narrow strips
1 ½ cups heavy cream, whipped
1 ½ cups mayonnaise
¾ cup grated Parmesan or cheddar
Freshly ground pepper
Touch of salt

Thaw frozen vegetables – enough to separate and drain excess water.
Butter a 9 x 13 casserole. Put in the vegetables. Combine the remaining ingredients and cover the casserole. Can be put in the refrigerator at this point or baked at 325 uncovered for about 50 minutes until brownish and puffy on top. If you are going to refrigerate this allow some extra time for cooking.

See you next week!

Sunday suppers

I love Ina Garten's recipes. I have never had a failure or been disappointed in the results. This recipe is one that I make periodically based on one of hers using ricotta and Gruyere. It is perfect for a Sunday night supper.

Frittata

8 tablespoons butter divided
8 extra large eggs
1 cup onion, chopped
15 ounces ricotta cheese
1 cup grated gruyere cheese
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves
2 tomatoes, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute the onions in 3 tablespoons butter. Melt remaining butter. Whisk eggs in a large bowl, then stir in the ricotta, Gruyere, melted butter, salt, pepper and basil. Spray Pam in a quiche pan and lay ½ tomato slices on the bottom. Pour egg and cheese mixture on top. Place remaining tomato slices on top. Add a few basil leaves to garnish. Bake for about 50 minutes until puffy and a knife inserted into the frittata comes out clean.

The porch on the cabin is where we have most of our meals. The table in the cabin is usually covered with my sewing stuff. The table on the porch is usually set with dishes that I bought for the cabin. I have started collecting vintage tablecloths for both tables. I bought the set of dishes (lots of them!) for the chop plates and the large bowls that could be used for pasta. Of course, there are only 4 of each! They don't have a name - they have a number. They were made by the Edwin Knowles China Company in 1938 and the number is KNO154. They are perfect in the cabin.

It is still raining. We have been poking around antique shops and going out for lunch. We do not ask for a table by the window! Can't believe it is the 4th of July weekend. The sun will come out. The sun will come out.....