Pin It Weekly #237

My Pinterest is growing! Yes, indeed, I've been pinning. Not as much as I'd like, but I do have other social media demands. (Ha!)

I recently found a few more quilts for "heart, quilts" and (this is crazy) more covered bridges.  Are there that many covered bridges?

Plus, I added to my "Louisiana, home" board with mostly New Orleans photos. There are well over 200 pins on this one board.

We love the city and have been many, many times (especially when we were young), so we've seen almost every one of the places on this board. I've stayed at Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter, Le Pavillion on Poydras Street, and a couple of places on Canal Street.

Richard and I especially enjoyed spending a weekend in the city to attend a show at the Sanger Theater, eat at one of the fabulous restaurants, and just enjoy a stroll along one of the city streets or ride a trolley car. The architecture of NOLA is unrivaled, and the museums offer interesting, often-changing displays. I saw the King Tut treasures in NOLA in 1978. 

If you've never come to New Orleans, now is the perfect time. The weather is perfect, kids are still in school so there are fewer visiting families, and crawfish season is upon us. You can get them cooked in a number of ways: boiled, jambalaya, red or brown gravy, etouffe, po'boys and deep fried with a slew of other wonderful seafood delicacies. 

And that's just one meat. Imagine what we do with shrimp, fish, oysters, rice, beans, (well, you get the idea). As the saying goes: 

Come home to Louisiana.

Louisiana zine and more quilting

https://louisiana.kitchenandculture.com/

Want a little more Louisiana? You can find it right here! This online mag "celebrates the culure, heritage, and cuisine of Louisiana."

I just happened across it while searching for a certain quilt show. I didn't find the show, but it may have something to do with not getting any farther than this interesting piece of online real estate. Anh, someone else is doing the legwork for the quilt show. I took a few minutes and liked what I found. There are over 1,600 recipes, events calendar, and cooking videos. If you have a few minutes, you should go.

Otherwise, I've been working on the latest tee-shirt quilt. Today I spent the morning making a backing. I wanted to include some of the shirts in the quilt but that would make it much too large and time consuming to quilt. Rather I sewed them into the backing, which took longer than I anticipated. 

That was mostly because I didn't look closely at the fabric on the bolt. Apparently I emptied the bolt and reused it. The fabric on it now is only 44" wide, not the 108" that I expected. Talk about a surprise!

I actually measured the amount needed and cut it before realizing there was a problem. That may be because the fabric on the bolt is a regular weight quilting cotton, not the lightweight muslin I thought.

Anyhoo, I got it all resolved and the backing looks pretty good. I loaded the quilt after lunch and began quilting. It's going relatively easily, so I'm happy. 

And my day ended with getting to some guild duties: sending out emails, setting an appointment, texting a member or two to check on their progress, that kind of stuff. It's the stuff that I really don't enjoy but have to get done. It does feel good to know that those chores are out of the way.

How is your day going? Were you able to get some quilting done or did you manage to get through some of the not-so-fun chores?

Of King Cake and Family

Last weekend we celebrated Sophie's fourth birthday on Saturday.  On Saturday night we babysat these two munchkins.  Then on Sunday we celebrated the fact that Will is home for a week. 

We're a pretty rowdy crew and any excuse is cause for celebration.  Will works off-shore, usually on a 14/14 schedule, but he pulled an extra week to help out a friend, so this month we barely get to see him.  That said, Adam decided to throw a po'boy party on Sunday afternoon.  Which means we were able to get together, eat and visit.  

It's what we do.

French bread cut in half, baked turkey breast, pork loin and sausage made the base of the sandwiches.  Mayo, lettuce, tomato and pickles made the dressings, and chips, tortillas and homemade salsa created sides. 

Google images

For dessert...King Cake.  Raspberry and cream cheese filled. Green, purple and gold sugar.  Sticky, gooey and delicious!

Flikr photo

One of the best Sunday afternoons a momma could hope for!

Family Fun Night

Editing note: For some reason, this post didn’t go out, so I’m resending.   Dinner was last night. 

Whew!  What a great time!  When someone calls and says please make a gumbo for us, it’s hard to resist.  When two sisters gang together, it’s impossible (not that I really wanted to say no to them).  Guess what?

photo from Google images 

A few of my sisters came by for gumbo with rice, sweet potatoes, and cornbread.  Yes we like our starches.  Actually, we like just about anything, but the more fattening it happens to be, the more we tend to like it. 

That means we had both pecan cake and bread pudding for dessert.  Oh, and one sister brought along real butter from the Amish store to slather on the sweet potatoes.  Can you say rich?  I can definitely attest to the fact that there is absolutely no more space in my system.  I am full , stuffed,  and moaning.  I should say we enjoyed the company as much as the food.

straight from the farm

Since I’ve shared my recipe for Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, I’ll share how we bake sweet potatoes.  It’s easy.  First choose your sweet potatoes.  They should, of course, be fresh and firm. Wash the potatoes in cool water and remove any small roots that may still be attached and cut off the tips on each end.   Set the potatoes on paper toweling to dry.  I like to pat the potatoes dry; then cover the outside with margarine or oil.  I simply use my hands to spread the margarine and try not to put too much on each one.  This helps to release the skin when the potatoes are completely done.

right to the table

Bake at 350 degrees for two hours.  I test the potatoes by sticking a fork into the largest ones.  The center should be soft and squishy.  The skin should be easy to remove.  I enjoy the potatoes without any condiments, but Rich always adds butter, sugar and cinnamon to his.   Any potatoes that are left over can be wrapped in foil or placed in freezer bags and frozen, so I always bake a large pan and freeze the extras individually.  They are easy to warm in the microwave.  And are just as good.  

Happy Thanksgiving,

Mary

Praline or Pie?

There's very little that's better than a delicious Louisiana pecan.  That means someone has to go out and pick pecans and yesterday that someone was ME. 

I am sore from bending, squatting, and kneeling.  Rich and I decided that we'd go to my parents' old place and pick a few.  

We stopped on our way home from the cemetery last week and noticed that there were many small pecans on the ground.  One tree in particular has tiny pecans that are full, oily and delicious.  We started picking under that tree.

Unfortunately, when the pecans are so small, it takes many, many pecans to fill a bucket.  We filled a five-gallon bucket!  But these little nuts are going to make a wonderful pie around Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Of course, to get them into a pie, someone has to shell them.  That's been Richard's job so far.  He began shelling pecans last week and after three nights of shelling, he has enough for perhaps three pies.  Since I generally make three pies for each holiday, we'll need more if we hope to have pralines.  And, let's not forget pecan cake.....that is a pretty good treat, too.

I suppose I'll have to find some time to pitch in and help with the shelling.  At least Richard does the cracking.  He has a handy little gadget that makes it easy enough.  It can be adjusted for the different sizes of nuts so that the big ones are squashed to crumbs and the small pecans break.  Imagine trying to crack those little ones with your hands...not easy.

I wanted to add a tip for cleaning the pecans.  If you don't pick out the small pieces of  hull from the meat, it gives your dish a bitter taste.  Although you can use a toothpick or small knife, I just put the shelled pecans in a zip-top baggie and shake it hard.  

The hull pieces fall off the pecan meat and sink to the bottom of the baggie.  I transfer the pecans to a clean baggie before putting them in the freezer; just be careful separating the small pieces from the hull pieces.   

For recipes for an easy pecan pie and one for pralines, click on the recipes tab above or here.  I hope you have ample opportunity to taste Louisiana pecans and to use them in your favorite recipe.

Jambalaya Recipe

As Louisianans we are lucky to have a few "home-grown" products that are easily purchased.  Many of them are a vital part of our Cajun culture.   


Because we love our Cajun foods and traditions, we tend to build product lines around them.  It would be difficult to name all the Cajun food product lines, but there are a few that I especially enjoy:  Richard's meats, Tony Chachere's seasonings, Community coffee, Savoie's roux, Steen's syrup, Tobasco hot sauces, and Zatarain's seafood boil.

While I've mentioned some specific items, the businesses sell many, many different items in addition to these.  Plus, for every business there's a whole line of tee shirts, caps, bumper stickers and other items that cater to our huge tourism market. 

Louisiana Jambalaya
1/4 pound each--smoked sausage, tasso, bacon, smoked ham cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 pound chicken, deboned and cut into bite-size
               pieces(may substitute with pork or beef)
Slap Ya Mama seasoning
2 tablespoons Savoie's roux
1/4 cup each--onions, bell pepper, celery
1 clove garlic
3 cups rice
3 tablespoons oil
6 cups water

Heat oil in deep Dutch oven, add chicken and brown, remove chicken to platter.  Cook bacon in Dutch oven until crispy, and remove to meat platter. Pour out excess fat reserving 2 tablespoons, add sausage and brown lightly, add vegetables and saute until onions are clear.  Return meat to pot, adding remaining meats, stir.  Add 1/2 water and heat to boiling.  Stir in roux, rice, seasoning, and remaining water.  Mix well and bring to boil.  Cover with lid and lower heat to slow simmer.  Cook 30-45 minutes until rice is completely cooked.  Serve while hot.

Serves 8.  Freezes well in zip-top bags and can be reheated in microwave.

Bread Pudding

I've played with a couple of recipes for making bread pudding, but I've found "the bomb," as the kids say.  This recipe is unbelievably delicious--sweet, crunchy, and flavorful.

I thought that since I love this recipe so much, I would share it with you.  Warning: It's good, but it comes with the price of calories!

Bread Pudding 

• 10 slices white bread
• 2 c granulated sugar
• 2/3 c packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 c butter or margarine
• 5 eggs
• 2 c milk
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp rum extract
• 1 c chopped pecans

Directions:

Spray 9X13 baking dish.  Cube the bread and spread in the baking dish.  Using electric mixer, blend sugars and margarine until fluffy; add eggs one at a time.  Pour in milk; add extracts mix well.  Sprinkle pecans over bread cubes.  

Carefully pour sugar mixture over bread cubes and allow bread to soak up mixture.  (I speed the process by pouring the mix into the corners and the center, then stirring the bread around so all of it gets to the puddles.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  

Fabric Addiction

That's what I'm calling my illness....a fabric addiction.  I can't seem to stop myself, although I must say I did a great job yesterday.   After all, imagine that you have the opportunity to go to a fabric shop and purchase the entire shop for one set price.  

Would you not go take a look? And, after taking a look, you see that you're getting WAY more fabric for the asking price than you'd get if you paid regular price.  The only problem is that you don't have enough for the asking price.  And the other problem is that there's lots of fabric that's, well, not usable for quilts.  What would you do then?

If you sew, you would do your very best to get as much of the "good" fabric as possible, that's exactly what you'd do.  And since I sew more than just quilts, I can use more than just quilting fabric.  I also use home dec fabrics, children's fabrics, good quality linens and silks and, well, I won't name every fabric type.  But I will say I use just about anything except the old double knit that my Ma-ma used to make her pants with.  

Remember that old heavy, hot knit that stretched in any direction and stuck to the skin not matter the season?  If your answer is "no" then you did not live during the 60's and 70's when "double de-knit" was the "in" fabric.  It was popular because it lasted forever, didn't shrink, and didn't wrinkle and came in "mod" colors.  And in the 60's and 70's every old lady who walked the earth also sewed and had a PILE of "double de-knit."  

Some of them smelled like moth balls, some like cedar and some of it just smelled like old people.  That would be the fabric but the old people smelled like their clothes.   Or their clothes smelled like them.  Either way, the smells were strong.....no, pungent....that's the word, pungent.  Whew!  I can still smell my grandmothers and aunts and every old lady I ever met as a child.  I loved those old ladies, still do in fact. But I'm not fond of "double de-knit" and I'm especially not fond of the double de-knit smells, so when I had an opportunity to buy all the knit I could ever want, I passed it up.  Yes, I did.  Perhaps I do not have a fabric addiction.  Perhaps I just simply have a passion for beautiful, natural fabrics, especially cottons.  Perhaps this story explains that truth in a simple, straightforward manner.  Perhaps not.  

However, I did walk away with three boxes of not knit and managed to pay for it, too.  The next time I have an opportunity to buy the store, I may not need to bother.  I do have lots of fabrics, after all. Yards of linen.  Piles of cottons, a full box of zippers (70+ still in the packages), thread, patterns, and my personal favorite:  this beautiful blue and gold brocade with matching buttons and thread.  Just perfect for a dressy suit!  And some people think I have an illness.....HA!

Of course, I still have fabric to sort through and put away somewhere.  That would be because I spent the rest of my day canning tomatoes--six pints and four quarts.  With onions, peppers, celery and salt in the jars, they're ready for spaghetti sauce, soups, gravy, chili, okra gumbo and anything else that could use just a little flavoring.  Already I have more put up than I had last year, so we should be good if this rain finishes off the tomato plants.  But, if we manage to squeeze a few more tomatoes into jars I'll be happy.  It turns out we like these tomatoes like salsa although it's not as flavorful.

And I almost wrapped up a quilt yesterday, as well.  I have to sew on the label, but I don't have a name for the quilt.  Here's a photo.  I could use some ideas if you have any to share.  It's my version of D9P with a quirky twist, quite modern, and quilted in a square motif.  See why I'm stuck?