Not That There's Anything Wrong With That...

 

Mon 74° | 59°

Tue 79° | 61°

Wed 76° | 61°

Thu 76° | 61°

Weather for the next 4 days according to my Google thingy. Basically a repeat of last week and the week before.

So I traipse between the raindrops this morning from my car to the office carrying my coffee mug, thermos, stitching bag, tote bag, pocketbook and shopping bag with TP & tissues for the office. No hands free for an umbrella.  The usual baggage I carry every day except for the shopping bag. I don't own a proper rain jacket for summer- I find them too hot & sweaty.

And it occurred to me:

"The Urban Sombrero"! Perfect solution! Do they really make these? Anyone know.........................?

Progress on Many Fronts....

Garden Grew:

Quaker Christmas Spot Sampler:

I had to do the reindeer twice- I had stitched with 3 rows between the legs instead of 2, not a fudge-able error. This is a lot more fun than the damn stockings.

Now it's time for me to wash dishes, then collapse on the couch in front of a fan in a puddle of sweat. Did I mention that I hate summer?

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

Yeah.....she's not wrapped too tight, that one...........didn't take but 3 Wednesdays before I forgot to post! I even had the recipe and photos saved!

Without further ado:

Broccoli Calzone

• For Two Calzones:
• One 1-lb ball of prepared pizza dough, thawed & cut in half
• 3 cups cooked broccoli florets, either frozen or fresh
• One half (about ¾ cup) finely chopped onion
• 1-1/2 cups finely chopped mushrooms (I used white button-type)
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 2 cups shredded cheese, sharp cheddar or Swiss- whatever you like, even a combination
• 4-5 slices provolone cheese
• Small amount of flour for rolling dough

Line a rectangular cookie sheet with foil & spray with Pam or use Release No-Stick foil (magic stuff!)and set aside. Set oven to preheat at 400 degrees.

Lightly flour a smooth surface, and roll out one half of dough to approximately 16” wide x 10” tall. If dough bounces back and won’t hold shape, set it aside to rest & roll second piece of dough then go back to first piece. Persevere-it WILL eventually roll out & stay in a rough rectangular shape.

In large sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook about 5 minutes until translucent. Add mushrooms and garlic, and continue sautéing until mushrooms barely start to turn brown. Salt & pepper to taste.

Drain cooked broccoli thoroughly; I even blot it dry on a couple of paper towels on the counter. Chop the broccoli roughly, to about 1” pieces, then combine with onion mixture, and remove pan from heat. Re-taste for seasoning; add more salt & pepper if necessary.

Set one rectangle of dough with long side parallel with counter. Sprinkle with half the shredded cheese, leaving about ½” edge of bare dough all around. Spread half the vegetable mixture over the cheese. Lay 2 slices of provolone side by side over vegetables, and add partial slice if necessary if a lot of filling is bare.

Turn up edge of dough closest to you over filling by about 1” or so. Turn in vertical sides (kind of like you are rolling a burrito) once, then continue rolling up from bottom edge as tightly as you can without making a mess.

Pinch dough together tightly, and tidy into smooth 12” or so cylinder of dough. Place seam side down on foil-lined baking pan. Repeat with remaining ingredients and place second roll about 3” away from first. Make a couple of 1” slashes thru the top layer of dough to allow steam to escape. I forgot this step, which is why why filling burst out.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 18 minutes, until bread is golden brown.

Cool slightly and serve.

DOH!

I forgot to post this previous picture of Quaker Christmas Sampler:

Quakery Goodness....

This is another fun stitch. Now if I'd crack the whip on my ass and get 'er done, maybe I'd be a happy girl.

Because this crappy weather is sure tweaking my Seasonal Affective Disorder.

It Ain't Easy Being...

NO- not "green".....just....being.

My stitching buddies know the long, sad, so sad it's funny story about Bob & his truck and my eyes cross just thinking about it again, so I won't bore you with it.

I meant to post last night but the 2 guacamoles were here lounged all over the living room, so I couldn't take pictures. I couldn't post Thursday night because I'm a crazy sap who can't bear to see them spending money on takeout food, so I offered to go to the supermarket for taco fixings. By the time I washed all the dishes, and listened to Bob's tales of woe, it was 9:30, and they're lounging around the living room.

So without further ado, here is photographic proof of my stitching:

Garden Grew (yay! I LOVE this piece!):

Here's a closeup of the vase of flowers I completed:

I started the next BBD stocking from February:

This is 2 lunch breaks worth of work.

I've been getting progressively more unenthusiastic about these the more I work on them. I don't know why- I love BBD stuff....well... maybe I'm drawn more to their older designs- the ones with the cute houses, for instance. So, anyway, I came across this in Cranberry Cross Stitch (plug for Deb) at stitching night:

"Christmas Sampler" by Ewe & Eye & Friends. It's just a little (5" x 5"-ish) Quaker-like spot sampler. I've been toying with the Mary Wigham SAL project, and Wanda is doing "Spirit of Vierlande"- her colorway is stunning. I figured this little thing will re-boot my stitching mojo, so I can get Garden finished and those damn stockings out of my bag. I kind of want to start one of my Long Dogs and while exiled to my bedroom the other night, I went stash diving and came across this:

I'd get help from the S&B girls about colors- I don't think I want an entirely monochromatic look.

Well, I'm killing time until the farrier ("rockstar" in sing-song voice!) comes this afternoon. Time well spent stitching....

Happy Needles!

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

I had made a pork roast two Sundays ago, with rice as a side dish. The two amigos were jonesing for fast food for the next couple of days, so I ended up throwing the leftover meat & rice into the freezer to deal with later. Pork Fried Rice has always stymied me- it just never tastes as good as a restaurant version when I cook it at home. I found this recipe, and this wasn't too bad. Still not as good as Tiki Buddha (insert your favorite Chinese restaurant name), but tasty and it used up those pesky leftovers:

Pork Fried Rice

SERVES 4

2-3 cups cooked rice, preferably refrigerated leftover(I used plain white rice cooked with chicken broth)

1 cup pork, cooked and diced (substitute cooked chicken if desired)

1/2 large onion, diced

1-1/2 cups broccoli slaw mix (prepackaged combination of shredded broccoli, carrots & cabbage)

2 TBSP soy sauce

2 TBSP hoisin sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil

2 TBSP canola or peanut oil

In small bowl, combine soy sauce, hoisin sauce and sesame oil and set aside.

Heat canola oil in wok over med-high to high heat. Add onion and slaw mix and stir-fry 2-3 minutes or until onion starts to become translucent. Add pork, and stir-fry 2-3 minutes more. Add rice and stir-fry 3-4 minutes, until heated thru. Pour soy sauce mixture over rice and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Serve.

Next time I'll try adding a small thumb size piece of fresh, minced ginger root to see if that lends that restaurant flavor.

Another One Bites the Dust....

The first February BBD stocking is done:

40 ct linen & GAST "Cherry Bark". Call me cwazy, but I think that DMC 4210 would have been much more Valentine-y.

Just to Tide you over.....

until I make a Real post:

Gratuitous Chicken cuteness:

Looking for handouts!

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

Let's give this a try: I'll try to post a good recipe I've made (as in, cooked up) every (we'll see....!) Wednesday!

Anna at Cookie Madness posted this a few days ago. They were excellent- I may never buy boxed mix again, they were just as easy to prepare as boxed, and you probably have all the ingredients right in your cupboard! Check out Anna's post for her comments about the brownies, and while you're there, peruse her other recipes- a lot have become favorites of mine.

Hershey’s Deep Dish Brownies

1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup HERSHEY’S cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F . Line an 8 inch square metal pan with foil and grease only the bottom.

Combine melted butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating gently until well mixed – don’t overbeat or the brownies won’t be as tender. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until brownies appear set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. About 16 brownies. Or 9 if you love brownies.

Let Me out!

So I barn-sat Saturday night- Jodi's daughter got married. I also had to watch Jodi's 3 dogs, plus her daughter's 2-year-old chocolate lab. I think Bruschi (the lab) needs some Ritalin.

On Sunday morning, after I put chicken legs & meatballs into 2 different crockpots in Jodi's kitchen, and cleaned stalls, I dropped my cell into the toilet, luckily BEFORE I had used it. So I was unable to receive Jodi's call that her BIL & wife were on their way, Jodi's daughter having asked her parents to host a post-wedding cookout on Sunday.  I was able to go home when Jodi & her husband arrived about 10:00 AM, about 45 minutes after the BIL, who wasn't too keen on 3 huge and 1 little dog jumping all over their car. I called Bob to tell him I was calling from my house phone and the sad accident with my cell.

HE arrived about 30 minutes later and spent the afternoon. I reinserted my phone battery & viola! It worked! I took it apart again to let it completely dry. After he left, I fiddled on the computer (jig saw puzzle!) for a couple of hours, then loaded up laundry for the laundromat (trying to conserve well water). On the way out the door, I considered taking my phone, but didn't want to stop & put it together again, telling myself that Bob would have called if he was having trouble, and he knew to call my house phone if my cell wasn't working.

I got back around 6:10, and my house phone rang. It was Bob, who confessed that it had been so long that he had called my house (we've been using cell phones for the past 6 years- free calls), he had to call information for the number, AND try to remember my street name when he couldn't get thru on my cell.

His truck had overheated on his way home about 15 minutes away, and couldn't reach me or his son, so he walked the mile or so back to a gas station for water, then back to his car again. Mind you, he's got one foot in a cast and an oxygen tank. You'd think someone would have stopped.

So I feel like shit because I didn't have my call on or with me. But why he couldn't just look at his phone for my earlier call is beyond me. I told him I was calling from my house phone because my cell didn't work. Well, actually it isn't beyond me: it just goes to prove that men DON'T listen when we girls talk.

And that's the summation of my weekend.

The Closer resumes tonight- yay for original content TV!

Today is National Donut Day!

Grab a free one today!

 

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM..............donuts!

Alphabet...

No "Garden"-ing this week. :^(

But more on the February stocking:

This one is coming along quickly. I'm needing to get back to Garden Grew though. i just love that one. *Sigh*

Emily's been riding her horse. Her ankle doesn't seem to be bothering her, it's just swollen where it shouldn't be. There's no heat in it (no infection) so I'm thinking maybe a bug bite of some kind?

TTFN

Food Related

If you're ever hankering  for cornbread, but don't have the cornmeal on hand, pick up a box of this:

It wasn't Jeanne's most awesomest corn muffins, but it was an excellent substitute. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and you're good to go.

If I can just find the end...

I'd be rich!

This was the aftermath of Sunday evenings thunderstorms:

There's just the barest hint of a double rainbow that wasn't apparent in real life.

Here's a closer view of the more prominent one:

Sundry Items...

I finished the 3rd March stocking:

Blackbird Designs March stocking:40ct linen w/ GA & WDW & CC threads

Here's the start of the first February stocking:

I just finished washing my six plastic lawn chairs. I offered to let Jodi borrow them- she's having a bunch of people over Sunday afternoon- her daughter's after wedding/on the way home party.

Why the chairs at the bottom of the stack were filthiest, is beyond me.