QuiLTiNG FoR a CuRe :o)

What's Your Stitch'n Stuff (the link to their website can be found here: http://www.whatsyourstitchnstuff.com/ ) hosted it's 2nd Annual Quilt Pink weekend! The quilts that are being put together this weekend are phenomenal and I can't wait to see the finished products :o) I just love the fabric and block selections! These quilts, beautifully constructed, will be given to be sold at auction with proceeds going towards breast cancer research. Some of these quilts from the previous year can be found here http://www.ebay.com/quiltpink

I'm including some photographs that I took of the quilting in progress. The block today was a 'Friendship Star' and the colors remind me of cotton candy and candy apples :o) It is such a beautiful quilt top, it's hard to believe that it will be even more beautiful once it is complete with backing and binding!

All throughout Hampton Roads various shops, such as scrapbooking and quilting shops, are hosting similar 'Pink' weekends. Check out Beach Scrapbooks http://www.beachscrapbooks.com/ . Whether you are scrapbooking or quilting or using any other craft medium, you will find yourself in good company! I have always noticed that people that create from the heart naturally give of the heart and I am very thankful for that :o) Over the steady hum of the sewing machine motors, the conversations reflect the genuine thoughtfulness and caring that you would expect of such a wonderful group of people.

Friday's fabric combination:



Photographs from today's session:




'Survivor Sunday' fabric selections:


(A special visitor is scheduled to stop by! This day is for survivors of breast cancer! Congratulations to you all!)

As you know, with good company inevitably comes good food and these ladies did not disappoint me :o) I took a couple of photographs of some of the dishes on the menu today. Absolutely delicious! Now I just need some of the recipes and my 'Quilt Pink' experience will be complete :o) Everything was so delicious! I wish I could include photos of everything but I would then be here all night and into the next day :o).





What a great cause to support! If you love to quilt or would like to learn, those are two of the very best reasons to visit this store (located in the heart of Kempsville in the Kemps River Crossing shopping center). There are also walks/runs benefitting various worthy causes and my hat's off to you for any and all efforts towards that end.

aMeRiCaN / aSiaN FuSioN...

I am going to attempt to entice you to try something and let's not laugh, shall we?

My mom is filipina and for as long as I can remember, she used to make aMeRiCaN FRieD RiCe :o) Sound a little strange? It is so delicious and you can do anything you want when it comes to this, swap ingredients in and out, your choice.

My mothers' recipe called for bacon, hot dogs, eggs, rice and soy sauce. I added minced garlic, onions(sometimes green, mostly your everyday variety of yellow). You can change it to suit your tastes. Feel free to experiment with the meats, use ham if you like!

The only trick to fried rice is you have to use rice that has been sitting in the refrigerator for at least a day. The rice tends to separate faster (because the rice kernels have crystallized a bit) when you pre-separate it in preparation for the stir fry. If you try to use freshly cooked rice then it will definitely clump up and gunk up and YUCK! I also use jasmine rice for all my asian meals. I just love the way it smells and tastes. I have several different rice varieties in my pantry at any given time and jasmine is definitely my most consumed.

First you saute the bacon until it is done and then crumble it. Most of the time I precut the bacon, I find it cooks a bit faster and then the pieces are more uniform. Then I remove the bacon, set aside, along with most of the bacon grease in a separate bowl for disposal but I do leave a little grease to fry the hot dogs in. The hot dogs I precut into half and then quarters lengthwise and then cubes and toss in and fry till slightly crispy. I then remove that and take a couple of beaten eggs and add it to the skillet and I start moving the spatula around right away. It makes the eggs stay a little more separate so you don't have such large chunks of eggs. Once the eggs have just set, I add the chopped onions to the skillet and then the reserved hot dogs and bacon and some freshly minced garlic. Lastly I add the rice and lightly add a little soy sauce to season. I am not one for dousing rice with soy sauce and I always use lower sodium.

Here is a photo for your viewing pleasure! It does sound a bit strange but it's a great way to use up leftover rice. I hope you give it a try sometime, see if you like it!



(btw, my favorite fried rice is garlic fried rice and I get it from one of the local filipino restaurants in the area! I love it! The secret...use LOTS OF MINCED GARLIC!)

GooGLe iS a GiRL'S BeST FRieND...

I love 'googling' things! I 'google' EVERYTHING! Especially recipes :o)

Today I 'google'd' lavash pizzas and PING!!! Up comes Life's a Picnic blog with a great recommendation for Jacques Pépin's 'fast food my way'.

It really got me thinking! So today I made a couple of the lavash flatbread pizzas to go with our salad and gnocchi alla gorgonzola (all effort for the gnocchi compliments of Trader Joe's, my Pampered Chef Microcooker and my advantium microwave).



For the salad I used leftover french bread to make some homemade croutons ( a technique I learned A LONG LONG TIME AGO from watching a show called 'Caprial's Cafe' with Chef Caprial Pence). I would highly recommend making these croutons instead of buying them. Using day old french bread for this is a great way to avoid waste.) Simply cube the bread and heat some extra virgin olive oil in a skillet and drop the bread in, tossing quickly to evenly coat with olive oil. Be sure not to use too much oil, you are lightly coating, not soaking the cubes. I then sprinkle the cubes, once they are coated and starting to toast, with garlic powder and your choice of seasonings. I like basil, dried is absolutely fine in this case. A pinch of sea salt and you are done! Well worth the extra step and I always have to watch that someone is not having salad with their croutons :o) instead of the other way around!

For the dressing, I used the Pampered Chef Mix N Pour thingamabob. The one you use to mix dressing in and it neatly has the measurements on the side with the recipe. I made the Italian dressing using balsamic vinegar from Modena and added a little more garlic... you can never have too much garlic! Mix, mix, mix and you're done!


Back to the lavash pizza, I made a pepperoni one with fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella/parmegiano reggiano cheese. I was riveted when I saw Jacques Pépin's recipe for 'pico de gallo'. This is one of my favorite spanish condiments and I thought... if it's good alone as a condiment, then it would be AWESOME as a version of pizza :o) So I made some 'pico de gallo' per Jacques Pépin's website and used that to top the lavash along with some shredded colby jack cheese on one and pepper jack on the other. Can you say FANTASTICO!?!?! It was delicious and hubby was very impressed and it was pretty effortless! Genius! Here is the trio :o) Clockwise: Pico de gallo lavash with colby/jack, pepperoni lavash with fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella and pico de gallo lavash with pepper jack.


Here is a picture of the Pico de Gallo lavash pizza with pepper jack cheese.

You can find videos/recipes here http://www.kqed.org/w/jpfastfood/home.html for the lavash pizza and pico de gallo and some really delicious and simple fast food dishes! I have always enjoyed watching Jacques Pépin with Julia Childs but this takes cooking to a whole other level :o) Very delish!

Thanks 'Picnic Guy' (I realize this was a very old blog I stumbled upon but... thanks :o) ) It's people like you that keep the 'what's for dinner' train going :O)

Remember, if you like something a lot then chances are you are going to love it in other ways :o)

oVeR THe BaY aND THRouGH THe TuNNeL...

To NeWPoRT NeWS We Go!

To Trader Joe's and World Market again! I'm seeing a 12 step program in the making :o)

I got a lot of goodies on our ;o) recent trip! What great company, what a fantastic day!

I'm including a few pictures of some of the goodies I got :o) Yes, this is all my stuff! You counted right, 5 PACKAGES OF TORTILLAS! I couldn't resist, they are so delicious...you can't eat just one! (can I say that?)

I also bought some lavash for some flat bread pizzas :o) You can even see the makings of an adult version of spaghetti-o's! Very delish and so merciful on days when you don't. feel. like. cooking. :o) Speaking of pizzas... how about that great pizza dough and garlic herb pizza dough they sell? I'll let you know how it all turns out :o) believe me... I will :o)

I also picked up a couple more boxes of truffles from World Market. I'm so glad they still had these... I was very nervous with heart palpitations and everything! (oh wait... that wasn't me! LOL!)

So here it is, a treasure trove of goodies and I'm already planning my next trip up there! In the meantime, I think I'll indulge in a truffle or two and count my blessings :o)