Roasted Radishes and Other March Projects

Hi! I suppose I should tell you all about the roasted radishes first? I mentioned them last week, and was so intrigued! I had to try.
The verdict is: ''interesting''.
They are pretty and pink, they are pleasant, and as my dad always said when we'd be ooohing and aaaahing over the first artichokes of spring---"Anything is delicious if you put enough lemon butter on it." 

The roasted radishes are translucent and bland, rather like  peeled over-steamed zucchini? On the other hand, the roasted parsnips were delicious, almost caramelized and quite tasty, think plantains. Verdict? Radishes are best crisp and cold with a smidge of salt, maybe some goat cheese to go with.

....
Oh no! I lost the photos of one of my big quilting accomplishments! I finished piecing [not quilted!] Dotty 365. She went together so easily and well. It was very fun.

Here I am auditioning borders. I used the black and white Pencils, as originally planned.

Even my daughter said Dotty is cool! She enjoyed finding her birthday circle and other dates like 4th of July and Mo's adoption day. The backing will be a very large scale text print. I love everything about Dotty, really was a great project.

Then I also finished When the Wild Geese Fly. [top only, not quilted]

Just as planned I sat there on a few rainy days and sewed the 147+ Wild Geese spacer blocks.

This is a new to me method. It makes four Geese at a time with almost no mental effort. If you pay even a smidge of attention you can sew many chained together, it was wonderful! Addicting!

But then.
To put the top together. Never in all my sewing years have a seen a commercial pattern so badly planned--or  maybe just unplanned.

Nothing went together entirely, it was exhausting. The good news was, the parts mostly did fit, in their jigsaw puzzle kind of way.

Here I'm again auditioning inner borders but in the end I went with scrappy plaid borders, no inner border.

The Basket will be embroidered with  my name.

Date on top of Cottage roof. My good friend L does my necessary embroidery for me because I hate doing embroidery and she is so good at it.

The original pattern quilt was very brown. I'm pleased with my orange and blues instead.

book cover but not quilt
You can see the original colors though here.

I enjoyed this project so much--- especially the searches for and utilization of the needed plaid shirts, and the no pressure, no deadline, no race to the finish-ness of it---everything except the final assembling, which , though annoying and odd, wasn't as bad as designs that don't fit together.

So okay. Another top done.

I ordered a brown and blue flannel plaid for its backing. If I decide I don 't like it, I'll go with my first, too $$$ choice Fireflies in Mason jars, navy flannel. here

Both will go to my quilter in a few months.
I did not get anywhere with Westering Women! The Corn and Beans block has me stalled. And Monday when I saw my Pineapples, for Fall Festival, online I realized they are crooked. A redo may be in order! The pattern also has crooked pineapples, so I'll draft my own pattern and sew one up, see if it's an improvement or not. I also made my swap doll quilt but I will wait to show it to you til the swap reveal day, I think. Fingers crossed! Hope its recipient is pleased...

love

lizzy

gone to the beach


PS We has heavy rain and fog today again, couldn't even see the beach from the house. Mo wanted to stay in bed all day.

But poor baby had a  spa date in the groomer van. He loves the groomer because she gives him wonderfully disgusting chicken jerky as a reward.
Clearing skies at sunset.........

Returning

Hello on this blustery March day! It's a bit warmer but the cold gusts are still blowing through the cracks in my old window frames.  

The other day I went down to the beach to see if my Oystercatcher birds had arrived on schedule. They return every year on St. Patrick's Day. And there they were, prompt as ever despite the cold and the blizzard that wasn't earlier in last week.

The boardwalk has been partially re-installed, so I was able to hike down to the beach.

It doesn't look any lower, though, too bad.

It's such a thrill for me, every March, to climb over the dune and there they are! These funny brave birds, who make this their nesting ground and summer home.

They are tired and shy when they arrive. No close up pictures allowed.

This pair was in its spot to the west, the female broody and the male trying to distract me, even though I stayed far away. Note the awful and dangerous large truck tracks! So distressing.

Oystercatchers may live as long as 15 to 20 years, so these are apparently my usual little friends. By midsummer, if I am able to visit them they'll allow me to come closer [but not too close!].
They like the big expanse of open beach for their nests; they can see predators from far away.

I counted about 15 Oystercatchers, most far far away, and perhaps a few were small gulls? But a good count anyway. I am very pleased.
Here is perhaps? Gully!

There were lots of footprints/ bird tracks along the edges of the dunes. I thought they were crow tracks. We have many crows every spring. I believe they are fish crows who nest in the marsh.

 But this looks like an oystercatcher try-out nest! So I'll have to keep watching.

I also spied rabbit tracks and other small tracks, maybe possums or dune rats? There was a hawk hovering too, he thought those tracks meant ''dinner'', I suppose.

On the way home I noticed the neighbors' andromeda bush is blooming. It's the first shrub to bloom and is very hardy at the ocean edge.

Indoor note: a friend gave me this very beautiful frame last summer. I couldn't do much with it at the time, but in a burst of spring home doings, I added small watercolors , from my beach journal books.

I like it, though my kids weren't impressed, hahaha.

I hope you have a good weekend and can get out in the fresh air, despite the cold! Look for signs of spring? This is from my brother---spring wildflowers near his desert home. Isn't it lovely! Someday....

love, 

lizzy,  

gone to the beach...

Let's Try This Again ~ Cooking, Quilting

Hello! One of my favorite sayings from an old sampler [supposedly] is "I DONE MY BEST jane smith aged 11 years". It makes me laugh, in  sympathy for the child of long ago. I know just how she felt, the urge to just say, this is good enough.
The crucial question is, did I really do my best or am I just getting by?  I know nothing can be perfect, but some things are worth trying again. And again. As Tom Gunn says, Make it work! [My other fave saying.]
So first we have the Log Cabin / Schoolhouse block from When the Wild Geese Fly.
Version One. Awful. I blamed poor Jan Patek's pattern.

Version Two. I drafted my own pattern. Okay, harder than it looks. And really ugly, below. In our defense I will say this quilt block is usually pieced, and I have done so with no issues. Even made a miniature one once with 2" blocks. But this applique version is not good.

My friend Mel said something about how she never liked that block anyway. Which I don't agree with, I love it!---but that made me think : Yes I want a cabin/ cottage/ house in that spot; No, it need not be an [ugly] Schoolhouse.
This is Version Three. It's, well, okay. A Cape Cod cottage, maybe on the marsh where the geese are huddled, preparing for their autumn flight.

Geese here migrate to the golf course and the soccer fields. But the big Vs of honking geese are beautiful and evocative and wild, in my imagination.
Does it work? Maybe

.........

Now with cooking, do-overs are easier and more fun. You'll maybe recall my bland and boring cauliflower ''pilaf'' from a few weeks ago. It was edible, but disappointing. Not a hint of rice's nutty goodness and why I expected that is a mystery. Cauliflower tastes like, uh, cauliflower. This didn't stop me from buying another bag of the grated cauli and---again listening to Mel---I made her delicious version of faux twice baked cauli.

Here is her description, edited a little,because she kept adding info:

 Mel's Twice Baked Cauli Casserole

It's like twice-baked potatoes. 

Cook cauliflower lightly and break up. 

Mix in melted butter, sour cream, some green onion, bacon bits, and shredded cheddar. 

Mix well, and put in baking dish. 

Top with a bit of cheese and bake (or microwave) until hot through and cheese is melted.

    ****

I used the pre-grated cauli  crumbles  microwaved in the bag 3 minutes.

Added cheddar [reserve some for topping] , green onions*, sour cream, butter. Salt and pepper to taste.
* I didn't have green onions, used regular minced. But I think green onions / scallions would be extra tasty plus adding a bit of pretty green.

Don't forget the bacon bits!

I  baked the casserole for 20 minutes at 350*, then added some reserved cheddar . Baked it 3 minutes more til the cheese melted.

This was delicious! We gobbled up the whole thing. I served it with a green salad and lemon/ thyme grilled chicken breasts, though I personally don't eat chicken and the cauli casserole and salad was a delightfully hot savory and filling, though not lo-cal, meal. Easy to make too.
I picture this being really wonderful with steaks, too, just like regular twice baked potatoes are. Yum!
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Sky note: the air is suddenly chilly now, the wind is blustery at times. And sunsets are coming ever earlier these on these October days. Too early but so beautiful---an amber orange glow fills the cloudless sky.

Have a great week!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach......