Improv Modern Baby Quilt (a quilt for Nibbler)

We've enjoyed lots of special visits with dear family and friends recently - a precious wedding, celebrating a new house, a potluck reunion on a lawn with old friends, walks and playdates and water adventures and more - all kicking our summer off to a most lovely start.

There's another big family event coming soon - "Nibbler," my little neice or nephew, is due in July - and we are all beside ourselves with excitement.  I knew I wanted to make a special little quilt for the newest family member, and dreamed up this idea while I was teaching an improv class earlier this spring.  

I went with a giant stitch-and-flip project, with each white block measuring 9 inches. The final quilt measures about 33" square.  

I love that it looks like just one quilt square!  I've seen a few other quilts that have taken traditional patterns and enlarged them, but this is my first time trying.  It won't be my last.  I am thrilled with how it turned out!

The back is a VERY light green-polka-dot-on-white (that barely shows up unless you're looking for it).

And the quilting - well, I tried something new.  It certainly came together quickly - just up and down loops across each block, with the opposite direction in each colored triangle.  This was a fun one!

Alright, Nibbler - we can't wait to meet you!

What To Do With Too-Small Onesies

I've been in a massive cleaning and purging mode over the last few weeks, which has felt AWESOME.  One thing I've run into though is too much of one thing (baby onesies that don't fit a growing-taller baby, for example) and not enough of another thing (t-shirts that don't swallow said baby whole).

So I had the idea - why not just upcycle onesies into toddler t-shirts?

No sewing required.

Just snip straight across the bottom of onesie ... aaaaaaand, you're done.  Because onesies are made of knit fabric, they don't fray.  They'll roll up a bit with wash and wear, but won't come unraveled.  

You know I hate throwing anything possibly useful away.  So, thanks to an idea from my neighbor, the leftover bottom parts of the onesies are now going to be fine motor skill training experiences.  I trimmed off the excess fabric and left just the thick trim with the snaps.  Big Sister will LOVE this on our next car ride, I just know it.  Snap, unsnap, snap, unsnap, snap, unsnap.  I bet it will keep her occupied for at least 3 1/2 minutes.

Our CSA (Alternative)

I love the idea of a CSA ("Community Supported Agriculture") box - a farm subscription for a season that provides us with fresh and local produce while at the same time gives a farm a reliable source of income.  Seriously - I love it.

Kale buds: yummy on salads.  Also, very random.

But we've never done a CSA before.  Instead, we came up with an idea last summer that works for us.  I like to think of it as my CSAlternative.  A bonus is that we have a little more autonomy over what we get each week, and we don't have to shell out hundreds of dollars up front for things we may or may not really want.

We take $20 per week out of our grocery budget and put it in a farmer's market budget.  (I literally do this with cash ... I find that I like the more tangible presence or absence of cash when it comes to budgeting).  Every weekend, we go to our little market and make ourselves spend our money.  To be quite honest, it was a little tough at first ... $4 for a head of lettuce made me want to shriek in agony.  But we made ourselves get on board with spending our cash - because, after all, it is farmer's market money ... just a few dollars here and there throughout the market, until we were out of money and had a few new things to try.

It definitely doesn't get us through the whole week, or let us try everything we might see.  But it does make it possible for us to be consistent at a farmer's market on a pretty tight food budget.  And $20 is pretty do-able, right?

It's worked out nicely that if we travel, we can just try a different farmer's market.  In the winter, we spent our market cash on other local goodies (or hot chocolate from the cafe near the market).

It's just a little thing, but it's worked for us.  Maybe one day we'll venture into joining a real CSA, but for now we're satisfied with our alternative.

The Story Behind Unconvenience

This business of going all "Unconvenienced" started with a coffee pot.

Or, more precisely, without a coffee pot.  Once upon a time, our nice high-end wedding present of a coffee maker got a short in it and went on the fritz (i.e., it started melting from the inside of the display and caught ever so slightly on fire before we unplugged it).  At the time, the Mister was in graduate school, I had quit working to stay home with our kiddo, and we didn't have the space in our budget to replace said coffee maker.  So like any resourceful outdoor enthusiasts would do, we raided our bin of camping gear and resurfaced with a sturdy french press.

Sure, making coffee with a french press required more time and energy than we had spent on coffee prep before.  But the coffee was SO good (noticeably, outrageously delicious) that we decided we didn't mind the extra steps it took.  There was something we actually enjoyed about taking some steps "backwards" - that is, away from the nice convenience of a coffee pot with a timer and brew strength button - that made it feel like more of an accomplishment and less of a hassle.

That was the start of the Unconvenient for us.

We hear that it's good to "unwind" after a stressful time, that occasionally "unplugging" from technology is helpful ... so, reaching for the "Unconvenient" isn't really that much of a stretch.  Unconvenient - not inconvenient, but Unconvenient.  Backing away from Convenient.

There are so many things that I assume have to be a certain way - how I buy my groceries and prepare food, for example - that Unconveniencing myself requires something to jolt me out of my routine (like a coffee pot catching slightly on fire) and finding other - possibly slower or harder - alternatives.

Don't read into this too much to think that I believe Convenience is bad.  I LOVE my washing machine, a grocery store where I can buy produce and packaging tape at the same time, and a car to get around in.  But my two little words for this year - "intentional" and "simple" - have got me thinking that quicker is not always simpler, and more often than not convenience is the enemy of my intentionality.

Oddly enough, I think some of the Unconveniences in my life that make me slow down or spend more time on things are really, really great ... because they make me slow down and spend more time on things.  

So, there you have it: the Unconvenient Truth.

PS.  Also, this is not a rage against coffee makers.  I love coffee from any source.  And I would love to have a cup with you sometime, friend.

Pasta Aglio e Olio (Pasta with Garlic and Olive Oil)

from The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces by Diane Seed

1 lb. spaghetti (or other pasta - as you can see, I used egg noodles here)
salt
6 Tbsp. olive oil
5 cloves garlic
1 small chili pepper
parsley, optional

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water, following the directions on the packet to avoid overcooking.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and add the garlic (I have found that a lower temperature is better - I'd say go for medium-low heat).  This is either left whole and removed before serving or it is finely chopped and not removed (I take the second approach).  Add the chili pepper which has been cut into 3 or 4 pieces, cook until the garlic is golden brown.

The moment the pasta is ready, drain it and put into a large serving bowl.  Remove the chili and garlic (if left whole) from the oil and pour the sizzling oil over the pasta, stirring well.  There must be sufficient oil to coat every strand of pasta and make it slippery and shiny.  Add chopped parsley if desired and serve immediately.

Confession: I thought that I had posted this months ago, and then I went looking for it and realized I had been depriving you!  I am so sorry.  I'm trying to make amends though.

This is a quick and relatively easy meal that I literally threw together the other night in about 20 minutes.  The most challenging part (for me) is finely chopping garlic, but that's it!  Oh, the other part is explaining to people you might see after you eat a bowl full of this why you smell so garlicky delicious.

If you happen to have extras around - say, some grape tomatoes, chopped/cooked chicken, or olives - this sauce is very accomodating.  Of course, some would say it's not "aglio e olio" anymore when you add that, but I'll let you call it what you want.  It's that simple, though - heat garlic in oil, pour it on pasta, and stir it up.  Now you see why I needed to share this, right?

Handwritten Recipes: Aunt Viola's Heirloom Banana Bread

In case you're wondering, the 'i' in 'Viola' is a long vowel sound - not like the instrument.  Say it with me: "Vie-OH-lah."  Yes, that's it.  Aunt Viola was my great great aunt, my great-grandmother's sister.  This recipe has made its way to my hands via my most excellent cousin Becky.  She knows me well (for proof, look closely at what's in parenthesis beside the chocolate chips in the ingredient list).  Cousin Becky, you're a winner.  

Aunt Viola's Heirloom Banana Bread

1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick butter
1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
4 mashed bananas, frozen then thawed (this is extremely important.  Don't you dare use fresh bananas)
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. nuts (optional)
1/2 c. chocolate chips (not optional)

Mix until well blended.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Pour in greased loaf pan.  Bake at 350 about 1 hour or until cooked through.

What's been keeping us busy, you ask?  Besides, of course, making and eating banana bread, naturally. 

 

Well, things like this: a 17-month old who's chatty and likes to pull books off of shelves (and then smiles a melting smile and flashes those blue eyes) - and preparing for my first ever CRAFT FAIR on Saturday 4/26 - and getting a community garden plot (20'x20' of local investment!) - and trying to firm up some farmer's market plans.  Oh, and neighbors and friends and visitors from out of town and local restaurants and spring time and surprise snows and kids.

Just a few little things.  But there's always time for family, and Aunt Viola's banana bread.  Naturally.

Handwritten Recipes: Chicken Potpie

This recipe comes from my friend Sara in Virginia - she's also got two little girls and a knack for the handmade!  She posts on a 52-week project blog called Rocktree Creations (it makes my little heart pretty happy).  Thanks for sharing, Sara!

Chicken Potpie - A traditional Pennsylvania Dutch dish from the More with Less Cookbook (this is more like chicken and dumplings than a casserole, just so you know ...)

Cook in a large kettle until tender:
1 large chicken fryer
2-3 qt. water
salt and pepper
Remove chicken, cool, and remove meat from bones.

Prepare vegetables:
2-3 potatoes, cubed
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 c. parsley, chopped

Prepare potpie dough:
Combine 2 c. flour and 1/4 c. salt
Cut in 1 Tbsp. lard or shortening or butter
Add 1/4 c. water and 1 large egg, slightly beaten.
Mix to form a ball.  Cover and let stand 15 minutes.

Add vegetables and meat to broth.  Cook until vegetables are tender.  On a floured surfact roll out dough as thin as possible, cut into 1 1/2" squares, and drop into broth.  Cook 5-10 min and serve.

First of all, the use of the word "kettle" in the directions meant that I couldn't wait to make this one.  Not a pot, or even a stockpot ... nope, a kettle.  So, I found myself a kettle and cooked away.  The resulting soup was delicious and really hearty - and just so simple!  I love simple.  And REAL!  All this talk about "real food" as if it's a new fad - nope, it's been going on for ages.

Back to the recipe.  If I needed a shortcut, I would boil chicken pieces instead of a whole chicken - either thighs (because I love dark meat) or boneless skinless chicken breasts (because of ease).  The potpie dough was a little salty - 1/4 cup of salt will make that happen - but we like salty here so we went with it.  I think next time though I might add a tablespoon or two less.  But because there's not any salt added anywhere else in the recipe (except for boiling the chicken), it does add flavor to the rest of the soup.

I know, I know - it's not soup season anywhere else in the world - except for New England.  We've had some really lovely days, and some chillier days.  We're still waiting on the trees to bud, actually.  Not a leaf in sight in my neighborhood, folks.  All the snow is gone (thankfully) but we're still waiting on spring!  So, bring on the potpie!