Another Little Finish

Good morning, and Happy Spring, my friends! And Happy Worldwide Quilting Day!! While y'all are celebrating today, I'll be doing housework. If you must know, there is still nothing accomplished on the housework front. Absolutely, I must do some today. Erik and Mae are coming tomorrow to meet up and visit a winery. I can't have my oldest child seeing us living in a house that hasn't been cleaned since November, now can I? What kind of parents would we be?

For some reason I woke up tired yesterday. I slept well, and for a good number of hours, but I think the pain in my shoulder probably disturbs my sleep more than I realize. I kept drinking coffee to perk myself up, but finally succumbed to a two-hour nap after lunch, and I felt much better for it. Still, it was a relatively productive day. As I mentioned, I quilted the little red and white mini I'm calling "Mini Spinners." I made the quilt top while we were traveling. I like working on the minis in the limited space of the RV.

It didn't take long to quilt it, and then I added the binding.

Now it's all finished. I'm going to use it as a little mat to put some containment on all the little items that end up at my bedside table.

Here's how it looks from the back.

The only other sewing I did yesterday was to finish up the top portion of the "Bee Brave" stitchery.

Just the words and the frame around them are left, and this should stitch up pretty quickly.

I switched out all my little runners and table toppers yesterday. It's sort of like housework, right? This little "Bunny Quartet" is on our dining room table. It's a free pattern available in the Moda Bakeshop.

This next one is on our breakfast bar. It was a gift from my friend, Marei.

This little "Bunny Garden" wall-hanging hangs on the wall in my kitchen. The pattern is from Lynette Anderson. I just love her stuff. The snail and carrot buttons are also available on her website.

Also, I tried a new recipe for last night's dinner. This turned out to be a good one, and made in the slow cooker...always a bonus. This is Slow Cooker Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup.

The original recipe was found in the NYTimes. I've modified it just slightly, and so I can share it with you here. I used beef stock instead of chicken or veggie stock. I had some homemade beef stock on hand, and so that's what I used. You could make this a vegetarian dish by using veggie stock. Also, I added a tablespoon of worcestershire at the end. It was salty enough, but something was missing. The worcestershire added a little more depth of flavor, but you might like it without. Taste it before adding anything and see what you think. Also, before you cook it, you'll think you have too many mushrooms. They'll release liquid as they cook, and there will be plenty when it's finished. So here's how I did it:

Slow Cooker Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup

adapted from the NYTimes

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

¼ cup all-purpose flour

5 cups vegetable, beef, or chicken stock, plus more as needed

¼ cup dry white wine (see Tip)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire

2 pounds cremini mushrooms, stems removed and quartered

1 cup wild rice (about 6 ounces)

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

1 small yellow or red onion, grated or minced

1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped

6 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped

3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Kosher salt and black pepper

½ cup sour cream

Chopped scallions or chives and fresh dill, for topping

Directions:

Put the butter in a microwave-safe container (a liquid measuring cup works well) and microwave until the butter is completely melted, 30 seconds to 1 minute. With a fork, whisk the flour into the butter to make a smooth mixture the texture of cake batter, then microwave until the roux is steaming hot and bubbling slightly around the edges, about 30 seconds.

Scrape the roux into a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker and whisk in the stock, wine and worchestershire. Stir in the mushrooms, wild rice, celery, onion, carrot, chopped garlic, thyme and garlic powder. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and several generous grinds of black pepper. Cook on high until most of the rice grains are just slightly split open and the vegetables are tender, about 4 hours. (The soup can hold for 1 to 2 hours on the warm setting, but eventually the wild rice will overcook.)

Turn the heat to warm. Put the sour cream in a small bowl and slowly whisk in a few spoonfuls of the hot soup until smooth, then stir the mixture into the soup. (This prevents the sour cream from separating.) If you’d like the soup to be thinner, whisk in warm broth or water to the desired consistency. Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper to taste.

Divide the soup among bowls and top with chopped scallions or chives and dill. Reheat any leftovers on low until warm. (Boiling can cause the sour cream to break.)

* * * * *

With so much rain, the kitties were on their in-and-out setting. Finally, they gave up. Smitty didn't mind. He thinks a quilt lying on our living room recliner makes an enviable napping place, and that's where he spent most of the afternoon.

I took my cues from him and joined him on the couch.

Okay, so today...no nonsense. I'm doing housework. And I'm baking a tart. And if I can finish all that, I'll start working on my "Color Theory" challenge piece.