A Finished Flimsy

Good morning, my friends. It's a bright and sunny day here. We're expecting good weather for the rest of the week. The soaking rains of the past week have been appreciated, but we're ready for a return to what remains of summer. 

My sewing day was full yesterday. I was determined to finish the quilt top for It Takes a Village. Smitty was my reluctant sewing cat yesterday. He really wanted to be outside killing something.

He had the job the day before, but what are you going to do with your relief cat looks like this? 

Yeah. She was being lazy and shirking her very impurrtent respawnsibilities.

So my first task was to sew the remaining two rows together...

And then sew them to the top four rows.

Then, I added a solid black border.

About then, this lazy cat showed up.

May I be excused?

Sure, Buddy. You can go. Sadie came to help me decide on a border fabric. She purrfurs this one. I have enough to do the back as well. With all that color, this seemed the obvious choice.

And so I added that, and my quilt top was finished. Ta-Da! 

It ends up at 51 x 51 inches. It still needs a back, and then I'll want to cut some binding strips. When that's finished, it'll be first in line to be sandwiched next time around.

In other news at the Three Cats Ranch, the Checkers dahlia has opened. I think it will get even larger than this over the next few days. Looks like a sister flower will join it soon too.

And I wanted to tell you about last night's dinner. As you've probably noticed, I like trying out new recipes. It makes cooking more interesting for me. Often, I make something we really like, but then it quickly falls off my radar screen of menu items, and it never makes a return appearance.

So, last night's dinner was something I've been making, literally, for decades. But it too fell off my radar screen, and I'd forgotten all about it. A few days ago, I remembered it. It was a family favorite when the whole family was living together. I forget who came up with this name for it, but we've always called this "The Yellow Dinner." 

On the right is yellow summer squash, steamed in the microwave with butter and garlic salt. At the lower left if some chicken Rice-A-Roni. Yes, Rice-A-Roni. We like it. But the reason I'm telling you about this is for the Lemon-herb Chicken Saute in the upper left. This is tasty enough to serve guests, but it's also easy enough to make on a work day. 

The sauce is made with plenty of cream, lemon juice, and lemon zest, and seasoned with shallots, tarragon, and thyme. So yummy. The recipe first appeared in a magazine that ceased publication long-ago, "Good Food." I'm a little confused about the status of the magazine. Just now I inquired of The Google about the years Good Food was published. This is what I learned:

Good Food magazine has been published since at least 1974, with a February 1974 issue available on Amazon. In 1989, Redwood Publishing launched the magazine under license, making it the first to feature TV chefs and recipes. The magazine was an immediate success and created a market for cookery magazines. In 2013, Good Food won the Digital Magazine of the Year award at the DMA Digital Magazine Awards and the PPA Digital Publishing Awards. In 2018, Immediate Media acquired the brand from BBC Studios, and in 2024 the brand was renamed Good Food and stopped using the BBC name. 

Hm...well if it's still available, that's news to me. Apparently, you can find it as a digital publication, but I doubt it's the same magazine. In any case, that's where I first encountered this recipe. Some years back, I made it at least once per month, if not more often. Here's the recipe:

Mike is barbecuing some Korean-style ribs this evening. It's my most recent recipe test. Of course, I'll let you know how it turns out. My only contribution will be to make some sauce for it, and then steam some broccoli as a side dish. And since my contribution is so easy, it's going to be a good day for plenty of sewing.

Just off the top of my head, I know I need to refill the hummingbird feeders, and I know I want to go for a walk on the treadmill. Aside from that, I don't think there's anything else on my agenda. I'll make the back for It Takes a Village, and I'll probably cut some binding strips for it. Then, I'll get to work finishing off the quilt top for the "Spices" quilt. If I can finish those two things, I'll get back to my quilting. It's been good to give my wrist a good break from that. It feels 100% now. I'll be careful not to mess it up again.

So enjoy your Sunday, my friends! I'm off to do my slow-stitching.