tried a new food

First up... The Sasquatch brought this cheese he found on close out at Meijers.  I think it normally sells for around $6.00 and they were clearing it out for $2.99.  He brought it over so we could all try it.

It's called "Grilling Cheese"...and can be fried to get a golden crust on the outside.

It came in a block.  The Sasquatch sliced it in roughly half inch slices, then coated the slices with olive oil.

Then browned them in a non stick skillet.

Look at these crunchy creamy morsels of fried cheesy goodness!

They were good on their own and also good to use as dippers for guacamole.

We enjoyed trying this and came to the conclusion that next time, either slice them a bit thicker or don't get them quite as browned, to leave more creamy inside.

The Sasquatch said he was going back to buy the remaining blocks of cheese if there were any left at the store.

We were wondering if this method would also work with mozzarella or provolone.

I see that the Grilling Cheese is a whole milk cheese whereas mozzarella usually seems to be part skim (I think?) That may make a difference but it's worthwhile to try it out.

Now here is a recipe that I tried out....

The recipe was in the booklet that came with my "Veggetti" spiralizer.  You have probably seen them.

It's a handheld cone with very sharp blades inside. You just twist and push a vegetable through to crank out thin spiraled strips. 

I used zuchinni.  It's actually pretty good just like this. Lightly sauteed in butter or olive oil, then add salt and pepper.

But I wanted to give the recipe a try.   I made some changes...left out the honey, used dried ginger and garlic. Didn't have chili or sesame seeds but added some hot sauce and diced peanuts.

Mine came out with a runnier sauce.

It was okay but not sure if I'd make it again.  I like the zuchinni better without the glop on it!

PS:  The "Veggetti" slicer is extremely hard to clean. Food gets stuck along the base of the blades...and they are super sharp as my thumb will attest.

quilting progress

The quilting on my flannel quilt is nearly finished.  Even though I backed it with reqular cotton fabric - it doesn't slide around under the needle quite as smoothly. I suppose because it is a bit thicker.

Maybe another reason it is going slower is because I keep turning on Netflix "Grace and Frankie"

 It's a funny show but my problem is I keep pausing to watch all the scenes that feature their gorgeous beach house.  It is the stuff day dreams are made of...with the ocean right out their back door.

Quite different from the yucky weather here.

And I have been working with the leftover scraps and have a few more blocks made for a smaller quilt.

There is enough border fabric left over that I will be able to add it to this one also.

And enough episodes of the show left to get it quilted too!

Fiskars product warranty

I use a lot of Fiskars products. Not only scissors and quilting rulers, but also outdoor hand pruners, pruning saw, shovels and other tools.

I had noticed they offered a lifetime warranty on their products but, until now, I have never tried to take advantage of it.

One of my Fiskars quilting rulers had the markings wearing off.
Actually I think it started when I first got the ruler and peeled the protective clear adhesive film off of it.  At that time a few spots of the piant stuck to the film.  It was still useable but over time, more of the lines started wearing off.

I went to the Fiskars website and all I had to do was fill out a form and upload this photo of the ruler.

(The ruler is not broken. It's made at an angle to cut...angles!)

In about 10 days a new ruler arrived!

It isn't just like the one I had but I think it will be more useful.

I noticed this one is just in shrink wrapped plastic. They may have had a lot of trouble with the adhesive film.  

What a good company...standing behind their products and true to their word.  

I will be a loyal customer and choose their brand over others.

barbecue and cauliflower tots

I slow roasted a pork shoulder and tried out this new barbecue sauce on it.

G. Hughes Smokehouse. Only 2 carbs per serving ( 2 Tablespoons).  It has surcalose instead of sugar or corn syrup.  It has a good tangy, smokey flavor.

This brand came in other flavors besides "Hickory"...all sugar free though.  I will probably try "Original" next time.  There was also "Sweet Hot", "Honey" and "Mesquite" (that last one sounds good too).

Around $3.50 per bottle.

I baked Cauliflower Tots for a side dish.   Just riced cauliflower (microwaved a bit to soften, then drained), beaten egg, seasoned salt, and a generous amount of shredded cheddar.

Tamp mixture down in a greased mini muffin pan and bake until firm and browned around the edges.

I have seen recipies like this using shredded zuchinni in place of the cauliflower.  I will be trying that too.

what I'm working on

Here's something I didn't mention about the cruise. There are always games and activities happening on board the ship...trivia games, name-that-tune, hairy chest contest, beer pong, and sporty games like basketball and volleyball.

Then, for the real party animals like me, there are craft sessions.  They are fun. Usually only ladies. It's a nice chance to meet and chat with other cruisers while working on the project.

First, was an embroidery kit "You Anchor Me" - a nice nautical theme.  You can see that I didn't finish. I noticed I had a rogue stitch at the bottom of the anchor and I had to pause to decide if I should undo and repair or just leave it.  I will finish it though...some day.

The other project was cute...a wooden picture frame and bags of shells to glue on. I did finish it but I guess I packed too many shells in there.  The frame started pushing apart at the corners.
Now I am unhappy with it and it's heavy too.

Back at home, I finished up the flannel quilt - with borders. It is pin basted and ready to quilt.

There was quite a bit of the flannel fabric left over so I decided to see if I can make a small quilt from that before I set my machine up for quilting.

I started with these 16 patch blocks and now I am deciding how to work the other scraps in.

Since I didn't buy any souvenirs on vacation, I thought I would treat myself to a new quilt pattern book.  This one is written by a blogger I enjoy reading...Country Threads.  

Mary lives in Iowa on a mini farm with goats, chickens, geese, dogs and cats, and parakeets. She has an interesting life and is always busy with the animals, gardening and quilting, thrift store shopping and more.

I ordered this book directly from her so it is autographed. 

Many of the patterns are for small quilts but they could be made larger by making more blocks or enlarging the blocks.   I like that quilt on the cover and this one below is also one of my favorites from the book.

The authors, Mary and Connie, have included some history stories featuring women who participated in the Civil War in some way...nurses, messengers, and some who even dressed and passed as men to actually fight on the battlefield.

So history lessons and pretty quilts all in one nice package.  It will be a nice book to read at bedtime.

back from a cruise

We have been on a western Caribbean Cruise. It was a nice escape from winter although temperatures were mild in our area while we were away.

The ship was the Carnival Breeze, which we have been on before.  

It's bright and pretty on the inside. This is the atrium...with it's spiraling staircase.

We mostly enjoyed the beaches at the ports where the ship stopped.  This was Costa Maya Mexico.

Lonnie had a nice massage right on the beach.

We like to find a spot in the shade.  Peaceful and relaxing. Still just a few steps to the water.

This next beach is my favorite of any beach anywhere.  It's Mahogany Bay...the island of Roatan, off of Honduras.

The reason I like it so much is because it's wonderful for snorkeling.  There are lots of coral formations just off the beach. So much to see underwater...the coral and marine plantlife, and so many colorful fish!  

See the orange kayak directly in front of the boat on the left on the photo below?  That's one of the local guides who offered to pull me behind his kayak out to the "drop off" to see even more and larger fish.

At first I refused thinking I could surely swim out there myself.  But after exploring all around the close-in coral, I couldn't see a way to get past it since it was so close to the surface.

So when he came by again I took him up on the offer.  I grabbed the rope and kept my legs up and my mask in the water and he paddled through the maze of coral at a nice slow pace so I could see everything.

Then suddenly we were past the reef and I was floating over seemimgly bottomless turquoise ocean. It was amazing...quite an experience!  The guide said we were in 85 to 100 feet of water.

Afterwards, I told him to wait while I went up to my beach chair to get a cash tip for him.

"Thank you, Mama", he said when I handed it to him.

We had found a nice shady spot for our chairs and it never crossed my mind that my back was getting sunburned while I was looking under water all day.  

But it was.   Ouch.    At least not bad enough to blister.

So the rest of the cruise had me seeking shady spots...which wasn't a problem. One side or the other is always shaded on the ship.

And I had a long sleeved UV blocking shirt with me - I should have had it on in the water.

 Blue skies and blue ocean for the entire week. Still glad when the ship pointed toward home though.

It's always good to be back home.

more random things

My husband made a pecan pie!  He has been off all sweets for months (by choice) and he has been planning to have pecan pie as a reward.
I had saved a piece of our Thanksgiving pecan pie in the freezer but he wanted to try making one himself.

He looked up recipes online, bought his ingredients and turned out a lovely and delicious pie.

He did use a Pillsbury crust but they as good as homemeade.  Nice work, Lonnie!

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A friend of mine told me she was doing a big kitchen cleaning in January...sorting, organizing, tossing.  She said she had found a jar of spices that expired 9 years ago!

This made me think I'd better check my spices to see what was outdated.  Mine were okay but I did find this 20 year old package of food coloring!

I can't even remember the last time I used food coloring. The bottle of red was missing...probably used in strawberry pie.  I pitched the whole package in the trash. I don't think I will miss it.

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Can you see the erie glowing eyes in the photo below.  That is Puss - being bad.

I heard her jumping up there when my back was turned but it was too late to stop her.
I though I had her trained not to jump on the kitchen counters.

There was nothing I could do so I pretended not to see her but kept an eye on her with my phone camera until she got back down...to fridge...to counter...to floor.  I scolded her. I hope she made the connection and realized I don't want her to jump up there.

I have read that a few squirts of water from a spray bottle can discourage this type of thing. I think I will have one ready in case she tries it again, but I don't want to freak her out so bad that she hurts herself getting down...the little barbarian.