Pisces Moon Studio

Yesterday my dear husband requested sausage balls for lunch. He’d found some frozen ones at the grocery back around Christmas and was hungry for more.

Apparently they are only a holiday food — I guess people serve them at parties? — because there were none available and the clerk looked at him as though he were demented when he asked if they had some. So, being the good wife and cook, I picked up a pound of sausage and made some. They’re very easy (2 cups Bisquick, 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar, 1 pound sausage, mix together, form into balls, bake 10 minutes at 400°), and he loved them. #1 Son had some, too, and pronounced them pretty good.

I’m not that fond of sausage, but I tried one, then ate another and then yet a third. That was around 2 pm. By 4:30 my stomach was in an uproar. I cooked dinner for the guys but decided that discretion was the better part of valor and skipped it myself.

I finally had some saltines and peppermint tea around 10:30. I was up again by 4 am. It’s now almost 8:30 am and I’ve finally been able to eat some plain white steamed rice and I think the worst is behind me. Neither of the guys got sick, so there wasn’t anything wrong with the sausage… just my stupid stomach reacting to the unaccustomed fat and sodium load.

Today is likely to be Bland Food Day. Who knew unseasoned white rice could taste so good?

… then I’ve made a basic judgment error somewhere along the way.

I worked on the green monstrosity some more today. It’s still green, and still monstrous, and uglier than it was before. The thing is dead, Jim.

On to the next. I refuse to let it upset me any more.

Just over two weeks ago, my younger sister had a full hip replacement. She’d fallen at work about a year ago and broken her hip, had surgery to pin the bones back together, and subsequently developed avascular necrosis in the broken area.

Basically, the blood flow was cut off and the bone itself began to die.

So anyway, even though she is very young for a joint replacement, she needed it and it solved a lot of problems she didn’t even know she had, such as pretty serious arthritis in the hip socket. She’s doing well and is in physical therapy and plans to go back to work in another couple of weeks.

I’ve been cooking for her since she isn’t able to stand unassisted for long enough to put together a meal. Her husband, while devoted and caring, considers a Big Mac and supersize fries the epitome of fine dining. He sets off the fire alarm while boiling water. (No, it’s true. I was there and will swear to it.) She’s been craving soup, so I’ve made several big batches, filled those little Ziploc box containers, and stuffed her refrigerator with meals she can just microwave and eat.

Last week she called to rave about the vegetable soup and place an order for more. It’s so simple that it would be great for throwing together after work, and you could do all kinds of doctoring it if you wanted something fancier.

Pantry Soup

� onion, diced
about 2 tablespoons olive oil
1� pounds lean ground beef
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 can green beans (or 2 cups frozen or fresh green beans)
1 can corn, not creamed variety (or 2 cups frozen or fresh corn off the cob)
2 cups sliced new potatoes

In a Dutch oven or stockpot, saut� the onion in the olive oil until softened. Add the ground beef and cook until crumbled and brown. Drain off all excess fat.

Add the tomatoes, beans, corn, and potatoes. Add enough water to cover everything at least 1″ deep.

Simmer for 1 hour, adding more water if it cooks down too much.

Makes 8-10 generous servings.
Gussying-up options:
- Add a clove or two of garlic when saut�ing the onion.
- Use Rotel canned tomatoes and chiles instead of plain diced tomatoes.
- Herbs: whatever suits your fancy. My sister likes it plain, so I left them all out.
- Add 1 cup of brown rice instead of, or in addition to, the potatoes.
- Sprinkle with chives or chopped parsley, or dust the top of each serving with finely grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

One further note: You will notice that I did not include salt. There is a good bit of salt in the canned tomatoes and that’s all I think it needs. Just before serving, taste and correct seasonings for your own preference.

That’s it! Enjoy.

And now I have a plan for possibly resuscitating the asparagus labyrinth. If that doesn’t work, I’ll make something foodie out of it. :)

Referring to last night’s post on the green monstrosity, someone asked privately: “If it’s that bad, and you are that ashamed of it, why show it at all?”

Well… mostly, I suppose, because the Queen of the Art Quilters Webring (Hi, Diane! insert tongue-in-cheek smiley) wrote yesterday about wanting to be sure that blogs on the webring are a) primarily about art quilting, and b) updated regularly. I was feeling a little guilty that most of January and February had been taken up with non-art-quilting posts.

Today? I’m going to wash out the resist, and I hope that much of that yucky oily paintstik stuff washes out as well. I know there are people who love them, but I have about decided that paintstiks are not for me.

Then I will evaluate and see if the thing is worth saving. If not, out she goes, and I’ll try something else.

Remember Labyrinth?

Well, once I finished that blue piece — and I liked it, but had no idea what to do with it — I thought of doing a couple more in different colorways and then doing some wonky piecing to join the different colors. My thought was “elements.” I had this blue one for water; I did a quite successful yellow-red-orange one for fire. Then I needed an earth one.

I’ve been futzing over this thing for weeks now. I’ll walk around it, eyeing it as though it’s going to bite back. I’ll gingerly dab at it with a wet brush.

It sits there and glowers at me, and I do not like it and I have no idea what to do with it, or whether it’s even salvageable. It’s time to confess my abject failure. I’m really ashamed to even show it off.

It’s distorted because it still has the glue resist in it. That, of course, will be washed out once it’s done (and assuming I don’t just trash the whole thing). The color is a bit more yellow-green and not quite as olive as this shows, but I couldn’t quite get the balance right.

Anyway, I was originally thinking “forest.” This says “jail cell.” I put some brown PaintStik on it this afternoon, hoping that would make it look more like trees, but I think that made it even worse.

Bleah. This is not one of the best days of my creative life.

A quote from the blog of my friend Sadie:

“Do not sit with a mind fixed on emptiness.”

There is more to the quotation, of course, but that line describes me this afternoon. The difficult web work that has consumed me for six weeks is done for the moment, and I feel rather as one does after giving birth: numb, a little empty, and wondering “what on earth do I do next?”

It’s cold here today. The skies are gray and dark, and it feels like snow. Tomorrow I must find an idea that makes me want to work again.

Ordered the squash. And some basil to plant around the tomatoes, for good measure. Instant spaghetti sauce!

This ad for Chuck Pennacchio has been running for weeks on one of the blogs I read every day. From the very beginning, every time I’ve looked at that pic, I see:

That’s all. Just had to get that off my chest.

“They,” you ask? “Tempting?”

I bought carrot and chile seeds and strawberry plants last week. Foolishly, I checked that little box on the order form that said “Yes! Send me emails about your great deals!” I’m weakening, and I know I’ve already bit off more than I can chew with the seeds I already have.

The only thing that keeps me from ordering is that I tried squash once before. Got beautiful plants, lush foliage, blossoms… and no squash.

But maybe… this time… ya think?