Ribbons and Risotto

August 22, 2008

But she showed that cold, wintry smile when Marjorie Singleton went down. "Naked Prey" by John Sanford

It's a good thing that every night before I roll over to go to sleep I write down what I did (I have a Dollar Store desk calendar). Seriously. I have no idea from day to day what I've done the previous day, much less during the whole month. One day this week I even forgot one thing that I did on the same day... and it was a fairly major thing!

So, last weekend I tested one of the PETaL Patterns patterns.


Watson's Ribbons, Crib Size

When I shared this with my Quilter's Sanctuary group, the first question was, "What's on that fabric?" It's marbles.

This one is going to stay "flimsy" for awhile. I've got other irons in the fire - namely, cutting out 1,188 2.5" squares and numerous rectangles for a scrap quilt. Don't ask, and don't hold your breath. I sure will be glad when I get over this 'quilting slump'.


In other news, I tried a new recipe tonight. (yeah. woo.) Now, it's well known that I don't cook, except for my ecstatic frenzy at Thanksgiving and Christmas (mmmm, pumpkin....) but - and I know I'm going to regret putting this down in pink and black - I actually don't MIND cooking. What I don't like is figuring out what to cook.

I can wax rhapsodic about Alanna over at A Veggie Venture (when I make the buttermilk garlic salad dressing the choir of angels sing), and Deb over at Smitten Kitchen inspires me, even if it's just to look at the pretty pictures.

So, here's a not-as-pretty picture of tonight's trip outside the box. Tomato and Sausage Risotto from Smitten Kitchen (the recipe is here).


Hmmm. I think it looked better in person than it does here. But it sure tasted good...

What I did differently from the recipe:
I cut the recipe in half (using a 14.5 oz. can of tomatoes instead of the 28 oz. can and going from there).
I used half a Hillshire Farms Sweet Italian Sausage ring thing, sliced up instead of brownable-break-up-able Italian sausage.
I used 2 cups of frozen spinach instead of 7 cups of fresh spinach.
I also stopped putting in salt every time it was called for in the recipe - a can of tomatoes, the pre-processed sausage and then later the parmesan cheese all are plenty salty without adding even more to the mix.
One thing, this has no additional seasoning (other than black pepper), so your sausage has to have some personality or this could be pretty dull.

Yes, Mom, it's red rice. I know I say I don't like red rice, but I've come to the realization I don't like other peoples' red rice. This is now the third time I've made red rice (a previous sausage/tomato spicy thing last week and homemade "Mexican Rice" during the "Iron Honey's Shirts Days" early in our marriage). Each of the three times I have been pleasantly surprised.

Of course, this evening when trying to get a definite answer from Mr. W. as to whether I should make this again, he tells me that he's not all that excited about anything that has white rice in it. I 'splained that this was Arborio Rice but he was pretty unimpressed.

I did not pass up the opportunity to mention that he was the one who thought it a good idea to buy white rice in the 25 pound bag because it was so much cheaper and now it's sitting there on the shelf right above the case of canned salmon that he bought (but detests) because he knew it was "good for him".

Remind me again that I said that I don't mind cooking...

eta - Bobbie just reminded me that Helena is having a stitchery giveaway to celebrate the opening weekend of her new shop. She has an absolutely adorable blog (I love the template!) and is just asking for a comment and a link to her to qualify for a copy of her new pattern. Go visit, and click on her header to wander around her blog to see the pretty pictures (that's what I'm off to do!).

Labels: babble, quilting

permalink 5 Comments:

At 8/23/2008 12:08 AM,  Kyla Nicole Babbled Back:  

Haha, I hate red rice, too X] Actually (little known fact alert!), I don't even like red tomatoes. I can do lasagna, or spaghetti, once in a while, but that's about it. I love yellow, orange, and even green tomatoes, tho. Weird, huh?

Every recipe I've made from Smitten Kitchen has turned out great. I'm actually starting to almost kinda sorta like zucchini, which has historically been my mortal enemy...except for that zucchini bread you used to make. As much as you claim to dislike cooking, you sure are good at it when you do!

At 8/23/2008 12:16 AM,  Brenda Babbled Back:  

I like that pattern. It does make you look at the fabric which makes me think it would be perfect for those large prints I love but never make anything large enough to put them to use. Hmmm. Thanks for the inspiration!=)

At 8/23/2008 4:41 AM,  Sweet P Babbled Back:  

I love the quilt and the marble fabric - it's very whimsical.

Thanks for the links to A Veggie Venture and Smitten Kitchen. I'm trying to add some food blogs to my daily reading.

I like any kind of rice in any kind of dish. The only exception is adding seafood. Seafood and I don''t get along.

At 8/23/2008 7:17 AM,  Bobbie Bentneedle Babbled Back:  

Nice looking pattern - and interesting looking dish... good to see you come up for air!

At 8/23/2008 12:40 PM,  Anonymous Babbled Back:  

you are just trying to make me hungry. linda

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