Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Some Favorites

Once in awhile I like to do some posts on other areas of my life that are very special to me.  They are sort of my other passions. 

Strawberries are in season and they are the yummiest!  Josh loves them.  Ayden LOVES them.  I adore them from time to time.  Specifically,once a day at least.  We have a local farm down the road from us about 5 miles and they have a U-Pick kinda thing every year.  I went and got my first batch a month ago.  Let's just say they weren't the greatest I have had from them.  I have resorted to Walmart.  Yes I know not as fresh,but what can a strawberry lovin' girl do?!  Gotta get that fix from somewhere.  We buy strawberries at least every 2 weeks maybe less.  2 qts of them.  We eat them several ways 'round here too.  Sometimes in smoothies, sometimes with cream cheese,some on waffles or pancakes and some in yogurt.  (I am feeling a Green Eggs and Ham moment coming on)

Recently,a friend of mine let me know that she had been to one of our local grocery stores and purchased rhubarb.  Now this girl, ME has not had rhubarb in YRS and YRS.  I missed it in the worst way.  So as soon as the hubby got home I was off!  Little costly at $4 a lb,but TOTALLY worth every penny in my eyes.

In comes this recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars.  I cut down the sugar by half and the butter by at least a 1/3.  Try it if you like fruit bars and you will not regret it!

I froze some too in apple juice using this reference.  Don't you love the name rhubarb?   It could make a really good quilt name hey??  I digress.

This next food that I am going to submit you to is not a favorite of the boys in my house.  I,on the other hand will eat it just about every day.  They are good for you too ya know?!

Avocado in sandwiches, in smoothies(yes siree!), in salads and on top of Mexican food.  Yum,yum,yum!!!  I eat half of a whole one a day.


I put the other half in an empty container like this one.  It must be a white one.  You can add a piece of onion too,but I usually don't.  This will keep your avocado fresh for the next day or the next.  You will have a slight brown discoloration,but I will skim that off the top with a knife.  Avocados are a staple in my diet!

Now this next favorite of mine is a given if you read my blog,but I have some more to show off so here we are!

Some purple lilies from Ayden's garden in our back yard.

Today I decided I was going to cut some hydrangeas from my bush out front.  The hubby wanted me to leave them alone.  I won! lol  They are sooo pretty that I had to bring some of their prettiness indoors. 

I watched this video for some guidance.  Listen for this lady's great accent!

While on the subject of our back yard.....


Meet our mama killdeer that has taken up residence in our yard and will probably be there for 24-48 days until her babies come out of their temporary home.  I discovered her by accident when Ayden and I were playing tag one day.  I almost walked right into her!  Then I got an earful!  I read that they will actually sound out K-I-L-L-D-E-E-R in their squawks.  To protect their babies,they will fake a "broken: wing too which I have seen a few times to date.

I have been told that the babies are really cute and comical!  We are anticipating some upcoming good times:)  No I cannot tell you how I got this pic *whistling and putting my head down in an attempt to hide*    

Besides snapping pics of eggs, I ordered some more flannel for the other top that hopefully will come by Wed.

For the quilting,I finished those inner squares and then did straight lines with the walking foot in both directions in the sashing.  This is one soft quilt!!  Maybe I will use this idea in a future quilt and use it as backing.

Pluses:

~makes it SO soft
~at the starting position , no need to pull the threads up to the top as they will be covered by the other quilt top in the end--get me?
~the soft flannel makes it a smooth,easy ride while quilting
~if you match the thread to the flannel,it's all good!!  no boo boos showing;)
~ also,no matching the two quilt tops so all those blocks are in the same position on both sides which is the real reason why I did this in the first place

Today, I printed off the templates for the Lucky Stars June BOM,picked out my fabrics to include a Kona solid and new pink print.  All of the templates have been cut out while watching and LOL during this movie .  Melissa McCarthy is a RIOT!!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed learning more about me:)

Sara









20 comments:

Leanne Parsons said...

I love strawberries too...so much I planted some in my own yard a couple of years ago. As a bonus, our neighbors grow rhubarb, so I can help myself!

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

I love strawberries and rhubarb too - and avocado. I'm sorry I'm so far away or I'd invite myself for lunch! I've never tried using flannel but I can imagine it being really soft. I'll add that to my to-try list :)

Allison said...

I love getting a big box of strawberries from the local U Pick farm! my favorite way to eat them is to dip a strawberry into sour cream, then into brown sugar, Yum! I grow my own rhubarb, so maybe I will try the recipe you shared :)

Jessica said...

Strawberries <3 My favorite thing about summer, along with peaches, cherries, and ice cream! I hear you with the no-pulling-the-thread-through - sounds magical!

Terri said...

Love it when people blog about life, besides just their quilting endeavors ;)

How fun to have fresh strawberries. Fun to pick your own too. What a treat to have avocados in the house. Love seeing your wildlife and flowers too!

Maggie said...

Somehow I have gotten to be 50 years old and never had rhubarb.

Dee said...

Our neighbor grew rhubarb and I'm glad to see people still appreciate it! Loved all the pictures too! Thanks for sharing!

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

Strawberries and rhubarb are always great together! How neat to see the mama bird in your yard and hopefully you'll get to see the babies!

Vera said...

That's a lot info for one post, lol. We like to do U-pick as well. My girl loves strawberries too.

Liz said...

And now I know what to do with my rubarb!

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

Great photos!!! I am now hungry...lol

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

I love avocados too but hadn't heard of keeping them in a white container - must try this.
Hope you quilt works out every bit as good as you hope.

✾Jamie Lee Cooley✾ said...

Great post! We definitely share your love of strawberries and avocados. I'm not much of a smoothie person though. My tastes have changed so much after being pregnant the first time. Don't drink coffee or soda since then either.

How cool is that bird in your yard!!! I've seen them in parking lots (fields really) I think. But I thought they were in a pair so maybe it's a different bird. The two parents tried to distract us from the nest. It was so fun to see their antics.

We saw that movie a while back. I saw she is going to have a movie with Sandra Bullock soon. Looks funny!

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation said...

looks like you have lots going on!! Love strawberries too. I could eat them every day! Thanks for sharing at Needle and Thread Thursday!

:) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

jan said...

Great post - I love strawberries too. But what I gotta know is how to make an advocado smoothie?
I am a new follower.
jan@http://sewandsowfarm.blogspot.com/

Cloud CouCou said...

mmm yum, great recipe ideas and what a cute visitor to have in your garden :)

Nancy said...

You quilt is beautiful. I haven't tried flannel for a back yet but one of these days....

I hope you'll show photos of the killdeer chicks when they hatch.

hydeeannsews said...

wow, sara! lots of good going on in your life. i love summer produce season. we don't have anything to be picked around here this time of year, though. but we get citrus in the winter! enjoy all your summer blessings.

ps - rhubarb would make a great quilt name. =)

Anonymous said...

Just bought rhubarb! This looks like the perfect recipe!

Dana - Old Red Barn Co. said...

strawberries and rhubarb are the perfect combo! And I love avocados like crazy!