To Boston With Love Flags

On Saturday my Mom and I completed and mailed our flags for the To Boston With Love flag project.  Hundreds of quilters from around the world created flags to shower the Boston community with peace and love.  Thanks to the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild for organizing this amazing project, which will be displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from May 25th through July 7th.

Showering Boston with Love...

Heart - back side of the above flag

My Mom's flag - Patriotic Heart

Biscotti Dipped in Chocolate

M and I are watching "The Sopranos."  We are only on season 2, but we've had a hankering for all foods Italian lately - from sfogliatelle (pronounced shfooyadell - our new favorite Italian word and dessert) to cannoli to homemade biscotti dipped in chocolate for my Mom for Mother's Day. 

I found the biscotti recipe in The Sopranos Family Cookbook I checked out of the library. It was easy to follow and the anise cookies tasted and looked like mini store-bought biscotti.  They were a bit softer than your traditional biscotti and could be eaten without dunking in tea or coffee. I added milk chocolate for my Mom, but will dip them in dark chocolate - my favorite - next time. 

Then I packaged them in a Ziploc bag with scrapbook paper and ribbon - a gift wrapping idea I found on Pinterest. My Mom truly thought I bought them. 

Vrksasana Dot Art Postcard

In Honor of Arbor Day and my yogi friend, I created this Vrksasana - tree pose - postcard for our April postcard project.  I traced my vrksasana cookie cutter and painted the dots with Q-tips; the technique is similar to this heart.

Advice From A Tree

Stand tall and proud

Go out on a limb

Remember your roots

Drink plenty of water

Be content with your natural beauty

Enjoy the view

~Ilan Shamir

Aduki Bean Burgers

I had some leftover aduki beans from my smoothie, so tonight I made Aduki Bean Burgers.  We had enough for dinner and my lunch later on this week.  These vegetarian patties are a combination of a Weight Watchers recipe my Mom gave me years ago and this aduki bean recipe. Makes 4 patties. 

You'll need:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 cloves of garlic, minced 
1/2 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup aduki beans
3" piece of soft tofu
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup tomato sauce
palmful fresh chopped cilantro
palmful fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
cooking spray 

Directions:
1. Over medium heat, add the oil to a sauté pan. Then add the onions, celery, and garlic.  Cook until the veggies are soft and the moisture has evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let cool.

2. In a bowl, mash the tofu.  Blend in the beans, bread crumbs, and tomato sauce.  Add the cooled veggies.  Mix thoroughly.

3. Shape into 4 balls*, cover, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

4. Cook on a George Foreman Grill. Making sure to use cooking spray first so the patties do not stick. 

NOTE - the tofu package stated that one serving of tofu is a 1" piece; I figured a 3" for 4 servings with all the other ingredients seemed accurate.

The veggie balls* will flatten into patties on the Foreman Grill.  The cooked patties are very delicate, not like store-bought veggie burgers, so handle with care.  :)

Sassy Water

My Mom celebrated her birthday this weekend.  Happy Birthday, Mom!  She's not a drinker - never has.  At parties, she'll just have water, tea, or coffee.  Why not jazz things up and add a little sassy water as a refreshing, non-alcoholic drink option at your next birthday party or summer soiree?
 
I've been filling a glass sun tea pitcher at night with: filtered water, half a sliced cucumber, a 1" piece of diced fresh ginger, a palmful of fresh chopped mint, and one sliced lemon.  Then I chill it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, the sassy water is ready to drink up. This magic water as M calls it, is delicious and SASSY, which is helping me to drink more fluid-ounces of H₂O daily. 

 Sto Lat, Mom! Na zdrowie!

 Polish for:

May you live 100 years, Mom!  Drink to your health!

To Boston With Love

The Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild is organizing the "To Boston With Love" flag project. They are encouraging quilters to make a flag, or two, or three - a perfect Saturday afternoon project - which can be completed by a guild, group, with friends, or solo.

The detailed directions and tutorials can be found on their site.  VMQG offers tons of suggestions and pictures for inspiration.  All flags are due in Boston by May 21, 2013 so they can be displayed this summer.

Off to look through my fabric stash.  Happy sewing!

Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp and Sauce

My Dad retired this fall and has been cooking up a storm.  When we were visiting this spring he made many tasty dishes including this one. For my Dad's spaghetti squash with shrimp and homemade sauce you'll need:

1 spaghetti squash
1 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1/2 lb raw shrimp, cleaned and de-veined 
1 clove fresh garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
dash of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon oregano
4 ounces of mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter or oil to sauté mushrooms, onions, and garlic

Serves 4.  

Directions:
1. Cut squash in half and discard seeds.  Cook the squash face down in a 13x9 pan with about 1/4 inch of water. Bake for approximately 45 minutes at 425°F.  ( I have also cooked my squash in vegetable and chicken broth and those both work well.) 
2. Let the cooked squash cool. Then use a fork and scrape the "spaghetti" into a serving dish.
3. In a frying pan, melt the butter or oil.  Add mushrooms and pepper flakes. After about 2-3 minutes add onions, garlic, salt and pepper, and oregano.  
4. When the onions and garlic are translucent, add tomatoes. Simmer for at least 5 minutes. 
5. Add the raw shrimp.  Cook for 3-4 minutes.  Do not overcook the shrimp, or you'll have rubbery shrimp.  
6. Serve on top of squash. Enjoy!

NOTE - I like to use more garlic, like 3-4 cloves, but I wanted to share the recipe my Dad gave me.  Also, M and I usually don't buy raw shrimp.  Instead, we purchase already cooked shrimp from the fish counter, but still only warm up the cooked shrimp in the last few minutes of cooking.  I cannot stress enough NOT to overcook the shrimp.