April 2014

G'day! Here's a wee peak at my latest PhD* with at least a start made on the quilting. I finish my annual camp catering gig this week and so hope to be back in front of my sewing machine soon enough to get some of 'those quilting ideas' out of my head and down on fabric. Wot I would really like to do is make a award winning quilt just for my own satisfaction - maybe that kaleidoscope one I've been planning. First I must finish this one off for the 'growth' challenge. A couple of weeks ago I flew to Wellington (in the face of a cyclone) to offer my help to the national association. I make no claims to be able to fix anything but I think Aotearoa Quilters needs to find a new direction and place in the quilting world. We all avidly guard our own little corner, be it club or guild, often to the detriment of our craft. An old-fashioned quilting bee on a national scale is what we should strive for - a place to go for information, somewhere to share and show, friendships to foster and lessons to learn. I would love your input into this debate - please contact me. Changes to the constitution have been mooted that could allow the association to take its place as a governing body rather than continuing the perception of an exclusive club that has a show or challenge each year for competitive quilters and ignoring all others. By the way, if you want to bring a group of friends for a relaxing weekend, the second half of the year still has some vacancies so get in touch.  Natter Later! * projects half done

Pumpkin Patch The Pumpkin Patch is also largely a PhD* with the garden tween seasons. I have huge crops of feijoas, persimmons, oranges, lemons and limes just hanging around looking very green. The birds have been given free-range on the remaining figs and grapes though before they got into the figs I 'stored' for winter by drying, making a tasty paste/pate and an equally tasty chutney. The last days of summer are reflected in what remains as you can see of my salad garden above. At this time of the year the herbs have either bolted to seed or died off though there is still enough green bits for a herby salad.  Having an extra pair o hands (Nina) in the garden makes a huge difference when it comes to keeping on top of the weeds cos they are seemingly the only growing things that like a drought. And then there are the empty beds waiting seeds or green compost.

Chopping Block The Chopping Block recipes this month are straight out of the garden. Poor Man's Caviar (aka Baba Ganoush) and Poor Man's Olives (aka Pickled Grapes). I picked four medium egg plant from the garden; halved and rubbed with garlic, salt and oil and roasted in a fairly high oven (200 deg C) until soft and juicy. I then scooped them out and into a food processor with lotsa black pepper, a 'slug' of olive oil, juice of a large lemon, 1tbsp tahini paste more salt and garlic to taste and 1tsp allspice. Blitz. The 'olives' were made from 2 cups of grapes de-stemmed and packed into a sterilised jar. Pour 1 small cup white wine vinegar, 1tbsp kosher salt, 1tsp sugar, 1 lge clove garlic, the leaves from a small sprig of rosemary and a pinch of chilli flakes into a pan and slowly bring to a simmer. Pour over grapes and let cool; then seal and refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Keeps up to 2 weeks.