Ta Da! Star quilt and risotto.

Hello beautiful people.  Well I'm feeling very happy today!  It's a lovely, sunny, autumn day here in Melbourne... and....  my the piecing of my star quilt is complete!  I just have the borders to sew on before I send it off to BlanketLovez to be long arm quilted and bound.  From there it will find a new home at the Star Room in the Ronald McDonald House in Orange, NSW.

I must say its turned out wayyyyy better than I had imagined.  I love its rainbow colours and the pattern was straightforward and involved mostly chain piecing - what could be better!  If you intend to make this pattern, I would highly recommend drawing that dreaded diagonal line on each of your 2.5" blocks (Bonnie does suggest this in the pattern).  I didn't, out of sheer laziness, because I thought "hey, I'll just wing it" but then felt compelled to check each completed block to make sure it was still 4.5" square.... very time consuming.  The few where I had drawn the line were spot on, most were ok, but there were some that were so off I had to replace them with new blocks lol.  Oh well, with each quilt we learn something.  I'll post another pic with the borders on, in a few days.


The weeks are just flying by at the moment.  I've started my next group of subjects for my bookkeeping course (Asset Depreciation *yawn*) and we seem to be in the midst of birthdays, my Dad's last Saturday and my DH organised a lovely lunch at a rather spiffy hotel for his daughter who turned 18.

I found an old quilt kit I had bought many years ago at a quilt show.

I still love the fabrics but find the pattern doesn't really interest me anymore.  The kit came with 5" charm squares and all fabrics to make the top and even included the backing.  I've been itching to make a tumbler quilt and found this video on making the blocks from charm squares without having to buy a tumbler template.  Wonderful!

So I have cut the charm squares into the tumbler blocks and can't wait to start laying them out.  This is what has been pushing me to get the star quilt finished.


I thought I would share another recipe with you.  I love to feed my family meals made from real, back to basics, ingredients.  Wholesome and nutritious, just what growing bodies need - real food!  We had this earlier in the week and I had forgotten how tasty it is.  Previously I would make risotto the traditional way... lots of stirring and ladling in stock.  Pfft, this recipe requires none of that, and the results are superb.  Feel free to vary the ingredients and make it your own.



Oven-baked Tomato and Chicken Risotto            Serves 6

1 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
100g rindless bacon, chopped
500g chicken breast fillets, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
2 cups aborio rice
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 cups chicken stock
grated parmesan to serve

Preheat oven to 160C (fan forced).

Heat oil in large flameproof, ovenproof dish over medium heat.

Cook onion and bacon for 2 minutes.

Add chicken and cook, stirring for 3 - 4 minutes.

Add garlic, lemon zest, rosemary and chilli, if using, and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add rice and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

Mix tomato paste and stock in a jug.  Pour over rice mixture.

Bake, covered, for 35 minutes or until rice is just tender and the liquid has been absorbed.

Stir through parmesan.

*****

Have I told you about my little recipe book?

 

I bought myself this little red hardcover notebook and in it I record all my favourite recipes.  I have some wonderful cookbooks but I got so tired of trying to remember which book a particular recipe was in.  So now all my absolute favourite recipes go in here (many of which I will be posting on this blog).  I've had all different methods for recording recipes in the past, index cards, typing them on the computer, etc but this is more personal and it will be something to hand down to my kids when I pass.

I handwrite each recipe and will be adding notes, sayings, sketches and doodles, bits and pieces as I go... a kind of recipe scrapbook if you like.  It's well used and has a few food splashes on it but that's what makes it mine.

Anyway, until next time

Yours in Stitches

Leanne x