Some Progress

Hand quilting can be fun or it can be boring. Sometimes it's almost meditative but the current quilt hasn't reached that point yet. My mind has been wandering as I sew along thinking about our two remodels (best not to think about those), the animus toward the US shown by Trump (best not to think about that), what project I will work on next--that's worth thinking about.

I have several ideas flitting around in my brain and in my mind's eye. One is to use a previously completed single feathered star block as the center of a quilt that uses a diagonal block set put into a background of improved 9-patch that then has a floral applique or broderie perse border. Another idea is to make a bunch of bright red and yellow feathered star blocks and make a real eye catching border for that.

An idea that has been bumping along is to utilize some blocks that I got at an estate sale to do something. The problems with those are two-fold--the blocks are a real mishmash of old-fashioned blocks--some lady of the lake, some coffee cups, some crazy patch--just a real mishmash. The other problem is that these are all in small calico prints of a type that was used at least 30 years ago in colors that were also popular then. They are beautifully made, all hand sewn, but apart from the 21 lady of the lake blocks, most are not the same size even if they use the same fabrics. And even when they use the same fabrics, the blocks don't fit together so I don't know what the original intent was.  I bought them because I didn't want them to get thrown out but now I have someone else's UFOs at my house.

Perhaps you are more gifted than I. I like some but not all of the blocks--I am particularly fond of the one with the real jeans pocket and can see that as part of a child's quilt--and I like the coffee cups though coming from Utah they are more likely to be hot chocolate cups. Anyway if someone out there has a brilliant use for these, I am sure we can figure out a way to send them to you. They only cost me $5 in toto so far so any postage or shipping charges would hardly break the bank.

And welcome to the person who subscribed to my very limited number of YouTube videos. 

What?

Robert Mueller spoke before two sessions of Congress a couple of days ago. In his answers he clearly iterated that Russia interfered in the election to get Donald Trump in office and that Russia was continuing to do so even as he spoke.

So what did the various Republican representatives and news pundits claim? First reaction was that the Republicans in Congress (House and Senate) voted down any new support for election security including security against Russian intervention. Following both of those votes, the Republican media outlet flat out lied about what Mueller said with Sean Hannity (who is a high school graduate from LI) claiming that the Russian efforts were designed to get Hillary Clinton elected  and thus proved that... My ellipses are because I can't follow Hannity's reasoning.

Mueller flat out said that Russia wanted Trump elected. Hannity (such a smart guy) said the Russian interference was for Hillary and the result proved the American voters were too smart for Russian interference--or something along those lines.

What is important in all of this is that as Mueller said in his testimony, the Russians are interfering in our election "as we speak".

Pay attention, please. There is no way that Vladimir Putin has the United States' good fortune as one of his goals--no way. If they wanted Trump elected it could only be to our detriment. I repeat, Vladimir Putin does not wish the United States well.

The Washingtonian Applique Completed

Today I finished the applique on the newest quilt, The Washngtonian. If you look the original up online you will see the differences I made, mostly to make it larger. The young couple in England for whom it is intended wanted a queen sized quilt. Of course neither one of them know that I am making this unless someone in the woman's family spilled the beans.

So I made the individual blocks slightly bigger, broadened the inner border, added an outer border, added a star to the center, changed the general flow of the vine border, added a mariner's compass and some lovebirds. My vine wanders more to avoid symmetry and I put in the loops just because I sort of enjoy making the loops with the bias strips. I am a big fan of red, yellow, and green together so I hope these young folks like them as well. Some of the quilt is in shadow and some in shade with the shaded colors looking more like themselves and the sunny ones looking more yellow. All the large leaves are the same fabric so that demonstrates the difference bright light makes.

Next I mark it for quilting.  

Not My Mother's Mac 'N Cheese

I was never a big fan of macaroni and cheese. It's not that my mother wasn't a decent cook but several factors prevented her from really excelling. The first was that my father was an Army officer which in the 50's meant pretty low pay even at his rank. The second reason was that we were all voracious eaters so meals had to be plentiful no matter what else they were. The third reason probably had to do with the general lack of the decent ingredients that we can get more easily these days. Even my local grocery store carries a variety of cheeses, even a variety of cheddars, but back in my childhood the selection was much smaller and of course my mother's purse was much lighter as well.

But now I make a mac and cheese based on Thomas Keller's from several of his restaurants and it is so good you might even want it for dessert--seriously. It starts with his mornay sauce. As I wrote previously, it's just my husband and me so I don't make a huge amount but this amount makes enough mac and cheese for two with some extra as long as you don't get greedy.

1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup fine dice Spanish onion
salt
1 1/2 tablespoons  all purpose flour
1 cup milk (I use 2%)
1/2 cup cream
1 small bay leaf, fresh is best but dried works as well
2 black peppercorns
2 whole cloves
Some grated nutmeg
Some freshly ground pepper

In a small saucepan melt the butter then stir in the chopped onion. Cook on low heat for two to three minutes then stir in the flour. Cook another couple of minutes but don't brown the flour or the onions.Stirring constantly, pour in the milk and the cream and whisk or stir until the flour and milk are not lumpy at all (except for the onion of course). Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, and add the remaining ingredients. On your very lowest temperature, stir for about 30 minutes. While it doesn't have to be constant, it does need to be watched and stirred every couple of minutes. Do not let it scorch on the bottom. After 30 minutes the sauce will be very thick. Pour it through a sieve into a large measuring cup or small bowl. I always help the process by using my pestle from my mortar and pestle but you can use a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula to push the sauce through while leaving behind the bay leaf and the onions and the whole spices. At this point you can taste for salt keeping in mind that there will be cheese and probably ham in the final dish. Put to one side or refrigerate with plastic wrap touching the surface while you make the rest of the dish.

Keller only uses a little bit of Comte or Emmentaler cheese (3 tablespoons) but I like mine a little cheesier and I have used Gruyere or a nice sharp cheddar as well. I use about 1/2 to 3/4 cup grated cheese in my dish.
Then you can get really fancy with how you do this. The original from Keller's restaurant uses a variety of wild mushrooms sliced thinly and sauteed in butter briefly and some small amount of prosciutto or other drier ham. I use mostly sliced crimini mushrooms (sliced, and sauteed) but I stick to the 2 ounces or so of prosciutto. But obviously you can use lobster or crab or even leftover cooked chicken. This is not when you want hot dogs though.

For two people I cook about a cup of raw macaroni (elbows or small shells) until slightly undone. If the recommended time is 8 minutes then aim for more like 7 minutes. Drain and place into a greased baking dish of at least the size to hold the macaroni and the sauce. My go to dish is my 50 year old Corning ware but even an oven proof mixing bowl works, but deeper is better--don't use your gratin dish. Stir in your mornay sauce. It will probably need to be thinned just a little with some milk or cream, especially if it has waited in the refrigerator. Stir in the mushrooms and ham and the shredded cheese (leaving some for the top), trying to make sure everything is evenly distributed. Top with the last of the cheese and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Serve piping hot.

Now you can leave out the mushrooms and the ham and still have a delicious side dish. You can add more ham and only need a green salad or vegetable for a complete meal. You can go fully decadent with the lobster or crab. No matter what you pick, this is practically irresistible and that's from someone who never really liked macaroni and cheese growing up.

Poor, Poor UK

I hope Boris Johnson turns out better than expectations. Now he has caused the UK ambassador to the US to resign. Please don't tell me that the UK wants to be a vassal to the US which is what seems to be the plan from Johnson, apparently called the Yeti during his time at Eton. Please keep in mind that Donald Trump has not kept any of his promises to date when your crazy haired man courts our crazy haired man.

https://www.google.com/search?q=trump+bad+hair+day&rlz=1C1HLDY_enUS733US733&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiUqKTZvpnjAhXFnOAKHTvXBgcQ_AUIECgB&biw=1920&bih=937#imgrc=3MS4XxBqXYcodM:

Great Cooking

I like to cook. I have always liked to cook from my earliest memories until now. I made my first family dinner when I was about 11 but I had been experimenting with food before that. Most of my very early memories involve food including the cheese and bread meals my family ate in Heidelberg when I was under the age of 5. I liked stinky cheese and pickles and good dark bread even then.

So tonight my husband and I had our second round of Mark Vetri's duck bolognese. Since here in Pennsylvania it is just the two of us, some stuff gets frozen to reappear and this was one of those. But that wasn't the only reappearance in this recipe. Vetri's recipe calls for 4 pounds of duck meat but in my local market I have a choice of duck breast or whole duck. Since one duck breast costs about the same as a whole duck I bought the whole duck. This is about the time that Shakespeare ran through my mind. The whole "for want of a nail a shoe was lost" but in reverse was my new predicament. I didn't need to make the massive amount of sauce that the recipe made, but I did need enough duck meat from the duck to make approximately half. But that left a lot of duck.

So I began to research a variety of ideas. I already knew I liked duck confit and I only needed one of the duck leg and thigh combinations for the bolognese, but in order to make confit appropriately I needed more duck fat than I had on hand. So I looked up how to render the fat on this duck. In some ways that turned out to be the most fun. When my husband and I went to Toulouse, we went to this popular restaurant a couple of times because we really liked their salad with the delices du canard. So I had all these innards from the duck--gizzard, heart, liver-- and I could turn them in to confited morsels. On top of that, the recipe I found for rendering the duck fat turned out the best duck treats of all--crispy and delicious morsels of duck fat thoroughly cooked to absolute crispness. And I ended up with the "delices" the crisp bits, and a variety of confited duck meat that we are going to use for cassoulet.

On top of that we had Vetri's duck bolognese which is seriously delicious. Cooking is so much fun.   

We Are Americans

While I complain about Trump all the time, his adulation of the queen of England has pushed me beyond my normal complaints. We are Americans, theoretically tied to a representative government with no benefits for anyone that aren't guaranteed to all. Now most modern US citizens would recognize that the dependent clause in the preceding sentence has not been true since at least the 1960s, we still don't have a monarchy nor do we have any recognized class structure. By recognized, I mean even an ill educated guy like Trump, who is an arriviste from the get go, can rise in the US. Part of Trump's paranoia derives from being from Queens which when he was growing up was definitely an outer borough that didn't deserve special treatment. Ivanka and Jared hope that their familiarity with the Trump establishment will establish them in Manhattan but that seems less and less likely given Manhattan's stance on multiple Trump pronouncements. FWIW, my mother's family is from NY and even from Queens with my mother being the spelling champion of Queens in her 8th grade year.

But flat out adulation of Elizabeth II is beyond funny to the point of ridiculous. Trump, whose mother was a poor girl from the outer Hebrides who came to the US as a domestic servant, thinks that just because he and his spawn had dinner with Elizabeth and dozens of others he is suddenly even more special. Elizabeth eats dinner with all sorts of folk, she is polite to all sorts of folk. That's because in her own realm she is the queen of all she surveys, literally. Trump doesn't seem to understand that she doesn't survey the US any more. Of course he also thinks that there were airports during the Revolutionary War and that "ramping the ramparts" makes any kind of sense at all.

When Trump blamed the bloopers on the teleprompter shutting down he apparently didn't understand that it would have been better to blame the writers for the errors. Blaming the absent teleprompter for his extemporaneous errors simply shows how shallow his understanding of anything is.

As a side note, I have a friend who works at Parliament. He is an economist who examines all the plans promulgated by either side. He gave me a tour of parliament just a few hours after Elizabeth had been there to open the session. I saw places most people don't see, I drank coffee in the members room beside the Thames, and I went behind the scenes in multiple ways including going in to the Robing Room which on that day had both chairs-the queen's and her husband's, the duke of Edinburgh. The queen's apparently stays at Parliament house all the time and the other chair is brought back and forth. Well, the queen's looked as though Parliament kept cats around--tattered and torn with stuffing showing through--and Prince Phillip's was immaculate.

In this month that celebrates the United States existing at all I abjure any reverence for monarchy. They are all silly inbred twits even on their good days. Having said that, right now I would rather have an Elizabeth who knows she represents her entire realm than a Trump who only cares about himself.

On another side note--if Bill Clinton is found to have been complicit in Epstein's crimes, I hope they put his ass in jail.  

Yet Another Critter

Today as we started one our walk, I looked across the lane to see something  I never expected to see--a snapping turtle. Unfortunately neither my husband nor I had cameras with us but it was an unexpected and very cool sight. By the time we finished our walk the turtle was gone but next time we leave home we will carry our phones.

Happy Fourth of July!

Sometimes a ragtag band of visionaries and idealists can change the world. Hats off to my husband's many times great grandfather who was George's aide de camp for at least part of the war. There were some in my family who helped with the fight as well but none as close to the top as the Clark forebear.

Antithetical To The Day

Trump is sort of getting his military parade in DC. But what is most important about this is that Trump is turning it in to a celebration of the military and Trump. Kellyanne Conway thinks this is just swell because why wouldn't we celebrate that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DacaEhZ4tA

Because the 4th of July is about aspiration, it is about hope, it is about community. Yes, we won a war against a greater foe but we did it with ideas and with a ragtag armed group of men and the women who supported them, not with  the biggest most expensive military in the world. When Trump arranges the celebration it is for all the wrong reasons, not the right ones.

Creeped Me Out

Our house is across a small private lane from what we call the Hundred Acre Wood (cf AA Milne). Most of the time it is pretty benign as Christopher Robin's woods were benign but occasionally there are events that are more creepy. The small herd of deer is more annoying than creepy, and the various birds are quite fascinating, but right now we are being harassed by a fox. I don't know if it is the same fox or whether it is male or female but this animal lurks outside our front door in the early morning hours. While we have no proof of it, we think that the fox is just waiting for our terrier to leave the house for his morning pee. We don't have a dog door so if the dog goes out we go too, but like most dogs and certainly most terriers, if Tucker sees an interloper, be it squirrel, rabbit, bird, or fox, he wants to give chase. Until this week when we opened the door the fox barked and ran away but now it sticks around in the bushes. So I have taken to going out before the dog goes out and banging on the pillars of the porch. They have been in several of my current quilt photos if you are curious.

Anyway, yesterday I went out and banged on the pillars and the fox barked and I thought that meant it had skedaddled. So I let Tucker out and as soon as he started to pee, I heard growling in the rhododendron bush next to the porch. I barely let Tucker finish his business before I picked him up to put him indoors. The fox kept growling all the while and Tucker was doing the, "Let me at him" routine but I closed the door thoroughly creeped out. Then about 30 minutes later when we went on our morning walk (two miles every day come rain or come shine) we saw the fox paralleling our path about 20 feet behind us. While that probably doesn't sound that scary it was still unnerving. Of course Pennsylvania has a very big problem with rabies so even house cats need to be vaccinated, but so far the fox seems more hungry than crazed.