Can You Spare a Quilt?

Victoria at Bumble Beans is a talented quilter and one of the nicest people I've met in blogland. I've learned so much about being artistic with my quilt designs from her. I call her my "art professor." Some time ago, she asked the blogging community to help out our fellow humans by donating house blocks that she would put together into quilts for families struggling in the New York City area. V received 550 blocks from bloggers around the world. These blocks were beautifully placed into award-winning quilts that will warm families, comfort children, and show the world just how giving quilters are.

The next phase of Victoria's project is a quilt gather. Quilts of all sizes are welcome. Baby quilts, throws, and bed quilts. The goal is to provide 700 quilts to families that could use some warmth and comfort. You can find out more information about this wonderful project at Bumble Beans Basics. Can you spare a quilt?

The Pioneer Woman's Chicken with Olives is so good. This is the second time I've made it. I used skinless, boneless chicken thighs and low salt tomatoes for health reasons. Ya'll are laughing, aren't ya? Me too. I guess the no-yolk egg noodles aren't flying either. It's hard to eat healthy. We also have green pepper haters in the house, so I substituted red and orange peppers. This dish reminds me of my grandmother's veal stew and olives. My vegetarian friends have shamed me for buying veal, so I try not to do it. But really, that poor calf is already goners by the time he's on my grocery shelf. If I don't buy it, could it possibly be thrown out? Now that's just wasteful. Lambs and calves will get their day. We don't eat horses here any longer, although horse meat is still popular in France.

Earlier in the day I made Hope's famous oatmeal cookies. Hope brought these to sew day once and I ate more than my fair share. They were so good. She kindly shared her "secret" recipe with me. I love cooks who share recipes! My cookies never turn out as pretty as Hope's do, but they're quite tasty. And healthy! Okay, I'll quit. Who am I kidding? See that "dud" on the edge of the plate? That's always my favorite cookie of the batch, especially when I'm making chocolate chip cookies. I guess I just prefer the dough and not the raisins or chocolate chips. Brown sugar and butter, baby!

This Asian slaw is a family favorite. Dump a bag of broccoli slaw in a bowl and toss with an Asian-inspired vinaigrette. I used sesame and canola oils, garlic, sesame seeds, rice wine vinegar, ginger, honey, soy sauce and pepper. I snuck in a little of our homemade hot sauce too. You could use bottled dressing, but I don't want to hear about it. ;)

But here's my favorite. Avocados and tomatoes with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Dinner is served.