Oh where have I been?

Hello everyone!

Remember me? I am finally back in New Jersey. We have been driving around to all destinations this summer and we got back late last night. My sister and her family are visiting from Toronto the rest of this week so it will be great to end the summer this fun way. To all of you who have commented or e-mailed, I will get back to you soon! I gotta unwind and do a pile of laundry.

Before I forget, run over to Bunny Hill Designs. Anne is having a scavenger hunt [so fun!]. The winner gets some of her lovely fabric.

Oh where have I been? Let's start with this last trip. I just came back from a fun trip to do a book signing to promote my books, "Cool Girls Quilt" and "Sew Sentimental" at Checker Distributor in Maumee, Ohio for their 60th Anniversary Open House. Checker Distributors sells wholesale to those who have businesses in the quilting/needlework industry. What a fab group of people! Everyone from the organization to the shop owners and other designers who came were fantastic. 

Here's an end cap of designs and fabric from Kim Diehl and my fave group of people, Henry Glass.

Here are some more endcaps showing other fabrics and patterns. It was like being in a candy store. This is the fabric section. Their notions and book section [sorry I didn't get a pic] is phenomenal. I need an organizational system like that for my kiddos' stuff.

Joan Hawley of Lazy Girl Designs was demonstrating next to me. Super nice and super talented. She's got these Handy Tabs for purse making. So smart and they come in great colors.

Here's Gina Krieger, head of their IT department and also the buyer for their knitting, crochet, and needlework department. You know how people say that everyone has a twin in this world? It could be a physical thing or a personality thing. Well, obviously we don't look alike but she is my twin. I am sure of it. She's got great energy, and the same "obsessive, compulsiveness" [in a good and positive way] when it comes to crafting. Just take a look at this gorgeous sweater. Can you believe that she's only been knitting for THREE years? Gina, the knitting is awesome if I didn't tell you then.

We had dinner after the hectic day and I just loved spending time with my favorite person at Checker. Nancy Weber has believed in me since day one. Her honesty and friendship is greatly appreciated.

Hubby took the kiddos got to see the Toledo Zoo and surrounding area. Dh is great about supporting me that way even though he may go a little bonkers by the end of the day. The kids really enjoyed the visit too and they're such great troopers because dh and I drag them everywhere. More on our travels later. We made a stop in a fabulous place on our way back but it will have to be in another post for another day.

Come back soon. I will be having a giveaway next week. My baby starts kindergarten. So put on your thinking caps and open your hearts. I will need some funny stories about your little ones so that I won't need to think about mine being away from me for the first time.

p.s. If anyone can tell me how to add spaces between paragraphs beyond the normal way of pressing enter, please let me know. I feel like an idiot. I have been trying everything and it just won't let me do it.

Honey and Thyme Roasted Pumpkin

It’s been raining a lot over here. Threats of typhoons, gloomy weekdays filled with the incessant patter of raindrops, grey skies, wonky dsl...the usual ways the rainy season makes its presence felt. Today’s different though...the sun is out (for now) where I live and I’m once again in a skirt and tank top, trying to keep cool.

Crazy weather. Determined to drive me mad. Lulling me into cozy thoughts of soup and stews, and then driving me headlong into the arms of fresh fruit and salad. Eating seasonally means a different thing every day over here, a challenge that is just a bit too much for me right now.

I seek refuge in the embrace of a very autumnal dish. Autumn is a season absent from our calendar and I find every opportunity to flout nature and enjoy it on my table, if not in my weather.

Crazy, perplexing, faithless weather. You deserve my rebellion.

The weather aside, I am loving the local farmers who have started growing butternut squash. I find it at the markets more often now, and I make sure to buy some when I see it...no matter what the weather is like. In my favourite herb stall, at my Saturday market a while back, I found some gorgeous specimens. After much dithering about the size (I only have two mouths to feed after all) I finally succumbed to a 3-kilo beauty upon the urging of my friend M, who assured me that I could just cook and puree what I couldn’t use then freeze it for later consumption. Which is exactly what I did after enjoying the squash as a centrepiece on our dining room table (whole pumpkin is such a joy...you can keep it as decoration for the longest time while you ponder how you want to prepare it...not to mention the possibilities if you happen to have a fairy godmother!).

I divided the squash in half: Half I roasted and pureed, and stashed in my freezer for emergency butternut squash soup. This is what happened to the other half.

Honey and Thyme Roasted Pumpkin
(adapted from Maple and Thyme Roasted Pumpkin, Donna Hay Magazine, issue 38, page 100)

• 4 wedges of butternut squash, about 700 grams total weight
• a scant 1/4 cup honey
• 70 grams butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup pili nuts, blanched and peeled
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

- Place the honey, butter, thyme, and nuts in a bowl and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste – it should have a sweet-salty flavour balance.
- Arrange squash wedges in a roasting pan, or any sort of pan where they’d fit. I used a pyrex pie dish and that worked fine.
- Pour the honey-nut mixture over the squash, dividing evenly between their little hollows.
- Roast in a 200C oven for 30-40 minutes or until tender.
- Serves 4 as a side dish.

The original recipe used golden nugget pumpkins (instead of butternut squash), maple syrup (instead of honey), and almonds and pecans (instead of walnuts and pili).

If there is someone out there who can resist a golden, caramelized wedge of butternut squash, softly roasted and topped with sweet sticky nuts...well, you are a stronger person than I. This dish was so divine that the weather made no hee-haw to me whichever way its inconstant winds wanted to blow. Rain or shine, wet or dry, sometimes you just need to close your window and do what you want.