Sunday, December 4, 2016

I'm A Quilter And A Zoodler

Being a quilter is kind of a misnomer.  I don't actually QUILT these myself, I take them to a wonderful lady who does that part for me.  I just sew all of the 5,000 pieces together.  I promise I won't make that mistake again.  Good heavens ... this quilt has gone on FOREVER!  Every single one of those white pieces is a separately cut and sewed piece.  Some of the colored ones have two pieces each!

I think I've been sewing on this for a total of two months, my usual time being maybe a week.  And I'm not done yet!!  I still have to spend a few hours moving squares around until I get the color combinations right, before I can finally stitch it all together.  By then, I'll hate it!!

The good news is that when the quilter is done with it, she does such an amazing job of adding dimension and design, that I will love it again.  At least if it ever gets that far!!
And now, thanks to the magic of Amazon.com, I've become a Zoodler.  I know this sounds crazy, but I've switched out a lot of the pasta I eat for zucchini noodles.  It's weird that this works and even more weird that I actually like them.  So far I've mixed them up (both raw and cooked) with parmesan cheese, with marinara sauce and with salad dressing.  They twirl on your fork just like pasta and trick your brain into thinking you're eating something delicious!!  It's really all in the sauce.

The magic machine even cores the squash, which is the weird thing sitting on the counter in front.  I've tried to cut out most of the carbs I eat ... which has been a lot ... and not only do I feel better, I'm full longer and I think I may have lost a couple of pounds.  Here's to zoodling, not to be confused with canoodling.  Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to make mac 'n cheese with them yet.
I'm sure you're aware it's the time of year for returns.  Just for kicks, I googled those boots I've had for almost three years and what to my wondering eyes should appear?  They are still making them.  I ordered a pair post haste.  Now I have to go through all the trouble of returning them.  Yes, I should have known better.  They have the same problem, too tight in the arch.  At least I could get my foot in this pair, but then they were WAY too big!!  That's what I get for ordering boots on the internet.
THEN I found these beauties.  As I'm sure you already suspected, I'm not only addicted to quilting material, but cowboy boots.  These have to be very close to being my all time favorite fancy boots.  It just goes to show that sometimes, once in a blue moon, you CAN get boots on the internet ... and they fit!!  And they are taller.  And they are sparkly, which I swore I would never wear in a million years.  And they are MINE!!  My name is Nancy .... yada yada yada  ..... and I'm wearing them as I type.
To finish out the day, I made ... you guessed it ... peanut butter cookies.  I'm curious ... does anyone know why we mark the top with a fork?  These pretty much offset the zoodles, but it's better than having BOTH carbs.  
I'm contemplating where I can go today with my new fancy pants boots.  It's been VERY cold ... down to 32 degrees the last couple of nights, but I'll be toasty warm with my new boots on.  Hmmmm  maybe I should have bought a coat instead.






10 comments:

  1. My daughter made me chocolate muffins from nut flour with chopped zoodles in them--can you image how tasty healthful can be with such a combination?

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    1. That sounds pretty delicious Linda! Who knew veggies could actually be tasty!!

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  2. Blogger Mister ed said...
    My day off and you're making me work,but the answer to your question, and no you can't play tic-tac-toe on them,
    And no they don't break better ,
    Peanut butter – a household favorite since the early 1900’s. And the history of peanut butter cookies starts around the same time, with the first recipe made public around 1916. Since they have been made, there has always been a unique feature about this particular cookie. That feature is the fork hash marks impressed in the top of the cookie. The question is though, why are they there? Several reasons are speculated for these delicious peanut butter cookies to have these hash marks, but the most common reasons known is pure baking tradition, to help the cookies bake more evenly, and as a warning sign for people with peanut allergies.

    Tradition

    The first time that these fork marks were widely instructed to be placed on the cookie tops was in a recipe from a 1936 Pillsbury cookbook. There was no explanation given in the recipe as to why the fork hash marks were called for, but people made them anyways. Now, most people who bake these cookies put the hash marks on them out of pure tradition without knowing why they are even doing it. Maybe it’s because it’s simply more fun to make old fashioned peanut butter cookies!

    Peanut Butter Cookies

    Better Baking

    Probably the most common reason specified for the marks on the cookies is because it’s supposed to help them cook more evenly. When peanut butter is added to cookie dough it makes it denser, which in turn makes it harder to bake through. Putting the hash marks in the cookie dough balls actually flattens them for more even baking. When the cookies bake, they should come out soft with crispy edges where the hash marks have been formed. Most people agree that the best peanut butter cookies are the ones with a soft center and crispy edge.

    Nut Allergies

    Although most people love these little desserts, those who are allergic to peanuts cannot eat them. However, because their color, shape, and texture causes them to look like other cookies, they can be easily confused and accidentally eaten by someone with an allergy. Therefore, this cookie was thought to have been given fork marks to warn people who are sensitive to nuts what they are about to eat. Since the marks are such a unique cookie feature, it is a great reminder of the ingredients.
    On your quilt
    O And by the way Square one and three don't line up with two but square six does not line up with Square seven but if you have square eight Lines up better with nine then 10 so you can use 12 and two is the same one you'll come out right on your quilt ,,but then again that's only my opinion,,and I'm going to stick with it ???




    Quilt Looks COOL


    And by the way , are the cookies self tested for the welder Guy ??

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    1. Now does that mean the Little orange fish crackers contains fish?
      And a little octagon oyster crackers could contain oysters?
      And gingerbread cookies could contain humans?
      And Marzipan cookies could contain a pan?
      And brownies whoever made brownies without walnuts?
      What about walnut cookies what shape are they!
      And what's the world coming to when there's a big hazelnut on top of my hazelnut cookies?
      And if you leave out sugar on a sugar cookie is it just called a plain old cookie?
      And we all know that chocolate is a nut so when I see chocolate chip cookies with chocolate Pyramids I now know that it could have nuts.
      Now we all know that butter comes from the utter so how do you get butter nut cookies?
      So would that mean that we could only drink milk from a cow that's not chestnut colored
      And while I'm at it, if we drink coffee call chock full of nuts, that contains no nuts,???
      Well !! there goes my Morning Coco". Nuts, i'm switching to Tea;

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    2. I KNEW you'd figure it out for me!! I'm sorry it was your day off!! I had no idea about the cookie grid, but yes, if not squashed down, they do rise high in the middle and probably wouldn't cook through. As for the welder ... he had a wife who made her presence very known when I was there. Cookies are probably NOT a good idea!!

      As for the quilt, I'll take your advice. At this point they are just squares sticking to the batting on the wall, so I can arrange them any way I want ... which usually takes hours. It's nice to have a little help.

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    3. Hahahaha ... I think you've had too much coffee!!! I DO like those fish crackers however!!

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. :::Zoodler::: is that anything like a person that has more than one zoot suit in the closet??

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    2. I went to a quilt shop last month just to look wow!! you guys are amazing one lady send in 11 quilts to be stitched ,with a fancy pattern. one pattern took the girl two days
      on a long alarm computerized machine this quilt shop has three long Arm computerized machines they run 8 hours a day and they're back logged about a week.
      But some of the quilt that were hanging off the wall were absolutely fantastic even so they were over $400/$500 each , not cheap

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    3. Zoodler ... person who makes noodles out of zucchini
      Zooter ... person who has multiple zoot suits!!

      My quilter uses a long arm computerized machine. She is always a few weeks behind. Those $500 quilts usually have upwards of $250 worth of fabric, not to mention the quilting costs. I try to keep under the $100 range, with quilting running an average of $65. Even the cheap ones aren't cheap!!

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