Tuesday, June 27, 2006

A new project???

Do I have any business at all even thinking about starting a new project? NO. But am I entertaining the thought? Heck yeah!

I love the drunkards path pattern and when I came across this variation while on retreat I just had to take a picture. And I've been pulling that picture up more and more often lately just looking at it and thinking how pretty this is and maybe a nice project to get me out of a slump. And such a nice stash quilt it would be too. If I do this it will have lots more colors of course. Red, yellow, pink, orange, purple, blue, green in all shades like a real flower garden. I know I really need to work on other things first but this sure is calling me. Sigh.......

This was supper. I never claimed it was healthy. But it sure was tasty. There was iced tea to go with it and there should have been a green salad but I forgot to fix it so we did without tonight. I eat a large salad with my lunch every day so it's not like I haven't had my share of greens for the day already.

Last picture for the day and then it's into the sewing room I go to see if I can shovel a little more out tonight.

Every wonder what the secret to great mashed potatoes is? Well you're looking at it! Yep it's mayo! Not just any mayo but a good brand made with lemon like Kraft or Hellman's. Cook your taters like normal, mash them with a little butter and milk but not much. Then but in a good sized spoon of mayo and stir it in until you have really creamy potatoes. These are soooooooo good! Just salt and pepper them and ya don't need gravy!

In my family these are know as "Granny Taters" as that's how my granny made them. I didn't realize until a few years ago that most of my family didn't know what her "secret" ingredient was. Not that it was a secret just that her kitchen was so small she prefered to cook without a lot of people underfoot so few people ever saw what she put in them to give them that distinctive taste. But when I was a teenager I spent a good bit of time with her and just never realized it was a big deal to put mayo in mashed potatoes. Not until Thanksgiving a few years ago when I was at Mama's helping with lunch. My brother was there and wanted to know what the heck I was doing when I put mayo in the potatoes. I think he thought I'd lost my mind! LOL! So I asked him, didn't you like Granny's mashed taters? Well that's what she did! Come to find out from other family members there that very few of them knew that. And had in fact tried to figure out for years why there taters weren't as good as Granny's.

14 comments:

Gail said...

Nancy, I love that drunkards path setting- please make the quilt and show us, maybe if you do, I won't feel so compelled to add it to my to-do list! By the way, my dil always adds mayo to her mashed taters at the table when the rest of us are adding butter or gravy.

Linda C said...

Go for it on the drunkard's path variation! Might get you out of the quilting slump to be excited about a new project rather than slogging around with an old one.

I can see adding mayo to taters--you use it in potato salad. Actually I think I got the method of making them down the standard way--at least my hubby raves about them.

At one point we used to eat out all the time, like you were talking about. I got tired of the restaurant routine and the time we were wasting eating out PLUS I am a better cook that what we were eating. NOW I have to practically beg to go out to lunch. That backfired a little bit there.

Had to laugh about the "May's over, where do you want to go?" from you DH.

Evelyn aka Starfishy said...

I love that Drunkards Path variation - I think you should give it a whirl! Why not? Your fabric stash is just sitting there begging you to cut and sew and make a beautiful quilt!!! At the very least - cut it out and kit it up (I like to cut 2 quilts at the same time once I have the fabric out, but use different patterns - so go ahead - find yourself a 2nd pattern too at the same time - in the long run you will save time!).

Mashed potatoes - I always add loads of sour cream while mashing... sometimes even throw in a herbed cream cheese, then usually smother it all with gravy. Mmmm. I do love potatoes! Great idea to start sharing recipes - will have to share some of mine in the near future.

Cheers!

Evelyn

Leah Spencer said...

Very nice looking quilt... I have JUST pieced a few DP's blocks and wasn't sure where to take them... now I know!

Neat trick about the Mayo... not sure if I could do that, I'm not a mayo lover. :)

Marlublu said...

I agree with you on the mayo and mashed potatoes. I love them that way. My DH thinks I'm crazy but that's ok.

Unknown said...

That drunkards path variation is lovely - would be good to use bullseye blocks in that format too - thanks for sharing that I've also put it away for future reference/inspiration :o)

The Calico Cat said...

I never would have even thought to add mayo to mashed potatoes... You have me intrigued. (I loke potato salad & that has mayo...)

I like the drunkards path too...

Laurie Ann said...

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to add mayo next time I do mashed!

Shelina said...

Oh this is a beautiful quilt. I can see why you want to make it. I made a similar one - with one flower. Now that I have a curvemaster foot, I think there are more drunkard path quilts in my future.

ForestJane said...

Mayo in mashed taters?

Well, I'll try anything once... and after all, what's mayo but whipped oil and egg? Hmmm.

Silverthimble said...

Thanks for sharing the "secret" ingredient to your mashed potatoes. I would never have thought of this!

Granny said...

Yum! Thanks for the tip on mashed taters!

I love that quilt with the drunkard's path block. You gonna try it?

Judy L.

Vicky said...

Oooo, Nancy, bad girl! I have that quilt all kitted up here, and chickened out making it. I had decided just to put the fabric back in the stash. Now you've got me thinking about it again!

I haven't tried mayo in potatoes, but have experimented with a bunch of other things. My favorite was using chicken broth instead of milk and leaving them kind of lumpy. Then I put them back in a baking sprinkled with some fresh parsley. Sounds awful, but they were very good.

So what time in dinner tomorrow? Figure if I leave now and point the QuiltMobile in the right direction, I might just make it in time! LOL

((HUGS))

Mary Johnson said...

I love this version of a Dunkard's Path. I bought one of the curve piecing feet at a quilt show in February and haven't had a chance to try it out. I was thinking I'd do a drunkard's path - I'll have to keep this setting in mind.