Stitchin’ Heaven Howdy

You know how there are moments in your life you remember because of an event? I remember where I was when Armstrong walked on the moon. I remember the moment I heard Kennedy had been shot. I remember when HGTV announced it would be cancelling Simply Quilts. Now, Alex has joined with Ricky for an even greater adventure: The Quilt Show. What is it? It’s television on the Internet. It’s the Greatest Show on Earth. It’s hip/cool/now. This website has a load of really neat stuff. It has a forum where you can easily post topics of interest – you can even talk about your favorite quilt shop (hint, hint). There is a chat and a daily blog from Alex, Ricky and friends. And, of course there is the 1-hour long video production featuring Alex, Ricky and friends that you can view over and over, 24/7 in your jammies if you want! Their love of quilting is at the heart of the effort and from what I have seen I am much impressed.

To watch the episode you can choose one of three formats: at the drive-in movie, at the theatre, or in your living room. There are usually a couple of episodes each month and they will stay on the site for about a year . Select the graphic to see the trailer that is currently on the website:

Register for a free basic account or you can sign up for a paid account by April 1 that will not only give you “Gold” status but you will also be a “Charter Member” of what will most likely soon be the largest quilting community on the planet. I really want you to do this. So, check out what the buzz is all about today, register your screen name today and start enjoying the fun. I’ll see you there – I’m debkwiltz!

Guacamole! Something we love to eat, have trouble spelling, and wonder how it is made. I am a personal fan. To me there is nothing better than really good guacamole also known as avocado dip. Problem is that there are so many places who serve the really bad variety. What makes a good guacamole? The most common mistake that is made is that people add too much onion and cilantro. For some reason there is this opinion that without cilantro (and lots of it) it ain’t Mexican. And garlic…too much! I looked at a recipe the other day with these ingredients:

• 3 avocados – peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 2 (3 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons salsa
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 dash ground black pepper
• 1 dash garlic salt
• 1 dash onion powder

Now to some of you this might seem simple. There are 8 ingredients here…you only need 2. That’s right! You can make a delicious guacamole salad from only 2 ingredients. Here’s how:

2 or 3 avocados depending on how large they are and how much you want to make. They need to be good quality – not mushy and not hard. A good rule of thumb is they need to be soft enough you can mash them up with a fork.

The second magic ingredient is On of the Border salsa (made in Dallas, TX!! Yoohoo!) – I usually get the mild variety. You can get it at Sam’s and most major grocery stores. You can make this recipe with other brands but I don’t guarantee that it will be as good. Although – it just might be better so don’t hesitate to experiment. How much? A couple of tablespoons to start with. Stir it into your mashed up avocados. You might want to add a few shakes of salt and a wee bit of black pepper.

The “taste test” is the important step. You should be the first to taste test. If it needs more salsa then add another “whateveryouthinkitneeds”. Taste test again. When it is really, really good invite your friends to taste test. Wait for loads of “Yummmmmm”s and “Wow..that is good”s. Eat it with chips (have you tried Megathins? – another personal favorite) or put it on top of your next Mexican salad.
I was appointed to make the guacamole at a recent Bunkhouse retreat and it was consumed post-haste so once again my secret recipe was a success! Remember: when making guacamole, don’t sweat it! It’s really easy!

Make up a batch and let me know what you think!

deb