Yesterday was what my DH and I call an “industrialized cooking” day. Our stores are sadly depleted from our recent powe failure and so we need to restock. On the agenda was a fourple (quadruple) batch of our favorite salad dressing, a huge batch of pickled red onions0, and creamed spinach. Because Steve worked in a restuarant during and after college, he’s good at making large batches of stuff.
But it’s not exciting, so he likes company. Because I had a simple project to do, I brought it into the kitchen with me. It’s the center of the quilt pictured above. I had completed the swirls and just needed to do the Brick Stitch diamonds.
It’s so easy for us to forget in our desire to use fancy threads and stitches, that simple stitches with reliable, esy to use threads make for a lovely peaceful center in our day. That’s one of the joys of needleppoint. When you know the stitch and don’t have to fight with the thread, you slip into that glorious meditative state very quickly.
Just a few minutes of stitching can redeem what was otherwise a pretty bad sart to the day.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
You are so right about the meditative nature of hand stitching a familiar pattern. I would love to see your salad dressing recipe!
I’d love your recipes for the pickled onions and creamed spinach….not fair to tantalize us!!
Pat Correz
Recipe time for those who asked:
Creamed Spinach My DH has been making this off & on for 45 years, since his days working in the restaurant. He uses the recipe in the mid-70’s Joy of Cooking. The key in making this is that you squeeze out a much of the water as possible from the spinach before you put it into the cream sauce.
It’s a good recipe because you can freeze it and reheat and it also keeps warm for a long time.
Pickled Red Onions: We cut one medium red onion very thin on a mandoline. Then we add them to a mixture of:
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water
1.5 teaspoons regular table salt
You can, if you like add to this a smashed clove of garlic and some peppercorns. We don’t do either because the garlic made it too strong & the pepper was a pain to fish out.
Stir to dissolve the salt & add the onions. Bring to a boil & take off the heat. Let cool.
Strain the onions but keep the pickling liquid for the next batch. Sore the onions in a sealed container in the fridge and use within 2 weeks.
If you plan to keep this longer store in the pickling liquid. it keeps this way for a very long time.
Creamy Tarragon Dijon Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large tablespoon of mayonnaise
1 large teaspoon of tarragon dijon
juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 tablespoon
1 really fat clove of garlic, minced, 1 tsp. already minced
1 large pinch of kosher salt
a good grind of black pepper
Combine all the ingredients in a small jar with a tightly fitting lid. Shake, shake, shake! Give it a taste. Does it need more salt? Lemon? Or maybe it’s a bit thick. If so, add in a teaspoon of water.
We generally serve this on butter lettuce or romaine hearts and add bacon bits, green onions, crispy onions (like on green bean casserole), & crispy red peppers.
PLEASE NOTE: Tarragon Dijon is hard to find. I’ve only seen a couple of imported French brands. I only see it in high-end grocery stores. The herbs in it are important. When you find some stock up. Mustard is shelf-stable.
Keep stitching,
Janet