“Cooking Is For People Who Don’t Know How To Quilt”

The sign on the local fabric shop

I was inspired this morning by the above picture. 

When you’re snowed in…the garden is under four feet of snow…the holidays are over…It’s time to quilt!!!

I like to have a quilt on the rack during the summer so I can take a few stitches here and again for a break and so I can still feel productive while the TV is on in the evening.  I’m getting a late start so this year I’m going to do “A Quilt In A Day”, they take a day if you dedicate the WHOLE day. So, to make sure my family doesn’t resent the beautiful creation that’s about to consume my attention for ten hours, I’ll start dinner before I begin.

Being on alternative energy, I have to assess what the kW usage of the house will be to decide which method I will cook with.  Of course, the wood cook stove is burning all day so that’s the first consideration. I can easily put my roast in a cast iron dutch oven or heavy gauge stainless steel stock pot and leave it on the stove all day. Or, if other usage is low, I can put it in the slow cooker and never give it a thought until the last stitch is in.  I obviously will not vacuum or wash laundry, one computer maybe on and the television will have minimal use, with the stove burning the central heat will not run.  Hallelujah! I shall use the slow cooker.

• 3-4 pound rump or chuck roast
• ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
• ¼ teaspoon seasoned pepper
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ cup home dehydrated onions (or 1 tablespoon instant minced onion)
• 2 cups Au Jus or beef bouillon
• 4 medium potatoes peeled and quartered
• 4 carrots washed or peeled cut in ½ inch chunks
• ¼ cup of home dehydrated celery (or 3 stalks of fresh celery cut in ½ inch chunks)

Toss the vegetables into your slow-cooking pot, pour in the bouillon, rub all sides of the meat with seasonings and place on top. Cover and cook on low for 8 – 10 hours or until the meat is tender. Remove from pot and slice. If you want gravy, thicken the juices with flour dissolve in a small amount of water after removing meat and vegetables from the pot.

When my guys return from snowmobiling, they will be so impressed with my productivity.  I have a gorgeous quilt on my rack and a delicious dinner on the table.