Monday, May 28, 2007

Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend really does seem like the beginning of summer to me. We are staying at home doing some catching up and puttering. It has been nice.

More Fabric Play
I worked on some more fabrics for my journal quilt project. You will recognize the checked fabric from a previous post. The other two are fabrics I silk-screened. I painted a little blue into the green one. I think it needs a bit more color.

I discharged another piece of the blue, thinking I will probably use the checkboard for a border and I may want a curved top border. All of this checkerboard fabric needs some complexity added to the color, in my opinion.


Trying out yet another way of printing on fabric, I made a stamp using self-stick craft foam on a little square of acrylic and printed this little piece to use for a crow that will be on the piece.


Birthday Party

The weather was beautiful on Saturday, which provided a perfect opportunity to celebrate Emily's birthday a few days late with the first outdoor dinner of the season. Sofia slept through the first half of the party, but then she woke up and charmed everyone, including Uncle Andy who had to take a few pictures with his phone.

I even made a birthday cake. It has been a long time since I made a cake. I had planned on a beautiful layer cake, but when I got ready to bake it I couldn't find my round cake pans. I have a feeling I threw them out at some point. They were pretty dented and battered. I think there may be more birthday cakes in my future. I'd better buy some new pans.

The deck chair behind Emily is one of her birthday presents.

Potato Salad

I made potato salad for the dinner. The first of the season. I believe that potato salad should only be eaten in the summer. Ray barbequed salmon. We also had a green salad and olive bread. It was a great dinner and we are still enjoying the leftovers.

I think maybe potato salad is passe. It seems like one of those staples of the '50s and '60s, like jello molds and meatloaf. For years I thought my potato salad was very boring. I have finally learned to make really good potato salad. I am very picky about potato salad and almost never order it in a restaurant. The mayonaisse-y glop they sell in supermarkets is disgusting. My Aunt Pat made the best potato salad ever. It was famous within our family. After her funeral her family served lunch featuring potato salad made from her recipe. It was good, but not as good as Pat made. This morning when I walked with Beth she mentioned that she had made an excellent potato salad this weekend as well. I'm sure it was good. Beth is a great cook. But she favors sweet gherkins and a sweet dressing. That just seems wrong to me. For me potato salad must have dill pickle and some of the juice from the pickles in the dressing. I also add some dry dill weed to accentuate the dill-ness. I fear that good potato salad will die out with out our generation.

11 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:12 PM

    I am cooking potatoes for my potato salad, as I read your post. It's just a Memorial Day thing for me. And I fully agree with all your potato salad theories (but then, we grew up eating the same potato salad!) Mine is getting better--I add a little celery seed to it and it does make it more interesting.
    Have a nice Memorial Day. This year I have family here so it will be nice for me.

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  2. Potatoe salad will not die out if my hubby has anything to say about it -- he is trying to perfect his and come up with something we can both enjoy. I'm pretty picky when it comes right down to it -- a vinegar type girl who doesn't like tons of mayo, but he's working on it!

    As for the jello mold -- um, I have a great recipe (my grandmother's) that no holdiay in my home is complete without! I've even convinced someone who doesn't like jello that this one is ok.

    Sounds like a nice, relaxing weekend -- enjoy! and Happy late B-day to Emily.

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  3. Oops potato salad, not potatoe -- duh, you'd think I was one of my students or something.

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  4. Anonymous2:40 PM

    Potato salad won't die out in our house either - my brother in law makes the ONLY potato salad I have ever actually LOVED (usually it makes me gag). He makes his own mayonnaise, leaves the skin on very new potatoes and sometimes adds small quantities of extra stuff (sweet potato, capsicum, caramelised onion). His mayo is superb - good good oil and just the right amount of garlic. I'm interested to hear you mention dill pickles! Potato salad is clearly a different animal altogether in the USA.

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  5. Anonymous4:02 PM

    Potato salad is akin to tuna salad and chicken salad in that everyone thinks theirs is the best. I'm no exception! I cannot abide mayonnaise either--want just enough to bind things, but can't take the gloppy goo (that's blasphemy in the South). My potato salad calls for sour cream and a touch of mustard. Yours looks divine.

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  6. Terry,
    I love seeing what you are doing with the fabrics. What kind of screen do you use? Do you have a thermafax? I like the screen printed one very much. I have discharge stuff ready to try. Just haven't found the time yet. Do you have any problem with the fumes?

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  7. Anonymous9:14 PM

    I'm so glad we got to see some baby photos. I was beginning to worry....

    We have a great potato salad recipe -- it's from one of the Moosewood books (the Purple Moosewood?) and it doesn't involve mayonaise, but does have pickles and peas (and maybe carrots). It might just be the same one you have!

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  8. Oh June, never, never, never would I put peas in potato salad! I do not put peas in anything, especially my mouth. My hatred of peas runs very deep.

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  9. (taking note of Terry's pea hatred...)

    I think it's time to start the Potato Salad Preservation Society. I haven't made it in years, but my mom's German potato salad had no gloppy stuff whatsoever.

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  10. Anonymous4:52 AM

    ah potato salad!! dice & cook 'em with the skins, drain & splash with vinegar, add green onions s&p....when cooled add cooked crumbled bacon, chopped hard boiled eggs & a mix of mayo, sour cream and mustard....it offsets the vinegar and is MARVELOUS!

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