Risotto Pancakes

I hope you all had a most agreeable Christmas! I have been sidelined with my knee injury and then developed an allergic reaction to the latex or adhesive in the bandages used. My teeth pain has slowly diminished with no sign of discoloration, so far. All in all, slowly on the mend and considering myself very lucky.

I thought I'd share a side dish I made for dinner last night. It is not too complicated to make and is always well-liked, to get started you need,
1 TBL butter
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup long grain rice, this cannot be Uncle Ben's brand or Minute Rice brand! I used Mahatma Gold brand.
1/4 tsp salt

Saute the onions and garlic in the butter over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Add broth and heat to boiling. Add rice and salt, reduce heat to simmer, with pan covered for about 20 minutes until all liquid is absorbed.

Remove from heat,

and stir in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Let cool 15 minutes,

and add 1 slightly beaten egg.

Mixture will be slightly sticky looking. At this point, I cover it and put it in the refrigerator.

When ready to cook, shape the mixture into 12 pancakes. It helps to moisten your hands with water and shake off the excess before shaping. You can refrigerate again for up to 24 hours before cooking just make sure they are covered.

Using 1/2 cup dried plain bread crumbs, coat pancakes and fry a few at a time in a large skillet over medium heat. I use about 1/3 cup of canola oil and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. They are good served with applesauce or sour cream. Enjoy!

Fairy Doors

Do you know about fairy doors? I didn't until I overheard a conversation while at the booksellers yesterday and couldn't wait to Google it. Apparently, this little whimsy began a few years ago by an illustrator/inventor named Jonathan b. Wright. That's a nickel above the door below, for perspective.

His wife had a preschool in their home and he built these diminutive doors for fairies. It was a big hit with the kids.

These pictures are of fairy doors found in businesses in Ann Arbor, Michigan where Mr. Wright lives.

Several shops and cafes and even the public library embraced the idea. Maps were made to lead the way.

Coins, candy, small toys, chocolates, are sometimes left on the stoops to entice the fairies to move in. Why there is even a fairy door found at the downtown offices of Google.

Much more can be found at Urban Fairies. Be sure to check out the fairy inhabited pumpkin.
Hope you have an enchanting Wednesday!

Wish for Joy

I thought I'd share a neat cottage industry I patronize, Charmed Designs.


Dana is a SAHM with four of the cutest kids! She creates her own little works of art using quality materials and also does custom work.


I've bought a number of pieces for gifts and they were greatly appreciated. And she has sales occasionally. And she even adjusts the bracelet to fit your wrist the way you like it. Pictures are from Charmed Designs bracelet called Wish for Joy.

The Quilters' Hall of Fame

I am putting off doing my walk this morning as the temperature is 39 degrees here in Florida with a bit of a breeze, brrrrr.
I discovered that there is a Quilters' Hall of Fame and that is a picture of the house it occupies! The QHF is located in Marion, Indiana in Marie Webster's restored home. 2009 is billed as a special Triple Celebration year: 5 years since the Museum opened in the historic Marie Webster House, 30 years since the founding of The Quilters' Hall of Fame, and 150 years since the birth of Marie Webster. The site has a biography/picture of all the honorees, some names I'm sure you'll recognize.
I'm off on my chilly walk, thanks for stopping by!
{photo Quilters' Hall of Fame}

Wicked Wednesdays

I stumbled across the Selvage Blog last week as I was recuperating from my cold. Blog Mistress, Karen, has droves of projects to share all using the selvages of fabric. I've seen a few selvage items but never this many in one place. The pin cushions are mine favorite. The pictures are all from the blog.



I thought the potholders were particularly clever. And so easy to make up.



And look at this, Christmas tree ornaments with a brilliant placement of those little color dots on the selvage. So go on over to Karen's blog and check out all the wicked projects like table runners, book covers, lamp shades, doll quilts, purses, postcards, vests and more that she features. It's all so very creative and inspiring!

Wicked Wednesdays

I thought I'd try something different here and introduce a new feature and call it Wicked Wednesdays; partly in honor of how I feel today, sore throat, stuffed nose, general all-around punky, and wicked as in awesome, bang-up, dandy in honor of the wicked quilts I've found leafing through the blogs this morning. Isn't this quilt just stunning? Found it at The Pesky Bombolino. I'm not what you'd call a 'blue' person, but this quilt is so jaw-dropping fantastic!

More neat things abound at this blog, so go visit when you get a chance!
x, m