I tried to be restrained here with baby pictures. Doing my best. I am the internet equivalent of that grandma who whips out the accordion photo keeper for all comers.
Thursday was Deirdre's birthday, and the input she gave me was “shrimp… angel hair pasta… asparagus… lemon… creamy… ”
I did my best. The asparagus in the garden is not happening at the moment, but what was in the market was very fresh and appealing.
Here is how to go right over the top with this dish: I gently simmered the shrimp (which was nice American wild-caught) in a stick of butter, while their shells were simmering in water with the ends of all the shallots I had left from last year's harvest. Then I removed the shrimp to a bowl and gently simmered the asparagus in the shrimpy butter and a little water. Removed to a bowl. Boiled the pasta. Strained the shrimp shells. Made a sauce with sautéed shallots, dried tomato, shrimp water, the shrimpy butter, cream, a little cornstarch slurried into a little white wine, FOUR egg yolks beaten in at the end (because I had frozen four together and so we had to sacrifice ourselves). And a little pasta water. And lemon! Enough to make about 4 cups of sauce.
Tossed it all into the pasta (which of course I had tossed with oil after it was cooked so it wouldn't stick). Freshly grated parmesan over all.
Yes, it was delish. Butter, oil, cream, egg yolks… yes. Delish.
Suddenly decided these babies needed quilts, regardless of the quilt backlog (in the queue: two wedding quilts, at the minimum two grandchild quilts for grandchildren already here — working on it!). Tried to make quick ones.
I put Nora down on my bed at Rosie's all wrapped up in the one I was finishing for her as she was returning from the hospital. I had made it from two of my all-time favorite fabrics, using them down to the last scrap, knowing they go with Rosie's palette — or at least what we all deem to be her palette! After snapping a photo, I realized that this vignette is an explosion of handmade Red-Orange-Pink-Yellow — a veritable perfect storm of my crafting vision re: Rosie.
Needless to say, because you can tell from those pictures of his quiltlessness, I am behind on Eamon's! But catching up…
Chat with me! What'cha got? {And don't forget the giveaway!}
Jenny says
Congratulations on all your babies! Yall are stoking a severe case of baby fever over here.
Julie says
Those quilts are beautiful! I have my own backlog of quilts to finish/quilts for gifts/quilts I’m dying to make. I find winter much more suited to the actual task of quilting, but sometimes I get the itch and just ‘have’ to piece the tops!
Michelle M says
Your family is SO blessed to have you, Leila! You impress me and make me smile. I want to be just like you!
Katie says
Nora in her knitted bonnet (among the quilts) reminds me to mention that your earlier post inspired to me pull out my knitting, too. It must have been around March Madness, because I knew I’d be doing some sitting and TV-watching, and it seemed like a good time for a project. Thanks for the pattern recommendation. It was simple enough thanks to the noted changes and tutorials, and turned out very pretty. I made one for our baby #2 who is on the way (the “bonnet baby,” as our toddler says), and just yesterday I put a second one in the mail to a dear college friend who welcomed a baby girl a week or so ago. Alas, that baby came early, as her package was planned to coincide with the hospital homecoming! Close enough. =)
Rachel says
Beautiful babies, beautiful mamas, beautiful quilts.
Tell me: when did you start quilting? (And the answer needs to be something like, “In my forties…” so that there is hope. Lie if you must.)
😀
Rachel says
Oh! I forgot to say! I am absolutely making that scrumptious dinner. What a smart choice, Deirdre! And I’m thankful for your smart mama to put all that together in “here’s how to make it” form for me.
Leila says
Hi Rachel — I started quilting — in the most ridiculously over-thought way due to it being the 80s and me being me — when I was about 25. Sorry 🙂
My first quilt, a rather small one, took me 3 years. Partly because it was so needlessly complicated and partly because we were moving around a bunch, having babies, etc.
I had decided that each of my children needed a quilt. So I just started. Then I got ahead on kids 🙂 Bridget was maybe 12 when she got hers.
Now I’m ahead on grandkids 🙂
Lisa G. says
But you persisted! How interesting. 🙂
Leila says
They HAD to have them 🙂
Elizabeth says
Mmmmm, that dinner sounds amazing! Fresh asparagus…hard to beat! And what is the baby bonnet pattern, please? Also, the quilts are lovely, and I just love the red and yellow quilt on the bed. I have a weakness for star patterns, but I’ve resisted the quilting bug so far (sort of: I have a huge fabric stash anyway, and recently may have purchased one or two quilt patterns because they were just too beautiful to resist). 🙂
Leila says
Elizabeth, the baby bonnet pattern is here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/leilamarie/modern-baby-bonnet
Kelsey says
Such cheerful photos! They do convey your happiness in this very full season of life!
I am going to ask a (probably dumb) question that is only kind of relevant to this post. It comes from your comment about the wild-caught shrimp. Here it is, (with a preface! I can never ask a question without prefacing!): How does one, conscious of the ethical/social/environmental/health problems associated with our broken food system, and aware of what is best to purchase and consume, go about feeding her family in a pleasing way without spending obscene amounts of money? In other words, do I buy the single pound of grass-fed beef or pastured chicken or wild-caught fish or whatever and subsist the rest of the week on rice and beans, or what? I know all about using every bit of that animal with soups and stocks and whatnot, but at some point I start feeling like my poor little family is just going to die of boredom with our meals.
I feel like I need someone of sense and experience to hit me over the head with practical wisdom on this anxiety-producing topic. Thank you in advance.
Margo, Thrift at Home says
Kelsey, I blog about this a lot. For me, it amounts to buying local in season and cooking from scratch. Almost always cheaper than the factory farmed stuff when you do it that way, although I do live in an area with great farmers nearby.
Dia says
Remember that “perfection is the enemy of the good.” Those of us who are a bit older have been cooking for decades with factory farmed food and we didn’t even know it. Buy what you can afford and spend time and effort on learning how to cook it well. When you can afford it, buy the better, “more ethical” stuff–but if your family is sitting down to homecooked meals from factory farmed food, you are still so far ahead of the game with regard to health and wholesomeness that you should never apologize or feel guilty. Keep up the good work!
Leila says
Kelsey, I hear you.
I think that it’s hard for those who advocate for buying all sorts of pricey foods on the grounds that they are better for you to realize how stressful and sometimes impossible it is to do so for a large and hungry family.
These are my priorities: I’m all about doing what you need to do to live on one income. I am all for feeding your hungry children lots of wholesome food, and sometimes quantity is as important as quality. I also think that the main objective, healthwise, is to avoid as many processed foods as possible — making what you can from scratch, even if the ingredients you use are not the most purely sourced. Hence the need to live on one income, so that you are available to do that!
It happens that we have few people around here these days, it was Deirdre’s birthday (so special ingredients are called for, right?), and the wild-caught was not much more than the others. And shrimp in particular has been noticeably chemically tasting to me lately… so I sprang for it.
But this is, as the Chief says, “without prejudice” — I can do it differently next time and no one can blame me 🙂
Be at peace, do what you can, and don’t worry. Normal food, lovingly prepared, is fine.
Sophie says
Amen, sister.
Kelsey says
Thank you thank you for these wise words! Yes, we do live on one income, and I need to constantly remind myself that the sacrifices we make to achieve that are truly necessary and worth it. And that there is grace for those moments when we must choose the lesser for the sake of a greater good. I’m grateful for your encouragement!
Christine says
My word, I would love to be able to cook like that. It looks delicious, and I actually have our garden’s asparagus in my fridge.
Why wouldn’t you share all of those photos of that adorable baby?!
Nancy says
Enjoyed the pictures and recipe creation! In Northeast Florida, Meyer lemons are abundant so whipped up a lemon tart with almond crust, topped with raspberries (berry season around here from April-June). With TPC-Mother’s Day and a few gatherings, I am planning on making a pound cake (doubling recipe) with berries and whipped cream.
Leila says
Nancy, sounds so good!
Joy in Alabama says
Your daughters have the MOST beautiful babies! What talent! 😉
Love the colors in the quilt!
Margo, Thrift at Home says
baby sweetness!!! Please keep sharing!
And I love the idea of a person having a color palette – I am now going to amuse myself by figuring out the palettes for the people I want to sew for. My sister has requested a quilt. Fun.
Sully says
Is there anything as precious as a new baby? That tiny little soul fresh out of heaven! I cannot stand how cute your little grandkids are! And that pasta and shrimp dinner looked too good to be true.
Adele says
Perhaps it is odd that I was thinking there weren’t enough pictures of babies and quilts. I am busy making all manner of fun girls clothes from “Clothes that Kids Love”. I’m currently appliqueing a butterfly onto my middle girl’s dress (its raining). I too find winter a more inspiring time to sew and knit (although perhaps that is because we live in Wisconsin). Good luck on the inevitable long list of sewing that magically appears as soon as you make one project semi successfully.
Mary Keane says
So pretty! And adorable. And yummy. Thanks for sharing all the joy.
I’ve got a quilt queue too. First up is my own baby’s!
Emily D. says
I cannot handle the baby pictures. I just can’t.
NY Mom says
My sons were all spring and summer babies, and I found myself associating them with the flowers that were peaking at the time of their births. The firstborn came when the violet-blue dame’s rocket was taking over the fields and roadsides – I had pitchers of them all over the house because they were free and abundant. And like them, that child was rather delicate and sensitive. The next-born came when there were sunflowers – and he is sunny and robust, just like them. The third came just as the tulips were opening – strong, basic, independent, bright, and constant in his temperament. The last one arrived in late July when the lilies were the star of the garden, and he is the tallest, the most steady, and has been the easiest to “grow”.
The memories of those births and infancies are still with me as I watch those flowers pass through their phases each year.
Karen says
Please do not stop the baby photos. They cheer my day.
And I adore NY Mom’s description of her children as flowers growing. Lovely.
DeirdreLMLD says
Too sweet!
Joy says
Leila, I wanted to share how I have finally, after nearly nineteen years of marriage, come to terms with meal planning. I hate menu planning, because when I have done it in the past, life conspires to make my plans not work, or I rebell against my own plans. And then I feel like a failure, and feel like the time planning was a waste.
I already have implemented your “save a step” ideas, I keep a well stocked pantry, and I have on the inside of my spice cupboard a list of all the meals the family likes to eat, organized by pantry staple. So those are the good points of my fly by the seat of my pants approach.
But still I was finding that while at times we are a good variety of well cooked meals, at other times there would be seasons where every other meal included eggs because I was on an egg kick, or that I was resenting how often the children need to eat.
A few months ago my mom mentioned that when she was a child, her mother rotated through the same seven meals each week. And that lead to my bright idea: I now have a theme for each day of the week, so there is a framework, but I also have a lot of freedom to get fancy or stay basic, depending on my mood or the needs of the day.
Here is what I came up with:
Monday-Mexican
Tuesday-roasted veggies
Wednesday -beans and bread
Thursday – pasta
Friday – breakfast for dinner
Saturday – pizza
Sunday – sandwiches with soup or salad
So I thought I’d share, in case this might help anyone else rebelling against their own meal plan. And best of all, my husband loves it.
Jen says
Lovely idea! Glad I am not the only one who struggles!
Mary Ellen Barrett says
Never skimp on baby photos!
The recipe is wonderful, I’ll be trying that for sure, being close to the water we get some nice shrimp here. I’m also delighted to know you can freeze egg yolks, I had no idea.
Kelly Sue says
Thanks for sharing your daughter, grandsons and quilts with us, Leila! Never too many pictures of wonderful babies (or your family)! I think Blessed Mother Teresa had it right: “How can there be too many {pictures of your} children? That is like saying there are too many {bouquets of} flowers!”
Annalisa says
Not too many baby pictures yet! I feel intimidated by quilting and wish I had a good small project to work on under the tutelage of an experienced and encouraging quilter. What I really need to attack is the pile of mending that includes a high proportion of holey leggings that need to be turned into shorts worn under dresses and skirts. It’s just not exciting enough to move me to make a mess of the school room table for a couple days. Yet. Spring and new life are bursting from your photos and it’s lovely!
Dixie says
Annalisa, you can do it!! If you don’t know any experienced quilters, there are some forums online where quilters are delighted to help someone new along. I really like the Missouri Star Quilt Company’s forum. The ladies (and gents) on the forum are so nice and so quick to help. I bet they could suggest a good small project and help you with any snags. Start small and slowly and the skills will bloom over time!
Annalisa says
Thanks Dixie! I’ll check out Missouri Star Quilt Company. Online help to a start is better than no start because the conditions aren’t perfect.
Woman of the House says
Anna of Pleasant View Schoolhouse has good, easy instructions to make a scrap quilt here: http://pleasantviewschoolhouse.blogspot.com/2009/02/getting-started-on-scrap-quilt.html. And then she tells you how to bind it, quilt it, etc. here: http://pleasantviewschoolhouse.blogspot.com/2009/02/putting-together-scrap-quilt.html. I made a scrap quilt following her instructions and found them very straight forward. Almost five years later the quilt is still holding together. 🙂 It is not hard, and~ to borrow a phrase from Leila~ if I can do it, so can you!
Annalisa says
Thanks!
NinnyNoodleNoo says
Such agorgeous baby! And beautiful quilts!
Emily says
Auntie, I always feel to try every recipe you post. This was no exception. Tonight, I made this pasta dish with fresh Gulf shrimp and garden-grown asparagus, both courtesy of relatives. It was magnifique! Thank you for posting it!
eclare says
Gorgeous baby, gorgeous pasta.