Mexican food: homemade!

I have wanted to make homemade tortillas forEVER and finally did this past week. The stars must have been aligned because they turned out great the first time! All I did was look up Rick Bayless' flour tortillas on Google, and there was the recipe! Here is a picture of the first ones off the assembly line. Remember, I am not a food stylist, so this is not a fabulous photo of them.

To go along with them, I made homemade refried beans. The recipe is in my head, not from any websites or cookbook, so here it is!

1  15 oz. can pinto beans, half to two thirds of liquid drained
1 jalapeno pepper, washed and dried
1/2 T. vegetable oil
salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder to taste ( the latter two are optional)

In a saucepan with lid on, heat oil for a minute or two over medium heat. Add jalapeno and brown by shaking the covered pan  side to side every few minutes until the pepper is dark on all sides. Add beans and simmer for about 7-8 minutes or until they have softened. Add water if it looks a little dry. Using a potato masher, smash the beans but avoid breaking the pepper. Add spices, mix, and they are ready to put on your fresh tortillas!

Charm Pack Tote

I recently stumbled upon a website called Craftsy and I am going crazy getting ideas, taking classes, finding freebies for sewing and quilting. I just finished a purse/tote pattern that I bought there. I have been collecting these fabrics for at least a year and finally got to use them on something where they would show up well. It wasn't hard, just a lot of steps and taking time to make it right! I am pleased with the results! The pattern calls for store-bought handles and I found these microfiber ones at JoAnn Fabrics. I also made two inside pockets instead of one so my keys and phone are easy to find! I want to make an even bigger tote next time. This one measures just 12" X 12". Hope you enjoy it! I need to go make curtains for my laundry room next...not as fun!

Quilting in the summertime

This spring I finally took a Quilting 101 class to learn the real way to quilt.  Before this, I was self-taught and now I know the important basics. I made a quilt using batik fabrics because my whole house is a tropical theme. (I live in Colorado, but was born and raised in Southern California and lived a total of 6 years two different times, in Florida) I will return to live by the sea one day...I will figure out how to do it. Here is my quilt and a matching pillow I made with the scraps. The machine quilting is definitely not perfect, but it is good enough for my first attempt. I did outlining around the rectangles and stippling in the sashing. The pillow was fun, a lot of work, but I like the result.

 

 

In their new home...