Yes. I should be quilting.  I should be quilting because my nephew and his wife are going to have a baby that’s due in November and I am making them a quilt to match the baby’s room. (I’ll be posting that as soon as I actually begin.)

But the midwestern harvest is coming in and I spent the morning gathering radishes, onions, shallots, zucchini, and cabbage.  The local farm tells me tomatoes are still 2 weeks away here.  I am excited because for the first year in a long time, my tomatoes (knock on wood) are looking good.  Last year I had thousands of cherry tomatoes, but not much luck with heirlooms and plum tomatoes.  This year, all seem to be thriving– God willing, the critters stay away and the creek don’t rise.

So instead of quilting I have been sucked into a cookbook by Ina Garten that I got at Costco.

The book is called “Fooproof.”

Now, let’s be honest, we’re all friends here.  This woman, with her “traditional build,” as Alexander McCall Smith would call it, has got to be a good cook.

I bought a box of her brownie mix once and I remember the instructions (and I’m paraphrasing/recalling):

Take the brownies out of the oven when I tell you. Do not wait until they appear to be done.  By then it’s too late. Just DO WHAT I TELL YOU.

I like her.

Needless to say, they were about the best brownies out of a box that I ever tasted. Ever.

So I went ahead and made the crostini which you can see on the cover of her book.

Here’s what’s left by the time I got my camera.  My husband is a big fan of bruschetta, but this was more of an elegant appetizer…and between the two of us we polished it off quick.

I was using tomatoes from the French Market in Geneva and some golden cherry tomatoes from HPM Farm in St. Charles. Picked some shallots from my garden with fresh basil and a few other local ingredients.  Can’t say this was the easiest appetizer I ever made, but hands down one of the tastiest.

Please don’t nag. I know I should be sewing.  But it’s mid-July and the veggies are so fresh, and the eating is so good. And thunderstorms at night mean it’s not a good idea to plug in the sewing machine.

Hey-there’s a sewing tip for the day!   Unplug your machine when you’re not using it. You will save yourself a whole lot of heartache if you have a power surge or brown out.  In fact, even when you are using it, you should have it at least plugged into a surge protector, or even better, an uninterruptable power supply.  Either one will sacrifice itself to save your machine.

Think I’ll go bring in my onions which are out drying in the sun.  And prune the roses. Weed the garden.  Fill the bird feeders and go for a little walk.

I KNOW.  I’ll get to the sewing room soon.

I promise.