Project update and yummy food!

So it's Tuesday, and I haven't posted anything since Friday, and a few experiments and projects have been conducted. The sugar cookies were quite delicious, but I ran out of time to ice them for the block party, so they're just sitting unfrosted in the cookie jar, slowly getting eaten.

Sunday I decided I wanted to try something new for dinner. There are so many beautiful apples available right now, I thought I'd make something with apples and pork, since they go together so well. I ended up with some ground pork and the inspiration to make my own version of a meat pie. I began with some apple-honey cured bacon (six slices of bulk from the meat counter), rendered it down and removed it from the pan. I added in one and a half sliced onions and two diced apples (I used one Granny Smith and one Jonagold) to let them caramelize and cook down. I let those cook for at least half an hour by themselves in the bacon fat. Then I added in the ground pork (about a pound, I think it was) and three diced yukon gold potatoes. I added in some cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, rubbed sage, salt and pepper (I think that was all... I just went with some classic apple and pork spice pairings!) and let the meat brown up. To help soften the potatoes and create a little gravy I added in some chicken stock, then some apple cider and a little flour. I don't really measure much as I'm cooking, so it's all just what looked good to me at the time! I put it all into a homemade pie crust (bottom and top!) and baked it at 375* for about 30 minutes, until the crust was golden. I then let it cool for a few minutes to let it set up and dished it out. It was delicious! Even our friend who does not like fruit (!!!) really enjoyed it! I was happy there were enough leftovers for the three of us for lunch on Monday and not just for the two of them! This is definitely a "Tess creation" that is going to stay in the repertoire! And if I may say so, the crust was perfect! I'm glad I went ahead and practiced making my own... I think it's a good skill to have!

In non-cooking news, I made some decent progress on my quilt. I decided I needed a couple more strips of pieced strips, then I had the revelation that they did not need to be placed vertically, but could go horizontally! I had been struggling with how to form the top with only three strips place vertically and still have it large enough, I made two more and still couldn't make it work in my head, and then I just turned them and voila! I really think this is going to work out wonderfully! Here are some pictures of how it's going together...

The three original strips

The five current strips

This is how I plan on piecing the strips together, with solid charcoal grey. I may end up needing to make some more scrappy strips to make it as large as I want it, and the side sashing is going to be the same grey. Each stripe is 5.5 inches, so roughly 5 inches finished. As is is right now, then, the finished main part of the top will be 55 inches long. I haven't measured the width yet, but I'm thinking it will be a good "lap" quilt to keep on a couch, right? Any criticisms or comments are welcome and appreciated!

Well, I think I may go try to get some more work done up there! I'll update more progress as I go!