A Is For ....................

"Ask not what your fabric can do for you, but what you can do for your fabric"
                                                                      ~author unknown

Today is Tuesday!  In all its grandeur I found myself stuck in a blog fog.  Couldn't think of anything new, useful, or eventful.  So today I'm trying something different and will incorporate this idea occasionally - 26 times.  How do I know it will be 26 times?  Because I'm going to go through the Alphabet, one letter at a time.  Now this won't be in consecutive days, but will fill days where I have nothing much new.  Today's letter is:

Photo of the Day:

This a bunch of Asparagus that we purchased at the Farmers Market on Saturday.  Did you know that Asparagus is a member of the Lily family?  Asparagus grows from a crown that is planted about a foot deep in sandy soil.  Under ideal conditions, an asparagus spear can grow 10" in a 24 hour period!!  After harvesting is done the spears grow into ferns, which produce red berries and the food and nutrients necessary for a healthy and productive crop the next season.   An asparagus planting is usually not harvested for the first 3 years after the crowns are planted allowing the crown to develop a strong fibrous root system.  Asparagus is a nutrient-dense food which in high in Folic Acid and is a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin.  Asparagus has No Fat, contains No Cholesterol and is low in Sodium.  The information was collected at the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board.  I do find it a bit amusing that there is no reference to what odor it can create in your urine - what we commonly refer to asparagus as "pee stinkers". 

Here are some of the A words I thought of today.......

As far as quilting:

Amy Butler - all of the fantastic fabrics she designs, the patterns, the premium thread collections, books and kits, and so much more; all to make us drool.
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Adhesive Spray (something I haven't used yet)

All Cotton Fabric

Autumn Leaf Quilt Block

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Amish Quilts with their bold colors and dark backgrounds, not to mention the perfect hand quilting.
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Allrecipes.com - my favorite resource for recipes
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And some of my favorite Authors and their books:

The Aloha Quilt (Elm Creek Quilt Series #15) Jennifer Chiaverini

The Alpine Advocate (Emma Lord Mystery Series #1) Mary Daheim

Arkansas Traveler (Bennie Harper Series #8) Earlene Fowler

A is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone Series #1) Sue Grafton

Along Came A Spider (Alex Cross Series #1) James Patterson

A Good Yarn (Blossom Street Series #2) Debbie Macomber

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Allspice seasoning

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So today, in honor of A, I will pass on my way of preparing Artichokes: 

Boiled Artichokes

Ingredients:

Artichokes - 1 per person

Big Pot of Water

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Mayonnaise or Butter

Preparation:

1.  Fill a large pot with water.  Add 3 Tablespoon Oil Oil to the water.  Bring the water to a full boil.

2.  Remove the stem from the artichoke so that it can sit fairly level.

                            

3.  Cut off approximately the 1/8 of the top of the artichoke

                            

4.  Clip off the tips of the remaining leaves - this will prevent you being stuck while eating

                             

5.  Brush the leaves with a small amount of lemon juice, especially the cut areas

6.  Put the artichokes into the boiling water.  Cover pot.  Boil for approximately 1 hour or until the base (where the stem was cut) is easily penetrated with a table knife)

                           

7.  Remove artichokes from pot.  Serve while still warm.

8.  Prepare your dipping sauce:  I like melted butter with just enough lemon juice added to give the butter a little zing.  My husband like mayonnaise with lemon juice added for tartness.

Enjoy your cooked artichoke by carefully removing the leaves and dipping into your favorite sauce.

Giveaways:

There is a great giveaway over at The Quilting Booklady.  She is giving away 3 sets of 3 charm packs to 3 lucky winners for now having 100 followers.

Another giveaway is happening over at Stitched in Color.  Check out the fat quarters that are being given away here. 

Jaybird Quilts is having a sensational giveaway!  She is giving away some just released fabrics and so much more.  This ends Thursday, so don't delay.

It's less that a week until the end of my second giveaway.  Don't forget to enter - just click this link HERE

Final Thoughts:

You don't have to worry that I will bore you with a new letter each day.  This will just crop up periodically.  But the next time, I'm sure you have already figured out it will be the letter B.  Tomorrow I will share my latest flower for the FGQ.  Also I will have a picture of the progress made on the Chubby Stars Quilt.  I hope your Tuesday is terrific!