Cindy-Campbell.com

After the tragic bombings at the Boston Marathon in April 2013, I was heart broken and immediately wondered what can I do to help.  If I were anywhere in the vicinity I would have loved to volunteer in some type of relief effort or fund raiser…. but I was so far away.

One day, as I perused my Facebook News Feed, I saw a post from Fresh Modern Fabics (an ETSY shop I’ve ordered fabric from).  The photo of beautiful “modern” quilting fabric was a call to action from the Boston Modern Quilt Guild.  Anyone who wanted to could send in a quilt squares, and the Guild would assemble them into finished quilts to donate to those affected by the bombings.

 

The Modern Quilt Guild in Boston started receiving quilt blocks from around the world! The requirements were simple (use blues yellows white and grey and make a block 12 1/2” tall). This left a lot of room for creative people to quilt their hearts out. One guild member told me “the most interesting block we have received is one with a large pair of hands holding a unicorn head :)” Oh my!
I sent in 2 (at the last minute, of course). I definitely needed the practice piecing blocks, and it was all for a good cause, which made the [time consuming] process very satisfying.

There is a Flikr Group set up for people to post their squares. It’s very inspiring for anyone looking for a new/modern block to add to their next quilting project.

It is also heart warming to see all of the blocks come together into unique quilts to donate. A true reminder that shared tragedy can bring out the best in people.

Throwback Thursday!?
“...You were photographing your food before photographing your food was cool.” Hearing my friend say this makes me feel much less dweeby about taking pictures of the food I make.

Here are some Blueberry Muffins I made (and photographed) back in MARCH 2005.
Back then I was still living on the East Coast, working in NYC, with not much knowledge of how to cook food.
I’ve come a long way since then!

**Technically, I have always been a baker… and it wasn’t until 2005 that I started learning how to cook dinner/entree type food.

Sadly I am not 100% sure what the recipe for these are. I think they are from my Family Cookbook, specifically my childhood-best-friend’s mom’s Blueberry Muffins.

I guess I’ll just have to make another batch and see if they turn out looking the same (or better)!

It’s tomato season! Half a dozen just came in from the garden yesterday.

And I know I’m not the only person who won’t just bite into a tomato like an apple. I like them peeled, with all of that seed-gooky-stuff taken out.

Last year I tried the age old tip to remove the peels. It’s so easy, it’s ridiculous.

Now. A lot of projects/tasks on the internet claim to be “easy” and turn in to something so difficult or time consuming you want to cry or beat your head against a wall.
This is not one of those hurtful claims.

Here is all you have to do:

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Fill a small mixing bowl with water and LOTS of ice.


2. Use a knife to cut an X in the bottom of each of the tomatoes.


3. Working 1 or 2 at a time, place the tomato into the boiling water.


4. After about 20 seconds, use a slotted spoon to transfer the tomato from the pot to the ice water. (This stops the tomato from cooking any further).


5. Once cool, take the tomato out of the water, and the skin should slide off practically on its own!

I was honestly shocked when I pulled my 1st tomato out of the ice water and 1/2 of the peel just shed right off. The rest of the peel comes off with minimal effort. Which is fabulous for a finicky eater like me