Anita Shackelford
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Peace and Plenty

​Anita Shackelford

Follow me for quilting tutorials and projects, by hand and machine, rescuing old quilt tops, and tips on growing a productive garden with recipes for using the bounty. Community Supported Art is always ad-free!
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Roast Beef Au Jus and Roasted Vegetables

1/22/2021

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I had several requests for the recipes for this meal, so here it is! I used my Instant pot and oven but you could do it all in the oven, if you adjust the timing on the roast.
Homemade bread and apple butter would be good with this.
Maybe next time.....

Beef Au Jus
1 T oil
2 lb rump roast
3 garlic
2 large onions, sliced into thin rounds
1 cup chicken or beef stock
1 t. rosemary
1 t. thyme
1 large bay leaf
(note: I would double the amount of herbs for a larger roast.)}

1 T soy sauce or tamari
1 T Worcestershire sauce 

Set pot to sauté and brown the meat on all sides. 
Remove it from the pot.

Sauté the onions 3-4 min. Set aside half of them for later. 
Sauté the garlic and herbs for 1 minute.
Add the stock and deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits.
Add soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. 
Return the meat to the pan.
45 min pressure cook and 25 min natural release.
Strain the broth and add reserved onions. Cook for several minutes to reduce the broth and tenderize the onions.
Slice the meat and serve with the broth and onions. Or, seriously, put the broth over everything :)
​It's delicious! 




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I added small red potatoes to this meal. They were placed on the baking sheet with oil, salt and pepper and roasted for 25 minutes before adding the green beans and mushrooms.
Roasted Garlic Green Beans and Mushrooms*
1 pound green beans
4 oz shiitake or Portobello mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Wash, dry, and trim the ends of the green beans.
Slice the mushrooms in large bite sized pieces. Mince the garlic. Add olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat the vegetables.
Spread on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Roast for 20 minutes or until the green beans are tender.

A gardener's note:: the green beans I used in this meal were an heirloom French filet bean called Jade. We grew them last year for the first time. They have great flavor, fresh, canned, and frozen, and I already have them ordered and waiting to plant again this summer.
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Bang Bang Shrimp

1/11/2021

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I made this for dinner a few nights ago. It's an easy recipe to put together, quick to cook, and delicious. The mayo and the chili sauce balance each other nicely, creating a creamy sauce with just a touch of heat. Adjust the red pepper flakes according to your own taste. It is good on regular spaghetti and on the whole grain noodles, as well. We have fresh basil under grow lights during the winter, and it was the perfect garnish for this dish, but parsley would be pretty. This recipe will serve 6 people. Enjoy!
Bang Bang Shrimp
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T lime juice
1/8-1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1 T onion powder


1 lb spaghetti or other noodles. I used Soba noodles in the photo shown above.

1 lb shrimp or diced chicken breast
1 T olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 T paprika
1 T fresh basil
Black pepper to taste

Mix sauce ingredients and set aside.

Cook pasta and drain.
Combine pasta and sauce and turn to coat well. 

Saute shrimp or chicken with garlic, paprika, and pepper until no longer pink. Serve shrimp on top of noodles. Garnish with fresh basil.

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A Gardener and a Quilter

1/8/2021

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Below is the first article I wrote for American Quilter Magazine in 1992. I find it surprisingly insightful, considering the state of the world today. Over the years, my focus on gardening has increased and I have added several new approaches to my quilting, but I still try to find a balance, spending time on both of these things. 
Enjoy, Anita
 
"I am a gardener and a quilter. A good combination, I think. Both give me the same pleasure and sense of accomplishment. They satisfy my creative needs and provide something tangible for my family. There is order, pattern and color in each one. Both are long term projects and I enjoy watching them grow.
 
I like to think that growing our own food gives us a little bit of self sufficiency. That if the world suddenly changed, I could still put food on the table. There is comfort in that.
 
Quilting may be even more important than food to me.  Reflecting on this idea of self sufficiency, I thought if I were suddenly cut off from civilization, I could still quilt. I would miss my goose neck lamp, but natural light is really the best anyway. Since my work is almost all done by hand, I could live without my sewing machine. All I need is my needle and thread.
 
But what about the needle?...and the thread?...and the fabric? What would I do if I could no longer buy those wonderful fabrics and my favorite little betweens? I know that it is possible to spin and weave, but after all of that, would I really cut it into thousands of pieces to be sewn back together again? How could I make all of the quilts still waiting inside my head? It made me thankful for all of the people who make these things available to me.
 
I will continue to garden, to work and wait and watch it grow. But I feel lucky to be able to buy, at a moment’s notice, anything I need to make my quilts. If the grocery stores close, I can still feed my family, but without my quilting, my soul would surely starve."

​Wishing you a new year of abundance and gratitude.

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December 2020

12/24/2020

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Merry Christmas!

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I made my old fashioned Santa with a ruched beard and eyebrows. His bag and apples were done with padded applique, and I created his little tree with several different embroidery stitches.
​Hand appliqued, hand quilted. 1991

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Most people like pecan pie for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I have my grandmother's pecan pie recipe, but this variation has always been a family favorite. She called it Oatmeal Pie, which might not seem too exciting, but it has the sticky sweet taste of pecan pie with the added flavor of coconut. It's delish!

Grandma Peterson’s Oatmeal Pie*

3/4 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup milk
2 beaten eggs

Mix all together and pour into an unbaked pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until well browned on top.


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    Author

    Anita has a long background rooted in traditional handwork and quiltmaking, which she still enjoys.

    Often, these days, you'll find her digitizing patterns for the Statler Stitcher and other computerized longarm quilting machines. 
     
    Her summer days are spent in the garden and she loves finding new ways to prepare good veggie-based meals.


    She's always in search of a way to balance all of those activities and find time to share with others who are passionate about the same things.

    This page is a sneak peek into what's happening in her world right now.

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