Monday, August 11, 2008

Vintage Fungly and a plain Fun recipe


I've been packing up some of my vintage quilts and came across a truely vintage fungly! Perhaps we are on the verge of a fungly revival?I love the little panda bears in the yellow fabric! Some of the blocks are frugal pieced and there is one little ninepatch for a center on the far right center row. Unfortunately much of the orange fabric is too delicate to quilt. I think the blue ticking fabric is what holds it all together both design and structure-wise. It will just stay a top forever and give a smile every time I take it out of it's bag/pillowcase! The squares making up the nine-patch are 4-1/2 inch finished...you could easily make this "pattern?" with some charm packs and a couple of yards of fabric.
The little "thief" above was at the boot-sale the other weekend. He ran off with this bone from a stand selling them. The owner was very nice and went back and bought it for him. He doesn't look guilty at all!
Above is another chair recovering project I bought at auction. I love the lines of the mahogany curved arms (very Ralph Lauren-y.) Best of all it is a folding chair! Under the funky gray silk is a thick brushed fabric that is very worn in the center. Part of me wants to get going on this but the rational side says to wait until I get back to the states....we'll see. At least it already has the Brownie seal of approval.

I took a few minutes out from pre-packing and funglies to actually cook. My DH was feeling very bad for himself. Since my eyes have been acting up he has been eating a lot of spaghetti. So last night I made him some Keftaides Tou Fournou just like his former mother in law used to make! The best part - it will feed him for a week so I can go back to sewing!

Meatballs a la Smyrna (Keftaides Tou Fournou)

2 pounds ground beef
2 onions, finely chopped
2 sprigs parsley, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 egg beaten
salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons tomato paste
8 ounces water
4 ounces olive oil
4 bay leaves

(optional: 1 Tablespoon dried mint and/or 1 tsp Allspice)

In a large bowl, add ground beef, one chopped onion, parsley, garlic, and seasonings to taste. Add beaten egg and knead well.

Ina large frying pan, add 2 ounces of oil and saute second chopped onion until soft and transparent. Dilute the tomato paste in the water and add to the onion. Cook for 15 minutes.

With floured hands shape the "meatballs" into oval shaped 3 inches long by 1-1/2 wide. In a second frying pan heat the reamining oil and brown the meatballs on all sides. Place the meatballs in a baking pan. Add the bay leaves to the tomato mixture and then pour over the meatballs. Cover the pan with foil and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for about 10 more minutes or until the meatballs have a brownish-red tint.

Serve over rice pilaf or with crusty bread and a Greek salad. Makes 20-24 meatballs. (Freezes well)

10 comments:

The Calico Cat said...

Thanks for a "new" recipe. I vote for adding both the mint & the allspice!

Joyce said...

I think in the old days when they had to use whatever fabric they could lay their hands on, fungly was normal. That's why those old quilts are so interesting and beautiful.

Kelli said...

Thanks for the recipe. I just thawed some ground turkey for dinner. ~ksp

Darcie said...

Wow...you had me worried for a moment. I thought that maybe MacB got into the bleach! lol

Love the chair!

Marlublu said...

Really like your blog and what a cute little dog. Recipe sounds good. Must try it.

Karen said...

yum!

Tonya Ricucci said...

love this quilt top. so silly and fun. perfect pattern for a fungly too.mmmm, meatballs.

Diane said...

A fungly revival ~ ha!

Sharon said...

What a great, fungly quilt! That one is a real beaut! I love old quilts - they have so much personality.
Your Brownie is a beautiful cat. Great chair, too! The meatballs sound yummy!

Lynn Dykstra said...

I made your meatballs last night--none left to freeze--they were loved by everyone, an unlikely state in this household!
Thanks! And I love the old quilt top.