Stuffings

I just realized when I was about to start this post that all three of my photos had something in common!

I stuffed two sweet red peppers with cooked brown rice, ground turkey breast(browned), onions, garlic, parsley, and vegetable broth. Before putting it in the oven, pour 1 cup tomato sauce over them. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes in a pan (covered in foil) with some water at the bottom. The last five minutes I sprinkled on some grated mozzerella cheese and stuck it under the broiler for a few minutes. After trying to take appetizing photos of my meals, I seriously have a new found respect for food photo sylists. Then there is always the thing I don't think of, like crumbs on the plate. The stylist would definitely catch that.

I made these today without using the oven. I used most of today's farmers market booty, too. At the suggestion of one of the farmers, I steamed this round summer squash after cutting it in half and taking out the seeds. It worked really well. Then I boiled up some quinoa-a grain with the most wonderfully satisfying texture, along with some tamari, chopped carrot, garlic, and assorted herbs and spices. When the water cooked down, I added chopped green onion and the freshest juiciest tomatoes to hold it all together. Then I just stuffed them and took these goofy photos! Boy, were they goooood. This may sound strange, but the quinoa stuffing slightly resembles a savory (and healthy) fried rice. I put a spoonful of plain yogurt on the side, too.

I kinda like the quinoa crumbs on the side of the squash here. Hee, hee.

And here is the non-edible birdie I made last week. I thought this would be easy-breezy, but to my surprise, it was not. I think the fact that I haven't hand sewn since last winter may have something to do with it. Also, I decided to make him at 1 am. I tend to make a lot of things in that half sleepy state. I think I use this slightly altered space as a way of tapping into my creative process. Yet, it's not the most precise way of doing things. The bird's head definitely needs more bird-like shaping. I have a ritual of leaving whatever I make at night on girl cub's little table where she eats her breakfast...so she can see it in the morning. I do this as an offering of love to her. Mostly everything I make is a devotion to her. She is the root of all my creations. I want to make a ton of these until I can whip them up with my eyes closed.