At the Table :: 2025 Rainy Day Bites January to April

Again, I know this post won't be for everyone, and trust me, I'll be back with some fun quilty content tomorrow, but I really appreciate documenting my participation in Rainy Day Bites Cookbook Club @rainydaybites, so here are all the recipes I've tried since January 1.

January

Featured book: What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers @carochambers (Note: This book is a new favorite! I tried A LOT of recipes, loved them, and am still cooking from it regularly.)

Smashburger Sammies with Well-Dressed Greens

Crunchy Refried Beans Taco-dillas with The Greatest Kale Salad

Enchilada Rice Skillet

Melty Mexican Cauliflower

Panko Honey Mustard Chicken with Frico Broccoli

Peanutty Pork-Zucchini

Cannellini Caprese with Burrata

Cheesy Rice and Beans + Burritos

Everything-Crusted Tuna

Foolproof Herby Omelet

Parm-Crusted Tuna Melts

Peanut Chicken Chop

Saucy Eggs

Sausage and Kale Pasta

Sesame Fried Egg Rice Bowls

Veggie Peanut Noods

February

Featured book: What Goes With What by Julia Turshen @turshen

Greek Orzo Bowl

My Usual Chopped Salad

Sticky Pork and Broccoli

Black Bean and Cheddar Cornbread Pie

March

Featured book: The League of Kitchen’s Cookbook: Brilliant Tips, Secret Methods & Favorite Family Recipes From Around The World by Lisa Gross @lisakyunggross and the women of the @leagueofkitchens

Afghan Eggs Fried in Ghee with Garlic and Turmeric by @the_league_of_k_

Burkinabe Chopped Meat Sandwiches by @benonaline

April

Featured book: Sobremesa: Tasty Mexican Recipes for Every Day by @holasus (Another big favorite!)

Adobo Verde Roasted Cauliflower Tacos with Charred Tomato and Red Pepper Salsa and Spicy Chipotle Crema

One-Pan Zucchini and Corn with Crema with Homemade Beans and Spicy Margaritas

Burrata with Toasted Corn

Roasted Potatoes with Tangy Mayo

Spiked Coffee

January/February baking book: Sweet Tooth by Sarah Fennel @bromabakery

Funfetti Crumb Cake

Coffee Cake Cookies

Red Wine Brownies

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Brownies

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

March/April baking book: Bodega Bakes by Paola Velez @smallorchids

Egg Tarts

Bulla Snickerdoodles

Maria Cookie Icebox Cake

Dominican Brioche [aka Pan Sabao]

Though I don't usually participate in @rainydaybites' bread group #greatgrainsgroup, their global bread recipe challenge for April was Mexica: Tortillas, which fit perfect with our cooking from Sobremesa, and I'd always wanted to try making them. So....

Traditional Flour Tortillas recipe from Treasures of the Mexican Table by Pati Jinich @patijinich.

Corn Tortillas from Sobremesa

The end of the month baking party, and our theme for 2025, is The Year of Flavor.

January 1/31: Vanilla - Vanilla Scones from Sweet Tooth by Sarah Fennel @bromabakery

February 2/28: Chocolate - Single-Serve Double Chocolate Chip Cookies from Sweet Tooth by Sarah Fennel @bromabakery

March 3/31: Nuts - Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti from Skinnytaste by Gina Homolka @skinnytaste

April 4/30: Berries - Strawberry Cloud Cookies from Smitten Kitchen Every Day by Deb Perelman @smittenkitchen

Whew! That's A LOT of new recipes tried, and a good number of them got stars in my books! This next period, May to August, is going to be a little bit different as far as how many books we cook from and the challenges will be broader. Check out Deborah's @rainydaybites post if you want to know more.

Open Jar SONG | Birdsong

At first when I saw the new Open Jar prompt, SONG, I thought, oh dear, been there, done that. I was thinking that I'd kind of recently made a quilt inspired by a song - Surrounds for the Seattle MQG "I Heard It on the Radio" Challenge/Exhibit. But in his prompt intro post, Bob @rjbosscher mentioned the birds feeding and singing outside his window. And that mention clicked with me. As a relatively new owner of a Bird Buddy smart bird feeder, I've honestly been a little obsessed with our bird visitors. So I decided to focus this month's Open Jar piece on them.

Here were my first few blocks. I made 'center squares' inspired by each bird. These three blocks were to represent the Dark-Eyed Junco, the Spotted Towhee, and the Black-Capped Chickadee. The blue represents the 'house' of the feeder, and the orange, the perch.

Problem was, I just wasn't settled with my blocks, even though I considered my possible quilt design over several days. So eventually, I knew I had to face it, and a little frustrated, I mentioned to my husband, "I'm not happy with where this is going." He immediately replied, "Well. You could toss it and start over. OR cut it up." Of course. I didn't really want to start over, as I like the bird representations. So I trimmed off the angled bits, and already felt better, arranging the blocks on the design wall.

I never did make more of a plan. I separated the blocks a bit on the design wall, pulled some Kona Acid Lime from the stash closet, and just started piecing things together, deciding what to do next at each new junction.

And after an hour or so, I had a quilt top that I really liked!

I made a pieced quilt back, combining solid scraps with a coordinating print from stash.

For quilting, I used Aurifil 40wt 2810 [Turquoise] to make rows of music staffs all the way down the quilt, with 1" between the groupings. Then I used Aurifil 40wt 5015 [Gold Yellow] to make one large sound wave. For me, those subtle quilted designs helped connect the overall quilt design to the SONG prompt.

To connect with the Acid Lime bits throughout the quilt, I chose to do a thinner than normal binding (cut at 1 3/4") with the Lime. Maybe a bit much, but I love that lime with the background of Kona Oasis. This little quilt finished at 15" x 22", and I gotta say, it was a joy to make.

Linking up with Quilting Jetgirl's Favorite Finish {April 2025}.