Cute Knitting: kitchen

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a fall supper

The weather has now turned wet and cold

with a chance even of some snow flakes.

Many of the trees are bare,

though some still hold on to their colorful

leaves, a branch of which I brought in from my

walk today to prop on the mantel.

The woodstove is now lit by late afternoon

to keep us cozy as darkness falls a bit

earlier each day.

A chicken {homegrown} has been simmering

in the pot this afternoon ~~

chicken & gravy over biscuits for dinner tonight,

with some butternut squash from our garden.

A perfect fall meal.

fresh from the garden

It's been a busy time in the kitchen lately,

and with fresh pickling cucumbers from the garden this week,

I decided to make some refrigerator pickles...

I brought these straight in from the

garden to the cutting board within minutes...

I used a combination of this recipe, which I

used last year, and this recipe,

which I hadn't tried before.

I did cut back the sugar a little.

Instead of jars, I'm trying them in some of

my old refrigerator glass containers.

I love picking these up cheaply from yard

sales and using them for food storage

rather than plastic.

Hope you're staying cool--the heat index

was over 100 F here yesterday,

and I was melting--very hot for us

northerners, but just what we look

forward to after a long cold winter!

Deb

making homemade whipped cream

My favorite whipped cream is homemade.

Although there is usually an emergency can of Redi Whip

in the fridge,

if I know I'll be wanting whipped cream

for something, I make sure I pick up

a little carton of heavy cream

{with no additives, preferred}

from the store.

I was excited to try out my new

flea-market-found

Speed E Whipper

recently

and see how it would work.

After pouring a half pint

of heavy cream into the glass container...

...I added a tablespoon of vanilla sugar.

{Just add a split vanilla bean or two to

a jar of sugar, cover, and give some time

to flavor.}

With the plunger inserted and the top secured,

I pumped the handle up and down

and had perfect whipped cream in no time.

My favorite new kitchen tool!

~Deb

this week

After a cold wet April,

we are finally enjoying some warmth,

sunshine, and blooms...

I love johnny jump-ups,

I never know where they will reappear

from one year to the next.

I've been trying to get caught up on the

weeding of the flower beds,

which this time of year does not

at all seem like a chore.

The hens enjoyed some free-ranging

until I found some perennial beds

they destroyed in their zeal to find

bugs & worms...

The pear tree has the most blooms

I have ever seen on it...

And, I made a rhubarb custard pie...

Hope your week is going well.

~Deb

one potholder leads to another...and another

The first pot holder having gone so well,

I went searching through my scrap bags again,

the fun part being the challenge to find

the perfect combination of prints.

I also came across seam bindings left

over from other projects,

and vintage ticking which had to be included.

Now I am enjoying my happy set of three.

something for the kitchen

Even though I use an old enamel pan under my

dish drainer, I also always keep a towel under

there as well to soak up any drips and

allow room for the overflow.

When I saw a tutorial for a dish mat,

I had to make one.

I found a remnant from an old cherry print

tablecloth & some ticking scraps,

and combined them with a recycled towel.

A quick and easy project and perfect

for reusing materials on hand.

I'm already looking for some more scraps

to make another,

so I can switch them out as needed.

~Deb

salvaging the broken....

I spied this old stained glass window

at a flea market last summer.

No one wanted it because part of the

glass had broken and fallen out,

and it was priced accordingly

--cheap enough for my small budget.

Here you can see the problem...

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought

a glass cutting tool and a piece of

stained glass--matching it as closely

as I could.

After a couple trys {cutting glass is tricky--for me}, I came up with

a replacement piece that would work.

Mike recommended clear silicone

to glue it in place...

...and it worked great.

You can see it's not a perfect match,

but it is perfectly good enough

for me,

and just makes it all the more special.

Next up, the french door project.

holiday baking

I'm baking the desserts for Thanksgiving dinner

at my Mom's:

* mini cheesecakes with cherry topping-{yet to be added}

* two pumpkin pies

* one peach/blueberry pie

Tomorrow I will count my blessings

and give thanks.

Hope your day is full of goodness,

Deb

today

Since my 'flylady routines' have seemed

to fall by the wayside for some time,

I have started checking in here

on Sunday nights.

I print up the missions for the week

and they are keeping me on track.

Today the fridge is sparkling,

and

I found four forgotten packs of feta cheese.

I rewarded myself with a red velvet cupcake...

Red Velvet Cupcakes

{makes 18 - 24}

1/3 c. cocoa

3 tbsp red food coloring

1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c. butter, room temp

1 c. sugar

4 egg yolks

1 c. buttermilk

1 tsp salt

2-1/4 c. flour sifted

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp white vinegar

Mix cocoa, food coloring & vanilla in small bowl. In mixing bowl, beat butter & sugar on medium speed till fluffy. Add egg yolks & beat another minute. Add cocoa mixture and combine. Stir buttermilk & salt together and add to batter, alternating in thirds with the flour. Mix baking soda with vinegar and add to batter, blend. Fill cupcake tins lined with baking papers about 1/2 to 2/3's full. Bake at 350 degrees F about 15 minutes. Remove cupcakes and cool before frosting. I just used a vanilla buttercream on mine.

~Deb

breakfast food

Yesterday morning I decided to stock up on

some breakfast foods,

~ I made some yogurt, which we especially

love in our smoothies

~some overnight oat cakes from Clarice's very lovely

new book, Wren Bay: The Story of Making a Home

~ and, since my brother Tim brought me

delicious pears from his tree, I made

these wonderful Apple & Pear Breakfast

Custards from Heather at Shivaya Naturals.

Now that Fall is in the air, it seems good

to get back to spending some time in the kitchen :)

the best cookie recipe I've found in a long time

Is there such a thing as a recipe hoarder??

Is there anyone else out there

who must print out/tear out every

potentially good recipe that comes along?...

As I was going through one of my severely

overstuffed folders of 'recipes to try'

I came across this Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip

Oatmeal Cookie recipe of Martha's.

At first I was skeptical as I had

tried one of her chocolate chip cookie

recipes years ago to which the whole family

gave a thumbs down.

But this recipe really sounded good,

so after dinner last night I gave the cookies

a try...and they did not disappoint.

My only alteration was to cut the

amount of sugars in half,

and with my oven they were done

in about 12 minutes.

I've eaten way more than is healthy...

You can find the recipe here.

your questions

There were several questions from the last

post, so I thought I would answer them here

in case anyone else was wondering the same.

How do I freeze my broccoli?

After removing any leaves and woody stalk,

I soak the broccoli heads in a salt/water

brine {1 cup salt to 1 gallon water} for

about a half hour. This gets rid of any

insects or those unpleasant little green

worms. I then rinse the broccoli, and

cut the heads into smaller pieces.

I put them into a pot of boiling water

and scald for about 3 - 4 minutes,

then immediately immerse the broccoli in

some ice water to cool. It's now ready

to drain and pack into your freezer containers.

This year, I laid all the broccoli pieces out in

a single layer on baking sheets which I placed in

the freezer. As soon as the broccoi was frozen, I placed

it all in a very large freezer bag--later it

will be easy to just take out as much as I need.

I have also used my vacuum sealer in the past, and

that does do a better job preventing freezer

burn--I just didn't have the special bags on hand

this time.

Can you tell me how you freeze grated zucchini?

After washing the zucchinis {I leave the skin on}

and cutting off the ends, I grate it using

my food processor. Then I just put it in a freezer

container or bag and freeze--super easy.

This year, I vacuum sealed mine in glass pint

canning jars. I really like the idea of using

glass versus plastic, the jars were cheap from a

yard sale & are resusable, and the vacuum seal,

as I mentioned, will help prevent freezer burn.

Is it possible for you to share your recipe for

the refrigerator pickles?

I found the recipe here last year. This year I

did alter it--I omitted the pickling spice {as

I wanted more of a plain dill} and I tried

cutting the sugar amount in half {they were

too sweet for us}.

Do you just know how to freeze the zucchini and blueberries or do you recommend a source of info?

I couldn't do it without my Ball Blue Book!

I'm sure there are many resources online for

home canning and freezing, but I have used

this book forever, and I love having it handy

year after year to look up whatever I need.

Yesterday, I picked blackberries and blueberries.

My next 'preserving project' is to pull out

the dehydrator and dry some blueberries.

I tried it last year for the first time

and loved them--I'll be back with more on

that later...

{Picked the first tomato yesterday!}

around the house this morning...

In the sunroom...some knitting in the basket--another drops design #119-8. I'm working the shirred parts aroung the yoke; not too much more to go. And, a new slipcover on the loveseat, that I made a couple weekends ago from some vintage linen damask tablecloths.

In the kitchen...a food cover ready & waiting for bug season.

Over the kitchen sink...some lilacs picked this weekend. Not a good year for them apparently, as there are very few blooms on the bush.

On the mantle...a landscape finds a new home.

In my workroom...a tunic waiting to be finished, a 'cherry' print clothespin bag waiting to be listed, and

...plans being made for a giveaway sometime soon.

Happy May!

time has flown by...

Life just seems to be pulling us in several directions lately--ordinary stuff but extra busy all the same.

No matter what, some rest and relaxation must be fit in.

We managed to get out cross country skiing once before much of the snow melted. It was a very cold, but beautifully sunny day that gave the pictures that blue light...