canning jars and pumpkin-y things

It is good that I do not have to live without canning jars, they prove to be extremely handy around my house. I use them for storing such a variety of things. Sometimes I even freeze leftover stock or soup in my quart jars. (Of course, the trick here is to allow expanding room at the top.)

Today roasted pumpkin seeds fill a half-pint jar. These are from the pumpkin I cooked over the weekend. The same pumpkin that moved from sitting on the steps of my back stoop, to being cut in half, scooped clean of seeds and set on a cookie sheet to bake in a 375 degree oven for 1 and 1/2 hours. Now I have unlimited (it seems) amounts of fresh pumpkin to incorporate into tasty fare.

Such as pumpkin soup and a pumpkin cream pie that unwittingly metamorphosed into a pumpkin mousse dessert due to a teeny mishap. As I was hurrying and scurrying about Saturday on my way to place the prepared pie into the refrigerator...OOPS! The gingersnap crust blended throughout the pumpkin cream and became a delightful consistency to make this dessert extremely yummy!

Have you ever tried Pumpkin soup?

Saute a medium onion and a clove of crushed garlic in 2 Tablespoons of butter. Cook these until the onions are tender and translucent. Add 4 cups of chicken broth (I used boxed). Add 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper and simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes. Then add 2 cups of  fresh pumpkin (or one can if using canned pumpkin). Simmer at least another 30 minutes. Cool slightly and then process the soup in a food processor in small batches. Pour back into saucepan, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and one cup of heavy cream.  Garnish with tiny snips of fresh chives, a dollop of sour cream or a sprinkle of fresh nutmeg.

Now, I  do believe I have re-typed pumpkin from "pumkin" enough times already! Goodnight!

blue ribbon leavening

 The making of your own baking powder is so simple and economical. And the quality of it is steps above the canned sort you purchase at the grocery store.

 1/4 cup cream of tartar

 2 tablespoons baking soda

Sift together 3x and store in a clean, dry tight-sealing jar at room temperature, out of direct sunight, for 4 weeks.

This may be used for any recipe that requires baking powder. I give it a blue ribbon.

*Also, I have used it only recently with a batch of biscuits and it was over 4 weeks old, still worked like a charm.

giving thanks

As I walked in November's mellow sunshine this afternoon, my heart was absorbed with the matter in which these times of my life have stacked themselves. Like old suitcases with silk linings, solid mahogany dining room cupboards and tarnished pieces of silver, the familiar, the treasured, and the changed tell a story that scribbles across pages, creating chapters and requiring volumes, yet the words are not enough.

My mother has not lived near me since I officially left home and became a wife over thirty-two years ago. That changed yesterday when we moved my mother into an assisted living home only three miles from my house. Sounds neatly packaged and stacked, yet the tugs of my heart in this matter are strong.

But thankful I am, and my heart rests and daily lifts up genuine thanksgiving and praise to my Lord.

Happy Thanksgiving each and every one!

no secrets here

It is no secret that this is my most favorite young couple.

No secret either that their birthdays are only two days apart in late October.

We let go of any clandestine tendencies and celebrate grandly with both families. Dinner, cake, and presents, 

              

the only secrets hanging around until the wrappings are peeled off.

And since it should not be a secret to anyone, I am simply pleased as punch to announce Claire's spot in the blogging world.

                                                                                       

Treasures gathered on an afternoon walk in the woods, that is except for the pink chrysanthemum, it was snipped from my front yard.

Amidst

I awoke in a strange bed. Mother must have heard my stirrings and quiet rustlings because she came shuffling down the hall, early. I read a portion of John 15 to her, "I Am the vine, you are the branches." 

I continually averted her attention from my father, who is currently not with her due to his recent illness, to childhood memories:

churning butter with her grandmother, 

springs of fresh water,

 deep in the country,

 country hams taken from the smokehouse and given to a hungry man who stopped by the porch, 

moustache cups from which Papa drank his coffee,

 and sleeping in the bed with Big Mama and Papa because the bats hitting against the chimney during the night aroused such fright. This personally was my most favorite because she would pat the side of the couch and smile, remembering the comfort.

The conversation ran along with me filling in the missing pieces of words lost.

I prayed, at times tears running down my cheeks, on the drive home that morning. A drive that took me through heavy traffic, where the sunlight danced across the windshield and the sky was so unbelievably clear after a weekend of mindboggling confusion.

He embraced me. 

It is good to be home with my family once again. Doing the routine things with revitalized appreciation.

Entirely different conversations than that of the previous days.

We laughed a lot last night. A hopeful antidote to balance the tears. 

It might possibly be time to add caregiving as a label. A portion of my day is spent with the concerns of my elderly sick parents these days. 

nature study tea

The thinnest yellow light of November is more warming

and exhilarating than any wine they tell of.

The mite which November contributes becomes equal in value
 to the bounty of July.

-Henry David Thoreau

 


sketching
               knitting
                          reading
                                     a cup of hot tea
                                                             a lighted candle

                          
  

bluebird of happiness

The birdbird of happiness has landed at my house. She was discovered in a little shop downtown last weekend begging to come to my home and stay indefinitely.

The work has begun for the sunroom that is to be added at the rear of my house. The girls and I are becoming acclimated to work crews and the banging throughout the day. Right before Christmas I am expecting to have a room lined with windows, just in time to bring plenty of light in those darker months of winter.   Happy, happy, yes.

A new discovery of fascination in the world of sewing has dropped into my lap. The creating of a Victorian crazy quilt. Actually, this one will be a table runner. Late yesterday afternoon sunlight was pouring into the area I have dubbed my "sewing room", and even though it was time to go downstairs and prepare dinner,  I found my self saying "just one more piece, please". Addiction comes easily to me evidently.

Last night I gathered my colored threads and began embroidering a sampling of stitches on the luxurious silk fabric. Silk dupioni fabric from my stash. Happy, happy,yes.

Bright and early tomorrow morning I am taking a junket with my dear husband. A weekend away, just the two of us. Happy, happy, yes.

She is presently hanging in my kitchen. When the sunroom  is completed she will fly in there and make it her permanent abode. Happy, happy, yes

presentation counts

Butternut squash bisque served in creamy-white soup bowls with gold trim dished from an ivory-white tureen with matching ladle.

Sunday dinners in my home are a time to gather and acknowledge a special day set aside for worship. The blessing of family creates a rich backdrop for gathering too.

Butternut squash bisque is noisy.

"Um mm". 

Each and every spoonful has a part in the choir of zinging taste buds.

Cornish hens,
       maple-syrup roasted sweet potatoes,
                          steamed broccoli with a dash of lemon also accompanied today's Sunday meal.

 One Christmas my dear mother gave me a creamy white soup tureen etched with curlicues. She especially loved the matching ladle and delighted in telling me how this is what made the difference in the decision to buy this particular tureen for me. Every time I use it I think of her joy in giving me this gift.

I believe that presentation counts when serving a meal and all the extra effort that goes with making it special  is definitely worth it.  China tureen and snips of chives floating in the bisque make for a good presentation.

nothing wanting

"She was occupied in knitting; a large cat sat demurely at her feet; nothing in short, was wanting to complete the beau-ideal of domestic comfort."

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Bronte

Magical Breakfast Cream

Inspiration: Mireille Guiliano's, The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook


I have certain staples in my diet. All it may take is variety to achieve higher levels from time to time. But I am thinking this might be the Mt. Everest in my life right now when it comes to breakfast food choices.

It is hailed as Magical Breakfast Cream. I first read about it in Mireille Guiliano's newest cookbook.

Breakfast for me usually consists of organic plain yogurt served with a topping of homemade granola and maybe some seasonal fruit. After reading about Tante Berthe's quick and healthy breakfast and  discovering it was similar to my thoughts of what makes a quick and healthy breakfast, I decided to make a few adjustments. So this is how I make it:

1/2 cup plain fat free yogurt
1 teaspoon local honey
2 Tablespoons milled flaxseed and soy grain cereal
1-2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon finely ground walnuts, I grind mine with a mortar and pestle.

First, mix the honey into the yogurt, pour the dry cereal over the yogurt and squeeze the lemon juice over the cereal before incorporating.  Next stir in the ground walnuts.

 She adds 1 teaspoon of flaxseed oil bfore adding the honey. Since I am using a cereal with milled flaxseed I omit the oil. However, I might include this in the future because the oil addition might possibly have more benefits. She also recommends using any type of dry grain cereal, just make sure it contains no sugar. Nuts could also be finely ground almonds or hazelnuts. Fresh orange juice is an alternative to the lemon juice.

Yummy! Exceptionally yummy, surprisingly yummy!