For Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d take another pass at hand pies. I had cherry pie filling left over from last summer’s attempt that I’d thrown in the freezer, so all I had to do was whip up a new pie crust. Continue reading
Musings on knitting.
Can we talk knitting? As an activity it’s rather rhythmic and soothing, easily portable and keeps one’s hands busy when they might be otherwise unoccupied. I particularly like that I can spend an afternoon sitting watching the telly (sports, bad movies, old tv show marathons) and yet still have something productive to show for it. Continue reading
That time I nailed the biscuits.
I made THE BEST biscuits the other night. I mean, really. They were the sort of biscuits you brag on the internet about, in fact, they are the reason the internet was invented so that one could brag about these sorts of biscuits. Edie praised them for three days straight. Do you know how awesome something I’ve done has to be in order for her to do that in her thirteen-year-oldness? That’s right, pretty darn tooting awesome.
All white flour version
Biscuits and jam, so good. In this case, melon jam.
All white flour
So what did I do that these particular biscuits were so good? I used cream. Back when I was obsessed with making good biscuits by picking the brain of everyone I knew who made them as well as reading up on them, I seem to remember reading something about the effect of using cream in making your biscuits. I happened to have cream I need to use up, so I thought I’d try some in my biscuits. In mixing fat into your biscuit flour, you want those fat globules to be as small as possible for the flakiest biscuits and by using cream, which has that butterfat already in the small size you want, bingo! Effortlessly good biscuits.
Of course, I used butter in these particular biscuits too, which I took the time to make sure was well worked in (which is key!!) As I was out of any form of whole grain flour, these were made with all white flour – I mixed cake flour with all purpose flour since I tend to not keep White Lily flour on hand. (I wrote a few years ago about how the flour used affects the texture of your biscuit. Soft flour makes for a lighter biscuit and since cake flour is soft, using some in your biscuit mix makes for a better biscuit.) I have since restocked the pantry, so I will be making biscuits with cream and whole wheat flour this week to see how that goes. Stay tuned.
Edie also thought I should share Sunday’s dinner – crepes stuffed with country ham, sauteed brussels sprouts (blanched, then sliced thinly and sauteed in butter in a cast iron skillet) topped with a Mornay sauce with freshly baked sourdough bread on the side. Holy Moly that was a good dinner and I have to give credit where it is due – that filling was entirely Edie girl’s call.
(I know, I go on and on about the biscuits and did not share a recipe. I’ll share it when I nail the whole wheat version. Promise.)
Really very random.
I’m getting over a nasty little bug going around that a friend of mine described as making you feel as if you got punched in the gut. Personally, I think it felt more like I did way too many crunches at the gym and therefore I am hopeful that when I am finally at 100%, I am going to wake up to discover fabulous six-pack abs as a result.
A girl can dream, can’t she? Continue reading
A blue-eyed version of a Chinese soup.
I was going to blog about my latest knitting obsession today, but then Elizabeth asked me to share my recipe for hot and sour soup and since so many of my posts are merely what you all request me to write about, how could I say no? Continue reading
Just like mom used to make.
It’s official – my baby girl is a full fledged teenager now. To celebrate, she wanted a cupcake decorating party, similar to what one of the local cupcake shops hosts, only she wanted it here, because according to her, my frosting is better than any cupcake shop in town. Which makes me so irrationally happy I can’t stand it. She is after all, a teenager now, so I am incredibly annoying, horribly embarrassing at times and other times just beyond ridiculous, but I still make the best frosting in town. I call that a small triumph.
Out and about.
Last week was a busy one here – there was a four day holiday weekend, which led to us lapsing at least just a little bit back into that lovely lazy Christmas holiday swing. It was also birthday week here – Edie on Monday, Pat on Wednesday – so it really was like Christmas all over again with lots of celebrations, fantastic meals and desserts galore. This time around though, we went out for at least some of our celebrations.
Branching out with success.
I freely admit that my pancakes suck. I somehow manage to burn the exterior while leaving the interior raw, which is quite a skill, I know. (It’s also how my mother made chicken, so I like to think I come by that honestly). I’ve had a few griddles over the years meant to improve this, including a wonderful cast iron double burner griddle that sadly, has not improved my pancake making abilities. Waffles I can do, but pancakes? You really don’t want me making those. Continue reading
About that cabinet.
This blog post is dedicated to Abigail, who suggested it.
In my small kitchen with limited storage, where every single item save my cherry pitter have multiple uses, I have an entire half cabinet devoted to Koozie storage. Yes, Koozies, those wonderful little insulators that keep your canned or bottled beverage cold. I did not set out nor intend to have so much of my precious kitchen space devoted to these items, but like other things in life, sometimes that’s just how it goes. Continue reading
Currently in the canning pot.
The canning program I had taken the reins of for Market Central has morphed into what I’m now calling the “Small Business Program”. To recap, I spent the end of last summer and all of last fall teaching a regular weekly canning class with the idea of recruiting and attracting individuals who were interested in learning to can as well as those who might be interested in starting their own canning business. I knew going into it the latter goal was a lofty one, as I know first hand what hard, hot work canning is. It requires a certain passion that’s hard to instill. In addition this passion, one needs cooking skills, knowledge about food (and gardening to some extent, at least the knowledge of the effects of weather can be on a particular crop) as well as the ability to navigate the seemingly confusing food rules and relations, line up suppliers, market to buyers AND be able to keep up with the money flowing in and out. There is quite a bit involved in starting a canning business and I wanted this program to address as much of it as I could. It’s one thing to learn to can, quite another to start your own business based on it. Continue reading
Chicken Wire & Paper Flowers 