In the Kitchen

For various reasons, I've been on a kitchen kick lately. I'm taking cookbooks to bed to read before lights out, I'm perusing lots of food blogs, and I'm actually spending quite a bit of time in the kitchen trying new things.  

Last night I tried a new recipe using broccoli and we found it quite tasty--and different.  I had the last of some fresh broccoli in the fridge that needed to be used, and a rundown of the recipe told me I had all the other ingredients.  We were having tacos for supper, so for a brief moment I pondered the addition of something so not Mexican (can tacos really be called Mexican?), but then I threw caution to the wind and went with it.  It was delicious and we ate every last morsel.  So what was it? Roasted Marinated Broccoli and you can find the recipe by clicking here.  

A few weeks ago I made chicken fajitas for supper and decided to make my own refried beans.  I checked my Pressure Perfect cookbook by Lorna Sass and found a recipe for Sub-limey Refried Beans and once again, I actually had all the ingredients.  (I've been more adventuresome at the store, too, and actually had limes in my fruit basket.)  I pressure cooked a pound of pinto beans and followed the recipe.  They were excellent in the fajitas, but then we love lime on them--it makes the flavors sing.  :-)  I froze the leftovers and used them in the tacos last night.  They froze well and the lime flavor was still evident.

Another recipe which met with great approval recently was for Cranberry Pork Loin.  The recipe comes from Judy over at Patchwork Times and is also a pressure cooker recipe.  I served it with a big bowl of homemade mashed potatoes and it was delicious!!  You can find that recipe here.  Judy has lots of good recipes so you might want to click on her Recipe link in the blog header and check out others.  

Right now I have a loaf of San Diego Sunshine Bread working in my bread machine.  It makes the most fabulous French toast, so that's what we'll be having for breakfast in the morning.  Yum!!  I'll use Eggbeaters and almond milk for the dipping mixture, so it'll be a healthy breakfast in spite of the syrup we'll use.  The recipe comes from the original Bread Machine Magic published in 1992 by Linda Rehberg and Lois Conway. It is my go-to bread machine cookbook and I've never been disappointed.  

And last, in kitchen news, a new food processor has come to live with us.  Back about 1980, Dan bought me an inexpensive GE food processor and in spite of it's low pedigree, it's been a trooper.  However, the last few times I used it, I noticed it didn't seal well anymore.  After almost thirty-three years, it was time to replace it.  I did some checking online and I had one picked out, on sale even.  Then yesterday we drove to Costco and lo and behold, there was one on the shelf.  With Dan's encouragement, into the cart it went.  I had fun setting it up and watching the accompanying video when we got home.  It's an 11-cup Cuisinart, not the biggest, but perfect for us.  

The old one had already been tossed in the garbage can, but I just dug it out for a commemorative photo with its replacment.  Quite the size difference!

I haven't used it the new one yet, but perhaps tomorrow I'll whip up some pizza dough and see how it does; it even has a special dough button.  Last year's garden was a bust, but I'm hoping I'll be running many zuchinni through this summer to replenish our relish supply.  And maybe make a few loaves of zuchinni bread.

Meanwhile, what's up in the kitchen tonight?  Roasted Brussel sprouts!  They're in the oven now, and here's where I got the recipe.  

January's End

I am so pleased to announce that all my Christmas things are put away!  Well, except for the little tree vignette in the downstairs hallway (seen in this post).  I can't quite bear to take it down yet as it brightens the basement so, but that's okay because all those things go in a different spot for storage anyway.     

I must say, it is kind of nice to have all that behind me and the house back to normal.  Of course, my normal tends toward red and green anyway.  The dining room table is the the only spot that's in a holiday mood--the new kitschy Valentine runner is there with the appropriately colored M&M's.  

I asked daughter Ann if she'd like a Valentine runner and took one over today; it's the one I made two years ago with charm squares using a disappearing nine-patch pattern.  Ann sent me an email this evening saying she loves it and it makes her smile every time she sees it. Yay!  Perfect for her house and that makes me smile.  

I watched little Daniel this afternoon and after he woke up from his nap we enjoyed watching a couple of Curious George videos on the DVR.  He snuggled in next to me with his sippy cup of milk and his snack cup full of Brown Sugar and Maple Frosted Mini Wheats.  What a wonderful afternoon!  

Shuffle, Ponder, Shuffle...Sigh

Yup, that's me doing all that work!  Hey, when you shuffle from a major holiday back to everyday life, it's work!!  It always takes me a while to take Christmas down, no surprises there, but I thought I'd try some Valentine decorating now.  If you've been a reader for a while, you know I made some new Valentine runners last year, and I have a quilt with pinks and browns that I made two years ago.  And then there's the new furniture in the living room...

So after working at the shop until one, I came home and decided today was the day.  (I'm tempted to put those last four words in all caps, but I'm refraining.)  I started gathering Christmas things and piling them in the hall and by the stairs.  Lots of every day things are stashed around the house in cupboards and in closets, so I started replacing.  And shuffling, and getting out those Valentine runners.  And pondering.  And shuffling some more.  And pondering.  And then...sighing.  

Guess what?  I'm not a pink person.  I'm a dark red, dark green and cream kind of person.  I've kept the newest runner (see last post) out on the dining room table, but the rest?  They've gone back in the closet.  Perhaps they'll become gifts, or perhaps another year I'll feel more "pink", but for now, (cuing Sammy Davis, Jr.) I Gotta Be Me.  

There.  I feel so much better now.  

Tomorrow, maybe I'll get the boxes out of the basement closet and finish up.  Or maybe I'll have an energy boost and do it in a little while.  

Table Runners

A confession.  I love table runners!  I love to make them, I love the look of them!  Itty bitty little quilts, scattered here and there on the tops of tables.  As a quilter, I get a lot of bang for my little buck--not much fabric, not much work, lots of color and comfort.  What a deal!

Before Christmas I made up a new pattern, Waffle Time by Atkinson Designs, in the Moda Sentiments Christmas fabrics and it was just right.  I made it for our new coffee table, but in the end, it wasn't right there.  However, it was just right on the dining room table.  

I decided that to justify my purchase of the pattern, I should make another runner.  With the new living room furniture, the need for more runners is obvious.   (Smile) Since Valentine's Day is coming up, a runner for the holiday seemed a logical choice.  I found a couple of matching prints in the shop's mark-down area (Free Spirit's Valentine print from several years ago) and said, "Sold!"  The fabric features those conversational hearts so reminiscent of grade school Valentine's parties. I added some mottled red and pink fabrics, and last night finished this:

Kinda like going from classic to kitsch, but there you have it!  It's a versatile pattern, and this new runner will look great with a big bowl of pink and red peanut M&M's!  Or maybe a bowl of those hearts.  :-)

Taking Down the Christmas Tree

I know, most people have long had their trees down, but that's not me.  I savor Christmas long after the actual day is gone.  After all, Jesus is always with us, so there's no end to the results of that long ago Christmas day. But today, the day had come to take this year's tree down. It was getting dry and Buddy, the cat, has been having a field day with the ornaments.  Time to give up.

And so Dan brought up the boxes and I began to remove the ornaments, one by one.  Most of our ornaments are hand-made.  We do have some glass balls and bells, boxes that my far-sighted sweetie bought after Christmas in 1971, just before our wedding, in anticipation of years to come.  (Just another reason I love him!) 

As I took down each ornament, I thought about its history with our family.  Here's an ornament my longtime friend Kathy made for me when we were still in high school (and that's a few years ago!).  Her family's tree was loaded with beautiful ornaments such as these:

Here's a special one to me; my dad wrote his name and the date on it back in 1958 and my brother wrote his name and the date in 1972.  Mom gave it to me as a special Christmas gift a few years ago and I cherish it.

Next up is a small red bell that harkens back to Dan's childhood.  There was once a green one, too, but after his mom's passing, the red one was the only one we found.  It must always go near the top of our tree each year.

This next one was made by one of our kids when they were quite little, probably in Sunday School, but we can't remember which one made it.  It wouldn't be Christmas with out this little red bird in an egg carton cup.

This year's tree was shorter than most.  Dan ran out of time to get to the woods and a friend in a nearby town volunteered one he had in an old Christmas tree plantation.  It worked just fine, as you can see from this photo below taken on Christmas Eve.

Today, as it made its last impression, it looked like this:

It was a good and faithful tree.  And it's only eleven months until a new one will make its appearance. There's comfort in that.  

And It's On The Bed!

I did it!  It's Tuesday night and Hard Candy Christmas in on our bed!  I gotta say I love it.  And Dan told me a few minutes ago, after he noticed it on the bed, that he loves it.  I call that a win-win.

And it's all ready for next Christmas!  :-)

Winter Beauty...and an Almost Done Quilt

The days have been so gorgeous!  Winter, wearing her most beautiful lace dress, has graced us with her presence for days and it's been so lovely.  Here's a shot of morning breaking a few days ago:

In the dark days of January, having snow on the ground makes the days so much brighter.  Today it's been snowing the type of flakes that make us feel like we're in the middle of the snow globe and it's making us smile.  

Meanwhile, Hard Candy Christmas finally made it to the quilting machine and all that's needed now is the binding! I'm debating between the same fabric as the last border or using the green from the sashing.  I want to get started this afternoon so I'll have to decide soon.

Right now I'm leaning toward the green as I think it will give it a nice finish.  I'm a very pokey hand sewer, so it will be a day or so before I'm finally done, but done I should be by Tuesday night!  (And since I still have all my Christmas decorations up, I can put it on our bed and it'll fit right in!)