Archive for cooking

the christmas stitching that wouldn’t happen

11.04.09 at 9:04 am · Filed under NaBloPoMo, arden, cooking, life stuff, moving

Argh. I started a new Christmas exchange piece because I was unhappy with the 2-over-2 coverage I was getting with the first project.  Cute design, great fabric, awful result. The replacement project looked fun when I started it, but I’ve sort of run out of steam. Lately, I’m just too tired to stitch at night. And my hands are a wreck, making the silk that I didn’t pack nearly impossible to work with.  Before this house-cleaning craze began, I did my stitching in the evening to unwind. Now, I stare at the TV blankly for an hour or so and then clamber up to the attic and gratefully pass in unconsciousness. LOL. Maybe the block-buster Christmas ornament issue by The Gift of Stitching will inspire me with a project I can stick to?

and the cooking that did happen

Yesterday’s showing went well, the realtor reported. These people seemed more interested in a practical way – the first couple were interested in how they could transform our 40 year old home into a modern showcase, whereas this couple were interested in the location, the electrical wiring, the age of the exterior paint, etc. The things that are really important to know if you’re serious. Fingers crossed.

Anyway, following a day of intense cleaning, I indulged myself in several enjoyable hours in the kitchen after the showing was over. Outside, the wild November winds blew and the rain pelted down while the last leaves swirled past the windows. Inside, pots bubbled, children chattered, and I felt that life was once again in the correct balance. I would never aspire to be a Domestic Goddess, but I am very happy when puttering in a kitchen to feed the people I love best. :)

My labors of love led to lots of peanut butter cookies (topped with homemade vanilla sugar!)

peanut butter cookies

and a big, bubbling pot of pumpkin & paprika stew. (Hmm. The pan really was clean before I started cooking in it!)

pumpkin and paprika stew

the smiling snot monkey

Arden isn’t fully recovered, but he’s a cheerier fellow than he was even a day ago. I’m looking forward to being able to sleep through the night in another day or two. ;)

arden's getting better
(Even though he got up too close to the camera and isn’t centered, I just love this picture!)

Wishing you a wonderful week full of tasty goodness and the warmth of loved ones. :D

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yesterday …

09.11.09 at 11:55 am · Filed under cooking, life stuff, round robins, stitching

Yesterday I intended to write a post about the stuff I was doing, but I was so busy doing it that I didn’t have time.  LOL!

Yesterday I sent Nicki’s Quaker round robin on to Karen, and I started stitching on Karen’s, which had already arrived from Katrina (who is ever so much better about RR shipping dates than I am!). Here are Nicki and Karen’s Ackworth Friendship book round robins. Lovely, huh?

quaker RR 003

Karen V's Quaker RR

Yesterday I also baked chocolate chip cookies, which made my kids love me. Sometimes they sort of forget, but fortunately chocolate and sugar always remind them. The recipe is one I got from Sara and when it cooperates with me, it makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the universe. Seriously. But sometimes recipes have a mind of their own, which is why cooking is an art and not a science, and yesterday was one of those days. The trick to this recipe is in the butter, which must be just barely soft enough to cream into the sugars by hand – too soft (or if you use an electric mixer) and the cookies come out thin. Luckily, I’m the only incredibly picky person in the family and everyone else is trying to eat them by the handful.

chocolate chunk cookies

 

Today being 9/11, I’d just like to say thank you to all the wonderful people who pulled together to help out after the tragedy. I know that a lot of these volunteers have suffered health problems as a result of their efforts, including a good friend of my mom’s. While we musn’t forget the victims, it can be too easy to overlook the selfless men and women who rushed to the scene without thought of their own welfare to help out.

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who’s ready for autumn?

08.27.09 at 10:57 am · Filed under cooking, exchanges, stitching, weather

Growing up, autumn meant sunny days and chilly nights, bright fall foliage, newly-sharpened pencils, and a certain tang to the air that was just filled with promise. It was a time of new beginnings, just before winter set in and forced us all to cozy up for short days and long, cold nights. Where I now live, autumn means one thing: rain. After Niek and I bought our current house, September held a certain dread as we tried to keep ahead of the rain’s damage – it can rain so hard and so often that the ground around the house literally washes away. We’ve wakened to actual pits in the front and back yard where only the evening before there was dirt, sand, and paving stones, and have had to call in for partial truckloads of sand to replace what was lost. Just from rain! I know there are other parts of the world that suffer much worse from heavy seasonal rains, but I have to admit that I feel more than just a tad sorry for my loss of gorgeous foliage and crisp, sunny days. Here’s this week’s pictorial weather forecast. Sigh.

rain rain go away forecast 

But like cold Maine winters force everyone inside for cozy pastimes, so does this autumn rain. Arden’s recently become very interested in books and I snapped a few pictures of him going through one of his new magnetic board books. You can stick the magnet onto the illustration to make something new – it was very popular on the plane trip, and continues to be a favorite now that we are home.

arden reads a book

Of course this sort of weather also brings out the comfort foods. Tonight we’ll be enjoying garlic smashed potatoes with lemon-pepper fish and a salad. We had chili earlier in the week, to everyone’s satisfaction. What sort of recipes do you trot out for the change in season?

Most of all, the dreary weather means finding extra delight in cross stitching. Yesterday I completed my Prairie Schooler exchange and also worked a bit further on the new design shown in the previous post. The eyelet alphabet is soothing work to do. Today I’ll put the last stitches on my Blackbird Designs exchange so I can make a trip to the post office and get everything sent out at once.

prairie schooler exchange

Here’s hoping that you and yours are enjoying whatever Mother Nature is bringing your way!

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drips and drabs

07.12.09 at 4:36 pm · Filed under Stash, cooking, freebies, furbabies, life stuff, round robins, stitching

No, the title isn’t a typo of  ‘dribs and drabs’ – it’s raining (again) and I decided to take liberties with the phrase. This weather is good for cooking, even if it tends to get a bit depressing. Yesterday, I baked a couple loaves of bread to celebrate the kids’ summer holiday, and here’s the chocolate bread that disappeared almost immediately after the photo was snapped.  (It was another attempt at using flour other than wheat, and I’m now ready to concede that it’s not as easy as I thought it would be.)

chocolatebreadring

Yesterday I started a new project over one that I am just loving. Here’s a picture I took during a sunny break yesterday (I’ve gotten a bit further with it since then). I’m stitching it with DMC over one on 32 ct mystery linen that looks a lot like Lambswool.

PS newstartoverone

As a matter of fact, I’m loving it so much that I went off and ordered a large piece of evenweave from Silkweaver’s Odds & Ends to finally do SOHRH over-one. I’m taking it easy on myself, as it’s a 20 count evenweave and should not wear my poor old peepers out too much.

Silkweaver shadowbrook

I’ve also continued to work on this round of our Quaker RR, with the intention of having one panel done before we go on vacation to Maine. That only leaves the other panel to do after we return, which shouldn’t be too difficult (she said, full of confidence, LOL!).

QuakerRR3WIP

Our kitty, Spin, seems to have adopted a quieter family one street over and I miss him. I’m not sure which house he’s been going to, but I keep finding him down that street. I carry him home and feed him, but he only picks at his uninspiring dry kibble and leaves after allowing me to pet him a little bit. Though I can’t blame him for seeking out quieter lodgings, I’ve always felt that a home without a cat is just four walls with a lot of windows and doors.

spin up high

 

schools_outTomorrow is the first ‘real’ day of the kids’ summer holidays. I’ll need to get busy today printing out the activities we’ll be doing. Gosh, I should’ve checked our supply of printer ink yesterday when the shops were open. I hope to also get the Five Birds chart emailed out and the giveaway prizes posted as well – sorry for the week-long delay, but it really was a crushingly busy week.

Best wishes, all!

13 July, Edited to add: I’ve sent the two CHS freebies (Brite Birds and Five Birds) in a final mass emailing. I won’t be sending them out again, so please don’t ask. The upcoming days and weeks will be spent with the kids rather than behind the computer. ;) Thanks for understanding!

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adventures in giving

07.01.09 at 3:11 pm · Filed under arden, cooking, dog walking, give-away, weather

Not only do a have the winners from my blog giveaway to announce, but I also have the details for another fabulous giveaway at Prim Originals to share.

First off, Prim Originals is having a giveaway and I really hope I win! So I probably shouldn’t tell you about it, right? Fewer names = greater chance of me winning? Nah, that wouldn’t be playing fair. Liz is a talented artist and to prove it, I have two of her prints hanging in our living room on my “art wall”. Okay, it’s really only a half wall, but it will grow…. My embarrassing admission is that one of these prints was purchased as a gift, but I liked it so much that I kept it. (Don’t worry, the intended recipient never knew what happened and got a different gift that made her just as happy!)

Prim Originals

On to my giveaway, I was surprised at how fast the comments poured in – and very touched by all the nice things you said! Thank you! I printed out the first 40-odd names at  midnight when I was getting ready to go to bed, and printed the rest out today. Snip, snip, and into the hat so everyone had a chance to pull a name. Without further ado, here are the five winners:

4 year giveaway

Congratulations, and once again, thank you so much for your friendship and encouragement!

Today’s adventure was heading over to the doggie hotel where Rigby and Lola will be staying during our time in Maine. I wanted to see it for myself and also to give Lola a chance to experience it before getting “dumped” there for three weeks. Lola’s a bit of a scaredy-cat and I thought it would be less frightening for her if she could see it beforehand. Ideally, I’d prefer to bring both dogs but I can’t handle both of them and all four kids in a new setting on my own. Visits to the kennel are only permitted during certain hours to reduce stress for the dogs who are already staying there; Niek would’ve been glad to help, but of course visiting hours occur during the workday. But we managed fine and I’m feeling better about the necessity of leaving our dogs behind.

Other recent adventures have involved ice cream. It’s been hot-hot-hot, and that means cool treats. Arden is a huge fan of popsicles and since we are all huge fans of Arden, I thought these pictures would bring a few smiles. :D

arden enjoys ice cream and oranges

And there have been some cooking adventures as I experiment with some gluten-free products – I want to show my mom how easy it is to live gluten-free (so she’ll stick to her doctor-recommended diet), and that means experimenting on my family beforehand. Ha ha. I’ve learned that soy flour cannot replace regular flour, but only enhance it (to add extra protein/moisture/etc.). I should’ve read about soy flour before attempting this soy-flour foccaccia bread. As you can see, it was a resounding failure. Fortunately, I baked a “normal” one at the same time so we did not go hungry. LOL!

foccaccia bread

Tomorrow’s adventure will be having Annemarie over for a visit. Actually, she’ll be the one having an adventure, as both dogs are shedding like mad at the moment and even twice-daily vaccuuming doesn’t keep up with the furballs and dirt that’s constantly getting tracked in. Chateau Chaos looks much more chaotic than usual these days, but Annemarie’s a brave woman. I can hardly wait to see her!

Wishing you well! Thank you once again for visiting with me here – I certainly enjoy the company! :D

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nearing 200

06.28.09 at 11:13 am · Filed under cooking, stitching, weather

I woke up this morning and decided I really had to tend to my bloglines reader which was nearing 200 unread posts – nothing to some of you maybe, but I try to keep caught up every day and it was freaking me out (I’ve been offline more often than not since Thursday). So I’ve gone through all your wonderful new posts – not commenting on every single one, as I once would’ve done, but enjoying them and leaving comments here and there. What a talented bunch of stitchers, quilters, and crafters you are! I also sent out another batch of emails with the Brite Birds freebie and I hope that I’m caught up on requests for that. Someone asked why Kathy might refuse permission to distribute her freebie this way … well, believe it or not, some designers have caused a huge ruckus over things like this (no names named, but I bet some of you know to whom I’m referring!) and I didn’t want to even risk offending Kathy so I asked first. And I wasn’t at all surprised by her gracious answer. Who else out there thinks she should make a volume of her freebies for sale? I’d buy it. :D

It’s been very steamy here, which has seriously cut into my stitching. Before bed last night, I did put a few stitches into HOHRH, and here’s my rather embarassing update on that.

HOHRH day 6

Instead of stitching yesterday, I cooked. Insane, isn’t it? I mean, it was so hot and humid … so I go off and make lasagne from scratch. And when I say from scratch, I mean it – even the pasta (spinach!) is homemade. It was incredibly good. And there’s enough pasta left over for tonight’s dinner!

lasagne

Sorry for the dreadful photos – the new camera and I are having a slow learning period with each other.

Wishing you a wonderful Sunday!

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comfort with cooking and conny

06.23.09 at 6:04 pm · Filed under cooking, finishing, friends

You know how some foods just make you feel good – a friend of mine was wild for Welsh Rarebit when I was younger and that totally freaked me out till I found out it’s just cheese sauce over bread. LOL. I’m very fond of mac & cheese if my Mom or Sara is making it. If I have to do my own comfort cooking, I’d have to say that homemade pasta fills the bill. Last night I made a double recipe of pasta (=1 kilo of raw pasta dough) and used that to make 90 mouth-watering ravioli. It took me most of the afternoon, but it really was worth it.

cooking and conny 002

On a food note, awhile ago Dianne asked me about roasted bell peppers (I believe we were having gazpacho, or maybe I was using the roasted peppers in another soup). It’s a simple thing – just cut your bell peppers into large chunks, put them skin-side up under your broiler, and … well, burn them. Once they cool off, peel the burnt skin off and use the pepper how you want. T’hey’re excellent cut into strips and used in salads & pasta, or puree them for use in a soup. Yum. I don’t like bell peppers very much unless they’re roasted.

roastedbp for dianne

Not to make too clumsy of a segue, but spending time with certain friends can be immensely comforting, too. Arden I were happy to spend the morning and early afternoon with Conny at her home. As is always the case, actual stitching never actually got done, but we had a wonderful time talking, showing each other projects, eating, and laughing. Because we’d both had a birthday since the last time we saw each other, some gift-giving was called for. I could finally give this little Marjorie Massey project to its real owner.

Marjorie Massey 

And Conny thrilled me to bits with this Brite Birds (an older freebie from Kathy Barrick-Dieter) project – how clever is she? This is so gorgeous! It’s hanging by my front door for all to see and admire. She also gave me a bag full of gorgeous floss, ribbon, and finishing fabric that I’ve neglected to photograph (shame on me!) as well as a fun game for the kids that she bought in China. Thank you for a great day, Conny!

cooking and conny 015

Hoping that your day is graced by true friendship!

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