Pots and Pins

Baby Max and His Other Great Grandma...

This was just too good not to share...Baby Max snuggling with his 100 year old Great Grandma - is he a charmer or what?!?

This might be the one and only visit Max has with his Great Grandma - but he'll know she loved him.  The girl and SIL took Baby Max to Sequim, Washington to visit his great grandparents a few weeks ago.  They are both 100 years old and still with it!  Actually, at the rate they're going Max might just have MANY more visits to look forward to!

Aahhh - there's just nothing like kissing that little bald head!

The girl took this picture - she has a really good eye and an uncanny ability (or supernatural luck) for capturing just the right shot...something she didn't get from me!

Okay, I'll stop now so you can sit back and enjoy his little face....

The Witch Is In....

The factory is up and operational and running at full speed...

Don't you just love the trim?!?  This is 18-inches by 8-inches...the perfect size to fit behind my back when I sit on my throne after a long day of bitching  witching...it's made from felt...I was going to use wool but felt seemed to fit this project better...Cheesy, kitschy, Halloweenie...and as of tomorrow, October 1st, the Witch will indeed be In!

Material Girls...Quilt Shop Extraordinaire...

While in Utah, I always make it a point to visit a few quilt shops...this time I had a new one to visit, thanks to Freda's Hive....she told me about Material Girls, a darling quilt shop located in West Jordan, Utah.  Freda (aka Nanette) said this was one of her favorite shops...and I can see why.  It's filled to the rafters with patterns and fabrics and wonderful quilts on display...and it was voted one of the ten best quilt shops in May by Better Homes and Gardens Quilt Sampler Magazine!  Now THAT'S saying something!  I tried to take a photo of the outside of the shop - but my hand got in the way - I hate it when that happens!!  I did manage to have one photo turn out...it's from inside the shop - and my apologies to Nadine Woodraska, the owner, for not asking permission...(Please forgive me!!  I promise to come and visit again and spend lots and lots of money!!)  I just saw this, above the window in their huge classroom, and immediately whipped out my camera because this gave me HOPE!!!  And it's going to become my NEW MANTRA!!!

These big windows will give you an idea of how light and bright the shop is...oh!  If only I'd thought to take pictures of the inside!!!  You'd all be online getting tickets to Utah to go visit this shop!!  Truly, it's a good one, so if you find yourself cruising through the wild, wild west, make sure you stop in to see Nadine and her wonderful shop!  And it's so true....FINSIHED IS way better than perfect!

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Now, while we're on the subject of quilts...I have a two to show you.  My mom had me stop by her neighbor's house so I could see her quilts...what a treat!  Shaun Hincy (I hope I didn't mangle the spelling of her name!)  made these two quilts - and had plenty of others on display in her living room...it was a feast for my eyes!

Sun Bonnet Sue - how sweet is that?!?  And her apron quilt...these pictures just don't do either of them justice - her workmanship is incredible...let me put it to you this way...her points match!!  Something that I plan to have happen AT LEAST ONCE before I pass on to my Heavenly reward!  One other thing that I loved about Shaun's home...she had a picture on her wall of George Washington, a print of the famous painting of our first president, it's called The Prayer at Valley Forge by Arnold Friberg...but that's not what got me...nope...look below the picture on the wall...Shaun has a framed photograph of George - the father of our country...now for whatever reason, I thought that was pretty neat - and it's not even February - of course, I also loved her framed embroidery, too!

Thanks Shaun for letting us come by for a visit - it was great to meet you and I loved seeing everything you've made!  In my next life, I think I"ll be you!

Bad Witch...Good Witch...

As the cold medicine wears off I get moments of lucidity...and so I rush into the factory to do what I can...inbetween coughing up a lung and sneezing non-stop...this is what I came up with today...

Cute, no?  It's felted wool with a strip of felted wool "primitively" stitched on top...hey, remember I've been on cold meds here!  The black ribbon-fringe trim is really cute - too bad it doesn't show up here...I'd reshoot it but it's time for me to get back to my sick/death bed.  One pillow - two sides - now the mister will definitely know when NOT to mess with me!

Sauerbraten...

Before I give you the recipe for one of the best tasting meals EVER...here's a shot of my little prince with the SIL...Baby Max at LaPush Beach...yes, yes, the very same beach where Bella found out from Jacob that Edward was a vampire!  The girl and SIL are FREAKS about the Twilight books...frankly, I'm shocked that Baby Max is not a Baby Edward!  Or that Cullen isn't his middle name!  He loved the beach as you can see - he is such a happy baby!!  It's like he's ON something - his own little happy drug! 

Okay, I'll forget about Baby Max for a brief moment...I've got to tell you about this dish...years ago we were invited to the Swanson's home for dinner.  Steve, a big macho-man if there ever was one, likes his meat and potatoes...Diana, his dutiful and caring wife provided them...so I knew in advance that our meal would be nothing out of the ordinary...oh how WRONG I was!  I'm going back about 16 years here...THAT'S how good it was - I can still remember it!  At first it appeared to be a roast with vegetables...but it was so much more than that...the roast melted in my mouth...and the flavor was so rich...the veggies were cooked to perfection and smothered in a thick, zesty gravy...I'm telling you...it was insanely good.

Now, I don't know what Diana Swanson called her recipe - but I'd call it SAUERBRATEN...A German recipe for marinating beef in red wine vinegar or wine and spices - making it SO TENDER - and then cooking it in a Dutch oven until the meat just melts...it's amazing!  This is the ultimate Sunday supper...it'll make a believer out of you!  The mister said it reminded him of his childhood's Sunday meals...his mom, a blonde-beehive wearing-woman, always cooked a big Sunday supper...it almost brought a tear to my eye except for the fact that the mister dislikes his mother as much as she dislikes him...but do you see the power of this meal?  It's so good that one bite gave the mister a happy memory...probably the only happy memory of his life....faint and fleeting as it was!

Sauerbraten - Adapted from Taste of Home, October/November 2008, Patricia Rutherford

1 quart water

2 cups red wine vinegar or red wine

12 whole cloves

2 bay leaves

3 teaspoons salt

3 teaspoons brown sugar

1 (4 lbs.) boneless beef chuck or rump roast

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, cut into wedges

1 package (16 oz.) baby carrots

2 celery ribs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

In a large bowl, combine the water, vinegar (or wine), cloves, bay leaves, salt and brown sugar.  Remove 2 cups to a small bowl; cover and refrigerate.  Pour remaining marinade into a 2-gallon resealable plastic bag.  Add roast; seal bag and turn to coat.  Refrigerate for 1 to 2 days, turning twice each day.  Discard marinade and spices.  Pat roast dry; dredge in flour.  In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown roast in oil on all sides.  Transfer to a small roasting pan or Dutch Oven.  Add the onion, carrots, celery and reserved marinade.  Cover and bake at 325 for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until meat is tender.  With a slotted spoon, remove meat and vegetables to a serving platter.  Strain cooking juices; thicken into a gravy if desired.  I served baby yellow potatoes along side the roast, I cooked them separately because they would have been mushy if cooked as long as the roast.  This recipes serves 6 .

Root Vegetable Soup With Sausage...

I have a cold...well, it's more than a cold, it's probably the flu...or more likely it's pneumonia...or it could even be the dreaded black lung - because that's what it feels like I've been coughing up...did you get a visual on that?  So I'm loaded with cold medicine, which only makes me groggy but does nothing to relieve the hacking...and not that I want you to be all grossed out, but you do know what happens when a cough goes on and on, right?  Need a hint?  I have two words for you...bladder control....there...now you know how dyer my situation is...I could GO at any moment - literally.  I've been loading up on orange juice and antioxidant rich foods...taking vitamins and watching Dr. Oz...doing everything I can to release the death grip the grim reaper has on my lungs...I do believe I felt his fingers slip when I made this soup - it's powerfully good...even with diminished taste-buds the depth of flavor in this soup came through...plus, although I was drugged, it was easy to make...(I HAVE to cook when I'm sick, even when it means getting up off my death-bed because if I don't then I'm forced to eat the mister's cooking...need I remind you?  Boiled chicken and rice???   Elbow macaroni with canned tomatoes???  Just the thought of it makes me go into de-fib...Dr. McDreamy?!?) 

This recipe is out of this month's Taste of Home Magazine - one of my very favorite food mags.  The recipes in this magazine are tried and true - if you don't subscribe, you should.  It makes a lot of soup, so I froze half of it to enjoy later - and the mister and I each had two bowl fulls!  It's THAT good! The immersion blender makes another appearance...have you got yourself one yet?!?  It's SOOOOO great!  Italian sausage is the first ingredient in this soup - once it's cooked all of the veggies are added, along with the broth and water - and that's it...all of the flavor comes from the veggies - oh, plus a little cream thrown in at the end.  This is "company" worthy and it's even better the next day!

Root Vegetable Soup With Sausage - Adapted from Taste of Home Magazine, October/November 2008 by Donna Class of Keyser, West Virginia

1 lb. bulk Italian sausage

1/2 medium butternut squash, (about a 3 lb. squash) peeled and cubed

4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 medium rutabaga, peeled and cubed

1 package (16 oz.) fresh baby carrots

2 small turnips, peeled and diced

1 large parsnip, peeled and chopped

10 cups water

1 (32 oz.) can vegetable broth

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and more to taste

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon pepper, and more to taste

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

(This soup makes 20 1-cup servings, so use a kettle or a Dutch oven big enough to hold that much liquid.)  Crumble sausage into a large kettle.  Cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Stire in the vegetables, water, broth, sugar and seasonings; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Using an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth, with only tiny bits remaining.  Whisk in the cream.  (Or, if using a blender, process soup in batches until smooth.  Return to the pan; whisk in cream.)  Heat through but do not boil.

"The darkest day in life is the one in which we expect something for nothing." Allen Shawn

Note to Self...

Being away from home has it's advantages...no housework, no laundry, no errands for the mister...so I do look forward to getting away, like last week when I was in Utah with my family and Baby Max - it was great fun!  On the flight home I began shifting gears...knowing that I would return to a sink full of dishes, a laundry room piled high and furniture covered in dust...I had to remind myself that it WAS good to get away!  I have just a few pics from the trip that I want to share - I went to celebrate my dad's 77th birthday - unfortunately I don't have a picture of him!  But he looks and feels great and we had a wonderful time!  

This pumpkin quilt greets everyone in my sister's home - it's much cuter in person!  The middle pic is a shot of Provo Canyon - beautiful color is just now starting to appear - Provo Canyon is the home of Robert Redford's Sundance and Bridal Veil Falls and if you ever get the chance to visit Utah you must drive through this canyon - Provo on one side, Heber/Park City/Deer Valley on the other....the third pic is of my beautiful mom and Baby Max enjoying an inside joke.

I love this picture of my nephew Nicky...the cellist of Layton...he's 5 and has his own cello stool and everything!  This picture of the girl - my little mouth-breather, just made me laugh...Max's mouth seems to be open a lot lately - maybe he's copying his mom?  He wasn't feeling well the day I took this shot - but you'd never know it - he just can't NOT be happy!

Must Read Books...

Since I am always asked what book I'm reading - not because I'm a HUGE reader or intellect - Ha!  But because I think people are always looking for something good to read and it just comes up in conversation...I want to share with you the list of books that have all been highly recommended by someone in my book group.  I'm sorry I can't tell you what each book is about - I haven't read only a few of these - but what I can tell you is at least one person in my book group was passionate about one of these books:

The Mapmaker's Wife - Whitaker                     Last of the Mohicans - Cooper and Wyeth

The Book Thief - Zusak                                   Unaccustomed Earth - Lahiri

These is my Words - Turner                            Wild Swans - Chang

The Millionaire Next Door - Stanley                  The Red and The Black - Stendahl

Truth and Beauty - Patchett                            Grayson - Cox

A Long Way Gone - Beah                                A Midwife's Tale - Ulrich

Guns, Germs and Steel - Diamond                  The Boating Party - Vreeland

Bless Me, Ultima - Anaya                                Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Kingsolver

The Thirteenth Tale - Setterfield

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Schaffer and Barrows

And these are the books that my group has decided to read this year:

The Cellist of Sarajevo - Gallaway                    To Kill a Mockingbird - Lee

The Last Lecture - Pausch                                Snow - Pamuk

My Life in France - Prudhomme                        The Glass Castle - Wall

Heart of the World - Baker                                Helen Keller:  A Life - Herrmann

Gift From The Sea - Lindbergh

Chicken Curry Soup...

Last week I had some delicious curry soup - and I've been wanting more ever since.  Now, making curry anything in the manse is not easy as the mister hates curry.  The smell of it makes him....vile...imagine poking a sleeping bear and how it would act when it awoke...well that's how the mister is when he walks in the door and smells curry...growls all around.  Since I wanted the soup, I made it early in the day and then opened all the windows and did my best to air the place out before he came home...and I made him his favorite...elbow macaroni with canned tomatoes so I could divert his attention from any lingering smells the minute his feet hit the floor.  The things I have to do to keep the peace!  But this soup was worth the risk of his wrath...it's almost chowder like because it's so thick and the flavor - well - it's curry heaven...it made me want to wrap a tablecloth around my body and call the mister Punjab!

This recipe is from Stella Jones, a member of my book club.  She brought this soup last week and dropped it off and then never made it back for the meeting so she didn't get to hear everyone say how much they loved it.  So Stella...thanks!  It was delicious!     

This soup can be cooked in the crockpot, like I did, or on the stove.  If you cook it on the stove top then follow the recipe below, except cook soup for 35 minutes, until the chicken is done, then remove the chicken, shred and add the cream; return the chicken to the pot but do not allow to boil.   

Chicken Curry Soup - Adapted from Stella Jones

6 tablespoons butter

2 cups onion, chopped

2 cups carrots, chopped

2 tablespoons curry

5 cups chicken broth

3 chicken breasts

1/2 cup brown rice (uncooked)

1 cup half-and-half

salt and pepper to taste

In crockpot add butter, onions, carrots, curry, chicken broth, chicken breasts and rice.  Cook, covered, on high for 5 hours.  Remove chicken pieces from crock and using forks, shred the chicken.  Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until only small bits remain.  (If you STILL don't have an immersion blender then very carefully transfer the hot soup a little at a time to a regular blender to puree.)  Return the shredded chicken to the crock and stir in the half-and-half.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve hot.  Serves 6.

“Life is not a continuum of pleasant choices, but of inevitable problems that call for strength, determination, and hard work.” - Indian Proverb

Blueberry Corn Muffins...

Yesterday I picked up a copy of the British edition of Country Living Magazine, the September issue, because my new blogland friend, Karon, is featured in it - I got the mag at Borders.  It's a beautiful magazine and I loved seeing the pictures of Karon and the herbs she grows for her business, Dream Acres.  While thumbing through the magazine I found a recipe for Blueberry Corn Muffins and this is what the caption said: 

"Sunday brunch as they like it in America.  The recipe comes from the Magnolia Bakery in downtown Manhattan - very Sex and the City."

Well, I am as far from Sex and the City as one can get!  Carrie Bradshaw would never be caught dead in these!  I bought my first pair of these spongy sandals in Hawaii about 15 years ago.  When I went back a few years later I bought myself 3 more pairs because they are SO comfortable...I only wear them around the house - never out in public!  Whenever anyone goes to Hawaii I always ask them to go into the ABC Store and buy me a pair of these sandals - when I was describing them to a friend they said, "Oh, you mean the prison sandals!"  Apparently all of the prisoners in Hawaii wear these - I am always on the cutting edge of fashion!

Carrie would like these muffins though - they are as light as can be and full of flavor!  I used some of the blueberries that I picked last month - they were frozen and they worked beautifully - corn muffins really let the sweetness of the berries come through.  

The recipe in the magazine was in grams - so I used a metric converter online to change everything to ounces...and then rounded up or down!  So this is not the exact recipe from Magnolia Bakery - but it's close and dang good!

Somebody borrowed my regular-sized muffin tin - so whoever did, please return it, okay?  I used my jumbo tin - so these muffins are about 3 full inches in diameter and at least 3 inches high!  They are HUGE!  I was quite pleased about that too because that meant I could eat just one and feel good!

Blueberry Corn Muffins - Adapted from British Country Living Magazine, September 2008

3/4 cup plain flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup blueberries, lightly coated with flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 12 cup muffin tin, or if you want to make the jumbo's like I did, then butter a 6-cup jumbo tin.  Sift all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Warm the milk with the butter, stirring until the butter melts.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, combine the butter and milk mixture with the eggs and then pour into the center of the dry ingredients.  Mix until blended - but do not overmix, it's okay if it's a bit lumpy.  Gently fold in the flour-dusted blueberries.  Divide the batter equally between the muffin tins, filling about 2/3's full.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown on top and the center is firm to the touch.  Don't overbake.  Serve warm with butter and honey....so, so good!

"I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so."  Abraham Lincoln