Pots and Pins

Black Halloween Spaghetti...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After unusual October monsoons, we have had glorious sunny, albeit cold days and we are promised a rain-free Halloween!!  Things are hoppin' around The Slaughterhouse as we are getting ready for our donuts-on-the-driveway party (the plan is to fry 380 donuts...without having the fire department show up) and the boy is installing massive, horrifically skeeeeeery Halloween creatures outside on the lawn even though I forbid him.  When did he go to the dark side exactly?  I don't know but apparently he ain't never comin' back!  In Home Depot yesterday the boy spotted the "headless horseman" - a huge creepy thing that takes hours to assemble and when the boy was looking at the giant box a salesman appeared...now when have you ever been in Home Depot and had someone magically show up to help?!?!?  Usually we have to walk the entire store twice to find someone and then they are on their way to lunch or they work in lumber and know nothing about our electrical needs!!!  Anyway, the guy told the boy the headless horseman was 75% off and never have I seen the boy move so fast - that thing was rung up and in the back of the truck within 3 minutes!  

We have done so many fun things lately - I love this time of year and am especially happy I now get to share it with my grandkids!  Carving pumpkins with the mister was never allowed...I couldn't trust myself to be around him while wielding a knife!!!  And besides, he's not into Halloween...or fun.  But the kids??  They're all over it!  FYI:   Those little plastic pumpkin carving knives that all the party stores sell, really work!  The kids needed very little help from me and scooping pumpkin guts, which they used to hate, was their newest favorite thing!

 

 

No need to ask these kids to pose - just pick up a camera and they instantly Vogue.  While they were cutting and scooping, I was prepping the pumpkin seeds for roasting...I look forward to roasted pumpkin seeds every October, don't you?  Here's an easy way to make them:  Start with seeds from one pumpkin, rinsed and drained, and don't worry about any pieces of pumpkin sticking to them.  Pour seeds into a medium sized bowl and add 1/4 cup melted butter, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt.  Mix well and pour out onto ungreased, rimmed baking sheet.  Put in preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, then stir, and then return to oven until golden and crisp, about another 8 to 10 more minutes.  Remove from oven, taste, and if you're like me you'll add more salt, then enjoy!

Adding black food coloring to water will turn your spaghetti or whatever pasta you're cooking, a beautiful shade of black.  I used about 10 drops of gel black food coloring.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  I sauteed chopped red bell pepper and onion in a bit of butter and olive oil and then mixed it with the cooked spaghetti for a nice Halloween effect...

Adding sundried tomatoes or cherry tomatoes and meatballs would make this even more F*U*N to eat, unless you're a picky eater like my Max and then you only eat naked pasta!  Max was thrilled with the color though and thought it was super cool.  My dear friend Bev in MinneSNOWta sent me the idea - she is always on the look-out for fun things for The Slaughterhouse on Halloween!  Thank you Bev - it was a huge hit!

Not that appetizing in the above pic but that's what Max eats...plain pasta and meat...sometimes...mostly just pasta.  This pasta also looks very Halloween-ish in a nice red sauce...you get the idea - boil some up for your little ghouls today!

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice...

 Years ago, just as I was about to start a recipe that called for pumpkin pie spice, I realized I was fresh out.  Off to the local Safeway I went where I picked up a tiny little container of pumpkin pie spice and saw it was $5.99...for like TWO tablespoons of spice!  Right there in the spice aisle I almost had a full-blown-come-apart.  The nerve of McCormick Spices!  The nerve of Safeway!  Where did they get off charging that kind of moolah for something that is a necessity to my well-being!???  I wanted to start a spice revolution right then and there but alas, I needed to make pumpkin pie and I needed the pumpkin pie spice and I was the only one in the spice aisle and you can't start a revolution with just yourself, as that's called a meltdown. 

 

So I calmed myself, bought the tiny jar of spice and went home to make my pie.  But the very next day I did what I should have done to begin with and what you should do right now...I made my OWN pumpkin pie spice and I've never looked back!  It's not only easy, it's much, much more economical.  You can make a vat of pumpkin pie spice and still feel like you can retire at a decent age. 

Why would one want to make a large amount of pumpkin pie spice, you ask?  Because it makes for great party favors/gifts this time of year.  And if you're a baker then you know it won't go to waste...pumpkin spice season lasts for three full months so you'll use it!  We are lucky enough to live by an Indian grocery store (Apna Bazaar) where I bought ground nutmeg, ground ginger, cinnamon and ground cloves - super cheap!  (Asian markets also carry these spices for much less money than my local Safeway.)  The only thing I can't purchase at the Indian market is allspice, so I buy that at Fred Meyers.  (By the way, if you ask at the Indian market for allspice they will hand you garam masala - it's their all-spice!)

The little jars I used came from World Market - $.99 each.  This takes about 5 minutes to put together...add the spices to a zip-lock style bag, give it a couple of good shakes to combine, and then fill your jar(s). I usually make 9 times the recipe - which gives me about 2 1/4 cups of pumpkin pie spice...enough to take care of whatever pumpkin spice cravings I have and enough to share...if I'm so inclined...some years I don't share; hoarding pumpkin pie spice might just save my life when the zombie apocalypse begins, I'm told it will put a zombie in a trance...  

I ordered these cute chalkboard label stickers from Amazon.  They were under $8 and they came with two liquid chalk markers...arrived the day after I ordered them...so my love/hate relationship with Amazon continues, right now I'm loving them more than hating...I have mail order issues.  

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice - Pots and Pins

This recipes makes 1/4 cup of spice, enough to fill a small spice jar (2.5 oz.)  Double/quadruple as you see fit!

3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

Mix altogether in a zip-lock style bag or a small bowl.  Keep in an airtight container/jar.  Enjoy!

Did you know you can sprinkle pumpkin pie spice over an unscented or vanilla candle for a delicious scent in your home?  You can also just add it to water in a small pan and put it on your stove top to simmer...just don't let the water simmer out of the pan!  You can even make sachets with it to put in your car or sock drawer so your dog will follow you around even more than normal.  But definitely bake with it...make something wonderful to serve at all of your fall parties...

 

We had a family painting party - sure to be an annual event!  Elsa and Catherine assembled haunted gingerbread houses - another annual event - Trader Joe's still has some houses left, so does Costco, but hurry, they won't last long!  I'll leave you with a throwback picture as I count down the days until I can don my cape once again...

 

Lemon Posset with Blackberries...

Mmmmm...this one is a keeper.  An old keeper.  A recipe that's been around for a century and then some and yet it was new to me and I'll bet new to you, too.  Posset is the easiest dessert to make, with only THREE ingredients, and it tastes fancy-schmancy.  I discovered posset a few months ago and have made it almost weekly since - its quick to make, is always a sure-bet, and goes down so smooth you'll forget you're eating hundreds of calories...but please don't let that stop you!

As I mentioned, you need only 3 ingredients, heavy cream (whipping cream), Baker's sugar, which is ultra-fine and dissolves a bit faster than granulated sugar and lemon juice...or lime juice or orange juice...any citrus flavor you like.

The cream and sugar are heated and boiled...yes, boiled...curdled cream is where it's at!  You do have to watch the pan carefully as boiling cream will boil over and out of the pan if you're not careful - but you don't have to stand and stir constantly, just occasionally, and only for 8 minutes.  Lemon juice is added after cooking and that's it.  You're done!  How simple is that?!?

If you want to learn more about posset, you can read all about it's old English origins and how acid added to cream makes for such a luscious dessert (it's better than mousse!) by visiting Cooks Illustrated, just click here.

You don't need to add anything to the top of the posset if you don't want to - or if you're like me and can't wait to dive right in, just wait until the posset cools so it will set, then grab a spoon!  But adding a spoonful of blackberry jam and some fresh blackberries is the cherry on top, so to speak.  You can add whatever berries/fruit you want - or maybe just top with a dollop of whipped cream - because if you're in for a penny you might as be in for a pound...actually many pounds if you eat this all the time - if you get my drift!

It tastes as good as you think...it's creamy and rich and decadent and the perfect ending to a perfect, or even not so perfect, meal...and it makes for a great afternoon snack...if you're into that sort of thing.

Lemon Posset with Blackberries  - Adpated From The Beach House Kitchen Blog  (If you're not familiar with The Beach House Kitchen, you need to be, she has fabulous recipes!)

2 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup baker's sugar (you can use granulated sugar, just stir really well to make sure it all dissolves)

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 cups blackberries, optional

1/2 cup blackberry jam, optional

Whipped cream for topping, optional

In a medium saucepan, combine cream, sugar and lemon zest.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Continue boiling, stirring often, until sugar is dissolved.  Be careful that mixture doesn't boil over.  Continue to boil for 8 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.  Cool slightly, until skin forms on top, about 20  minutes, then strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the zest, for an ultra-smooth posset.  (If you want a stronger lemon taste,don't allow skin to form and don't strain.)  Discard zest.  Divide the mixture into 6 individual glasses, jars or ramekins.  Refrigerate, uncovered until set, about 3 hours then cover with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated until cold and ready to serve.  Can be made two days ahead.  Divide the mixture into 6 individual glasses, jars or ramekins.  Top each serving with a spoonful of blackberry jam and fresh blackberries, which is optional, but I highly recommend.

Just look at hour thick and creamy this is!  And it's dang, dang, dang, dang, dang good!  5 dangs on the ol' dang meter for sure!  I calculated each serving to have approximately 350 calories...which isn't so bad...but who's counting?!?

 

Quilt Group Friday...

It's raining outside, cold and windy or as Mr. Rogers would say, a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  So I'm hunkered down in the nerve center, my workroom, wearing my work clothes...sweat pants, sweater, wool socks and my hair is nicely pinned up on my head so as to prevent any extra arm movements to replace an escaped lock and now I'm ready to show you the latest and greatest quilts from our last quilt group meeting!

This beauty was started over 25 years ago.  Marsha hand-pieced every little hexagon - sitting in doctor's offices, watching kids play soccer...wherever she went while raising her kids she carried her little bag of hexies and worked on them.  A while back Marsha began to think her quilt would never be finished so she gave the hexies to her sister Shelly and told her she could have them.  Shelly, who should win the Sister of the Year Award, not only finished the quilt, but she gave it back to Marsha.  Take a moment to dab the tear from your eye...truly was a self-less act of quilting love that was!  The binding, or lack of it, was hand-turned and hand-stitched by Shelly...it is perfect.  (Toe belongs to Kareena...very artsy of me to include it, no?)  

And check out that quilting!  It's just beautiful!  I started a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt years ago...I made about 25 hexies before I didn't have enough of anything to finish them...time and patience were on short supply back then.  I still have my hexies, can't bring myself to give them away because you just never know...I might find the time one day...doubtful I'll find the patience but stranger things have happened!  Way to go Marsha and Shelly, I love this quilt!

This very fun, bright, happy quilt belongs to Marsha's sister, Shelly.  I think she brought it for Terry to quilt - and also for us to see.  It is perfectly pieced, with everything lining up just right.  I do notice things like that because it's rare when one of my quilts does that...actually it's more of an accident - perfect is over-rated when it comes to my quilts and I always remind myself it's better to have a finished quilt than a perfect one!

Pinwheels and stars - simple blocks that make for a stunning quilt.  Oh how I love this one!  This is another one of Shelly's quilts.  I love everything about this, especially the colors.  This is a big quilt, too, and I wrote down it's a Moda pattern but that could be wrong, anybody know?

Helen finished her gray and pink quilt and I'm so glad she brought it to show - look at her backing fabric!  Helen's talents are many but I think one of her greatest is her use of color - she just sees color differently, as in she must have Kaffe-colored glasses...or maybe it's how she can take a simple block and create a complicated-looking quilt?  Love this!

This is one of Helen's WIP...I think it's fascinating that she has sewn the blocks together and hasn't decided if  a) the quilt is finished or b) if she's going to make it larger.  And that was redundant.  Oh well, so am I.  I don't ever sew anything together until I'm sure I'm finished with making blocks because block placement is HUGE for me...I might have to put a wonky-shaped block or a block where I've sewn it badly and maybe the selvedge shows, on the outer edge of the quilt so it won't show as much, things like that!  Just so you know, I would never un-sew a block.  Who has time for that?!?  Whatever Helen decides, I have no doubt this Dresden Plate quilt will be fabulous!

Helen brought one of her cute little fabric books for us to see - we've seen it before but it was so fun to see again.  A little book like this is makes such a great baby gift.  Every new mom should have a stack of these in her diaper bag!  Simple and quick to make, with or without added stitching - but added stitching, like the little spider and the cat's button eyes make it so fun!

I didn't take pictures of all the pages - some Helen had appliqued, but some were just fabric cut-outs.  All of the pages were sewn with scraps.  These books can be made for any holiday and personalized for each child...I mean, if you want to earn big brownie points with the mom!  And the book is washable!  The "boo!"  is the back of the book...so very cute!

It's always so fun to visit Terry's home right before Halloween...her artistic touches are everywhere.  I love how she includes her Halloween pillows in with the "regular" stuff...a nice little surprise for the eyes.

Speaking of surprises for the eyes...Terry and her grandson giggled themselves sick over the placement of the little dog - with his back leg up - in her bathroom.  C'mon now, you have to admit that's pretty funny, especially for a 6 year old or someone like me with a 6 year old's sense of humor!  Also...check out that pumpkin - I have severe velvet-pumpkin-envy but more on that in a bit.  

On first glance this might just look like big fabric pieces sewn together...but let me school you a bit...this is MINKY and if you've ever worked with minky, ever tried to sew just a tiny bit of it, then you know what a Herculean task it is to sew big pieces of Minky together and have them turn out straight!  Barbara made this very sweet and soft minky quilt for her nephew's new baby girl.  If they knew how much work this quilt was they would frame it behind glass and save it for the eternities!

Barbara went and did it.  Yes, she really did.  She made this amazing Halloween quilt and the minute I saw it I had this conversation in my head:

Me:  I need a quilt like this!

Me:  You don't need another Halloween quilt.

Me:  Yes, Yes I do!  I need this quilt, then I'll have just the right amount of Halloween quilts.

Me:  You are crazy to even think you have time to do this!

Me:  I do have time, I need this quilt, I'll find the time, I really need this!

Me:  No!  No!  No!  Absolutely not.  Okay fine.  

Stephanie went to a flea-market of sorts in Seattle, " 2nd Use Shop" is what I wrote down and she found this great little bag made from old wool with simple embroidery.  It's hefty and when I felt it I knew why she bought it - it's just cool...like Stephanie who always seems to know when and where the best junk-sales are.  In my next life I'm going to be her.

Stephanie made a quilt top for a friend and as a thank you, her friend sent her this piece of fabric.  We talked about what she could do with it and in my humble opinion I think she should just back it and make it a whole cloth quilt - it's pretty cool fabric!  Now that I see this picture though, I see JAWS...anyone else see it?  Cue the music...dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun...That just means that if it were my quilt I would never be able to sleep under it...

How cute is this?!?  Stephanie sewed borders around a Halloween panel that she found at Value Village.  It's the perfect grandkid quilt...it can be used and abused and it won't break a grandma's heart if one day the dog chews off the corner because Halloween candy somehow got stuck on it!  Now, about those velvet pumpkins...I love them.  I've seen them in the shops, very pricey...so I've decided to make my own.  Well, it's on my list of things to do but I'm half way there because I have REAL pumpkin stems drying in my kitchen so any day now I'll cut a big circle from my velvet, baste-stitch all around the outer edge and before I pull it tightly together I'll add some rice and stuffing.  I'll knot it really well and then make a few tucks with my fingers before hot-gluing on my stems.  Presto!  Just like that I'll have Harvest pumpkins every bit as wonderful as Terry's...at least that's the plan...check back with me in 10 or 11 years and see if I have them done!

Do you need an idea for a super fast quilt?  Look no further!  Stephanie cut 2 1/2-inch strips and sewed them together - I love this!  It's a great way to use up scraps and "ugly" fabrics...not that there's any ugly fabrics in Stephanie's quilt!  She made this for Project Linus and she even brought in a big box of fabrics for us to take home, cut into strips and sew together so we can donate a quilt top to Project Linus, too.  Stephanie's good like that - always looking for a way to help others...just one of her many endearing qualities...and now that I've buttered her up a bit, it shouldn't come as a surprise for me to confess I've yet to cut the fabric I brought home...but I will....right after I get going on my Halloween quilt!

Terry has been hard at work on her wool applique pieces - if you enlarge these pictures you will be able to see just how wonderful her workmanship is.  You won't be able to see her stitches...it's a little mind-boggling how she is able to work with such precision.  The word jealous just sprang to mind...wonder why?!?

I had to take a picture of Terry's flannel quilt - it's definitely a snuggler.  I love the little pumpkin guy she hand appliqued on the back corner...so Terry!  

I'm happy to report it is still raining and I just heard a clap of thunder...that means it's now time for me to end this post and head to the kitchen to make chowder or pumpkin muffins or chili or all three.  Thanks for stopping by - it was a great show, no?