"Good Weekend" Defined

It was a good weekend. For some people, a good weekend may consist of a great trip or some special adventure, maybe shopping and a movie; but for me, a good weekend is one wherein I am able to stay home, accomplish much, AND enjoy myself and my family. I had hoped to complete a crochet project that I have been working on for months, which would give me a much needed FO to share here, but it didn't happen.

A few things that DID happen:
(1) Lots of housework on Saturday, including dish washing! I must have exorcised some kind of dish washing demon with my confession on Friday because I washed dishes BY HAND three times on Saturday! This was prompted by my frustration with the dishwasher. Not only has it never worked really well, but I have never been able to master the flow of loading and unloading. There was a never-ending accumulation of dishes on the counter waiting to be loaded, and I rarely seemed to be able to run the dishwasher fewer than two times a day—definitely not green! I decided that to maintain the kitchen as I would like, some hand washing would be required, so I invested in a dish rack. It says a lot about how much I have cut back on my consumption when the purchase of a dish rack can bring so much pleasure! LOL

(2) We made homemade dog treats. Easy recipe. Four ingredients. Lots of fun for the girl. And the dog loves them. Highly recommended!


(3) We had a visitor. He was in the back yard when we came home from church on Sunday. His timing was perfect since his photo is needed for the reptile section of my son's animal notebook for school. Isn't he/she cute?

I hope your weekend was just a nice as ours!

Cookin' from Scratch

My life has continued to revolve around food this week. I am taking charge of my health and striving to live more simply and frugally, and all of this requires a great deal more attention to food than I have been accustomed to for some time. Bascially, we are eliminating processed and convenience foods and trying to eat whole foods as much as possible. (I am also currently forgoing sugar, caffeine, and most starches.) Therefore, I have been thinking about food, shopping for food, cooking food, and cleaning up the kitchen much more than I am used to, and it has taken up a great deal of my time.

I generally enjoy cooking, and have had periods of intense interest in cookbooks and watching Food Network. But my passion subsided with the realization that the other three people in my home are very picky eaters and often do not appreciate the things I cook for them. This limited my motivation to cook, and we gradually began eating out more and relying on convenience foods.

Two other factors I am up against are my lack of enthusiasm for grocery shopping and for dish washing. If I lived somewhere with a farmer's market and a well-stocked grocery store, the shopping thing would not be so much of an issue, but I live in a rural area where tomato paste in a tube is unheard of, and I can count on one hand the organic vegetables that are available.

The dish washing aversion is most likely due to the fact the I had to wash dishes as a child. My mom had excema on her hands, so it was my job to wash the dishes every night after dinner. I do have a dishwasher now, but that doesn't seem to make much difference. For me it doesn't appear to be the time involved but the task itself. We all have these types of aversions, I suppose. (For the record, among home keeping tasks, I also dislike dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, and ironing.)

For inspiration and information, I have been reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle in the evenings before bed. As I revisit the issues I originally familiarized myself with years ago by reading Wendell Berry's essays, I hope that the changes I am making are for good this time, and that I will not allow myself to fall back into the typical American mode of mindless consumption.

Top photo: Breakfast focaccia from No Need to Knead. (For my children!)
Bottom photo: Lentil stew based on the recipe from The All New Joy of Cooking (1997).

Puttin' Up Pears

Right now, there are pear preserves on the stove. Earlier this week, I made pear honey. And later today, I'm making peach jam.

I haven't done any canning for the past couple of years, but this year I was determined to take advantage of the abundance of Kieffer pears from my in-laws' trees. Kieffer pears are common in older Southern gardens. They are very firm and little bit gritty, so a long slow simmer is required to make good preserves. Recipes are hard to find, but I think I have the confidence now to experiment a little bit. If my efforts are successful, I will report on it here and provide a recipe.

My first canning lessons were more than eleven years ago with my friend, Debbie. She came over to my house and walked me through the process of making strawberry jam. Since that time, I've put up blueberries and peaches, in addition to pears.

Canning is one of those things that the thinking about is actually harder than the doing. Once you get the necessary equipment and practice needed to determine the setup that works for you, all it requires is time and the availability of good produce. To get started, get a copy of the Ball Blue Book. Follow the instructions, and you will be fine.

Do you do any canning? If so, what is your favorite thing to put up? Do you have any favorite books or other resources on canning and preserving?

The Birthday Crown Mystery

Last week, my baby, affectionately referred to by me as "Roo," turned five. I was determined to make a birthday crown for her, and I did. I was able to successfully attach the trim using the sewing machine, but when it came time to sew the front and back together, I experienced the one hiccup in my new found sewing success. I had contemplated blanket stitching around the edge anyway, so I decided to go ahead with it—despite the fact that the only blanket stitching I had done was on my beginning embroidery sampler.

The blanket stitching left a lot to be desired, but I knew the recipient had not inherited her mother's tendency towards perfectionism, so I overcame my misgivings about the final product and gave it to her on the afternoon of her birthday. She loved it! And she wore it that day and the next day as well. When it came time to have our family party a few days later with my parents who came from out of town, the birthday crown was no where to be found. We searched everywhere, and it still hasn't turned up! Needless to say, I am very disappointed. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to take a photo immediately after I presented Roo with the crown!

On a happier note, I have perfected the cupcake. I use a Duncan Hines yellow cake mix, which makes 24 cupcakes. (I know, I know, but I tried baking them from scratch, and they just aren't as good!) The frositng IS made from scratch using the Easy Buttercream recipe from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. Finally, I sprinkle a little decorative sugar on top in colors that will please the honoree. These cupcakes have gotten rave reviews from everyone who has tried them.

Recipe: Banana Bread

I have loved Banana Nut Bread for as long as I can remember, and I have tried many variations of the recipe, but this one is still my favorite. It is an adaptation of a family recipe that I have modified enough that I am comfortable calling it my own. I have often substituted pecans for walnuts, but I prefer the walnuts. I give this to people for gifts, and they always rave over it. I often bake two loaves at a time. Enjoy!

Kathryn Estelle's Banana Bread

¾ cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
¼ cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts

Peel bananas, break into pieces, and place in bowl of an electric stand mixer. Use mixer on low speed to mash bananas. To bananas, add sugar, canola oil, and eggs, and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix the flours, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Add the walnuts to the batter, and fold them in gently by hand. Do not over mix the batter. Pour batter into a greased (I use canola oil spray.) 9 x 5 inch metal baking pan, and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before turning out bread onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Buttermilk Pound Cake

Earlier in the week, Alicia mentioned a Buttermilk Pound Cake recipe that I was inspired to try, and I finally had my chance this afternoon. I've been looking for a simple, delicious pound cake recipe that I can make with ingredients I have on hand. Since I usually have buttermilk for making our weekly pancake dinner, this recipe seemed to meet at least one of my criteria.

The cake WAS simple to make. It turned out beautifully after cooling fifteen rather than ten minutes, and the use of almond extract rather than lemon extract made it taste...

Mmmm... Exactly what I've been looking for!