Looking for a quick, inexpensive, non-cookie food item for gift giving?  This year, I have been popping lots of corn.

First up is Molly's recipe for Caramel Popcorn with Salted Peanuts.  UNBELIEVABLE.  It is really, really good.  And quite easy to make.  Follow her suggestions, have everything at the ready and you will be in great shape.  A candy thermometer is a must here.  I didn't have one so I picked one up at the grocery store for about $12 last week.  I have used it about five times since I bought it and will probably use it again today.  Well worth the investment.

Maple Popcorn is the other variety I have been giving this season.  I found this recipe from Jennie.  I love this one because it is super simple and you can double or triple the recipe.  Maple syrup, popcorn, salt and oil are the only ingredients making this a vegan treat - super nice for your vegetarian friends or those with dairy allergies.  A candy thermometer comes in handy with this recipe, too.  I packed some of it up in jars I bought at Target last year (I think they still sell them, though) and tied some red and white string around the lids.  I made the label in photoshop using the Reprodepot Flora Pattern disc.  (I have the Folk Pattern disc, too.  I have used them both in various ways and really like them --- they probably deserve a post of their own).

Back tomorrow with the winner of Applique Your Way.

 

Monday morning I read Molly's post about getting kids outdoors.  Immediately I decided that we would do homework outside.  As luck would have it, the ice cream truck was practically at our driveway as we biked up the street after school.  That made homework extra sweet.

I received my October issue of Everyday Food yesterday.  I was super excited that I had everything on hand to make one of the chicken recipes.  I looked on the Martha Stewart website, but couldn't find a link.  If you have the magazine, go to pgs. 88 - 89.  You basically take a whole chicken cut into pieces (I had thighs and legs on hand), place them in a roasting pan with cut up new potatoes, the cloves from a head of garlic (unpeeled), some thyme, a quartered lemon and a red onion (cut into eighths).  Whisk together some olive oil  - the recipe calls for 1/4 cup, but I would reduce this to 3 tbsp. - and 2 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar.  Toss everything in your vinaigrette, season with salt and pepper and roast in your oven.  The recipe calls for 450 degrees for 50 minutes - I did 425 degrees on convection bake for 45 because that is how I normally roast chicken pieces.  I steamed some green beans, sliced some tomatoes and called it a meal.  It was a winner - everyone liked it.  It would have been extra good with some crusty bread to spread those roasted garlic cloves on.  Next time.

I found an acorn in the cuff of my pants this morning.  I am pretty sure I picked it up while biking the girls to school.  I never felt it fall in there so I was surprised when it rolled out.  Just another sign that Autumn is on its way.

Finally, if you want to hear me prattle on some more, Amy interviewed me as part of her Mama Views series on Progressive Pioneer.  I was flattered that she asked me to join her there.  I just re-read my answers and, again, am amazed that I didn't make a total fool out of myself.  Seriously.  Being the "A" of the Q&A takes some getting used to.  Thanks for the opportunity, Amy.

Chat with you all soon.

I know fall is on it's way when Fatty decides it's time for a one-pot meal.  He cooked up a yummy Cuban black bean stew from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper.  Well, at least the two of us thought it was tasty.  One girl doesn't like black beans and the other doesn't like ham.  Meals that don't go over well with the kids are extremely frustrating for all of us.  At the same time, I refuse to give in to them.  How are they going to learn to like anything new if they aren't exposed to it?  There was rice and homemade bread.  No one went hungry.

I know I promised more about the skirt - it's coming.  I just need a few more photos.  And I wish I had something else to show and tell about, but both projects I worked on this weekend have to remain under wraps for awhile.  Frustrating, especially since I think they both are coming together really well.

I'm very excited about the new fabric line, Hope Valley,  by Denyse Schmidt.  And the Amy Butler one, too.  Both look so promising - colors that speak to me and patterns I like.  I had better start saving my pennies!

And did you see what Blair did for Value Village ?  Oh my word.  I don't even like Halloween a whole lot, but her projects have me plotting a few trips to the thrift store.  They are that good.

OK - this post is pretty random.  Thanks for listening to my ramblings.

 

The girls and I baked cookies on Monday.  I love to bake, but don't do it often because I have a huge sweet tooth.  And when I bake, I sample.  A lot.

Yesterday I finished four quilt squares.  And four cookies.  I was hoping for a little more sewing and a little less chewing.  But, today promises to be a bit better.  There are only two cookies left in the jar and 27 quilt squares waiting to be sewn.

I think we all know which I will finish first.

A few days ago, I suspected that our tomatoes were suffering from late blight.  I did a little research, but wasn't convinced until I saw the first rotting fruits.  At that point, I knew for sure.  I got up this morning, had a cup of coffee and then went outside to pull my tomato plants.  It was sad - I may have actually cried a little bit.  I harvested all the green tomatoes uneffected by the disease.  The rotting fruits and every part of all seven plants were closed up in large, plastic garbage bags to contain the blight.

The green tomatoes fill two large pyrex bowls and the better part of a shopping bag.  It would be a terrible shame to waste all this food.  I am hoping that some of them will ripen on my windowsills.   We will certainly fry some of them and I hope to find some recipes for pickled green tomatoes (like tomolives) or maybe even a green tomato relish.  If you have any tried and true recipes, would you email me (hillroad at bellsouth dot net) or comment with a link?  I'd appreciate that.

Also, if you are growing tomatoes in your garden this year, take a minute to educate yourself about late blight.  There was a great op-ed piece in the New York Times a couple of weeks ago and this video will show and tell you more.  Many farms and gardens have been effected by late blight this summer  - even Martha Stewart's tomatoes got it.  Left untreated, late blight will spread to other gardens and farms as it is an airborne disease.  Taking care of the problem is being a good and conscientious neighbor.  As much as it hurt me to lose our tomatoes, I know that pulling them was the best thing to do.

We won't be able to plant tomatoes or potatoes (it affects them both) in the same soil for a number of years.  I'm still researching, but I think there is a good chance we can plant some fall crops there now and other vegetables in the spring.  That's the silver lining for me.   That and the fact that I really wanted a third raised bed for next year.  If Fatty wants tomatoes, it looks like I'll get it.

Care to join me for some breakfast?

 

Having leftover dessert for breakfast is one of my favorite things.  This pie was killer both last night and this morning.  In fact, Fatty said it was maybe my best pie ever.  Uh huh.  If you have peaches like me, I highly recommend you do this, too.

Make your favorite pie crust, or buy one - whichever you prefer.  Roll it out into a deep dish pie pan.  My pan is 9" wide and at least 2" deep.  Take sliced peaches (I used about 6 cups) and mix them with a 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, 3/4 cup sugar and 3 tbsp. flour.  Dump the peaches into the pie pan.  Now make the topping - 1 cup flour, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup cold butter mixed together until it's crumbly.  Sprinkle on top.  Cover the edges of your pie with a strip of aluminium foil (to prevent burning) and bake at 425 degrees for at least 45 minutes.  The time will vary depending on how deep your pie is and the diameter of your pan. My pie took over an hour, but I started checking at 40 minutes.  You are looking for a nicely browned top and bubbling juices.  Watch it towards the end to make sure the top isn't getting too brown.  If it is, cover it with foil.  Best served warm.  And then still good cold with a nice cup of coffee the next morning.

* * *

A big thank you to everyone for the anniversary wishes.  One part of me is amazed that it has been 13 years - it seems like we just met a few years ago!  Thank you, too, for the nice words on last Friday's post.  I was feeling pretty low and you guys really made me feel so much better.  So much better that I got motivated and managed to meet my deadline early - hooray!

Just a reminder that if you would like a chance to win Vintage Baby Knits, you need to comment on yesterday's post before 12 noon EST tomorrow.  You can also visit STC Craft for a chance to win one of three copies that they are giving away.

Back here soon.  Hopefully with something made out of fabric.

It's hard to admit, but I am never happy when I see kale in the CSA bag.  I have tried cooking it a few different ways, but no one around here really liked it.  My neighbor mentioned that she makes chips with kale that her kids love and then Jennifer gave me the link to this recipe so I gave it a go.

I mixed 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar and 2 tsp olive oil and tossed it with 1/2 bunch of kale, torn into pieces, on a parchment lined baking sheet.  I seasoned them with salt and put them in to bake.  I had the oven at 350 degrees and kept them in there for about 18 minutes.  Next time I would up the temperature and and decrease the time a bit to see if I could get them a bit crisper that way.

Fatty and I ate the whole batch Wednesday night before dinner.  They were delicious!  I saved half the kale so I can make them again for the girls.  My bet is that one will like them and the other won't.  We pick them up from camp later this afternoon and I am so excited to see them.  They have been sending letters which has been fantastic and funny.  I finished painting Jane's room and got the curtains made and hanging.  I didn't get to everything I had hoped to, but I think she will be surprised nonetheless.  I'll share some photos when we have it all put together.

Happy weekend to you.

On Saturday morning, I was up unusually early.  I puttered around a bit, went for a run and then took the girls to the farmer's market.  I went to get strawberries, more specifically strawberries for jam.  I bought 6 quarts with the intention of making 5 batches of jam and having some left for nibbling.

I made freezer jam, just like I did last year.  In my mind, I look forward to this day and I dread it all at the same time.  I want to make the jam, but it is somewhat of a production.  There is the gathering and washing of the jars, the trip to buy pectin and sugar and more often than not, another trip to the store when I run out of either jars or pectin or sugar.  This year was different.  I bought 5 boxes of pectin, 1 case of wide-mouth jars (which are my favorite, by the way) and a 10 lb. bag of sugar.  I had just enough of everything.

Last year, I received lots of questions about freezer jam so I'm going to try to tell you what I do know from my experience.  It doesn't make it right or wrong - it's just what I do.

1 quart of berries is about enough for 1 batch of jam.  I say about enough because sometimes it's a little too much or sometimes a bit too little.  I wash the berries, cut off the stems and slice them.  I then mash them with a potato masher, leaving little some little chunks.  I measure 2 cups of the mashed berries (and juice the mashing makes) for each batch.

Freezer jam uses a lot of sugar.  I am okay with that.  The recipe in the pectin box is 2 cups mashed berries to 4 cups of sugar.  Yes, A LOT.  But you have to use the right amount of berries and sugar or the pectin won't set up properly.  There arelower sugar pectins available, but I have never used them so I can'tspeak to them.  My mom has tried a low sugar one and did not like it. I trust her judgment and continue to do what we have always done.  I use Sure Jell pectin and I buy it at the grocery store.

A canning funnel is key.  It cuts down on the mess in a big way which is good since it is a very sticky mess.  You can normally find one in the grocery store with the canning supplies.  If your grocery doesn't have the jars or the funnel, try a small, independently owned hardware store.  You know, the mom and pop kind.

I use glass jars.  I always have and my mom and grandma did too.  Don't worry - they will do fine in the freezer as long as you leave about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch at the top of the jar for expansion.  Glass jars break in the freezer when the contents expand and there isn't any room left.  If you leave the space, you will be fine.  According to the recipe, the jam lasts a few weeks in the refrigeratoror up to a year in the freezer.  I've had jam for up to two years in myfreezer and it's been just as good.  In fact, we will be finishing our 2008 supply before we crack open any of the 2009 jars.

It took me one and half hours to make the five batches - I normally have two different ones going at a time.  There is some finicky timing, but this is what works best for me.  I clean one quart of berries, mash, add the sugar and then start on a second quart. By the time I am finished cleaning, mashing and adding the sugar to the second quart, the first quart is ready for the pectin.  Once that batch is jarred, the second batch is ready for the pectin.  Once I have the second batch in jars, I start over with two more quarts of berries.  Make sense?

The jam has to sit for 24 hours before it goes in the freezer.  It's just about time for me to take care of that last step.  And then I will take a break from jam for another year.

Or maybe just until the raspberries ripen.