Tag Archives: books

Thoughts on a Thursday

life, random, ,

– Not sure where this week went, but I know some of the loss can be blamed on Anne of Avonlea & Anne of the Island.

– Kale can apparently be harvested when there’s snow on the ground & is a hearty winter green.  Then why is it associated more with Southerners & not Northerners?

– When the average temperature has been 20 higher than normal, waking up to find the weather at a seasonal normal of 10 degrees makes the house very chilly.  No amount of green tea can keep you warm.

– My sister’s MIL is correct, bagged tea does successfully last for 2 uses.  I wonder what else I can learn from the woman that survived the dust bowl in the Texas panhandle.

– Kale really isn’t very strong when cooked down to nothing & added to soup.  Must keep this in mind for other soups.

– I own a lot of purple & pink thread.  Very strange.

– There is great joy to be found in knitting socks.

– Soup & bread are magical.  They can transform a chilly house into a warm & cozy dwelling.  I swear the aroma alone can make the house warmer.

Batik Diamonds

piecing, quilting,

Remember when I said I was playing with scraps a few weeks ago?

I ended up with a bunch of batik diamonds and slapped them up on my design wall in no particular order.  Nothing came to me immediately so my plan was to keep them there until something inspired me.

J came into the basement one evening, saw the diamonds on the wall & asked if he could reorganized them.

When I turned around from the quilting machine, I saw this:

I love the layout!  Now, I just need to spend sometime with geometry to figure the math to finish the top!

On the book front, I read “The McCloud Home for Wayward Girls” in one evening.  It was a great quick read about southern families and secrets told from the various female characters.

Well, Rizzo is telling me he needs some attention, so I’ll wrap this up now.  Dang cat!

Spicy Pumpkin Bread

life, recipes,

Thanksgiving this year was wonderful.  Just J & I & the cats.  I read a whole book (Goodnight Tweetheart– very cute book!  Fluff, but not as bad as some fluff out there), cooked up some corned beef & baked this amazing bread:

Spicy Pumpkin Bread
2c. sugar
1/2c. vegetable oil
1/2c. unsweetened applesauce
3 eggs
1 15oz. solid pack pumpkin
1 1/4tsp. ground cloves
1 1/4tsp. nutmeg
1 1/4tsp. ground ginger
2tsp. cinnamon
1tsp. baking soda
1/2tsp. salt
1/2tsp. baking powder
3c. flour

1. Beat sugar & oil
2. Add eggs, pumpkin, and applesauce- mix
3. Mix in spices
4. Mix in baking soda, salt & baking powder
5. Slowly add in flour
6. Grease 2 bread pans
7. Divide batter between said 2 pans
8. Bake at 350 for about 60-65 minutes.

We did actually manage to stay up to hit the stores at midnight.  Best Buy was a complete bust, but Bed Bath & Beyond and Target had some good deals.  Then after we got home at 3am, I made the big mistake of starting a new book, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana.  When I realized I was halfway through the book, I finally but it down & went to sleep.  While it’s not the most well written book in the entire world, the subject matter is fascinating (5 sisters who start a business when the Taliban seizes control of Kabul) & it reads quickly.

What’s in store for the rest of this weekend for me?  Some more reading, a little quilting & catching up on my podcasts!

Cooking with Jamie Oliver

life, recipes,

Some of you might already know I’m a Jamie Oliver fan. I discovered him in college, while working at the library. Some of my friends from the College St. days might even remember the Baked Onions I made. (oh, they were soooo good!)

So needless to say this December while walking around B&N with by gift card, I had to pick up Jamie’s new book:
Go buy it! Fast! Quick! It’s one of the best cookbooks! Whether you’re new to cooking or feel comfortable reading recipes, this book will teach you things!
Basically it’s a compilation of recipes Jamie took to Rotherham, England to teach people how to cook, so they could improve their lives.
There are curries, roasts, and pan fried main dishes. There are sauces, salads, vegetables, desserts & breakfast. True to Jamie Oliver form, every dish is a winner.
As some of you know, I’m fortunate to be married to a foodie. So far we’ve made the Crispy Posh Ham & Oatmeal & Pork Chops.
I’m crazy about this Pork Chop recipe. You basically pan cook a pork chop & make a glaze. He gives you several options & we chose the Sage/Honey combo.
We’ve now had this 3 evenings in a row. With slight changes.
Saturday night we had the Pork Chops w/ a side of broccoli
Sunday night we had Shrimp w/ Jasmine rice
(Today’s lunch was leftover Pork Chops & rice)
Tonight we had Chicken Thighs w/ Jasmine rice.
The honey/sage reduction on each of these is amazing!! To DIE for!!! I want this at LEAST once a week now.
In true Jamie Oliver fashion, it’s a good simple recipe with fresh ingredients & great directions. Go buy this book. Trust me.
On another note, here’s a pic of Rizzo w/ my yarn (b/c of course this posting had to include SOMETHING related to a hobby of mine! :)