Purling Oaks

A break in the wet and fog....

After this morning's fog, the sun is out and I'm hoping things will dry out enough to allow for a bit of mowing later today.  The forecast for the next several days does not look promising for hay-making/grass cutting.

Gardening-----

I set up two new beds and dismantled one old garden box (with Dan's shoveling assistance).  I need to go get some boards to frame the new beds.  As they look right now, I wouldn't doubt that somebody would ask who I planted.  Gruesome looking, for sure.  

Cooking------

I made Bi Bim Bap for dinner last night in a bit of an unstructured manner -- Dan and I both liked it.  I would probably marinate the meat a bit longer than 30 minutes next time, but I had been traveling during the day and didn't have the prep time available -- especially since I decided on the menu when I was cruising the grocery store.  I used very thinly sliced beef sirloin from the Beaver Dam Piggly Wiggly, which was a time saver.  I really liked the wilted spinach & arugula with sesame oil and garlic as a green for the BBB, matchstick carrots for some more color, chopped scallions, and Dan's kim chi is always delicious.  Dan made the rice and our over-easy eggs.  I used this recipe as a base for the marinade but the rest varied widely as I had several recipes open in my browser.  This "recipe" will definitely be repeated.

Tonight's dinner will be Caldo Verde --- with chorizo because I doubt my local grocery has linguica sausage.  The recipe looks relatively simple and delicious.

Socks-------

Turned the heel on Monday (or was it Sunday?).  I've settled on a recipient (not me) and now need to motor along.

Other stuff-------

• The new haircut is okay, but nothing fabulous.  I'm still working with it to see if we can reach detente.
• Purchased two Bali Pops yesterday.  And thread.  Now I need to set up the sewing machine.  
• Worked out the warp and weft requirements to use up some cotton chenille-y yarn on the rigid heddle.
• The number of projects I have specific plans to start is increasing and causing me a little concern.  Of course, now I have more free time, but will I revert to old, possibly ingrained, habits and not finish any of them?  Scary.  I'll ponder this more, I'm sure.

See what I mean?.....

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I just ran out and took this photo.  Somebody has been digging in my garden.  Grrrr.  

And I know it is almost June when I see this shrub in bloom.....

Happy Wednesday!

All about the Food

Let's see if one post can hold a few week's worth of food photos......

 

Today:  Sourdough bread.  It is such a pretty loaf.  (says the maker)  I love it when they look pretty.  They all taste good but I'm most satisfied when they look nice, too.  Generally, the hand made ones are prettier than the bread machine loaves.  It's getting easier for me to make bread by hand now...which is something else I'm pleased about.  Two weeks ago, I was getting a bit, erm, overconfident and just flung some sourdough starter together with some flour and my other standard ingredients and did the single rise.....which fell.  (I didn't listen to the little voice that said the dough was too wet.)  But it did taste good.  I did not take a photo.  Today's bread is in the photo:  two rises -- some kneading for good measure before the first and some gentle coaxing before the second.

Lemon Blueberry Muffin Cake--probably made the day after the less than pretty loaf noted above.

It was yummy and the recipe is here.

 

Venison Pot Roast Pie

Made with stew meat and the standard pot roast veggies.  No recipe to share...I did kind of wing it by following a good chicken pot pie recipe.  Dan polished it off before the weekend was over.  It was tasty.  I'm still working on making gravy without a strainer......

 

Last night, we made shrimp tacos with avocado salsa.  The salsa was delicious and the avocados from the bit of salsa left over were still pretty to look at this afternoon.  I am certainly making that meal again.  Gottatellya, that salsa was really good.

Tonight's dinner will be salad, mini riblets on the grill and some sourdough garlic bread.  I'm contributing the salad and the garlic bread.  

I'm in awe at how the trees are responding to our abnormally warm weather--There's green in the tree canopy that wasn't there a few days ago.  The daffies are all blooming and the daylilies probably grew eight inches this week.  The crocii (?) came and went last week.  My work clothes need to shift to spring and summer but are stuck in the fall/winter mode to my dismay.  I must have relied on my black suit in DC when I needed to wear professional-business attire rather than business-casual attire in the warmer months.  Hmmm.  

I'm reading J.D. Robb's New York to Dallas and I'm on page 70 (in paperback).  I love Eve and Roarke.  I'm also reading Moonwalking with Einstein:  The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer.  I'm about mid-way through--(lunchtime reading on my Kindle).  I'm enjoying the author's description of his journey to improve his memory and hopefully I'll learn some techniques to improve my memory.   

Have an enjoyable, memorable week!

Justified!

Hours spent browsing Pinterest.....JUSTIFIED!

'Twas the night before Christmas and, well, I was not in my 'kerchief nor was Dan in his cap.  We were returning from dashing through the snow to G'Ma S's house where we enjoyed Christmas Eve festivities.  I knew I need to bring a dish to our next stop tomorrow morning, but what?  (Yes, I did leave my plans open until less than 24 hours before the event.  I worked well under pressure, this time.)  For inspiration, I pulled out my iPhone to check my Pinterest boards.  Hmmm, the mexi-corn dip looked good....so we decided to stop in Columbus at the Pick N'Save and get the ingredients.  Oh you may have guessed my problem.  Being Christmas Eve, the grocery store had closed about 25 minutes ago!  Oh boy.  

Never fear, KwikTrip and Walgreens were open in Columbus..........although I had to make a few modestly creative substitutions.  :D  

Here's the resulting recipe that has been tested twice and won the Clean Bowl award each time:

Corn/Veggie/Taco Dip

One 7 oz can of Niblets corn, drained

1/3 of a 16.5 oz jar of Tostitos Chunky Salsa (medium) - drained a bit in a fine strainer

4 green onions, sliced thinly - both green and white parts

1/3 cup (or so) of chopped green pepper.  I also used a combo of red and green in one version-either works.

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonaise

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 teaspoon taco seasoning (I used Bold Taco from Penzey's)

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate at least two hours; overnight is better.  Serve with Fritos Scoops or some other sturdy-type chip.  The Pinterest version used a can of hot Rotel and a can of green chiles---things just.not.available at a KwikTrip or Walgreens on Christmas Eve in Wisconsin.   I do know that this version will be a must-do-again for me.

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I also made one of the cute projects I've seen on Pinterest - a little Clementine candle.  Since the pin did not link to instructions, I Googled "Clementine candle" and found the original reference and instructions.  I was entertained.....and it burned for about an hour.  Fun. 

 

I'm looking forward to what the new year will bring.  Six months ago, I thought I had a good idea of my immediate and mid-term future.  Ha.  Double Ha!  Have plans, my dear, but be flexible.  And healthy.  Healthy will take you places.

Happy New Year!

 

 

The Pork Roast

The pork roast was so good.  Here's the recipe:

These are the quantities I used--if you use more vegies or have a larger roast, you may need to cook it longer or add a bit more liquid.

2.5 pound pork loin roast

3 red potatoes, quartered

2 cloves garlic, peeled

some little carrots to put under the roast to support it 

two medium/large sweet or yellow onions, very thinly sliced  (washed, sliced leeks are also nice here)

1/2 cup fino sherry or dry white wine (or chicken broth)

salt/pepper/olive oil

broth/water/additional sherry

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  I used an enameled cast iron 7 quart dutch oven.  Place the carrots in the bottom of the pan.  Place the roast on the carrots.  Insert an oven proof thermometer into the roast.  Season with salt, freshly ground pepper, and paprika.  Place the potatoes and garlic on either side of the roast.  Cover with the sliced onions.  Salt and pepper the onions and drizzle with olive oil.  (make sure you can see the thermometer!)  Put the pan in the oven and let it roast for 15 minutes.  After the 15 minutes add the fino.  Roast for another 45 minutes or until the roast is at 150 internal temp.  (yes, I know the thermometer says that 170 is the right temp for pork.  It is wrong.)  Remember the temp will climb another 5 degrees after you pull it out of the oven and let it rest for a few minutes.  I didn't need to add any additional liquid (water, wine, chicken broth) tonight but sometimes I do -- I usually check at about 45 minutes.  

I usually pile the onions in one bowl, the other vegies in another, and put the roast on a platter for carving. Some folks might make a gravy or use the pan drippings/liquid for au jus.  

Leftovers are designated this week for cuban sandwiches.  

 

This is one of my favorite recipes.  It requires little prep and results in a very nice meal in an hour or so that is great for family and company.

Savory scents at home

A pork roast with onions, potatoes, garlic, and a few carrots to support the meat is cooking with a bit of fino (dry sherry) in my oven and making the house smell delicious.  This week I've begun to catch up on blogs, make a bit of a dent in the laundry pile, worked, and haven't yet touched the clothes that came back with me from DC.  

I know I have to clean out the closet and also make some selections from the DC clothes for contributions to St. Vinnie's.  I have to because I just don't have the ever-expanding magic closet--I have a decent amount of space and just too darn many clothes.  Fat clothes, not-so-fat clothes, play clothes, lots of work clothes, gardening clothes, hunting clothes, even a few dresses!  I think know I'm putting it off because 1) time is limited and work does come first and 2) the selections are part of what I'll be for this next part of my life.  You know..." the clothes make the woman" concept.  I have a feeling I'll be working on the contents of my closet constantly for the next year.  I want to peel off the skin I've worn and try on a new one.......or three.  

Time for me to serve up that pork roast.  It is nice to be home.

'Twas the day before the day before....

As usual, time as flown by and I haven't done any spinning or knitting.  However, I've finished my Christmas shopping, baked biscotti and peanut-butter kiss cookies, mixed up some ranch pretzels and enjoyed a few dinners with my dear spouse.  I'll be wrapping presents today and ready for the festivities to start tomorrow.  

I like the new biscotti recipe I tried this year.  I think the one tablespoon of shortening really does make a difference when cutting the log after the first baking and keeping the cookies in one piece.  And they are delicious and great for dunking in coffee.  

For a little Christmas cheer, here's our tree.

Have a very Merry Christmas!  Thank you for reading and, if you also blog, for being there for me to read.  Be well and happy.  

 

 

Banana walnut yummmmmmmmmms

Banana walnut bread baked on Saturday night.  Very tasty.  Take my word for it since I've had three slices so far.......

The sock cuff has been showing some decent progress but no photos yet since I don't want to jinx it.  Maybe when I start sock number two is when I'll give you an interim photo report.

I'm looking forward to seeing two friends this week, even through our visits will be short.  See you soon, Charlynn and Annie!  Now, I have to get in the car and find my plane.  Have a lovely week everyone.

 

Saturday's Bits

Here's another post of various and odd topics.

• Something has been raiding our bird-feeders lately and last night I saw the culprit(s)!  Three humongous raccoons!  Humongous!  Maybe the raccoons should go on the South Beach Diet and not eat quite so much whole grain birdseed and suet.....
• I must say that the black raspberries gracing my oatmeal this morning are delicious and were sourced not more than a quarter-mile from my kitchen.
• We had a nice birthday celebration and dinner for my mom, about two weeks ago.  The top favorite foods from the meal were the cherry with almond crust tart and a wheat berry with walnuts and dates salad.  The recipes for the tart crust and wheat berry salad were both from Martha Stewart's Living magazine.
• Yeah, Living started mysteriously showing up after DH ordered a gift for me from Gardeners' Supply.   I used to take the magazine about four or five years ago.  I had found it a bit tiresome then but it seems a bit refreshed.  The recipes were always good....and still are.  
• There's been a bit of knitting lately but no finished objects.  I have given Icarus another go, the socks are still growing, and a scarf in progress that I re-found have all had some hands-on the past two weeks.
• I have been spinning, but again.......
• Spinning group was this past Monday.  I really enjoy it and hope it is still going when I stop traveling all over for my job.  Someday.
• I must say that I really enjoy my current job and I'm very, very thankful to have it.
• Last weekend, we left the house about 10 AM to visit with my DMIL and family in Watertown.  We came back to a cold and dark house at 6 PM.  o.O  None of the neighbors' houses were dark.  Apparently some fuse or such had blown on the line to the house......at about 10:45 AM.  
• I need more candles.  Really.  This test of our disaster recovery plan showed a few holes in my supplies.
• I also could use one of those battery-powered book-lights.  
• And a generator.
• We received some light snow last night and there is still a bit falling this morning.
• The daytime varmints, squirrels, are raiding what remains in the feeders right now, all six of them.  Six squirrels, that is......

The remains of the cherry tart with my DU's hand ready to reach in and save another crumb.

 

Happy Saturday!
 

Roots love

Today's the last day of my holiday vacation.  So, besides finishing the last load of laundry and packing my suitcase, I decided to try to finish up little projects left around the house.   I had purchased a bag of root vegies at the Co-op earlier this week and realized I better use them today or they were going to make a truth of our calling one of the drawers in the 'frig the "rotter."  So I decided that they would make a nice soup for lunch combining the Golden Pottage recipe from the bag and a root soup recipe from Sylvia Thompson.  What I didn't expect was the mental "YES!!!" I heard as I was cutting the beets, rutabagas, carrots, and turnips into chunks for the soup.  Preparing this meal, cutting good vegetables, and the earthy fragrances wafting up from the cutting board hit me like a brick, reminding me that THIS was something I really liked doing.  So really, I'm writing to remind me of this moment.  Besides, it feels like a classic Purling Oaks post....right?   
 

The soup was very tasty, too.  

More roots, or evidence that roots exist.  We may have flowers this winter.   Good think I pulled it out of the dark part of the basement, eh?

 

 

Three of four cats are comatose here with me in the sunroom with the wood stove fired up.  It is a nice Sunday afternoon.  I think I'll read a bit more then make sure I've got everything packed.  

 

Stay warm, stay safe this week!
 

Pizza!

For those of you that make bread with the Artisan Bread in Five recipe, I can attest that the basic or Master recipe makes a very nice pizza crust.  I'm going to list what I did so I'll be able to look it up again.  I hope a reader will get some benefit from this and maybe even offer me a suggestion or two for next time.  Because there will be a next time.  It got rave reviews from my husband and I thought it was pretty darn good, too.

I had a batch of dough in the refrigerator from last weekend when we had a nice yummy loaf, so I didn't have to mix a new batch.  I pulled out a small grapefruit size ball of dough.  This batch was a bit wetter, so as I "cloaked" the dough, I used a generous amount of flour.  I set the cloaked dough ball on an oiled pizza pan.  The dough rested for at least hour.  Then I used floured hands to press the dough out on the pan and it ended up looking like this:    

The dough rested probably 30 to 45 minutes and developed a few little bubbly patches but nothing big.  I heated the oven to 450 degrees and had my pizza stone in the oven getting hot.  (The pizza stayed on the pan so I used the stone just for heat retention.  I don't own a peel and I am pretty sure even if I owned one, the cooking gods wouldn't allow me to use it.*)  

I used one cup of homemade tomato and basil sauce from my end of summer stash in the freezer, a half cup of green pepper (small dice), and about 4 oz of shredded mozzarella.  We like pepperoni so that is the meat that typically graces our pizzas here at Chez Purling Oaks.  I set the pizza pan on top of the pizza stone and the pizza took about 25 minutes total to look like this:   

There are no decent photos of a cross-section but imagine a very thin focaccia or a thick pizza crust.  Very bread-like with small air pockets, cooked all the way through.  Next time, I may consider getting a little roller like Pampered Chef sells to try for a thinner crust, probably using less dough, and maybe cranking the oven up a bit higher.  That said, no, there wasn't any left over.  <g>

This was just my seat-of-the-pants way of making pizza from this dough.  If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments!!  

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I've recently switched my work schedule to 4/10, meaning I work 10 hour days for 4 days a week.  I've been working at least that lately, so why not get an extra day at home?  Yeah, it finally dawned on me.  This will be my first "bonus" Friday this coming week.

The Christmas tree is up and decorated as of this afternoon and the house is about as festive-looking as it will get.  I do enjoy a sparkly, colorful tree.  And it is just in time because the weather woman says we are supposed to get 2 inches after midnight and then Tuesday/Wednesday snow of about 8 to 9 inches is expected.  I guess I'll be coming home to white on Thursday!!  Definitely time to switch over to boots and the wool coat.

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*I have a running challenge with pizza.  It is really too embarrassing to describe my failures but one involves trying to transfer a pizza into an oven.  Key word = trying.  It is quite possible that I cried and stomped my feet that evening.  
 

Happy Sunday evening!!!