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Doing things the old-fashioned way

11/13/2013

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A big part of my life is doing things the 'old-fashioned' way.  I think I got hooked on doing a lot of this stuff from my love of the Little House on the Prairie novels that I read as a kid, and continue to re-read as an adult.  I knit and sew my clothes, grow my vegetables, bake my bread, and so on.  The things I do change throughout the year depending on practicality.  When it is blazing hot outside with almost 100% humidity, I could still bake my own bread but I prefer to just buy it so that my kitchen doesn't feel like the outside temperature.  Now that it is cold outside, my garden has wound down to just some cold-hardy greens and I have time to bake again.  I usually just make plain half white-half wheat bread in loaf pans, but a couple days ago I decided to go a bit fancier than that.  Almost a year ago, I saw a recipe in the magazine Mary Jane's Farm for bread baked in a cast iron skillet.  The recipe is also online if you want to give it a try.  I've made this recipe a few times, and it is a soft and tasty bread.  It just looks so pretty in the skillet, I almost felt bad slicing it up!
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One of my favorite parts about winter is getting to have a fire in the fireplace.  I grew up with a fireplace, and it used to make me so happy to hear my mom loading logs into the fireplace while I was doing my homework in the late afternoon.  I'd hear the crinkle of newspaper being wadded up, the thump thump of logs, the crackle of the match being lit, and then my mother grumbling when all the paper burned and the flames fizzled out.  She'd walk by me and announce "Your father will fix it when he comes home."  And he did.  After changing his clothes, he'd rearrange the logs, add more paper, light the match, and suddenly there would be a glorious roaring fire.  We moved out of that house when I was 17, and I had been without a fireplace until last year.  Now my husband and I do the grumbling when the flame fizzles out; it is really a lot harder than it looks!  This last weekend we gathered lots of kindling from the trees behind our backyard and bought a load of firewood.  After a few tries, and rearranging the logs, we ended up with this:
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Ahh, so nice and warm.  I closed my eyes and almost felt like I was next to Laura Ingalls and Ma sewing next to the fire after supper.  

Another project in the works, if I can ever find the time, is quilting a comforter for my bed.  And sewing myself a fleece jacket.  So many things to do and so little time!  I must get to it!
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Favorite Foods

10/16/2012

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(Sorry for the lousy lighting)
Along with the cool and crisp air that is very inviting to handknits, one of my favorite things about Fall is the food.  One day of roasted turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie just isn't enough!  I try to make pumpkin and cranberries a year-round thing, mostly with pumpkin-from-the-can muffins and canned cranberry sauce, but you just can't beat fresh pumpkin and cranberries.  




Yesterday I bought a small baking pumpkin and two bags of cranberries.  I haven't yet decided what to do with the pumpkin; I will probably chop it in half and roast it in the oven with some spices and brown sugar.  I started the cranberry madness with a simple jello salad.  Here is my somewhat vague recipe:

1 pkg .3 oz raspberry jello
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 cup chopped cranberries

Prepare the jello according to the directions on the package.  Stir in the pineapple and cranberries.  Hey, guess what?  Cranberries float.  What to do about that?  Well, let the jello sit in the refrigerator for an hour or two (until it starts to thicken) and then stir it up.  Chill for a few hours until the jello is set.  

If you're feeling adventurous you could also add in some chopped walnuts.  Or chopped celery.  Or use cherry jello instead.  This is just a basic recipe so do your own thing.  

Another thing I've been making is yogurt.  Yogurt definitely isn't just for fall, but since this is a post about cooking and food I thought I'd write about it anyway.  Last year I bought a yogurt making from William Sonoma, and it has become one of my favorite kitchen appliances.  Yogurt is easy to make and much healthier than the fruit flavored yogurts in the grocery store.  I like to make the yogurt plain then add honey, jam, or nuts on top right before eating.  I prefer middle eastern style yogurt, which is very thick and tart.  It took some trial and error to get the consistency right.  The secret is to heat up the milk more slowly and cook it in the yogurt maker for a longer time.  Instead of heating up the milk over medium-high heat like the instructions say, I used medium heat.  Wait for it to foam up right before boiling.  Definitely don't let it boil!  It will rapidly foam up and spill over the edges of the pot and make a mess in your kitchen.  Using a higher fat content in the milk will make a thicker yogurt, but will also probably give you a thicker waistline too.  I used 2% milk and cooked it for 10 hours (instead of the suggested 9 hours).  What did I get?  Perfectly thick and tart yogurt.  

If you want to make some lebne (or labneh, depending on how spell the english translation), pour some yogurt onto several layers of wet cheesecloth and gather it up into a bundle and secure with a rubber band.  Or make a muslin bag if you plan to do this often.  Let it sit in a bowl in the fridge for a few hours.  Every hour or so pour out the liquid that has accumulated in the bowl.  Perfect on top of kousa, or kibbe, or just eaten with a spoon.

Happy cookinng and happy Fall!!

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    Azalea & Rosebud Knits
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    Cassie loves to knit, read and cook.  She sometimes does all three at the same time.

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