The Secret is Out

Want to know how one gets moved into a new house and unpacked (for the most part) in 2 months? The following photo will provide a clue:

Ol' No. 7 to the rescue

No, the answer isn’t "throw back a few belts of Jack Daniel’s"!  The answer is: volunteer to host a brunch for 10!

Whew. What was I thinking? I don’t know, but when the suggestion was made at our October supper club dinner to make the November gathering a brunch, somehow or other my hand went up when the leader of our group asked “so, who wants to host a brunch the Sunday before Thanksgiving?”

(That reminds me of something my Daddy used to say about his Army basic training days: if someone asks for volunteers, take two giant steps backwards! Of course, he rarely followed his own advice. Need someone to head up the Dixie Youth Baseball League? Sidney will do it. There’s no one to be president of the Ripley High PTA? No problem...Sidney will do it! But I digress.)

I honestly thought that this was a time-delimited incentive to make the mountain of boxes in the main living areas disappear and all the stuff contained inside get in its proper place. And, since I have neither a wand nor a book of spells, I didn’t really believe the stuff would magic itself to the most logical location...but wouldn’t have minded one bit if Hermione Granger had popped in any time during the month-long ordeal.

Actually, we had 5 weeks and two days to get our house ready to receive guests. Piece ‘o cake, right? Right. First things first: make a list...one each for Mr. T and me, and one for things in general. Soon, each list had a sub-list, which spawned sub-sub lists, and...well, you get the picture. Each morning over coffee, we would discuss what we needed to do that day...and then have another cup. And another. Hey, they are now saying there are definite health benefits to drinking 3-4 cups of coffee a day, right? Right!

But I digress...again. Oh yes, so many times...in so many ways. You see, having deadlines was bumping into one of the things we are enjoying about retirement: NOT having deadlines.

Anyway...

I am pleased to report that we actually managed to pull it off! Boxes were cleared out* (for the most part...if you don’t count Mr. T’s office), pictures were arranged on walls, and personal touches appeared here and there...and before you could say ‘wingardium leviosa’** stuff seemed to be flying into the proper places. 

7-Up Biscuits

Mr. T cleaned the outside, front and back, of all the leaves that our trees were now contributing to the landscape, along with sprucing up the siding near the front door. We moved furniture around (I know, I know...we haven't been here long enough to be moving furniture!) as we wanted to accommodate 10 people in our cozy house: the Library gained a table and shed its comfy reading chairs to become the Dining Room (which is what it was originally designed for) and the Great Room became the repository of all the chairs so everyone would have a spot to sit and sip their mimosas.

The hosts usually provide the beverages (we set up a mimosa bar for starters, and then had strawberry-mint infused water along with coffee for the meal) and the main course (we had Bourbon-and-brown sugar-basted ham***...hence the Jack Daniels!)...and because breads are kinda my thing, 7-Up biscuits****. 

Others brought an egg casserole, grits casserole, fruit salad, and a dessert. Then we popped some Fall Crackers (you know, like the Brits have at Christmas...only these had a Fall theme), read the riddles, and wore the paper crowns. Thankfully the meal was tasty, the day was loads of fun, and we introduced Loganville to several Athens-area couples who hadn’t ventured this far out “in the country” before. 

Here are some photos Mr. T snapped of the house before the guests arrived:

Mimosa Bar in Foyer

Coffee Bar in Kitchen

Table in Breakfast Room

Table in Dining Room (aka: Library)

Great Room (aka: "Chair Room!")

After such excitement in our lives, we were more than grateful to be able to spend a quiet, non-traveling Thanksgiving in our new (and newly-unpacked!) home. Missy M and grand-dog Ella Rae spent a couple of nights with us, and it was just about perfect...the warmer than usual weather being the only odd thing of note.

And now, we can relax, right? 

Wrong! With Christmas fast-approaching, we have unpacked many of the remaining boxes in the attic in order to decorate the house. Candles are in the windows, Santa Nutcrackers are at their posts, and the Christmas china that Daddy gave me 30 years ago when he was working at Central Hardware is on the table. We sold our five-year-old 9’ lighted tree, and then bought a 7 1/2’ one for 75% off in the after-Christmas sales last year...it was still in the original box even, making it easy to set up in the great room...along with a smaller one for my traditional Sheep Ornament tree (which is now set up in the window of the floored-but-unfinished attic room over the garage...looking for all the world like we set it up in an upstairs den!). The outside light display is more subdued (as we seem to have shed ourselves of many strands of lights), but we still have Mom ‘n Pop Reindeer on the lawn. And, although our nutcracker collection was greatly diminished by being such a popular item in our NC moving sale, we have enough “mens” left to populate the mantle...and then some. I'll upload those pictures into my next blog post.

Oh my, can I say that it looks a lot like home here now? Our home. Where our hearts are...and our boxes aren’t...for the most part.

And, to think, it’s all because I volunteered to host a brunch. 

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*Most of our boxes will live on in our soon-to-be-constructed kitchen garden and compost bins. Cardboard is like gold to a gardener!

**the levitating charm from Harry Potter. 

***Bourbon and Brown Sugar Ham (from Southern Living, accessed at   http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/brown-sugar-bourbon-glazed-ham):

Ingredients

• 1 (6- to 8-lb.) fully cooked, bone-in ham
• whole cloves
• 1 (16-oz.) package light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
• 1 cup Coca Cola soft drink
• 3/4 cup bourbon (or in the case of a Tennessee native...sipping whisky!)

How to Make It

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350°. Remove skin from ham, and trim fat to 1/4-inch thickness. Make shallow cuts in fat 3/4 inch apart in a diamond pattern.

Step 2:  Insert cloves in centers of diamonds. Place ham in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch pan (I used the large Le Creuset roaster). Stir together brown sugar and next 3 ingredients; spoon mixture over ham. (I reserved 1/2 of the mixture to serve heated with the ham.)

Step 3:  Bake at 350° on lowest oven rack 2 hours and 30 minutes, basting slowly with pan juices every 15 to 20 minutes. Remove ham from oven, and let stand 20 minutes before slicing, basting occasionally with pan juices. (I cooked the ham the day before, cooled it enough to refrigerate overnight, then heated it in the oven on 275).

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****7-Up Biscuits (accessed at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/238379/easy-7-up-biscuits/)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 1/2 cups baking mix (such as Bisquick (R))
• (I add 1 T baking powder for a high-rise biscuit)
• 1 cup lemon-lime soda (such as 7-Up(R))
• 1 cup sour cream                                         

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Put butter in a 9x13-inch baking dish (I use round cake pans) and place dish (pans) in the preheating oven until butter is melted.
2. Mix baking mix, lemon-lime soda, and sour cream together in a bowl until dough holds together and is sticky. (I add the extra melted butter to the bowl of my cuisinart with the dough blade, then put the wet ingredients in first followed by the baking mix along with 1 T baking powder). Turn dough onto a floured work surface and roll into 1-inch thick circle (NEVER overwork any biscuit dough, this one included: turn it 4-5 times in the additional flour then pat it into the circle). Cut circles out of dough using a cookie cutter or the rim of a wine glass (dipped in some extra flour) and place in pan in which you melted the butter.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until biscuits are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove dish from oven and let stand until biscuits have absorbed all the butter. (I brush butter over the tops of the biscuits for softer crusts).

Setting Records and Keeping Traditions

We just came inside after having taken advantage of the first bit of sunshine in several days. Thanks to the recent rains, the lettuces and other greens are looking great! I harvested a nice salad's-worth plus several carrots. Still, I have grave concerns about our gardens, which seem to think Winter is over, causing bud-break to occur on the blueberry bushes, the grape vines, the peach trees, and many of the roses, as well as flower buds to pop out along with the Rip van Winkle daffodils, The problem? Let the picture tell this story:

I know! This is plain freaky, isn't it? Predicting a high for Boxing Day of 72° is bad enough. Recording a temperature of 73° at noon is worse...because we know it will go higher in the afternoon. I don't like feeling like I'm celebrating Christmas in Australia…unless I'm actually getting to celebrate Christmas in Australia (where, according to one of our new fave TV shows, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, which is filmed in Melbourne, they celebrate "Christmas in July"…but I digress...;-)

Anyway, that's the way it's been all along the East Coast this year...where many cities have set record high temperatures. Here in HPNC, we are playing along with the crowd, tying the Christmas Day high. We are also maximizing our electric bill...but not because of using the heat. Oh no, we had to turn on our AC on Christmas Eve for the first time since we celebrated the Holidays in Kissimmee. Florida. In 2003. 

Point-of-fact, we haven't turned our central heating units on this year, managing the few cold days (and nights) before this heat wave with the gas fireplace and lots of socks and sweaters (and lovely, warm quilts!). But no fireplace on this Christmas. We settled for the video-on-demand 'fireplace' on TV instead. 

Still, in spite of the weird weather, we were in festive moods to enjoy the traditions of the Season: Christmas Dinner (turkey with the trimmings, sort of like Thanksgiving Redux)...which we had on Christmas Eve for the first time; opening of "one present each" on Christmas Eve (which is the traditional pair of WINTER pajamas...;-); and then stockings first, Monkey Bread second, presents third, and Breakfast Casserole and Ambrosia fourth on Christmas Morning. (It's because we have finally realized, after several years of saying "we're just too full to eat Christmas dinner" on Christmas night after all we eat on Christmas morning that we moved Dinner to Christmas Eve...;-). We did have enough room on Christmas Day to eat generous slices of family fave, coconut cake with pineapple filling. Hey, we can be flexible while keeping the traditions!

Here are some photos of the Season:

Finally got the tree up in the great room...with 4 whole days to spare!

…and here it is Christmas morning after Missy M added her gifts.

The oldest ornament on the tree, circa 1965.

The newest ornament on the tree...a knitted sheep

One of Nana/Momma/Edith's painted ornaments (l); one of Missy M's picture memory ornaments (r).

Missy M's baby pic (r); a handmade ornament (l)

An ornament from 2006...made at the glassworks in Louisville

A pared-down mantle: few Nutcrackers made their way down from the attic; stockings were MIA (never fear...we used the little stocking ornaments instead, per Missy M's suggestion!)

Ner's Coconut Cake with Pineapple Filling

Monkey Bread for Christmas morning...recipe below:

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Monkey Bread:

Please, please, please...don't use a recipe that calls for biscuits. You will sacrifice both flavor AND aroma.
 

Ingredients:

To make bread "ring:"

• 12-18 frozen dinner rolls (I used 22 Rhodes-brand frozen rolls this year...too many!)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted (not margarine...or any kind of substitute)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup pecans, rough-chopped

Icing:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 T. butter, melted
• 2-4 T. milk

Directions:

1. The night before you wish to serve, micro-melt the stick of butter in one bowl; mix together the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Brush a couple of tablespoons of melted butter into the bottom and sides of a Bundt pan, and sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of the cinnamon-sugar mixture and the pecans over the butter. [When you invert the "ring," this will make a nice topping.]
2. Then dip each frozen roll in the remaining butter, followed by rolling it in the bowl of cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place each prepared roll into the pan, starting with the bottom layer of 6-8 rolls and staggering the placement in any subsequent "stacks". Mix any remaining butter with remaining cinnamon-sugar, then pour over/between the rolls. Cover with plastic wrap, place in a cold oven (do NOT heat!), and let sit overnight. (If you use more than 12 rolls, put a cookie sheet pan underneath to catch any drips, as the rolls WILL rise during the night.) 
3. In the morning, remove the plastic wrap, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30-35 minutes. To prevent over-browning, cover top of pan with foil during the last 10 minutes of baking.
4. When done, remove pan from oven and immediately turn over onto a plate big enough to catch all the syrup that will drip out of the pan. Make sure you get ALL the syrup and nuts from the bottom.
5. Combine the icing ingredients (powdered sugar, 2 T. melted butter, and enough milk to get the right consistency) and drizzle over the bread. Enjoy warm!

All That...and a Bag of Chips

Feet up? Check. Iced tea in hand? Double check. Whew! Can I just say what a week this has been?!

It's been hot. Really hot. Hot, hot, hot! Mid-90's every day this week...and it doesn't turn Summer until Saturday. And humid...don't forget the humidity. It's the kind of week that you'd like to take up permanent residence over the air conditioner vents. But, there were too many places to go, things to do, and people to see.

First thing Monday morning, Mr. T and Missy M (who is spending her weekends with us) headed to Charlotte. She was flying out to New Orleans (via Detroit, if you can imagine!), for the week, and he was dropping her off at the airport on his way south to Greenville, SC.

Tending the gardens occupied the first couple of days for me. Much is required during this time of the year, as you can probably imagine, with all the warm season crops in. The difficult part is the constant and oppressive heat. We expect this in August, not June. (I've posted an update about the gardens over on our garden blog, Gardening with the Giants. Click here to go there.) I usually try to follow my maxim of "Noon or ninety, whichever comes first," but I'm afraid I couldn't tow that line this week. Too much to do to give up a half-day.

I headed out to the Extension Center on Wednesday for our Master Gardener annual picnic, taking along a pasta salad that I dubbed "Going to the Garden Party Pasta Salad.*"  The theme for the picnic this year was Eating Local, with NC BBQ and sweet potatoes taking center stage. Many of the ingredients in my pasta salad were about as local as you can get, since they had indeed come straight from our HPNC kitchen garden, harvested on Tuesday. Even the lemon that provided the juice (see recipe below) came from my Meyer Lemon tree on the deck! Here's a snap of the finished product...and yes, those are nasturtiums on top. Yes, they are edible. 

Did I tell you it was hot this week? O. M. G. It was hot at the picnic, too. But we had a grand time together, topped off with the release of 50 monarch butterflies to mark the dedication of the Pollinators Garden and the new Monarch Waystation. More photos for you:

Thursday was all about catching up with paperwork, housework, and laundry. And on trying to reload my body with fluids...and salt. After sweating bullets at the picnic, I was craving salt, big time. I fairly attacked a bag of baked BBQ potato chips...even though they are not my faves. Did the best I could on all counts, since I had a fun day on the docket for Friday.

We had planned an EMGV Advanced Training trip to the J. C. Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, and we weren't going to let a little ol' heat wave get in our way. We were participating in the Landscape Color Field Day, as guests of the Arboretum and the North Carolina Commercial Flower Growers Association. Oh yeah, Master Gardeners live for stuff like this! Still more photos for you, with a few of my personal favorite flowers:

Meanwhile, Mr. T had been to DC and back (I know...he started in SC...what can I say?), just in time to head back to Charlotte to pick up Missy M on Friday evening. What was she doing in NOLA, you ask? Well, she went with several new colleagues to do their in-store restaurant training at a Popeye's there. Of course, you can't go to The Big Easy without a few taste-tests of your own, can you? Here's a shot she sent of Bourbon Street from their restaurant and a pic of her last dessert at Cafe du Monde...the New Orleans Classic, beignets. 

All of that beings me back to another weekend...back in the gardens...and back to the reason I've got my feet up and my hand wrapped around a cold glass of iced tea. With another bag of salty chips in the other hand. What can I say? Gotta get ready for another hot week ahead, don't you know?

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*Going to the Garden Party Pasta Salad Recipe

1 box Tri-Color Rotini pasta, prepared per box instructions
1 large bottle Creamy Italian Dressing
Fresh oregano
Fresh basil

Fresh chives

Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup Dijon mustard, more or less (I like more...you may prefer less...:)
1 cup green peas, blanched
1/2 large red onion, finely diced (save the rest to thinly slice for decoration)
1/2 large green pepper, finely diced
1 hot pepper, finely diced (opt.)4-5 small carrots, finely diced
Fresh broccoli, trimmed and washed
1 cup cooked ham, cubed
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, small cubes

1 small jar pimiento pepper, drained and diced

Fresh ground pepper and seasoned salt to taste

Nasturtium flowers, onion rings, and more fresh herbs for decoration

1. Prepare pasta per package directions. Put prepared veggies in a colander, and pour hot pasta and water over top to "cook." Drain, then wash under cold water to cool.
2. Combine Italian dressing with fresh herbs, adding as much fresh oregano, chives, and basil as you like, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard. I even add a bit of Ranch Dressing, for added creaminess. Reserve 1/2 of this mixture for later.
3. In a large bowl, combine 1/2 of dressing mixture with other ingredients.
4. After mixing thoroughly, chill for several hours or overnight.
5. Since the pasta will absorb the dressing, add the reserved dressing and more seasonings to taste before serving. Top with edible decoration, such as nasturtium flowers, fresh herbs, and thinly-sliced red onion rings. Enjoy!

Hello there, 2014!

Ready or not...it's here! The bright and shiny New Year is upon us.

We stayed up to watch Duke in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl (which I still call the Peach Bowl) in Atlanta. Lost a heart-breaker to Texas A&M. Saw the epitome of "class act" dressed in blue in Coach Cut...and the opposite out on the field, dressed in maroon...usually behind the center. I really don't want to talk about it other than to say if I don't ever hear an announcer gush over "Johnnie Football" again, I won't be in the least disappointed. Oh...and I do indeed hope he goes pro, because he really needs some big ol' NFL right guard to slap him silly help him mature, shall we say? I know he has an innate talent for playing seat-of-his-pants footbal and is loved (?) by the die-hard Aggie fans, but can they see why others might think he is immature, whiny, self-serving, and self-centered? Enough about that subject...starting to sound sour-grapish, even to me...😋

As is our custom, we three welcomed in the New Year with Mimosas (sparkling wine and orange juice, served this year in our Waterford "Twelve Days of Christmas" glasses - photo, above).  Yes, Missy M postponed her return trip to the 'Ville until today so she could be here...and not on the road on New Year's Eve. Good plan! We had given all the dogs Composure™ Pro (a calming support formula treat recommended by our Vet for "dogs exposed to increased environmental stressors")so they weren't too bothered by the fireworks the neighbors were using to frighten away any evil spirits lingering from the Old Year (well, that's the superstition, don't you know?).  Surprisingly enough, Duche$$ and Dixie didn't go through their usual fear-acts about the fireworks; we decided that it was either the Composure (Dixie) or because she's so deaf now that she can't hear them (Duche$$).  Since they were something new for both Winston and Abbie, they had to go outside to investigate...but Winston seemed more alarmed about my (loud) cheering for the Blue Devils during the football game. Yeah, I did have to tone it down a wee bit.

Anyway...more about those New Year's Day superstitions...

You know by now that we eat black-eyed peas, cooked with a ham-hock, on New Year's Day for good luck (peas) and good fortune (pork)...and we will hold to that tradition, serving Braised Brown Sugar Ham Steak and black-eyed peas in the form of Hoppin' John* (recipe, below).  To ensure wealth, you're supposed to eat greens (always turnip greens and collards in a true house of the South), so they will be on the menu.  Over the years, we've added good luck foods from other cultures to the menu, like rice and grapes.  And, because Mr. T won't touch greens with a ten-foot pole, I usually prepare cole slaw (because cabbage is the "green" of choice for many cultures)...he will eat that.  We make sure to serve pork for all meals (bacon or ham for breakfast; pork chops, ham, or roast/BBQ for lunch or dinner), and never, ever chicken or turkey.  [Poultry scratches around for everything; pigs move forward and make progress...or, so it is said.]  I'm not really superstitious.  Really, I'm not...:)

Remembering the superstition that "what you do on New Year's Day, you will do all year long," I have tried to spend a relatively stress-free day.  Mr. T and I bundled up and worked in the garden a little bit this morning.  He removed the last of the okra stalks, while I picked turnip greens and collards for our "good luck" meal tonight (see photo, below), along with some broccoli, carrots, and spinach.  I noticed that the onions and garlic are overwintering in fine fashion, and I look forward to a bountiful harvest later this year.

I also made sure the row covers over the raised beds in the Box Garden were still anchored at the top of the hoops with clothes pins (hmmmm...the pups seemed to have removed a few) and at the bottom with rocks...trying to give the beets, spinach, broccoli, carrots, etc., a little more protection as we have bitter weather on the way back tomorrow night. Missy M and her pups, Dixie and Ella Rae, had to leave us at noon to get back over the mountains, up the turnpike, through the toll booths, and across the river. I eagerly await each and every text she sends of her progress.

Mr. T has been diligently incorporating our abundance of shredded leaves into several garden spaces, including the Rose Garden, where he is while I warm up inside and write this post. This is the first year we have used the leaves as winter mulch on the roses, and we want to see how that works.  Looks great for now! He had spent some time yesterday refilling the bird feeders as they seem to empty before he can get back in the house. I suggested he put out some corn cobs on the squirrel feeders to keep the critters occupied long enough for the cardinals, chickadees, and titmice (mouses?) to grab a few of the seeds.

I'd really rather not do laundry, pay bills, or do any housework on the first day of the New Year...other than make our bed and maybe a few dishes.  The first three listed carry negative vibes...and none of them is particularly fun for me, so I don't want to be doing too much of any of them this coming year.  I did read some of my newest book (I finished Sue Grafton's W is for Wasted; I'm now starting Doris Kearns Goodwin's Bully Pulpit, which I bought for my brother, not knowing Mr. T would take my huge HINT to heart and get a copy for me for Christmas!).  I played Scramble and  Words With Friends...with friends; and ball, fetch, and tug-rope...with the pups.  I fixed apple fritters this morning (apples, as a round food, are supposed to bring good luck, too...🍀 and will soon cook our "good luck" meal. 

In the creative department, I downloaded pictures from my camera, new iPhone, and iPad and organized the pictures on my computer...cleaning up the 2013 files a bit.  I wrote in my Garden Journal as well as my bedside Journal, and perused some of the many seed catalogs that have arrived in our mailbox. And, now...I've written this blog-post, and I will use it to represent the year ahead, spent writing. Since the bowl games are coming back-to-back-to-back now, we will probably spend the rest of the day watching sports...and of course, I have a new project on my knitting needles to represent

Gardening, writing, reading, playing, taking pictures, watching sports, cooking, and knitting. The only thing missing from the list is "traveling," but I'll let Missy M's trip be a stand-in for us. Otherwise, sounds like just the kind of year I look forward to enjoying!

I hope it's the beginning of a great one for all of you, too!

++++++++++++++++++++++
Recipe for Hoppin' John

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil or bacon fat

1 large ham hock (left over from Christmas Dinner)

1 onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 cup carrots, diced 

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound black-eyed peas, soaked overnight and rinsed...or,

2 cans black-eyed peas, if you are in a hurry

2-4 cups chicken stock

Bay leaf

1 cayenne pepper pod

1 teaspoon parsley, minced

1 packet of Goya Ham seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste  

2 cups steamed white rice

Directions:

1. Heat fat in a large soup pot. Add the ham hock and sear on all sides for 4-5 minutes. Add the onion, celery, green pepper, carrots, and garlic (last), cooking for 4-5 minutes until tender.
2. Add the black-eyed peas, 2 cups stock, bay leaf, pepper pod, parsley, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 40-50 minutes, or until the peas are creamy and tender, stirring occasionally. If the liquid evaporates, add more water or stock.
3. Remove the ham hock and dice the meat, returning the meat to the pot. Remove the bay leaf and the cayenne pepper pod, and adjust the seasonings to taste. 
4. Serve over rice and garnish with chives and/or green pickle relish. Enjoy!

Notes on Christmas (Just) Past

Want to listen in on a bit of conversation from our Christmas dinner? The candles were lit, the plates were served, the wine was poured, and the rolls were hot out of the oven. Christmas music, courtesy of Missy M's on-the-spot creation of an iPad playlist, was softly playing in the background. Time for family talk:

Me: So, I wonder...
Mr. T. and Missy M (in unison): HERE!
Me: Well, I guess that settles that!!

OK, so you know how often we have moved, right? Right. Over the years, I just got in the habit of wondering where we would be celebrating the next Christmas. Wondering out loud. At Christmas dinner. And, after the rolling of the eyes would cease, we could chat about it. Now...we just do the shorthand version.

[For the record, I agree...I think we will be living right here at Casa 3917 next Christmas.]

Tree with presents

For the record, it was a great Christmas! Cold and sunny on the outside, warm and toasty on the inside. Even with 5 dogs in residence, we had a wonderful holiday. We watched our favorite movies like White Christmas, The Bishop's Wife, Christmas in Connecticut, and It's a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve, followed by the broadcast of the midnight mass from St. Peter's in Rome.

I fixed Monkey Bread (recipe below) for our breakfast, which we enjoyed with Kona coffee, hot chocolate, and cold milk between the distributing of the stockings and the opening of the presents. Unfortunately, the Monkey Bread...which looked so beautiful...was consumed before a picture was taken. Here's what the tree looked like after Santa had visited...photo to the right, taken by Mr. T.

I didn't get many Christmas day photos, for one reason or another: foremost, because the elves had confiscated my old iPhone 3, which I use(d) as a camera more than a phone, in order to get me a brand new iPhone 5...and get it activated. [Yeah!! That last part was a huge...let me repeat, HUGE...part of the present, because I detest dealing with "stuff" like that. Hate. It. And not only did the elves go to the ATT store and take care of all the activation rigmarole, the younger elfette set up the new phone, downloaded all my apps, and had it ready to use as soon as I unwrapped the box. All that...and it's a luscious yellow, too!]

Books to read...time to retire!

And even though I received 3 new books (first pic on my new iPhone...left) to read (along with gift cards for Amazon's Kindle and iTunes' iBooks for when I want to download some ebooks), I managed to make rolls and get dinner on the table before cuddling up with W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton. Since we are nearing the end of the alphabet, I'd better read s-l-o-w-l-y and relish every word.

I do feel a little funny, sitting down to read rather than picking up my knitting needles to work frantically on finishing a project for gifting. I have put more than a few hours this past month into stitching up gifts-to-go, as pictured below. One of the projects is not pictured yet, as the recipient hasn't received it...wouldn't want to give away the surprise, now would I?

Projects Completed for this Christmas:

Warm n' Wooly Socks...
knitted for Maredith

Panther's Pride Scarf...
knitted for Julie

Blocking the points on knitted cowl:
yarn has silver threads!

 

ZuZu's Petals Cowl,
ready to wrap for Maredith

  

In addition to my new phone and books, I got many, many lovely things (sweaters, outfits, gardening-related gifts, etc.) that I will enjoy throughout the coming weeks and months. There were a couple of things I wanted to mention though:

1. Since Mr. T went back to work on Boxing Day, heading off to Raleigh to get the first of his Dealer Development Plans (DDPs) signed (he has to visit ALL of his dealers for DDPs between now and 1/17/14!), I took advantage of the quiet morning to enjoy some tasty Strawberry Jam on toasted leftover rolls. Missy M gifted us with the Jam, along with several jars of home-processed goodies like salsa and pickled tomatoes.

2. And, this is a gift I will be talking about in the coming months of the New Year: Mr. T gave me an "All About Cotton Spinning Starter Kit" complete with instruction DVD from Cotton Clouds. 

You may remember that for a couple of years, we have planted heirloom-variety Nanking Green cotton (original seeds from the 2012 Seed Exchange at Old Salem). The first year we had 8 seeds and got 8 plants. I hand-ginned the bolls and gleaned enough seeds to plant 32 plants this past year...with plenty more seeds to share at the 2013 Seed Exchange.

Cotton, you ask? Why are you growing cotton? Well, because I want to...because I can (it's plenty hot enough in NC/Zone 7b)...and because I want to grow enough to spin enough yarn to knit...something. What, I don't know yet. A scarf...a hat...a vest...maybe even a sweater. The growing I can do...the knitting I can do...it's the spinning I don't know how to do...yet.

Hopefully, by the time Christmas Future (2014) becomes the new Christmas (Just) Past, I will have learned to spin my homegrown cotton and completed a Christmas project of a knitted cotton...something! Fingers crossed...toes, too!

Oh, one final photo to share...of Duche$$, who claimed the sofa as her refuge from all the activities and all the chaos created by the other Droolers in residence. Five dogs, indeed, says the Diva!

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Recipe for Monkey Bread:

Please, please, please...don't use a recipe that calls for biscuits. You will sacrifice both flavor AND aroma.
 

Ingredients:

To make bread "ring:"

• 12-16 frozen dinner rolls (I used 12 Rhodes-brand frozen rolls...plenty to serve 4)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted (not margarine...or any kind of substitute)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup pecans, rough-chopped

Icing:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 T. butter, melted
• 2-4 T. milk

Directions:

1. The night before you wish to serve, micro-melt the stick of butter in one bowl; mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Pour a couple of tablespoons of melted butter into the bottom of a greased Bundt pan, and sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of the cinnamon-sugar mixture and the pecans over the butter. When you invert the "ring," this will make a nice topping.
2. Then dip each frozen roll in the remaining butter, followed by rolling it in the bowl of cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place each prepared roll into the pan, starting with the bottom layer of 6 rolls and staggering the placement in any subsequent "stacks". Pour any remaining butter over the rolls and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, place in a cold oven (do NOT heat!),and let sit overnight. (If you use more than 12 rolls, put a cookie sheet pan underneath to catch any drips, as the rolls WILL rise during the night.)
3. In the morning, remove the plastic wrap, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30-35 minutes. To prevent over-browning, cover top of pan with foil during the last 10 minutes of baking.
4. When done, remove pan from oven and immediately turn over onto a plate big enough to catch all the syrup that will drip out of the pan. Make sure you get ALL the syrup and nuts from the bottom.
5. Combine the icing ingredients (powdered sugar, 2 T. melted butter, and enough milk to get the right consistency) and drizzle over the bread. Enjoy warm!

Third Time...Charm

Eggplant. Or, if you prefer, aubergine. Your thoughts?

For the majority of my six decades, I have loved the color...hated the vegetable. Mostly on general principle...on both counts. And, until this year, I've never tried to grow eggplant in my garden. Why grow something you have no intention of eating, I ask you?

Truth be told, Missy M is the reason I have changed my ways. She has met very few veggies that she will eat, but she grows a great variety in her Secret Garden. Gives most of her harvest away to friends and coworkers. Doesn't let the fact that she will not consume it keep her from trying to grow it. She's my inspiration.

So, this year, I found room in the tomato-and-pepper row for one lone Black Beauty eggplant transplant. Put it in the ground, put a tomato cage around it, and immediately covered it with a piece of summer-weight row cover to protect it from the myriad of insect pests that seem to adore the plant. It looked like it was in quarantine from Day One.

I was so excited when the first shiny, purple fruits began to appear! And then I had my first cause for pause: when are eggplants ripe? Hmmmmm. Had to look that one up...and then take a chance. Here's what The Veggie Gardener has to say on the subject:

There are a couple factors to consider when deciding to pick eggplant:

Size – I like to pick my eggplant when they get to be a little bigger than my hand. As with other vegetables, it is better to pick eggplant when they are young and tender. Picking them early will also encourage the plant to grow more, and will help to extend the growing season. The eggplant does not have to be those behemoths you see at the supermarket.

Shine – An eggplant is ready for the picking when it gets a nice reflective sheen to it. Grasp an eggplant you might think is ready, and carefully hold it up to the light – if it appears to be very shiny, it is ready.

  

The first ripe beauty was sliced, breaded, and fried. Fried eggplant. That's how I remember Rena Belle fixing eggplant for Daddy. Uh, no. To be fair, it could be that I am a lousy fryer: I don't like to fry things because you have to stand over the skillet and constantly tend to the contents...and it makes such a big mess to clean up afterward. Whatever...I didn't like the results. Strike one.

The next two ripe eggplants were also sliced, but they became part of the layers of a lasagne. Unh-uh. Didn't work for me or Mr. T, who was home for this experiment. To be fair, I probably should have steamed the slices a bit before introducing them into the middle of a dense stack of ingredients, as they were judged too tough to eat, even though everything else was fine. T removed his eggplant layer and tried to feed it to the dogs. The Bassets were wise, but there's always Abbie...she'll eat anything, right? Apparently, not a fan of eggplant. Swing...and a miss. Strike two.

Now, if I can claim any trait, it is that of persistence. I'll keep trying long past when common sense may have led another to throw in the trowel, so to speak. But, that lone eggplant plant was again producing fruit after a brief respite during the hottest, driest days of August. So, I had to give it one more go.

The Kitchen Garden is currently in transition from warm season to cool. I'm writing about that over on my garden blog, Gardening With The Giants. (Click here to go there.) While we have said goodbye to many of our faves like beans, cukes, squash, and most of the tomatoes, we are still enjoying the taste of Summer with okra, peppers, and...you guessed it...eggplant. Here's a picture of today's harvest, below.

See that gorgeous shiny purple eggplant? With those peppers and the Sun Gold tomatoes, I could just imagine a tasty stir-fry (recipe below) was in our immediate future!

And guess what? We loved it...ate every bite...filling and taste-bud-tickling! It was a home run!! 

As "they" say, third time IS the charm.

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Recipe

Beef-Pepper-Eggplant Stir-Fry

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 pound beef round, cut into 2-inch strips
2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium-sized fresh eggplant, unpeeled, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 bell pepper, cut into strips
2 carrots, thinly sliced on diagonal
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced on diagonal
1 onion, thinly sliced in rings
3-4 cloves garlic, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced (opt.)
10-12 cherry-type tomatoes
2 tablespoons salted peanuts (opt.)

Sauce: 1/2 cup beef broth or stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Hot, cooked rice

Directions:

1. Marinate beef strips for 15 minutes in a zip-top bag with the 2 T. soy sauce, 2 T. rice wine vinegar, and 2 T. cornstarch. Prepare all vegetables. Prepare Sauce by whisking together listed ingredients and set aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large wok over medium-high heat; cook and stir eggplant cubes until softened, 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to rest.

3. If needed, add more oil to wok and heat over medium-high heat: cook and stir beef strips until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Move beef to plate with eggplant.
4. If needed, add more oil to wok and heat over medium-high heat: cook and stir (in the following order) bell pepper, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic until tender-crisp.
5. Add beef and eggplant into other vegetables in the wok, and then add tomatoes and peanuts. Season with Sauce. Continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender and Sauce has thickened, about 2 more minutes.

6. Serve over bowl of hot, cooked rice. Enjoy!

Make A Wish

Welcome, September...one of my favorite months! Several reasons for this feeling come to mind:

1. It's Mr. T's birthday month...always a reason for joy! More on this in a minute.

2. It's Elmo's Gotcha Month! Our "baby boy" became a member of the Drool Gang in 2005, when we adopted him from Guardian Angel Basset Rescue (GABR) while we lived in O'Fallon, MO. Even though the GABR foster mom told Missy M that Elmo "needed" to be an only dog, we soon found out that was just not the case. Mr. E needed to be part of a pack...with a strong leader like Gus was.

3. If it's September, that means August (not one of my faves) is over for another year. And the hottest and most humid part of Summer is (typically) behind us. Hooray! 

Here are some pictures that connect with Reason #1...and the Man of the Month:

The first one is Mr. T's cake (as requested, chocolate with white icing), his birthday bouquet of flowers in bloom in the gardens on this day, and a few of his cards from friends and family. The second one is the Peel'em and Eat'em Shrimp with zippy Cocktail Sauce he wanted for Birthday Dinner (recipes below). And the third/last one is of his birthday present: a new Trex swing for the Kitchen Garden overlook in the Way Back Garden...being enjoyed by himself and Miss Abbie. (The "old" swing was wooden and only three years old when it began to fall apart...hence, the Trex choice.)

Of course, as do most things in our DIY world, the new swing arrived via UPS in a flat box, stamped with those three most-dreaded words: "some assembly required." And it was h-e-a-v-y to boot. Fortunately, Mr. T was able to scoot the box into the garage where he could assemble it on his workbench, and then slide it over onto the garden wagon for transport to its final destination. Still, the lifting, hoisting, and mounting on the chains was extremely difficult...given his current shoulder problems. No wonder he was happy to rest a bit when all was said and hung!

Shoulder problems, you say? Oh yes. Still with him. In spades. After the FP read the diagnosis of "chronic dislocated shoulder" produced by the X-ray of his right shoulder, the orthopedic surgeon ordered an MRI. Now, we are working on the assumption that, instead of a dislocated shoulder, Mr. T has a "torn rotator cuff aggravated by tendinitis." Good grief. As Daddy used to say, "well, they call it practicing medicine for a reason..."

Either way, another cortisone injection was in order. Gave him maybe 3-4 days relief, at most. He is trying to do the exercises the dr prescribed, but they are more painful with each day, making physical therapy a pipe dream at this point. And he still can't find a comfortable position to sleep. We've even tried switching sides on our bed to see if that would help...not much. So even with liberal use of a heating pad, he's still getting very little sleep, and even less restorative rest. 

He left this morning with an arsenal of supplies to help him get through another week on the road: usual meds, including Celebrex (anti inflammatory) and Tramadol (prescription pain med. which he can't take during work hours or while driving); a topical NSAID rub called Voltarin Gel, prescribed for me and my back by my pain management dr., and willingly shared; additional OTC pain relievers, in the form of Excedrin Extra Strength (aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine) as the FP has forbidden him to take ibuprofen in addition to the Celebrex for fear of causing stomach ulcers (although Dr. K would probably frown on Excedrin and Voltarin with equal negative reactions); BioFreeze, a roll-on cool-therapy analgesic, originally suggested by my physical therapist following back surgery; Icy-Hot patches, as he gets more relief from warmth than coolth, he says; and two zip-loc baggies to hold the bagged ice he'll apply after his long drive to MD: one for his shoulder, one for his knee. Oh yes, don't forget: he's still dealing with a painful left knee. Even with all of the above, he likely won't get much relief from his pain, er pains.

Sigh. It's evident he can't go on like this much longer.

So, you will understand that his birthday wish this year included "feel better soon." And if that involves surgery to repair the tear, then bring it on...he's way past ready!

Here's hoping this four-leaf clover I found near the swing helps him get his wish!

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Recipes, as promised...

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Peel'em and Eat'em Shrimp

Ingredients:

1-2 cups cider vinegar or beer

2 cups water

2 tablespoons OLD BAY® Seasoning (see substitute below)

2 pounds large shrimp, fresh or frozen

Cocktail Sauce (recipe follows)

Directions:

In a large saucepan fitted with a steamer basket, mix beer or vinegar, water and seasoning. Bring to boil on medium heat (can do this on burner of outside grill). Gently add steamer basket of  shrimp, then cover.

Steam 2 to 3 minutes for fresh or 8-10 minutes for frozen, or just until shrimp turn pink, stirring as necessary to evenly steam all shrimp. Drain well.

Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Then, peel'em and eat'em...just like the name says. Best served with a zippy cocktail sauce, an ice-cold bottle of beer, and lively conversation. Enjoy!

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Old Bay Seasoning Substitute

Ingredients:

4-6 whole bay leaves

2 teaspoons celery salt

1-1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

1-1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground celery seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except whole bay leaves and mix thoroughly. Place in an airtight container, along with whole bay leaves, and store in a cool place. Use 2 tablespoons of mix and 2-3 bay leaves in liquid where the shrimp is to be boiled. Remove and discard bay leaves after boiling.

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Cocktail Sauce

2 cups tomato catsup

2-4 tablespoons prepared horseradish (more=zippier!)

1-2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a measuring cup. Pour in a jar and refrigerate for several hours. Use liberally with chilled shrimp. The longer the sauce rests, the hotter the taste from the pepper flakes! Enjoy!