Fall is in the air!

We are weathering the remnants of Tropical Storm Danny. Lots of rain and surprisingly cool air. Fall is still definitely in the air. School started for teachers this week and students start Monday. I am definitely having a mind shift and have to focus on lots of new information and procedures for the new school year. Yesterday I walked through the garden before going into school. A hummingbird was busy visiting all the flowers. It was early and the crickets were still chirping but everything else was so STILL. Very peaceful and quiet. I wished I could stay longer and soak up the peace but it was time to go into the fray! I have a feeling I will be spending mornings in that peaceful place as much as I can.

Movie: Julie & Julia

Yesterday I went to the movies with my Mom. She is 85 years old and incredible. She still drives and volunteers and is very active in her church. The other day she asked me if I would like to go to the movies with her. She doesn't have too many friends left who are able to get out and do things with her. Since my summer vacation days are winding down I agreed to go to a matinee. We went to see Julie & Julia and both loved it. I am now very interested in getting a copy of Julia Child's cookbook. Since I was going to college for Home Economics back in the late 60's, I took many cooking classes. I always felt I knew the basics of cooking. I certainly used all the lessons I learned over the years and prided myself on being a decent cook. I remember a few meals that didn't turn out so well in my younger years. I know a few dinner guests were very polite in their comments. I learned by experience and made homemade bread from scratch and canned tomatoes from the garden many times. However, I never looked through Julia's book in all those years. I had The Joy of Cooking, which I learned from the movie is nothing compared to Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Perhaps it just looked like another big cookbook that I would probably leave on the shelf. But now, after taking the class at Johnson & Wales and then seeing this movie, my interest is peaked. Unfortunately, so is the interest of many others. Maybe I'll just try the library first. I'm sure book sales will be up everywhere for the cookbook. One thing that seems like common knowledge from the cooking class, the movie and Julia herself, everything always tastes better when you use real butter in the recipe!

Etsy Shop Added

I added my daughter's Etsy Shop link to my blog. Check out her work! The link is located on the right.

Summer preserves

I have a good crop of jalapeno peppers and decided to try my hand at pickling them. I like the pickled ones on sandwiches and just heard on a gardening podcast that it is very hard to find organic pickled jalapenos. Well, where there is a need there is someone who can fill it! It is very easy to make these. You just wash and slice your peppers, pack them into a sterilized canning jar, boil cider vinegar and a little honey. Pour over the sliced peppers and screw on a new lid. In a few minutes you will hear the lid pop, which means it is sealed.

I also made some flavored vinegar from my baby Egyptian onions and my purple basil. It has such a nice color. I used regular vinegar, boiled it and poured it over my washed basil and onions, screwed on the lid and listened for the pop! Aren't they pretty in their jars?

Apron

I completed an apron from the directions in the vintage apron book a purchased a few weeks ago, with a few minor changes. I feel very good about this apron because I used some old dish towels that my mother-in-law made from an old worn tablecloth. She recycled the cloth many, many years ago and I re-recycled it into an apron. So, even this was just created, it was made with a vintage pattern, of vintage fabric and I even sewed it on my vintage machine. I liked the pattern because it has potholders incorporated into the apron corners, I used quilted muslin but also added Insul-Bright inside, to make them very well insulated. If you have never used this, you can buy it at most fabric stores and it is similar to quilt batting but has fibers imbedded in it to make it a wonderful insulator. If you notice, I appliqued cutouts from the vintage print, onto the potholder corners. I thought they needed some embellishment. I also used an elastic remnant in the front waistband, just because I wanted to use it up. So this was definitely a very "green" project.
The other apron was made with a pattern I purchased from Montessori By Hand. It is the "Emmeline" Apron. I used Amy Butler fabric and made it reversible. I think this is my dressy apron because it has so much style and feels like I have put a dress on, no matter what I have on under it. I think I will have to add a pocket to at least one of the sides. My aprons must have pockets!

I worked on another quick project this week. Pictured are two pin cushions made from scrap fabrics. These are actually good for practicing matching corners and would help if you are going to make bench cushions or pillows. It is not as easy as it looks to match up those corners. Pinning is essential. You must attach the top square to the side piece and then attach the bottom square. If you are not careful and are off just a bit, your little piece will not come out square! I'll have to make a few more of these, they were such fun to create, and a great way to use up those extra scraps of ribbon and buttons.

Clarified butter

I tried out the technique for clarifying butter that George & I learned at the Johnson & Wales cooking class. It works! You have to heat the butter for at least 20 min. You will see the solids separate and sink to the bottom, then you can just pour off the clear liquid, let it cool and keep it in the fridge. It will become hard like butter does. It will keep as long as regular butter in a container. Just scrape off the amount you need to use to saute or melt and use in sauces. I used the salted butter and the result was very salty so I will not have to add extra salt to most recipes. If you use unsalted butter it will make a difference in the amount of salt you will want to add to what you are cooking.

Tomatoes

Finally picked our first red tomatoes. They are from the Fourth of July plant. Only problem is, they didn't ripen until the fourth of August! That's the way this summer has been going... cool and wet. Tomatoes, eggplants and peppers are NOT liking it! I also picked a peck of purple peppers too!

Quick sewing project

Well, it's another rainy day at the Z Farm. I am working on a quilt for a friend's baby. After deciding on a design and choosing the fabric, I made a block and discovered I really didn't like it. Back to the drawing board! I used a different fabric for the center blocks and so far I like how it looks. However, this morning I felt like I needed a quick project to get done today. The quilt would just take too long. I looked through my pile of quick projects and decided to make a little sewing book to organize my pins and needles. This will be nice for quick repairs or to grab to take with me on a trip. The directions came from the Martha Stewart website. I wanted to make the cover a little decorative and try my hand at needle felting. I used the tools shown, cut out my flower from blue wool batting and used wool yarn for the leaf and stem. I really like the way it turned out! Now I feel like I created something and actually got it completed in less than an hour.

Making Yogurt Cheese

If you want to make a healthy alternative to cream cheese, try making your own yogurt and then make your own yogurt cheese. Its easy! You can use a yogurt maker to make your own yogurt from whole or skim milk. I bought my yogurt maker at a tag sale! Take your finished yogurt or ready-made yogurt from the store and simply put it in a strainer on top of a paper coffee filter. Let it stand in the strainer, over a bowl, for a few hours or over night. The liquid will drain out into the bowl and you will be left with the yogurt solids. You might want to squeeze the last remaining liquid out to get this as thick as possible. It will be the consistency of cream cheese but have fewer calories!

Newport and Johnson & Wales cooking class

Monday, July 27, we traveled to Newport, RI and spent a relaxing time at the Fair St. Guest Houses. We ate lots of good food and watched the sun set along the shore. Tuesday we walked the Cliff Walk after having a wonderful breakfast at the B&B. The weather was forecast to be rainy and hot and humid. I guess we were in the right place because the sea breezes were cool and refreshing and no rain came during our stay.

After lunch we made our way to the Johnson & Wales Inn, which is actually in MA, just across the state line. We settled in, had an early dinner, which was excellent, and headed to our cooking class. The class of about 16 people, was all about soups and sauces and I must say, we learned a lot! After a lecture by an amazingly gifted chef/instructor, everyone was assigned a soup or sauce to make. George & I were assigned an espagnole sauce, a brown gravy-like sauce with a hint of tomato. It turned out wonderful. We also got to taste a variety of soups, such as Crab & Greens, Pasta e Fagioli, Hot & Sour, Soupe A L'Oignon Gratinee, and Bouillon Milanaise. The other sauces included Bechamel, Tomato, Hollandaise, Sauce Veloute and Demi-galce. We had a great time and would love to take another class some day. Now our home cooking will definitely have to improve.

Best hints... whatever you are making, it will always taste better if you start from scratch and cook long and slow when doing a reduction (cooking down to thicken)...it's always going to taste better if you cook with BUTTER and BACON!...Asian stores have the best prices but you need to know what you are looking for....cook your tomato sauce a loooong time to reduce the acid of the tomatoes, use that Hollandaise sauce quickly! We also learned a quick way to clarify butter...boil the butter in a pot a while until all the solids sink to the bottom. Pour off the top, clarified liquid. It will keep it in the fridge for months and you can use it when you want to saute veggies or add to sauces. It won't burn like whole butter will. Of course you will get more calories but your recipe will taste great.

If you are interested in one of these classes, contact the Inn (see link on right). The package was called "Now We're Cookin". You'll find the info under "Plan a Getaway" on their website. Make sure you get the details of class time and location before you go!