Good Fun: part two.

Here is part two of my time with Grace…

Tuesday:

The oven had bread in it all morning but we had to bake cupcakes for a party in the evening. We seriously made them right before we got in the car to go. It was so close. They tasted delicious though.

Wednesday Night:

We made little cream puffs…

with amazing chocolate cream filling.
We whipped cream (by hand) and folded it into chocolate pudding.
What a good filling.

Yes, I ate so many of them.
(and I even balanced them on my tongue. You should try that, it’s not easy.)

Thursday Morning:

The last meal (a.k.a. – Breakfast ).

I think Grace and I will always make these when we are together.
These Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls…
man oh man they are the best thing ever.

Breakfast has never been better.
They were the perfect thing with a cinnamon latte for our departure breakfast.
The grand finale to such a wonderful time.

There was much more too. We did some sewing. We watched the entire Little Dorrit mini series in two sittings. Those were some late nights but totally worth it. We drank tea. Brisk, Balanced, and Inspiring tea actually. Knitting happened. There was this one mexican potluck…

So many new memories for Grace and I to add to our collection.
I’m so thankful to have her as a friend. I love the fact that we can talk about the things that we both love. Like new bunt pans and butter.
Thank you, Grace, for always being there for me.

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Good Fun: part one.

I have a lot of pictures from my vacation to show you.
So. Hang on, here we go!

We spent a lot of our time in this kitchen.
Grace and I made food. So much food.

Sunday Dinner.
What does “Sunday dinner” bring to mind?
Something hearty that screams comfort?

Chicken Potpie.
Yes, one of my favourites
They turned out amazing.  Grace and I were both afraid we wouldn’t get dinner on the table until 9:00 or so. But of course we did not play it safe and just roast the chicken. We decided to shred it, throw it into a simmering stew, top it with pastry, and bake it. Amazingly (and thankfully) we had dinner ready right on time. I still don’t know how we pulled that one off.

Monday Dinner.

We made hand tossed rosemary pizza crusts. Lots of them.

Yes, those are grill marks. Pre-grilled and ready to load up with toppings.

On the table and ready to eat. Oh yum, they were so good.

Monday Night.
Homemade Marshmallows+ Homemade Graham Crackers+ a bonfire= A Good Time.

Grace cutting the marshmallows.
(Our graham crackers are baking in the oven.)

Don’t they look so fun? Really they are rather simple to bake. The recipe really should be on here… someday.

They roasted up so very nice. We couldn’t get a good smore picture in the dark. Let me just tell you, they were delightful.

To be continued…
(Good Fun:part two.)

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A Day of Aprons.

     This last Thursday we had a handful of ladies over for a day of fun, encouragement, and instruction.  We had a lovely potluck lunch and tea… always lots of tea.  After that we got down to the subject of the day.  Aprons.  Everyone brought their own aprons to share.  It was fun to see them all.  We had a little sewing lesson given by Laurie.  She did a wonderful job.  We learned how to make three different aprons from one pair of mens jeans.  Now that, my friends, is resourceful.  And of course some wonderful, basic sewing tips as well.  I love sewing and I love aprons.  Here is a little poem someone shared about Aprons.

The History of ‘Aprons’.

I don’t think our kids know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath. Because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but it also served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
When the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those bis old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In fall, the apron was used to bring in apples fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in for dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‘old-time apron’ that served so many purposes.

-Author Unknown

     A woman I know, once said it well –‘Aprons are a uniform.’  I love thinking of it that way.  Aprons are the uniform of the Keeper of the Home.  A homemaker, in her kitchen wears her apron while making meals for her family.  A homemaker, in her garden wears an apron while planting, weeding, and harvesting produce for her household.  A well-worn apron says ‘Welcome’ to whoever may drop in.  

     Someday, I hope to be that homemaker.

     For now, I will practice wearing my apron… and fine tuning my homemaking skills.  Dinner was late last night.  All on account of me, the green beans took longer to roast than I expected.  Yes, I have a lot to learn…

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I Love Muffins.

       I made up these lovely little Butternut Cardamom Muffins this morning.  They were inspired by the season.  I used roasted butternut squash from our garden and I decided to throw a dash of cardamom in.  That was after getting my package from Harney & Sons Tea.  I bought a few new teas this time and one has a hint of cardamom in it.  So this morning I decided to have cardamom in my muffins to go along with the tea.  It was delicious.  Muffins are one of the best baked-goods to recreate healthily (fresh ground whole wheat flour, raw honey, pure maple syrup…the options for muffins are endless).  They always turn out wonderful for me. 

     I am enjoying my day off today.  I do love other peoples children but… a day off is just so lovely.  Kind of funny though, my day off consists of having my nephew, Jason, here with me today.  He isn’t like work at all… He’s just a darling. I just rocked him to sleep and put him down for a nap.  He and his poor mama haven’t been sleeping so well the past few nights.  He’s getting his first two teeth!  He’s becoming less and less ‘baby’ and turning more and more into ‘little boy’.  It is truly amazing how fast he has grown.  I snapped this picture after I layed him down (sorry it’s dark).  I couldn’t resist.

       Other than muffins and Jason I’ve been doing laundry.  I used to crave Tide laundry detergent all the time but I’ve gotten used to our homemade laundry soap.  It really smells pretty good.  The past few times I’ve done my laundry though…. I’ve desired Tide.  I don’t know why.  I’ve been wanting to make cupcakes so bad too!  I just have to wait… I will make them. 

       Anyhow.  That’s my today so far. ♥

       Go bake something.

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