project 52: week 3

What is Project 52? It's a little like Project 365, but instead of the goal of posting a photo each day, I'll post a photo or two each week along with a short update. Really I just need a little push to post something every week. Since I like to keep this space positive, posting every week forces me to look back and find something shiny to talk about (ten points if you get that reference). Some weeks that's a piece of cake. Other weeks it's more of a challenge, and those weeks give this task true meaning.

Looking through my classroom window at the signs of autumn.

The final harvest of tomatoes from my garden.

 What's New?
This past weekend I was super productive at home, mainly in the kitchen. I picked all the remaining tomatoes off of my plants, roasted them, and then made tomato sauce. I ended up with two 16 oz freezer containers full. I cut back and composted my tomato plants, as well as much of the rest of my garden, because it has suffered from a white fly invasion this summer. I made boozy applesauce cake, breakfast muffins, chicken stock, butternut squash soup, washed all the dishes, then washed all the dishes again (funny how that works). I also put my clean clothes away (what!?!). Shocking, I know.

I try to do so much on the weekends because I'm basically useless during the week. I come home from teaching, eat dinner, take a shower, and then relax in my pjs in front of the TV with my knitting. Sometimes I cook dinner, but if I can get away with it I just eat leftovers. That's one of the beautiful things about cooking a recipe meant for 4-6 people when there are only 2 people living in your house.

Currently Reading
Yes, I am reading 4 books at once. What that really means is that I've started all four books, and I trade off which one I'm reading. Sometimes I read one consistently for many days in a row, and sometimes I read a different book each day. My mother (and many others) often seem confused by this approach, but I find it fulfilling. Think of it like watching a different show each night. You are still "caught up" on the story from each show. You never confuse Walking Dead with Orphan Black (those are completely different stories, of course). Likewise, I don't confuse the different books I'm reading.

• The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk
• The Midwife's Tale by Sam Thomas
• Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
• The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans and Heretics by Elaine Pagels

On the Needles
Progress on the Wood Hollow Vest is slow, for sure. I haven't knit very much since my last post (thanks to a sharp kitchen knife, a stubborn package of sausage, and my fingertip). But I have been making progress - one stitch, one row, at a time. Slowly, very slowly, I am turning yarn into a vest.

Looking Forward To

1. attending a Town Hall Event about climate change
2. picking up eleventy-billion pounds of apples for sauce and pie

mixer love

As a combined Christmas and Birthday present (thanks Irene, Mom & Dad!) I'm now the proud owner of a Kitchenaid stand mixer. The color is canopy green, and it mixes like a champ. I tried it out this week with two recipes: healthy oatmeal bars (I used semi-sweet and cinnamon chips), and my staple breakfast muffins. My parents sent me a pouring shield that helps keep the mess inside the mixer bowl (very useful for a messy person like myself).

A couple years ago I experimented with combining various muffin recipes to get something that was healthier, more filling, and used a limited number of measuring cups. At this point I can't remember which recipes I started with, but here's what I came up with:

Wet: 

(can sub applesauce, pureed pumpkin, etc for the oil and water)

• 2 cups water
• 0.5 cup vegetable oil
• 1.5 cups plain yogurt or milk
• 2 eggs

Dry:

• 2 cups all purpose flour (can sub 0.5 cup wheat germ)
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup wheat bran (or oatmeal)
• 1 cup ground flax seed
• 1 cup sugar (I usually only use 0.5 cup these days)
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

Add-ins:

• 1 chopped granny smith apple
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• spices (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves)

Baking Instructions:

Bake at 400 degrees F for 30-40 minutes.

Makes two trays of jumbo sized muffins (12 total), or two trays of regular muffins (24 total).

I've saved some of those clam-shell containers from the grocery store that store 4 jumbo muffins, and I use them to store my muffins in the fridge (remember: no preservatives in these!). I prefer to bake the jumbo size muffins because one jumbo muffin is perfect for breakfast. I'll usually eat a hard-boiled egg with it and that lasts me through the morning until lunchtime.

Warning: these muffins have quite a bit of fiber in them!

pumpkin goodness

I whipped up a batch of pumpkin french toast yesterday. It has to chill 8 hours or overnight, so I baked it this morning. I made two changes to the recipe. First, I used an 8" x 8" pan, because I had a small loaf of french bread. Second, after reading the comments I noticed that some people said it turned out too mushy. So I only used 1 cup of milk.

I think I may have died and gone to heaven. I am currently licking my plate (shh! don't tell anyone!). The few soggy bits on the bottom are mostly the caramel syrup, so instead of drizzling maple syrup over the french toast, I scooped up some soggy goodness from the bottom and ladled it on top. Perfect.

Yesterday I roasted two sugar pie pumpkins and ran them through my food processor to get a smooth texture. I used 3/4 cup for the french toast, set aside 3 tbsp to make pumpkin spice syrup for my coffee, and put the remaining pumpkin puree into ziploc bags to freeze for later use (1 cup in each bag so I know exactly how much I am defrosting).

I knew the pumpkin french toast recipe was a hit when I watched my husband take two bites, put down his plate, and immediately give me a hug. This recipe is Joe-approved. =)

strawberry day

A week ago yesterday was strawberry day. Strawberry picking, strawberry jamming and strawberry cake-making. Smitten Kitchen comes through again, with a delicious recipe for Strawberry Summer Cake.

busy baking weekend

Yesterday I baked, and baked, and baked.











All the cookies (and the brownies) are for a care package to my cousin in Iraq.

On top of all my cookie baking, I decided to make pizza for dinner.



Today I made Smitten Kitchen's breakfast apple granola crisp. I'm so beat from all this cooking and baking that I didn't get any pictures of the apple crisp. Oh well. Such is life.

remembering Tigerlily

It's been over a month, and I can't avoid this place or this subject any longer.



This adorable orange cat is no longer with us. She went to sleep for the last time on January 7th after struggling with cancer.



We will always remember her love for all things paper.



Her curiosity.



Her ability to quickly change an already awkward napping situation...



...into an increasingly precarious, and still awkward, napping situation.



No matter what we were doing, she wanted to be close by. At only 7 lbs she was a tiny cat, and she took advantage of her small size to squeeze into small places.



She loved to ride around on our shoulders like a parrot, or a monkey.



And she never missed an opportunity to sit inside of something. Whether that was an empty plant pot...



...or the empty clothes dryer.



I miss that silly little cat more than I can explain. Her absence is felt every day. I am thankful for all the pictures we have of her, and the memories that they evoke.



I will miss napping with her. Finding her cuddling with me under the covers. Discovering that a stack of newly-washed cloth placemats have been taken over by my furry friend. Finding her hidden in freshly-washed sheets that wait for folding. Seeing her face as she greets me at the door. Hearing the ridiculous "meh" noises that she made (no nice kitty meows from her). Watching her dunk a toy in water and then bring it to me to throw. The way she learned to resist the temptation to play with my knitting needles, because she'd rather nap on my lap.

I could not watch you suffer,

I could not see you in pain.

Because I loved you,

I had to let you go.

Now you are free.

Your body is no longer sick,

weak, and hurting.

You have crossed over,

into the spirit realm.

May you walk with Bast,

and I will see you again some day.

You will live forever in my heart.

my Christmas

My Christmas break was filled with baking,




little ones,




and playing games.


All while surrounded by family.

sandwich rolls

I am in love with these honey wheat sandwich rolls.

I made the dough in my bread machine (cheating, I know, but a necessary short-cut for a busy teacher), and baked them up on a Sunday so my hubby and I would have sandwich bread for the week.

I've been trying to bake my own bread for sandwiches for some time. I've found some great recipes (my favorite so far is SouleMama's WHO bread). But when it comes to slicing the bread it just doesn't work well for sandwiches.

I actually made this recipe twice before I was really happy with it. The first time I used a washed tuna can to cut the dough. The rolls that baked up from that batch were just too small for sandwiches. I searched and searched my kitchen for something that would make a better size and then realized that I could just cut the dough into rough rectangles. It worked perfectly.



I hope to get into a routine of making these rolls on the weekend for the coming week's sandwiches.

How do you slice homemade bread for sandwiches?

New & Improved Donuts

Does one need an excuse to make donuts? I don't think so.



But if I did need an excuse, this new-to-me (thanks Keitha!) donut cutter is it.



It makes perfectly shaped donuts and donut-holes. Before this, I used two separate biscuit cutters that weren't really the right size. The donut part ended up very skinny, and the donut-hole part was huge. Now they are perfect.



The second donut-making experience went smoothly this past Saturday. My hubby and I set up the kitchen so that I can fry the donuts, and he is right next to me ready to glaze them.



We've decided to strain the used frying oil and reuse it the next time we make donuts. My husband has clearly labeled that oil so we don't confuse it with others.



He cracks me up.



Yum.

homemade sorbet

We restarted our CSA subscription with Full Circle Farm and picked up our first box last week. Inside there was, among other things, a fresh cantaloupe and a recipe for "Homemade Cantaloupe Sorbet." How could I resist that?



My cantaloupe sorbet is still firming up in the freezer, so I can't tell you yet how yummy it is. But in case you'd like to find out on your own, here's the recipe, paraphrased a bit:

Handmade Cantaloupe Sorbet from Full Circle Farms

2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
3 cup 1-inch pieces peeled, seeded cantaloupe (I just used the whole melon, however much that was)

Heat sugar and water in saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves and water boils. Pour into medium bowl and allow to cool. Puree cantaloupe in food processor until smooth (mine was a little chunky, but mostly smooth). Mix pureed cantaloupe with sugar water mixture and stir until well blended. Freeze until almost firm, stirring occasionally, at least 3 hours or overnight. Using a heavy whisk, beat air into mixture until fluffy. Return to freezer until firm without stirring, at least 3 hours or overnight. Keeps for about three days. Serve with mint.



I'm still working on the "freeze until firm" part (pre-whisking).



You could use the same recipe with any fruit. I think peach would be good, too.

Since I had the food processor out, and we were running low, I decided to make some more peanut butter using a recipe from The Tangled Nest.



Yum.

Perfect start to my summer vacation.

Breakfast Pizza

Breakfast Pizza. Now doesn't that sound wonderful? Two amazing ideas, breakfast and pizza, combined to make an excellent meal. Strangely, I've made this twice now, and both times I ate it for dinner and breakfast the next day.



I cheat a little bit, and make my pizza dough in the bread machine. I've made it by hand as well, but in my busy life the bread machine can be a savior.



The only thing I changed in the recipe was the addition of mushrooms. I love mushrooms, and firmly believe that just about anything can be made better with mushrooms. And so you have it.



I think it was the combination of cheeses. Or maybe it was the cheese plus the herbs. I don't know. What I do know was that the first bite was heavenly. As was the second, and third, and so on.



If you'd like the recipe, head on over to Smitten Kitchen and check it out.

Cherry Pie

Today marks seven years since my Aunt Sandie passed away. She was only 44 years old when she died from ovarian cancer. I've never had any sort of ritual to mark the day. It's my way of avoiding my feelings.



On the first anniversary of her death my mom baked a cherry pie. We all sat down and shared it. Cherry pie was my aunt's favorite. So today I decided to bake a pie to honor my aunt.



Since cherries are not in season, I cheated a little and bought canned pie filling. I also bought pre-made pie crust. So really I just assembled the pie. I figure that was okay for my first special pie.



I wish that my aunt was still here. I wish that she could have met my husband. I wish I could have gotten to know her as an adult, instead of only as a child.



So many wishes.



Instead I work at my relationships with her two children. We are all so young that we are still navigating the change from child-to-child relationships into adult-to-adult relationships.



I love her children like they are my siblings, even though they are not. I look forward to the day I have my own children, and I know that my cousins will have a major role in their lives.



Rest in peace Aunt Sandie.