THE IN BETWEEN TIME WREATH

Having lived in California all of my life until twelve years ago, I never had much experience with four real seasons.  In the hot valleys of California it can still be very warm at Thanksgiving some years.  I moved first to Colorado and then Idaho and I love the four seasons and we have what I call the in between time - after July till September. September is the start of fall - it's like the switch gets flipped and it's fall.  This in between time for me is sunflowers, days a little shorter, sky is looking a little different, weather a little cooler, etc. So I am changing up my front wreath and bench for the in between time.  I Pinned a wreath like this several months ago with the plan to make my version. I had never seen a wreath with a piece of art tucked inside before.

So I first moseyed over to The Graphic's Fairy for my rooster (I will put a link below) pulled him into Corel Draw, named him Le Coq (the rooster), flipped him (remember you do not need a draw program to flip an image, just go to your Microsoft paint program that comes will all Windows) copy and paste the image and at the top you will see "rotate." Please feel free to print out this image (there is a button on the side "print/pdf"). I added the frames, etc.  I printed him out on canvas and then cut a piece of foam board the same size and glued him to the foam board without taking the paper off the back.  I then sprayed him several times with clear coat finish because even though he will be under a covered porch it's still out in the weather.

Another item I needed was a rustic star but I did not want the brown color.  Using water based acrylic I painted the star (it needed two coats) when completely dry I took a little dark wax to age it a little, done.

Here is what is needed for the wreath (ignore the sunflower towels) with the exception of the apples - they were way too heavy so I found some much smaller ones.  For some reason pomegranates were hard to find in my area so I only had one. I used two wreaths - a stick one and then a small grapevine wreath.

First thing to do is to cut all of the flowers and greenery off of the center stems, leaving a long enough stem on what you cut off so that you can either hot glue or just stick into the wreath.

Lay the stick wreath on a flat surface and then hot glue the grapevine wreath to the stick one and let it completely dry.

First glue Le Coq to the wreath with hot glue. Now you are ready to start putting it together - Starting with the greenery and leaves go around the wreath until it looks like you have equal distribution.

Now it's time to add the flowers and the fruit and add the big bow.  I like to use a pipe cleaner instead of wire for the bow as I think it is easier to work with and kinder to your fingers and easy to attach to the wreath.  If you have holes in your wreath you can fill them with extra leaves or I like to use the leafy boxwood too.

Tip #1: When making a wreath be sure and as you work hang it up so you can see how it looks being hung up because many times it may look great on a work table but the angle of the items may not work when the wreath is hung so save yourself some time by periodically hanging the wreath.  I have a hook on the back of my craft room door.

Tip #2: When you are making something like this (a wreath that I saw on Pinterest) don't try and make an exact copy, make it your own, use the example for inspiration only, or you might end up like a bad Elvis impersonator who wants to look like Elvis but really looks like Ernest Borgnine!

List of greenery & fruit used:

Twig wreath

Grapevine wreath

Boxwood greenery

Picks of little sunflowers and red flowers with green berries

(1) Plastic Artichoke

(1) Plastic Pomegranate

Plastic apples

Red Poppies

Fall pick that had big leaves and faux feathers

Sunflowers, two large, 3 medium

Small berry stems, green

Large berry stems, beige

 New and IMPROVED wreath. Truth in advertizing friends. This morning (8/8) I went out on my porch to check on the newly planted mums and to my horror only the twig wreath was still on the wall and the grapevine wreath had face planted on the porch! So I did what I should have done in the first place - I wired the two wreaths together instead of hot gluing them.  This one will not come apart so....if  you make one of these don't hot glue the two wreaths together. j.

Resource

Liquitex Acrylic paint, Yellow Oxide, Michael's

Rustic Barn Star, online, Google " Rustic Barn Stars Two Sided Primitive Country Barn Star" and you will find a star to order.

Greenery and fruit, Michael's & local craft store

Wreath's, Hobby Lobby & Michael's

Ribbon, Costco (it is gingham off white and red, wired)

Dark Wax, Annie Sloan

Rooster Graphic, The Graphic's Fairy, Link 

Ink Jet Canvas paper, Royal Artist's Canvas, Pack of 5 (28942)

Foam board, Dollar Tree

Thank you for stopping by. 

THE VALUE OF A WELL STOCKED PANTRY, FREEZER & FRIDGE

Arrived home yesterday afternoon after a morning of errands at several stores and finally at Costco for paper products, etc. (it's the "etc" that kills the budget at Costco, I need to invent "Costco Blinders.").  About 2:05 received a text regarding unexpected (but oh so welcome) guests for dinner.  It was about 2:15 before the time of 6:00 was set.  So hubby and I put our heads together (we were determined to use what we had on hand and NOT go back to the store) this is the time when a well stocked pantry, freezer and fridge comes into play.  Here is the menu we quickly came up with - probably not the menu I would have prepared had I had more time to plan but it worked out great.  I don't have too many photos today as I was busy fixing and not shooting photos but I will post the recipes.

Wednesday Dinner for Seven

Carrot Sticks & Spicy Ranch Dip

Assorted Drinks

Green Beans w/Bacon

 Vermicelli Nests with Onions & Tomatoes

BBQ'ed Marinated Pork Cubes with Peppers & Onions on Skewers

For the more discriminating diner, Plank Fries & Chicken Nuggets, lots of catchup!

Homemade Dinner Rolls with Honey Butter

Blackberry Sour Cream Pie with Whipped Cream

Freezer - Pork loin completely sealed in plastic so we just filled half of the sink with warm (not hot) water and put the loin in to defrost. Also had a jar of homemade chicken stock, put that in the water too. Had a pkg of blackberries, the fries and chicken nuggets (keep on hand always for the discriminating diner, AKA, my sweet grand-daughter).

Pantry, pkg of Spicy Ranch Dip, canned beans, yeast, bread flour, vermicelli nests, honey, sweet onions, catchup & bottled marinade.

Fridge, drinks, tomatoes & peppers (from the garden), sour cream, whipping cream and pie crust (all leftover from the Friday night dessert for Alzheimer's Idaho) butter,  crumbled bacon, carrots and sour cream.

I made the pie first as it needs to cool, it is served cold.

The pie shell is baked until lightly browned before filling and still has some time to go in the oven so it is really important that you place foil around the edges when baking. 

Tip: Make the crust thicker than normal for this pie because the crust bakes for a very long time.

Out of the oven, ready to set aside and cool and serve with homemade sweetened whipped cream (or whatever you choose to top it with, Cool Whip, cream in a can, etc).

Blackberry Sour Cream Pie

8 servings

Ingredients:

Pie crust for one pie - use your favorite recipe, buy crust or use purchased pie crust in the tin.

16 oz Frozen blackberries or about 3 1/2 cups fresh

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°

Frozen berries may be thawed or set out for about 20 mins

Prepare your pastry and bake in oven until just starting to turn brown - do not overbake

Turn down the oven to 350°

Combine the sour cream, salt, cinnamon, sugar, flour & vanilla

Very gently fold in the berries until combined, be careful not to tear the berries

Gently spoon the berry mixture into the prepared pie shell

Tear narrow strips of foil and & fold over the edge of the pie crust so it will not burn - leave on for the rest of the cooking time.

 

Bake for approximately 60 minutes, the pie is done when it is nice and bubbly all across the pie - it will set as it cools. Put on a rack and let it cool before serving. This recipe is so much better with fresh berries (or better yet wild berries, isn't that right Bernie?) but is still very good with frozen berries.

Green Beans with Bacon & Onions
 

The green beans are about as easy as it gets and people love these simple canned beans! You can use regular bacon but I keep the Costco product on hand (see yesterday's post) - always.  I do not like it as is, it's value to me is as a low-fat, low calorie big flavor enhancer. The flavor needs to coaxed out with heat so for the beans (I used two cans of French cut green beans) I put two full tablespoons into a sauce pan, let the bacon cook for awhile then added some diced sweet onions and let them cook until the onions are translucent then add the beans (do not drain), bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and let them just cook and become flavorful.

Two more quick and easy items - homemade rolls and the vermicelli Nests.

I had a recipe for quick rolls using the super fast yeast but I did not have that product on hand so I went hunting and this is what I found - hard to believe but these are delicious and only take 30 minutes!

30 Minute Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 cups flour (either bread flour or all-purpose will work)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the warm water, oil, yeast, and sugar. Allow the mixture to rest for 15 minutes.
3. Mix 2 cups of the flour, the salt, and the egg into the yeast mixture using a dough hook. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup at a time.
4. Shape dough into 12 balls and place in a 9x13 pan. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until tops are just golden brown.

Honey Butter is just a ratio of 3/4 butter (softened) to 1/4 honey, whip until combined.

Vermicelli Nests with Onions & Tomatoes

(Sopa seca de fideos)

1/2 Pound vermicelli or angel hair nests - no substitution

2 large tomatoes, peeled and small dice (do not need to seed)

1 medium sweet onion, small dice

1/4 cup good olive oil

2 cups homemade stock

Put 1/2 of the oil in a medium fry pan, brown the nests on both sides (be careful not to burn) you want them toasty brown not dark brown, remove from the fry pan and set aside. Add the remainder of the oil to the pan and cook the onion and chopped tomato until the onion is translucent.  Add the chicken stock and the browned vermicelli nests, put the lid on the pan and cook until the liquid is absorbed about 20-30 minutes.  Test for seasoning and add salt and pepper if you like. Enough for (4).

Carrot sticks w/Spicy Ranch Dip - follow package directions and let sit in the fridge for a few hours for the flavors to meld and serve with fresh veggies.

Marinaded Pork & Veggies -  when thawed trim fat off the pork if necessary, cube into nice size cubes and put in Zip Lock bag with the marinade and turn the bag over every once in a while. When ready put the pork in a colander to drain the excess marinade and then string the cubes on the skewers with veggies, we used chunks of sweet onion and bell peppers. Bar-b-Que until the pork is done. One of my oh so adorable grandsons asked twice for "more chicken."

Resource

Bacon, Costco

Recipe for Rolls, Kitchen Meets Girl, Link

Pie Plate, Boleslawiec, Polish Pottery Stars & Stripes Pie Plate

Homemade Chicken Stock, Link

Thank you for stopping by!

 

FRESH CORN CHOWDER

Tis the season for fresh corn on the cob!  I live in the Treasure Valley of Idaho and even though I live near the Capitol of the State (Boise) we are surrounded by farms and about now a zillion little corn stands (usually the back of a pick-up) pop up.  Yesterday my hubby and I were out and about and we stopped at such a place.  There was a pickup and two cars and a few women and when hubby got out an adorable girl of about nine walked up to him and I overheard her say "Good afternoon sir, isn't this a lovely day?" Seems as though the crowd at the stand was the farm family and the little cutie pie was the designated greeter, farmers are smart.  He bought a big bag of corn!

I was a little hesitant to do this post as this is something I just make - no recipe and I have never before measured for this dish.  If it needs a little more of this or that I just add it as I go along. I am one of those cooks who, unless it is baking, consider recipes a suggestion! I measured today so here it is.

This photo is my way of getting corn off the cob without hurting myself or getting it all over the kitchen.  I just put a small bowl upside down in the bottom of the big Tupperware bowl and then slice off the cooled corn. I, of course used the method to cook corn as was seen on my blog post of July 23, 2014.

Cook five (6 if they are med) big ears of corn (or more if you like more), then remove the corn from the cobs and set the cobs aside.  If you add additional corn, you will probably have to add more milk.

I used my favorite copper sided pot to cook this in and the measurements on the inside of the pot are metric, it is a 5 liter pot and I filled the pot to the two liter mark and I believe that is about 1/2 gallon of 2% milk.

Place the cobs into the milk - this step is what makes this chowder so good the cobs infuse the milk with this wonderful corn flavor.  Bring the milk to almost a boil and then turn it down and let it simmer away while you chop the rest of the ingredients.

 I used three medium size potatoes (just wash, do not peel) two medium sweet onions and then I went to the garden and picked two jalapenos and snipped some chives, thyme and parsley.  Unless you like spicy DO NOT add the jalapenos.  Turns out my two were hotter than normal and our chowder was REALLY spicy.

This is what your pile of veggies should look like - it is important that the potatoes and onions are the same size dice - I use one of those inexpensive box choppers and even though I have two different sizes of Cuisinart (which I sill use) but when I have a small job like this the little box is my go to, I will provide a link in resource.

This is one of my favorite items at Costco.  I think I could write a cookbook using this one ingredient. It is low in fat and calories, has 3 grams of protein in a tablespoon and is very inexpensive.  One tablespoon is 35 calories and two grams of fat.  When I need a quick green veggie canned French cut green beans and some chopped onion make a very tasty dish very quick.  The trick to using this product is to do something to it to coax out the flavor, heat will do that.  In the case of the beans I just put a tablespoon or two in the bottom of a deep sauce pan, turn on the heat and stir it and let the flavors escape before you add some finely chopped onion, cook for awhile and then add the undrained, French cut green beans.

I used my second favorite pan (thank you Drew and Dawn) to cook the veggies, herbs and bacon.  You will need to use a pan that has a big cooking surface, like a big frying pan.  Just drizzle about a tablespoon or so of EVOO into the pan and when it gets hot add two tablespoons of bacon and cook to coax out the flavor then add the onion and the herbs and stir and cook until the onion starts to go translucent then dump in the diced potatoes and let it cook until the potatoes are almost done, stirring occasionally. Once the potatoes are almost done, remove the cobs from the milk, add some salt and pepper to the milk and then put the cooked corn and the cooked veggies into the corn infused milk.  Stir to distribute and let it get hot but not boil and then turn down and let it simmer until the potatoes are done. Check again for seasoning.  You do not have to thicken this chowder as the corn and the potatoes are starchy.  If it needs more milk, add some, if it needs more corn, cook another ear and add that.  It's your chowder, do what you want!

Bon appetit.  On a warm summer night my hubby likes a cup of this with a BLT or just a bowl for lunch with some sliced tomatoes from the garden and maybe a slice of toasted baguette, no butter just a crunchy piece of bread. 

Here is the recipe as I measured today:

Corn Chowder

1/2 gallon of 2% Milk

5 large ears of fresh corn, cook the corn, remove from the cob and retain the cobs

2 medium sweet onions, diced

3 medium potatoes, diced

2 Tablespoons of real crumbled bacon

A heaping tablespoon each of fresh thyme & chives, chopped

2 Tablespoons of parsley, chopped

Salt & Pepper to taste

As far as the herbs are concerned you could of course use dried herbs so I think use what you like.  Herbs de Provence would be good, if there is a particular flavor you like then use that herb - make the chowder your own.

Resource

Rachael Ray 5qt Saute Pan, Rachael Ray Hard Anodized Nonstick 5-Quart Oval Saute Pan with Glass Lid, Orange

Progressive Food Chopper, Progressive International Onion Chopper (Discontinued by Manufacturer) 

Bacon, Costco

Bee Plates, Deb Mores, pattern Buzz Buzz

Thank you for stopping by.