Journal - Jan 19 &20

Jan 19

Great morning at church, I wasn't working media and I sat in a different part of the worship area. I was closer to a speaker than I'd been in months. I could really hear the music and it was awesome! A quick lunch and I decided I was going for a Sunday drive. I really took the long way home and drove out to an area near the lake and I think I may have found a new "peaceful" getaway. It is only 25 minutes from the house and I used to make the drive all the time because is was near my parents farm. But yesterday was the first time I remember driving to the boat access area. The water was so quiet and green yesterday. I will have to go back again.

I spent the rest of the afternoon at my friends house and played with baby Claire. Nice day!

Jan 20 

I spent the day reading and trying to make bread. It hasn't done a lot of rising and I'm really thinking it won't turn out the greatest. I'm going to make a stomboli for dinner using the dough. I'm going to put a twist on it and use a tex-mex filling. We'll see how it turns out. I also did a little productive sewing today. I made a new ironing board cover for my pitiful ironing board. It is extra wide which is great for quilting but hard to find a new cover. I could have ordered one from Amazon but I decided to whip one up myself. I love it!

Journal - January 4

Today, I decided to take apart a hat I knit. I didn't like the fit. Then I searched Ravelry and found a pattern I liked - The Bowler. I knit the hat in around four hours, I'm a slow knitter and it probably would have taken a faster knitter two hours to stitch the 30 or so rows. I extended the hat just a little and it was a tight fit. So I blocked it and hopefully it will be a little bigger when it dries.

I also made a large pot of veggie soup and cornbread. The kitties have laid beside me all day, it's very cold and we are expecting a couple of inches of snow tomorrow evening. Monday the high is supposed to be around 7, very cold for TN. Teachers are supposed to go back to work Monday, but we will have to see what the weather holds for us. The weathermen can't make up their mind on anything but the cold.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope those who come across this little blog are having a great Thanksgiving. I am such a blessed person and today I'm thanking my Heavenly Father for His wonderful blessings.

I made the decision a few weeks ago to have a solitary Thanksgiving dinner. Since the passing of my parents and marriage of my sister, I've been blessed to have dinner with sweet friends more than family. That is really not out of the ordinary, my parents traveled a lot and sister and I often did Cracker Barrel lunches and movies for Thanksgiving. :)

But this Thanksgiving I decided I wanted leftovers and to try my hand at Mom's dressing. So I began cooking yesterday and have several family traditional dishes made. I added a fudge pie for dessert and this is the first time I've ever made this recipe. I guess I'm starting my own tradition. :)

My hen should be ready to come out of the oven soon and I hear the potatoes boiling now.  I'll leave you with a picture of the dressing I sent to sister!


Blessings to all!

Classes?

Yep, I took another class today! This one was in bread making and my bread is making its final rise before I put it in the oven.

A friend decided to teach cooking classes and her first class was on yeast bread. Her mom was one of the cooks when I was in school and the rolls were always delicious! We met at her church and learned the art of bread making. Really the art of making yeast bloom was our most discussed topic.

My dough rose and I wasn't sure if it was one loaf or two. So I divided it into two and just popped it in the oven. It will be yummy no matter what I'm sure! She had several great recipes to share and we came home with the dough we made. After we made the dough, we shared some delicious cinnamon rolls made from the dough recipe. It was a yummy morning.

Quest for the perfect pancake begins and ends

in my kitchen cabinet! For two years, I've been on a quest for great pancakes, the kind I remember mom making. I've posted lots of pictures on Facebook of my attempts, some successful and some not quite good.

Yesterday, sister and family went to the flea market and I kept seeing lovely Ball and Mason jars as well as cast iron skillets. Many in poor condition. I wish I'd taken a picture of the ABC skillet for shortbread. It was $125 and not in a great condition. But that no longer bothers me, I found a blog post to recondition cast iron http://www.ibelieveicanfry.com/2010/12/reconditioning-re-seasoning-cast-iron.html  But back to the pancakes.

This morning was the perfect morning for pancakes. I seem to crave them on cool fall mornings. Often I eat them on the porch. But they cool really quickly when I do that. I decided to dig into mom's recipe box and see if her pancake recipe was in it! IT WAS!!!

Next I dug into my cabinets looking for a good cast iron skillet, figured a small shallow one would work and I found this griddle!!! I don't remember mom ever using it but I did and my pancakes were awesome! I even added a few white chips to a couple and sliced a banana, heated the syrup and had delicious pancakes.

I didn't take the time to photograph those, I wanted to enjoy them while they were nice and warm. I've had problems with burning them and the flavor just wasn't right. I've used all sorts of recipes. Searched the Internet, used Betty Crocker cookbook, Bisquick mix, you name it and I might have tried it. Now that I've uncovered the griddle and relocated the recipe, I'm seeing more pancakes in my future!