It may be January, but I am dreaming of Spring!

Here are some some random pictures from last summer. My husband and I had planned a week-long driving tour through Kentucky and Tennessee, but a bad weather forecast changed our plans and we headed east. Since it seemed like every road in Pennsylvania was under construction, we abandoned the whole trip idea and decided to visit places closer to home. We rented a motel room in a nearby city and went to visit some local attractions. That night we were escaping thunderstorms and watching the news in our room and saw our own town (and street) mentioned in a report of some possible tornado damage. Fortunately all damage was minor (and not in our yard!). We decided to take some inspiration from one of the places we visited and finish our week with a home project.

We visited the gardens at Kingwood Center in Mansfield Ohio. We chose the time of visit perfectly to see the remnants of what had been spring flowers and before the blooming of their famous rose garden. Everything was very green; a color our landscape is lacking this time of year.

A few flowering bushes lent just the right touch to set off all the green tones.

I am pretty sure this is the entrance that leads to my fairy tale castle.

I have had several herb gardens over the years. None can hold a candle to this lovely spot.
After admiring all the plantings and gardens, I asked my husband what he liked best in the garden. He liked the bricks. (What a guy!)

This is that space that is between the foundation of my house and the front sidewalk. Originally it had prickly bushes that would prick children and snag your hose. (This  was back when women wore hose). We ripped those out and I planted day lilies. It was the perfect spot. They grew very profusely and every year I would split them and decorate more of my yard. Visitors were not as fond of the lilies as I was, since they would grow very large and the weight would cause them to fall over the sidewalk, forcing visitors to walk in the garden on the opposite side. We dug out all the lilies, but left a clematis in the middle.

I had thought about continuing the sidewalk up to the foundation, but since my guy was all about brick work; I decided to take advantage of the moment!

We both measured and calculated how many bricks we would need. My total was twice his total. We actually needed about 10 more than even I imagined.  Luckily our store had plenty in stock.

Didn't it turn out nice?

I had talked him into constructing the front porch of my dreams a few years ago. Since then, we have gained a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law and three and a half  grandchildren. I thought adding the brickwork would allow more seating when we are all watching the world go by. Do you like the tomato plant? My husband always wants a garden, but after planting looses interest. I thought this would be a compromise. We managed 5-6 tomatoes this year.

So there it is - a little sunshine on a deary winter day. And day dreams of projects for the coming year. Thanks for indulging me.

Miss O'Merry's Potato Soup

It is  a sunny 45 degree day here in Ohio, but that nasty weatherman is forecasting a high of 25 degrees by Thursday. This makes today a perfect day to make soup. My daughter-in-law mentioned she had a hankering for Cream of Potato soup the other day. And since those who carry precious cargo must be pampered; I really did not have a choice!

I have "published" this recipe before in our 4-H County Cookbook. I wrote it just like I make it; a bag of potatoes, as much onions, celery and carrots as you can fit in a pan, etc. Because some of my children are getting cranky about my recipes, I decided to actually measure how I made this batch. We will see how that works out!

I peeled about 1/2 a bag of potatoes which would equal five pounds. I would have cubed them, or at least cut them into equal chunks, but I had them on the stove before I thought of it. This picture taking while you cook is a little confusing. I have new respect for the food network!

As the potatoes come to a boil, I put two sticks of my favorite food group (Budda!) in a pan to melt.
I purchased one package of celery to dice.

I measured out the amout I would usually add to the pan and, lo and behold, it is almost exactly 2 cups.  Next I cut up baby carrots into tiny carrot coins and measured out two cups to match. Did you notice the celery is in a Lazarus Department Store measuring cup? My mother and I used to love to shop at Lazarus and eat at the lunch counter on the top floor. Chicken Pot Pie- yum!

 

I always chop all the celery and all the carrots I have. I put the extra in ziplocks and put them in the freezer. The pre-cut vegetables are great to just throw into a stew, soup or casserole. I don't even defrost - just break up with my fingers and toss them in. They will not be crunchy, but are perfect for these dishes. You could make sticks from the extra and eat them with some kind of healthy dips like humus.This is what my oldest daughter does with her preschoolers. She is such a good mother to provide these healthy snacks. On the other hand, this soup is not healthy at all (and that's why it tastes soooo good.)

From a stalk of celery and a bag of the baby carrots, I got 2 cups each for my soup and these bags which contain 3/4 - 1 cup each. Just for those inquiring minds who measure things.

I ran one large and one medium whole onion, peeled and quartered through my Sunbeam Oscar that I have had since the 1980's. I have bought several small food processors since then, but nothing chops like my Oscar. I am going to google to see if they still make these. Mine is looking worse for wear on my new countertop.  This made (I am not kidding) exactly 1 1/2 cup. See, I don't need to measure. I have an internal measuring cup!

I added all the vegetables to my skillet of budda.

And put one MORE stick of butter on top.

Cover and let simmer until vegetables are soft and translucent.

Meanwhile those potatoes should be done. Remove from heat and drain.

Since someone did not have equal size or equal cooked  potatoes, I diced the less done and mashed the more done! I would estimate (did not measure) that I mashed about 1 1/2 cups in the bottom of the pan with about 1 cup of chicken broth.





I then added in one whole container of half and half. I would like to have used all whipping cream, but that might just make my heart explode!!  In the end, the pot was too full to use the whipping cream, so I am saving it for next week.

Wisk the half and half and mashed potatoes together until smooth. Don't worry if there are a few potato pieces; it is potato soup!

It really does make a thick creamy base.  Next we are pouring in the entire skillet of onion, butter, carrots, butter, celery and butter. It will be very liquidy (liquidee?)

Back to measuring, I diced six cups of cooked potatoes and added them to the mixture.

And this is what you will get! A pot of buttery, potato goodness!

At this point, if you have room in the pot, you can add milk or cream to the soup. My dear husband likes little broth and more contents, so that is how my soup usually ends up.

And here it is, a warm cream soup for a winter's day.

If you all lived closer, I would invite you over for a dish! Instead, I am going to send out an email (I may soon graduate to texting . . .) to all of my family members to stop by with a tupperware container. Have a great day!

Tea Party Memories

So - do you think there are enough dishes on the table?

I have been visiting some different tea rooms with some special friends. Every experience is so special, from the outstanding fellowship to the fabulous food. Unfortunately I do live in a small town and most are 2-4 hours in travel time from my house. One way!  Also, although the experience, venue, decor, food and outstanding service are worth every penny; it is not an inexpensive hobby.

I decided to try to host my own tea party. To make sure I would follow through, I mailed invitations in early October for my Autumn tea party.  This assured that I would have my dining room cleaned and food prepared. I couldn't disappoint my guests!

I scoured through my Tea Time Magazine issues, looking for recipes that were easy enough to prepare on Friday night or early Saturday morning, yet glamorous enough to impress my special guests. 

The top picture shows me piling every possible piece of china I thought might work on the table. If you look on the right, you will see the adorable Autumn doilies that I found at the Dollar Tree for $1 a package.

This plate is part of a set I bought at a silent auction at our church. It is part of the original set that was used by the priest back when we had a rectory (and a priest). I have belonged to this parish for almost 30 years and I believe it has been maybe 40/50 years since we had a parish priest of our own. I love the dishes, but thought the floral was too "Spring" for an Autumn party.

I do like how the plates looked on the table. I did  not want the table to look too "Halloween", so instead of a gold, orange or brown tablecloth, I choose green. And because I thought it was a little Christmas, I decided to use a second cloth, offset, as a runner. This is part of the collection of card tablecloths and napkin sets that I inherited from my mother. Someday I would like to have a party with a number of borrowed card tables and use them all!

These are some Homer Laughton's that I bought at a Volunteer's of America Store. Didn't work for two reasons.  First, I bought four plates and needed five. And second, the plates have some chips underneath and I wasn't sure that I wanted to use them for actual guests. The chips do not show in a tablescape, but real people are special. 

Another Homer Laughton. I found these at our local Goodwill. I wish I could find the pattern. I just love them - four dessert plates. But again, a little too pink for Autumn.

This single plate was purchased in a box lot at an auction. I just love it, but I don't think I was able to find a use for it on the table. I have used it for my own special "alone time" lunches.

I am pretty crazy about this single cup and saucer that I bought at the flea market, too. But I didn't want any unladylike fighting for the cutest cup, so I had to put it back on the shelf.

I settled on my wedding china. My family has always considered these our very special dishes. They were actually acquired through a local bank in the 1970's. At the time I announced my engagement, my Great-Aunt Betty's bank offered a free place setting (or maybe there was a nominal charge) for each $25 deposit.  She and I managed to assemble twelve place settings, a dozen of every "special" piece and all the serving dishes. I had a shelf collapse sometime in the 1990's and have only six remaining tea cups, but the rest of the set is in perfect condition. I used my regular flatware and added my grandmother's wedding crystal. I recently inherited it from my mother and this is its premiere.  I used some "salts" as tiny vases for the last of my mums and added a splash of color with the leaf napkins.  

I made place cards with orange and black card stock. I stamped oak leaves on the right and wrote the names of my honored guests next to the leaf.   No, that is not a bowl of mashed potatoes. It is a dish of maple butter with a sunflower serving knife.  Don't the paper leaves look adorable? And you can almost see the etched pattern in the goblets.

Our centerpiece was a tiered tray with favor bags. I had come across a vendor at our flea market with costume jewelry pins. As I kept browsing through for the perfect pins, the price just kept getting lower. I ended up with TWO tea parties worth! I wasn't sure how to present the pins, but found black drawstring net bags at Walmart. I can't imagine a lot of uses for black favor bags, but this worked out perfectly.

We began with pumpkin scones (recipe from Tea Time Magazine). I mixed the dough the night before and popped them in the oven when the first guest arrived. They were so easy and very delicious, especially warm with the maple butter. I split the leftovers and popped them in the toaster to warm the next morning. My dear husband was quite taken with them, too.

Our second course was Cream of Carrot Soup. I wasn't sure how much work a squash soup would entail, so I used my Cream of Asparagus recipe, substituting an inexpensive, orange vegetable. It was absolutely delicious! I sauteed the carrot pieces and some chopped onions in a ridiculous amount of butter, then boiled in chicken broth until tender. I run them in small batches through my small food processor, than put back in the pan with some heavy cream. Stir in a tiny amount of nutmeg just for fun. I added a dollop of sour cream just before serving. The ladies were very impressed and have actually requested the soup at a later time.

The Tea Tray! On the top tier I served some simple open faced cucumber sandwiches. I cut white bread in small buttered rounds and added a thin slice of cucumber with just a sprinkle of salt. The bottom tier includes two sandwiches, a smoked turkey, Swiss cheese and cranberry spread on sour dough bread and raisin bread strips filled with a mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar and shredded carrots on raisin bread. These were "to die for" and I was just searching for the recipe on Tea Time Magazines website. I think I could eat these sweet treats everyday.

The sandwiches didn't really fill the plate; we had to wait for the next savory to pop out of the oven.

Another Tea Time savory. I have made these stuffed carrots before. Importantly - very inexpensive. I cut the carrots in pieces and used the smaller, narrower parts for my soup. The larger pieces are boiled until tender in the chicken broth. After several attempts to hollow out the centers, I find that letting them cool slightly, then running a straw down the soft center, almost to the bottom, works best. The soft carrot stays in the straw and you can repeat for extra wide carrots. The simple stuffing is (gasp) stove top. Bake on a sheet per Tea-Time's directions. This can also be made the night before and baked in the morning.

We finished with a dessert plate with an individual pumpkin cheesecake and a "Harvest Cake", recipes courtesy of Tea Time Magazine. This was my first time using individual spring form pans. This is the most important part: USE PARCHMENT PAPER under your crust before baking. I had to pry the first three (number of pans I own) out of the pans. They were just as tasty, but not very pretty. No one could resist a small bite, but they packed them to take home. The Harvest Cakes were a challenge. If anyone has tried cake pops, you know what I mean. I would make them days ahead and freeze for at least 24 hours before trying to dip in the chocolate. Adding the chocolate (and I only did one layer) really enlarges the cake. I would try to make them smaller (even thimble-sized) next time.

My special guests were my youngest daughter, my daughter-in-law and my oldest and youngest sons girl friends. They agreed to be my "tea-party Guinea pigs".  I served three different brewed teas and their favorite was Jasmine by Bigelow's Teas. I served a black tea, a green tea and an herbal tea with the courses.

After the tea party I made a resolve to host more tea parties, maybe even monthly! Unfortunately life has been getting in the way right now. Hopefully in the coming year I can open Miss Merry's Tea Room for family and friends in my dining room!

Thank you for visiting!  I am going to try to link to everyone's parties over the weekend.

Please visit Trish for Tea at:http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/2012/01/fruit-frenzy-poppyseed-salad-for-tea.html?showComment=1325565234068#c3354157188024998468

And visit Sandy at the Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea TimeTuesday at: http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com/2012/01/tea-time-tuesday-happy-new-year.html

Susan is always the Hostess with the Mostest at Tablescape Thursday:
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2012/01/elegant-new-years-eve-table-setting.html
P. S.
I am hoping someone can help me. I cannot see my "follower".  It has turned into a blank square :(

And, when I visit your blog - the followers area is blank, too. I can't even click to become your follower! Has anyone else had this problem. If so, could you guide me through the solution? THANK YOU!

Halloween Dinner 2011

2011Directions for re-creating my Halloween Dinner Party with a limited time schedule:

I really enjoy crazy food ideas for Halloween, but especially this year, I seemed to be running behind. We didn't even get the Halloween decorations down from the attic until the 23rd. I usually do a  haunted house with my youth group, but I have semi-retired from Sunday School  (I hope I have retired, but I have trouble saying no . . .), so without that deadline, I think we just let time fly.  I had sent out a family newsletter inviting everyone to come to dinner on the Thursday before Halloween, when our town traditionally holds trick or treat. Well, this year it has been moved to Halloween, Oct 31, the first time I can remember this happening, not withstanding years when Oct 31 falls on a Thursday. So we had a "pre" Halloween dinner.

So, the "make it work" schedule. Leave work at 5 on Wednesday, leave grocery stores at 6, start cooking at 6:30. First I mixed a packaged brownie mix and baked it on a large pizza pan. Subtract 10 minutes from suggested baking time and check with a toothpick (it should come out clean). Let it cool. On Thursday, after I arrived home at 5:20, I put a spoon full of store-bought frosting in a sandwich bag, cut a small hole in a bottom corner (mine was a little too small) and try to draw circle from the middle to the outside.  Then draw the knife through the frosting, from the middle to the edge in pie wedges. If you use more frosting - this will look more like a spider web. You could even decorate with plastic spiders!

Now that I look at the photo - it really doesn't look like a spider web at all. Please check my archives for last  October - I have a better example posted there!

Next I got to work on the chicken. I buy enormous marinated boneless chicken breasts at my butchers. This year I bought (are you ready?) 20 pounds. Yikes. Two Halloween dinner party and more for the freezer. You don't HAVE to cut them into hands :)  - Any way. I usually cut them in half and eyeball where a thumb could be and then cut  in the fingers. Stick them under the broiler until done. I save the extra trim pieces and freeze them for future casseroles.  By the way you are looking at saved broth from Wednesday night. I was re-heating them at 5:30 on Thursday.

New this year: Mummy Meatloaf.  One of the salesman where I work had brought me a magazine for yuppers (those are those from the U. P. in Michigan) last October and the issue showed a mummy meatloaf. I kept the memory and recreated. I actually formed the mummy on a cookie sheet, put a sheet of foil on top, flipped in on the foil and put the foil back on the cookie sheet to bake it. I was thinking it might give it some "air" to help lift it off the foil when I tried to remove it after baking. Whether it helped or not, I don't know - but it came right off the foil!

 I re-heated it on Thursday with a little bit of the reserved broth, covered it with foil while warming.

When hot, I cut some strips for the cloth from slices of mozzarella cheese and stuck it in the oven for a minute or two. When I pulled it out, I saw it would really benefit from eyes. I think green olives would have been great and I will try to think ahead for next year. Or maybe pepperoni with olives? I am re-making this on the 31st for my grand kids; maybe it will turn out better.

 I guess you can see my guacamole spider web on the right. My daughter shared a great guacamole recipe with me: 4 avocados and 4 hard boiled eggs (run through food processor). Throw in one medium onion, 4 teaspoons of lime juice, 2 tablespoons of  Dijon mustard, 3/4 cup mayo and salt and pepper. Process. Optional - red chili pepper to taste.  I cut the whole bigger for the sour cream. This one looks more spider "webbie". My store is charging 1.89 for one avocado - so this dip was $8-$10, excluding chips . . .  I made the dip on Wednesday night, made it into a spiderweb on Thursday 5:50 p.m.

5:35 Thursday, cracked open a package of crescent rolls, wrapped them around the hot dogs and stuck them in the oven. Before:

 After:

 

Wednesday night (are you wondering what time I went to bed on Wednesday night, let me share that I really enjoy the reruns of the black and white Perry Mason episodes at 11:30 p.m.-12:30 p.m. on the MEtv Network). Anyway, Wednesday night I also made deviled eggs. I had planned to turn them into deviled eyeballs, but remembered at work the next morning that I really like the black olive spiders, too. So in between putting pans in and out of my oven (thank heaven for convection ovens) I made the spiders.

Only one guest came in costume - Meet Brutus the Banana! He is my grand dog.

And these are my treats for Halloween!

And here they are in disguise!