This is the coldest weather we've had since the demise of the furnace.  It has become hard to keep warm, unless one hugs the stove.  The laundry room and the work room are running about 50 degrees, which seems very cool to my shoeless feet. heavy socks not-withstanding.  Even the kitchen is chilly.  It is true we are currently burning the scrap wood and saving the dry oak for later, but it is also true that we will start the last truck-load of wood sometime this week.  I certainly hope our wood man will be able to get out and chop some more wood for us!
     Friday we drove to Plainfield to shop at Gilly's Antiques.  I found a treasure trove of miniatures for Mary Lincoln:  A lovely glass-walled what-not.
Here is the tea set on top:

And then with the carved box on top, which do you like best?

And finally with the tiny glass doors closed.  Look carefully to see the tiny latch.  I'm thinking the tiny Noritaki oval dish should have a little rack to make it easier to see.

Then I found some items in a larger size that I think would make a scene from Laura Ingalls Wilder's "The Long Winter"  :

 See the coffee grinder, in which they ground the wheat all winter?  The kerosene lamp which ran out of kerosene?  The tiny clothespins with which Ma hung out the laundry to freeze dry?  There's a coffee pot, a tea pot and a baking tin, even a sifter.  However these are not the same size as doll house items.  They will require made-to-order dolls.  And a much taller room.  I suspect it will take me nearly a year to get it all together.  It would be fun to have for next Christmas.

     Last week, after the monthly shopping trip, Chicken breasts went on sale for .88 cents a pound.  So, though I am not yet completely out of chicken, I had to go and buy some.  There was a limit of two packages and each package was about 5 pounds so I boned 10 breasts and made 11 packets of white meat.  We had some fresh, cooked in wine and mushrooms for Sunday night dinner.  The pot of broth I made from the carcasses is stored in the garage until I get all the bones out and boil it down just a little more.  I notice that now one can buy little thin plastic bags to wrap individual pieces in but I just wrapped them in waxed paper, like I have always done.

  Five just fit in a one gallon resealable bag.  Now the little freezer is quite full.  Something that always makes me feel rich.
     Last week I got the idea to bake the tortillas in mixing bowls so we could have a sort of fajita salad.  I sprayed the bowls with Pam and baked them for about 12 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  We loved this variation and have already had it again!

Fajita salad in tortilla bowl with beans and rice on the side.  Covered with cheese, sour cream and salsa.  And French Dressing too.

     We have spent this day watching the Inauguration, tissues at hand because we were tearing up from time to time.  I am still waiting to see the gown Michelle has picked to wear to the dances tonight.  

After Christmas

I've studied a lot of books on English life-style, from housekeeping to fashions to needlework and read lots of English Village Mysteries.  I do enjoy the English way of life.  And I'm looking forward to tonight's Downton Abby.  But I've been thinking ......how much of our lifestyle here in the states reflects English antecedents?  Aren't we, the "melting pot" strongly influenced by English customs?  Clothing, well, though we are always buying "new", there is really nothing much new: suits, ties and shirts, sweaters, even overalls and work shirts haven't changed much in hundreds of years.  Women wearing pants may be considered new but  jodhpurs have been worn for horse-riding by women for a long while.   And then we have the manicured lawns like English Estates.  The large houses with lots of room for entertaining, though most people don't entertain much anymore.  It is frequently mentioned in ads for new houses  We like to see ourselves as the "getters" rather than the servers in life, at all economic levels.  In fact, isn't entitlement rampant today in our society?  I would love to hear your arguments.
     On Christmas, I got out the one tablecloth we only use once a year, because it sports bells on the crocheted lace around the edges.  Here is our Candle-lit Christmas scene.  There's a glimmer on top of the little tree too but I assure you it's just a reflection!

 In the center of the table I placed another crocheted doily.

Because I always like to have biscuits on my table!

     Since the holidays, Bill and I have been very busy on our many projects.  Bill has been working at a job repairing six locks for a large piece of furniture being restored by Tim Puro.  I have found him at all hours, sitting on the floor near some outlet, happily grinding something metal.  Now they are all working beautifully.

 
 And between us, we redesigned Miss Hickory's room.  Now it has windows with lace curtains!  I've added things and subtracted things.  My head is taken up with the tasks she must be prepared to do.  Bill has ordered her a dish pan!  Note the new flooring.

 Since she is an ongoing project, more photos of her later.

Cliff Hanger

     I've been thinking all along, "Why would the Congress or the President want to lower our taxes?  Or reduce spending? Isn't the whole point to grease the government with some fresh cash?  Why would they care if the ones who pay the taxes are the poor?  Governments have always lived off the backs of the poor."  But I wanted to believe that somebody was going to look out for the poor guys, the 99%, in other words, us.  Now it seems that is just a myth, a fairy tale.  We'll see . . . .

     Christmas this year has been a bit hard for me.  Last child has gone, you know.  I have had to relinquish a lot of traditions.  I did get into some lovely holiday cooking though.  I felt inspired to whip up some low carbohydrate goodies.
    
     For Thanksgiving we had a large baking chicken with dressing and lovely gravy.  I tried  to eat only token portions of dressing and potatoes.  There were fresh green beans.  We had sparkling pear juice with our dinner.  And ate by the light of the oil lamp.

Other yummy treats were Fajitas with baked chips of cut up tortillas and mashed avocados and sour cream.  Then sliced spiced chicken, cheese and bacon club sandwiches with Clam chowder.

 Then on Thursday we had "Little bits and pieces", meatballs simmered in mushroom soup, skewers of cherry tomatoes, cheese and cocktail onions. . .
 and nut and raisin bon bons.  Note my Brother Larry's hand-made card as decoration on the table.

 This was a new menu and it was so successful we are planning to have it again tomorrow night.  Christmas night we're going Mexican!
      One of the last things Eliyah and I cooked before his Christmas vacation started was Tuscan Bean Stew. White beans cooked in the crockpot with tomato bits, lots of garlic, some carrots and celery, smoked sea salt and at the end, half a pound of  thin sliced peperoni.  That was yummy indeed!
     Now I must go in the kitchen and bake a pineapple pie for Bill.  And a few Mincemeat tarts for me!

Black Friday

     "Why is it called Black Friday?"  my husband asked.  "Is it that miserable?"  He was contemplating buying frenzies at Big Box stores.  He only likes Antique Malls.  There he is an indefatigable shopper.  
     "No," I replied, "It's about being in the black, financially."  And I thought about what I had said.  The stores would be in the black, making a profit, but what about us, the buyers?  Would we be in the black?
     According to the early morning National news (3:30 am) credit card debt is up and so are defaults on credit card payments.  So no, we wouldn't necessarily be in the black.  More likely in the red, trying to right the economy on borrowed money.  Then I saw an item on the computer, spam most likely, saying "boycott shopping on Black Friday. Instead, make it a no-buy day."  And I thought, "That would keep us in the black!"  I really like the idea.  It fits right in with my buying diet.  Not that I'm so good at it.  We went to the Southport Antique Mall last week.  I didn't spend much but I did buy.  Not new stuff but that doesn't really get me off the hook does it?

Character Doll, Old woman with glass eyes.

The Basket Seller

     I can't make out why the old Woman is dressed in a pinafore like a little girl.  Of course, she is naked at the moment and I have done major surgery on her, giving her elbows, knees and wrists, so that she can be posed.  I've been to Joanne's and gotten snippets of purple and red to make her a dress and hat.  The basket lady's face is faded but I don't intend to strip her down.  Maybe a little judicious face painting is in her future.  What fun!

     

     As I mentioned previously, we are back on the once a month grocery shopping schedule.  Last month I bragged that we had saved $50 doing that but now I have to report that I spent that money on sale meat and things we ran out of, such as butter, white bread and soft drinks for my Husband.  This month I spent over the allotment but after all it is Thanksgiving.  And Christmas is coming up.  The little house is full of food and goodies.  One of the things I did was to buy bones and make beef broth.  I saw it done on the Victorian cooking videos I saw on youtube.

     It wasn't a short task, in fact it took two days to finish.  The meat and vegetables were first roasted in the oven, then cooked all day, cooled and skimmed, then, the next day reduced a bit.  I got 4 pints of pretty but rather carrot flavored beef broth.  For what I spent, I could have bought the most expensive bouillon available!

  

The recipe recommended throwing the meat and vegetables away but I couldn't bring myself to do that, but minced up the meat and using some of the broth made an excellent Strogonoff for Sunday dinner.  On Monday I had not planned anything nor taken something out of the freezer so I hurried to make some tomato soup (tomato sauce, canned milk, some tomato paste, dill weed) and grilled some cheese sandwiches.  I felt guilty about it just until Bill sat down and rubbed his hands and said "Oh, good, one of my favorite meals."

     Eliyah and I went to May's greenhouse to look for miniature plants and found many to choose from.  They didn't cost much either.  So we chose miniature palms, frittaria and a small fern.  Here are the terrariums we made"

       We are cooking at home alone for Thanksgiving.  A difficult choice but we plan to eat out for Christmas.  We did the same thing for our Birthday and Anniversary, ate out on one and at home the other.  After all, I make good feasts.  In fact, Bill insists that my food is better than any restaurant's, although he loves to eat out.  My menu is entirely predictable, though I won't be eating the mashed potatoes, I'll have a dab of sweet potato plain.  Also only a dab of stuffing.  No cranberry sauce but I'll be making a cheesecake out of Victoria Magazine with a glaze of cranberry juice  thickened with geletin and using sweetner rather than sugar.  So carbs but not unlimited carbs.  Now that I limit carbs, I find not much need for sugar, it's far too expensive in carbohydrates!  That surprised me but I confess that there are many proteins that I actually like better than sweets.  This week I made Pate' or chopped liver, if you will.  Flavored with sour cream, dill and spring onions, it is a delicious snack.
     I am reading a book, "Disaster" about the history of Earthquakes, floods, plagues and etc. 
I have to say, it is making me very thankful this week.  My petty complaints don't mean much beside catastrophes which do away with 90% of the population!  Nothing like being put in one's place.  A very Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

The Birthday Week

     It's not just the Birthday Week, it's also the Anniversary Week, the part of the year we celebrate most seriously  We were married 11 years ago just a week before our Birthdays.  This year we had a lovely week indeed.  On our Anniversary we ate a nice Stir-fry at home after spending the day out shopping, reading at our favorite Non-lending Library, Barnes and Noble, and having a quick lunch at McDonald's.  On our Birthday we opened presents at breakfast.  Then we had a quiet day reading and went out to Outback for a festive dinner.  There were lots of calls and e-mails and Happy Birthdays on Facebook.  I wore all black with Mother's jade necklace shining on my neck.  Even on Sunday we went to a party, a Christmas event at Elegant Options Antiques.  They were swamped with people, eating their elegant snacks and standing in line to buy Christmas ornaments and presents.  We chatted with friends and acquantances.  Not too early for a Christmas event evidently!
 

 Here are some of the gifts I received.  The little jewel box is reminiscent of Laura's box and I was overcome to get it.  Note the tiny book for Abe Lincoln.  I loved the lazer cut card from Bill and the preying mantis one.  Another favorite is below:

 From my Daughter in Seattle and her Husband.  Who wouldn't want to be addressed as Super-Mom?

Here is how the book looks on Abe's desk.  It is beautifully bound.

You remember how I longed for a fan for Mary.  We found this one at Oolitic Antique Mall.  It was a charm from a necklace.  Bill cut off the little loop.    On Monday we were quite unready to resume normal duties.  But on Tuesday I mopped the floors and straightened up for Eliyah's usual visit.
     We read the last Chapter of The Long Winter on our Birthday.  And neither of us could resist a few tears:

"The table looks some different from what it did a few days ago" Pa said as he heaped Mrs. Boast's plate with turkey and stuffing and potatoes and a large spoonful of cranberries.  And as he went on filling the plates he added, "It has been a long winter."
     "And a hard one," said Mr. Boast.
     "It is a wonder how we all kept well and came through it," Mrs. Boast said.
     While Mr. and Mrs. Boast told how they had worked and contrived through that long winter, all alone in the blizzard-bound shanty on their claim, Ma poured the coffee and Pa's tea.  She passed the bread and the butter and the gravy and reminded Pa to refill the plates.
From "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Putting up food for the Winter

"They were all dressed and washed when Pa came in with the milk half frozen in the pail.
     After he had got his breath and melted the frost and snow from his mustaches, he said, "Well, the hard winter's begun"
     Why, Charles," Ma said, "It isn't like you to worry about winter weather."
     "I'm not worrying," Pa replied, "But it's going to be a hard winter."
From "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

     It's turned warm now, for a week or two but I'm still expecting another load of wood any day now.  It's better to be prepared . . .  Perhaps this is "Indian Summer".

     Last week I bragged about saving $50 on this month's groceries.  Then the next week's grocery store flyers came out.  What's this, chicken breasts for .77  a pound!  And pork roast for $1.78 a pound!  I did read a prediction that meat would go down before it went up, the supposition being that farmers would first butcher a little early rather than buy the more expensive feed this fall.  Later the price will go up to pay for the feed.  So I bit and spent another $25.  Then I went home and boned 15 chicken breasts and froze them, and with what we already had that's 25, count 'em 25 approximately 1 pound chicken breasts in the freezer.  As well as 4 pints of chicken broth with chicken bits in, ready to make soup.  That is kind of a big production, and one needs to plan to take off the trash afterwards before it begins to stink!

See the pile of bones and skin on the left?

Note the wax paper instead of lids.  That way the jars won't break when the broth freezes.  After it's frozen, you may replace the paper with lids, providing that the jar wasn't over-filled and conseqently bulging from the top!  If you're going to use them soon, the waxed paper will do fine.  Because I poured rather than ladled, most of the fat is in one jar, but that's all right, I'll use that one to make a cream soup or sauce, adding the flour shaken in a jar with some liquid, broth, milk or water, depending on what I'm making, instead of mixing it with butter to make a roux.  I boiled this broth down to make it flavorful and rich.  I added celery leaves and smoked salt and freshly ground pepper for flavor.  As a diabetic, noodles are not such a desirable addition but I was thinking of beaten egg to make those thin shreds such as in some Greek soups.
While I was at the store, I looked at .17 a pound potatoes.  Two decades ago I liked to buy potatoes for .20 a pound, in 50-pound bags.  So I looked at these sale potatoes.  But they were spotty and shriveled.  Last years potatoes, the last stored ones before the new crop comes in.  I'll wait.  I may pay more but I will have fresh potatoes, thank you very much!


     My daughter in Seattle is missing the mid-west autumn.  We've already had three frosts and windy days and rain so we're a little past the peak but here is a picture of our back yard.  I do love the fall!

I've had requests for the Beef and Barley stew from last week.  It's very simple:
1 # stew beef or chuck, cubed
1 medium onion, minced
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 can minced tomatoes
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t smoked salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup whole barley.  I had to buy Bob's Red Mill this time and it wasn't precooked like Quaker, but it was lovely after cooking all afternoon in the crockpot.
1/2 package of mushrooms, about
About 2 quarts of water, home-made stock or boullion.
I don't brown the meat.  I just put everything in the crockpot and turn it on.  Wait, I don't put the mushrooms in until an hour before we eat.  I did this at 10 am and by 6 pm it was delicious.  We ate it with rye toast and butter on the side.   
I have been watching Victorian Cooking on youtube and they recommend browning shin bones in the oven and then simmering them in water with unpeeled onions and carrots, salt and pepper, all day for a lovely broth.  And I will try that just as soon as shin bones go on sale, but a quality boullion is quite acceptable to my way of thinking. 
   

A Windy Day

     "Now Laura," Ma said kindly, "You must not be so easily discouraged.  A few blizzards more or less can make no great difference."
                         "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder


     On Wednesday we went to the stores and bought 5 weeks worth of groceries.  That includes the Butcher store, the Health food store and two grocery stores.  It took us about 2 1/2 hours.

At the Health food store, I bought bulk molasses and maple syrup, Tibetian Pink rock salt and Applewood smoked salt, chili powder and decafe Earl Grey Tea, and a dozen lovely red peppers on sale for .33 apiece.  These define the tastes of this month's cooking, to some extent.  The peppers are frozen, nearly a gallon of them for fajitas, salads and omeletes, Eliyah will make pancakes after school to eat with maple syrup, and the salts, well, nothing tastes better for me than scrambled eggs with smoked salt and ground pepper for breakfast!  The total was $24.80 and constitutes my quarterly trip to the Health food store.  Counting that and the others, my total for 5 weeks was $300.75.  We saved $50.  Of course, as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.  If we find ourselves jaunting to the store in less than a month to get some goodie we're out of, well, that would be a failure of the budget, wouldn't it?
My menus for this week include Pasta, which will make three meals,  Beef stew with barley and mushrooms, Pork tenderloin sandwiches and Clam chowder with toasted cheese sandwiches.  We bought plenty of ice cream, fruit and chocolate for desserts.

This week I made Rye bread for a change, using the molasses and some cocoa powder to impart some color and flavor.  I rolled the loaves in chopped sunflower seeds too.  It is yummy.  

Today is a very windy day.  The air is like, buoyant, as I noticed when I went out to rescue two t-shirts left out to bleach in the sun.  So I left the garage door up and the door into the house open, to bring in that leafy air.  When I went out to get something in the garage, I found a wren trembling on the work table.  She was so afraid of me she wouldn't shoo out, she just couldn't move with fear.  I put up the second door and left her alone and now she has gone.  It is so windy, the garage must have seemed like calm from the storm.   

Eliyah made breakfast Pizzas Thursday, biscuit dough with eggs, cheese, bacon and a slice of tomato.  They were very good and he has written down the recipe for his box.  We used lard in the biscuit dough, which gives it a special flavor.

 Some have mushrooms on them.

My sole decoration for Halloween is the witch in our kitchen, brought all the way from Yugoslavia.

I have been making lists at the dining room table by lamplight, even though it's the middle of the day.  I find it makes the lists go better, and now I think I'll add a cup of Earl Grey tea too.