Well, it's been a long, been a long, been a long time ....

.... since I blogged.  No excuses here.  (I hate those bloggers who tell you all their reasons for not blogging - I just had other things on my mind.)

Anyway, Happy St. Patrick's Day!  DH absolutely loves corned beef, so there is no reason at all that I only make it once per year.  Well, maybe one reason - the kids hated it!  They would tease me unmercifully in hopes that I would forego the annual ritual.  No way.  I was raised by a mom who celebrated every holiday imaginable regardless of ethnicity.  (We were probably the only pseudo-Protestant family who ate fish every Friday, pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and latkes during Hannukah.  Mom's goal was to celebrate every day.)

Over the years, I've gone from the traditional stove-top corned beef, to the crockpot version, to the Dutch oven version, etc., etc., etc.  Here is my tried and true, never fail, would even serve it to company version.  It was a success again tonight with DH.  Enjoy!

OVEN BRAISED CORNED BEEF BRISKET

4 pounds center cut corned beef brisket
1 lemon -- ends trimmed
1 onion -- peeled
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
6 whole cloves
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar

Trim and discard most of the surface fat from brisket. Rinse meat well under cool running water, rubbing gently to release its corning salt. Lay meat, fattiest side up, in a 2-inch deep, 11 by 15 inch roasting pan. Thinly slice lemon and onion and lay slices over meat. Sprinkle with peppercorns, allspice, and cloves. Set pan on middle rack in a 325 degree oven. Pour about 8 cups boiling water around brisket, seal the pan with foil, and bake until meat is very tender when pierced, about 4 hours. Uncover and drain off all but about 1 cup of the liquid. If desired, reserve the lemon and onion slices and rearrange them on top of the meat. In a small bowl, mix the mustard and brown sugar; spread evenly over meat, on top of the onion-lemon mixture. Broil about 8 inches from heat until the mustard mixture begins to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the brisket to a platter. Serve hot, warm, or cold; slice meat across the grain.

The only problem with this recipe in our house is that there aren't enough leftovers.  DH had thirds ... oh, my.

It's a comfort food kinda night ....

I've been wrestling with what I want to say about the events in Tucson.  I've gone from shock, to anger, to reflection, to political commentary, to sadness, and back to anger.  I realize that I'm not yet ready to translate my thoughts and feelings into words.  So tonight, I made "comfort" food for me and my DH.  This is the simplest of recipes, a characteristic that most comfort foods enjoy.  Tonight, I served it with bacon and steamed green beans.  It was perfect!

MACARONI AND CHEESE


2 cups dry macaroni -- cooked and drained
3/4 stick butter
1 pound Velveeta
1 cup whole milk

Cook macaroni as directed. Drain and set aside.  Melt butter in small pan. Add Velveeta and milk and cook until cheese is melted.  Mix into cooked macaroni and serve immediately.
 
Of course, it was also a martini night.

Merry Christmas!

I finally feel human again after fighting this bug for weeks.  Managed to get everything done for Christmas, even a little extra project for my SIL.  Tomorrow, we're off to Ventura County for the long holiday weekend.  Thankfully, our wild Southern California weather has returned to normal after six extremely wet days.  I can't remember ever having rain this intense for such a long period.

We'll have our traditional spaghetti dinner Christmas Eve at our daughter's house with most of the family.  I imagine the two oldest grandchildren will be beside themselves with anticipation and excitement!

Christmas morning, we'll again be at DD's house to exchange gifts and enjoy Flo's Serbian Eggs.  My favorite boss, Sylvia, shared this recipe with me years ago and it has become a family favorite.  We usually serve it with sausage, croissants, and fresh fruit.  For Christmas, there will also be mimosas!

FLO'S SERBIAN EGGS
6 eggs -- beaten
1 pound Jack cheese -- shredded
1 pound cottage cheese
1 cup Biscuit mix
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine -- melted
1 teaspoon dried onions
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix together.  Pour into a buttered 9 x 13 pyrex dish.  Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
My sister is hosting Christmas dinner - roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans - yummy!  There will, of course, be cookies everywhere we go!

Does it sound as though Christmas in our family is all about the food?  Well, food plays a big role but it is really about being together and celebrating this most festive time of year.

My very best wishes to all of you for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Someone brought the flu bug to Thanksgiving dinner!  DH and I have been sick on and off since Turkey Day.  Our son, Matt, also caught the bug as did all five members of our daughter's family.  Now, several in the family have either had relapses or succumbed to another bug.  Fortunately, everyone is muddling through and getting on with Christmas preparations.


Little Helper - Jackson



I had a blast the week before Thanksgiving looking for appropriate designs to put on aprons for the kidlets.  The pictures aren't the greatest, but you can get an idea how they turned out.  Unfortunately, only Talia was interested in donning her apron and actually helping in the kitchen!



Tasha still naps in the afternoon, so a full day of family and festivities without a nap just about did her in.  So much fun, however, watching her explore the house and play with the toys that we keep here - all new to her!  Jackson rushes into the house and immediately heads to the toy box and demands that we empty the entire box so he can dig right in.  Tasha's apron says "More sprinkles, please!"  Couldn't resist this design since our daughter loves to bake, and she often sends me phone pics of the kidlets mixing the dough at the kitchen counter.

More sprinkles, please!



Sugar & Spice - Talia



Thanksgiving is all about traditions, of course, and one of ours is that the kidlets go on a walk with Grandpa collecting colorful fall leaves to adorn the table.  We started this tradition at Talia's first Thanksgiving.  She was all of 9 months old!  Miss T., the elder, is now closing in on 5 and has graduated to working with Grandma to decorate Oma's Thanksgiving table.  Note how seriously she takes her decorating!

Miss T.., the elder, aka Martha Jr.

I'm just about ready to take the turkey carcass out of the freezer and make soup.  Although it's unseasonably warm in Southern California today (supposed to hit 80 degrees), the weather will turn cool and rainy towards the end of the week.  Soup weather .... here's a very good recipe for Turkey Rice Soup.  Enjoy!

TURKEY SOUP WITH RICE

1 turkey carcass
2 stalks celery with leaves -- coarsely chopped
2 carrots -- coarsely chopped
1 onion -- peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
8 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups chopped leftover turkey
1 cup frozen or leftover corn
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, combine carcass, celery, carrots, onion, bay leaf and water and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 2 to 3 hours over medium low heat.  Strain and discard vegetables and bones.  Reserve turkey stock.  In a large pot, melt butter and cook onions until tender. Stir in celery and thyme. Stir in carrots and rice and toss to coat. Stir in turkey stock and bring to a simmer. Cook until vegetables and rice are tender, approximately 30 minutes.  Stir in turkey, corn, and parsley. Return to simmer and season to taste.

A promise is a promise

Here's the final product - the pumpkin pot holder!  I'm glad I did this project because I learned a lot about paper piecing, but I don't think I would do a large project with this process.  My brain just does not work this way.

Today was our quilt club meeting, and it was really fun to see everyone's finished pot holders with the variety of fabrics.  Isn't this part of what makes quilting and sewing so enjoyable?  One project, one layout, one pattern can have multiple results depending on individual choices.   A little like life itself, I suppose!

I hoped to have time to start on my next project (isn't there always a next project in the sewing/quilting world?) today, but Thanksgiving prep got in the way.  I managed to get the turkey washed, dried and coated with a glorious mixture of salt, fresh ground pepper, and sage, and the stock for the gravy made and Swiss cheese shredded for the corn casserole.  Also washed (and hand dried - am I nuts?) all of my crystal (service for 8 - white wine, red wine, water goblets, and champagne).  Tomorrow, Doug picks up the rental tables; then we iron the tablecloths and set the tables.  Also on the agenda is making the yam casserole.  I know all of the food should be freshly prepared, but I have to give in to age at some point, right?

A few years ago, I thought that the Thanksgiving menu was getting a little stale so I added a new vegetable recipe - Swiss Corn Bake.  My son-in-law went crazy over this recipe!  If you're looking for something new and different (and pretty easy) to add to your Thanksgiving table, give this a try:

Swiss Corn Bake (serves 8)

16 ounces frozen corn, cooked and drained

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups Swiss cheese, shredded

2 5-oz cans evaporated milk

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash pepper

3/4 cup soft whole-wheat bread crumbs

2 tablespoons margarine, melted

Cook corn according to package directions; drain.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, 1 cup of the cheese, evaporated milk, onion salt, and papper.  Stir in cooked corn.  Turn mixture into an 8-inch round baking dish or a 9-inch quiche dish.  Place dish on a baking sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Toss bread crumbs with remaining cheese and margarine; sprinkle over the corn mixture.  Bake 5 to 10 minutes more until golden and bubbly.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

If you decide to make this, let me know if your family likes it!

Hot, Hot, Hot

We're in the middle of an extended heat wave. Yuck! At 2:45 p.m. it is about 103 degrees - definitely stay-in-the-house weather. We had a nice visit with our friends George & Merle and their two dogs. They left about an hour ago to drive back to Thousand Oaks. It was fun to have dogs in the house again.

Dinner turned out well last night. Here's a super easy dessert recipe for a hot summer night:

Creamy Coconut Pie
3 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups coconut
3 ounces Cool Whip
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Beat cream cheese until softened. Beat in sugar. Gradually add milk and beat until smooth. Fold in coconut, whipped topping and extract. Spoon into crust. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before cutting.

Off to vacuum the floors a bit since the dogs dragged in stuff from the backyard. Then, back to sewing! I'm going to make napkins to match the placemats that I embroidered a month ago. Hopefully, I can find the embroidery design that I used. I need to get better organized with my designs.

Off to Twin Lakes!

Doug and I spent all day getting ready for our annual trip to Twin Lakes in the Sierras. Friends of ours from Thousand Oaks rent a house every year and invite us to tag along for a few days. Our son, Matt, has been going on this annual fishing expedition for quite some time. We'll be visiting with Polly & John, their son, Jeff, as well as Matt. Maybe others! One never knows just who will show up at the cabin.

I'm expected to bring beef stroganoff for one of our dinners and Aunt Glo's Best Brownies. This is a recipe from the book Country Baking which is a rich, gooey brownie - yummy! I think Jeff's girlfriend, Rebecca, ate half the pan last year. The best thing about this recipe is that you just throw everything in one bowl and mix away - no sifting, no blending, no beating. Simple, simple, simple.

Aunt Glo's Best Brownies

1 c. margarine

2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. cocoa

2 t. vanilla

4 eggs

1 c. chocolate chips

powdered sugar, optional

Melt margarine in a large bowl in the microwave. Blend in all other ingredients. Bake at 350 in a greased and floured 13 x 9 pan for 25 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar while still warm if desired.

Later in the week, we'll be driving through Yosemite on our way to a B&B in Three Rivers. We'll stay three nights while we explore Kings Canyon and Sierra National Parks. We haven't been to either one in quite some time. This part of California is exquisitely beautiful and well worth a return visit.

Happy 4th of July!

I love the 4th of July. It always seems to be a lazy holiday, but one that can make me very nostalgic. By this time in the summer, the heat was really on in New Jersey where I grew up. There was usually a picnic somewhere in the neighborhood - the usual hot dogs, hamburgers, and various homemade salads. I can still see my mom in her apron making something wonderful and putting it into a pyrex bowl to take down the street to someone's backyard. Yummmm ....

I wish every American would reread the Declaration of Independence today. It's a pretty amazing document. If you do nothing else today, consider yourself very lucky to be an American. This is about the only day that I permit myself to be a flag waver! On most other days, my 60s liberalism takes over.

Doug is washing the car. My morning task is to make Merle's fabulous bean dip for our barbecue this afternoon. Then it's back to working on Tasha's little red romper. I'm at the point where I have to gather the bottom and sew to the bodice. I hate gathering! I'm going to publish a picture of it when finished. At least, I'm going to try to put a picture on this blog.

Merle's Black Bean Dip

2 cups canned black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup red pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 teaspoon jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1/3 cup red wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients and chill. Drain before serving. Serve with tortilla chips; also good as a side dish for grilled meats.