I'm working on it...

To the many bloggers who post every day - CHEERS!

Me?  I'm in the middle of a cleaning marathon that ends with Christmas all over the house and cookies in the oven.  Also, I did get an iPhone so I'm somewhere in the learning curve trying to figure out how and when I turned the volume off - sorry about all those missed calls...

Today I am celebrating something big in my life.  It has been one year, one week, and a day since I colored my hair. 

Some day soon I will update my profile picture.

Life is good.  Really and truly one of the best things I've done for myself this past year is not put color on my hair.  It was almost a two year process.  The first year I changed over to temporary (28 day) color and every few months I bought a lighter shade.

Then I just quit coloring my hair and - although I can't figure out what I've done with the extra time and money - I can tell you I feel better.  I know, I know, the commercials will tell you that my life is flat and boring and my hair is wimpy.  But I will tell you I'm smart enough to not be bored and a good hair cut (thank you, Jessica!) can keep just about any body's hair from being wimpy.

Unfortunately, this change has not made me smarter - I had to take several pictures before I figured out I needed to "look up" when I pushed the little button.

Next week I'll work on taking better pictures.

*

Waiting for My Crown...

You know that gas the dentist gives you, before he gives you a shot so you won't feel the really big shot he's going to give you, so he can work on your tooth, so that next week he can yank off the temporary crown he's putting on today, and permanently attached your "crown?"  Well, let me tell you, it has worn off...  the gas is gone.  At this moment I do not feel like laughing.  I think the feeling is coming back to my right ear now...  While I wait for my body to come back online, I can't help but feel out of sorts. 

So I'm just moping this evening.

Of course, when you're not up to working you can not help but notice everything that needs doing. 

Bless my cozy, cluttered kitchen - 

The hutch in the breakfast room has caught as much junk as I can stand.  So when I finish typing I plan to start thinking about dusting and then I'll put on her winter look. 

Sigh.

But not tonight, I've been to the dentist, and tonight, I'm moping.

*

Sweet Potatoes

I know sweet potatoes.  Or maybe they are yams... 

Sweet potatoes (is that darker one a yam?), our half eaten pie,
and small 'crustless' pie.
Just playing with my food.

Whatever this vegetable is, I do know how to make pies with it and this is my favorite recipe.  The recipe makes two 9 inch pies.  I experimented with this batch and I made one of my pies without the crust - would that make it pudding?  or a casserole? 

I could have added to my crustless pie a half cup of Bourbon, 3 more tablespoons of melted butter, 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, and thrown miniature marshmallows on top and it would have been my Aunt Jo's Sweet Potato Casserole (I remember it was a great side dish/dessert at family gatherings - as long as we didn't let it get too close to candles).

I got this recipe from my friend, Freddie.  Sadly, she died just over a year ago.  She had lived a long, full life and was well respected by everyone who knew her.  For me, she lives on in my memories  - her sweet smile, soft southern voice, gentle ways, and even in her pie.

Recipe -  Freddie B's Sweet Potato Pie

Before you can make this pie you'll need to wash, peel, cut up, and boil your sweet potatoes.  I used  three large sweet potatoes in this recipe (and had some left over).  I cut them in to small pieces and put them in a pot, added just enough water to cover them, a dash of salt, and put the lid on.  Put the pot on the stove top with medium heat.  I set my timer for 22 minutes and just let them cook.  I stirred the pot 3 or 4 times.  When the timer went off, I turned off the heat and just left the pot there while I made the pie crust.  Here's a link to my pie crust recipe.  After I made the crust, I drained the sweet potatoes and mashed them.  The recipe mixes up best if the potatoes are almost room temperature.


1 3/4 to 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes (really, this is a very flexible recipe)
1 teaspoon salt
1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring (that was my idea - Freddie's recipe only calls for a teaspoon)

Put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl, keep the mixer on low, mixing until everything is well blended.

Pour 2 2/3 cups of the mixture into each pie shell (I've added a little more and nothing terrible happens - you just have to cook a bit longer).

Place into oven and then turn it on to 425F / 425 degrees.

Bake 20 minutes, maybe a little longer, until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Let cool 20 minutes (minimum) I think an hour or two is best.  Tastes good hot, warm, or cold.

Vanilla ice cream is a nice garnish or a little whipped cream.

This is what Autumn tastes like. 

Enjoy.

*

Happy Halloween, My Pretties!

I love the whole trick or treating thing for the way I get a chance to meet my neighbors.  Here in my little Texas suburb, we're tucked away from the rest of the world.  The children and teens who come through here are local.  My husband and I both dress up... well, he (always!) wears his "Steve Martin" arrow through his head "costume" (the 70's were very good to him) and I try something witchy.  I have enjoyed watching the children grow up and learning what's "hot" in Halloween fashion every year.  Trick or treating ends when we turn off the lights, which happily coincides with running out of candy.

I picked up this cute hat Etsy shopping.  What?  You don't know about Etsy?  I don't know everything there is to know, but I've purchased from four different buyers and they've all been wonderful.  I have "saved" my name JOY & COMFORT just in case I find something I can create and sell... still looking for that little miracle.  Here's my Etsy adventures (no, I'm not being compensated, I was just very impressed with these 'shops').

My first a photo from Robin at INSTANT fine art and photography

My book from Vintage Spoken Here

My hat from ChineseArithmetic

My favorite shop is Diane's Yonks

My next one..... who knows?


*

Bad Spellers of the World Untie

I am not the world's greatest speller trouble is I usually spot other folks mistakes much easier than I see my own.

Why is that?  I don't see my faults, but just let me walk through a shop or read a letter and poor spelling just jumps out at me.

Does anyone else have this problem?

*

Let Them Eat Pie

Finally!  My moon flowers are starting to bloom.  I guess after a long, hot summer maybe plants enjoy a bit of cooler weather, too.  I was out in the dark garden a couple of nights ago and saw this beauty, which I would have missed if sunset had been any later.

It is in the cooler weather that I enjoy cooking things in the oven.  The fragrance of pies, cakes, cookies, stews, roasts, even a simple baked potato (yes, they are better in the oven than the microwave) - the list goes on and on and each in its own way makes the house smell wonderful.

 

When I wrote the post about my apple pie, several folks told me that they just couldn't make pie crust.  All I can tell you is keep trying, really, it's that easy (hopefully you can still eat your mistakes).  But it's one of those cooking lessons that usually works once you get the hang of it.  The recipe I use was given to me long ago and far away, and I have used and trusted and played with it for years.  Many thanks to my Charlotte, North Carolina friend, Bertie, (circa 1979), she was kind to me when I was the new kid in town and for that she will always hold a special place in my memories.

"Easy" Pie Crust:

For a bottom crust (double recipe for top & bottom)

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening (a butter and lard mix works best)
Ice cold water

Sift flour and salt. 

Blend in shortening until there is no loose flour left in bowl. 

Add 3 tablespoons of cold water, mix until water is absorbed.

You may need to add 1 or 2 more tablespoons of water, add each spoonful slowly, mixing well after each. (I usually add 5 tablespoons.) 

Handle the dough as little as possible. 

Place ball of dough on floured surface.  I work with a piece of freezer paper under everything and then roll out the dough on the freezer paper - makes for an easy clean up.

Roll. (Sprinkle flour on your rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking to it.) 

Place in 8 or 9 inch pie pan. 

 

 

 Follow directions with pie recipe on cooking the crust.  Usually with cream pies you cook the crust first, and with all others you cook the crust as the pie cooks.

The pears were bought three days ago, I wanted to make sure they were ripe.  Peeled, sliced, and covered with a three tablespoons of sugar, a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, and a few dashes of ground ginger and cinnamon.  I was going to try fresh ginger but forgot to buy some, so I just went with the powdered spice.  These waited patiently for me in the bowl while I made the crust. 

Before dumping the fruit into the crust I added:

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

(It was about here that I remembered to preheat the oven - so I turned on the oven about 5 minutes before I put the pie in (I'm telling you this so you can see that even if you don't do everything 'perfect' you can still make a pretty good pie).  When I remember, I like to preheat the oven for about 15 minutes.)

I mixed all this up and poured into the pie crust, then I took a heaping tablespoon of butter and dabbed it across the top of all this.

I only made 'one' pie crust, rolled it thin, and then pulled the edges up. Somewhere I've seen this called 'rustic.' I like that. I'm using all the dough and this is an easy finish. 

I sprinkled a little sugar and cinnamon on the top.  Then popped it in the oven - 425F for 40 minutes.  After 40 minutes it was bubbly on top with just a little brown on the edges... Perfect.

I took it out of the oven to cool.  After dinner, Mr. J&C and I each enjoyed a slice with a little vanilla ice cream.

We didn't eat it all.  I have plans to have some with my breakfast coffee.. and maybe with my afternoon tea....


*

Friends and Neighbors

"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."             Ralph Waldo Emerson



Good friends are one of the best things about being human.  Those friends you can talk to once in a blue moon and it's like you've never had a break in the conversation.  Friends who hold you when you cry and don't remind you how bad you look when your eyes are all red and puffy.  Friends who signal you to get the parsley off your front tooth or remind you to check your zipper - they are priceless.  Aren't those friends who gently hand us a breath mint or even a fuzzy cough drop wonderful on days when we don't notice our breath is less than beautiful?

My friend and neighbor, Patti, was kind enough to suggest (in her own sweet, non judgemental way) that I might want to put curtains on my front door.

We (Mr. J&C and I) were so happy to get rid of the double front doors that were here when we moved in.  On cold, windy nights, I could stand in front of those closed front doors and feel the breeze.  We found this Texas Star pattern at Lowes and added the sidelights to fill in the space the second door had occupied. 

The light coming into the house is so wonderful.  Before the change out it was like standing in a closet, once the new door was in, sunlight flooded the room.  The door is on the north side of the house so the extra sunlight adds light but not heat, it is just a thing of beauty. 

Being neighbors, Patti and I enjoy discussing the comings and goings of the neighborhood.  As Jane Austen so cleverly put it, "For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?"  Who knows what the neighbors really get up to, but it is fun to speculate.  Rumor has it there's a sweet little lady with a telescope in her front window and she lives on my street.  Patti pointed out to me that if she had a similar door, she would have curtains.  I can see her point.  If the lights are on anyone and everyone can see into our house.  So, I've been pricing curtain rods and curtains.  I'll put up curtains but I'm going for the lacy ones - I love the light and don't want to get rid of that, I'm just looking for a bit more privacy.

I hope Patti is not suggesting curtains because one day she dropped by and saw more than she planned to see...  But then she's my friend, she can be discreet and I trust that no one else knows what goes on at our house... Then again, maybe it is something that Patti does in her own home that has her worried for me?  Hey! We're old friends, I will keep her secrets. We're also neighbors, so naturally I'm wondering what she's been up to...




*