Happy December!

So... it's December! Happy December and this month is filled with the joy of holiday celebrations. Mr. K and I will open the first window of our advent calendar. Like last year's, this one is filled with little chocolates and little pictures. I get so much pleasure from this little ritual.

Our Advent calendar from Heidel.

And the back.

Major cleaning and rearranging today followed by decorating which I have down to a science and doesn't take that long anymore. A pleasurable way to spend the first day of December!

Oh, and a few little goodies recently acquired from eBay, one of which is a covered casserole to add to my Currier & Ives collection. I must have place settings for at least 25 or thirty, various platters, serving dishes, pie plates, and even glasses, but I did not have this. Why you may ask? I saw one in a little shop in Georgia, but the woman wanted $110.00 for it. That particular casserole wasn't even in very nice condition. I passed on it as it was out of my budget. However, this one is beautiful, clean, and was WAY lower in price. I am very pleased!

Currier & Ives covered casserole in mint condition.

And for my button collection, sweet little strawberries and flowers, all on their original cards. I like

collecting the buttons on the cards if I can, but won't pass up one that delights me.

So those are the goodies. Now... cleaning, decorating, and deciding which cookies will make the gift list for this year. I'm limiting it to three or four kinds, one of which will be my shortbread, and another will be Ricotta cookies. Decisions, decision. 

Also on the agenda, a nice flank steak for tonight's dinner and a pot of Pasta Fagioli (Pasta Fazool, as I knew it growing up) for tomorrow and the next night, and perhaps the next. No hardship, eating that!

Deliciously yours,

Mrs. K 

Remembering Thanksgiving

When I was a child, Thanksgiving was a very exciting time. Most years, family joined us for dinner, but sometimes, it was just the immediate family, my parents and us kids. My dad always cooked breakfast for us on Sundays and holidays, pancakes! He made great pancakes and we ate piles, literally. He would just keep cooking until he could see we were full, then he'd sit down and have his breakfast.

There was one thing my dad, who's gone now three years as of October, did for us on Thanksgiving when we were kids, that I always remember with such sweetness. We'd come to the breakfast table, waiting for those pancakes, and there was a little gift at each of our places; just small things, a little mini tea set, a little girl's make-up kit - not really make-up, but the play stuff. My brother would find Match Box cars, little tools, those sorts of little toys and goodies one found in the Five and Ten, or in our case, the Hopewell Pharmacy. We could never wait to see what he got us. Small things, big memories.

Yesterday, as I am just getting over a stomach virus from hell, I made a pot of homemade chicken soup. I had a large pack of chicken thighs in the freezer, so I used those. I cooked the chicken with some onions, garlic, celery with leaves, and a couple of carrot. When the meat was cooked, I removed it, but threw the bones and skin back into the pot, cooking another couple of hours. I then strained the broth and put it back into the pot. Along with more fresh onion, lots of garlic - all told, about 8 cloves, carrots, and celery, I threw in a leftover half bag of frozen spinach, some barley, about a third box leftover ditilini macaroni, and finally, some cheese tortellini. That is the best chicken soup I have ever had, and I consider myself a connoisseur. Love chicken soup.

Wasn't sure how Mr. K. would react to such a mixed pot, but he ate three bowls and told me I better make it again just that way. He said I could always add matzoh balls too! As I've mentioned before, we mix it up in our home and it's all good.

Tomorrow we are off to Mr. K's cousin's club, as we have been doing for the past few years, joining relatives and friends. They put on an incredible spread, so it will be a wonderful meal. For leftovers, I've got that pot of soup in the fridge, but who knows, maybe Sunday, as I stir up my Christmas pudding, I'll make a little turkey dinner just for the two of us. As for the pudding, I'll share the adventure of the first one I made later in the week.

Deliciously yours,
Mrs. K.  

Catching Up & Brussels Sprouts

Good grief, I haven't even said Happy October, so first... Happy October!!! This is a favorite month as I love autumn and Halloween. I have been busy finishing up my fruit butters, making pomanders, giving my home a good cleaning, and decorating for the season. Busy, busy.

We are not visiting North Carolina this month and I am so disappointed! It just can't be done, so onward and forward. I look forward to getting away into some real autumn weather every year and I feel rather sad, sort of a deep ache and longing. Oh well, I'll survive. Surely no one ever died from not being able to make their autumn pilgrimage.

I have been consoling myself with plenty of tea, stitching gifts for the holidays - I am even weaving a little bookmark for a friend - and browsing through favorite books. One favorite is Sara Midda's "In And Out of the Garden." No matter how many times I look through this beautiful book, I never tire of Sara's charming and whimsical illustrations. It is filled with old garden lore, recipes, quotes, and other wonderful things, including poetry.

Within this book I found a very sweet little poem about brussels sprouts that I just adore; I am known for reciting it whenever the urge strikes! For many years I didn't like these little cabbage-like vegetables, in fact I didn't like cabbage much, nor onions. Now however, I love all three. Brussels sprouts still require special treatment in order for me to enjoy them though and, over the years, I have found the perfect way to cook them so they are just right for me.

First, I choose baby sprouts if they are available. Second, I toss them with plenty of butter, Celtic salt, and maple syrup. Yep... maple syrup. Brown sugar or honey works well too; that bit of added sweetness just does something to enhance the flavor, but the maple syrup, that makes them extra special. Most important, I roast them at about 350 degrees until they are tender. I don't like my veggies barely cooked, I prefer them well cooked and, according to Bee at Healing Naturally By Bee, it is best for one's digestion. All I know is that MY digestion is happiest with well-cooked vegetables.

Back to sprouts... I make sure I keep an eye on the sprouts, stirring them often, and watching so they don't get charred. I don't like charred veggies. Sometimes, I toss in a couple of apples or pears, which is quite delicious, or even a sliced Vidalia onion. If I use apples, I might even add a splash of Calvados or apple cider, very good indeed! One thing is for sure, after roasting, more butter is added, seasoning adjusted, and none are left! Mr. K. is quite fond of brussels spouts.

Do you like brussels sprouts? How do you cook them? Love to hear how you prefer yours... or not. I shall leave you with the brussels sprouts poem from Sara's book.

Sprouts for dinner, 

Sprouts for tea,

Sprouts for you

and sprouts for me.

Sprouts at Christmas,

Sprouts at Fall.

Whether large

- or whether small,

Sprouts enough to fill us all!

I say, hurray for brussels sprouts!

Deliciously yours,

Mrs. K.

Do you like

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all! I am planning a lovely little dinner for the DH and myself which will include chocolate wine! Yes... chocolate wine. I had some at a friend's home and it was so delicious, I think it will be perfect for tonight. More chocolate for dessert - DH has a real sweet tooth.

I am marinating a flank steak in wine - not the chocolate stuff - olive oil, onion and garlic, and a little salt. That will tenderize it nicely. Along with the steak, roasted potatoes which I toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and then dot with butter - the butter just gives it the right finishing yummy touch. Of course, we must have a green, so spinach sauteed with garlic and butter. Oooh - I can't wait. Personally, I think garlic is an aphrodisiac.

Dessert - brownies with a little scoop of coffee ice cream on top and a dollop of whipped cream to go along with the chocolate wine.

What about the rest of you - making anything special for your Valentine's dinner or are you going out?

Deliciously yours,
Mrs. K

Apple Butter and.... Pork!

Yes, that's an avocado green stove in my kitchen - the dang thing won't die! It must be as old as the apartment - almost forty years, the original stove my in-laws had. It is still going strong. But, that is neither here nor there, just thought I'd mention it. I'm retro, but Victorian retro! Someday I'll have the stove of my dreams. Really, I can't complain about this one, it works so well.

The real point of this post, now that I've stopped yammering on about the avocado green stove, is what I did last night for supper with some of this apple butter pictured above! I smeared it all over two pork tenderloins - yummy! Let me tell you how I do my pork tenderloin which always roasts up fabulously.

I buy the package with two tenderloins, remove from package, rinse and pat dry. I then place them in a ceramic dish - old fashioned refrigerator dish with a lid . I measure out, into another bowl, about three cups of apple cider or juice, add a tablespoon of allspice berries, a teaspoon of whole cloves, two teaspoons of cinnamon, half an onion, coarsely chopped, 3 garlic cloves, smashed and cut into four pieces, 2 teaspoons of Celtic sea salt (much healthier and lots of minerals), 2 teaspoons dried thyme and some freshly ground peppercorns. I give this a little mix then pour over the pork tenderloins, lifting each tenderloin so the marinade gets underneath. This marinade should come up to at least halfway on the tenderloins; if not, add a little more apple cider. You could even add some wine, which I have done - used Marsala wine - delish! Pop the dish into the fridge, turning the tenderloins over later in the day. I usually marinate about eight hours, flipping them after four. There's no set time, leave them overnight if you like.

When I am ready to cook, I heat some unrefined, organic coconut oil in a saute pan large enough to accommodate one tenderloin. I brown and sear each side of the tenderloin; watch carefully because the marinade draining from the meat will caramelize and can burn. When the meat is browned nicely, I place each in a roasting dish which has been coated with some coconut oil - no, you don't taste any coconut. I spread about half a cup of the apple butter on the top and sides of each tenderloin, then surround with a pile of little new potatoes. I season the potatoes with Celtic salt and dot with plenty of good, organic butter. I roast in a preheated 425 degree oven until my meat thermometer reaches 155 - 160 degrees. I let the meat rest a good fifteen minutes before slicing. I served the pork and potatoes with buttered broccoli. The tenderloin was juicy and sweet. The potatoes picked up the sweet apple spice flavor from the meat. Happy Mr. K, happy Mrs. K!

A note about ingredients: I use unrefined, organic coconut oil to fry and saute as well as greasing pans. I use it in baking also. It never leaves a coconut taste and it is incredibly healthy - read the The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife and/or Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. I also use plenty of organic, pastured butter - also very healthy. These are good, natural and wholesome nourishing fats which we all need; what we don't need are the processed and rancid vegetable oils sold in grocery stores. Salt - I only use real, course Celtic Sea Salt - the gray stuff that comes slightly damp. This is a mineral-rich, nourishing salt. The apple cider and juice I use is always organic. I try to use organic veggies and fruits as much as I can find and afford. The honeycrisp apples in my apple butter are organic, the sugar is not, it was just too expensive. I don't fret about it, I use the best I can.

So... tonight - leftovers!