Kombucha

I periodically make kombucha for our refreshment in hot weather; it's been close to 90 here for a few days, so I put on a jar to ferment. Kombucha is fermented black tea and I like it because it's fizzy; my husband likes it because it's a balanced blend of sour and sweet; my kids like it because it's sweet - Ben calls it "soda."

It looks like a bad science experiment sitting on the counter as it ferments, but my husband took a beautiful picture of it because he wanted me to put it on my blog. Here 'tis.



The thing floating in the tea is the starter culture, usually called a "mushroom." Kombucha is apparently an ancient beverage of Russia and Asia and also purportedly full of healthy bacteria like yogurt. Maybe, maybe not, but my family loves something refreshing when the heat gets going. The way my mint is coming up, it won't be long before we have mint tea too.

Daffodil Dishcloth, and Making a Knitting Convert

A new dishcloth finished. I don't usually like purple, but this deep bluey-purple is going to appear in a whole series of dishcloths by some weird law of my attraction.



And Genevieve is always asking if she can "knit" and I usually gave her a crochet hook and a tangle of yarn. Now she has real knitting needles and pink yarn (thanks to Granny Rebecca); the colorway is "cotton candy" which shows how well Rebecca knows dear Evie.



So Evie and I sat on the sofa recently to see if we could teach her to knit. Nope. I cast on a few stitches and then tried to guide her fingers in a garter stitch. I'm going to try again, this time seeking advice from you all or a library book.

Marilou's Favorite Oatmeal Cookies

Last year, Ron, one of my pastors, made us some oatmeal cookies. They were amazing and I immediately asked for the recipe. He told me they are his wife Marilou's favorite cookies and he doesn't junk them up (put nuts or raisins in them).

I made them a few times before I realized what the difference is that I like so much: the flavorings are only salt and vanilla, no spices. I do like cinnamon and such, but oatmeal cookies without it taste buttery and nutty. Try making your favorite oatmeal cookie without the cinnamon - just add salt and some vanilla. Unlike Ron, I do regularly "junk them up" with raisins and nuts.



Most recently, I took a batch with walnuts in them to Easter dinner to go with a big fresh fruit salad. Now the rest are in my cookie jar. Between children's snacks and my husband, they'll be gone soon.

UPDATED with recipe

Marilou's Favorite Oatmeal Cookies
Cream together:
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
scant 1/2 c. white sugar
2 eggs

Mix in:
3 generous cups quick oats

Mix in:
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix in:
1 c. WW pastry flour
1/2 c. white flour (or use all white flour here)
3/4 c. junk, like raisins and/or nuts

Make small balls on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 11 minutes.

Signs of Easter

Spring flowers. . .


"He is risen!"
"He is risen indeed!"



Genevieve's Easter hat on Uncle Graham's head. . .


Sweet Easter baskets from Clara. . .


Eggs from a pre-breakfast hunt in the yard. . . Evie marking her egg. . .


The "cute" skirt I made last spring from Butterick B4686 - a feminine, pastel skirt just seems right for Easter, even though I don't wear it very often otherwise. It's here For the Record (thanks to my husband for the photos).







This is a deliberate "snow down south" to show you and The Record the silk slip I made with creamy silk from Rebecca; I made an A-line with an elastic waist, using pink thread and a decorative stitch near the hem for a sweet vintage aura.


Easter is over. . .

Finished Apartment #2

I am a landlady; on days like today when I get to show off a beautiful FINISHED apartment, it can be fun. My family lives on 1.5 floors of our three storey house, and then there's a little apartment on the rest of the second floor and a big apartment on the whole third floor. We recently finished renovating and renting Apartment #2.

We put in a kitchen, totally brand new.



A glimpse of the cool ceiling fan (we have one, too, in our living room).



All the ceilings are 11 feet tall: airy and gracious in the rooms, but forbidding in the hallway. My husband cleverly hung three paper lanterns to bring the ceiling down to cozy.





All the bathrooms have this black and white tile that we think dates to 1930 when the house was divided into three apartments.




We try to make the apartment one that we wouldn't mind living in - it also attracts the kinds of tenants we want. To that end, we painted the living room grey and the hallway a slightly darker shade of grey.

I did almost all the painting - during naptime and after the children were in bed. I had to paint the fieldstone fireplace surround because a former tenant had painted it with a terrible lack of skill or permission. But I was surprised how nice it looked with its new lights, black mantel and newly laid granite hearth.



And, hallelujah, our new tenant moved in yesterday.

From Easter Eggs to Dill Eggs

My children were unbearably excited to dip Easter eggs. I didn't allow the tablets to dissolve long enough and when I put lemon juice in the make "more vivid" colors, it foamed and seemed to leave streaks in the dye. The children did not notice, and I still think the eggs are pretty. The plan was to color on the eggs with markers and put stickers on them, but we got distracted by Ben's high fever (for four days now) and subsequent ear infection.

Our egg session was rushed and unimaginative (grabbed a box of dye at the pharmacy for $2). Do you have any inspiration for coloring eggs for next year? A cool technique or something especially gratifying for children? Or maybe I should just take my time. . .



Pre-Easter, I've already starting turning the eggs into dilled eggs. Remember the purple eggs? Here's another marinade: leftover pickle juice. Just plop the hardboiled eggs in there - for at least 24 hours, the longer the better. Then use them to make a fantastic egg salad.

Cornbread Salad from the South

I think Trisha Yearwood is a country singer (I could google it or you could tell me!). From the article I read about her in Country Living, I know that she grew up in the South and ate cornbread at every meal. I liked the looks of her cornbread salad recipe, and it handily solved the problem of leftover winter cornbread in my freezer. When friends came for lunch today, we made it along with oven sweet potato fries. Should have had some sweet tea too!

Trisha Yearwood's Cornbread Salad with French Dressing

Three hours before serving, layer in a big salad bowl:
6 cups torn salad greens
2 cups crumbled cornbread
3-4 cups chopped vegetables (she uses tomatoes and bell peppers - I would use whatever you think sounds good or have on hand; I used mushrooms and shredded turnips)
1 medium sweet onion, chopped

Fry some bacon (she says 9 slices - I used about 5); chop and set aside.

Combine in a blender until thick and well blended:
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. prepared mustard
2-3 Tbs. finely chopped onion

When ready to serve, toss salad with dressing and bacon pieces.



My observations: the salad you see in the photo is actually doubled because there were three adults and four children eating lunch. I also added some shredded cheese, but that didn't do much. I halved the amount of dressing and next time I will reduce the sugar - boy, them Southerners like SWEET. I do think tomatoes would be great in this salad, and now I'm excited for the first local tomatoes. I could also see using some bits of ham instead of bacon and maybe even a sprinkle of toasted pecans. Maybe even some black beans. . . There is lots of potentional here - thanks to Trisha Yearwood for the great recipe!

Aden patiently waits for lunch as I fiddle with the camera.