The Pie Safe on the Old Porch

Several underused items sat on the enclosed back porch of the old farmhouse. The porch was screened in and usually covered for winter. It was actually a side porch facing the barn, old well, potato house, etc. (on the right side of the house in this figure). There was a long shallow sink that required my standing on a stool to reach, and there was a large chest freezer where I swear one could store several bodies. In reality, it could hold some serious wild game and garden veggies. The wringer-washer sat on one side of the porch along with an old table and a cabinet. I remember my grandmother would hang flowers from the rafters in the ceiling. She loved dried arrangements and cut some each year to dry on the porch. I spent many hours on this porch whether it was playing, shelling corn, or helping to roll brooms made from wild broom straw (photo here of wild broom straw), but this story is about the old green cabinet—the pie safe.

I don’t remember the safe being used for anything except for storage, but I was told it held fresh baked pies and goodies my great-grandmother made. Today, it holds my Christmas dishes and other décor, collectibles like cookie jars, nutcrackers, and my snowman teapot and cups… Many years ago, my mom painted the safe an off-white, preachy color that I am not crazy about. After we moved it to our house 20 years ago, I would open the doors and decorate it for Christmas, but it has not been decorated in a while. This photo was taken some years ago when it sat to the left of the fireplace. My apologies for TV interference :).

I wanted to strip the cabinet and restore it, maybe paint it in its original color or a medium shade of blue and add new screening, but it has gone this long without my doing anything to it. It will probably remain this way. When I was little, I had no idea why it was called a pie safe. I thought safes had solid walls with dependable locks. This safe has screens! I was quite silly, but then again, I did not understand the meaning of the “coffin house”–another story and different family.

Happy Gardening and I hope you have a safe day!

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New Year’s Fare

As tradition, our big meal for New Year’s is probably similar to most people’s except for the main course which changes as the years change. Long ago, I was taught that in order to have plenty of health, wealth, and happiness (good luck), certain foods needed to be served (and eaten). Some say it is superstitious, but did you know that many superstitions came about for good reason? For example, walking under a ladder can be bad luck because anything can fall and hit you including the ladder. Black cats crossing one’s path can be bad luck because one can trip over the cat at night if you do not see it, and so on… So, what do we eat that is supposed to bring us health, wealth, and happiness (health and prosperity)?

First on the list are black-eyed peas. They are always on the menu. I love fresh black-eyes but dry ones will do. I cook them with bacon or hog jowls. I think they taste good but I understand it can be an acquired taste. They are considered a symbol of prosperity or good luck.

I didn’t like greens as a child (and we had plenty of them), but I have been cooking collard greens for about 20 years or so. It is a lot of work for such a small amount of greens. A mess of greens, as I often heard it called when growing up, can be prepared many different ways, but I prefer mine with ham, bacon, or hog jowls cooked to the point where they are melt in your mouth goodness with some extra salt cooked in (don’t tell the doctor). I strip out the main stalk, roll the leaves, and chop away. I don’t like to add pepper sauce (either homemade or store-bought) but my parents swore by it. My husband loves collard greens and says it is one of several foods I taught him to like, so I guess we acquired that taste together. Too bad I cannot get him to like grits, but that’s another story. Greens stand for wealth but they are also so good for you, so I lump the health and wealth together. Photo-My collard greens from this year. I cook them until they are dark green like this. It doesn’t take a lot of water. And, I boil my hog jowls or bacon before adding.

Our main entree is usually a ham, symbolizing a few things. A hog roots forward for his/her food but a ham also symbolizes wealth-a plate of plenty. There is always enough for another meal, but we don’t always have ham. I have cooked thick, center loin pork chops many years. And, for others there has been meatloaf, grilled bbq pork ribs, steak, or other. It is really a matter of choice. Fowl is said not to be eaten because it roots backwards and can fly away with your health, wealth, and happiness. Maybe that is why we have had such bad luck this year-just kidding. I have been known to cook a chicken casserole…

Other items that complement the meal are usually lima beans, pickled beets, peas and asparagus casserole (with cheese), and cornbread or rolls. I have never settled on a certain fruit for the day and I have foregone the peas and asparagus casserole because I am the only one who likes it. There are exceptions to every rule, but this is the model I try to follow. If I have bad luck or lose in health, wealth, and happiness, did my New Year’s fare cause it? No, but it is an interesting way to start the New Year.

One tradition from my childhood that still reigns to this day is watching the Tournament of Roses Parade. I try to plan my kitchen duties around it. Since it is not on until Jan 2 this year, I don’t have to worry so much. Oh, and this year we opted for grilled sirloin steak—don’t know if that will bring us luck but I hope so.

Do you have traditions you follow? Are there reasons you follow them?

Happy Gardening and Happy New Year!

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Traditional or other?

This is usually the time when I start getting excited about Thanksgiving dinner which is not really dinner in our house-not usually. Sometimes it is served as lunch anywhere around 11-ish to 3-ish or is truly dinner around 6-ish. I am not excited because it is too hot, way too HOT—yeah, that broken record is back on.  I had hoped the hot weather was behind us at least for this year but we have been in the 80s with a degree shy of record heat, again.  It didn’t make me feel better to learn that our winter forecast is for warmer than usual temps through February—I guess someone thought this was news?

For our Thanksgiving meal, we sometimes have the traditional ham or turkey or both. One year, we had two (2) turkeys AND a ham. I bought a cooked turkey from Mr Sam’s. I also baked a ham with my pineapple-brown sugar topping, but I guess my mother-in-law didn’t think that was enough as she brought an Indiana bird with her for me to cook, too. We opened the ice chest from her trip and yes, there it was…another Tom Turkey. SURPRISE!!!! She also brought 5 or 6 mouths to feed in addition to our small crew. People laugh, but I like it when we barbeque ribs on the grill for our meal because I don’t have to spend all of the time in the kitchen. Going non-traditional is just fine. Who said traditional meant turkey? My family growing up did ham for T-giving and turkey for Christmas. Today, we still have die-hards who love my dressing and sweet potato casserole—I’m one of those, too, but I can do it any old way…with ham or turkey or both or neither.

So, what’s on our menu this year…

• Turkey–a nice plump juicy Butterball cooked in a cooking bag…no stuffing except for onions 🙂
• Cornbread dressing–a recipe passed down from my mother
• Sweet potato casserole–a local recipe I began making about 20 years ago
• Mashed potatoes–for those who do not like sweet potatoes (Hubby)
• Baby lima beans
• Corn on the cob
• Fruit–not yet decided
• Salad–not yet decided…maybe a fruit salad?
• Cranberry sauce
• Gravy
• Rolls–probably not my yummy Frigidaire (yeast) rolls 😦
• Pies

We have never had issues with turkey leftovers and I have wondered why there is so much ado about them. We absolutely love turkey so we usually have it twice the day it is cooked with enough for maybe 2-3 meals afterwards depending on the size of the bird. I love this type of turkey on a sandwich, too.

So, do you have a traditional Thanksgiving meal, and if you cook a turkey, do you stuff your bird with stuffing or something else?

Hope everyone’s plans are working out for this Thanksgiving! I know I am so blessed to live to see another Thanksgiving and am thankful that we can provide a nice meal for our family when so many cannot.

Happy Gardening!

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Sometimes bigger is better

My hubby and I probably go to Sam’s Club about once a month-maybe more during the holidays. I don’t like giving the Waltons a good chunk of my money, but I like to go to Sam’s at this time of year and here is why. Sam’s has all sorts of special inventory, and I could not believe what I saw last weekend (and bought). Just by chance a great big bottle (by my standards) of McCormick’s pure vanilla extract—a 16 oz bottle – came into my view. I checked the price and saw that it was a little over $6. I had to check again to see if it was pure vanilla extract and if it was the real McCormick’s and not some off brand say like McCormack’s. I checked two more times, and it was 16 ounces. I don’t like buying something I don’t really need, but I try to buy things on sale that I know we need and will use. Some people call me cheap but I like to think I am “spend-thrifty.”I have a 1 oz-bottle of McCormick’s real vanilla extract that I purchased for about $3-4 not long ago, so the Sam’s price was a “steal” in my opinion. Yeah, I know that the reason the price is so high everywhere else is probably because it is sold for so cheap at Sam’s and that other place I dislike to shop—you know, WM.

Almond extract, same size bottle, was double the price. Christmas is the only time of year that I use almond extract and that is when I make sugar cookies. They are the melt in the mouth kind, but they take the most time to prepare. I considered getting a bottle, but I could not talk myself into getting it since there was so much of it. I feel like it would be a waist, or else I would have to make lots of sugar cookies – not in my plans.

One of the things I wanted to get this trip was a 50 lb bag of long grain rice. Yes, 50 lbs. When we unloaded the car, I felt like we were going back to the days on the farm. I’m not trying to stock up, but I want to use this in a project for Christmas or even after. Dreamz Happen Quiltz made a posting about rice bag feet warmers a while back and I was hooked—more on that later. I thought I would make one for each member of the family, some for my in-laws and family, and some for friends. I bought material for this project the other week when printed flannel was on sale. The store was nice enough to send me a 25% off coupon off everything with a few exceptions but it included sale items. How could I not take advantage? Now that I have the rice, I am committed. And, if I don’t make the rice bags, my family may just commit me to the loony bin because I have nowhere to store a great big bag of rice. I just could not pass on the rice at less than $20 for the bag—50 pound bag…

So, how did everything measure up?

Pure vanilla – 43 cents an ounce. That is good considering it would normally be about $3 or more per ounce.

Rice – about 40 cents a pound. I’m not sure what the going rate is but I guess it would be somewhere around $2 per pound—just guessing.

Flannel (for rice bag covers; not purchased as Sam’s) – about $2.25 per yard. The regular price was over $6 per yard.

Not so bad for things we needed.

Costco just built a store here and opened this week. We are still discussing a membership. While I was visiting their website the other day I discovered that Costco sells caskets – of all things. I knew they sold designer wedding dresses and diamond rings, but caskets? Really? It’s not like the average Joe can embalm and all so I am at a loss. On this thought, I was 16 when I picked out my first casket-I still remember. Then I don’t know if I had a say in the one when I was 21, but I have picked out 2 more since and said I was done (thinking I will be the next to go). And, did you know that you can get a casket spray of roses from Costco? I thought I would share because you just never know. 🙂

Happy Gardening and may your day be brighter than when you first arrived!

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It’s Time

from boiled-peanut-world.com

I have my first (and probably only) batch of peanuts boiling for this year. The rest of the family does not like boiled peanuts as much as me, but that’s ok. We must boil some each year—it is a ritual. I remember when living on the farm, I could not wait for the peanuts to fill out enough to eat. I waited all summer. The field that produced the best peanuts was right behind our house-so convenient ;). When they were ready we would pull a bunch, pull off the greens, wash them, and cook them…and cook them more. Yum, yum! One of the worst things about boiled peanuts is all of the salt. I’m not supposed to have salt, but I have to make an exception today. You can cut back on the salt, but what is the fun of that—just kidding? I did cut back about half the amount from usual.

My dad loved them, too, and when the peanuts were finished cooking, we would drain them, put them in an open newspaper, and go to town (eat). The best peanuts to me are the ones that are not quite filled to the end of the pod so they can absorb juice (salty water); soft nuts with an extremely soft shell; and salty. People tend to treat boiled peanuts like fruitcake–they either really like them or not. I like peanuts and fruitcake, by the way. If you want to try your hand at boiling peanuts, please visit http://www.boiled-peanut-world.com/how-to-boil-peanuts.html for all of the information you should need. Bon appétit!

Happy Gardening and may you enjoy all of the treats along the way!

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Bagels and Chicago

Bagels for breakfast-a little bit of cream cheese and a dab of peach preserves (yum). I did not grow up eating bagels. In fact, I didn’t even know what they were until college. My family was a big breakfast eating family-bacon and eggs, grits, toast, oatmeal, sausage and pancakes, waffles, fried ham, and French toast (oh, and salt mackerel on special days) were the usual choices we had. There was some dry cereal in a pinch but pastries, muffins, and bagels were not considered breakfast foods in our house. I wasn’t exposed to real bagels until Chicago, or at least that’s the way I remember it.

I think it was back when I was in grad school when I went to Chicago. My mom and I traveled to my grandmother’s to begin our journey. Oh boy, I didn’t know what I had signed on for! My previous adventures had been limited except for the big splurge to the Virgin Islands for my high school senior trip (there is a story there). I thought the trip was great because I got to drive a good bit of the trip. You would have to know my grandmother to understand. Anyway, my mom said we were going to visit my grandmother’s cousins. Ok, I didn’t understand what she meant at the time but thought that the way she said it sounded strange. It seems that my g-ma believed they were her cousins and not our cousins. In reality, the lady was my g-ma’s second cousin once removed?-I think. Anyway, none of us were adopted, so all of us were kin (related)—maybe she didn’t count anything past 2^nd cousins. I know some people who don’t count past 1^st cousins.

I liked Chicago and I hated it. It had been so hot back home that I was hoping for a nice reprieve. Don’t you know it was as hot or hotter in Chicago at the time. My luck, right? My mom had hoped we would visit some of the museums but my g-ma had other ideas. Her thoughts, “Museums have a lot of old things in them. There is no reason to visit them.” She had a similar thought about Rome (Italy), “It was nothing but a lot of ruins.” 🙂 Laugh with me…  My mom, the history buff, cringed every time my g-ma said things like this. I would just laugh.

State Street, Chicago

Well, I got to see my cousin’s (daughter of g-ma’s cousin) apartment in the city. It was maybe the size of my living room (I’m thinking smaller) that cost about $400-500 a month. Welcome to real life. This was about 29 years ago. I had to reevaluate my desire to move to a big city. I’ve always been dazzled by city lights, but I decided I can go to visit without having to live there.

We ate at some really neat places and toured some of the city. Museums weren’t my favorite thing to do either (at the time), but when in a city that has some great history, food, and art then make the most of it. Learn, see, taste, and experience what you can. I really regret not seeing the museums-history, science, and art, but it was a trip that left an impression on me-some good and some bad. As my consolation prize, I still have the leather purse I bought at Marshall Field’s, a piece of State Street, and some great (and not so great) memories.

Happy Gardening!

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

“It’s Valentine’s Day, and you know what that means…chocolates for breakfast all week!”

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Peanuts – ooooh so good!

Yum, yum! I grew up on a farm and we had peanuts mature around September. I could not wait until we boiled the first batch. Sure, I like peanuts about any way they come, but fresh picked and boiled just right is the best eatin’ in town, well to me that is. I really like the juicy ones and for those of you who do not know what that means…it is when the nut is actually a little smaller than the shell and after the peanuts have cooked and soaked long enough, the shell will fill up with the salt water the peanuts are cooked in. Pop one open and slurp out the juice before you eat the nuts – yum, yum! And, I like the nuts soft, not hard like you usually find at the roadside stands. The green peanuts I buy in the store these days are sometimes too old to cook to the stage that I love, but I will take what I can get and since I don’t live on the farm anymore. Yes, I will eat the ones from the store in a pinch. I almost cleaned the grocer out this week since it has been too hot to boil peanuts inside – I like them when the weather is changing anyway. I cannot imagine being allergic to such a great treat. My sympathies to the many people who cannot eat them – that’s ok, I’ll take your share (SMILE)!

Happy Gardening!

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