Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Barb

2012.  How did we get here so fast?  A new year.  A blank page.  All my blog pages seem to be blank these days.  I really would love to be blogging more.  So I’m making one (1) New Year’s Resolution.  Blog more.  I’m happier when I’m blogging.  So I better get busy, right?

If you don’t live in the South, you’re wondering what in the world this picture is doing here.  Black-eyed peas.  A southern New Year’s tradition.  Something about good luck for the year.  And you must eat them on New Year’s Day.  I confess that I spent a good number of years up north not eating black-eyed peas on January 1st.  But not any more. 

So this is what we had for lunch today.  And they were quite yummy.  I used Pioneer Woman’s recipe on her blog.  Only I used red peppers instead of green ones.  And I added the tomatoes she talks about.  Here’s the recipe…… even though now it’s too late to make them for good luck in 2012.  Well, unless you plan to eat them at just before midnight.  You might be able to get them in.

PW’s Black-eyed Peas

But the very best part of our meal?

The cornbread.  In an iron skillet.  And it’s vegan.  No eggs, no milk.  And it was the yummiest cornbread I’ve ever had.  Honest.  I’ll make it again soon and do step-by-step pics.  You need to try it.  Healthy.  Cornbread.  Do those two words go together? 

They do now.  At least they do at my house.  And we’ll be having cornbread a lot more often with all our soups, chilis and beans at our house.

Remember my resolution.  More blogging in 2012.  I expect you to hold me to my resolve.

Happy New Year!
Barb

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Baci and Bella

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Barb

Boo has friends.  He may not have actually met them, but they are his friends just the same.  I believe they have emailed each other when I wasn’t looking.  They are beautiful friends.  I’m sure Boo would like them if they ever met.  Yeah, right.  After they finished scratching each others’ eyes out.

This is Bella.  Bella is beautiful just as her name suggests.  Boo would fall madly in love and want to move in with her if they ever met.  I’m keeping them separated.  I would hate for my friend Susan to steal Boo away to live with Bella.

So Bella just calmly relaxes her days away.  Wonder if Mom is off the computer so I can email my friend, Boo? 

But first I think I’ll just take a little nap.  Cats are good at that nap thing, you know.  We can learn all about naps from cats.  And the benefits of stretching just after a nap.

This is Boo’s friend, Baci.  Miss Kitty would fall madly in love with Baci if she ever met him.  She would shower him with kisses.  Just as his Italian name suggests.  Baci does not like his picture taken and he told me so.  Perhaps if I keep moving and make all her pictures blurry, she will go away.  A cat can always hope.  But I was relentless.

No, I will not look at the camera.  Baci’s coat is the silkiest soft you’ve ever felt in your life.  Bella’s too.

Just appear nonchalant and she will go away.

Oh, alright.  But I refuse to open my eyes.

There.  Are you happy now?  Can we stop with the pictures already?  Poor Baci.  He did not want his picture taken.  But I insisted.  I wanted to share them with Boo and Miss Kitty.  He was better when he realized I wasn’t going to bother him with that pesky flash.

I am so bored with this whole photo op thing.  Ho hum.  Pictures, pictures, pictures.  It’s a tough life being a beautiful cat when I’m around with my camera.

Oops.  Better run.  Boo is asking for computer time.  He and Miss Kitty really want to email their friends.  Tell Baci and Bella I said hello, Boo!  And thanks for the photo op for my blog.

Hugs & cat kisses,
Barb, Boo and Miss Kitty

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A Vegan Thanksgiving

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Barb

OK, not really.  Vegan, I mean.  But it is a catchy title, don’t you think?  And I did my part.  I’m all about healthy eating this year.  So I turned my dishes into vegan ones.  Leaving out eggs and milk and substituting soy milk – even in the pumpkin pie.  And I fooled them all.  It was delish!

But there was turkey – not tofurkey – on our table.  And even (horrors!) ham.  And I had some of everything.  Every once in awhile even a (mostly) vegan falls off the wagon.  At least that’s my story.

Jas was there.  Hanging around waiting for something to fall on the floor.

And Penny.  Isn’t she pretty?

Taylor too.  Penny & Taylor were imprisoned for the day in the master bedroom.  I don’t think they minded.  Because big, bad Jasmine was in the rest of the house.  See large dog pic above.

This was breakfast.  Biscuits with chocolate sauce and strawberries.  A family tradition.  And I had to have some leftovers when we arrived at noon.

Excuse me.  After looking at that picture, I need chocolate.  I think I have to run to the store…….

Paul believes in getting his hands into his work as he made the fabulous dressing.  Janna helped by watching.  And spooning the finished product into the pan to bake.  And eating.  We all helped by eating.

Paul learned from his Dad about helping in the kitchen.  Allen really takes his carving job seriously.

And he has a little shadow below.  Just like last year.  She’s just sure that something is going to fall overboard.

The 20-somethings do what 20-somethings always do….. play on their techno-toys.  Courtney, Nate and Paul did their fair share of computing while waiting for dinner.

While the kitchen smells were making my stomach growl, I took the opportunity to stroll around and take a few pics of fun things in the fabulous lakeside home.

Cute quilty tablerunner caught this quilter’s eye.

And how about this saying for the dining room wall?

Kaye takes pics of birds at the backyard feeders all the time.  They have quite a variety of birds to watch!

I especially like this pretty bluebird.  And yes, this is my usual pic of a pic.  I did not see one of these birds while we were there.  So disappointed!  Cropping pics so they look like my own is a favorite trick on this blog.

Janna made cute namecards again.

And how about these cute salt & pepper shakers?  Purchased in the Florida Keys.  Where they had a hard time finding anything that didn’t have seashells on it.  The little peppers are just right for a Texas home.

Nice table arrangements.

In fact, isn’t the whole table really pretty?

The Food

Turkey……

White meat, neatly arranged on the platter.  Allen is very particular.

Dark meat.

Ham (horrors!)  But doesn’t it look good?

Vegan Sweet Potatoes (smile) – no eggs, no milk, no butter, great taste!

Friendship bread.  Yum.  Probably not very vegan.

Everyone filled their plates.  Mom & Dad on the right, Sis just behind them in pink, then Allen & Dear Hubby on the left.  Loads of yummy food.  I missed pics of corn casserole (also made by me and vegan), green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls and stuffing/dressing.  There were also pumpkin, pecan and cherry pies!  But we ate them so fast I didn’t even get a pic.  Picture them delicious.

But here’s my plate.  With a little bit of almost everything. 

Now I definitely need a snack.  How about you?  Is it time for Christmas dinner yet?

Hugs,
Barb

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The Story of a Quilt…..

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Barb

Once upon a time there was a girl named Janna.  She played the clarinet in the band in her high school years.  And collected t-shirts along the way.  You remember Janna?

 

Way back in the year 2010 she came to my house and we bought fabric to make her t-shirt quilt.  This is Janna ironing the interfacing to the back of each and every t-shirt.  She was optimistic in her thinking and thought that she would be snuggling under that quilt by her birthday in September.  2010.  She must have forgotten a bit about how her Aunt Barb operates.

But this is the story of her quilt.  And I can contain it no longer….. her quilt is done.  Finished.  Completed.  Finished is a beautiful word when it comes to quilts.

You can read about the beginnings of Janna’s quilt here:

Janna’s T-shirt Quilt

But today I’m all about the conclusion of this quilt’s story…..

This is how the t-shirts looked as we arranged them that first day on my design wall.

This project travelled with me to many a JSS Retreat.  If I’d stop blogging at retreats, I might actually get my projects finished sooner.  But you know that is never going to happen.  And Janna crossed her fingers with every retreat.  Hoping that her quilt would be finished one day and she’d be able to snuggle under it.

In October, I finally finished the very last of the binding at retreat.  There was even voting about the border!  Thankfully, Janna voted correctly since I’d already decided the outcome before the voting began.  And was stitching the green border to the quilt as the votes came in.

Then on Thanksgiving Day, after the turkey and all the trimmings, as Janna got comfy in the recliner with a blanket…. I went to the car and brought in The Quilt.

Janna hurriedly unfolded it.  You can tell she was hurrying because of how blurry it is.  Her Dear Hubby’s mother, Kaye, is looking on.  We had Thanksgiving at Kaye’s beautiful lake home and it was wonderful.

By the way – I should point out that the quilt had already been cat tested and approved.

By Miss Kitty……..

And by Boo, too.  Cats are attracted to quilts like a magnet.  Lay one on the floor and just try to keep them off of it.  Impossible.

Janna showed her Dear Mom & Mom#2 the label.  I named the quilt “Marching Memories.”

Then she held it high for a pic.

This is Janna and the label.  See her big smile?  There is happiness and relief in that smile.  Relief that she finally got her quilt!  Getting a quilt from Aunt Barb seems to be a lesson in patience these days.

Janna sent me this pic later so I’d have a good one of the whole quilt.

But this is my favorite.  Janna folded up the blanket she had planned to cover up with lickety-split and put it away.  So she could snuggle under her new quilt in the recliner.

And I will picture her and her Dear Hubby watching movies, cozily under their new quilt.  As soon as they get back from their anniversary vacation in Hawaii where they are right now!  Celebrating 5 years of marriage.  Happy Anniversary, Janna & Paul!

And they lived happily ever after.

The End.

What?  After all, the story started with once upon a time.  Doesn’t that mean it has to end with happily ever after?

Love,
Aunt Barb

Posted in Boo, Miss Kitty, quilts | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Sweet Potato Chili

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Barb

A cold front came through in Texas yesterday.  That means that the temp dropped from 80° to 59° and everyone got out their winter woolies.  Or maybe that was just me.  Dear Hubby says that water freezes at 60° in Texas.  I have acclimated well since I moved from Illinois in 1979.  So  I got out the flannel.

And for the 28th time since I found this recipe, I’m making Sweet Potato Chili!  Or maybe it’s just the 4th time.  I get confused with numbers sometimes.

This reminded me that I meant to share this recipe on the blog.  And that reminded me that I hadn’t blogged in a long while and my readers were probably very upset with me.  And that reminded me that I still have scads of retreat pictures that I meant to share.  It could be a very long night. 

But first……. Sweet Potato Chili.  Yum.  Just looking at the picture makes me hungry.

You start with a sweet potato.  Big surprise.  I put my hand in this picture to show you what a whoppin’ big sweet potato I had!

Peel it and chop it all up in bite-sized pieces.  Then toss it with some olive oil.

Spread it out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  I line the pan with foil so the clean-up is easier.  Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes.  Try not to eat the whole pan when you take them out of the oven.

In the meantime, saute some chopped onions in about a tablespoon of olive oil.  Cook them long enough to get a little carmelized.  Refrain from throwing in some broth and making onion soup.  These babies smell heavenly!

Here are the rest of the ingredients:  garlic, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, chipotle peppers in adobo, barbecue sauce, diced tomatoes, black beans, corn, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and vegetable stock (which I forgot to put in the picture.)

After the onions have carmelized a bit……

….throw in the cumin, chili powder, cayenne and garlic.

Stir it around in the pan and cook it a minute or so.  Until the fabulous aroma of the spices fills your senses and takes your breath away.  Yum.

Pour in the vegetable stock and stir it around to get all the lovely bits off the bottom of the pan.  They are the yummy parts so you want them all incorporated into the chili.

Add in the chipotle pepper, hot sauce, worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauce and diced tomatoes.  Notice my freshly manicured nails.  Just for the picture.  The things I do for the blog.  I did that french manicure myself!  Remind me to tell you about the fabulous nail product that my friend, Susan, introduced me to about a year ago.  I’ve been really meaning to tell you about it.  I keep forgetting.

Simmer all the deliciousness together for about 20 minutes.

Look at that luscious steam.  Can you smell it?  Those spices are very fragrant and wonderful.  And will burn the taste buds off your tongue.  I hope you like spicy food!

Add in the sweet potatoes, black beans and corn.  Provided you didn’t eat all the yummy sweet potatoes as they sat on the counter awaiting their dip in the sauce.  Stir it all together and heat through.

Then ladle it into a nice bowl.  And chow down.  Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.  And yum.

You can also crunch up some tortilla or corn chips on top.  Triple yum.

Remember the cookbook I told you about recently?  The one about the 12 best foods?  4 out of the 12 are in this soup……. onions, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and black beans.  You’ll be real healthy if you eat this stuff.  I think I might need another bowl.

Here’s a link where you can easily print the recipe:

Sweet Potato Chili

Oh, and by the way.  If you can’t stand the heat, you could leave out the chipotle pepper, cayenne and hot sauce.  But we like the heat at our house.  Especially on these brisk, Arctic cold, 50° days.  The people in Alaska are laughing right now.

Especially because this is what it looked like in Nome last night:

Nome, Alaska video

I hope the video works for you.  It was taken by an internet friend who lives in Nome.  I’ve never met her, but feel like I know her because of the internet and the Iditarod.  I can’t believe it’s actually that cold and snowy anywhere on earth right now.  I’m glad I live in Texas where water freezes at 60°.

Happy cooler weather, wherever you are,
Barb

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