Hopeful Homemaker

Is it really Fall?

October 20, 2011 jennifer Gardening, Musings on Life and Beauty

The wind got hold of my top-heavy dahlias this week so I cut those that were blown over. I’ve got several vases FULL of enormous blooms. Two of them sit on my kitchen table next to a pumpkin, and every time I look at it I can’t help but marvel at the sight. There are more flowers outside where these came from, yet Halloween is just around the corner. I think that and shake my head. Is it really fall? When did that happen, and who forgot to tell my yard?

The children and I spent a glorious day outside together. We finally harvested our sunflower seeds and were amazed at how many we have. Tomorrow we’ll soak them. We also pulled out most of the garden plants, leaving only those things that are still thriving. There are still tomatoes, herbs, eggplant, and bell peppers but most of it is gone. The children enjoyed digging up the carrots while my little one picked a bunch of green tomatoes for us (because two year olds are helpful like that). The funniest moment was when she picked one of her sister’s bell peppers and the chase was on. Picture two little girls, ages two and three and almost the same size, chasing each other around the back yard screaming “No, that’s my pepper!” The three year old recovered her vegetable, then walked back to the plant and picked another pepper. “Here,” she said calmly as she offered one to her little sister, “A pepper for both of us.” We all laughed. No need now for that pepper plant we left in the garden.

I also pruned my lavender plants back for the year. Tonight my daughter and I sat and bundled another basket full of lavender to dry. I looked around my kitchen at homegrown vegetables piled all over the counter, buckets full of sunflower seeds and the enchanting smell of lavender on my hands and was overwhelmed with gratitude for the chance to grow things.

Sometimes fall seems like a time of cutting back, simplifying. This year fall feels like a crescendo that’s still building. It’s almost more than I can appreciate. We’re enjoying the beauties of summer alongside the slow turning of leaves. We’re picking pumpkins and flowers together, raking leaves and weeding flowerbeds in bare feet… with sunscreen on.

And I love it.

Curried Cashew Salad

October 18, 2011 jennifer Sides and Salads

This might be the most amazing salad I’ve ever tasted. The layering of flavors is incredible.

Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients! It’s really easy to make, especially if you cook the bacon and prepare the cashews in advance. If you do that, then it’s no more chopping than your average salad.

There is something for everyone in this salad. The salty crunch of bacon, the sweetness of pears and grapes, a bit of onion, and the curried cashews have a nice bite to them, yet the curry is toned down by the brown sugar and other spices. I was surprised by how much my family loved this salad. Everyone wanted third or fourth helpings.

Curried Cashew Salad Ingredients:
5 slices bacon, cooked until crisp 3/4 cup cashews or cashew halves 1 Tb. butter 1 Tb. brown sugar 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary 1 tsp. curry powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper 1 large pear 1 cup red grapes, sliced in half 1 large bunch green or red leaf lettuce 1/4 cup chopped green onions 1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper dressing ingredients:
3 Tb. white wine vinegar 3 Tb. Dijon mustard 2 Tb. honey 1/2 cup olive oil salt and pepper to taste Preparation:

Cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan, cool on paper towels. Crumble and set aside For the curried cashews: In a small microwaveable bowl, melt butter. Add brown sugar, rosemary, curry powder, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix together well. If mixture seems to get thick quickly, re-heat in microwave for 5-7 seconds. Add cashews and stir to coat nuts. Set aside to cool.

For the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients and mix vigorously with a small wire whisk until oil is fully combined with the other ingredients. Note: you might want to double the dressing ingredients if your family likes a lot of dressing, or if everyone will be serving their own dressing.

For the salad: This salad is prettiest served in a wide, shallow bowl or platter. Cut or tear lettuce and arrange in serving dish. Sprinkle green onion and green peppers over lettuce. Sprinkle with grapes and crumbled bacon. Carefully slice pear into 1/2 inch (or slightly bigger) cubes. You can peel the pear or leave skin on, depending on your preference. Garnish salad with pear cubes and finally, sprinkle with curried cashews. Depending on your tastes, drizzle salad dressing over salad, or reserve in small dish for individual servings. Serve immediately.

Additional notes: This salad would also be the perfect start to a formal dinner. In that case, prepare individual salads on salad plates. On the other end of the spectrum, I have small children, so when I served this salad to my family I reserved the cashews and offered them in a separate bowl. That way only those children that were interested in adding a bit of spice to the salad had the nuts (thus leaving more for my husband, and sparing us a crying two year old!) Interestingly, as family members commented on how the nuts really rounded out the whole salad, almost everyone tried the curried cashews and no one complained that they were too spicy.

I hope you love this recipe like we do!
Jennifer

Monday and a Stack of Fabric

October 17, 2011 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty, Quilting and Sewing

This morning I woke up intending to work like crazy on cleaning the house so I can afford time for yard work later in the week. Usually I enjoy cleaning, or at least the results of cleaning. Today, however, I was all out-of-sorts emotionally and found myself feeling irritated with my children while I was cleaning. Instead of enjoying the process I felt frustrated with them for being sloppy.

That’s never a good thing to feel, especially when you know that four of them have major projects to work on after school today, and when you also know that it’s going to take patience and persistence to get them all going. {And even then there may be a battle.} It will never work if I’m frustrated with them before I even pick them up.

Please tell me you have days like that, days when everything that’s wrong feels really wrong and everything that’s right feels wrong anyway. Days when reminding yourself that everything is, in reality, great does nothing to squelch the tears pricking behind your eyes. No particular reason, just cloudy on the inside, I guess.

So I took a break.

I’ve had a large stack of 44 inch strips of fabric sewn together for weeks. It’s for a quilt I wanted to make in September. Today I ironed them and cut them into triangles. While I did it, I opened all the windows in my studio (the sunniest room in the house) and enjoyed a gentle breeze and bright light.

Somehow it worked. I don’t know if it’s the sunshine, or a stack of triangles that will never again be 44 inch strips (unlike the laundry, which will shortly be dirty again). Perhaps it was just the steady cutting of fabric at the same angle for an hour or so. Whatever it was, it cleared my mind and calmed my heart.

I picked the children up with a happy heart. Two are now working cheerfully, one is working resentfully, and the other has yet to start. At least their mother isn’t grouchy, although the family room still needs to be vacuumed. I think it was time well spent.

Just look at all those warm, yummy colors. I’m excited to sew them together.

Fabric is Early Bird, by Cosmo Cricket, with a little bit of their Tailor Made collection thrown in. It’s been out for a while, and I’m finally using it!

Hope your Monday has gone well.
Jennifer