Sunday, March 31, 2013

It's Sunday........what's happening

WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY  EASTER !!

What are you doing today?

Friday, March 29, 2013

It's Bittyful Friday

This is me looking adorable............or not.

Monday, March 25, 2013

something new......doesn't always have to take all day!

Not everything I make takes forever........once in awhile I like to make something easy peezy and just head out the door to enjoy the day. Of course I still like to be able to say I made this myself.I found this recipe HERE Enjoy the day..........said the hobbit

Sunday, March 24, 2013

It's Sunday....What's Happening

First a big breakfast of local and homemade. Sun is shining so, who wants to stay in today.

 Can't work in the garden...............It snowed again.

Daughter Sarah is doing a final performance of CHORUS LINE and we will be in attendance.





Should be a great day!!

Friday, March 22, 2013

IT'S BITTYFUL FRIDAY

REALLY?..........I WAS SURE YOU WOULDN'T FIND ME !

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Resolutions!!

 Did you make any resolutions this year? Well I made a few ........nothing earthshattering but, little things about me  that need improvement.It's been almost 3 months and I think Im starting to get a handle on some of my commitments.The computer has created a monster list of things I want to bake/make/knit/sew you get my drift?If I would live to be 1000 years old and did something new every week........I still can't imagine that I would finish this to do list.So I decided to try and actually make one new item per week,if possible and delete one that I will probably never get to in a million years.

 So far I feel pretty good about this. I can't even remember some of the recipes I have deleted and I don't feel guilty at all.These however will remain a favorite and frequent treat in the cookie jar.

My family is pretty fond of lemon and the minute I saw these I knew I had to try them at least once.This is one of MARTHA'S  recipes and you can find it HERE I followed the recipe most of the way. She has store bought  lemon curd as a filling  and I just couldn't bring myself to buy that. Come on ,making it is far better than anything you can buy,If you have a double boiler here is your chance to use it. I don't so, I did the bowl in a pan thing. In the bowl place 3 EGGS ,1 CUP OF SUGAR,1/3 CUP LEMON JUICE.  I used meyer lemons . That's one of the reasons I chose to make these. Really who can pass up Meyer's this time of year??OK ,back to the recipe.  With your water boiling wisk the ingredients in your bowl till they start to thicken. This took about 7 minutes for me.Remove from the heat and stir in 3 TABLESPOONS OF BUTTER and 2 TEASPOONS LEMON ZEST(OPTIONAL) into your curd.It's best if you cut the butter into smaller pieces.Cool and refridgerate for up to 3 weeks. Let me know if yours last that long.


Seems things disappear when you're not looking. Does that happen in your house?........asked the hobbit

Sunday, March 17, 2013

IT'S SUNDAY...........WHAT'S HAPPENING

Well after all that hard work of making bread last week, we decided today would be a day of rest, so we are sitting back and enjoying our hard work..........peach marmalade from the pantry and homemade multigrain bread from the freezer.
A few weeks ago we had a family brunch .............such fun! So we are in the process of planning another for Easter Sunday.Obviously the little ones had a great time.

Let's see if we can tucker them out again. Thinking of having an egg hunt.
That should keep them busy..................said the hobbit

Friday, March 15, 2013

IT'S BITTYFUL FRIDAY

THEIR GOING SHOPPING FOR SPRING CLOTHES.............I THINK I'LL GO FOR THE RIDE

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

MY CRAFTY FRIENDS

Every Tuesday night my friends and I get together to work on our knitting projects.It really helps us move our projects along. You see, someone will always remember what you've been working on and no one wants to say. "I gave up on that " I am so behind on posting their work that I might be in danger of being kicked out of the club. That isn't the case with Cyndi S.

                                         HERE'S CYNDI BUSY WORKING ON AN APPLIQUE
A difficult pattern never stops her from jumping right in and getting the job done. Of course when her daughter has a special request that is even more incentive to tackle the task.



After the holidays "the daughter" saw this great sweater and Cyndi got right on it . The sleeves have a detailed leaf pattern.
The back was even more intricate highlighting this great square of gorgeous design. The color on this photo is somewhat bleached out by my camera but, I wanted you to see that it is  knit around the body versus waist to neck. The blue line that you see is where she had to insert the sleeves.


It has a kimono type fit and I wish she had put it on so you could see how it would look  but,oh no, she is too shy.........I had to promise to photo shoot this without her face showing..........anyone who has this kind of talent is a beautiful person don't you think?..................said the hobbit.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

EATING FROM THE PANTRY


Lots of my cooking results from checking out the pantry and deciding that something needs to be made use of before it goes to waste. This weekend bread was on the list.I had been making my own bread for quite some time and then fell into the habit of picking up a loaf from a local baker, but, lately it just hasn't been as tasty as it should. So I looked in my pantry.........found some rye flour and used that as my starting point. I have a huge collections of Martha Stewart Living magazines that I'm not quite ready to part with,because ,after all, I just might need some of her valuable information. Well sure enough January edition 2008 had the perfect recipe for an ARTISINAL MULTIGRAIN BOULE
This recipe is very hands on and instructions are detailed as to how to handle the dough right down to how to flip the dough end over end...........sorry Martha, not willing to use a peel to take the sticky dough off my hands.I used my trusty bucket.You have to do what's right for you.The starter had to be made the night before............
Then the joy of mix and rise and fold like a business envelope and tuck and roll and cuddle and spin !!!! Really , by the time I finished reading the instructions I was already saying......."if I can get this done, it will be the last time I make this bread"



Well as usual Martha knew best. When it was finished I had the most beautiful Boule .......and tasty? Oh my God ...why did I stop making bread.The instructions were for 1 large bread but,after the first rise I split the dough in half and made 2 smaller ones Cooking time was reduced by 20 minutes and now I have extra in my freezer. Believe me, we will be eating every morsel of this bread.
I confess, this recipe was not for the birds .............said the hobbit

Sunday, March 10, 2013

IT'S SUNDAY .......WHAT'S HAPPENING?


We love homemade artisinal bread. Lately I have been most disappointed with our local choices. In fact when I got this last loaf home it was fit for the birds. We'll see........I stuck it in the garden and am watching to see if even they will eat it. In the mean time I'm in the kitchen today making artisinal multi grain boule. We'll see how that goes.

Friday, March 8, 2013

It's Bittyful Friday

IF ANYONE NEEDS A MAGAZINE ...........THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME....GO AHEAD, MAKE MY DAY.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

goodbye February

Highlights from February are the view from the kitchen window


                                              the snowblower out making new friends in the neighborhood
The jeep needing to be shoveled out one last time
and grandson Aaron getting his fill of winter bliss............well someone has to enjoy it.......said the hobbit.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Everyone needs a good laugh






This is my trusty coffee bean grinder. Every morning I put the coffee beans in ,plug it into the outlet ,place the cover on and give it a whirl. A slow count to 10 usually gives me just the right grind to brew my morning blend. I've been doing this for more years that I wish to talk about and  this little helper has been there for me at least a quarter of a century. Little did I know that it was about to pull a nasty trick on me.





SURPRISE!!!! A new wake-up call for you, Hobbit. It's the in your face not in your taste . For some reason this stuck me as very funny. I could hardly get the mess picked up I was giggling every time I pictured myself jumping about 2 feet in the air with coffee beans raining down on me.
















Despite the new and interesting start to my morning I still managed to make a decent cup of coffee. I wonder what tomorrow will bring? I'm hoping for more laughs and less snow.............said the hobbit


Sunday, March 3, 2013

WHAT'S HAPPENING ON SUNDAY

IT'S SNOWING...................................AGAIN, mumbled the hobbit

Friday, March 1, 2013

It's Bittyul Friday

DOING WHAT I DO BEST.........MAKING SOMEONE SMILE!