creative little daisy

Ice, ice baby and cooking for comfort

While much of North Carolina got a nice blanket of snowy whiteness, we got a slippery, shiny layer of ice.  It was magical this morning. The sun dancing through the trees, their frozen branches glistening in the early morning light. They looked as if they were made of glass. I tried to capture the moment with my camera, but the digital images pale in comparison to the real thing.

 

 
 

 

With the roads blanketed in a layer of ice, I took the advice of all those giving advice on such matters and stayed in. Of course, I probably would have done that had it not been cold and dangerous out, but somehow a day spent inside feels different when it's weather induced. I felt the need to wear cozy clothes and cook warm comforting food. I'm still wondering what the heck has come over me with all these culinary urges. Really, it just isn't like me to want to cook.

And cook I did. I started the day by cooking breakfast. So, so uncharacteristic. As much as I typically do not enjoy cooking, I do generally prepare dinner. Occasionally lunch, but almost never do I cook breakfast. Brunch, maybe. Well, yesterday morning it was sausage, grits (not the instant variety either) and homemade biscuits.

In the afternoon I made this soup. 

It was listed as one of the top recipes on all recipes.com and the name says it all. Delicious ham and potato soup. I pretty much followed the recipe and it is definitely a keeper. I've made potato soup plenty of times before, but this was the best, no doubt.  I had some for lunch today, and it was even better. I don't think the recipe mentioned cheese, but really, can you have potato soup without cheese?

Sharp cheddar. The kind you grate yourself.  I have an uncle who once told me if God made anything better than ice cream and coffee, he kept it for Himself.  I'd have to say for me, it's a babies breath on your cheek and cheese. Two of God's greatest gifts to us, after Jesus, of course.

You thicken this soup with a roux. As I was stirring the roux, and thinking of comfort foods, I remembered something  my granny made for me that her mama made for her. Sopping chocolate. Pronounced soppin' of course. And if you don't know what soppin' means, it's what you do with your biscuit to get the last bit of goodness, usually gravy,  off your plate.  Soppin' chocolate is basically chocolate gravy. I think my great-grandma made it  for her nine children as an affordable treat. I hadn't thought about it in a long time, but yesterday in my quest for all things soft, smooth, warm and comforting, it was perfect.

That's biscuits cooked twice in one day for anyone who's counting, cause you have to have fresh hot biscuits to sop your chocolate gravy.

Tonight we're having taco salad and chips with this salsa.    

If you consider yourself anything more than a novice in the kitchen

this post is not for you. Move along.

Are they gone yet? Good. Snickering at my sad attempt to post a recipe would surely hurt my feelings. 

Several years ago, Mitch and I had dinner with some friends and I ordered a pasta dish with angel hair pasta and a basil and tomato sauce. It had a fancy name, and a wordy description and cost around fourteen dollars. It was good enough, I guess, but for fourteen bucks I usually like something a little more substantial. A steak perhaps. What struck me was the simplicity of the dish.  Something even I could make at home, in minutes, with ingredients I usually have on hand. My version has become my go-to dish for one, for when I'm home alone but want more than a sandwich for lunch. I only make it then, because the rest of my family thinks if you have pasta and tomatoes, some meat should be involved. 

Again, if you know your way around the kitchen, I'm sure this will seem one notch above being instructed on how to make a ham sandwich, but here we go.

The ingredients:

Angel hair pasta

Canned diced tomatoes (I like petite diced) 

Basil or your herb of choice. Fresh is better, but this is what I had on hand. 

Onion (or not)

Garlic (not optional)

Not photographed, but a little olive oil for cooking the onion and garlic and some crushed red pepper flakes if you like things spicy.

Put some water on to boil for the pasta. While you're waiting for the water to boil, finely chop the onions and garlic. Since I'm making this dish for one, I only use part of a smallish onion and a couple cloves of garlic.

 

Heat a little olive oil in a medium sized pan, over medium to medium high heat, careful not to get too hot.  Burnt olive oil isn't tasty.

Throw in the onions first and let them soften a bit. Just a couple of minutes.

Then throw in the garlic, but have your can of tomatoes opened and ready to throw in with the garlic before it scorches. Burnt garlic is not tasty.

Go ahead and pour in the whole can of tomatoes and the juice along with a little water or some white wine if you're feeling fancy. About 1/4 to 1/2 cup. 

Season it up to taste with the basil and some salt and let it simmer on medium heat.

I like to heat things up a bit with some crushed red pepper flakes.

Your water should be boiling by now. Throw in the pasta. I never measure, about two servings worth. Because I always get seconds. 

While the pasta cooks, occasionally stir the sauce. I like to smoosh the tomatoes a little to crush them a bit as it cooks, cause it just tastes better to me when I do.

Cook the pasta to your desired level of tenderness and drain.

Put it on a plate and spoon some sauce over top. That's it.

 

Now sit down and enjoy a quick lunch that didn't come out of the freezer and didn't require mayonnaise (and certainly won't cost you fourteen dollars).

What light through yonder (dirty) window breaks?

It is the late afternoon sun, casting  golden rays of warmth across my living room

while emphasizing dust & dog hair on black painted furniture

and dirty little fingerprints on the television. *

 

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to find a dust cloth and some windex. 

*(If you are 21 months old, you can not simply sit and watch Barney, you must also touch Barney.)

I think I got the comment thing figured out

I'm dangerous behind the wheel of this blog, I tell ya. No license, no proper teaching... I just feel my way around blindly and hope for the best. 

I'm probably not telling you anything you didn't already know, but just in case, I'll share what I did.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, let me first catch you up. A couple of posts back, I asked a question about responding to comments. I like the interactive nature of responding right there in the comment section, as I've seen done on other blogs. Many times a response to one person may answer another person's question. The only reservation I had about replying this way was that it would require the person commenting to check back to see if I have responded.  I suspected there was something in typepad's settings that would allow the responses to appear in the comments section but also be emailed to the commenter.  I suspected right, and here's how to make it happen.

From the dashboard in Typepad,  under the "manage my blogs"  heading on the right side of the screen, select "settings", on the next screen on the left side of the page select "comments". Scroll down to the bottom of the page and there is an option to enable Typepad Connect comments. Select that. Then you can choose from options about how the comments are displayed (threaded or not). Save your changes.

That's it.

Now if you get email notification of comments, the email will look a little different. When you select "reply" your response will be emailed and will also appear in your comments directly under the original comment.   You can still reply privately by clicking on the email link in the comment notification email.

Hope that makes sense.

You get what you pay for

That's how the saying goes, but I like to think sometimes you get more than what you pay for.

I picked up an artificial flower arrangement last week at goodwill for a couple dollars. It was pretty sad, but I knew I could work with it. What caught my eye was how realistic the flowers (dried hydrangeas) looked.  It was a large, ugly basket with dusty hydrangeas haphazardly sticking out from here and there. At one time I'm sure it was really pretty. Something you might see on a hearth in a home with country decor, but now it looked like it had been stored  in a dusty attic under some boxes.  Why didn't I take a before photo? Don't I know the after is more impressive when you can see how bad the before was??  One day I'll learn. Just imagine a dark toned basket with some gold painted accents holding an arrangement of dusty, nearly falling out hydrangeas with spanish moss, artificial ferns, and raffia. Got a mental image? OK good.  Let's just say no one was fighting me for it at the goodwill. Their loss.

I pulled out all the hydrangeas and the florist foam and threw  the rest of the filler stuff away.

After a good cleaning, the basket got some spray paint action, with paint from my stash. It'll go perfectly in Alyssa's living room to hold Bayleigh's books or toys.

There were enough hydrangeas to make two arrangements. One for the dining room table,

.

and one for the living room. I love how the flowers add some softness in contrast to the mercury glass. I'm not usually a fan of the fake flower, but I think these come pretty close to the real thing. I'll keep 'em around a while.

Two pretty arrangements and a big basket for holding books, not bad for $2.00.  Getting more than what I paid for, that's what I love about thrifting.

I found my ring

I didn't tell you it was lost, did I? Well, it was. And now it's found, and I have my friend Kelli to thank... in a round-about way.  A couple of months ago I was fidgeting with my wedding rings, I'm a fidgeter, and something didn't feel right. Only one of the two rings was on my finger and  I had no idea when or where I lost the other one. It was a simple band with stones, like this one.  I searched in pockets, in the bed, under the bed. Mitch checked the sink drains. No ring. I had given up on ever finding it and today it fell right at my feet.

I was getting some burlap out of my fabric closet and something fell from between the stacks of fabric onto the floor. It was my ring. I guess when I was stacking the fabric on the shelf my ring slid off my hand with out me realizing it.

What does Kelli have to do with this?  I was getting out the burlap because she had seen this pretty  wreath and thought I should make her one.  I had to make myself one first. You know, for practice, to be sure I know what I'm doing when I make hers. 

I'm not loving the brown bow, but it was the best I could do with what I had on hand. It'll be simple to change out if I find something I like better. This was easy to make -messy, burlap fibers everywhere, but easy. If you make one, don't wear black pants. 

Kelli, I think I have it now, yours is next, and thanks for helping find my ring.

**On a completely unrelated note, I have a question about comments. When I receive a comment on a post, I get an email to my gmail account. It used to be I could hit reply and it would reply to the email address of the person commenting. Then typepad made some changes and now when I reply that way the response is published in the comments of the post. In order to reply directly to the commenter you click on their email address in the body of the email sent by typeapd. Am I totally confusing you? I'm getting to the question, I promise. When I hit reply and it becomes part of the comment, does the commenter also get the reply sent to their email? I don't mind the reply being posted in the comments, I kind of like that in most situations, but I personally don't go back and read comments on other blogs after I've commented. So, if the response to a comment or a question is only posted there, I will never see it.  Although, it is helpful if a question gets answered in the comment section for others who may have had the same question. Am I making sense? I just want to be sure if I reply to a comment, the person actually gets the response, and doesn't have to come back to my comments to check to see if I've responded.  

What, another food post?

From the girl who doesn't like to cook?

I'm not sure what has come over me of late, but I've been kinda enjoying cooking. It's the new pots I got for Christmas,  from Mitch. Not something I had asked for or really even wanted. So I thought.  I think he may have been given a hint from Alyssa and she picked them out. Between the two of them, they really scored with this gift. I love my new pots! I have better results with what I'm cooking and have in turn enjoyed the process more. I'm enjoying cooking. Did I just say that? Really?

 

Hamburger steak with rice 'n gravy and homemade biscuits.  Not the prettiest of meals, but it sure did taste good. Let me know if you'd like the recipe. I'll make it again and take some pictures along the way. You know, like I'm the Pioneer Woman or something.

Comfortable jeans that look good too, too much to ask?

I've reached that milestone when you find yourself at the mall, in the trendy stores and you can't find a thing you want to spend your money on.

Mitch gave me a gift card for Christmas so I could buy myself some jeans. Oh joy. I get to go shopping for jeans. Another sign of being old. If I weren't old, that would have delighted me to no end. Instead it felt like he had given me a gift card to go out and be tortured. Thanks honey, just what I wanted, frustration and disappointment all wrapped up with a pretty bow. In his defense, I had been whining about having nothing to wear, so he did do good, even if it meant I was going to have to brave the dreaded fitting room mirror to cash in. I suffer the same fate and so many women, be they tall or short, curvy or bony, I can never find jeans that fit. Jeans that fit, but also look good. Jeans that fit and look good and are also comfortable. Fit, look good, comfortable and don't cost as much as a small car. Too  much to ask? Yea, I thought so.

On Sunday, he and I ventured out to the mall. I poured through the racks, starting in the clearance section. Hey, I wanted to make the most of my gift card. I've recently gained about 15 pounds, for me, that's a good thing. I wasn't sure what size to get so I grabbed up several pair and went to the fitting room. I went through several definitely not's, a few maybe's and finally found a pair I felt pretty good about.  The rise was good, not way too low and not mom jeans. The length was good but most importantly, the butt was not bad. Alrighty, I ventured out of the fitting room to show Mitch. Pretty sure I was looking kinda cute in my nicely fitting jeans, I walk past the 20-something, perky little associate who asks,  you want me to get those for you in another size?  I looked at her a little puzzled. What? Was she talking to me? Ahem, they don't fit,  I asked.  And she said, well, duh, granny.  OK, she didn't actually say duh or granny, but the look on her face said it all. Then she so gently explained how they shouldn't loose here or baggy there. (She was talking about the jeans not my butt, by the way).  I was getting a jeans fitting lesson in a store I'm probably too old to be shopping in in the first place.

So what's a granny to do? Rock the skin-tight skinny jeans? Not a chance. Truth is, I have to wear what feels good to me, even if it means I'm not on the cutting edge of the latest trend. Which is apparently skin-tight skinny jeans. The helpful little sales girl could tell me all day long how they were supposed to fit, but bottom line, if I don't feel comfortable wearing them, they'll never make it out of the closet. I ended up going with a "boyfriend" fit. Slightly relaxed, so I can be comfortable crawling around on the floor with Bayleigh, or climbing up and down a ladder painting...washing dishes, taking the dogs out...or even sitting on my behind at the computer. These are the things I'm likely to be doing in my new jeans. So if I'm not keeping up with the latest trends, that's OK.  I'm sure it's  just another sign I'm getting old and I'm completely OK with that. 

Hi there! Just me, a nana in her boyfriend jeans.

And no, that isn't a white pumpkin you see back there, under the sewing machine.  It most definitely is not fall decor that was forgotten about throughout the Christmas season and still hanging around on January 12. No, it's something else altogher. I'm just not telling what it is, cause it's none of your business. So move along. I'll be seeing you later. I have things to take care of. Things that are not forgotten about pumpkins that only get noticed when taking dorky photos of myself.

 

The whole lotta cream cheese enchiladas

So, the other day, I saw a link to firehouse chicken enchiladas on Flower Patch Farm Girl's blog and quickly added it to the growing list of things she's cooked that I have to try. I'm such a follower. Anyway, I couldn't find the green enchilada sauce in the one stop light town I live on the outskirts of. And I didn't put in the black olives, so I guess aside from the half a pound of cream cheese, my chicken enchiladas are really nothing like firehouse enchiladas.

 

At this point,  I've added half a block of cream cheese to my shredded chicken + taco seasoning and water and am not sure I should use the whole 8 oz. That seems like an awful lot of cream cheese.

What the heck, I like living dangerously.

 

Creamy, spicy, chicken-y goodness just waiting to be wrapped in a flour tortilla and smothered with more cheese.

This ain't healthy eating, folks.

But it is hot, and bubbly, and saucy, and oh so creamy, and good. Very, very, good!

I really should have made a salad, to offset the bad-for-you-ness of this cheesy pile of fat and cholesterol, but like I said before, I like to live dangerously.

I opened a can of corn instead.

Yep, that's a lot of sour cream too. It's all about living on the edge, I tell ya.

And I have the photos to prove it...

While checking out all the year-end, year-in-review posts over the past few days, I've been hesitant to do my own, because in all honestly, I haven't felt all that productive. I mean sure, I know we've accomplished a few major things, like the kitchen and bathroom, but haven't I beat that dead horse to a pulp already?

Just for fun I decided to take a leisurely stroll down the digital memory lane of my photo files and low and behold, I did more than my 41-year old, addled little  brain remembered. 

In January I was in a bit of a funk with my youngest off being made into a Marine.  Not very much was accomplished creatively, but instead my time was spent praying and reading and writing letters. I also spent a fair amount of time commiserating with other worried parents on Marine Recruit message boards.

Then in February, I got my first ever hug from a Marine.

Participating in two different virtual quilting bees provided a wonderful outlet for creativity on a small scale.

 

quilt bee blocks (and I still have some IOUs)

I took back my dining room by moving my sewing room. What an undertaking! 

This is the dining room, mid process. At this point I began to panic at the thought of finding someplace to put everything.

But eventually, things began to take shape.

All the bits and pieces found new homes.

A place for everything,

everything in its place.

I even  printed and framed some soothing art for the wall (my happy thoughts)

So nice.

Don't be so quick to hate. That soothing, relaxing room all too quickly went to hell in the proverbial hand-basket. Updated pictures won't be making this post. They fit more in the category of when a perfectly good room goes bad post. No, this is a happy walk down memory lane, so lets move along. Shall we?

Pillows. I made quite a few pillows.

 

Pillows for the couch (that have since been moved to the back porch).

 

Pillows for the front porch.

Pillows out of burlap adorned with bossy little monograms and ric-rac.

Pillows with birds,

 

and more birds.

Painted pillows and pillows with buttons.

And finally, holiday pillows.

I spruced up the back porch a bit (besides the throwing about of pillows)

I did some spray painting and added blinds and sheers to the screens.

We hosted Bayleigh's first birthday. I had fun with the decorations and favor bags.

 

She had fun with the ball pit.

Wearing her birthday shirt and crown made by Nana.

I made a coat/hat rack ala SusieHarris by cutting up some yard sticks and nailing them to an old board. I painted silver hooks making them look old and rusty. A perfect spot to display my great-grandma's gardening hat.

In the summer, I was into thrift store re-dos, full swing. Warm weather=spray paint season.  I had a blast seeing how much bang I could get for my pennies. I love nothing better than to receive a compliment for something in my house, only to respond, I got that at a thrift store and paid pennies for it. Honestly, some folks like to flash around expensive labels and flaunt how much they paid for something, I'm polar opposite, the better bargain the happier it makes me to sing about it.

My new kitchen chairs make me sing. They were five bucks a piece.

Not that exciting... Yet.

A little elbow grease and some paint. Newly covered seat cushions and I'd say they look to be worth at least seven bucks a piece. 

I was in desperate need of a new purse, and didn't want to take the time to make one, so I picked up this sassy little number for around a dollar (along with a few other little trinkets). Don't you love the groovy underwater scene? Perfect for summer.  What? You're thinking I got ripped off?

How about now?

 

Some black burlap, a little trim and a fraying linen flower. Not too shabby. I didn't mind toting it around town. 

A little white spray paint and that bunny up there became a sweet planter for my hens n' chicks.

 

And that bird and nest on a branch- yea, it got the white spray paint magic as well. 

Remember I  mentioned something about taking back my dining room? For a few years I used that room for my sewing room, and it was great. I loved being able to do my sewing in the center of the house,  able to see my loved ones in the kitchen or living room. It was cool. Except when it looked like this.

Which was way too often.

After I completed the gargantuan task of moving all that junk to Casey's old room. Hey, the US government provides him room and board now, why let a perfectly good room sit empty? He still has a place to sleep when he's home, and I even replace the pink flowery quilt with a blue one.

Anyway, where was I before I got all defensive about taking over my baby bird's bedroom before the feathers had a chance to settle? Oh yea, the dining room. It's a dining room again.

See, the Marine still comes back home. And I feed him.

on my beautiful new to me family heirloom table. You can read about it here. 

The photo above must have been taken before I refinished the bench.

Mitch and I made this bench from a thrift store head and foot board.

 

I made some covers for some chairs. One was quick and easy

One was not quite as quick or easy.

I covered some lampshades in rope and burlap

 

I covered lots of things in burlap, as a matter of fact.

 

Burlap was also painted to look like coffee-sacks.

 

Wanna know a secret? I never really liked this and it's gone now. I replaced the faux coffee sacks with some beige and white ticking. Much less jarring to the eye. 

I made a very special quilt.

I attempted a solo bathroom reno, but soon gave in to the fact that the real magic-maker around here is the Mitch man.

I did all the painting. He did everything else.

I take that back, I did do the"fluffing" and put up the light fixtures.

It's all about team work. My niece Jessica told me this room looks much better in person. A small bathroom is extremely difficult to photograph. A small, windowless bathroom,  even worse.

Mitch worked his magic on some electrical conduit turning it into a curtain rod for my kitchen window.

 

Since I'm in the kitchen anyway, lets revisit the previously mentioned, beaten-to-death horse that is my kitchen redo. (I'm sorry, I couldn't leave it out)  My lovely, lovely kitchen redo. Talk about making some magic. Mitch outdid himself this time. 

New butcher block counters. Thanks to my cousin Ronald for lending a hand, with this one- butcherblock is heavy! Open shelving. Crown molding added to the cabinets.

Custom built range hood cover. Or should I say range slipcover. The old range hood is still under there.

I helped too. I painted the lower cabinets black.

Put up subway tile 

 

and beadboard wallpaper backsplash. 

Then for Christmas we had the bar covered with galvanized steel. The only project of the year we didn't do ourselves.

 

Man this has turned into a long post. I, or I should say we, did so much more this year than I thought. 

I haven't even mentioned some of the little seasonal touches.

 

But wait! There's more!  If I don't end this post somewhere though, I won't have any 2010 projects to share. If you stayed with me till the end, bless your little heart. I love you to pieces!

Let me share just one more. The best of part of 2009 as far as I'm concerned, was the blessing of having this little gift in our lives.

 

I can't wait to see what 2010 holds! 

I'm not the only one who's been busy in 2009. Check out Rhoda's Top Projects of 2009 Party.