Laura Ingalls Wilder Quote + A Fall Cake

You can't go wrong with this advice, can you? via

I love this idea of using fall leaves to decorate a powdered sugar covered cake with something yummy between the layers. via

Apples and Fall are Perfect Together

This is the big antique wooden charger in the middle of my kitchen farm table. It is 25-1/2 inches wide at its widest point and is out of round due to shrinkage. I love it. I bought an 8-pound bag of Cortland Apples yesterday at Wegmans, a large new grocery store just beyond Morristown. It's not a big box store but it does have family packs of certain items. Yesterday there were all varieties of apples in 8-pound bags for $5.99, what a bargain! I counted them when I got home and there were 18. I put half on the table and the other half in my crisper. They are everything I hoped they would be in an eating apple -- crisp, juicy and sweet but not too sweet. I love an apple that snaps when you bite into it and I would have been crushed had they been mushy. Now I am all set with fruit for two weeks. They don't have stickers on them either, and I like that. They remind me of the old-fashioned apples my mother and I used to pick at my oldest friend in New Jersey's house but she moved a couple of years ago and now I have to take my chances with apples and buy before I can taste them.

I put this photo on Instagram yesterday but liked it enough to put it on my blog too. I am looking forward to Penelope Keith's Hidden Villages tonight on PBS. After that, I'll watch something I have recorded because there's nothing else on that interests me. Enjoy your Friday night and have a great weekend. I turned on the furnace for the first time on Wednesday and last night it got below freezing. I am so glad I emptied all of my galvanized watering cans and put them in the garage yesterday before they froze and exploded. I learned that lesson the hard way. xo

Pumpkin Pie Crusts for Fall

If you could ever find these little leaf and pumpkin cookie cutters, you could make these beautiful pies. Actually, after I typed the previous sentence, I searched and found them here. Pumpkin pie is my favorite because it isn't too sweet and has some nutritional value too. Get ready, the season is coming, ready or not.

I am feeling very smug and pleased with myself because I got rid of a lot of junk this week at annual trash day in town. I put it out several days early as did my neighbors, so people driving by could stop and take what they wanted and it worked! I searched my neighbor's pile too and discovered a 10-ton log splitter they were getting rid of. I immediately called a friend who helps me with big tasks and he came right over and got it. I guarded it while he was in transit. Luckily, he was nearby in his truck. Some things are just meant to be, right?

Thanks for stopping by. I have been disappointed in my blog lately and most days I have to force myself to post. My readership is way down and when Google discontinued Feedburner I lost about 3,000 followers. Instagram is so much easier to post and respond to comments as you know. But I'm hanging in there for my loyal few. xo

Portrait of a Chicken Pot Pie

This pie is simple and to the point. Don't you love the chicken cutout. Chicken Pot Pie is one of my favorite things to eat in cold weather. It is still boiling hot here at my cottage but I've been working through it and getting stuff done. School buses are back on the road and fall is just around the corner. xo

Cooking Corn on the Cob in Microwave

Step One: Shuck and desilk your corn.

Step Two: Tear off a length of wax paper longer than your ear of corn so you can roll up the ear and twist the ends. I guess I will eat this ear for lunch after I microwave it for 4 minutes or so. 

Last night I ate 2 ears and cooked them for 6 minutes. I have a small, countertop microwave. For me this is the only way to cook corn. Boiling pots of water in the summer is something I avoid at all cost.

I had a corn stand for three years at my previous house, High Meadow Farm in New Vernon NJ. I had a farm assessment and the first year I planted corn in my big front field, it was fabulous. The second year, the deer discovered it and it was only so-so. The third year was my last year. Even though I planted a lot of Indian Corn around the perimeter to try and fool the deer, it just wasn't worth the work.

I sold herb vinegar too. I had printed notes for customers to cook their corn in the microwave and always got little notes back, along with the money in my honor-system cigar box, saying they were thrilled with the results.

Let me know if you do this and how it worked for you. You might have to experiment with the cooking times.

Support Farmers

Buy local, eat local, and support your local farmers by way of their farm stands, their store near the farm, or local farmers markets. via 

I had fresh tricolor corn tonight and it was delicious. I cook mine in the microwave. I wrapped two ears (that had been shucked and silks removed) in waxed paper and microwaved for 6 minutes. It was perfect. I have a small countertop microwave, not a huge one. I started out with 4 minutes and that didn't seem enough. After 2 more minutes, it smelled right and it was. The ears were pretty big. Try it, you'll like it!!!

Pie Crust Sampler

This is a clever way to map out an 8-slice pie so that each person gets a different decoration. via

Cake with Flag Icing

I love this cake! The next holiday with a flag theme is Memorial Day in September. That will give you a little over a month to figure out how to do this. The cake stand makes it look like a straw hat decorated like a flag. via

Cat Sharing Food with Pheasant

I love this cat, so willing to share her food with a hungry pheasant. via

Casa Calvet: Barcelona Balconies

Casa Calvet de Barcelona (1899) is one of Antoni Gaudí's earliest buildings. Some people consider it his most conservative work but it also contains markedly modern elements, such as the façade which terminates in a curve and the attic balconies, which look like something from a fairy tale. 

The ground floor now houses a restaurant. Read more about the history of this building here.

Mac and Cheese to take to Easter Brunch

I made this Mac and Cheese yesterday and took it out of the refrigerator early this morning to get it down to room temperature. It's in the oven right now heating through and hopefully browning on top. I might have to put it under the broiler for that step. All the ingredients were completely cooked so heating up is all that's necessary. I used this recipe found online. I used a shredded cheese mixture called Fiesta Blend. I have never purchased already shredded cheese in my life and the giant 5-pound bag should last for a very long time. I made the cream sauce, added the 3 cups of cheese and poured the whole thing in my baking pan. The sauce tasted delicious and very cheesy so I skipped the step calling for more cheese in a center layer. I put it all on top.

I haven't eaten cheese in a couple of months, so this will be a real treat for me. I made my cranberry, pineapple, jello dish without the nuts to take to a dinner later. That link will take you to a blog post showing Webster, the wonder dog and it contains another link that will take you to a post with photos of my mom. So bittersweet.

I weighed myself this morning and I'm hoping I don't pack on too much weight but that's probably wishful thinking.

I did have to put it under the broiler. Here's the finished product, ready to pack in my carrying basket. HAPPY EASTER. Enjoy your day. See you later. xo

Powering Up for Easter Egg Deliveries

Easter Bunny, eating his greens in preparation for Sunday's deliveries in all the Easter baskets. via

My Cookbooks

Someone requested a photo of my cookbook collection. I took this photo this morning and there are still some spiral-bound local private press cookbooks that won't fit on this bookcase under the counter in my pantry. I must confess, I don't use most of them with any regularity but I still like having them. Once in a while, I curate them for donating and I need to do this again soon. I have been eating real food with no additives for a couple of months now, following Michael Pollan's advice:

Pollan says everything he's learned about food and health can be summed up in seven words:
"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." Read more on his website.

This was yesterday's Instagram photo and I ate the same thing for breakfast this morning. As you all know, I have been making homemade soymilk yogurt in my Instant Pot since before Christmas. I use Westsoy organic unsweetened that comes in a box and is shelved. It contains only two ingredients: whole organic soy beans and filtered water. This breakfast bowl has one peeled kiwi fruit and one clementine as toppings. I have another cup of this delicious yogurt after dinner every night, eaten plain. I could never find a plain commercial yogurt in the past that was delicious enough to eat that way.

This all started when I listened to a segment on NPR with Melissa Clark singing the praises of the Instant Pot with its built-in yogurt setting. Then I got her cookbook, Dinner in an Instant, with recipes. That's where I learned about soymilk with no additives. And the rest is history. I was hooked.

I decided to follow Pollan's advice as well. My immune system has improved greatly and I haven't been sick with a cold or sore throat since October. This is amazing, especially since the flu season was so bad this year. I was beginning to be very concerned with my personal health and was coming down with way too many colds that went to my chest and lingered way too long. They say 90% of your immune system is located in your gut and I am positive the probiotics in the yogurt have helped mine immensely and I have lost some weight as an added bonus.. I am almost afraid to say that last part out loud. Fingers crossed this will continue by eating this way. See you later. xo

Queen Elizabeth's Eating Habits

She's not a foodie. She's pretty indifferent to food. She only cares about horses and dogs. Read more about her eating habits in an interesting article in Food and Wine Magazine. She HATES garlic and it has been banned from all her residences. Queen Victoria's pots and pans from the 1800s are still in active use. 

Garden Desserts

These edible garden desserts are so charming, aren't they? The sand on the bottom layer must be crushed shortbread or other white cookies, chocolate pudding for the middle, topped by crushed chocolate cookies. I spy Oreo cookies in the background. How fun! The mint sprouts with the garden markers complete the gardening theme with potting shed items scattered around.

Nice Conversation Area with Fireplace

I like this arrangement. Each wing chair has a reading lamp and an ottoman. Reading around an open fire is one of life's pleasures.The side tables are lower than the arms of the furniture too. This is one of the rules of good interior design and a very hard one to comply with when searching for low antique tables that you like. I am pleased that I finally found mine and it's much easier for the sitter to put down a drink or a cup of coffee on a lower table than reaching up to do so. Plus it looks nicer too. It's all about scale, you know. via

It is warm and rainy today and all the snow has melted. I entered my subscription to Netflix on Sunday and love it. I have watched both seasons of The Crown and later today I will search for another addicting series to watch. 

I just cooked some chick peas in my Instant Pot and have another batch of soy milk yogurt in the pot for a 10 hour session. My last batch (8 hours) wasn't tart enough. I have a new method. I inserted my pyrex 32 oz. (4 cup) measuring cup inside the pot, added 2 tablespoons of my own yogurt to a 32 oz. box of Westsoy as a starter, stirred it up and this method was perfect. No condensation on the sides of the pot to run down and dilute the yogurt and the yogurt was much thicker. Yay.

I stumbled on a very interesting article about the invention of the Instant Pot in the business section of the New York Times. Now I love mine even more! xo

Instant Pot Soymilk Yogurt: New Batch

My favorite thing to make in my recently purchased Instant Pot is Organic Plain Unsweetened Soymilk Yogurt. I cannot remember how many batches I've made and I can't tell you how much I love it. It is made using only two brands: Edensoy and Westsoy. Both are made with only two ingredients, filtered water and organic soybeans. No fillers, thickeners, preservatives, or sweeteners. Edensoy is the more expensive and it has 12 grams of protein per cup. Westsoy has 9 grams of protein. There is no difference in taste so I've been using the Westsoy and it comes in an economical carton with 64 ounces. It is not sold in the dairy cooler but is a shelved product. At Whole Foods it is across from the cereals. You don't have to boil it to make yogurt like you do cow's milk. All you do is pour it into the Instant Pot, add 2 tablespoons of your previously made yogurt per 32 ounces. Stir, hit the Yogurt button, adjust the incubation time and come back when it's finished to jar it up. I had to buy a carton of vegan yogurt to start my first batch. All I could find was plain coconut non-dairy yogurt and that worked just fine. I have experimented with incubation times of 14 hours, 12 hours, 10 hours and 8 hours. I liked all of these batches. The longer the "cooking" time, the more sour t(tart) the yogurt. Every morning I have 1/2 cup of Ezekiel Golden Flax Cereal that I buy at ShopRite or almost any supermarket including Whole Foods. Today I had a sliced banana on top and a container of my yogurt on top of everything. This cereal is amazing. You have to buy a box and read all about it or stand in the market and read the box. There are other varieties of this Ezekiel cereal but ShopRite only carries this one and it's right around the corner from my cottage. They make a delicious bread too, good for anyone looking for products containing NO SUGAR. Sometimes I just have it plain with yogurt on top if I am out of fruit. I have used chopped apples too. So good. 

Food for LIfe

The vintage milk glass containers are leftovers from old Salton yogurt makers I have owned. I grew tired of making small batches and having to boil the milk and wait for it to cool, etc. I still have the devices in my garage and I am so glad I saved them so I could use the 6 oz. containers with lids for my current healthy endeavor. I also like not having to throw away/recycle individual yogurt containers so making my own is good for the planet too.

Broccoli Cornbread the Day After

This photo is right out of the iPhone camera with no editing and yes, the cornbread tastes as good as it looks. I had an 8:30 dental appointment and this was so good when I got home, split and toasted in the toaster oven and then spread with Kerry Gold salted butter. Recipe in yesterday's blog post.

Simplicity: Lovely Christmas Tabletop

So Lovely. I love the simplicity of this Christmas table. The initialed cookies instead of place cards are so imaginative. The sitters can take them home and hang them from their tree or eat them on the spot. I like the hanging ones overhead too, mobile style. via

Eggnog Frosted Chai Snickerdoodle Snowmen Cookies

I love the peanut butter cup hats.

No rolling pin or cookie cutter needed. Yay!

Snickerdoodles have always been a favorite cookie and these are super special rolled in chai spiced sugar. Delightful blogpost and recipe here. Thankfully, you still have time to bake them too. xo