January Snowballs

About the only kind of snowballs I can stand for very long are one of two pleasing varieties. There's the delicious offered-in-many-amazing-flavors: New Orleans snowballs...a sweet ice-cold treat in a cup.

The other variety is easier for me to get at the moment and I'm pleased as punch to be teaching the technique to my younger daughter: the snowball quilt pattern. We have started working on a quilt-pattern-a-month plan so she can learn more about this new disease she is suffering from: sewing!
This morning our girl time was spent setting up for the January pattern. Cutting, playing with colors, ironing, pinning and finally sewing...with a short break in there for a hot bowl of homemade potato soup with cheese and one quick Andy Griffith show.
The outcome was a lot of oos and aahs at her beautiful first attempt at making snowballs that won't leave you freezing...in fact, they may even warm you up. Not as tasty as a New Orleans snowball but much better than the seemingly endless white variety we have sitting out in the front yard.

Saturday Sillies

Home-cookin' always does this to me. Is it knowing that I'm about to be eat something amazing or is it the savory aroma playing with my mind???

Teach a Girl to Cook.....

and she'll feed her teenage brothers for a while.

Yesterday, Jenna and I made an apple bread using a Pete-Bakes recipe. I found it to be too dry when using his exact measurements so I added a bit more milk. We also added a vanilla glaze (his recipe doesn't use one). These breads go so quickly at our house, especially when stuffed into lunches for work or when a stealthy maneuver occurs at midnight...which happens frequently around here!

Boy can those guys eat! We clock a lot of time in the kitchen working on old and new recipes, mostly created from scratch cooking, to feed this family.

Today I'm working on a delicious beef stew made with no-hormone beef and homemade beef stock. The stew meat is browned in oil for a crispy piece of meat and a built-in roux. I've also got a herb bread rising that is full of oregano, basil and garlic. Comfort is on it's way.

52 Weeks of Living

2009 has me reflecting on 2008 and what I accomplished. My flickr account reminds me of how much we did and takes me back to fond memories. I decided to help myself out next year when this urging comes again by taking one picture a week this year.