New Address for Blog...

Thank you for visiting my blog.  This host site was great to start out.  However, there are some features that are no longer available.  So, I've found a new hosting site for my blog:

Ciasgardenshed.com 

Throwback Recipes...

We’re officially empty-nesters. My husband and I moved our daughter into her apartment in New York, New York. This theme of empty-nesting will probably show up in subsequent posts, because it does change things. The permanence of this “moving in” felt very different from the college “drop off.” Our daughter has no plans to return home, and that’s fine. I think she was born to live in NYC. She’s wanted to be there for quite a while now, and the only reason I left her new place with some composure, was because it felt right for her. We could tell that she was a little scared, but happy.

This post is about food, and some of the recipes I sent with Emma to the City. I originally planned on a binder or notebook to collect recipes, but my husband suggested that it be better to save them digitally, thinking she would prefer a more modern approach. I asked her about what she would like, and she said a binder! Yay! I really wanted to hand her a binder.

We often make our recipes a bit healthier. We replace butter with Smart Balance, white flour with whole wheat, and use skim milk and low fat cheese where possible. This applies to these throwbacks as well.

While Emma is a foodie and has chosen to pursue a master’s degree in food, she still loves some of the recipes we’ve been using since she was a kid. I’m not talking about “The Old Country” Hungarian food here. I’m talking about everyday dinner kind-of-food. 

 

Emma’s recipe collection would not be complete without a couple of selections from one of our all-time favorite cookbooks, Alpha-Bakery Children’s Cookbook by Gold Medal Flour. So loved, our copy is held together with packing tape. We had hours of great family fun trying many of the recipes. I recently searched the internet to buy a new cookbook for Emma but it looks like it’s been out of print for a while. The good news is that many online retailers are willing to sell you this $2.00 (original cost) paper booklet for prices up to $40! I'm just going to pass on our tattered copy to Em later.

By far, our top pick from Alpha-Bakery is Quick Cheeseburger Pie. I’ll admit the idea of making a pie crust intimidated me at first. But it was simple as pie! (Sorry.) It was the easiest crust I’ve ever made. The pickle juice in the filling really adds a great flavor. Emma and I eat it with yellow mustard on the side.

Another go-to from the Alpha Bakery is the Strawberry Shortcake recipe. The biscuit dough is easy and quite tasty. This dessert is a must during strawberry season. We indulge with full-fat whipped cream on these.

We have had a breakfast staple in our household for years. With four eggs, Cottage Cakes became a great source of protein for Emma as a swimmer. There is only ½ cup of flour in the recipe, and sometimes I swap in whole wheat flour. This recipe came from The Manchester Inn in Manchester, Vermont. It’s a beautiful place, and I highly recommend it if you ever head New England way.  We use low fat cottage cheese and Smart Balance or other butter substitute most of the time. The tricky thing is the consistency of the batter. You don’t want it thick, but you can’t have it running all over the frying pan either. After the ½ cup of flour, you can add more in small increments.  When you want a treat, make them with full fat everything, and serve with your favorite jam or jelly.  Yum!

*Cottage Cakes*

Manchester Inn, Manchester, Vermont

Makes about 10 cakes

1 cup cottage cheese

4 eggs, beaten

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup flour

pinch of salt

1. Beat eggs. 
2. Whisk in butter and cottage cheese.
3. Fold in flour.
4. Cook on medium heat.

Batter should not be too runny.  Add flour by the tablespoon if you need to tighten it up.

Every family has a standard mac and cheese recipe, right?  Ours has been Betty Crocker’s Macaroni and Cheese from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, Third Printing, 1980. The recipe is simple, yet the sauce makes it creamy and special. It's similar to what my Mom made during lent.  She used a swiss or other white cheese.  We use yellow Cheddar, but the recipe says you can use any other cheese, depending on your preference.  The book suggests add-ins like veggies, ham, olives, hot dogs, tomato or tuna. Frankly, we like it plain, maybe adding some hot pepper occasionally. 

*Betty Crocker’s Macaroni and Cheese*

1 to 1 ½ cups uncooked elbow macaroni, rigatoni or spinach egg noodles (about 6 ounces)

1/4 cup butter

1 small onion, chopped (about ¼ cup)

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 ¾ cups milk

2 cups shredded or cubed sharp Cheddar cheese (8 ounces)

Steps

1. Heat oven to 375°F. 

2. Cook and drain macaroni as directed on package.

3. While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in 3-quart saucepan over low heat. Stir in onion, salt and pepper.  Cook until onion is slightly tender.  

4. Blend in flour.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir one minute.

5. Stir in cheese. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted.
   Place macaroni in ungreased 1 ½ quart casserole.  Stir cheese sauce into macaroni.  Cook uncovered 30 minutes.  5 Servings.

I'm not sure how often Emma will make these recipes, but it warms my heart to know she has them--in her cute, colorful binder...with tabs...and protective sleeves...

Temperature Blanket Reworked…

I "frogged" the first version of my temperature blanket.  When I initially saw the term, I guessed that it was giving up on a project.  But further digging taught me that frogging means unraveling a piece of knitted or crocheted work.  It’s frogging because rip it, rip it, sounds like ribbit, ribbit.  Frogging. 

Original Temp Blanket

Up until the pandemic and my acquisition of a good cell phone, my knitting and crocheting was a solitary activity.  I never joined a knitting group, or participated in classes.  The pandemic gave me more time to do needle crafts, and my new phone facilitated all kinds of pattern research and inspiration from others.  Some of my favorite sites and posts for inspiration are listed below.  Ravelry is the site that taught me frogging and helped me put a nicer, cuter spin on undoing hours of work.

While I liked my first blanket, it began to reveal problems as it grew.  Because I changed color at the end of each row, the blanket was becoming misshapen.   I also realized that by crocheting in rows, I didn’t get to see enough of the colors I so painstakingly chose for the project! For me, it's all about the colors.

A fellow crocheter on Ravelry said that she would make squares for a temperature blanket.  Thank you to Laura.  After measuring and tinkering, I came up with a plan for a C2C crochet blanket--crocheting one square per day.  C2C is corner-to-corner crochet.

Reworked Temp Blanket (and kitty bum, sorry)

I found out about C2C on a site called The Patchwork Heart when I was looking for a join-as-you-go afghan design to use up scrap yarn.  I knew I wasn't experienced enough to neatly sew a bunch of squares together.  The Patchwork Heart had the best idea for my blanket. Not only did I join as I crocheted, but I was able to weave the ends in after each square. The instructions on The Patchwork Heart are superb, and I recommend them to anyone who wants to take on a C2C project.

I’m current on my daily crocheting, and couldn’t be happier about the switch.  I am enjoying the colors so much more, and am so glad I “frogged” my first try!

Ravelry.com is a huge community of needle crafters. I keep track of my projects there, participate in groups, and find patterns and inspiration.

The Patchwork Heart (https://www.thepatchworkheart.co.uk) is a beautiful site with tons of inspiration.

On Instagram, I follow brightbag from Ventspils, Latvia, for her amazing, colorful designs and tlyarncrafts, Columbus, Ohio, is a must for daily, upbeat crochet inspiration. Toni's enthusiasm is unmatched! I'm excited to have such a gifted artist in my hometown!

Chair Update...

If you’ve read my previous blog, “Please Take a Seat…,” you know that I spent a good part of my summer refinishing old chairs.  The idea was to sell the chairs and give the proceeds to charity, specifically, The Ohio Restaurant Employee Relief Fund.  

To date three chairs have sold, and the others are being sold at Fresco Furnishings in Grandview. 

While the money for the charity became the prominent motivation for me to complete the chairs, other factors contributed to my determination to get them done.  My husband wanted a garage that wasn’t packed with my “treasures,” and I needed to fight boredom during the pandemic.  Now that the chairs are completed, and in a shop for sale, I can reflect on the project.

I learned about myself, and discovered qualities I had not associated with my personality before.  I also gained a profound appreciation for the resiliency of wood and the craftsmanship, now almost 100 years old.

Some chairs were in really bad condition and I thought I would never get them in shape again. At the end of each day, dirty, sweaty and achey, I was surprised that I had the perseverance to keep going.  I sanded for hours on end, often without an electric sander because of so many curves and intricacies in the designs. With much trial and error, and the help of the internet, I learned how to change the trash-bound chairs into viable pieces of furniture. I saw something special in every chair.  Either the detailed carving, or slender lines begged me to keep going and to find a way to make those special features prominent.

Repairs were not complex, but necessary on most pieces.  I live in a tool-poor household.  Yes, we have the basics, but in each step of the job I knew there was probably a power tool that would make the task easier. It was satisfying for me to muddle through with just the basics. After all the original makers probably didn't use fancy electric tools.

Here are the chairs that remain for sale.  

This is the first chair I completed.  I’m no dummy.  I picked what looked like the easiest chair to begin the project.  If I had some early success with an easy chair, it would motivate me to tackle the worst chairs later.  This chair is small, but has great lines.  I had to fill in many holes and sand all of the old finish before I painted it blue.  The center seemed bare, so I used a flower stencil to mask the area.  After the chair was painted, I removed the mask to reveal the rich wood underneath. Most of my chairs are distressed, especially on the edges.  I think it brings out the lines of the design. 

This chair had layers and layers of finish on it. It was a sanding marathon.  My arthritic hands hated me for this chair.   There is evidence that a previous owner was going to refinish it, because the caning on the seat looks new.  One of the rungs in the middle was missing, and one was broken, so instead of six, the chair has four rungs.  

The carving at the top was really pretty.  The initial plan was to paint it all white.  I tested an area, thought it was boring, and decided to paint the leaves and flowers in the carving with a variety of colors….greens, pinks, etc. But when I wiped off the white to add the colors, I realized the design was highlighted beautifully by keeping the wood natural.  It’s quite a special feature, I think.

These chairs were actually a garage sale purchase.  I loved the style and was hoping I could make them useful again.  They looked like classroom chairs with vinyl seats.  There was gum under the seat of one of them.  Yuck!  Thank goodness for gloves.  The seats also had fragile cardboard maker’s labels on them. They were made by Bianco Manufacturing in St. Louis, Missouri.

These chairs tested my abilities, and I had to ask my neighbor, Bob, to use his power tools to cut new wooden seats for them.  I knew I wanted to use the 20-year-old madras plaid fabric to cover the seats, so I chose red paint to go with the fabric.  They would be great accent chairs for someone with a retro or mid-century taste. 

 

This chair was the last and hardest to repair.  It started out ugly.  Someone loved this piece so much that they covered the seat twice and used metal rods on each side of the bottom to hold it together!  I could see that the chair started with a caned seat.  That was gone, and in its place were two layers of something else...fake leather, vinyl?  There were several holes drilled in the bottom rungs of the chair...four for the metal rod reinforcements, and several others.  With my minimal skills, I was able to repair the wood, patch the holes and make the rungs functional again without the rods.  

The wild fabric dictated the paint color.  I hope someone can love this chair as much as the previous owner did!

If you know anyone who might be interested in any of these chairs, please pass this on. I would love to continue to send checks to the restaurant fund.

One idea led to another. Fresco Furnishings has started their own fundraising drive for the Ohio Restaurant Employee Relief Fund.  You can take your gently used furniture and home-decor to Fresco on Fifth Avenue for them to sell and raise cash to support our neighbors in the restaurant industry. If you have questions or would like more information, please call them at 614-586-1963 or email them at info@frescofurnishings.com. 

Temperature Blanket...

The motivation for me to write depends on the color of the sky.   There is another blog waiting, but it’s about letting go in 2020, not the cheeriest topic.  So, I’m writing about a Temperature Blanket because it's very exciting!

My Google phone spies on me all of the time, listening and remembering everything I research online.  It was designed to do that, I guess.  Being a knitting/crocheting weather geek, I receive “news” on those topics daily.  For a few days in December, my phone combined the two subjects and began showing me articles on “temperature blankets.”  I scrolled past the titles guessing they were some sort of blanket that keeps you warm in cold and vice versa.  Silly me.  When I finally clicked on an article, I discovered that a temperature blanket is an afghan knitted or crocheted a row or square a day according to the temperature. What a find!  A project that combines needlework and weather observation was just what I needed to boost my winter mood.  While it’s a big, year-long project, I knew I could easily commit to crocheting one row a day.

Rather than follow a pattern (there are oodles on the web), I decided to plan my own afghan.  I think I did it backward, but I finally solidified a plan to suit me.  Because the yarn is the fun part, I started there.   The only thing I  knew at that point was that I wanted washable wool yarn, and I needed to find it in a bunch of colors.  I went to Yarn.com (WEBS) and, rather than wasting  hours looking on the site, I did an online chat with a representative.  After I told her what I was looking for,  she suggested several brands and styles that might work for me.   Talking with her saved me time and frustration.  I highly recommend the chat feature on their site.  Valley Yarns Superwash Wool Worsted was my choice.  With 32 shades to choose from I had no problem deciding on my color progression for the year. 

Because I love changing colors when I crochet, and because I wanted a lot of color variation in my blanket, I used small increments. I broke my plan into four-degree sections. For instance, 5 to 9 degrees is steel grey. My colors include blues for winter, greens in spring, then yellow and orange for summer. If it gets really hot, 95 or above, I’ve chosen pinks. Buying the yarn gets tricky. You don’t really know how much you need. I bought one skein of each color to cover from 20 to 54 degrees to get me through the colder days. When the temps start to rise, I’ll start buying my spring colors. I can’t wait!

The size was the most challenging aspect of my plan. I did SEVERAL test swatches before I settled on my pattern.  At first I thought I’d do corner to corner crochet, which looks like little squares.  My test swatch measured one inch per row. Oops!  At that rate my blanket would have been a whopping 365 inches or 30 feet long at the end!  Finally, I decided on half-double crochet with worsted weight yarn using a size F hook.  I’m following a pattern of one full row, one row of halves, and one row of thirds. I didn’t want to use a row for each day because I thought it would look boring, and the blanket would still be too big.  

Who knew that I could combine my interest in weather with daily crocheting? The weather geek in me has existed for a long time. Years ago, I worked in aviation education, and couldn’t get enough of the idea of flight and weather. I actually passed ground school with flying colors. That means if I want to start flight lessons, I’m set!  Joking.  Crocheting is my speed now.

  

Yesterday was the coldest day (24) so far this year and I was able to use Mulberry for the first time.  It’s fun for me to look at my blanket and see what the weather pattern is.  Right now, the prominent colors are navy blue and white which means that we are often at 30o to 39o...a warm winter so far.  My favorite color is periwinkle blue.  It’s for colder temps, 25o to 29o, so I keep hoping for cold to use it more often.

It’s not too late to start a blanket.  You can easily find the temperature history for January.  I also think you could adapt this idea for other projects, especially for kids.  You could color a line or shape each day to form a beautiful weather history for 2021!

A daily check of the temperature is good for everyone!