Sister's Birthday Luncheon ~ Rosebud Chintz

January, the month two of my three younger sisters celebrate their birthdays.My three younger sisters and I gather every year to celebrate our birthdays.This year I had the privilege of hosting the birthday luncheon in my home.I chose to use the Spode china I had just been given from my Aunt Ruby and cousin Christine. This birthday luncheon was truly a family affair.

My three younger sisters pose for me as I capture their images for yet another birthday celebration.

I arranged fresh flowers in the Spode gravy boat. The goblets are special, all 4 of us have these goblets and we bring them to all our birthday luncheons.

I deviled some eggs laid especially for me by my flock of chickens, and also bought some blue cheese stuffed olives. The bowl is almost empty though because I cannot resist them. A pound of these olives had dwindled dramatically by the time I actually put them out to share with my sisters.

Grapes, French bread generously slathered in butter & herbs...

...and my home made clam chowder. Clam chowder made WITHOUT potatoes ! I hate potatoes. I did cook up some diced potatoes to add to the chowder two of my sisters ate, but my youngest sister & I do not like potatoes. This chowder is chock full of bacon, mushrooms, clams, sour cream, butter. Not a diet lunch for sure, but this is the very best clam chowder I have ever eaten, and I think I could have easily eaten the whole super big crock pot of this all by myself if given the chance. But, I shared, because after all, it was not my birthday.

The birthday girls, my two youngest sisters.Of course they had their birthday crowns on, and they were having too much fun, but on your birthday fun is the name of the game. Fun and cake !

My teacup / coffee cup for this TeaTime Tuesday is my Rosebud Chintz, by Spode.

I am linking to the gracious tea ladies listed below. Please check out their blogs and enjoy the many variations of tea times from all over the world. Don't forget to have a cup of tea to sip while enjoying your vicarious travels.Maybe you too will decide to share your teacups and tea times.You need not go online to share your hospitality, simply share a cup of tea with a friend or family member, and remember you're all the more blessed for this time.

Check out these Tea-Time Tuesday blogs:

1. Terri at Artful Affirmations *
2. Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *
3.  Martha's Favorites *   
4. Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor *
5. Antiques & Teacups *

Thanks For The Memories Mrs. Okimura!

My Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook was a Christmas gift to me in 1972 from my parents. I had a hope chest to put it into until I married and left home. When I was growing up and during the first years of my marriage this was THE "go to" cookbook for me. It contained all the recipes and how to's I needed, even a chapter on table settings and etiquette for serving! This book contains so very many memories. Memories that start way back in Hale Kula Elementary School at Schofield Barracks , Hawaii where I attended 3 years of school. My favorite teacher of all my school years was Mrs. Okimura, my 4th grade teacher. Look at this page of my cookbook!(click on picture to enlarge and read recipe) It has the very first recipe I baked all by myself thanks to Mrs. Okimura. I don't remember the occasion, but our beautiful teacher ( yes, she really was the prettiest and nicest teacher in the school and all us kids wanted HER to be our teacher, I got to be in her class!) decided we needed coffee cake to serve to someone visiting, I think. So she allowed me and a few other students to mix up this coffee cake batter and pour it into pans to be baked in the school cafeteria. WOW! I was allowed to do this with little help, she thought I could, and I did! When I went home later that day I showed my Mom the recipe in our cookbook and Mom allowed me to bake this. I baked it many , many times over the course of my growing up years and when I received this cook book as a gift I immediately marked the recipe with the date and place I first made it. I have also baked this simple coffee cake more times than I can count during our children's growing up years. I would whip it up for surprise company, or a quick dessert . Now when I make it I add a dash of instant coffee crystals and almost triple the topping recipe, so much better...but still reliably good baked just as the book requires. Our granddaughter came over for her weekly reading lesson with me and I thought back to my good experiences in learning, what made and still makes me happy and I immediately remembered Mrs. Okimura. Well then, today MN and Grandma would start the lesson reading a cookbook recipe and baking it. And MN was delighted! Look at her smile. ( BTW, when she comes over she requires that BOTH of us go upstairs to my bathroom and put on our "whipstick", hence the lovely red lips)

MN cracked the egg, added the ingredients and mixed the batter up all by herself. Then poured this mix into the baking pan she had greased by herself.

The brown sugar & cinnamon topping is yummy!

Look, butter and sugar coated hands!

Better finish off the batter left in the bowl before washing up, can't waste this!

And before we move onto more of our reading lesson while we wait for the cake to bake she washes the dishes. MN thinks THIS is the best part of all, washing the dishes and cleaning up. Really. She then offered to help me clean my entire house, yes, really! I decided we needed to continue on with the reading lesson instead.

The cake was done just as Poppa came home from work so the three of us had cake and coffee or hot chocolate.

This is what MN thought of her cake! And I was thinking about Mrs. Okimura, and how she affected my life for the good all those years ago and how special people like her give the gift of memories that affect people for the better for all their years. Thank-you for the memories Mrs. Okimura, and I suspect our little MN will thank you too.

"Memories: The state of being remembered; a living continuously in the minds of men." Funk & Wagnalls Dictionary

Whole Roasted Cricket Ball Squash~ Jamie Oliver Friday

My husband's vegetable garden produced 8 acorn squashes. We love acorn squash so I decided to try Jamie Oliver's recipe for them. We are pretty much at the end of our fresh garden produce supply, but there are still carrots and 1 hardy lettuce plant if I am in the mood for a slightly bitter tasting lettuce. Isn't this a pretty dish of squash? I followed Jamie's recipe completely, including side salad and garnish of goat cheese. So here is the recipe for~ Whole Roasted Cricket Ball Squash

• 4 gem or small acorn squash
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 level teaspoon coriander seeds
• a pinch of ground cinnamon
• 8 sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a large handful of arugula, washed and spun dry ( I used arugula in a large box of baby salad greens from Costco)
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 lemon
• 9 ounces tasty goat's cheese or feta cheese

"Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice off the top part of the squash, where the stalk comes out, leaving you with a lid for each squash. Please do this carefully-no slipping! Scoop out the seeds and discard them. Crush up all the herbs and spices in a pestle and mortar or Flavor Shaker until ground to a powder. Drain the sun-dried tomatoes reserving the oil. Drizzle a little of the oil into each squash and use your fingers to smear it around the insides. Season the inside of each squash with salt and pepper followed by a sprinkling of the spice mixture. Finely chop up the sun-dried tomatoes and add these to the squash, giving each one a little mix around. Place lid on top of each squash, place in a baking dish and roast in the pre-heated oven for around 45 minutes to an hour until the flesh inside is soft." "Take your squash out of the oven. I like to let the squash cool down for a little while I simply dress the arugula with a pinch of salt and pepper, a drizzle of good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Place a whole squash onto each of your serving plates . Cut up the goat's cheese and place some on each plate. Serve with the dressed arugula and a teaspoon for scooping out the incredible flavors." "P.S. I like the fact that there's something lovely and simple about the recipe above, but there are lots of variations that can be introduced to it-you could try stuffing the squash with sauteed mushrooms, cheese or bacon." Jamie Oliver My husband and I were not impressed with the taste of this squash dish. We did taste it Jamie's way, then promptly added butter to the squash. It was tasty with the tomatoes and herbs, but I think I will continue preparing squash with butter and serve brown sugar on the side to sprinkle in. I have never served acorn squash this way, as a bowl with a lid and I very much like the presentation...so recipe? I will not make again, but I will be serving my squash this way many more times!

Jamie Oliver Friday & Thankful to Be Able To Post!

This is the Jamie Oliver meal we had last Friday. Here I thought I was a good little Girl Scout and prepared ahead of time with delicious results. However reality and life do exert their prerogative to totally thumb their noses at me and usurp my plans. I know this NEVER happens to any of you. Shortly after my last post our computer caught a virus and had to be sent to the computer hospital , whereupon we paid an extra fee to have our dearly beloved computer restored quickly. Our computer came home with amnesia and thanks to a dear friend ( and NOT the computer hospital ) we have some semblance of computer function and now I have to relearn my computer, and he has to re-learn us. Namely , I have to figure out where all the files and pictures are hidden , as the back-up disks the computer hospital made for us grouped all my precious pictures in strange ways and places. As I work out the game of hide-and-seek with my pictures I was able to locate Jamie's picture and download the last meal we made using his book. Here goes... Jamie's Balsamic-Baked Onions & Potatoes With Roast Pork "This dish has attitude-it uses a lot of balsamic vinegar but, trust me , it works really well!....I've chosen to serve them with pork, but beef or lamb works just as well." J. Oliver You Will Need:

• 3 and 1/2 pounds medium sliced waxy potatoes ( all purpose..we used potatoes from our garden) peeled and quartered lengthwise
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil
• 7 ounces butter, cubed
• a bunch of fresh rosemary leaves picked and chopped
• 1 whole bulb of garlic, quartered or smashed
• 5 medium red onions, peeled and quartered
• 1 and 1/2 cups cheap balsamic vinegar

For The Pork

• a small bunch of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons freshly ground fennel seeds
• 1 - 3 and 1/2 pound pork loin ( or beef or lamb of choice)
• olive oil
• 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 medium red onion, peeled and quartered
• 2 sticks of celery trimmed and chopped
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 wineglasses of white wine
• extra virgin olive oil

"Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the potatoes into a pan of boiling water and cook for about 8 minutes, then drain and return to the pan. Chuff them up a bit by shaking the pan. To prepare the meat, scatter a handful of finely chopped rosemary leaves onto a large chopping board. Sprinkle over some salt and pepper and the ground fennel seeds. Roll the pork ( or roast of choice) across the board, pressing down hard so all the flavorings stick to it. Get a large roasting pan that your pork will fit snugly into, and place it on a burner over medium high heat. Pour in a little olive oil and place the pork in, fat side down, sprinkled with any flavorings remaining on the board. After a few minutes, when the pork fat is lightly golden , turn it over and add the garlic cloves, onion, celery and bay leaves to the pan. Place on the bottom shelf of your pre-heated oven for an hour, basting it halfway through. ( For the last 20 minutes of cooking you may need to cover the pork with a bit of damp waxed paper to stop it coloring too much.) Get another roasting pan into which you can fit the potatoes in one layer, and heat it on the stove. When hot, pour a glug of olive oil into it and add the butter, rosemary and garlic. Add the potatoes and toss them in all the flavors. Add the onions and all the balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes on the burner to reduce the balsamic vinegar a little. Place the pan on the top shelf ( of oven ) and cook for around 50 minutes until potatoes and onions are dark, sticky and crispy- removing the pan to toss the onions and potatoes half-way through. After an hour , the meat should be cooked. Prick it with a sharp knife- if the juices run clear, it's done; if not, pop it back in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, keeping the potatoes warm . Remove it from the oven and let it rest on a plate for 10 minutes. Pour away most of the fat from the pan and mash up the garlic and onion. Place the pan over the burner and add the white wine. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by half,scraping all the meaty, marmitey goodness off the bottom to make a tasty little sauce, and season if necessary. Pass through a sieve into a serving pitcher. Then slice the pork and serve it with your incredible baked onions and potatoes, drizzled with the pan juices. Great with some nice greens on an arugula salad." J. Oliver The vegetable portion of this recipe is delicious all by itself! We decided the wine sauce was not worth the effort because the sauce from the vegetable dish was superior to it. The pork loin I bought was on sale, however this would be delicious as a beef or lamb dish too. And don't think this recipe requires an expensive cut of meat, it does NOT! Worth making and great eating. Thanks again Jamie! BTW, I served home-made buttermilk biscuits slathered in REAL butter and home-made yellow plum jam along-side this dish.

Chicken and Biscuit Weather

~Do you see him? Hiding in the grass, behind a few tiny branches?~

~There he is, the Mallard Duck that hangs out on the other side of our pond. There used to be two ducks, him and his mate. Then..just him! But I do not think he is alone. I think, actually, am pretty sure, his mate is sitting on her clutch of eggs. I think she is on the island in the middle of our pond. I check every day to see what is going on around the pond. ~Today was a chilly and rainy day..a Chicken and Biscuit for dinner kind of day!

~CHICKEN and BISCUITS~ This is just plain comfort food. I got the recipe from my daughter A.Joy When her children know this is what they are having for dinner, they get pretty excited. I agree with them, this is good eating, especially on those days you want a meal that goes down easy because it tastes sooooooooooo good!

Ingredients:

1. Chicken-about 2 breasts or 4-5 thighs cut into bite size pieces
2. 1/3 cup butter or margarine
3. 1/4 cup flour
4. 3 cups chicken broth
5. about 1 Tablespoon chopped thyme
6. 7 to 9 large baking powder biscuits

After chicken pieces are cut up, fry in large Dutch oven style pan with thyme. When chicken is cooked through, remove from pan and set aside.Melt butter in same pan and add flour. Stir until thickened into a roux. Slowly pour in chicken broth, stirring constantly. After roux has dissolved into the broth, add chicken and thyme back into the pan. Let simmer on low while you make your biscuit dough. Cut out biscuits and place directly on top of chicken and broth. ( Biscuits may sink under broth, that's O.K.) If your pan can go into the oven to bake-let chicken and biscuits on medium heat for about 30 minutes. Then place in oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until biscuits are lightly brown. Remove from oven and EAT!!! (if your pan is not safe inside oven-pour chicken and broth into baking pan , place biscuits on top, then bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until biscuits are brown)

~Maybe the weather will warm up soon, but my favorite days are still those that call for an evening fire in the woodstove , hot coffee with dinner, and a warm blanket to sleep comfortably.Blessings to me, and I do not take them for granted!~