Dining room plans

The trouble with this room:

 

Well, in fact, there are many troubles here...The shiny of the brass fixture, the mint green Martha Stewart paint, the curtains (yuck), and the un-inspired decor in general.  I love the mirror, the furniture, and the stained glass cling on that window.  But this room need s a re-vamp for sure!  I purchased a couple gallons of paint in "Tobacco Leaf" - a neutral that I think will go better with the earthy colors of the textiles in here, but I am leaning towards putting wainscotting below the chair rail, and that makes me a bit nervous.  I'm not exactly a Handy Woman when it comes to tools!

See what I mean about it being un-inspired?  I have since moved those two small line drawings of a church in Galveston...and those portraits need to be restored and re-framed.  And the green looks different on each wall because mama didn't buy flat paint... the sheen of the paint makes a big difference.  It's starting to get under my skin a little more each time I pass through here.  But this week we are expecting a cold front and I won't be able to throw open all the doors and windows in here and really go to town with the painting.  So, I'm still laying my plans for one big dining room re-do week - Whatcha think?

21 years

Firstborn turned 21...

For some reason it was really hard for me to get a decent picture!  He was squirming, cause the spotlight and all eyes were on him - the introverted, shy type who doesn't go in for a lot of fanfare.  Still, I had to tell the story of the day he was born, because I never want him to think we'll just forget how special his birth  is to this family...how it was rainy and cold, and his dad drove me to the hospital in the very early morning in our little red pick up truck.  How dad ate a breakfast taco and watched the Three Stooges in my labor room after he was sure I was comfortable from the epidural.  How our college friends came to admire our sweet baby boy, then decorated our front yard and brought us food to last the week.  After that we had to talk about his first birthday;  it had a train theme because he loved Thomas the Tank Engine, I forgot the balloons until after the party started, so dad ran to HEB to pick them up and it turned out, Firstborn was afraid of balloons!....

21 years, 21 birthdays, and so many  memories...

I'll remind him every year because I never want him to think I don't treasure every one.

Slow Cooker Bacon Jam

Just the sound of those words together make my mouth water and so, when I came upon this recipe from Everyday Food magazine, I thought I would give it a try!  Everything is better with bacon, right?

You will need 1-1/2 lbs, bacon (I used two 12 oz. pkgs.), 2 medium onions, garlic, cider vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup, and brewed coffee.

Cut the bacon into 1 inch pieces and fry it up - since my pan is smallish, I did one package at a time, then I switched to a larger pot so it would all fit together.  I cooked it down 'til the fat was rendered, then saved 1T. bacon fat* and scooped the bacon out with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels. 

  Cook both of those onions, diced fine, and about 1T of that minced garlic.  If you've ever wondered, "who on earth is buying those gigantic jars of minced garlic?"  That would be me.  I used it in 99% of my cooking.  Tonight I am fixing pancakes; I will leave it out.

 

 Add the  bacon to the onions in the skillet with 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark, your call), 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, and 3/4 cup brewed coffee.  Bring it to a boil and cook about 2 minutes.

Dump it with the bacon  into a crock pot.  The recipe says to cook on high, uncovered for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.  I did 2 hours on high, uncovered; then 2 hours on low, covered.  It seemed like it was getting dry and I needed to go run a couple errands.   I didn't take another photo after 4 hours but it was a much darker color and the house smelled amazing.

 I let it cool a little, then pulsed it in my blender a bit.  The  recipe says "pulse 'til coarsely chopped" in a food processor - a blender can do that just as well.  There should still be some texture to it.  I ladled it into a jar and popped it in the fridge.  Supposedly it will last 4 weeks.  I can tell you right now, it will not.  It has a smoky sweet bacon-y flavor that is soooo good.

Can't wait to spring it on my bacon-loving peeps!

Gina

 Shared with:

and

Dinner theater for One

What do you get when your mom makes some kind of alfredo-pumpkin-ravioli dish and you get your choice of that or something leftover, and no one else is eating dinner right now because they are either at work or a scout meeting, and that's fine with her because she has her feet up watching Lidia's Italy?

Dinner and a movie!
Ghostbusters 2, with  fried chicken, corn on the cob, and apparently, lots of butter.  It's good to be the baby of the family, I guess!

Gina

Shared with:

Disloyal cat!

Does she ever sit in my lap? No.  And she won't even come to me when called.

You would think she belongs to Firstborn - she loves his room.

A Man and his Lap Cat.  It's a beautiful thing.

I guess.

Winter garden

It's technically winter here, but it was very mild for our trip to 

Brenham to visit Grandma.

It's about to be over for the growing season, but that doesn't mean she isn't still harvesting a little from her garden and making plans for what to plant in the spring.

Today she harvested  kale and some cabbage.  Yea! 

Cabbage for the New Year is supposed to bring wealth!

  

  

  It almost makes me want a garden of my own...

Gina