As Time Zips By

So what have I been doing for the last 10+ years instead of turning this blog into a money maker? It seems that lots of people who started blogging when I did went on to either turn their blog into a business or else to turn the skills they learned into a business...photography, blog writing, etc. I cheer each of them on because when you love something and can also make money doing it, it deserves a cheer!

So why did I take the path less traveled in the blogosphere? Part of it is a desire to keep it simple, part is a lack of time to turn it into a business.

A little over a month ago the half year anniversary of this blog rolled around without any fanfare. Still, that means that I've now been blogging over ten and a half years. During that time Sweetie and I have remodeled the farmhouse, the main bathroom, the laundry room, and...the biggie...the kitchen. We've also created a new front entry, redone the front deck and maybe the back one, too...all of these projects run together sometimes. There were a couple of window installations when we discovered that the folks who built the house didn't believe in window flashing. Sweetie built a 20 x 15 one-story shed from scratch and remodeled the old storage shed into a kitchen for the remodel and then into an art studio for me. He has been upgrading his work area in the barn over time, too. Perhaps the most interesting was the time when we removed some tall windows in the living room area of the house and ended up repairing the second story, the first story and even the subfloor due to water damage.  So I guess that these project are one reason I didn't devote all my energy to making my blog into a source of income.

Then there is the P.E.O. Scholarship group. Making scholarships for women a reality takes time, energy, patience, persistence, and good will. There are also fundraisers that take all of that and skills, too. I have benefitted far more from all of our efforts as a sisterhood than I've ever given, but the time spent is also time not available to the blog.

Somewhere in there I took watercolor classes and graphic arts update classes on programs like InDesign and Photoshop. I do a 10-12 page full color Newsletter for the regional arm of P.E.O., plus various cards, programs, flyers and that sort of thing. For a couple of years I helped with the photo albums, too. Sometimes I have to revisit art skills that have gone stale.

Lately I've been trying out acrylics painting a sand and seascape with clouds. It's a work in progress in many ways.

Let's not forget the garden, a source of joy for me. During those ten + years I started hundreds of tomato starts from seed,

way too many zucchini and other squash plants, plus beans, cucumbers and flowers galore. Anyone who has gardened knows that producing the plants is just the beginning of a lot of work over a lot of months.

Then there is social time with family and friends, fun time with the dogs, the usual life stuff like grocery shopping and laundry and cleaning the house. It's a wonder I have time to do the couple-a-week posts I do put up.

So, there you have it; lots of reasons why this is still an ordinary, non-commercial food blog. Still, I've posted over 1,180 times and so there are over 1,000 recipes in all those posts, too. Hope that you wander around and find some new ones that tickle your fancy. A lot of them are for baked good, especially bread, but there are plenty of others. A great one for this time of year is the Creamy Coleslaw Dressing recipe. Coleslaw goes so well with barbecued meats and poultry, pulled pork, and grilled sea food. You may also enjoy the fictional Land of St. Honore', where baking is a birthright.

Thanks for stopping by, dear Reader.

Herbed Pinwheels

Yesterday I was looking for a recipe that I posted a long time ago. I found it but then started reading posts older than that one. It was fun to see some of the old recipes and to find that the five things I most wanted to change about myself ten years ago are still the ones that need the most work, although some progress has been made. Somehow I hadn't really understood that the blog is almost a teenager now. A lot of things have changed in the last 10+ years besides my hair now being silver gray instead of red.

My posts are not as chatty. I was busy then, but as I've gotten older it seems to take longer to do almost anything, including writing posts. I also didn't have Facebook then and I do spend at least half an hour on Facebook a day.

There aren't so many over the top desserts, either. I think some of the earlier excess can be laid at the feet of the Daring Bakers, but I wouldn't change a thing. I had such fun doing those complex recipes and learning how to make a mirror cake, a buche de noel, Gateau St. Honore', eclairs, and so many other delights. Now the dessert is more likely to be a homey gingerbread or lemon tea cake, something wacky like Christmas crack popcorn chunks, or a simple apricot tart. Having cut out all dairy is challenging when it comes to desserts, too. Anything with whipped cream is out, cheesecake and things with cream cheese are not on the menu either. Still, I have found substitutions so that I can still make Anzac cookies and brownies, and similar yummy delights.

The one thing that doesn't seem to have changed much is my passion for bread baking. Having a sourdough starter in the fridge probably helps there, but mostly I just love making bread and sharing bread with friends and family. It's basic, but it's love, too. My latest creation is a herbed roll for dinner on Tuesday that looks like a cinnamon roll, but is savory and herby and garlicky instead. I baked it in our toaster oven out in my art studio so as to keep the heat out there because the last few days have been hot for here and there was no way I was going to heat up the big oven.

For these I did a basic sourdough dough like the one here (except that I used all-purpose flour and bread flour, no whole wheat or 12-grain), rolled it out after the first rise to a 12 x 12-inch square, painted the dough with a combination of olive oil and lemon flavored olive oil (1 tablespoon of each, spread but leaving an inch all around bare), then sprinkled on Pensey's Sandwich Sprinkle, which is a combination of salt, garlic, black pepper, oregano, thyme and rosemary. I added some fresh rosemary, too (about 1 tablespoon, stripped from the stem and separated into leaves), then rolled it up like a jelly roll, sealing the edges.

Just like with cinnamon rolls, I cut the dough roll into slices about 1-inch thick, then put them into a greased flat pan. I didn't use a cake pan as I usually do because I was using the toaster oven and the thicken metal works better to get a nice crust on the bottom. I left a little space between the buns, covered them lightly and let them puff up while the oven preheated. I also added a little bit of sea salt on the tops of the rolls. They didn't puff up a whole lot, but there were still plenty of nice air pockets and a nice crumb.

I baked them at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then switched to the broiler for 5 minutes, then back to fan bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. By then the rolls were baked and browned enough to enjoy. By then I was also hot enough to enjoy being inside again. We had microwaved steamed broccoli, chicken cooked at the market, and a cool salad. The rolls were wonderful with all of that.

Post-Christmas Reflections

The run up to Christmas was hectic and fun, as it often is. We were blessed this year to have time with our wonderful daughter from Wednesday through Saturday evening and we packed in a lot of good times. There was a game night with neighbors and adult libations, viewing of two movies, including the current box office hit Star Wars - The Force Awakens. We saw most of the Warriors NBA game on Christmas, preceded by lots of gift opening and a nice walk with Pi doggie at the Laguna.

We enjoyed sushi on Wednesday, New York deli pastrami and corned beef (and my own turkey) sandwiches on Christmas Eve, a wonderful Christmas morning brunch which included sweet rolls and scrambled eggs and baked ham and lots of coffee (and tea for me and Straight Shooter), then an easy Christmas dinner with fresh-baked biscuits on top of a chicken stew I cooked on Christmas Eve, plus a delicious fruit and nut salad that Grandma brought. I made the stew early because I knew I would be tired by Christmas dinner time and because most things made with cooked onions seem to taste better the next day.

Of course there were also Christmas cookies now and again throughout the time we were all together, Santa's Whiskers, white chocolate and dried cranberry ones and molasses ginger cookies, plus some crescents and some delicious cookies that Sweetie's sister in Virginia sent. I won't even go into the beverages, except to say that the spiced Old Fashioned drinks with good quality bourbon were a good reason to forgo my self-imposed ban on alcohol.The day after Christmas we saw more family and some friends and ate and drank again with gusto.

 I hope that your holidays included some fun times and some spiritual reflection, too. I am the fortunate caretaker of the family nativity scene that graced my parent's mantle for many years. The photo at the top of the blog is of where it sits this year on the Willett hutch cabinet. You can't see it in this photo, but Mom's photo in the blue sweater was on the right of the greenery arrangement as I know she was with us in spirit. It seems to me that one of the reasons that Christmas has been embraced as a special holiday is because love and the arrival of divine love is the reason for the holiday and there is never too much love. Love inspires us to give to those we love and to cook for those we love and celebrate with them the return of light to the winter world. Although I hope that "Santa" gave you what you were most wishing for, my true hope is that you experienced the gift of love in abundance this Christmas season.

Coming Up On The 22nd

Although I have at least one post to put up between now and then, very soon, on Oct. 22nd, I will have completed nine years of blogging. Thousands of recipes later I know that my photography and writing has improved, the range of skills in the kitchen has improved, and the number of new friends made has been wonderful. So many new foods and techniques and implements have been tried as I explored different food cultures, high end baking, gluten free and dairy free food prep and more. I hope the ride has been fun for you, dear reader, since you may be lurking but you are still important to me as I write up each post and choose which photos to use.

Ever since last fall when we finished the new kitchen it feels like my life is at one of those transition or crossroads places. Some things are ending or have ended and others are beginning. Not sure how the blog will fit in but I don't think I'm quite done with it yet. After all, on the 20th I'll post the last cake from the book the Cake Slice Bakers have been baking from this year and the following month we will be into a new book, so it would be hard to stop just now.

Also the holidays are coming and I usually find inspiration for special holiday recipes. Who knows, there might be a holidays cookbook around the corner with recipes for lots of major holidays. Of course I might take up stand up paddle boarding and give up blogging altogether. If there is a particular recipe you would like me to make to celebrate the beginning of the 10th year, let me know. It could be something of mine you love and want me to make again, or a challenge to fire me up. Maybe there will be 9 or 10 more years of Feeding My Enthusiasms.

Musings in February

Funny how we really don't see ourselves clearly.

This week I was having lunch with K and she gave me a wonderful birthday gift...a satin scarf in a lovely Baroque print in shades of brown and green. She was anxious because she wasn't sure it was my style (in fact it is just right for me!) and said that she doesn't have any style herself, which was why she was worried. That startled me because the day before I had been thinking that I wished I had her sense of style. She is always beautifully coordinated. She says that she just wears tops and bottoms, but her tops have embroidery, lovely wooden beads, and other embellishments, plus the colors are perfect for her.

Then I received a wonderful letter from Grandma L. She said that I am a formidable woman, as well as smart and other nice things. I had never thought of myself as formidable! Forceful, perhaps, and a go-getter, but maybe some of that translates into formidable. Who knew?

One thing I'm not is perfect (well, who is really?) and I proved that last night. I decided to bake some Anzac cookies for Sweetie for Valentine's Day in heart shapes. After dinner I put together the batter, even adding some anti-oxidant dried fruit mix to offset the butter. In to the preheated oven they went, I checked my watch for the time, then went and did some e-mail. My nose is notorious...I can't smell things burning until they are well and truly charred. That is what happened! The poor things were black on the bottom and sides. The broiler had been on to broil pork chops for dinner and I guess it made the oven hotter than it should have been. So the bad news is that there won't be any cute cookies for V-Day, but we are such sick puppies that the good news is we ate about half of them anyway, char and all.

I'm including a photo of how they looked, plus one of a batch I made a while ago that look like they are supposed to look. Also a shot of golden syrup dripping into the pan...the golden syrup is the 'secret ingredient' for these yummy bites. I use Lyles' Golden Syrup from the import section of my grocery store.

Happy birthday to me and Happy Valentine's Day to y'all. Hope your Valentines treats work out better than mine did!

xoxoxo Elle