I'm Dreaming of This

There it is...My dream....isn't it adorable? It is here in San Luis Obispo. I can't stop driving by it. We (John) is going to TRY and see if we can come just a LITLE bit close to this here at Farmhouse. He is going to put on the little shed roof and we are going to plant a Virgina Creeper to grow over it. I have it bad for that vine-covered cottage thing. When we moved here 2 years ago the garden was a concrete driveway..the downstairs, well, I can't even talk about it, it was that bad. We pretty much have the inside done...( 2 years of living in a remodel with 2 cats and a blind dog, thank you.)Now for the outside. We need to plant some trees. Turning the whole thing into a vegetable garden was just too much.
We are going to get some liquid amber trees and plant, plant, plant. I don't know how close we can come to this dream..but we'll try. Wish us luck. We're gonna need it.

Eggnog Scones...The Recipe

I love collecting old books...these are a few I have gathered along the way...now...wondering to do with some of that leftover eggnog...well, make eggnog scones. These are perfect for Thanksgiving morning. You can make them the day before and freeze them...then in the morning just put on a pot of coffee or some tea and pop them in the oven to nibble on while you cook and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The colder they are before you bake them the better.

Eggnog Scones
Farmhouse Kitchen

Recipe adapated from King Arthur Flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Ingredients:

Dough:
2 3/4 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup cold eggnog

Topping:
1 Tablespoon eggnog
2 Tablespoons sparkling white sugar or cinnamon sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients. Work in butter till crumbly.
In a seperate bowl mix together egg, vanilla, and eggnog.
Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix together till moist and holds together.This dough is easy to work with.

On a parchment lined baking sheet place dough and pat into a 10 inch circle. Score it in wedges like you were cutting a pie. (Mine never scores very well.)

Brush with eggnog and sprinkle with sugar.

For best texture and highest rise place scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered while oven is heating. Bake at preheated 425 degrees for 20 mintues or till golden brown. I had to really watch the last of the cooking. Make sure a toothpick comes out clean before you remove from the oven. Scones are best served warm with jam or butter. They can easliy be reheated.

While Visions Of Drumsticks Danced In Our Heads

Aren't those sheets just the cutest? I got them years ago from Garnet Hill. I have never seen them since. I put them on my bed every Thanksgiving. Reminds me of Grandma Moses. The oak tree sits right outside my bedroom window and at Thanksgiving it turns the color of gold. I wait for it all year..the way the early morning sun coming up over Terrace Hill catches the light on the leaves just right. The little wood stove is called "Squirrel" because on both sides it has squirrels.It is so cozy when John makes me a fire in it upstairs at night...while the cold winds blow through the old oak tree. The little ladies rocker is from Castine, Maine. It used to sit in the Castine Inn. Life is very strange...I got the rocker many many years ago, and by chance I have become friends with the lady who ran the Castine Inn. She now lives in Santa Barbara...about an hour and 15 minutes south of me here in San Luis Obispo. Julie and I were lucky enough to stay at The Castine Inn when we went to New England. I wonder if they have room for us at the inn this year for Thanksgiving?

Let's Talk Fruitcake...Or Not

Well dear friends, we are one week away from Thanksgiving. I have the wreath on the door and have been staring at a box of Christmas lights all morning. Do I dare? Maybe just on the little tree outside the garden door. It would make me very happy. Got some of my yelloware bowls out for Thanksgiving. And I got into RED PLAID to get out Bessies Fruitcake recipe....I know, I said it...Fruitcake. But I am thinking of taking Bessie's recipe..which calls for candied fruit and using dried fruit and nuts instead. You know, like dried cranberries and raisins..dried apple and apricot.And english walnuts. It is so good toasted in the morning with tea.

Rain is forecast for Friday, so I am on my way to the market to get all the ingredients for making french onion soup. I did the one out of my beloved Vincent Price "A Treasury Of Great Recipes" last time which is made with chicken stock.And it was good. But this time I am going to go Julia's way and make the one of her's with beef stock.

The Christmas music is on..the gold finches are at their feeder, Pixiegirl is laying right outside my door getting all that good November morning sun, firewood is stacked and the Thanksgiving grocery list is being made.Only one week to go.Let's enjoy every minute.

Around The Farm

On The Door

Here is the Rose Hip Wreath on the door. The little brown socks hanging on the other side of the door are a pair of Amish doll socks....a gift from a friend.

Harvest

When we moved to Farmhouse one of the first things I did was plant 2 roses...and I'm not much of a rose fan. But when we left Cambria one of the saddest things to leave behind was my Soaring Spirits rose. It was a rose named after 9/11. And I loved that rose.It grew over an arbor that I had painted yellow. I heard through the village grapevine that the lady who bought the house had torn out my New England garden...yellow arbor, picket fence and....yep....Soaring Spirits went too. Heard she paved it all over and added a gas fire pit. How perfect is that? I don't want to see it. I have never been back by the house since the day I loaded up Buddy and my kittys and headed South down Highway One to San Luis Obispo. So this summer my rose was really beautiful. I couldn't find another Soaring Spirits at my local Farm Supply...so I got Berries and Cream instead. The picture of the rose is one of the very last of the season. All the rest have gone to rose hips. So yesterday I clipped the rose hips and made this wreath for my door for the Holiday Season. The base is just a styrofoam one I picked up at Michaels and wrapped it with green floral tape.I waited till late in the afternoon when the sun was starting to sink and the temperature dropped. Put on my Christmas music, got out the old glue gun... and made the wreath. It's on my french door as you head out to the garden... An early Christmas gift...from my friend...Berries and Cream.