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.

Eggnog Scones In The Kitchen

We woke to another frosty morning today. All of the rooftops were covered in white frost. And it was cold. We could see our breath as we headed out the door in slippers and scarves to take Buddy for his walk. When we made it back home John built a fire and I headed into the kitchen to make eggnog scones and tea. We had a fire last night too. I made cheese fondue, sauteed some sausages, boiled a few white rose potatoes and diced from french bread. We sat in front of the fire nibbling on food dipped in cheese just like two mice. We wrapped up in wool blankets with Buddy between us, played Christmas music and had a wonderful early winter supper.

Cranberry ,English Walnut and Limbertwig Salad

This was the first morning we woke to frosty rooftops here in San Luis Obispo. I knew it was cold when I woke up and Whiskey Sour and Dande we both piled on top of me and Buddy was snuggled under the covers right by my side. He was as warm as a cinnamon bun. So the weather sure got me into a Thanksgiving mood. After we walked Buddy in our slippers today.....with hot coffee and tea..we came inside and I started to dig out some of my special Thanksgiving pieces. The glass compote was grammy's. We have had it on our Thankagiving table every year since I was born.I'll put cranberry sauce in that. And I think you've all seen the paper turkey. Surely, vintage by now..it's the same one we had on the table when Mark and I were kids in Los Gatos. I LOVE it !

The turkey plates are Johnson Brothers. I have a ba-zillion of them. I have collected them for probably 25 plus years. When we moved a couple of years ago from Cambria to San Luis John kept asking "why do we have so many turkey plates when we only have 7 for dinner?" "I don't know, it's just Thanksgiving love I guess." And so it goes.....

I am including a recipe that is probably about a thousand years old. I lost it a couple of years ago. But I am thinking..what did I need a recipe for? There are only seven ingredients. I found the recipe stuck in an old cookbook and added it to RED PLAID. I just love this salad. The recipe suggests you make it the night before. But I am not a fan of a salad that sits around. So I make it just a few minutes before serving it. You won't find this one in Gourmet or Bon Appetit. So it sure fits in well in my"Just old fashion in Maine Thanksgiving Theme" I have going on here this year at Farmhouse.You might have also noticed there lurking in the background some wine bottles....we have been going through the wine cellar too. It's not really a cellar..more like a gap under the stairs out in the barn.


Cranberry Salad
Eula Frye


2 cups raw cranberries, ground in a Cuisinart
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup small marshmallows
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 cups diced tart apples ( you know I love my Limbertwig or Blacktwig apples here)
1/2 cup seedless grapes, halved
1 cup cream, wwhipped

Mix together and refridgerate for just a few minutes till chilled.

Golden Sunday Morning

It's a quiet Novemeber morning and we are getting into the week before Thanksgiving. Menu planning is in high gear. Going to start to get out some of my special Thanksgiving serving pieces and my Johnson Bros. turkey dishes.Might do a fast polish on the silver, iron a few of my brown and orange gingham napkins, pick some rose hips and make a wreath for the door...that sorta thing. I got this new book yesterday while I was at Barnes and Noble "The Elegance of The Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery.I love what it said on the inside cover. " This is a moving, witty, and redemptive novel that exhalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous amoung us." Well, that got my attention. I also took up crotcheting this week. I picked up some white organic cotton yarn and a crotchet hook at Michaels ...watched a You Tube video on the chain stitch and I am off.The postcard of Thansgiving is an old vintage one that has been sitting in my kitchen window for the month of November and the big turkey is from the cover of an old menu dated 1915. Now we need to set the date to go and do a little Thanksgiving grocery shopping. John and I make a big deal out of getting the turkey every year. We go out to lunch and then go to the market. Suppose to rain here on Thursday...that would be the perfect day. We'll make it Thursday.

Red Plaid Blankets

The first picture is a photograph of a picture I have in my home. I keep it up all year round. I love Thanksgiving. Every year I cruise all the foodie magazines..trying to come up with new and exciting ways to make mashed potaoes and stuffing. But this year I am going another way. The kind of Thanksgiving we had as kids. You know the one, nothing is made out of Gourmet magazine. I did buy the Novemeber Gourmet..being it is the last issue and all. R.I.P. But I am more in the mood for the other book. Gourmet Wine Cooking. The Easy Way. It's not that I'm looking for the easy way out...I just am in the mood for the other.Below is my menu for Thanksgiving this year. The Thanksgiving dinner you would find at grandma's house up in Maine. And see the red plaid blanket. That's what I want on my bed on Thanksgiving Eve in my bedroom while I am staying in Maine...waiting for Thanksgiving Day. The blanket is actually one I have thrown over my red wing backed chair. They are camp blankets from up in Maine. That's where I got them. That's were I wish I was for Thanksgiving. I'll once again...pretend.

Thanksgiving In Maine Menu 2009

Roast Turkey with herb, spinach and sausage stuffing
Cranberry Salad with walnuts and Limbertwig apples
Green bean casserole
Mashed potatoes
Roasted yams with pecans,butter and cinnamon
Cranberry Sauce
Pan gravy
Biscuits

Gopher Glen Cinnamon Spice apple pie