Homemaking Mondays: A Pretty Tea Cup and Lemon Basil Cookies

 

Hello! 
It's a beautiful cold morning here today.

Last night the sky cleared and 

the northern lights were dancing. 

Today we are to be getting more snow. 

All of this makes me enjoy the warmth inside all the more.

This week I was gifted this beautiful tea cup set

by a dear friend.

I love the blue flowers and it's a really nice size.

Also like you see below

there are the ridges on the plate that help to keep 

the cup in place.

This is so helpful as I do carry my cups about the house. 

I shall really enjoy using this set and thinking of her.

This past week my daughter's boss made some 

delicious cookies and shared some with our family.

They were lemon basil cookies.

You can find the recipe HERE! 

I was sceptical at first, but oh wow are they good.

They are particularly good with Earl Grey vanilla tea. 

This week I've made butter again out of some 

cream I've had in the freezer for awhile.

I absolutely love how it changes to yellow as it forms.

I also like to use old tea towels or sheets instead of cheesecloth

as the butter seems to hold together better.

I washed the butter first and then

 I form it into blocks and wrap in parchment paper.

Some for the freezer and some to use right away.

I read this tip for washing butter 

and it was after the butter has formed in your mixer

just drain the buttermilk out and then switch

the attachment from whisks to paddles or bread kneader

and then add ice cold water 

and it washes the butter for you.  

I shall try that next time.

I used some of the butter

to make grilled sourdough & cheese sandwiches.

These went perfectly with the 

homemade tomato soup with a dollop of sour cream.

For days that are cold and often snowy.

Soup is a perfect meal to serve our families.

Warm, hearty, & filling.

This past week we also had bacon mushroom soup.

Then three of my kids and I went to help at our community centre

for a ski event and there was chilli there. 

Thanks for dropping by!

I hope you have a great homemaking week!

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Waffles and Breadcrumbs

 

Hello! 
I hope you are enjoying your day. 

My family has a tradition of pancakes on Sunday mornings.

This week I decided I'd try something new.

I did make the usual pancakes but then took

some batter and added cocoa to it for the waffles.

I know there are tons of waffle recipes...but hey 

pancake batter works great as well.

I didn't have whipping cream so I beat up some cream cheese

added a bit of milk and icing sugar to it and yum! 

I splurged this week and bought strawberries and blackberries.

Sometimes it's nice to spend money on these little treats.

Then drizzled some maple syrup over top 

and wow it was delicious! 

I'm like most people, I want to be wise with my money

and to make wise choices at the store. 

Food is getting more expensive all the time 

and so thinking about how to save money is important.

For me I think of how to use things up or make things stretch.

I think it's important to be prudent, but also to remember

that splurging here or there is important as well.

To do this I find ways to counteract the extra expenses.

One way is to make simple ingredients at home so that they don't 

need to be bought at the store.

One easy one is breadcrumbs.

We all have those ends of bread that no one is ever going to eat.

I save them, chop them up, bake them, and then crush them.

They can now be made into breading for meat. 

Or instead of crushing them they can be used as croutons, or 

made into stuffing.

Making your own dairy products like yogurt, kefir, sour cream, or buttermilk 

is also helpful as those items cost quite a bit more then homemade.

I know it's not for everyone and shopping sales can contribute 

the same benefit as homemade.

For me it's about being thoughtful of things.

Not shopping mindlessly but purposefully.

If you want to make something for your family that cost more

what can you do to save that same amount in other ways.

There is a balance.

Sometimes the balance comes in you spending more of your time

to save in finances.

Your time is worth it! 

Some may feel it makes you a slave to your kitchen.

To me it's a joy to be able to spend my time

making sure that everyone eats well

and for a cost we can manage.

For me the kitchen seems to be the heart of the home

in that it is a place we all gather.

Where we eat and share time with each other.

It is a wonderful place to be.

Is your kitchen a happy place to be? 

If not, I encourage you to create 

an inviting atmosphere there.

Either by decorating it in a more pleasant way,

making it more accessible to get something to eat,

or have more delicious smells coming from it.

Having your family welcome to join in with kitchen activities

is also a wonderful way to make it inviting.

If you are going to spend lots of time there,

it needs to be a pleasant place to be.

Thank you for dropping by! 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Tea with Shortbreads

 

Hello! 
As most of you that have been with me for awhile

know that I love tea...and cookies. 

It's nice to have tea

in it's many forms and flavours

tailored to each day.

Then there are the cookies-

this week I baked some shortbreads.

I used the Scottish Shortbread recipe in the 

Joy of Cooking cookbook.

I used my fancy rolling pin to add some detail to the tops 

and the bottoms turned out a lovely golden colour.

Melt in your mouth.

Perfect to enjoy with tea time,

and perfect to share with others.

I have these little blue papers that I like to use

to quickly wrap up treats for others.

Below I tucked up a few cookies to go to the couple 

that bring us eggs every week.

Just a little thank you for their free delivery they do for us.

Do you have little papers or containers 

that you use to be able to quickly 

put together treats for those that stop by?

I enjoy salami and this past week 

at the store they had German salami on sale.

It's delicious on crackers with cheese

or on sandwiches.

I love the "floral" design it has when you slice it.

I had found some Swiss cheese on sale as well so 

thought I'd try it with the salami on grilled sandwiches. 

Well that is now a new favourite lunch of mine.

Do you like grilled sandwiches?

I love collecting some little 

delightful tea things.

One of my favourites that I know 

I've shared before is this little tea spoon.

I just love the delicate stitching that went into it.

Then I acquired this beautiful pansy tea cup and saucer. 

It has a lovely handle and there are

little scalloped edging details on the top of the cup.

I had found this beautiful little sugar bowl at the free store

but didn't use it much as there was no lid.

Now...you know I love the free store. 

I went there this past weekend and voila 

there was this sweet glass lid sitting all by itself.

It fits the sugar bowl perfectly! 

Now I know that sugar bowls don't need lids per se.

I find that it's just nice to keep out some sugar without

getting dust and other "floaties" in it.  

It's snowing outside today 

and is just a bit below freezing.

Shovelling will be on our homeschool

schedule for today.

Thank you for dropping by! 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Embrace the Details

 

Hello! 
This Monday morning has been delightful! 
The sun has come out and blue sky is all around.

The wind has picked up and is blowing the frost off the trees.

This is creating a snow-globe effect to the forest around us.

So the urge to go outside is strong...

but alas the need to be inside doing things is stronger.

School lessons are on, 

there is bread baking in the oven,

and knitting mistakes being fixed. 

Outside time will wait till after lunch.

This week I wanted to share with you a little project I did.

It started with me switching out dryers in the laundry room

as our old one finally bit the dust.

Behind the new washer that we had saved was a board.

It was just the right size and colour for an idea that I'd had.

So I brought it upstairs and cut it to length.

I went out to the shed and found a couple hangers that I had saved.

Then I put up this little shelf in my hutch so that the baskets

finally had their own place in the kitchen to belong.

My son thought of putting the hangers on the top 

so as not to infringe on the cookbook space.

Below you can see what it looked like before I started. 

This is a space that accumulates all sorts of things.

It needed to be cleared up so timing was perfect.

I took some pictures of the frost before it started to blow away.

I was feeding the birds and their bird feeder had some

beautiful frost on it's swirls.

Our old dog is never far from us.

She loves to plop herself down and from time to time

she slightly opens her eyes to check on us.

To inquire as to our reason for making noise. 

Yes, we are a home that makes noise. :)

Precious details in each day.

Sometimes we miss them.

Today I caught the light on coming in 

to help warm the buns while they rose on the stove.

Little dustings of flour still around

cooking stains around the burner...of messes made.

I need to pull out some baking soda and take care of those.

It may seem strange, but these are some of the details 

that I love to embrace.

Each day has something special

each job has a benefit

each little effort we put into our home

and into the lives of those we love,

those details are beautiful!

I hope you have a beautiful day

taking notice of those special details in your day.

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer