42. Pumpkin Muffins

Hooray for frozen pureed pumpkin (or perhaps butternut, which technically is a pumpkin after all). Here's my recipe, which is actually a recipe, as opposed to my usual guidelines or lists.

Oven 350

2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour (sometimes I ease up on the flour ratio)
1 c honey
1 c sugar
1 T cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt

combine in large bowl, mix until large crumbs. In a separate bowl:

4 eggs, beaten
2/3 c water
1 c oil
2 c pumpkin puree (that's about 1 can but I have mine frozen from last fall)

Pour wet into dry, mix until incorporated. Add 1 c chopped pecans. Fill muffin tin cups (I line with paper) 3/4 way full. Add sprinkles if desired (I did some of mine with sprinkles).

Bake, depending on size of muffin tin cups, 20 minutes. A knife inserted comes out completely clean when they're done. Cool on wire rack but really, eat them hot so they burn your mouth. They're the best pumpkin quick bread thingy I have made.

41. Cassoulet

I made cassoulet this evening. What is cassoulet? It is a French peasant dish made from white beans and meat (usually pork, according to Wikipedia, and that's how I've had it in the past but tonight I used chicken). Here's what I did.

Overnight, soak 1 pound white beans.

In the morning, cook in crock pot on high for an hour and then on low until done. Drain, leave in pot.

Two hours before dinner:
Sweat holy trinity (bell pepper, onion, celery),
Cut up and brown 1 chicken breast,
I also added about 1/4 cup of diced volpi pepperoni. Just cuz.

This all gets combined with the beans in the pot.

Add 2 cans of diced tomatoes and about 1/8 cup of thyme. Salt to taste (or salt at the table).

Cook on high in crock pot for about an hour and a half to 2 hours. Serve with crusty bread and a field green salad and perfection.

40. Dining Room Painting

The first coat of primer went up but it was obvious we'd need more. I did the beginning of the second coat last night, but found that the walls sucked the paint in just as fast as the first coat--Jake said I wasn't rolling it on thick enough, as well, which was frustrating because it took so much paint. It's 2 gallons of white on the walls right now and I'm going to have to invest in at least one more gallon of white to do the ceiling and to finish the second coat. Bah.

It's a no-VOC paint, by Bioshield, and I'm covering up dark dark red. So I'm not surprise at the coverage problems. When I order the gray, I'll order 3 gallons. Hoping that will be enough--I think it will, since I'll be covering white, not burgundy.

It smells like play dough. So strange. It goes on, with the roller, leaving a bit of a texture that I like. Our walls are plaster, at one time probably smooth as glass but that changes with 106 years of settling and use and abuse. Jake mudded and sanded for me but the bit of texture is helpful.

The white walls, after 12 years of red, are jarring. The room is HUGE. I moved the church pew and sorted through the board games we store underneath. I cleaned out the hearth (more still to do) and considered what might be next....it's good to be working on a project again.

39. One Month

It's been just over a month without a dishwasher.

The guy at Best Buy, where Jake went to look at features, not to buy, told him I wouldn't make it 2 weeks.

Yeah, it's kind of a bummer to get up from dinner and head over to the sink to wash dishes. But I used to load the dishwasher anyway so I'm not sure if it's that much more time for an average meal.

Lisa posted over on her blog that on a weekend day, her family regularly does 3-5 loads in a dishwasher, which made my mouth drop open. I guess if my pans were dishwasher-safe, or if I put plastic in the dishwasher, maybe it would add up, but never that much. That's more than a good sized dinner party over here, actually.

I'm thinking that besides the rare party or get-together that uses plates, I'm simply not going to miss it. Too many times I unloaded the dishes and then found myself rewashing something. Too many times. And when I find a dish that I've handwashed that isn't all the way clean, I simply put it back into the soapy water. I used to get kind of ticked off at the machine that wasn't doing its job.

So I'm not going back. I warned Jake that when I go back to work, I might be changing my mind (life will, in general, get more expensive when I go back to work). But we'll see how it goes.

Right now my only irritation is with the space it takes up. I keep thinking if there would be something I'd want more in that space, and what keeps coming to mind is a pull-out drawer for trash to keep it away instead of in a can over by the fridge. Hmm.

38. Christmas Present Quilt

This one is for my in-laws. The background is browns, reds, and forest greens. A bit of gold. And then on top of that, I appliqued a big forest green bow.

Cozy.

37. Aunt Sheila's Quilt

Sheila and Bill lost their house last summer in a total house fire. Mike's dad and many volunteers put it back together and when we visited in November it felt like a home.

We draw names at Christmas for Mike's mom's side of the family, and I drew Sheila's name. I knew what I had to do.

This quilt is Churn Dash blocks from an internet exchange back when quilt block exchanges were mailing lists instead of websites or groups online. Back then I was the underdog, skill wise. These ladies made much more precise blocks. I received 8 blocks in return for my 8 blocks, and then promptly stored them away for 13 years. Here they finally are, combined with polar bears and other random Christmas fabric to make a 60x60 throw.

Sheila told me this weekend she still had it out. "The living room's still all Bridgettified."

36. In process

Bevin is coming over this afternoon to help paint the dining room, or even just play katamari damacy on the PS3 while I paint. Either is fine. We're using Bioshield, a no VOC brand of paint, in white first because we have to prime this room (the current color is a deep burgundy red). After the white is on, I'm going to order a nice medium gray. I hang so many pictures in that room I just want a nice simple background.

We got rid of the vestment cabinet and as today progresses we will move furniture into the spots where I want it for good.

I almost bought a surplus table at a Borders that was going out of business. It was exactly what I was looking for in style, very very sturdy, but as I cleared books off the top, I realized the top was just a very well finished plywood. Nothing wrong with that, except I don't want just plywood. It was the perfect height and length but not quite as nice as I would want in the end. Eventually I want to convince my father to build me a refectory table (aka monastery table). Of course.

The basement is so much nicer. I'm waiting for the dumpster to be emptied Friday before I continue.

Tiny plants are coming up in the garden. So excited.

The girls' room is laughably messy right now. I'm going on a girl scout field trip Saturday, though, so that will have to wait until I'm home. Later.

I did a bunch of mending while I watched Sherlock on DVD (yummy).

I read about chickens again, sighed, and moved on. It is not my time for chickens. It may never be, in fact. But I still read up.