Kitchen's Open Again

New bull in our pasture

You probably think I've quit cooking. Daddy-O would likely agree with you. But on Saturday night I made supper while Daddy-O was out in the pasture. There's a new bull out there, hopefully getting acquainted with the cows.

I cooked a big pot of stew beef for my cattle ranching husband. Enough for him to have next weekend while I'm away knitting. And I tried a new Instant Pot recipe I saw on Instagram this week. A savory rice and vegetable dish. 

The recipe called for basmati rice. Now, I live in the country. A rural area. Our nearest store is small town store. So I crossed my fingers when I shopped and hoped I could find this  exotic sounding rice. Well, the store did sell it but that bit of shelf was empty. (Who are these gourmet cooks that grocery shop in my little town?) They were restocking that aisle but when I asked if they were about to unpack the basmati, they checked and told me the truck they were unloading was huge. And the rice was likely in the middle of it. So the next morning we made a second trip to Food Lion and bought basmati rice.

On the way out of the store, Daddy-O asked me why basmati was any different from our regular long-grain rice. And I couldn't tell him. I knew that jasmine rice was sticky. And I knew that risottos call for arborio rice. But other than remembering basmati is a fragrant rice, I could not answer him. When I grew up, the only rice we knew was Comet long-grain white rice. My, how times have changed.

But basmati is what the recipe called for. And the first time around I wasn't about to tinker with the basic ingredient. As we were turning into our driveway, I had a terrible thought. I should have checked the box of mushrooms in my refrigerator. They had been there a while. This rice recipe called for fresh mushrooms, too. Sadly, those mushrooms ended up going in the trash instead of the rice dish. I thought about making a THIRD trip to the store. But we live a long way from town. So this time I made the rice without mushrooms. And it was delicious. Mushrooms would only make it better.

Savory Instant Pot Rice & Veggies

SAVORY INSTANT POT RICE & VEGGIES (for 6-qt. pot)

     ~from Meal Plan Addict

2 cups uncooked basmati rice
3 cups water
3 tbsp Better than Bouillon, beef flavor (or 3 c. beef broth)
1 cup chopped fresh green beans (1 inch pieces)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup frozen peas

Select the SAUTÉ button and pour the water and beef-flavor Better Than Bouillon into the liner. This will allow it to dissolve and make a broth. (If you choose to use beef broth instead. You don't need the sauté step.)

Add the remaining ingredients and stir the mixture. Secure the lid to the Instant Pot, set to sealing, and press the RICE button. This will auto set to 12 minutes of low pressure. 

When the pressure cycle is complete, quick release the pressure. Fluff the rice with a fork, and enjoy!

If you haven't used Better Than Boullion, it's worth seeking it out. The flavor is richer and more complex than a bullion cube. My small town store stocks it so you shouldn't have any trouble finding it. It's with the soups and broths. At my store, it's on the top shelf. And it comes in a crazy array of flavors. I have only tried the beef, so if you try the others. you're on your own!

Someone asked me last week if I liked my Instant Pot. I think my answer was something to the effect that if mine broke, I didn't think I'd buy a replacement. (I have enjoyed using it and found some good recipes, but don't consider it essential to my kitchen.) But this rice recipe may have changed my mind. It was really good.

Please go to the original source and read more about cooking this rice recipe in the instant pot. I can't wait to make it again. WITH the mushrooms!

Weekend Highs & Lows

HIGH–Jessica came home for the long weekend. How much fun to have her here for a few days. She came with a sizable to-do list. She and her daddy took care of part of them on Friday afternoon right after she arrived.

LOW—There are no lows about having Jessica here.

Entwined hat #2

HIGH—I was happy to cast on another hat like I made last week. Jessica's friend admired it and I had yarn and time, so we thought it would make a fun surprise for her.

LOW—About 5-inches in, I discovered I had knitted it wrong. From the beginning. After I just made the SAME hat last week. Had to pull it all out and start over. Thankfully, this wasn't the lowest of the lows because it's a quick knit and I still finished the hat in time to send it back with Jessica.

Upcountry Provisions

HIGH—I had Jessica to myself on Saturday morning. We found a cute new restaurant and visited her alma mater's lovely campus.

It was a white-out afternoon.

LOW—Saturday morning driving was all done in fog and rain. It was a mess.

HIGH—We spent Saturday afternoon at home, knitting by the fire and watching movies on Netflix. Dumplin' was a cute movie. And The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society had been on my to-watch list for a long time. So glad we finally saw it.

LOW—There wasn't one. It was a really nice afternoon. Jessica finished her first sock! And got a good start on the second one of that pair.

Balsamic Chicken

HIGH—On Sunday we had sunshine for the first time in ages. I had planned a favorite easy supper for Sunday night and bought groceries so no extra trips to the store were needed.

LOW—My chicken thighs were skinless but were BONE-IN. I didn't read the package close enough. I had to remove the bone (and a substantial part of the chicken) to make my recipe. There must be a better way to do it, because it store butchers did it like me, a package of chicken thighs would cost $100! Most of that cost in labor charges.

SLOW COOKER BALSAMIC CHICKEN 

2 teaspoons dried minced onion

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced (I used jarred minced garlic)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (BONELESS!)

fresh chopped parsley

Combine the first five dry spices in a small bowl and spread over chicken on both sides. Set aside. Pour olive oil and garlic on the bottom of the crockpot. Place chicken pieces on top. Pour balsamic vinegar over the chicken. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours. (Don't overcook.) Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.

HIGH: Having Jessica for an entire weekend. She helped us with a few chores that needed her expertise. And she made appetizers last night. From random things she found in the fridge.

LOW:  She had to head back to the city this morning. We will miss her.

Socks In The City

Pattern:  Entwined, by Susan B. Anderson

Yarn:  Barrett Wool Co., Wisconsin Woolen Spun Worsted Weight

Needles: sizes 6 & 7

Before Christmas Jessica "shopped" the Instagram feed of a knitter friend of mine and said, "Mom, I really like this hat. Think you might make me one?" So I ordered the yarn and set it aside until after the holidays. Then swoosh! When things settled down after New Year's, I made it in a hurry. She ordered a coyote fur pompom (made from recycled fur coats) to top it. I finished the hat in time to deliver it to her last weekend.

Pattern:  Tchaikovsky Hat, by Helen Stewart

Yarn:  Malabrigo Silky Merino, Ravelry Red colorway

Needles:  sizes 4 & 7

When I packed for my long weekend trip, I tossed in a nearly finished hat for Baby Girl. I knitted her a red hat when she was less than a year old. It was past time to make her a new one. I finished this hat while the girls were at school on Monday. (I stayed two nights with each daughter.) Baby Girl got a faux fur pompom to finish her slouchy hat. She's a four year old with style. 

I stayed a couple of nights with Jessica. While we were out and about in Atlanta on Saturday, we stopped by a "new to us" yarn shop (Yarning For Ewe) and she bought sock yarn and some tiny double point needles. She wanted me to teach her to knit socks. Back at her house we were getting ready to start and then I realized that it would be much easier if I started a sock at the same time so I could show her step-by-step. Thankfully, there is another yarn shop (Needle Nook) closer to her house. We dashed over there and quickly bought yarn and needles for me.

My "teaching" sock.

Jessica is a good knitter, but she mostly works with big needles and bulky yarns. She knows the stitches. She has used double point needles to finish hats. She was ready to knit a sock. But knitting with sock yarn and tiny needles probably felt like working with sewing thread and toothpicks to her. 

We finally settled down with our knitting and TV movies on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Perfect. As we looked over the pattern, we realized that with my limited time (I was leaving the next day to stay two nights with the grandchildren) we needed to work on the hardest part—the heel. Cast on, knit a few rows of ribbing and get down to business. Let's make ankle socks! 

Jessica's sock in progress.

Knitting the heel flap, turning the heel (that where the sock knitting changes direction and you move from knitting down the leg to knitting the foot—it's magic!) and working the gusset... all of that feels pretty awkward when you first learn. But Jessica hung in there. The next day after I arrived at Mommy's house, she texted me a photo of her sock WITH A HEEL! The foot is just plain knitting. We'll talk about the toe the next time I see her. If she doesn't figure it out by herself.

Her sock has a heel and is heading toward the toe.

Making this short sock was an inspired decision because she got to do all the hard parts while I was there. My own sock was just like hers. A short sock. But when I got to Mommy's house and knitted another few rounds, I knew I really wanted to make a regular pair. Maybe it's because it was cold that day and I wanted to be warm. Maybe it was because the yarn was self-patterning and I wanted to see how that played out. So while Mommy and the little girls were at church for the children's activities on Sunday night, I pulled out my perfect little ankle sock. Yep. Yanked it out quickly before I could regret my move. Then I started over. 

Pattern:  my basic plain sock recipe
Yarn:  ONline Supersocke 100, in City color way
Needles:  size 2

It took some nerve to rip the sock out, but I'm glad I did. This yarn is too much fun not to let it do its thing. As I was starting over, I was making my project notes and looked at the label of this yarn. I hadn't bothered to read it when I bought it. And the name of the color way? "City" How perfect!

Our city sock knitting lesson was successful. My tips if you are teaching someone to knit socks:

• Choose a lighter color yarn so that you can easily see the stitches.
• Make a short sock. Get to the tricky parts quickly. 
• Don't start with the smallest needles. We used size 2 needles and cast on 56 stitches. Using fewer stitches than my usual 64 makes the process go faster. 

Time will tell if Jessica will become a sock knitter, or if this pair will be a "one and done" experience. I've made over 30 pairs now. Socks wear out. There is always a need for more. Plus, I love making them. And I loved passing this skill down, mother to daughter, in an age old tradition.

Holiday Highlights

Hash Brown Casserole
(recipe at the end of this post)

I look at the calendar and see that the last of our family left only a week ago. Then why does it seem that all of the holiday activities seem to have happened a long time ago? Conversely, Daddy-O and I were watching a Netflix show last night when the Sonny & Cher song "I've Got You, Babe" was mentioned. And Daddy-O said, "It seems like that song was popular just yesterday." It was first released in 1965. I'm pretty sure those two observations of the movement of time mean that we are officially old. You can google time perception and aging and find all sorts of scientific studies. All I know is that it feels different now.

Let's catch up a little here (I have been blog absent for a while) and take a quick look at our holiday. It looks like all we did was eat. There might be some truth there.

We have Christmas breakfast right after the girls check out what Santa left for them. Just basic breakfast food, but this year with a gingerbread butter that was a gift from a friend. I'll see if I can get her recipe. It's definitely a recipe worth having.

We made our traditional standing rib roast for Christmas night supper. And because Jessica and Todd were not here for Christmas, we cooked another one on New Year's Eve. Because they wanted one.

Mommy is teaching her little ones the art of promptly writing thank you notes. When my own girls were little Santa always tucked a box of thank you notes into their stockings.

When Jessica and Todd arrived for New Years, they—along with their little helper—baked a batch of cinnamon rolls that we all love. There are a few pans left in the freezer for Daddy-O to enjoy later.

Jessica and Todd spent Christmas with his family and while they were there, they had a lesson in baking his mother's famous chocolate layer cake. So to make sure they had the process firmly in hand, they baked another one at our house. Nine layers of homemade yellow cake and lots of fudgy frosting. I'll try to share this recipe later. I want to check with his mom first and ask her permission.

We had so much rain while they were here, but we took advantage of every break in the rain to play outside. Little Sister learned to ride her bike and was zooming around the house so fast that I never got a picture of her! Baby Girl loves her balance bike and told me, "Somebody needs to nail some pedals on my bike!" Think she's ready for a real bicycle?

Little Sister got a cookbook and a chef's coat from Santa, so she offered to make breakfast for us one morning. Yogurt, fruit and granola parfaits. She's learning good solid cooking techniques. And she already knows about presentation. We're working on serving skills.

When it was too wet to play outdoors, the girls entertained us with original dramas. This play was called "The Human and the Mermaid." Total improv. I'm not sure which one saved the other...the plot was a little fuzzy. But it kept them busy for hours, finding props and costumes, arranging seating, inviting the audience. I think we could classify it as a "comic tragedy."

The last big family meal was lunch on New Year's day. It's the same menu we always have. The same traditional meal I've had since childhood. And the same that Daddy-O grew up with. I cannot imagine anything different. It's a southern thing. Black-eyed peas, collards, pork and cornbread. J-Daddy said this was his favorite meal of the entire holiday season.

I had forgotten how good this casserole was. Friend Missy asked several weeks before Christmas if I had a good recipe for a hash brown casserole. I told her I did. And that it was the same recipe that we all used back in the day. I was surprised that I didn't have it here on the blog. So here it is, safely blogged so that we can all find it now.

HASH BROWN CASSEROLE

1 (2-lb) package frozen hash brown potatoes (the cubed style)
1 cup diced onion
1 pint sour cream (that's 2 cups or 16 ounces)
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 stick of butter, melted

Mix all ingredients, reserving some of the cheese. Spoon into a 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 1 hour.


If you dice your onion the night before, this only takes minutes to stir up in the morning. The leftovers—if there are any—are good reheated. We baked this for our Christmas breakfast and then served the leftovers as a side dish with the rib roast on Christmas night. No one complained about "leftovers."

There was so much wonderful family time that isn't documented here. Funny things Baby Girl said, sweet moments with the grandchildren, bedtime stories and snuggles, farm adventures with Daddy-O, bath time with peppermint shampoo, Baby Girl hiding under the bed on the day were to leave because she didn't want to go. All those memories. These are the things I hope the grandchildren remember and talk about and taught about long after I'm gone.

Here's my wish for the new year....that we take a hard look at what is really important. What really matters. And then make our time and activities match our priorities.