Doing Mimi Things

Sock Pumpkins

I got home last weekend after staying with the middle grandchildren while the parents traveled. At ages 9 and 13, they are easy to care for. The hardest part is all of the chauffeuring that age requires. I had forgotten at that stage of mothering how much of the day is spent in the car.

But on the weekend we stayed put. Before I left home I saw a craft I wanted to try with the girls, The first morning while they were at school I made a trip to buy supplies—one pack of kids socks, some cinnamon sticks, heavy duty thread and long tapestry needles. I brought a small bag of fiberfill from home.

All of the adorable pumpkins in the bowl were made from the same size socks. The amount of stuffing and the length of cuff you cut off makes the difference. The girls kept making them bigger and bigger.

It's all done with a tiny bit of hand sewing. The girls had learned some basic sewing stitches this summer during Mimi Camp, so they were ready. The hardest part of sewing during Mimi Camp was making the knot in the end of the thread. This is one time a big lumpy knot is what you need to keep the thread from pulling through. We used our thread doubled, too. 

If you google "sock pumpkins" you'll find many links to directions. As you'd expect, they are all slightly different. But you only need the basics. I saw a quick how-to reel on Instagram and that was all I needed. I'd share the link but I can't find the one I watched. Trust me, it's really easy. 

Remember the lavash crackers I told you about in the last blog post? Baby Girl asked if we could make some with cinnamon sugar. Man, was she on to something. These little crackers are super crispy and slightly sweet. Then I discovered this pumpkin pie spice hummus at their grocery store. As a life long pumpkin pie lover, let me say this was awesome! A perfect dip for these little crackers. 

Miss that recipe? Here is is again. Yes, this one is good enough to share two times in a row.

LAVASH CRACKERS

 1 package Joseph's Lavash Bread

 Pam olive oil spray

 Seasoning of your choice, such as cinnamon sugar, Everything but the Bagel or Ranch 

Preheat oven to 375º.

Put one sheet of lavash onto a sheet of parchment paper. Use pizza cutter to cut into cracker size pieces. Spray with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with seasoning. Carefully slide parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes until lightly browned.  

Watch closely because they can burn easily! I rotate the sheet while baking.

Anthology Throw, by Curious Handmade

And I finally finished this circular blanket! I took the giant basket holding this work-in-progress with me to babysit. I was happy to get some extra knitting time while the girls were in school.

I started it last November so it was nearly a year from beginning to end. I will confess that it spent a good while in time out as my interest lagged. For you knitters out there, this is made of fingering weight yarn, nearly 500g. It's 5 ft. in diameter. So very glad to be finished. So very happy with the finished blanket. 

The Kindness Of Knitters

Finished with love. ❤️

This little heart marks where Bev's knitting ended and the new knitting started. 

We will mark each project like this, to honor the work she did.

I am moving in slow motion this morning after an intense—but totally wonderful—weekend. Two knitting friends drove up from Atlanta to help make and carry out a plan to deal with all the yarn left when our dear friend Bev passed away a couple of years ago. We had all met at a knitting retreat years ago and attended other retreats together. Knitting retreats are meant for learning new skills and making new friends. If you're lucky, these friendships will last a lifetime.  

This was a fraction of the yarn we sorted. If you knit and are like most knitters, you have accumulated a yarn stash. Likely more yarn than you could possibly knit in your lifetime.

Luxury yarns bought on travels around the globe, souvenir yarns, and yarns bought with specific projects in mind. Those were often bagged along with the pattern and needles. So much yarn. And so many memories. We had fun telling stories and laughing about the experiences we shared. 

In addition to sorting the yarns, these amazing friends also worked to complete unfinished projects, like this colorful blanket. There are multiple names for this blanket pattern, but I like the one that calls it "The Kindness of Knitters Blanket." This one truly is. We are still working on some other projects that could be taken home and finished after our weekend was over. But they will all be done soon and returned to her family.

Porch knitting before dawn.

The first night we watched a movie while the blanket knitting was happening. The last morning the knitted started before the sun came up as we raced to complete what we wanted to do. And in between the first night and the last morning, it was non-stop yarn sorting.

    

 

These knitting friends were also wonderful houseguests. They knew we had a lot of work to do. And to make the weekend easier for me, they brought food. Homemade muffins and fruit for breakfast, butternut squash soup and chicken salad for lunches. 

I made these crackers in case we needed an afternoon snack. (We did.) I have loved these! If you count WW points, an entire sheet of lavash made into crackers is 2 points. I never eat that many at one time.

LAVASH CRACKERS

 1 package Joseph's Lavash Bread

 Pam olive oil spray

 Seasoning of your choice, such as Everything but the Bagel or Ranch

Preheat oven to 375º.

Put one sheet of lavash onto a sheet of parchment paper. Use pizza cutter to cut into cracker size pieces. Spray with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with seasoning. Carefully slide parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes until lightly browned.  

Watch closely because they can burn easily! I rotate the sheet while baking.

These are so crisp and they stay that way. Such a good snack when you want a crunch in your mouth.

There were nearly as many knitting notions as there was yarn. That was all sorted and packaged in to 40 sets to be used for goodies at a knitting retreat.

And while they were hard at work sorting and counting and packaging, I was busy in the kitchen. We took a break in the late afternoon, sharing good memories of our friend as we shared an appetizer.

These ladies brought breakfast and lunches. My job was to provide dinner. I tried to keep it easy and healthy. All of the food I made is here on the blog and I've linked the recipes. The first night I made Chicken Taco Soup and baked the Artisan Bread that I love. (I originally got the recipe from one of these friends!) 

The next night we invited another local knitting friend to join us for dinner. After the baked brie, I made Tuscan Garlic Chicken, roasted potatoes, watermelon feta salad...and these girls twisted my arm and I baked another loaf of bread!

The entire weekend we felt Bev smiling down on us, chuckling from time to time as we tired to figure out what she was doing...forensic knitting, detective work, mind reading. It took all of our skills. And I am sure that she would approve of how we shared the yarn—some went to friends who knew and loved her, some went to high school knitters who have not experienced the pleasure of using "good" yarn, and some went to knitters with limited budgets for indulging their hobby. Another batch was packaged for use later at an event. My dining room no longer looks like a yarn shop. The table is finally empty! 

 

**If you are looking for the lavash, this is what the package looks like. I found it in the deli section, near the pita breads and wraps.

Knitting, Snack Mix And An Eclipse

I am seriously thinking about renaming this mix to Knitting Nuts & Bolts. It's a party mix recipe that is titled just plain Nut & Bolts. My friend Missy shared her grandmother's recipe with me ages ago.  I've made it several times but this week I realized that I seem to mostly be making it for knitting retreats. It's a great addition to the snack table.

So this week I stirred up a batch for the Rewind Retreat that starts today. See that container ready to pack in with my knitting things?

And because it makes a HUGE amount, there was plenty for another big container to add to the stack of things going to the lake for our eclipse watching on Monday. We are in the center of the "path of totality." (Sounds like the old TV show Get Smart, doesn't it?) Our lake house is only minutes away from the camp where the retreat is held, so I'm loading my car one time for both events. If you are eclipse watching on Monday, stay safe! 

And after packing two 8-cup containers, there is plenty to save for later. It really makes a lot. I like to put my snack mix in glass jars if I plan to leave it for a few weeks. It stays nice and crispy for a long time as long as you pack it in air tight containers.

The only words of wisdom for making this is to use a giant container for stirring it together. Or, as Daddy-O asked me, "Why couldn't you just use the two foil pans to mix it?" He's right, of course. Even with my biggest pan, I had cereal jumping out of the sides. And Missy says she goes a little heavier on the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce for extra zing. I make it as written. We are not a zingy family.

NUTS & BOLTS (Missy's Mimi's recipe)

1 (14-oz) box Wheat Chex (Life cereal works, too)
1 (12-oz) box Rice Chex
1 (12-oz) box Cheerios 
1 (16-oz) bag pretzel sticks (I think 8 oz. is plenty)
1-1/2 lb mixed nuts (I use 1 lb mixed nuts and 1/2 lb pecan halves)
1-1/4 lb. butter (5 sticks)
3 tablespoons Tabasco
4 tablespoons Worcestershire

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Mix first five ingredients together in a VERY large bowl. Bring butter, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce to a boil. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir gently to coat everything.

Pour into two large roasting pans (I use the disposable ones) and put on middle racks in ovens if you have a double oven, or put both in one oven and alternate positions a few times while cooking. Cook for 4-1/2 to 5 hours, stirring gently every 45 minutes.

Let cool and seal in airtight containers. (Each batch makes twelve 8-oz bags.) If sealed well, this Chex mix stays crunchy for a long time.


Okay, I'm off to round up the last things for my weekend. Knitting stuff. ✔️ Snack mix and cookies. ✔️ Pajamas suitable for early morning gathering around the coffee pot at the camp. ✔️ Extra pillow. ✔️ Clothes for the lake. ✔️ Eclipse glasses. ✔️ 

Y'all have fun this weekend!

Hospitality

Photo credit:  Knitmarion

Weeks ago I got an email from a knitter friend whose husband flies. "Have you ever heard of this fly-in? I think it's in your area. We are coming and wondered if you knew anything about it." I didn't really know anything about it except that it's held close to our house. And we had room for visitors. So we got to spend the most delightful weekend with friends. (If you don't know, a fly-in is a gathering of airplanes and airplane lovers. Much like our knitting retreats—but with airplanes instead of yarn.)

For once I did less of the "special stuff" that I think I should do for company, and just focused on visiting with them. Yes, I did clean off the kitchen table so we could sit down and eat. And yes, I put flowers on the table as a centerpiece. But no, I didn't bake the cookies or cinnamon rolls I wanted to make (sorry, Stan...next time) and it was okay. I made a very simple supper that could be prepped before they arrived and baked just before we ate. 

Shortly before we had visitors, my daughter emailed me an article about "scruffy hospitality"*—which is simply about focusing on the people and not the house. Such a better way to be. No, the house was not a total mess. That's not what "scruffy" means here. But I left the toys in the den. I didn't worry about putting away the little things sitting on the bookshelves. And I didn't stress that I didn't make all of the food from scratch. I did as much as I could and then stopped before I was too tired. I wanted a welcoming home more than I wanted a perfect house.

One thing I did get done—well, at least it was in the oven when they arrived—was the classic Chex snack mix. This recipe came from another knitting friend, Missy. We made it last year at Christmas. In my mind it's a holiday recipe, but I need to reframe my thinking. It's good any time of the year. One round of the very slow baking and I had a snack for our visitors, a snack for next weekend's knitting retreat, and there will still be plenty for Daddy-O to munch on for weeks.

I couldn't find Wheat Chex this time. I don't know if that cereal doesn't exist anymore or if my stores have replaced it with Vanilla Chex, Cinnamon Chex, and Chocolate Chex which I did find. (Obviously my town has not jumped on the clean food wagon yet.) I didn't have time to drive to the next town to hunt down a box of cereal, so I used Quaker "Life Original" instead. That totally worked.

Make sure you read the recipe through and know that this take FIVE HOURS in the oven. It doesn't take but a few minutes to mix it up. But you do need to plan to be at home for those hours so that you can stir every 45 minutes.

NUTS & BOLTS (recipe from Missy's Mimi)

1 box Wheat Chex
1 box Rice Chex
1 box Cheerios (large)
1 (16-oz) bag pretzel sticks (I think 8 oz. is plenty)
1-1/2 lb mixed nuts (I use 1 lb mixed nuts and 1/2 lb pecan halves)
1-1/4 lb. butter (5 sticks)
3 tablespoons Tabasco
4 tablespoons Worcestershire

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Mix first five ingredients together in a VERY large bowl or pot. Bring butter, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce to a boil. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir gently to coat everything.

Pour into two large roasting pans (I use the disposable foil ones) and put on middle racks in ovens if you have a double oven, or put both in one oven and alternate positions a few times while cooking. Cook for 4-1/2 to 5 hours, stirring gently every 45 minutes.

Let cool and seal in airtight containers. (Each batch makes twelve 8-oz bags.) If sealed well, this Chex mix stays crunchy for a long time.


Those are Missy's notes in the recipe. I did exactly as she instructed. My pot for mixing is 10 qts. and it was barely big enough. (If you don't own a giant pot, I think you could divide your cereals, nuts and butter mix up between the two foil pans.) Stir carefully. I slid my pans into the oven at exactly 2:00 PM so I knew it would be done at 7:00 PM. I wrote down my 45 minute time intervals (2:45, 3:30, etc) and marked them off every time I stirred. That made it easy to keep up with it.



*from the article by Jack King...

"Scruffy hospitality means you’re not waiting for everything in your house to be in order before you host and serve friends in your home. Scruffy hospitality means you hunger more for good conversation and serving a simple meal of what you have, not what you don’t have. Scruffy hospitality means you’re more interested in quality conversation than the impression your home or lawn makes. If we only share meals with friends when we’re excellent, we aren’t truly sharing life together."

The Nuts And Bolts Of It

Friend Missy (who is now a Mimi herself) shared her Mimi's recipe for Nuts & Bolts with me weeks ago. There are so many versions of Chex party mix online—some make smaller amounts, some cook faster, and most have more seasonings. But I wanted to try this family favorite, just like Missy has made it for years.

Mommy mixed it up for me one day while she was here at the farm wrapping gifts and we were out running those last errands. This isn't a hard recipe, but it takes hours in the oven. I did get one text from Mommy when she poured the butter mixture over the cereals, asking if she should make more of the butter mix. She thought maybe the cereal wasn't coated enough. I trusted Missy's recipe to be perfect just like she wrote it. It was. The butter mix and cereal amounts are just right.

This makes an enormous amount. Perfect at the holiday season because we've had plenty to eat, we've given several jars as gifts, and there is enough to get us through all the bowl games on TV this coming weekend. I used jars for giving, just because I had them. Those fun tins you can get just before Christmas would work, too. Plastic bags are fine, but might not keep the mix fresh as long as storage in glass—not a problem, though, if you are eating it up pretty quickly.

Here is the old family recipe, complete with Missy's notes. She also told me that she adds more Worcestershire and Tabasco because they like it spicy. We stuck to the original recipe this time and have loved it that way. I did follow her suggestions for less pretzels and using pecan halves.

NUTS & BOLTS (Missy's Mimi's recipe)

1 box Wheat Chex
1 box Rice Chex
1 box Cheerios (large)
1 (16-oz) bag pretzel sticks (I think 8 oz. is plenty)
1-1/2 lb mixed nuts (I use 1 lb mixed nuts and 1/2 lb pecan halves)
1-1/4 lb. butter (5 sticks)
3 tablespoons Tabasco
4 tablespoons Worcestershire

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Mix first five ingredients together in a VERY large bowl. Bring butter, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce to a boil. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir gently to coat everything.

Pour into two large roasting pans (I use the disposable ones) and put on middle racks in ovens if you have a double oven, or put both in one oven and alternate positions a few times while cooking. Cook for 4-1/2 to 5 hours, stirring gently every 45 minutes.

Let cool and seal in airtight containers. (Each batch makes twelve 8-oz bags.) If sealed well, this Chex mix stays crunchy for a long time.


Christmas has come and gone. But our little people are still with us for several more days. That means there is not much time to write at the moment. I am still in baby chasing/meal cooking/toy picking up/story reading/un-decorating mode. I'll catch up with you in 2016!

Making Muffins In The Morning

Applesauce Muffins

Yes, I really found time to make muffins while the little ones were still here. The trick was to start early--before the baby woke up and get as much as possible done before Little Sister figured out what I was doing and wanted to help. She came into the kitchen in time to stir. That was about the right amount of help. My timing was perfect. The muffins were coming out of the oven when Baby Girl woke up. Daddy-O fed her some of the leftover applesauce for her breakfast.

I made these muffins for the first time last summer when Little Sister was here. (It was easier with only one little one in the house.) And I've made them several times since. But it's a recipe worth posting again. This time I'm rewriting it with measurements to make 2 dozen muffins. I'll put about half in the freezer. I like to put four muffins in a quart Ziploc freezer bag. That's the right amount for me and Daddy-O to pull out for a snack. They are great with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk.

APPLESAUCE MUFFINS (2 dozen)

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups applesauce

4 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup of your favorite add-in...diced apple, raisins, or chopped nuts (optional) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Stir in applesauce. Combine flour, baking soda and spices. Stir into creamed mixture. Fold in add-in, if using. 

Fill greased muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean. 

Cool for 5 minutes and then remove to wire rack. 

Makes 24 muffins.  Pop some in the freezer for later. 

For this batch, I added in diced apple (pretty good size pieces) and I think maybe this is my favorite. Daddy-O pulled a little 4-pack out of our freezer last night. A muffin with a cup of tea was a perfect bedtime treat. And this morning, we each had one with a mug of coffee for breakfast.  These really do freeze well.

When I pulled up this photo that I made a couple of weeks ago, I am reminded how much we miss these little girls now.

Things Are Popping Here

I remember going to my grandmother's house when I was growing up. She lived close to us so we were there often. She always had at least three desserts in her kitchen, sometimes more. There was always ice cream (often Neapolitan), cookies (Lorna Doone, Cameo or Pecan Sandies) and a pie or cake. That's not counting the lemon drops in the candy jar on the table in her den. I loved it.

Well, if that's the measure for grandmotherly success, then I'm a failure. In our attempt to make better food choices here, you don't find sweets or snacks here all the time. Poor Big Sister has searched the pantry for something to munch on and found nothing in a package.

I have not given up sweet things or snack things, but figure if I have to actually MAKE one of them, then I must really want it. I just took the "convenience" out of the equation. Want a cookie? Then, bake cookies. Want cake? I'd better start softening the butter. Popcorn? Get out the big pot. No more microwave bags here.

Well, yesterday I really did want something to snack on. And I remembered the kettle corn we bought at the huge mid-western craft fair last fall. Sweet salty crunchy goodness. So good and a new treat to me. I had looked up a recipe when we got home but never tried it. It was a dreary, rainy day yesterday and I was hungry. Thought a three-ingredient (four, if you count the salt) recipe would be just right.

KETTLE CORN

1/4 oil
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/4 cup sugar
salt

In a large heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add popcorn. When the oil sizzles,  add sugar and give it a quick stir, then cover with lid. Once corn starts popping, pick the pan up carefully and give it a quick shake every few seconds until popping slows down, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour popcorn into serving bowl. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Be sure to pour the pop corn out of the hot pan immediately or the popped corn will stick to the sugar syrup in the bottom of the pan. I may have had my pan too hot because I had a bit of a mess in the bottom of the pan.

My first thought was, "Oh no! I ruined my pan." 

This was after I had scraped out as much as I could.

But a quick soak in hot soapy water and all was good. 

So don't panic if your pan looks like mine.

My homemade version was not quite as good as the bag we bought at the fair, but it was good enough to try again. I think maybe I should turn the heat down a little. And I put the sugar in first this time—probably a mistake. I'll keep practicing. And we'll enjoy all the practice batches until I get it right.