Puppy Palace

Today I will giving my little foster puppy to his new mommy. I normally do not foster dogs since I work full-time during the school year, but I was "roped" into by my brother (who saved this poor little thing's life in the first place). He knew when I saw him I would not be able to resist. My brother really thought I would keep him for myself, but I have promised my husband no more dogs (we already have two). I did, however, agree to keep him until I could find him a good home. I knew it would only take a few days of networking....he's so cute and sweet.

This chihuahua actually had a waiting list of potential adoptive parents....I couldn't believe it. I was thrilled and believe that his new mommy and daddy will give him the good life he deserves.

Winter Greys

Having an additional two days added on to my school's winter break due to the "polar vortex," I was able to finish packing up all of the holiday cheer (including six trees ranging from 2' to 8' tall). That was the first calamity day due to frigid cold. On the second day, I made some rustic place mats and napkins made from vintage washed wool and shirting that I had acquired at an auction last year.

I only had enough of the wool to do four mats but had some bark cloth (at least I think that's what it is) to make a couple coordinating ones.

 

I've also been experimenting with my little digital camera to try and "whiten" up my photos. These were taken using the "cool" effect, but I don't really care for them. I'll something different next time. I may end up getting a better camera in the summer.

I will probably grab some pine cones from some of our trees this weekend to put around the lonely "twig" pot.

This one is a little fuzzy, but I still like it. I replace the Christmas wreath with a bare grapevine wreath.

I guess we are going to eat with our fingers (they were invented before forks) as I seem to have forgotten about them.

 

Christmas Gone Again

I have not written in such a looong time. Life gets so busy and writing a blog post gets tucked lower and lower on the the to-do list and then over four months have gone by.

This Christmas we had a lovely time with my two adult children, mother, brother and his family, husband, and dogs getting together on Christmas Eve for a lasagne dinner. We started out with a spinach salad complete with bacon, egg, and homemade vinaigrette....I converted my brother to a spinach eater! We ended with lemon cake and eggnog ice cream. (The empty plate is where my 5-yr-old niece was sitting, and I was not going to pressure her into salad ..... yet.)

The day before I made Scotch eggs (for my English hubby) to take to work. I "spice" them up a little as the regular recipe is a little bland for me. I also make the sausage layer thinner than traditional Scotch eggs.

We have been busy at the farmhouse with home makeover projects as well. More to come on that later.

With the New Year soon to be here, I have made three resolutions. One is to eat healthier and try to slim down a bit. I don't do starvation diets, but I do like the idea of making better choices. The second one is to write more posts as it provides a way for me to chronicle our lives here at Amelie's, and I do not want to forget any of it. The third is to improve my Etsy shop and figure out how to take better pics of my vintage wares. Here's hoping I can keep at least one of them!

Cheers!

Visit http://chateaudefleurs.blogspot.com and check out the 1930s canisters on the left side....from my little shop at www.ameliesfarmhouse.etsy.com.

Independence Day

What a great day we had today for this fine Fourth of July. My husband, being English, says the British call it Thanksgiving. I told him that he is not funny.

Anyway, we went to our neighbors' for a barbeque and other festivities. Our neighbor is over 1.5 miles away, but they are the next house on the right from us. Every year they invite friends and family for an antique tractor parade, games, and rides. Dinner this year was squeezed in at 1 pm. We didn't stay for the after dinner parade as we were having company ourselves and needed to get home. There were a little over 100 people there this year even though it was lightly raining (but the temps were in the high 60s/low 70s.....last year it was 96). Below are a few pics. Hope everyone had a great day!

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers

Last night was "pepper time" in my 1920s / 1960s / 2010s mishmash of a kitchen. In addition to the, chili, and jalapeno peppers, I also planted three each of sweet banana and salsa (hot!!) plants. They are doing unbelievably well this year. I put them right in the middle of all of the tomatoes in the "second" garden that has a very, very, small slope.

I have been able to pick a few bell peppers already this summer and have been watching the others grow like crazy. (I did put a little Miracle Gro-laced water on them when I planted them, but that is the only "chemical" help they have had). I decided yesterday that I better start picking before something else gets them.

Since I only have three tomatoes that are even close to be ripe, I can't make salsa or chili sauce. So I decided to chop and freeze the salsa peppers for a later use. (NOTE: WEAR GLOVES when you process hot peppers!)

I washed and removed the stems, seeds and white parts of the ribs and cut them into two inch pieces. I pulsed my little baby chopper until the pepper pieces were small enough to use in salsa or other recipes (a little goes a long way with these). I do not have a large food processor (although I would love one), so I chopped theses in three or four batches. Peppers do not need to be blanched before freezing. You can even freeze the little chili peppers whole if you like. I then spooned this into quart-size freezer bags, making sure to remove the air by rolling the bag before I sealed it. I like to flatten my bag out, evenly distributing the peppers. Some people like to freeze the chopped peppers in a single layer on a cookie sheet in the freezer before bagging. I so not bother, because it is easy "break" off small chunks of the chopped goodness when needed.

Next were my sweet banana peppers. I washed, stemmed, and seeded these babies fairly quickly. (I didn't cough constantly like it did with the salsa peppers. No hot pepper spray in the air!) I then sliced them all into rings and set them aside. I gathered my canning supplies and put the canner full of water on to boil.

I tripled this recipe. It is my first time making these, but it has good reviews. It is simple enough, and I have high hopes for yummy pickled sweet peppers on my sandwiches this winter.

Fried Zucchini

Many vegetable gardens in my part of Ohio was started a little later than usual due to the cold weather, at least later than last year when it was unseasonably warm. We have been eating spinach and lettuce for several weeks now and a few peppers, but nothing else.

Today, I was able to harvest three zucchinis and I decided to fry them up as a pre-dinner, hold-me-over snack. I know, I know. Why grow a garden for healthy eating if you just turn around and fry the veggies? Because fried zucchini is sooooo good! And it has to be better than anything you would get in a restaurant.

I use small zucchinis that have not started to develop their seeds yet. I slice them about 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch thick (you choose however you prefer them). I dip them in a beaten egg and plunge them into a flour mixture. My mixture is a little different every time I make them. Tonight it was flour, Cajun seasoning, salt, garlic powder, and lemon pepper seasoning. I like mine a little spicy so I put more Cajun seasoning than anything else. I then pan-fried them on the stove making sure not to crowd them in the pan. I used tongs to turn them when the first side was golden brown and put them on a paper towel-lined plate. I had some buttermilk ranch dressing in the fridge and used that as a dip; hubs opted for ketchup.

Sometimes I double dip my slices using milk and bread crumbs for the final coating. There is no right or wrong way to do this. I usually dip them once, so you can still taste the zucchini.

I have summer yellow squash that looks like it might be ready tomorrow night and a few bell peppers to make my almost famous "Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta."