homemaking

Saturday Ramblings

December 12, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 19 Comments

I started a bookclub two years ago in an attempt to continue my own education as I simultaneously teach my little ones. We loosely follow the reading list laid out by Susan Wise Bauer in her book The Well-Educated Mind. The reading list is divided into genres and is composed of a sampling of the Great Books of Western Civilization. This is not a bookclub for the faint of heart. The reading lists are demanding and this semester alone, our group has whittled itself down to a faithful few. I have a love/hate relationship with bookclub. I’m so thankful for the very smart group of friends that shares my passion for reading classic literature. If you have a friend who’ll read Plato’s Republic with you and not call you names or throw things at you, then you have a friend indeed. But because the books are tougher reads than say, Twilight, which I also enjoyed, I find myself feeling so relieved when bookclub is over. Similar to the way I felt when I finished a Microbiology exam in medical school.

“Whew, glad that’s over. I think I’m gonna bake all weekend!” (my classmates loved me)

With that sense of relief is also a very palpable sense of accomplishment. And since we moms live in a world of neverending/never completed tasks like laundry, dishes, and meals, actually ticking something off a list that is finished—is well……… just a dandy thing to do. I keep my list on my blog and though I won’t make my goal of 52 books this year, I’m so grateful for the books I’ve read. And grateful for the friends who’ve read them along with me.

We just finished All the Presidents’ Men on Friday—and yes I finished. I downloaded the 12 hours of audio on Monday and listened to the ‘the end’ 2 minutes before I needed to leave the house. It was a fascinating story but never EVER a book I would have read without the pressure of bookclub. And some things that are important—like to me, reading classics works I never read in school, or ‘read’ but don’t remember—-are not urgent. So they easily get laid aside for things that are more pressing, like laundry and dinner and mindlessly surfing the internet. I guess I’ve always functioned better with structure and guidelines. Our genre for the spring is ‘plays’—-so January’s read is Medea by Euripides. If I know myself, I’ll read 2 or 3 books before I start Medea and then get the ‘eye of the tiger’ in the last two weeks and read and study for Medea like I’m gonna have to take a test on it. And then I’ll search the net and you tube and see if I can find some brilliant Yale professor giving a lecture on greek plays. I like the way the bookclub forces at least some sense of urgency and structure to my reading life. Though my decorating schedule and my nightly menu may have suffered slightly.

In non-literary news, I love this cheese and I love those cute little bowls (from Walmart). I can’t help it if this really yummy cheese that’s been marinated in wine is called the Drunken Goat. I blame my neighbor Sue.

And I’m slowly adding lights…

….and other festive sparkles to my still slightly Thanksgiving-ish house. I’ll show the rest on Monday at The Nester’s Christmas Tour. I think.

In non-sparkling news, my laundry became the ace-in-the-whole hiding place for the afternoon hide and seek.

The pony tail gave it away. The laundry was at least clean.

And I must quickly consult my fairy godmother to work some magic for me because I’m going on a date tonight. With an honest to goodness babysitter and reservations. And lipstick and high heeled boots. And other adults. If there’s an awkward lull in the conversation, I can always bring up the Drunken Goat.

Christmas Front Door Wreath

December 9, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 67 Comments

I feel like I’m moving in slow motion. I can’t seem to get anything done. I piddle around with this and that, decorate a little, teach a little, wrap a few gifts, read a little, bake a little and look around and wonder how it’s all possibly gonna get done by Christmas. And what on earth we’re gonna eat for dinner. I’m supposed to be finished reading All the Presidents’ Men by Friday—so I can somewhat intelligently lead a bookclub discussion on the subject—- and I’m currently on chapter 5. Alas.

In a small feat of Christmas decorating victory, I did remove the Halloween pumpkins from front stoop. I also decided that maybe the audiobook version of All the Presidents’ Men was my only hope for possibly finishing—and it’s still seems hopelessly doubtful (it’s 12 hours of audio!).

So as I removed pumpkins and leaves and added holly, magnolia and pine clippings to my front planters, I listened to a convoluted mess of political jibberish about Watergate, trying to keep track of the very long list of characters, and wondering if my brain is just too old and full to work like this anymore.

At least it looks like Christmas from the outside of my house. The inside is still a work in progress. Dinner will likely be from Taco John’s. And maybe with a latte or two, I’ll figure out what G. Gordon Liddy had to do with the Watergate scandal.

Oh and we’re three days behind on our Advent readings. Already.

Ever have those slow-motion days….or weeks?

Please advise.

P.S. I’ve already had a bubble bath.

P.S.S. And a glass of wine.

P.S.S.S. And painted my front door blue.

Post Edit: The color of the door: sunwashed blue by Ralph Lauren.

Lindsay from Living with Lindsay is having a similiar week. Here’s hoping we all recover our creative selves. Until then, click here for some inspiration.

The Lightest Fluffiest Angel Wing Biscuits Ever to FLy Over Southern Skies

December 7, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 44 Comments

I have made it my personal mission in life to per-fect the biscuit. You can’t even graduate from high school in the South until you demonstrate proficiency at biscuit making—-so I’ve been making biscuits a long time. But I just took the recipe that was passed onto me and never questioned it. You’re not supposed to question a long line of Southern biscuit makers.

But…….

What if I want the lightest fluffiest angel wing biscuits ever to fly over southern skies? What then? Well, I scoured the internet—an a few cookbooks—and made a few dozen biscuits—-using various biscuits methods—and I think we have a winner folks. So, put on an apron, roll up the sleeves on your flannel shirt, put on some bluegrass music and let’s make biscuits.

First, you must start with 2 cups of self-rising white lily flour. There shall be no substitutes. It has a lower protein content and says on the front ‘a southern tradition since 1883’. Don’t mess with Texas. Then add 1/4 c. sugar, 1/2 t. salt, 1 1/2 t. baking powder (I know, you’re not supposed to need it with sr flour but these are the lightest fluffiest angel wing biscuits ever to fly over southern skies, so just add it).

Now with a pastry blender, cut in 1/4 c. shortening. Or use a whisk if you tend to be hard on pastry blenders.

Now, add 2/3 cups of heavy cream and 1 cup of buttermilk and stir. The mixture will be very wet.

Add 1 cup of flour into a casserole dish or onto your working surface and then with a medium sized ice cream scoop–or whatever sized biscuits you like—scoop a few scoops onto the flour. Flour your hands and then lightly shape the biscuits—adding flour where there really wet—but shaking off any excess flour. They will be coated with flour on the outside, but the inside of each one will still be quite wet.

Spray a round cake pan with cooking spray and then place the biscuits very snugly into the pan. This step is key. These are southern bisuits so they’re invading each other’s personal space and hugging and back-slapping like crazy. If you’re from the Midwest, where personal space is recognized and respected, this step might be hard for you. But trust me, I made my first batch with biscuit-boundaries—and they were flat and boring. Scooch ’em close together and they’ll sing the hallelujah chorus when they’re done.

Then bake at 425 degrees for 18-23 minutes or until they’re golden brown on top. When you take them out of the oven, they look like this—-like they’re happily snuggled under an afghan watching an SEC football game. Then invert them onto a plate–and then turn them right side up onto another plate. Brush them with butter. And that’s when they start singing the hallelujah chorus. Take a knife and cut them apart and notice how some of them are kinda shaped like angel wings.

Butter them generously and enjoy. And then of course, sneak a bite to the dog that has no doubt when lying at your feet while you make them.

I used Darby’s cinnamon butter, which is most wonderfully delicious and easy. I mistakenly added one more stick of butter than she did but it turned out yummy just the same. I used 3 sticks of softened butter, 1 cup honey, 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 t. cinnamon and beat it well in my electric mixer. You can give it away as gifts—-and she has hers decorated up so cute—or if your 7 year old tastes it and begs to keep it all at home, you can do that too!

Y’all enjoy! Get the pdf file for the recipe here.

Notes from my cookbook:

1. These are so light and fluffy that they may require a fork. These would not be the biscuits that would hold up to a sausage-biscuit sandwich. Unless you use a fork.

2. I will still use my other biscuit recipe when I need more substantial biscuits. These are like biting into a cloud.

3. I will most definitely make my traditional biscuits (that I roll out with a rolling pin) with white lily flour. Also, with any biscuit recipe, if you start out with a very wet dough and don’t over mix/beat/knead, they will be lighter and fluffier. They just won’t have angel wings like this one.

4. I used a recipe from the website Project Foodie and added baking powder to it—after my first batch didn’t rise quite as much as I would have liked. Thank you to their experts for these wonderful tips.

What I love about homeschooling: edition 1

December 4, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 57 Comments

1. Going on field trips with 2 of the most well-behaved and fun-loving girls I know. (The Kingsport Ballet performs the Nutcracker—great performance)

2. The spontaneous holding of hands that still occurs, even at ages 7 and 9.

3. Teaching the girls how to absolutely enjoy an afternoon in an antique store. (it helps when they serve Oreos)

4. Hearing them say, “Mom, you’re gonna love these aprons!”

5. Listening as the oldest tells the youngest, “Daddy would love these birds.”

6. Deciding together that you most certainly must have the vintage ’12 Days of Christmas’ cookie cutters……

……..and the vintage bread box and canister set—and then commence to have a heated discussion about whether the canister set will house varieties of chalk and markers or varieties of flour and cereals.

7. Making the decision that photographs will do just fine when we find things we love but can’t buy.

8. Going to the local Christmas parade

and counting our blessings

that we have been given a special gift—-

of spending long days together with the ones we love—-

and wishing it could stay this way……forever.

Thanks to Grandma Evadne for the beautiful knitted caps that still fit perfectly!

Thanksgiving Replayed

November 28, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 16 Comments

We gathered around the table and prayed a Thanksgiving litany–written by Pastor Bill Cwirla.

The food was served buffet style—-and if I do say so myself—it was pretty yummy!

Some of the crew (my brother was sick this year and we missed him dearly—-he always does the dishes!)

Let the feasting begin!

The ‘teens and tweens’ table and their beloved sparkling grape juice.

A sneak peek at myspace….

…and a whole lot of football!

Apparently my sister has rescued her husband from his ten year old worn out Carhartt (?acid-washed) jeans—I thought it was picture-worthy.

The cute couple Marcus and Katilin (and a sneak peak at my freshly painted tiffany blue door)

I was a little disappointed with my performance on desserts this year. Pride comes before a fall and I sorta pride myself on serving a plethora of yummy desserts. They were just ‘ok’. Next year, I promise to bring back ‘chocolate crusted creme brulee’—-and red velvet cheese cake. Accept my sincerest apologies.

It was a glorious day altogether and we counted our many blessings.
Friday I took the kids to see Blind Side and cried through 75% of the movie. Steve was 95% sure I’d come home with a 250 pound homeless football player. I seriously pondered it and may be in an adoption ‘funk’ for weeks. Today, I’m thinking about resurrecting the fresh Christmas tree tradition. Hope your weekend is marvelous.

Thanksgiving Tabletop Tips

November 24, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 31 Comments

Every year I swoon at the Pottery Barn catalogue and their many varied and luscious Thanksgiving tabletops. Have you ever calculated how much money it would cost to do a table exactly like theirs? A lot of money. An obscene amount of money. So, every year I set out to make my tables comfortable, fresh, and inviting. I took Darby’s tutorial on making Christmas stickers and made Thanksgiving ‘cards’ that I tied to pumpkins.

Then, I printed out the names of my guests {in elephant font at 36pt}, taped them to these cute Martha Stewart tags—that I found in the scrapbook section of Walmart—and tied them with twine to the pumpkins stalks.

Then, I took all my mismatched gold goblets and white dishes and set my table.

I lined the center of the table with 10 votive candles {I bought the votive holders on clearance at Pier One for $1 and then put ’ember’ votive candles in the holders–also from Pier One. ‘Ember’ is a most wonderful combination of orange, cinnamon, and cloves.

I used different colors and words at everyones’ place setting and you can download the words in sets of two in the form of pdf files. For the words joyful and thankful, click here. For the words lovely and wishful click here. For the words merry and cheer, click here. For the words grateful and cherish, click here.

Voila! A fresh Thanksgiving table for under $30 (unless you count the printer ink)!

And because I don’t know when to stop with a good thing, I printed my Thanksgiving menu and my current ‘to-do’ in the same way. I’m pretty certain that I’m more motivated to finish my ‘to-do’ list when it looks like this.

Then, I officially declared this ‘Home-Economics’ week at Logos School and rallied the troops to help me

1)Bake the sweet potatoes {I’ll add the brown sugar, cream, and butter and then bake them again before Thursday}

2) Peel the russet potatoes—all ten pounds of them—-for the chive mashed potatoes. We’ll doctor these up later too but at least the peeling and cooking are done!

3) Bake faux-made bread. I use this Rhodes brand all the time when I need homeade bread in a pinch. You just spray a muffin tin with Pam and put two of these frozen dough balls in each tin. Let them rise for 5-6 hours and then bake them. I’ll be making my standard Parker House Rolls for Thursday too but this way, we’ll have plenty for my family to take home with their leftovers.

And then we sat down and spent a couple hours reading about the Pilgrims and their amazing journey across the Atlantic—and how they landed in a foreign country—tired, sick, hungry with no ready available food or shelter.

We are so blessed. With so many brave people for whom to be thankful.

Check over at Kimba’s DIY day for more creative solutions that are easy to do yourself.