Roasting Chesnuts

I can remember chestnut trees when growing up in Pennsylvania. They had a prickly outer shell that I liked to squash. I never picked them for cooking as I would now. Florida is not a chestnut producing area, so I am forced to buy them in the store at this time of year.

They are highly perishable...which I just learned after roasting a bad batch. So store them in the fridge until use.

To roast in the oven at 350', you must cut a x into the flat side of each. This let's steam escape so you don't have popping nuts in your oven. Roast for about 20 minutes...turning halfway through. You will see the x's curling up at the edges.

They will be smokin' hot so be careful not to burn yourself when peeling. We eat them plain,
but someone suggested dipping them in butter....which sounds utterly delicious because butter makes everything delicious!

Lomo Fun for Halloween Decorating

I am having sooo much fun with my IPhone Lomo camera application. I do have my real life Diana but rarely buy film for it. Slowly the house is getting ready for October.

A Different Perspective

I love this picture. The old French magnifying glass was found at the Paris Mercantile in Savannah.

Oberon Designs

Oberon Designs is a wonderful company out of California that makes the most beautiful leather items. They also make silver pendants and such. For my original Kindle I had purchased one of their covers. It was lovely. They are expensive, but well worth the price for the craftmanship. This is my favorite.......

Since I kept the wonderful Kindle 3 I need a new cover. Oh the choices.!

Halloween Decorating

My favorite time of year is finally around the corner. I get to start decorating for Halloween and we have the best house for it. Me and Addy started pulling the totes out yesterday. What fun! She was oohing and awing over everything. My house has some things that could be deemed Halloweenish year round. Like this big moonface and magic sign above it.

Fingerling Potatoes

Fingerling potatoes are heritage potatoes that grow smaller than the average potato. They are oblong and knubby, therefore named "fingerling" due to resembling a finger.

They taste sweeter to me and have a more delicate, waxy texture. They are awesome roasted with garlic, onions and tossed with a good quality olive oil. A sprinkle of sea salt with fresh herbs completes the masterpiece.

Stir Fried Cabbage with eggs and shrimp

I made this delicious dish as a side last night, but could easily have made it into a meal.

Ingredients

1 head of cabbage thinly shredded

1/2 pound shrimp halved

4 eggs

4 minced garlic cloves

1tbsp water

4 tbsp oil

1tsp soy sauce

1tsp fish sauce

Salt

White pepper


Add garlic to wok and lightly brown. Add shrimp and fry for 1 minute or until pink. Remove shrimp with slotted spoon. Add cabbage. Cook until softened, but not mushy. Add tbsp of water. Stir. Add shrimp back to wok. Make well for eggs. Crack eggs and start to cook. Break the yokes when they start looking slightly white. Then mix eggs into the cabbage mixture. Add soy sauce and fish sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

Little Nut

Peanut came to me about 6 years ago via a Petsmart adoption. His little 1.75 pound self was sharing a cage with some mammoth chihuahuas. He's a special case they told me. Rescued from horrendous conditions from a puppymill in Live Oak, Florida. He had to get all but 5 teeth removed due to malnutrition. Plus, his social skills were severely lacking. I sadly ended up leaving, but Sam turned around to buy him because he knew I loved him.

His name was foxy, but I renamed him
Peanut because of his size. I should have named him Wiley because he looks like Wiley Coyote.


He is my sidekick. Loves me and only me. He's loyal....thinks he's fierce but now has no teeth in his mouth. Which, by the way makes his tongue hang out. He has a face only a mother could love....which I do.

New kitchen Eats

I bought this lovely can

of grapeseed oil from La Tourangelle. It is supposed to have a light nutty flavor, plus alot of health benefits. You can go to this website... http://http://www.buzzle.com/articles/benefits-of-grape-seed-oil.html


to read about the benefits.

Also, the jam from Maury Island Farms, which is all natural, looks amazing. I am making filled shortbread cookies with it today.

New Finds

These two were great TJ MAXX finds. I have other pieces similar to the skeleton that I bought last Halloween.

They started putting their Christmas stuff out today and I had to buy this Santa with the moon because I love vintage moon faces.

Path to Enlightenment

Abby and I began our 6 week beginning Buddhism classes on Sunday. It was such a peaceful place. I have never meditated before...but Abby and I both had the same experience during the 3 minute exercise. It literally felt like we were sitting there for 10 seconds. Wild. It will be an interesting journey for both of us.

Plum Color

I had bought these Japanese eggplants at the Asian Market last week with intentions on making an Asian dish. However, they found themselves converted to an Italian meal. The color is so beautiful. I want hand dyed yarn in this color. I stuffed them with a mixture of ground sirloin, sautéed garlic, celery, eggplant, paprika, parmesan cheese, and a homemade tomato sauce. Of course no Italian dish would be complete without a coating of melted Italian cheeses. They were rich...but good. Even my son ate them. However, I refrained from using the word eggplant.

Vintage Chunky

I found the cutest pattern for the cutest hat. Take a look. It's in Berrocos book #302 called Vintage and Vintage Chunky. I substituted Hulda yarn by Louisa Harding because VC was nowhere local to be found. The vest called Americano is a must make also. I will buy the yarn while up North. Patience is not my virtue. As stated by one of my friends, I love instant gratification. But will hold out for VC.

Vampire Knit Project

I received my copy of Vampire Knits. There are alot of cute projects. I fell in love with the Lore Hoodie. Off to my LYS, yarnworks, and after fondling many skeins, I bought a skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca. It looks like a light bluish teal. This will be one of my train projects while going to Salem in October.