Coping During Trying Times

How is everyone doing out there? 

It's been a long time since I have posted but you know how it goes. Life sometimes detours and goes on in other directions for a while. 

With all of the things going on in our world, I thought it might be good for me to have a personal and positive outlet and the time seems right to blog again. 

Thanks for following all these years and stay tuned for more. 

- Jen

Sunday Supper

Tonight's supper: Sunday Pork Roast with Maple Horseradish & Caramelized Onion Sauce. 

This is an super easy supper to make. It takes a while to roast the pork but the work involved is minimal. 

First, I started off with a pork shoulder with a nice layer of fat on top. I took a sharp knife and scored the fat and then salted both the top and bottom of the roast. 

It went into a roasting pan and into a 425 degree oven until the fat started to get crispy.  








 While the roast was in the oven, I caramelized some red and sweet white onions. 

Slice the onions thinly and saute with about a tablespoon of butter. Cook on a low heat until the onions are opaque and start to caramelize. 

Once the top of the roast was crispy, I turned the oven down to 325 degrees and placed the onions in the roasting pan to finish cooking. 

The time of roasting will vary depending on the size of the roast. This was a very small roast so it only took about an hour but a large roast can take as long as four hours. 

I also quartered a potato and put in the pan to have along with the roast. 

When the roast was finished, I let it rest while I placed the onion into a saute pan over medium heat. I added just a bit of half and half, a teaspoon of horseradish and a drizzle of Maple Syrup. Salt and pepper to taste. It makes a lovely sweet and tangy sauce for the meat and potato. 

There is is: an easy home cooked meal that you can reheat throughout the week and the oven did most of the work. 

Kitch Tag Sale Sunday

Join us this Sunday, October 26th from 10-4 for our Kitsch Tag Sale. We have lots of cool vintage stuff including pottery, jewelry, purses, clothes, Halloween stuff, original art and more. 

Also lots of books for the literary minded.

Located at 203 Saxton Rd. Mansfield, OH.

Yes, it's a garage sale but not the usual garage sale stuff. It's the perfect place to find a one of a kind treasure. 

Local Roots Ashland

 While out running some errands for work, I stopped by Local Roots Ashland to see what they had available. 

Beautiful Eggplant, summer squash, corn, apples and so much more were in stock...ready for me to buy. 

It's great to support local growers and this amazing co-op even though I can't shop there as often as I would like. 

We picked up white corn, onions, apples and an eggplant to use in our meals this week. 

Can't wait to get into the kitchen!
Visit Local Roots Ashland Here

Morning Light

I love the light coming in my kitchen window in the mornings. The house is so peaceful. I can collect my thoughts before beginning the day.

Beautiful Ohio

Beautiful Ohio, where the golden grain 
Dwarf the lovely flowers in the summer rain.
Cities rising high, silhouette the sky. 
Freedom is supreme in this majestic land;
Mighty factoreis seem to hum in tune, so grand.
Beautiful Ohio, thy wonders are in view, 
Land where my dreams all come true!

Harvest

We've got tomatoes!

This was the first year that I have not tended the garden and Mike has had to figure it out - all by himself. 

Work has been incredibly busy so I knew that I would not be around to help out. 

Since it was his first attempt, he decided to only grow tomatoes and peppers but I think he has caught garden fever. 

He is already planning all of the things that he is going to plant next year. ( It only took him 10 years to figure out how cool the vegetable garden is).


Yesterday, I taught him how to get the skins off and to cook down tomatoes to freeze them for later.  Although I would love to can, we have a porcelain top stove and you cannot can veggies on it.

Every year, I think about canning because it's the way that our family always "put up" produce for the winter but in reality, it is a romanticized idea. It doesn't make sense with my busy work schedule but I can still enjoy the fruits of our labor even when it is ten below outside by freezing. 

Well it's time to start my day in the "real world" so Happy Wednesday to all!

-Jen

Pyrex Love

There is nothing like vintage Pyrex to make me feel a bit of nostalgia.

My great-grandmother had this pattern called "Butterprint". I have some of her original dishes butI can't help buying more whenever I see it in a thrift shop or yard sale.

Incorporating touches of your history into your home is a great way to feel rooted - even if you are thousands of miles from where you came.

Have a great day!

- Jen

Making Mayo

After I got home from the grocery yesterday, I realized that I forgot to buy mayonnaise. Normally not a big deal but I was planning to make potato salad. 

Easy solution. Make mayo. It's so simple and so much better than store bought. I love the beautiful yellow from using organic cage free eggs. 

This recipe is basically a recipe from Julia Child. It works great for salads or you can add herbs to it for a great sauce for Chicken.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

3 Egg Yolks 

1 1/2 to 2 Cups Canola or Olive Oil

1/2 tsp.Vinegar or Lemon Juice

1/2 tsp. Salt 

White Pepper

1/4 tsp. Dry or Prepared Mustard 

Equipment Needed

Mixing Bowl

Whisk or Electric Mixer

Beat the egg yolks for about a minute on a fairly high setting on your mixer. If mixing by hand, you are going to get a good workout. The yolks should get sticky and a bit heavy. Make sure your bowl is not cold.

Then add the vinegar or lemon juice, dry mustard and salt. Beat for another minute. 

Slowly begin adding drops of oil to the mixture while beating. The mixture should start to thicken and become creamy. Keep beating so the sauce doesn't curdle or separate. 

Continue adding the oil one Tablespoon at a time with a maximum amount of 2 - 2 1/4 cups of oil. 

Once the sauce has the texture and taste that you want, you are done.

You can adjust the amounts of lemon juice or vinegar and spices to your taste. 

Hints

I used canola oil mainly because it is less expensive than using my high quality Olive Oils. 

You do want to use high quality eggs. I use organic/cage free brown eggs.

I used my Kitchenaid stand mixer to do all of the hard work. 

Family Photo Fabulous

As a family historian, I am the keeper of many old family photographs and other memorabilia. 

During my visit to Napa Valley, I loved that Trinchero Winery had family history displayed throughout it. There were so many ideas that I could bring back to Ohio to incorporate into my house. 

The winery told the story of the Trinchero family. Italian immigrants who came to America via New York and took the huge risk of moving to California to begin the wine business through the decor.

These photographs of Mario and Maria Trinchero are displayed in a room designed like a living room but we had a private tasting there. I think it's a fabulous idea to enlarge the photographs so they really make a statement and honor our ancestors.  It's an affordable way to make a very personal statement in your home. 

Inspiration

Inspiration $50 Acrylic on Canvas 

The landscapes of California were like none I had ever seen before. Lovely valleys with mountains and foothills in the back drop. Livermore, California was the inspiration for this piece.