Lavender, Lace and Lexicon

It's back to school time for children everywhere.  Time to pack up books and pencils and get ready to study the three R's: reading, writing and 'rithmatic.  Don't you just love the alliteration, despite the fact that "writing" and "arithmatic" don't begin with a "r"?

 



I have a little alliteration of my own with this post: the three "L's."  Lavender, lace and lexicon.  I love old books.   I love the changes in fonts and designs over the last 100+ years.  I love the yellowing pages.  I love seeing what people have written in their old books and also imagining who might have owned these books so long ago.

 



Do you know what a McGuffey's Reader is?  Here is a stack of the 4th, 5th and 6th McGuffey readers that are from my grandparent's day.  It is fun to see all of the funny little scribblings that children wrote in pencil in these books.  The bottom book in this stack is Chamber's Etymological Dictionary of the English Language."  I do cherish these old school books.

 



Whenever I'm at a flea market I always check to see if anyone has old books I might like.  The smaller stack on the left are three book from the turn of the century and are very old editions of Milton's Paradise Lost I  & II, a collection of Robert Louis Stevenson's Poems, as well as Stevenson's Kidnapped. 

 





The other day I decided that sitting in a bookshelf concealed by other books was hiding away some past history.  I wanted to enjoy the look, feel and connection to the past that they represent.  Also, I have a very large basket filled with lavender that I've dried from my garden, a lot of lace that needed to find a purpose, and this little school desk that could use some display interest.  So....I tied up a couple of stacks of old books with the lace and lavender and now can enjoy them all.  The idea to do this came from Angie at KNICK OF TIME.  I follow her on her blog as well as pinterest and etsy shops.  She has such fabulous ideas and special touches.

 



I doubt dogs were allowed in the classroom with the children but Miss Paige, one of my Newfoundland dogs, decided she needed to take a break from her studies while I was taking pictures.  Hmmm...sleeping in the classroom!  Is that allowed?  We'll make an exception for Paige.

I'm linking this post to Angie's blog Knick of Time for this week's Knick of Time Tuesday bloghop featuring bloggers creative ideas and projects featuring their vintage style treasure.  If you love creative vintage ideas, you'll want to check out KNICK OF TIME TUESDAY.


 

 

Until next time,

Cheers!

 

Jennifer

Peaches!

 

Peaches!  Yum!  I have two favorite fruits: pears and peaches! 

 

 

Yep!  Love 'em so much I even take pictures of them.

 

Sweet!  Juicy!  I want to eat them fresh all year long.  And peaches appear to be at their peak right now so I took advantage of the orchard's supply and decided to can some of them today. 

Don't they look like jars filled with gold?

I am dreaming of all the yummy ways I will use these peaches.  Peach pie, peach cobbler, peach smoothies, peaches with chicken or pork, peaches in salads, peaches in my yogurt, peaches and ice cream and best of all, a bowl of peaches...plain and simple.

I still had some peaches after I had jarred up some so I decide to use the remaining ones is PEACH BARBEQUE SAUCE.   Oh yaaaaahhhhhhhh...now we're talkin' sister!

 

This peach barbeque sauce is filled with yummy peaches, garlic, honey, peppers from my garden, some red pepper flakes for an added kick and lots of good things.

 

I like this recipe because you can adjust the amounts for the number of peaches you have.  I knew I didn't need too many jars of Peach Barbeque sauce so this small batch recipe fit the bill using the remaining peaches.  And is it good?  Oh yes!  It does have a bit of a kick to it but the sweetness of the peaches and honey balances out well with the garlic and red pepper flakes.  I think it is going to be delcious served with chicken, fish, ribs, and on burgers. 

 

 

Zesty Peach Barbecue Sauce

 

(This is the half batch recipe amounts and will make about 4 (8 0z.) half pints.  Recipe from Ball Canning and Preserving)

•  3 cups finely chopped pitted and peeled peaches (about 1 1/2 labs or 5 medium)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped and seeded bell pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2  Tblsp. finely chopped garlic
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp hot pepper flakes
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 (8 oz.) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:

1. Prepare boiling water canner.  Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use.  Do not boil.  Set bands aside
2. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture thhickens to the consistency of a thin commercial barbeque sauce (about 25 minutes)
3. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles.  Wipe rims.  Center hot lid on jar and apply the band and adjust until fit is ginertip tight.
4. Process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude.  Remove jars and cool.  Check lids for seal after 24 hours. 

 

I may have to go back to the orchard and get some more peaches.  They are just too nice this year not to take advantage of the flavor and supply.

 

Until next time,

Cheers!

 

Jennifer





What's under the cake dome Sunday # 8

If it's Sunday then it must be "What's under the cake dome Sunday". This week I made a Cinnamon Roll Dutch Apple Pie because the Mister's very, very, VERY favorite pie is apple. And he likes his apple pie a specific way and that is with a lot of apples and a lot of cinnamon.

 

I decided to make the Mister's apple pie a bit different though. 

Cinnamon Roll Dutch Apple Pie

 

 

Recently, I have been seeing this apple pie recipe all of Pinterest and the internet.  Yes!  The crust is made with cinnamon rolls!  And look!  Can you see the icing drizzled over the crumb top of the pie? 

 

 

I checked the internet for a recipe and sure enough, Pillsbury has a recipe for Cinnamon Roll Dutch Apple Pie.  I made a couple of changes to their recipe and then set out making my own.

 

 

First you will peel and core 5 or 6 large granny Smith apples.  I just love my apple peeler.  At this time of the year when I'm making a lot of apple pies and apple sauce the handy-dandy peeler is worth its weight in gold and makes peeling and coring apples a breeze!

 

 

Next, in a small bowl mix the crumb topping and then put it in the refrigerator until you are ready to top the pie with it.

 

In a large bowl mix your sliced up apples with the filling.

 

Now you will separate the cinnamon rolls and roll them out into about 4 inch rounds and smoosh them down in your pie plate, sealing the edges together and up the sides of the pie dish.  Hmmm...I really need to get myself a prettier pie plate, don't you think?

Now pile on the apples and filling, heaping them high.

 

Get the crumb topping you made previously out of the refrigerator and sprinkle it over the apples.  Now it is time to pop this lovely pie into the oven for an hour at 350 degrees (F).  Your kitchen is going to have the most delicious aroma of cinnamon and apples.  MMmmmmm!

 

And now for the last step, grab a fork and dig in!

 

 

CINNAMON ROLL DUTCH APPLE PIE

 

Topping:

•  1 cup all-purpose flour
•  1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened

Crust:   1 can (12.4 oz) of refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing

 

Filling:

• 5 or 6 Granny Smith apples, sliced very thin
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tblsp. lemon juice

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium sized bowl mix the crumb topping ingredient with a fork until large clumps form.  Place in refrigerator until ready to use.
2. Separate cinnamon roll dough into individual rolls and with a lightly floured rolling pin roll each cinnamon roll into a 4 inch round
3. In an ungreased 9-inch pie plate, place 1dough round in the center and then arrange the remaining dough rounds around the center and up the side s of the plate, overlapping slightly and pinching the edges to seal in the bottom and up the sides to form a crust.
4. In a large bowl, mix the filling ingredients.  Spoon the filling into the cinnamon roll lined pie plate and springle the top with the crumb mixture covering the top of the pie completely.
5. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until the top is golden brown and the apples are tender.  Cool on a cooling rack at least 1 hour.
6. Before serving, heat in microwave the small container of icing for a few seconds until it is runny enough to drizzle over the top of the pie.

 

ENJOY!

 

Until next time,

Cheers!

 

Jennifer