Easter at Fairfield Manor

I had intended to take lots and lots of pictures of Easter this year.  The table, the food, the drink, the lovely people, but I realize that I mostly stood around with a silly grin on my face (partly the wine, no doubt - although this morning I realized that we didn't even open and offer the white that our lovely guests brought.  What a couple of doofuses. You all should have just said something, people!  Wait, did you?) so happy to have a Manor full of family and friends.  I did take a few pictures, a spotty representation of our day.

Duke Zeus did most of the cooking, giving us a sampling of what would be served at a gathering of family and friends in Greece.

Marinated pork chops grilling on the barbeque....so good!

Dip these in something called cheese salad or tzaziki and oh my! Cheese salad isn't what you might think.  Well, I don't know what you think of when you think of cheese salad, but I expected something other than what it is.  Which is:  a mixture of feta, olive oil and sweet red pepper all whirled in a food processor or blender.  It's  a little similar to tzaziki in texture and oh. so. good.

Princess Pooalot was giving directions from on high regarding the turning of the meatballs.  And a fine job she did.  We simply couldn't have done it without her.

I rounded out the display of cured and fresh meats with a glazed ham.  Some at the Manor couldn't imagine Easter without a ham and au gratin potatoes, so we enjoyed a meat-heavy Easter meal to say the least.

One of the nicest things that I contributed to our Easter feast was Strawberry Lemonade.  Our Countess de Couv is expecting a Prince or Princess in the fall, and we also had two dashing young knights among our guests, so I wanted to make something yummy that they would enjoy (who knew one was highly allergic to strawberries?  Note to self:  always ask about pesky things like throat closures, neck swellings and sudden death).  Anyhoo, here's the recipe.  It's just as gorgeous as it is good.  Great picnic fare:

Strawberry Lemonade

4-6 generous servings

2 c water

1 c sugar

1 1/2 pints fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries

1 c fresh lemon juice

1 T (or so) lemon zest

Water (still, sparkling or seltzer)

In a medium pan bring the 2 c water and the sugar to a boil.  Reduce the heat a little and stir to dissolve the sugar, making a simple syrup.  Add the lemon juice and zest.  Let cool. 

Meanwhile, puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor.  I was reminded again yesterday, that if I'm using the blender, do the pureeing in small batches.  Methinks you could do larger batches in the food processor, but it was buried in the corner behind various meat courses in various states of preparation. 

When the mixture is cool, strain it into a large pitcher and add the pureed strawberries.  Chill well in refrigerator.  When your ready to serve, pour a couple of ounces (taste test) into a 8 oz glass and fill the rest with water (still, sparkling or seltzer).  We used club soda yesterday and it was very good.  Garnish with mint.  Very refreshing!

Our bar area after things were underway.  I show you this because there on the right you can see the pitcher of strawberry lemonade concentrate.  Such a gorgeous color, I must say.  You can also barely detect a gerbera daisy there behind everything.  It's sitting in the O of B-L-O-O-M.  I told you that once I figured out the Cricut vinyl cutting capabilities, I'd go a little crazy.  The crazy is starting....

I can't neglect mentioning that our day started at church with wonderful worship, baptisms, new faces and old friends.  Ken delivered such a great message about whether Christ's death on the cross matters to us today.  Does it matter at work, at the store - the places we really live?  It makes you think and I'll give you the answer to the question:  yes.

We ended our day cracking red eggs in Greek tradition.  The object is to choose the champion egg which will be the strongest as you smack it against the ends of the opponent's egg....

Duke Zeus was the champ this year.   Once again, I believe.  I'm starting to think he has some inside knowledge on how to hold the egg.

Today, I am tired but happy.  Easter day was all that I wanted it to be (picture taking failure and silly grinning not withstanding), worship was fulfilling, food was delicious and the folks gathered at the Manor were delightful.  And next year we'll have one more around our table.  Or two, the jury is still out on that question.

Busy Weekend

It was a very busy weekend around the Manor.  So busy, in fact I forgot to take pictures, so you'll just have to imagine the goings on.  The Earl and I spent Friday night visiting and dining with friends.  The hostess asked me to bring a coleslaw to go with dinner ( it turned out to be corned beef, and I was thrilled because I missed fixing corned beef and cabbage on St. Patty's), so I fixed this one and it was so good.  As per usual, I didn't have all the exact ingredients, so I substituted a mixture of milk and white vinegar for the buttermilk (it makes me wretch, so I don't keep it in the house, but I do understand it has magical powers as an ingredient.  But still...) and left out the lemon juice entirely.  There was apparently a lemon heist at the Manor last week, because the lemons I thought I had, I did not.

I worked on Saturday, beautifying my neck of the woods.....

......aaaand the Earl and I were having a dinner party for 9 on Saturday evening.  It wasn't a typical dinner party, but a little thang that we call Supper 8 (or in our case, 9).  When we first started attending our church a couple of years ago I signed us up for Supper 8 right away as a way to get to know people.  I did another thing that I thought would be a good way to meet people too, but that's for another time.  Eeenyhoo, the idea is you are put into a group of approximately 3 other couples, or a mix of couples and singles to equal 8-10.  Each couple hosts a get-together, dinner, breakfast, Sunday lunch - whatever the group decides, once during the go-around.  As host and hostess, you plan the meal and provide the main dish and the others fill in with sides, salad and dessert.  I typically like to do a roast or some other budget-busting thing because it's simple and most of all, everyone really enjoys it.  And it's a great excuse to serve some of my favorite wine or this one.  I don't really need an excuse, but I like to keep up appearances.

This time for our turn at hosting the Earl requested my lasagna.  Since I haven't fixed lasagna for a loooong time, probably since the Duke and Countess du Greece were in residence I figured I could oblige him.  When we got home of Friday night, I set to it.

The Lady's Lasagna

(measurements are approximate, and vary with the amount of wine consumed whilst cooking - but close)

1 lb. ground beef

1 1b. Italian sausage (we used to like hot, but we're old now and I use sweet)

1/2 of a medium to large onion, chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed (use a garlic crusher so you get all that awesome juice, too)

  Saute and crumble this mixture until it's nice and brown.  Add:

28 oz. can tomatoes (I use 2 cans of chopped tomatoes - those that they claim are roasted - I dunno, are    they?)

2 cans tomato paste

about 1/2 c water or earthy red wine

2 T sugar (depends on my mood whether it's brown or white)

2 t dried basil (I always crush it in my hands as I put it in)

1 1/2 t dried oregano (again, crush)

1 T salt (don't skimp here)

1/4 t or so black pepper

a good handful of fresh parsley, chopped

  Simmer this, covered for 1 - 1 1/2 hrs.

Meanwhile, have a sip of your earthy wine and bring a big pot of salted water to boil.  Slip in 12 dry lasagna noodles.  If you want to use fresh noodles, I'll not quibble.  They're delicious, but I can rarely find them easily. I will make a judgement about 'no boil' noodles, though.  They're an abomination in my opinion. When using dry noodles, it takes about 7-8 minutes for them to reach the point I like.  I don't want them completely done.  When ready, drain, rinse and toss with a little olive oil.  Lay them flat on sheets of foil until you're ready to assemble.

Also meanwhile (this stuff keeps you busy), mix:

16 oz. ricotta cheese (I've used cottage cheese here, too)

2 eggs

3/4 c grated parmesan (people, I implore you, ditch the green can and buy grated or shred your own)
a little dried parsley here is nice but there will be no judgement made should you decide against it
When ready to assemble, you will also need:
8 oz. cream cheese (shocking, I know)
about 3/4 lb. sliced mozzarella (fresh is out of this world, but the other works fine, too)
about 1/2 - 3/4 c shredded parmesan

Assembly:
Lay four noodles flat, overlapping slightly on the bottom of a deep-ish rectangular pan (at least 9x13).  Top with a layer of meat sauce, a layer of the ricotta mixture, slices of mozzarella and then knobs of cream cheese.  Repeat twice.  Make sure you have good meat and cheese coverage.  The last layer should be:  noodles, ricotta mixture (thinner layer is fine),small knobs of cream cheese, meat sauce, mozzarella and top with shredded parmesan.  It's now time for a good rest in the oven, at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes.  The cheese on top will get deliciously bubbly and brownish - and the aroma in your house will drive you mad I tell you.  Do your best to let it rest for 10 minutes or so before cutting into it.
Easily 12 servings.

Enjoy with delightful people, vino delicious and Puccini for a memorable evening with new friends.  Or old friends, if you must.  If your friends are as wonderful as ours, they will bring delicious bread, salad and fruit to round out the meal and tiramisu for dessert.  And you'll fall into bed satisfied in every way.

If your friends are not that wonderful, you'll at least have some delicious lasagna while you ponder broadening your circle of peeps.

Buona notte per ora i miei amici

(Do not) Let the Sunshine in....

The dining room here at Fairfield Manor has a big west facing window.  I have struggled to find cheap  not crappy looking window coverings for this room.  To complicate things for me, it has a north facing window that butts right up against the corner of the west facing window.  Lots of light (too much in the summer - it's like a pizza oven in there), and what the heck are you supposed to do with that dang corner and curtain hardware?  I know, I should have called a curtain hanging wizard long ago and had hardware made for it (I know you can do that, I've seen it at a friend's house who actually spent some dough), but add that to the cost of custom draperies and well, I've mentioned the Earl, haven't I?  He was happy with the macrame-esque things that were hanging in there when we bought the Manor.  Plus, I can sew, people.  So, I've made several stabs at window coverings for the dining room, none really successful.  Until now....

I found fabric for 50% off at Fabric Depot last year.   On a side note, I'm sorry for you if you don't live in Portland, where you can shop at Fabric Depot, it's fabricy/crafty heaven.  Back to my story:  later in the year I found blackout fabric at Joann's for 50% off (surely you have a Joann's in your town?).  I placed the blackout fabric in my sewing room near the Fabric Depot fabric and left them alone for several months.  They didn't spontaneously mate, so I set to work recently.  As I mentioned here, I don't always have what you would call a concrete plan when I start a project.  I did have the Duke hang some hardware for me, though. Using a very fancy saw as big as my dishwasher, he cut a perfect angle on a each of 2 wooden rods, making the dang corner non-problematic.  Now, we needed curtains/drapes (what's the difference?).
I measured the width of the window, added 1.5 times that measurement (for floof and fullness), and cut that measurement in half so I'd have 2 drapes hanging that will gloriously slide along the rod and close out the blasting sun (when it arrives).  I then measured the length and added 2.5 inches for the rod pocket and 5 inches for the hem.   Cut, cut, cut.  Re-measure, cut.  I cut the blackout fabric 4 inches narrower and about 6 inches shorter than the drapery fabric.  I'll explain later, as I go.
I sewed the blackout fabric and the drapery fabric, right sides together, along the long sides, making a gigantic tube with the hem edge and the rod pocket edge open.

Notice that the top of the blackout fabric is not even with the top of the drapery fabric.  The picture shows the top of the drapes (before turning right side out), with the fabric that will become the rod pocket without blackout fabric.

Next, I turned the tube right side out and pressed the edges.  I hope this picture makes clear what I did:

See, the blackout fabric is narrower, so when I turned it all right side out, it created that nice finished edge.  Pretty nifty.  Again you're looking at the top where the rod pocket will soon be.

Time to sew the rod pocket.  I just turned down the top edge, turned under the raw edge 1/4 inch and sewed it down.  I caught the blackout fabric in the sew-down, so it's all tucked and tidy.

If you decide to try this yourself and all the math and the fact that you don't have a plan and you're making up the rules as you go is making you nuts and ready to snatch yourself bald, wad the whole thing up set the project aside....

and fold your SmartWool socks fresh from the laundry.  Go back to it later.

After you've taken a break and perhaps had a cocktail, you are ready to hem.  I did the same thing here as I did for the rod pocket, fold over, turn raw edge under 1/4 inch and sew that thing down.  Except on the hem I had to use someone's freaky wrinkled hand to help....

No, actually, that's a freaky wrinkled hand sewing the right sides together at the very beginning.  Just do as I say, not as I show.  It works fine.  Seeeee.....

One more to make for the narrow north facing window and I'm done!  I finally feel like I've got the right thing hanging there, ya know what I mean?

I sat at the dining room table and ate a salad with croutons made from this and felt pretty dang good about life....

I've linked here:

I Heart Naptime

All Things Heart and Home

Le Birthday Sunday

Today is our youngest daughter-in-law's birthday and we're having a leetle dinner soiree in her honor.  I'm taking a little break from the Manor kitchen to recharge and make sure that I haven't forgotten anything.  Besides forgetting to make the salad dressing yesterday, that is.
For her cake, I'm using what's become my go-to scrumchie chocolate cake and the most amazing frosting I've   ever tasted.  I first tasted this cake and frosting in cupcake form at a book signing for Alicia Paulson's book Embroidery Companion.  My daughter, the Countess du Greece introduced me to her blog, Posie Gets Cozy several years ago.  It was so much fun to meet her, and she brought cupcakes to boot!  The cake recipe is from Hershey's, and it's great, but the frosting is one her mother makes.  Don't be put off by the teeeeny bit of work it will take to make it, people will be swooning and dropping just plain dead from chocolatey/sugary ecstasy right in front of you.  And that's so worth it. I give you le recipe:  Alicia's (and mine) Go-to Birthday Cake.

Now, the Duke's wife the Countess de Couv, is actually older than 11.  We're not weird at the Manor.  Well, not that weird. It's hard to remember everything on your shopping list when it's at home.  Ya know?  So we multiply these candles by something and add something (or not) and square root the base and you've got it.

Here's the flour and milk goop from the frosting (which, as it turns out, is called Butter Roux Frosting) when it's ready to sit on the counter for an hour or three before it gets whipped to within an inch of its life along with the powdered sugar.  

See how pudding-esque it is?

After it has cooled, add the powdered sugar and beat the daylights out of it until you have boofy clouds of yummy......

Be sure to use your pirate utensils.  It helps awfully.

I was reminded tonight of something I'd forgotten.  While this frosting is plenty for 18 cupcakes, for some reason it's a little skimpy on a 2-layer cake.  When I make it again I'll do it as Alicia does, leaving the sides nekkid.  The dark chocolate-y cake looks really striking with white clouds of fluffy frosting on top.  Sort of like you do when you have a good tan and blond hair.   I told myself  I'd do that last time I made it.  Nekkid sides, I mean.  It's so complicated being me, I can't remember everything all the time.

Before we dove into the Countess' cake (and low-fat ice cream - what's that about?), we dined on The Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pot Roast.  Honestly, what does one do without the internets for recipes?  Use one of the 75-ish cookbooks one has?  Pfft..

This is the first time I've made this and I'm sold people.  I grew up on my mother's pot roast and had not moved too far afield - chuck roast, onions, potatoes and carrots topped with a packet of onion soup mix and covered with a can of cream of mushroom soup.  Wrap that in enough foil to build a plane and stick it in the oven for many hours on a low temp.  That was good, and always rang nostalgic every time I fixed it,  but it was perfectly boring. Not to mention off the charts sodium-wise.  Ree's recipe was fun to make, different for me and absolutely delicious.

This made super gravy, too.  Gravy used to be an enigma to me, but since my other daughter-in-law over at Moss and Clover told me the secret formula (if you use 2 T fat, then use 2 T flour and nearly 2 c liquid), I'm doing much better, I must say. Rosemary rolls, smashed potatoes (gravy platform) and tossed salad rounded out our birthday dinner.  Yum.

After dinner we engaged in Manor games, where we sorely missed the Countess du Greece's hubs, Duke Zeus who was benched due to a bad cold.

Princess Pooalot demonstrated atrocious manners and sat on the table with bare feet, which she is absolutely allowed to do.  So if she visits you and and does the same, you are to say nothing.  Except how adorable the Princess Pooalot is. And I mean it.

Happy birthday to the Countess de Couv!

The Loo Re-do

Fairfield Manor is, in reality, a post-war (and by war I mean The Big War, WWII) daylight ranch.  Daylight ranch means that there is a window in the basement.  Not anywhere near a room that you need daylight in, but whatever.  Ranch because, well I think it sounded appealing to returning veterans who were settling back into domestic life,  "You can own your own ranch!  New modern two bedroom home with furnace, $9,000."  But there is no resemblence to a ranch.  No barn, no horses, no cowboys in tight jeans and chaps, leather gloves, western cut shirts, guitar slung over their shoulders....but I digress.  Ahem. 

None of these guys around the Manor

What we have here is a long and low 4 bedroom (one bedroom used to be a garage), 2 bath work in progress, built the year I was born.  I mention it's birth year (and mine) only because I've had various repair gents here at the Manor (the Earl is clueless with tools) and almost always the conversation gets to this:  "Well, with these really old houses....." insert any problem you like here.  What they mean is, "Lady, it's old, really old...."  I take umbrage.  Many umbrages.   Anyhoo, progress at the Manor can crawl at a snail's pace, but  there's always alot of dreaming and scheming on my part.  The Earl, not so much.  He's happy the way things are.  If it's not crumbling or falling through the floor, it's fine.
The Earl and I bought the Manor about 16 years ago.  It was billed as having been "recently updated".  As recently as 1974, as it turns out.  You do the math....  We were blinded by the amount of space, the size of the yard, proximity to school and the price - meaning we could just about afford it.  It didn't take me long to realize that something would have to be done about certain "features"  of the estate.  Namely, the capacious use of golden brown ceramic tile.  Everywhere.  And dark brown grout.  Everywhere.  Kitchen, bathrooms, fireplace, entryway.  Lord love a duck.  Several years ago, I decided to take action.  Our son, the Duke was old enough, clever enough and eager to tear something apart, so I enlisted him in my plan.  I was gleeful as we began demolishing the upstairs bathroom.  Here's the best "before" shot I can find - as the loo isn't a spot I routinely photograph, you'll just have to make do with this one:

Awful, isn't it?  This was taken as we began the demolishing, it wasn't normally this messy.  Look at that tile!  Yuck!  Dark brown floor and vanity tile, gold ceramic tile for the walls and tub surround, dark brown tub and pottery sink.  Very groovy.   Right after we first moved in, I tried to mitigate all the tile by painting the walls a similar buttery (to the tile) yellow color, and we replaced one of these:

Mercifully, The Earl agreed.  He didn't want to, he thought this was cool.  Doing these two things and removing billowy curtains were as far as we got for about 11 years.

Fast forward a decade or so:  The Duke of the Manor has begun working as a finish carpenter and he has some really neato tools.  As is my usual m.o. we begin the demolition without much of a plan, except to get rid of the gold and brown.  
The Earl:  "Do you guys know what you're doing?"  As I mentioned, he's not big on change.
me:  "Not really."  How hard can this really be?  After all, I've mentioned the tools.
The Duke:  "Not yet.  We'll figure it out as we go."  I like that boy's spirit!

I think you can see by this picture the reason for the Earl's concern.  We knew not what we were doing.  But soldier on, we did.  Out came the tile, out with the vanity, sink and old window. I knew that I wanted a much breezier, roomier loo. Beyond that, cheap was imperative.
All in all, I don't think we spent much more than $600, including refinishing the bathtub.  Many of the materials were salvaged (like Brazilian Redwood floors!).  What a difference!

New beautiful floor, partial base and unpainted bead board (eventually it was painted white), and the new door.  I found an old glass doorknob at the Goodwill that looks perfect on it.

It's been about 4 years since we took this project on and I still love it.  I've recently been giving some thought to revamping it a little.  I have a cabinet in the basement that could look like this and take its place next to the sink:

Don't ya think??

I'll keep you posted on that project.

I linked here!

Flamingo Toes

D.I.Y. Showoff

A Weekend Away

The Lord of the Manor and I are off to the beautiful and wild Oregon Coast this afternoon. We're celebrating 36 years together, and a trip to one of our favorite weekend getaways is in order.  We will probably see some tsunami remnants, a reminder of the devastation on the far side of the Pacific.

Before we go I'll be doing my day job, involving some of this:

I love doing that.  But I look forward to stuffing this with us and a couple pairs of jeans....:

(That's the weather  at the Manor 80% of the time, people)

....and heading here:

....with him.

Have a wonderful weekend, pals.  See you next week!  I'm working on a post about our first big remodeling project.  It's a hoot.

PS:  Clearly, I haven't figured out my buttons yet.  I can get them on the blog, but haven't figured out how to make them functional yet.  Don't let that put you off....I'd love to hear from you anyhoo!  I'll figure out at some point.