Big John's Biscuits & Gravy

Watch out Paula Deen. . .

 Big John has 4 or 5 recipes that he makes, that's all the cooking that he does, but he does it well. Biscuits & Gravy is one of his specialties...

 1. Start by browning 1 pound of hot ground pork sausage, I used Jimmy Dean here. The cheaper the sausage the more juice it gives off for the gravy but don't go too cheap!











2. Put about 3/4 cup of flour into a tupperware container (make sure it has a lid too.)













3. Add milk to the flour, enough so you can still shake the tupperware
 once it has a lid on it. Shaking the the milk and flour together will insure a "lump free" mixture (a trick I learned from Jeanette.)














4. Add the milk-flour mixture to the pan with the cooked sausage.











5. Add black pepper, red pepper flakes, and Sriracha sauce for a kick. Stir.










6. Add milk as necessary for desired consistency. Stir frequently.











7. Serve over biscuits. I like to use frozen Pillsbury Grand butter milk biscuits.  They come frozen in a bag making it easy to grab and cook the number of biscuits you want for a meal.

Do you ever make biscuits? Gravy? Whats your secret?

Mama's Hamburger Hobo Sacks

As my weekend excursion to Savanna, Georgia, grows nearer I thought it appropriate to make food from Savannah's Legendary Mama, Paula Deen.

About two years ago, I bought this cookbook, The Deen Bros. Take it Easy by Jamie and Bobby Deen and Melissa Clark, after looking at a friend's copy. Admittedly, at that time, I had no idea who the Deen brothers were, or that their Mama was Paula Deen. I bought the book because of the beautiful photographs, witty quotations, and easy recipes using inexpensive ingredients. 

In this book you will find a lot of recipes Paula Deen whipped up for her sons when they were kids and her son's versions of family friendly meals. The recipes I have made from this book have been delicious and budget friendly, using affordable proteins like; chicken legs, ground beef, and canned tuna.   The following recipe, Mama's Hamburger Hobo Sacks, is according to the Deens and myself:

"better than it ought to be."

Mama's Hamburger Hobo Sacks

The Deen Bros. Take it Easy by Jamie and Bobby Deen and Melissa Clark

Serves 4
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon Lady's house seasoning (recipe follows)
2 large carrots peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 medium onion cut into small chunks  
4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into cubes 

1. Pre heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place 4 large sheets (12-15 in) aluminum foil on your work area.

2. Combine beef w/2 teaspoons of house seasoning and form 4 patties. Place equal amounts carrots,potatoes, and onion on the foil sheets  and sprinkle each with the remaining house seasoning. Top each sheet of veg w/a meat patty and dot w/butter. Seal the foil packets tightly and transfer to a baking sheet.

3. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through and the veggies are tender.

Eat in the foil or on a plate.

The Lady's House Seasoning
Makes 1 1/2 cups
1 cup salt
1/4 cup fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder







Check out The Deen Bros. Take it Easy by Jamie and Bobby Deen and Melissa Clark,at your local library!

An Inviting Work Space At Home: Part 1

I am lucky enough to have my own dressing room.  It's a room where I keep my clothes, make up ,and other personal things one would have in a bedroom. I call it my dressing room and not my bedroom because I don't sleep there. However, it does have a daybed in it and doubles as a guest room. My dressing room is also my office, where a big table that I call my desk is. I do all of my work: writing, sewing, drawing, bill paying, job searching, and general correspondence at my desk in my dressing room.

There is one problem: I hate my dressing room.

The room has potential, and many nice features like big windows, roomy closet, a daybed, bureau, and desk, etc. But, Alas, like its occupant(me) it is disorganized. Organizing my dwellings has always been a challenge. My goal is to make this room -a place where I must work, into somewhere I want to spend time.

Until recently, I didn't spend a lot of time in my dressing room, just there to change my clothes. It was the room I wanted to spend as little time in as possible, not only was it a mess with my clothes, jewelry, accessories and books; it is painted a barf beige, chilly in temperature, dark due to black out curtains, and there is no bedding that fits the daybed. Not a room I consider inviting.

Then I realized that everything I hated about this room could be changed. I could make the changes and have fun by transforming my room into an efficient workspace, while making it cozy for me and out of town guests that lodge in it.

Step 1: Illuminate this dark room by taking down the black out curtains. Curtains (Ikea $15.00) with a fun white and red pattern give off a warm brightness, making the room look cheery while allowing the gorgeous window lattice work show.

It's a start

Before

After

 To be continued...

Plant Winter Cover Crops; it isn't too late!

Not planning on growing anything else in your garden this November? Think again.

 There is still time to plant Winter Cover Crops in many areas including Portland, Oregon, USDA Garden-Hardiness zone 8b. These hardy crops give the soil in your garden the protection and nutrients it will need to be ready for spring planting.

Field of Red Clover, at Oregon State University

There are several variates of Winter Cover Crops that will flourish in your garden over winter; when spring comes and cover crops are "turned under, – tilling or hoeing them into the soil where they decompose quickly".-their precious nitrogen will be released into the soil making it rich for the next crops that are planted.

Fava Bean plant

"There are four main categories of cover crops: grasses, other non-legumes, legumes, and mixtures. Examples of non-legume cover crops are: Rye, Oats, Wheat, Forage turnips, and Buck wheat. Examples of legume cover crops are: Clovers, Hairy Vetch, Field peas, and Alfalfa."   

http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/winter-cover-crops

Soil without anything planted in it can be stripped of nitrogen by harsh winter rain and snow. Cover crops act as a canopy shielding soil from precipitation. Besides, replenishing nitrogen,  cover crops also release other nutrients and microorganisms into soil, prevent erosion, attract earth worms, and pollinating insects-all good stuff for gardens!

Winter cover crops grow in most parts of the country, and can still be planted this late in the season. The gardening experts at Portland Nursery, Portland Or, recommend planting: fava beans, annual rye and  crimson clover cover crop seeds right now (November 7, 2012.)
Check with your local organic gardening center or nursery for more information and availability.

Photo credits:
smallfarms.oregonstate.edu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicia_faba

Making Quilts

I used to think that quilt making or quilting was the kind of activity reserved for elderly or pioneer women.  It wasn't until teaching a Third Grade class about quilting during a unit on the Oregon Trail, that I realized how historically significant, fun, and creatively satisfying quilting could be.

My current project (quilt #2)

Quilts have been significant in American history. Early American Settlers often collaborated to get big jobs done. Quilting "bees," made the huge job of hand stitching a quilt, a fun social event where women from around the community came together and lent a hand sewing, all the while, catching up with friends. Pioneers made patchwork quilts recycled from worn out clothing and flour sacks as they traveled westward on the Oregon Trail. Run away slaves depended on quilts displayed in windows or hung over porches by allies, to communicate when it was safe to travel the underground railroad.

Browsing in a fabric store is my idea of fun; its like a museum but- you can touch any fabric you like, feast your eyes on the colors, the patterns, feel the texture of the cloth. After choosing fabric, comes measuring and cutting, that requires precision and concentration, but can be accomplished while listen to your favorite radio station or book on tape. If you don't mind ironing, and you enjoy being in your own little world-I can sew for hours and think of nothing but the task at hand.

As a novice quilter, I am working on my second patchwork quilt right now. I choose my own color scheme and fabrics along with patterns designed by others,  Someday, when I have the basics down I'll start working with more complicated designs or start designing my own quilt patterns. For now, I just want my second quilt to come looking decent!

Holiday Air Tavel; It Could Be Worse

 Kinetic Typography - Louis CK "Everything is Amazing & Nobody is Happy" ...

I visit my parents in Bangor, Maine, about twice a year, in the summer and in December, for Christmas.
A day of air travel (10-14 hours to Maine) is expensive (I just paid $690 for a 2 stop flight) and always unpleasant; gross airport food, recirculated air, cramped seating, the list goes on.  It's easy to forget what a luxury one experiences despite today's travel discomforts.

I try to remember that travel is easy now and that 14 hours is a drop in the hat; it used to take people at least six months to get across the country, that's if they made it without, drowning crossing a wild river, catching cholera, or falling victim to avalanche when crossing the Rocky Mountains. Many homesteaders that inspired this blog, walked the Oregon Trail, 3,000 miles across the country.

Yes, there is limited overhead storage space on planes today; but, the average covered wagon used on the Oregon Trail was about 12 feet by 4 feet, for all of your belongings. Still want to complain about the 50 pound checked bag limit?
Airport food: gross and expensive; but, better than hard tack (a flavorless, hard ,unleavened bread eaten by pioneers) and cold beans (or if you were lucky, beans heated over buffalo chips(dried poop) that you gathered up with bare hands.)

I love the Louis C.K. video embedded in this post; and try to keep it in mind when I am standing in line at the airport or getting a leg cramp in my tiny airplane seat.

I'm Going to Savannah,Georgia !

Next month, John and I are headed to Savannah, Georgia, for a weekend getaway. Neither of us have been there before and are looking forward to exploring a new city.

Savanna, Georgia

Why Savanna? 

I was talking to a friend, Elvira, at a party last week about how her and her husband, Keith, used to live in Savannah. They both attended to the infamous, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), and worked in the city after they graduated.  Elvira, originally form Texas, talked about the unique diversity of the city.
 
There are many cultures and customs present in Savanna; SCAD, draws students and educators from all over the world making it a hub for creative people. While some call Savanna a "Party City," probably because it is legal to have open liquor on the streets, others talk about the traditional southern charm that resides in the cities majestic homes and cast iron fountains.

Can't wait to see for myself and hear those southern manners, "Yes Ma'am" I love it!

Been to Savanna before? I want to hear all about it.

Photo Credits
furnishedsouls.wordpress.com