All Hallows' Eve

It is dreary outside, but we don't mind! Inside we have our pumpkins, all ready for carving.....

...our caramels (which children all unwrapped for me;) melting down, to make caramel apples.

And our doughnuts...er, I mean "soul cakes." (I thought that the chocolate, coconut, and powdered sugar ones would be perfect for a little lesson on the effects of mortal and venial sin, as well as sanctifying grace, on the soul;) 

And I was inspired (by my guardian angel, I am sure) to affix little stickers to all the pieces of candy with the name of a departed loved one written on each one. (The children are also good at helping with this;) The idea is to offer a small prayer for the person named on the sticker before eating the piece of candy.

I hope everyone has a most blessed feast day tomorrow!

And We Are Off...

...to spend our day with some very dear cousins!!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Homemade Angel Food Cake

Here follows my favorite recipe for angel food cake. It comes from my1996 edition of Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. Once you try it, you'll never feel the need to use a boxed mix again!

What you will need:

1 1/2 cups of egg whites (10-12 large)

1 1/2 cups of sifted powdered sugar

1 cup of sifted cake flour or sifted all-purpose flour (~I use all purpose:)

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 cup of granulated sugar

In your largest mixing bowl, allow the egg whites to reach room temperature. (~this takes about 30 minutes)

Meanwhile, sift the powdered sugar and flour together three times. Set aside.

(Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and remove all but the lowest oven rack.)

Add the cream of tartar and vanilla to the egg whites, and beat with an electric mixer, on medium speed, until soft peaks form (the tips of the peaks will curl over). Gradually add the granulated sugar, sprinkling in about two tablespoons at a time, and beating until stiff peaks form (the peaks will stand straight up) .

Sift about one-fourth of the dry mixture over the beaten egg whites, and very gently fold it in with a spatula. Repeat, folding in remaining dry mixture by fourths. Pour into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, and gently cut through the batter with a knife to remove any large air pockets.

Bake on the lowest rack for 40-45 minutes or until the top springs back lightly when touched and is a lovely golden brown, as shown below:

Immediately invert the pan, leaving the cake inside, and cool completely.

Once cooled, loosen the sides of the cake from the pan (~I run a knife, with a gentle sawing motion, between the cake and the pan.) Serve as desired, and enjoy!

*For the cake I made on Monday, I decided to cut it into three layers, and spread a homemade lemon curd between them. Here is the recipe for lemon curd from Joy Of  Cooking:

In a medium saucepan whisk together until light in color:

3 large eggs

1/3 cup of sugar

Grated zest of one lemon (~ I didn't have a lemon, so I used a few drops of lemon extract)

Add:

1/2 cup strained fresh lemon juice (as I mentioned above, I was lemon-less, so I substituted the same amount of bottled lemon juice)

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Cook, whisking, over medium heat, until the butter is melted. Then whisk constantly until the mixture is thickened and simmers gently for a few seconds. Using a spatula, scrape the filling into a bowl. Stir in:

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Let cool, cover, and refrigerate to thicken. This keeps, refrigerated, for about 1 week.

Finally, I topped off the cake with a simple powdered sugar glaze. Here is how I made it:

In a small bowl I mixed a few drops of lemon extract with about 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. I stirred in just enough water (a teaspoon or so) to get it to the consistency I desired, and then drizzled it over the cake.

So there you are!

(The kids and I finished up the last of it yesterday....

....I think it may be time to make chocolate custard....;)

Paint

Last evening my Knight and I went and bought paint. All of it.

Twenty gallons of primer, and twenty-ish gallons of paint.

Next week we start rolling it on the walls...

Pancakes....

...served up with a generous helping of sunshine, make for such a cheery breakfast!

St. Raphael

This morning I separated ten eggwhites from their respective yolks. The plan is to have an angel food cake all baked up by dinner time. (We'll see if I actually get it done. It has been a crazy day...)What I especially love about making a homemade angel food cake is that there are exactly enough leftover egg yolks for a double batch of homemade custard. Homemade chocolate custard. I can't think of a lovelier way to use up leftovers, can you? ;)


Happy feast day!

New Walls...

......make our old house feel new!!!!

These first two pictures are of the living room...

......and then we have the dining room.....

.....and another angle of the dining room.....

.....and the kitchen.....

......the laundry room.....

(the mud room is off to the right)

.....Miss Posy's room.....

.....the master bedroom.....

......more master bedroom.....

(the master bathroom is through the door)

.....and the boys' room.....

There are only a few more pieces of drywall left to be hung,

and the finishing crew is already hard at work, taping and mudding.

Then we can start painting, while my Knight installs the new kitchen and bathrooms...

Exciting? Oh, yes!!!!

Daisies

Before the rain came, Miss Posy had been bringing me little bouquets of Michaelmas daisies, almost daily. I love the lavender and yellow. It is such a cheery combinaton. When we venture outside again, we will have to search the fields for more.
The weather has been so chilly that my Knight has been building a fire in the wood stove each night.
I love the pungent scent of the woodsmoke....

~~~~~~~~~~~~



The crew is scheduled to finish hanging all the drywall in our new/old house today! It is so exciting!!! I will try to post pictures this weekend, or the first part of next week. I promise.

Last Saturday

 was the feast of St Teresa of Avila. I have been meaning to share a quote of hers which I committed to memory long ago:

"Let nothing trouble thee;

Let nothing frighten;

All things pass away;

God never changes;

Patience obtains all things;

Who hath God wanteth nothing;

God alone suffices."

It is a beautiful quote, and has been a source of much encouragement to me throughout my life.

"The Rain is Raining all Around.."

....but though it may be dull and dreary outside

we are keeping it cheery and cozy inside!

Lighted candles, good music, and a new knitting project....

Just the thing for a day like today!

*The title quote is taken from Robert Louis Stevenson's poem Rain.

If....

If I were a fairy, I most certainly would fashion a gown from one

 of the blue morning glories just outside my kitchen window.

(Miss Posy says hers would be made from one of the pink.)

And I would make a pair of delicate slippers

from two snap dragon blossoms.

(Miss Posy says she would too.)

A spider's web would make a most beautiful shawl....

but as the weather is turning chilly, I think I would ask

a caterpillar to spin me a long cape of thick silk.

(Miss Posy agrees.)

Pretending is such fun.

Feast Day Quote

"You know that virtue is not practiced without effort,

but for one moment of suffering there follows an eternity of reward."

~St. Margaret Mary

Miss Posy and Blue

Busy Day.....

Today the kids and I took a trip to the pumpkin farm, and then had a long visit with a dear auntie, and cousins. The weather was beautiful, though a bit windy, and all the autumn colors are breathtaking. We had such fun!
Now I am trying to motivate myself to tackle the dirty kitchen, and mountain of laundry in the bedroom...
..but all I want to do is curl up on the couch with a cup of hot tea!
~Perhaps if I use that as my incentive....

Mist

This morning we woke to find that a light mist had woven itself among the trees and through the fields.
And it remains, with crimson, gold and orange leaves gleaming through.
So beautiful.

Marigolds and Tomatoes

Yesterday's Moon

"Mrs Moon

sitting up in the sky

Little Old Lady

rock~a~bye

with a ball of fading light

and silvery needles

knitting the night."

~Roger McGough

Yesterday..

Yesterday was my dear husband's birthday. Unfortunately, it was extremely busy (~he had to work a full day, coach Big Brother's soccer practice, and then stay out late working on the house to prep it for the crew who will start hanging the drywall next Monday). Once the children were all settled in bed, we did get to enjoy a couple glasses of a very good red wine. We stayed up much later than we intended, but it was worth it. That is why we have coffee, right?;)

Red and Green.....and Gold

The Feast of the Holy Rosary

Flannel

Today is the day to bring out the flannel sheets! We've been having very chilly nights lately......but absolutely gorgeous days.
I love this season.

Pear in October Sun

The pear tree, just over the hill, has been giving generously of its bounty. The children have been bringing a steady stream of its delicious sun~ripened fruit to the house. ~But it disappears almost as soon as it arrives....;)

The pear tree is an old friend of mine. I remember enjoying its pears every autumn as a child. And they taste every bit as good now as they did then!

Feast of St. Francis

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen."

~St. Francis of Assisi



Feast Day Quote

"Later on, when the idea of religious perfection came within my horizon, I realized  at once that there was no reaching sanctity unless you were prepared to suffer a great deal, to be always on the look out for something higher still, and to forget yourself."  

~St. Therésè of Líseíeux

Tree at my Window

"Tree at my window, window tree,

My sash is lowered when night comes on;

But let there never be curtain drawn

Between you and me."

~Robert Frost

The S'more Has Been Upstaged...

....by a graham cracker spread with homemade chocolate ganache (leftover from Michaelmas day).
Good thing there wasn't much left over.....;)