Category Archives: Dishes

Since You Asked…Hodgepodge

 

Getting my Hodgepodge done early on Tuesday. We’ll be busy Tuesday evening with some company around our table.

Welcome again to Wednesday Hodgepodge. Jo From This Side of the Pond asks the questions and we answer them.

1. February is coming to a close. Give us a two-word phrase that tells us something about how yours went.

Slow & Easy

2. If you had to describe how you’re feeling right now as an amusement park ride, what ride are you on? Explain. 

Merry-Go-Round or Carousel. Slow and steady with some ups and downs but mostly calm and content.

3. What’s something on your desk or a nearby wall that cheers you up when you see it or walk past? 

My happy space.

4.  Are you a salad eater? How many salads do you typically eat in a week? Your favorite kind of salad? 

The salad police just caught me and they are taking me in for questioning!  We have moved into the habit of not eating salad. Maybe one salad a week. I like crisp salad greens with cucumber and tomato and a simple Persian dressing. 

5. Without telling us the category give us your top five ______________. 

  1. Tolkien
  2. C.S. Lewis
  3. MacDonald
  4. Montgomery
  5. Beatrix Potter

1, MacArthur 2. Spurgeon 3. Sproul 4. Ryle 5. Piper

  1. Johnson Brothers
  2. Royal Albert
  3. Spode
  4. Tudor
  5. Churchill

1. Cotswolds 2. Oxford 3. York/Yorkshire 4. Windsor 5. Cambridge

  1. Yellowstone
  2. Badlands
  3. Mt. Rushmore
  4. Yosemite
  5. Grand Canyon

I bent the rules and went with 5 fives. I’m sure you can name my category titles.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Tomorrow is our sister Vera’s 19th real birthday day. She was born on Leap Year! Happy 19th Birthday Vera. We’ll have to have a big ‘do’ for your 20th! (Hope we are all alive, then) I’ll be singing ’76 Trombones’ for you tomorrow.

These photos were from her 18th birthday party! Sisters in order of birth and then Vera with her son and daughter.

No Winter Lasts Forever…

…No spring fails to appear.

Our last door wreath had seen better days so we picked this one on our last trip to HomeGoods in Spokane.

Last Thursday, Friday and Saturday we were able to spend time outside clearing some dead growth in several of our planters. We got a very good start but aren’t finished, yet. It was encouraging to see signs of Spring growth in those planters.

Columbines

Daffodils

Rhubarb

 

I changed up my plate hanger with these dishes, Dreamtown Made in England by Johnson Brothers. I have 4 dinner plates. They were a thrift store find.

Soon I’ll be pulling out the Easter bin and changing things up again with lots of Spring accents.

Are you seeing signs of Spring in your corner of the world?

Sticky Toffee Pudding

We really enjoyed this dessert while traveling in Great Britain so duplicating it for special meals here on the other side of the Pond was a fun adventure for me. It’s a warm dense cake with a caramelized sauce. There are many versions of Sticky Toffee Pudding and this is one that has been successful and good. Don’t let the pudding confuse you. It’s not like our creamy soft pudding. This “pudding” is cake like.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 13 inch pan

Pudding:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 cups flour
  • 8 ounces dates (pitted and chopped into pieces)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups boiling water

Sauce:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 – 3/4 cups brown sugar
  • 2 cups whipping cream

You will need extra whipping cream to top off the cake with when ready to serve.

Directions:

For the pudding:

  1. Cream butter and sugar.
  2. Beat in eggs one at a time and incorporate completely.
  3. Fold in flour.
  4. Put the chopped dates in a separate bowl.
  5. Pour the boiling water over the dates and add the soda to this mixture.
  6. Give the water time to be absorbed into the dates.
  7. When water is mostly absorbed add the flour mixture and blend well.
  8. Pour the mixture into prepared pan.
  9. Bake for 40 minutes. Time may vary slightly depending on your oven.

Sauce:

  1. Mix all ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat.
  2. When cake comes out of the oven poke the top of the cake evenly with many holes.
  3. Pour half of the sauce over the top of the cake evenly.
  4. Allow Sauce to soak into cake.
  5. When ready to serve cut cake into squares and place the squares on your dessert plates.
  6. Top with remaining sauce that is hot onto the warm cake.
  7. Top each serving with a dollop of whipped cream.

 

We’ve been dreaming about going to England again so this is a recipe that came to mind.

Be My Guest Hodgepodge

1. When were you last a guest at an event or in someone’s home?
The last time we were guests was in December.
Tell us about it.
It was a fun informal dinner and card night. Three couple, six of us for pizza and salad and then a great game of Hand and Foot.
Do you enjoy having guests in your own home?
We do enjoy having guests in our home. Despite what’s going on we have had overnight guests and week long guests and one family were our guests for a few weeks. Great times!
2. What has you ‘tied up in knots’ currently or recently?
Thankfully I can’t think of anything that has had me ‘tied up in knots’.
Are you any good at tying actual knots?
I am not good at tying knots but Dear is and I let him tie the knots that we can depend on.
3. What’s something you’ve been wanting to do and have decided 2021 will be the year you ‘take the plunge’?
Trying to sell off some of my dish collections.
4. Something in your home that’s old?
We have a lot of old things that got passed down from Dear’s parents. This baby grand piano is a 1906 Chickering.
Our kids enjoyed it in years past.
And now a new generation is enjoying it.
Something new?
Dear’s shop is something new.
Something borrowed?
The one thing we borrow now that we live in the country is our son’s tractor about twice a year.
Something blue?
Lots of blue in our home. It is hard for me to walk away from a pretty blue plate. Both of our guest rooms have some blue in them, too.
blue-danube-002
5. Share a favorite quote, a verse of scripture, and/or a bit of wisdom for couples getting married in this challenging and seemingly unpredictable season we’re currently/still experiencing.
Even Jesus came to serve and not to be served and in marriage it would be good for both the husband and wife to have an attitude that is ready to serve each other and not have the expectation to be served. With this attitude gratitude for the selfless acts each one will do for the other will be genuine and this will contribute to a joy filled home.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
We are traveling today and I might not be able to get around to all the hodgepodgers until tomorrow.
Thank you Jo From This Side of the Pond for coming up with the Hodgepodge Questions each week.

I Smell a Rat Hodgepodge

2016-07-27 Beatrix potter6

1. May 17th is National Pack Rat Day. Sidebar-should we be celebrating this? Hmmm…

Are you a pack rat?

Maybe I’m a pack mouse.

Seems like I’ve been hoarding receipts and paperwork over the last several years. I’ve been weeding out stuff around here and what a hoard of paper I’ve been shredding and recycling and refiling. I’ve been sighing a lot!

Even if you’re not a full fledged pack rat, most people have one thing or another they struggle to part with. Tell us what’s yours.

I like to hang on to keepsakes and things I’ve collected over the years. And then there are dishes and goblets and tea things and tablecloths and napkins and napkin rings, oh my.

2. What are two things you know you should know how to do, but you don’t?

Read instructions. Bake Pies.

3. Do you crave sugar?

I do enjoy sweets, doughnuts and sweet rolls. I can’t have them alone though. I usually need something savory, too, or a cup of black coffee with them.

Do you add sugar to your coffee and/or tea?

No.

Do you use artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes?

Never.

When dining out is dessert a given?

No, but if we do order dessert it is usually shared by 2, or 4, or more.

Are you someone who has slain the sugar dragon, and if so tell us how you did it.

No. Our oldest kids are working on it after watching documentaries on sugar. I did post a recipe for loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies on Mennonite Girls Can Cook with 1/2 cup less sugar today.

4. What’s a trend it took a while for you to come round to, but now you can’t imagine living without?

A smart phone.

5. What’s a song that reminds you of a specific incident in your life? Please elaborate.

 

Just as I am – without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
– O Lamb of God, I come!

The photo above is from the Los Angeles Billy Graham Crusade in 1963. My father took us to the crusade every night. My father started his life of following Christ at this crusade. My life as a follower of Christ started in 1963, too. The song, Just As I Am always reminds me of the Billy Graham Crusades and our time at the crusades and what this time meant for the future of myself and my family.

Part of my pop’s story was shared in a book that Billy Graham’s grandson’s published. You can read about it here.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We are promised some sunshine the next few days! Woohoo! Today I’ll be having tea with our daughter for a belated Mother’s Day celebration. On Friday we are headed east again to see our Addy and her parents in person.

Thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for asking the questions for us to answer. See how other people have responded here.

Let There Be White ~

It’s time to show off your white. White tablecloths, dishes, flowers, etc. Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen is our hostess for this event.

 

When I looked around the condo I realized that most of my white is at my home in Washington. I managed to find these pieces and put a little setting together.

For more Let There Be White visit Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen. If you haven’t visited her blog before you are in for a treat.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Gracious Hospital-i-Tea Blog-a-Thon ~ Decor-a-Tea #3

For my next Decor-a-Tea post I’m sharing my random sugar and creamers that I have displayed here and there in my house.

 

Every time I see a complete sugar and creamer set at Goodwill or any thrift store I’m tempted to buy them.

I keep some of my tea and other entertaining goodies in this old cabinet from Dear’s parents.

An old pink depression glass sugar and creamer.

More Royal Albert Moss Rose accessories and a Homer Laughlin plate.

For more Decor-a-Tea posts head over to LaTeaDah’s.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

Decor-a-Tea ~ More Pink…

This is a follow-up to my Pink Tea collage with some larger photos. I’ve posted these before in 2007 but wanted to re-post them for the Decor-a-Tea theme.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.

 

 

 

 

 

My next Decor-a -Tea post will be Blue!

Oops! Sorry ladies I just read LaTeaDah’s weekly themes a little more carefully and see that my tea tables could have waited till May. I’ll share my Vintage Blue tea table then and my Tea for One in that week, too. Now to follow the directions and stop jumping the gun! 🙂

For more tea posts visit our Gracious Hostess LaTeDah.

Tea Blog-a-thon ~ Decor-a-Tea

This weeks theme is decorating with tea items, or tea collections etc. I’m getting ready for my posts and wanted to remind you that’s it’s not to late to join in. Head over to Gracious Hospitality for the themes each week. Then you can click on the link below my collage to see other posts for this weeks theme. Here’s my first contribution to Decor-a-Tea.

 

The tea set and dishes are Royal Albert Moss Rose. The napkins and napkin rings are Target clearance. The glasses and clear glass plates on top of the Moss Rose plates are from Goodwill. The tablecloth is a quilt I bought at T.J.Max. The runner is a piece of dotted swiss fabric with lace that I found at Goodwill, too. The salt and pepper shakers are a gift from a friend who purchased them in Victoria, B.C. I love to find things here and there to add to my different ideas for place settings. When I find bargains it’s easier to justify adding them to my collections. I’ve gotten a lot braver in throwing odd things together and most of the time it works out well. Enjoy…

I’m headed to the airport now to return to Southern California. I will add some more Decor-a-Tea posts from there. Have a wonderful week everyone.

To see more Decorating Tea posts click here.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.

ABC Wednesday ~ J is for…

Blogspot bloggers!! Please do all of us bloggers a favor and add the “Choose an Identity that lets you put in your name and url without a google account” feature to your comment page. It makes life easier for those of us who aren’t blogspot bloggers. Please, pretty please, with sugar on top!
~

J is for

~

Our Son Josh who has brought lots of Joy to our lives! Click here to see him suspended in the air in China!

 

Johnson Bros. Dishes that I love to collect here and there if I find them at a bargain price.

And for your dining pleasure a lovely Applesauce Rasberry Jello Salad that is perfect for Spring and Summer and you can click here for the recipe.

For more ABC Wednesday Posts travel over to Mrs. Nesbitt’s.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.