Black Eyed Susan's Kitchen

THE COLOR OF HAPPINESS, THE COLOR OF HOPE

              When I was a teenager, I taught myself how to sew. The seventh grade curriculum at our junior high-school did include a  home economics class, and that was where I learned for a short two weeks how to cut a very basic pattern and sew the navy blue duck fabric into a stiff aline skirt. Of course I had to learn to use the seam ripper as well, but that is another story.
 

               I loved sewing and designing clothes so much that my grandparents bought me a sewing machine for my sixteenth birthday. With that machine I made a cape with a hood...not just any cape but a cloak out of an olive green wool that I lined with a hot pink satin lining. In 1970, this was a somewhat innovative color palette...what I have since come to realize is that pink, be it neon bright or sea shell pale, is a perfect foil for any drab color. 
Fifteen years later, when I made our daughters third Halloween costume, although she insisted on being a furry blue cat, it was also lined with hot pink satin.

Pink is, without question, the happiest color on earth ( I know, Frank Sinatra is quoted as saying that it is orange) but I am pretty sure that it is pink. Things that make you smile... Pink flamingo's, pink flowers,    pink pyrex bowls,    pink shoes and purses, pink lemonade, pink cotton candy, pink piggies, and pink champagne.   

I can understand why Beverly might have chosen pink as a celebratory color on her weekly link-up, but I also know that pink is the color we think of first when we remember all of our sisters, daughters, mothers, aunts, grandmothers, and women near and dear to us who are fighting or who have fought with breast cancer. Pink has become a color of hope...the sweet color of a blanket that we swaddle our baby girls in when they come home from the hospital...we never expect that they will have to deal with breast cancer. 

Thank you for giving me this opportunity and platform to remind the women in our lives to do their self examinations regularly. Thanks to Beverly for hosting this weekly pink pick me up...it is a pleasure to write about and fun to visit the other blog posts to see what's pink in their lives.

Linked to How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday.

♥, Susan



 

ROOTS, WINGS AND CORNED BEEF

              For so many reasons, I look forward to this time of year. Usually I am looking forward to warmer weather and  spring flowers, however, the winter weather has been so warm that I am feeling springtime already.
 

               The holidays, oh those delicious holidays that are coming up...that is what I have been thinking about. To celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, the supermarkets always have big sales on corned beef. Going back to my Jewish roots, I have to say that I always liked a good corned beef sandwich from the deli, and when I started working in New York, there was always a corned beef sandwich on the menu, especially at this time of year. 

               The first time I went out with my husband, before we really knew each other, we found ourselves at a diner. It was late at night and I was not so concerned about impressing him because I thought we would be good friends, just good friends...not a couple. I ordered a Ruben.
 For anyone who might be unfamiliar with diner food, a Ruben is a corned beef sandwich made with swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and russian dressing on toasted rye bread. Not realizing at the time that the man I was dining with was a total foodie, I was impressing him with my appetite.

               As a rule, corned beef can be pretty pricey, however, if you check the supermarket circulars right now, you will start to see it on sale.
So this is the time of year that I like to buy a great big cut of meat, I rinse it off with cold water, add it to my biggest Le Creuset (any very heavy pot will do), sprinkle in the packet of pickling spices included and let it simmer all day. You do have to skim the scummy foam from the top initially, but then it simmers...all day long.
 Now, if it was Saint Patrick's Day, I would lift out the meat at the end of the day and add some peeled potatoes and carrots, and a few wedges of cabbage to the pot to boil, however, this is just a regular every day kind of day in February. I will lift the meat from the pot, slice it up and pile it high of the best rye bread that I can find. I might even add some store-bought coleslaw as a side dish. 

                 It all brings me way back to those roots...year after year, after year. Delicious roots!

This post is being linked to Designs by Gollum which is also known as Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday.

♥, Susan 

IS YOUR HOUSE TALKING ABOUT YOU?

             The ad in the newspaper was for an estate sale nearby. It stated that an artist lived in the house and although I was not fully motivated to stand in line with the many who I am very sure did, we finally made our way over to this sale several hours after it began. 

The first thing I noticed was the dining room wall. It had seventeen Bing and Grondahl plates displayed

 

all neat as a pin and hung above the doors going to the backyard. The display took my eye all the way up to the high ceiling. I don't collect these plates, but seeing them all together like that was quite striking. When I went back the next day to take a picture of them, they were of course all gone.(The first two photos here are of plates up for auction on ebay right now...not mine) 

             Walking through the house though, I found other interesting items like cookbooks... 

and that is when I started to realize that this house was not only the home of an artist, but one of Danish ancestry. She loved to cook and she liked to read. I think I would have liked her.

 

There was one cookbook that gave me a bit of a giggle. The Danish Sisterhood Treasures cookbook included thirteen recipes for Danish Meatballs. Each one a little different from the next. 

Here are two for you to compare. One of the best parts of buying cookbooks at estate sales is that they often come with the bonus of a hand written note or two, or recipes taken from magazines.

 

Another book that I just couldn't resist was this vintage book about birds. 
 The illustrations are beautiful

and although I have never taken a book apart to frame the pictures, this one is very tempting.

The colors are clear and the pictures are on a  heavier stock of paper. Definitely something to consider. 

So, what does your house say about you? Does its decor show an international influence? Maybe it says you like modern or bare bones, does it display collections, family photographs,... or maybe it says that an artist, and cook who happened to be Danish lived here. 

This post is being linked to Little Red House for Mosaic Monday, Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday, and Smiling Sally for Blue Monday. If there were a link out there that required a meatball monday, I think I would know where to go to find the recipe!!

♥, Susan
 

PINK ON MY MIND

            Sometimes I come up with the most brilliant ideas...and then I realize that there is nothing original about said idea at all! As everyone in the world knows, we are refinishing and decorating a bedroom upstairs in our house. You know, the one with all of the closet doors...

What I haven't shared is that there is another closet...a small room size enclave that is to be mine....all mine!

Here is a split look into this tiny room. It will serve as a closet/dressing room. The walls in the bedroom and bathroom are pale blue with white trim. The shade of pink on the ceiling of this dining room is the color I would like to paint this little closet.

I saw this dining room in a fund raising show house tour a few years ago. The pink ceiling has been lodged in my brain ever since. So, what do you think? Will this shell pink work in my space or should I stick with the original color scheme? Thanks for your input and happy Pink Saturday.

♥, Susan
  

BASKET CASE....

                 A tisket a tasket...can a house have too many baskets? Decorating and using baskets for organizational purposes seems to come naturally to me. I like the texture that they add to a room, and I like that although there may be several different baskets in one area being used for different reasons, they all seem to go together. 

This first picture is the sum of a lot of different baskets. Room by room, here are some of the baskets. The basket under the Hoosier cabinet is my muse...my reason for writing this post.

  

I found it at Home Goods the other day. It fits perfectly underneath and most importantly, the cookie sheets fit in it! 

A few other baskets keeping things handy and organized in the kitchen. 

In my office area, these baskets are an eye catching mosaic. The French artillery basket stores wrapping paper, yard sticks and other long items. The shelves are stocked with greeting cards, old photos, and other bits and pieces...all neatly tucked away. 

In the television area, there are baskets serving the purpose of DVD keepers...all easy to see. A little secret, the basket on top is full of my favorite movies...the ones in between and underneath are the kids and my husbands :) ...the basket next to the sofa makes a great little side table. 

Not all rooms in the house have a basket in residence, but the Scottish broom basket did makes it way to the bottom shelf in the bathroom, and I did walk around Middlebury Vermont one lovely afternoon, years ago with this over-sized brown basket that I now use for blankets. The store was going out of business and I fell for this big one...they used it for display...I have to imagine I was a bit of a site walking around with the basket. 

Some baskets are perfect for keeping collections like this one filled with seashells. 

This large round basket comes out for big parties, several times a year. I like the rustic feel it lends to an otherwise dressed up tablescape. It looks great filled with fruits and cheeses or desserts. 

Without intention, our house contains a rather large collection of baskets. They suit our style, slightly relaxed with a nod to natural accessories. They also suit my need to stay organized in a visually sane way. So how about your home...do you have many baskets? Do you have specific uses for them?

This post is being linked to Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday, Little Red House for Mosaic Monday, and Smiling Sally for Blue Monday.

♥, Susan

33 YEARS.... 35 VALENTINES .... IT NEVER GETS OLD

                 Since I was a little girl, this has always been the most romantic time of the year. In grade school, the bulletin  boards would be decorated with red paper and lacy doilies. We would go to the store and choose a package of preprinted Valentine cards with pictures of puppies and kittens
 ...with just the right amout of sentiment, being sure they weren't too mushy or revealing.
 Thrilled to put those tiny envelopes in the arts and crafts artsy-heartsy  box and more thrilled to have a group of them to take home with me.

           Many years later, our decision to marry at this time of year was no accident. It has always been easy to remember when our anniversary is coming up because we see hearts and love tokens everywhere.  

One of the things that I have learned is that a full stomach makes for a much happier union. There must be a reason we feed each other cake at our weddings. 

             Knowing this, I made my husband one of his favorite dishes last week. 
A true meat and potatoes kind of guy, he loves a good lamb shank dinner. Since I don't necessarily braise these the same way every time, the method is to brown the shanks in olive oil for a few minutes, add two finely minced garlic cloves, a sliced onion, a few carrots, salt, pepper, thyme, a dash of cinnamon, a good cup of red wine and some beef broth to cover. They cook for about 2 to 3 hours and are then ready. I serve them over orzo mixed with feta cheese and dressed with a little olive oil. Asparagus or a green salad on the side, and a wonderful glass of red wine...this is a wonderfully romantic dinner to my husband. What is the secret in your house to a romantic meal??

                In the meantime, I have been changing things up in our dining room... 

The hutch usually displays my collection of hammered aluminum...specifically the trays made by Arthur Armour and Wendell August Forge in the 1930's, 40's and 50's. After decorating the hutch with Christmas dishes and then putting them away, I was curious to see how my collection of Bennington pottery (also vintage) would look. I like it, so the aluminum collection is in storage and the dish set is on display for now. It is so nice to have something fresh to look at, but I know that sooner or later I will miss collection number one and the aluminum will find its way back onto the shelves. 

             So what is everyone planning for Valentines day? Do you bake or cook something special? Do you make your own cards or go the Hallmark route? After celebrating our anniversary, Vday is usually pretty low key around here...but maybe a special dinner might be in the works.

This post is being linked to Designs by Gollum for Foody Friday and How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday.

♥, Susan

 
 

   

KEEPING HOUSE...BEING ON TIME

            Do you ever feel like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland? I am late with my Sunday night/Monday morning post...honestly, the Super Bowl got in my way! It was a riveting game...nail biter to the end! Congratulations to the NY-NJ Giants!!

            Sometimes, there isn't a lot of glamorous stuff going on, and I thought I would spare you the pictures of the trips to Home Depot and Lowe's. When the end of a major project is in sight, all you want to do is finish it up and that is where we are at with the upstairs bedroom renovation. 

The doors are in and the room is painted. Next on the list is to replace the windows, finish the moldings, paint the doors, and carpet the floor.

 

 To give you an idea of how far this room has come, here is a picture of the original doors ...as in a before and after look.

 

Yes, I am definitely seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

Every year around this time, we start to crave the sunshine of Springtime...truth be told, I think Spring might already be here at the Jersey Shore. 

This is one of my favorite bushes in our backyard. It is usually the first to flower, but I have never seen it look like this before mid March! It is pretty though.

In the meantime, a mixed bowl of citrus fruit, including clementines and meyer lemons in a vintage milk glass bowl, is always a colorful addition to the kitchen.

These freshly laid chicken eggs also tickled my fancy this week. I included an Emu egg just to point out the difference in size and color. My son is in the technology business, setting up computer  systems and such for other companies. One of his clients is a local veterinarian. The doctor keeps chickens at his animal hospital and sent some of the eggs home to our house. The different sizes and colors of the eggs really fascinated me. I especially like the blue ones...Mother Nature is just amazing!

Now I am off to see what all of my other blog-buddies have been up to. This post is being linked to Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday, Smiling Sally for Blue Monday, and Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

♥, Susan