Coffee, a hat, and dinner.

I am a tea drinker through and through. I love all kinds herbal, black, homemade, loose, you name it, I like it. This year Dude introduced me to coffee - bitter and black. At first, all I would drink is mocha flavor with a lot of cream and sugar.  I don't care for Starbucks, it tastes burnt to me. Maybe that's because I am a novice coffee drinker.  We have a cup coffeemaker but I feel guilty with all that plastic and all, so, try to use them as seed starters afterwards.  I bought a camp style coffee pot in a quest to make a good cup of coffee. 
My mom tells a story of a wealthy uncle we have who was successful in many ways.  Despite all his success, his only true goal was to make the perfect cup of coffee. One of his "tries" was to add a raw egg to the coffee pot before peculating. Ohmy.  
So, I set to work the first morning to make my perfect cup of coffee.  Total fail.  I wasn't sure what happened but there was coffee all over the stove. Today I got out the directions to the pot... I found I had put the spring on wrong inside the pot.  Oh, and the directions said to turn the burner to low after it begins to percolate. I had it on high. That will equal burned coffee...yes, you can burn coffee. Today, I followed the directions and there was an improvement. I like mine with raw sugar and goat's milk.  Now, like my great uncle, I am on the quest for the perfect morning coffee...otherwise I will stick to tea.

Top hat - I have crocheted most of my life but only afghans. This year I decided I would expand my knowledge and make other...stuff.  I love following The Crochet Crowd.  They have excellent videos to follow along and they have never failed my simple mind.  Plus, Mikey is someone you want to live next door to - his voice is calming, he down-to-earth, and easy to follow.   Here is the video and instructions :http://thecrochetcrowd.com/halloween/
 It took me two days, crocheting here and there, but here is mine.  I want to add some flowers and, of course, some turkey feathers. 

Dinner last night was soooo bad yet sooo good.  I bought an Everyday Magazine for the first time and it was amazing. I saw in a tiny corner of the magazine a recipe for pesto.

I made pesto from the big bag of arugula I have and we had french bread pizzas. 

Pesto on the bread.

Topped with mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and pepperoni. 

and bake... ohmy. 

Dessert. This is what happens when you find a large box of chocolate fudge pudding and Cool Whip. I baked a pie crust, filled it with the two prior mentioned ingredients and topped with some chocolate peanut butter chips I found in the freezer. (I have a magical freezer). I popped it in the freezer and then ATE it.

I am a list maker.  I love lists. Here is this week's list so I better get to it. (I have added to is since I wrote last night!)

peace

Fun with old books, Valentine project day 11, kitchen bar and dinner

A friend of mine brought in an old cooking book from the early 1940's.  It was so much fun to browse through and look up a few recipes.

Today, I move a clever little dresser to the kitchen to set up a coffee bar and free up room on the kitchen counters.  I like it. 

Day 11 for Valentine projects.  This one is for bird lovers. I saw this idea on Graphic Fairy and just elaborated on it. I know someone who likes to watch birds and may like to have this gift. It is a canning jar filled with bird seed and decorated with a bird from the Dollar Store. 

Pork Shoulder was for dinner. I rubbed all sides with Pink Himalaya Salt, pepper, and rosemary I grew last year. In a Dutch Oven I browned all sides with a tablespoon of oil. 

Popped it in a heated 400* oven for 20 mins. Then lowered to 300* and headed for mass. 

Two hours later we had this beauty.  This was from a pig we traded for two milk goats. 

Dinner was all homegrown except the potatoes. Pork, pickled beans, green beans and potatoes. 

Tender and perfect. 

It is suppose to snow tonight and lightly in the morning. It has been so extremely warm (we broke a record yesterday at 80* and grass fires are sprouting up due to a flicked cigarette in the dry grasslands. Snow will be welcome relief. 

peace