Well, folks, da-ta-ta-da, it's finished... My first experiment with
the painting style known as "trompe l'oeil", the French phrase for "fool
the eye." Really fantastic, seasoned trompe l'oeil artists can create
works that give the viewer such a convincing sense of reality that one
feels as if the objects can just be pulled off the shelves. I'm not at
that level yet, but I am fascinated by the pursuit of making things come
alive in a very different reality through paint. The first baby
quilt for Twin A (we thought about calling them Twin 1 and Twin 2, but
it just sounded somehow wrong) is finished, and I will be displaying it
just as soon as I can. I have this REALLY annoying character flaw
(among many) and this is that I don't ever remember to bring a camera to
ANYTHING! So, here I am at the baby shower for my first
granddaughters, and of course, no camera. My daughter-in-law has
promised me pictures though, thank God one of us has a practical head on
her shoulders...I figure that I put well over 100 hours into it, but it
was well worth the time. I am the casserole queen, perhaps not
the prestigious title in the world, but at least I'm the queen of
somethin'! Tonight's offering is one of my favorites...one of those
"throw whatever's in the fridge and hope for the best" recipes. Tonight
I sauteed some onions, some diced celery, and a chicken breast
together. I added a can of cream of mushroom soup, and about a half cup
of my homemade refrigerator salsa, which I admit is heavy on the
cilantro. I added some chili powder to taste, some pepper, some
parsley, and some powdered garlic, as well as some leftover rice.
Popped it into the oven at 325, and I'll top it with some leftover
cheddar cheese as it begins to bake. Nothing else much to report,
except that I'm still in the midst of my homemade Women's Studies plan.
The book I'm reading right now is not the most stimulating one I've
read, but it is a basic, nuts and bolts view of the history of women's
rights. It's entitled "Seneca Falls and the Origins of the Women's
Rights Movement". The thing that strikes me as I read about Susan B.
Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, among many others is that so few of
these women were ever working class housewives. They appeared to have
come mostly from privileged families. I find it interesting that they
were so passionately against a lifestyle for women that in many ways
they really didn't live. And I also think that in an age before the
washing machine and the electric range...well, somebody had to do these
tasks for them, and most likely it was a poor servant class of women.
But I'm only partly through the book, so perhaps this observation will
change. I'm also reading "The American Woman's Home" by Catherine
Beecher. Her sister was the famed Harriet Beecher Stowe of "Uncle
Tom's Cabin" fame. Catherine Beecher was the Martha Stewart of her age.
She wrote many books on how to effectively manage a home of the time,
and was instrumental in developing further education for women and
training teachers to move to the West. She was an anti-feminist,
believing strongly that the most important job for women was to create
stable, productive, loving homes in our country as a springboard to
create good citizens. Despite this arguably antiquated stance, much of
her advice is strangely pertinent even today. Just goes to show that
women are women-- whether they're in hoop skirts or blue jeans. I'm
looking forward to putting together a review of her book in the near
future. (Image: "Aunt Ethel's Shelf" Acrylic on Canvas, Cory Jaeger-Kenat, 2010.)
In the last couple of years, I've started to reframe my concept of home. I'm starting to think of it as a production center--rather than a consumption
center. This is slow going, because I grew up like so many of us out
there, in a suburban wonderland where milk and meat and cheese magically
came into the world encased in cellophane. The ironic thing is this:
my parents and extended family come from a strong farming background.
My mom is an expert gardener and my dad the consummate repair man and
carpenter, who by his own admission, "can fix anything but a broken
heart." I think as kids, my brother and I were far more interested in
Scooby Doo and riding banana-seat bikes than hoeing weeds, and our
parents just didn't seem to be bothered by that. After all, we were
children of the 60s and 70s. We watched movies about starships and
figured the cars we would drive would look a lot like George Jetson's.
And weren't they going to build us Rosie the Robot Maids, ready to serve
at our beck and call? It hardly seemed like churning butter was very
compatible with being part of the Brady Bunch. So...here are some of my projects in action. Right now, I'm harvesting tomatoes. Yes, those misshapen things ARE tomatoes, and tasty ones at
that. But I have no idea, why they look like pears with these long
peaked tails...I have been reading about ripening green tomatoes in the
house. It sounds like one effective method is putting them in a single
layer in a darker area of a room, covered with a couple of sheets of
newspaper. Fingers crossed, I plan to do that in a week or so, once I
gather all the green ones. We are thrilled to announce that
hubby and I are going to be grandparents for the first time!! I had my
boys as a teenage mom, and although I wouldn't trade a moment, it was a
rather bumpy road. Blessedly, my son and his lovely bride are not following my example. I've been working on this quilt, the image based on a childhood toy of
my son's. Imagine my surprise when that same son called with the news
that it isn't one grandbaby, but two! TWINS! So, needless to say, I'm
hustling to get this puppy done and start right away on another one.
There's just something so sweet about thinking about these lovely
children and stitching, one stitch at a time. It's not finished, not by a long shot. But this is my first adventure
into trompe l'oeil, a form of painting that focuses on illusion and
still life. You literally can create any fantasy environment on your
walls, using some of these techniques. I hope to get this piece
completed within the next couple of weeks. The little figures on the
top shelf will be the little figures on a wedding cake, and a china cup
and saucer will be added. I don't care for the salt and pepper shakers
behind the apron, and will be changing them. Also there will be either
some fresh flowers or some vegetables draping from the bottom level of
the glass platter. The color balance will also be refined and changed.
My paintings go through so much in process that I'm always hesitant to
show them before they're finished--because this work will look very
different once it's done. But it's been so fun--I just couldn't resist
giving you a sneak peek.
Well,
finally I'm back to joining you in cyberspace. Jeez--a month since I've
posted anything!! I wish I could show off new tan lines, shopping bags
from French Rivera giftshops, and tales of my mimosa-inspired
adventures...but my time away has been far from that chi-chi, dahling. Today,
I put away two containers of curried chicken for future freezer meals,
along with two batches of Tex-Mex breaded chicken fingers--also for the
freezer. I also froze three breasts plain for future use, probably cut
up in casseroles. I figure that the package of chicken I bought for
$9.00 will go for 6-8 meals. I'm sure that there are folks out there
that can do even better than that...coupons seem like such a bother to
me, and I don't do the warehouse stores...but I thought it was pretty
economical, just the same. Check out the book, "Fix, Freeze, Feast" by
Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik. So far, every recipe has been a
winner at our house...and my hubby can be picky. I'm attempting
another cut to the grocery budget. My goal is to spend an average of
$30 a week for the two of us, including toiletries and extra
non-perishables here and there to put in the cupboard for 'just in
case'. We have a store in our town that sells dented cans and other
slightly 'off' merchandise, and I have sticker shock every time I go in
there--but in a good way, if you know what I mean! Last night, I made
goulash (a quick skillet dish of tomato sauce, browned hamburger, onion,
chili powder, and macaroni), a fresh zucchini and tomato salad,
courtesy of our own garden, and crockpot tapioca pudding. I roughly,
and generously, estimate that we spent under $2.00 a plate--if even
that. Yeah...this frugality thing is really making us suffer...chuckle,
chuckle. We
are still waiting for more of our tomatoes to ripen. Darn it, it's
hard to garden in a northern climate! This year I've learned: how to
make a compost container out of a garbage can, that tomatoes often have
'cracked shoulders' when they are left to vine-ripen too long, and that
tomatoes and cucumbers really shouldn't be planted together. Our
tomatoes turned into mutants this year and choked out every little trace
of cucumber out there... Last month, we received the stunning
news that not only are we going to be grandparents, but that we are
going to be grandparents of TWINS! I am embroidering a baby blanket for
each of these shavers, and having a blast doing them. I was taught how
to cross-stitch and such when I was about nine years old--and it's
still just as fun as it was then. (But I do think that bi-focals might
be just around the corner.) I'll post pictures of it when they are
done. Along with the five or six paintings I've always got going on in
the studio, it makes for enough projects to keep the days full. It's
weird, maybe it's an age thing, but although my art is still such a part
of me, it's becoming more of a companion now than a taskmaster. I'm
not so driven to get the shows, the accolades, the attention any more. I
just want to make good work, and live a good life. I know many artists
that reach this point, of just being happy, healthy people--but
unfortunately, the media loves to celebrate the Picassos, the Basquiats,
and all the others who live and die with needles up their arms, a
string of abusive love affairs, and their cars wrapped around trees.
Makes me think I might be a bit boring, but I'll take it. I
ordered a book for my recent birthday called, "Never Done". It's a
history of housework, that also includes many of the old advertisements
for products and appliances used in the kitchens of long ago. I can't
wait to get it...Lordy, Lordy, I'm such a wierdo.... (Image: "Sustenance #1" Acrylic on Canvas, Cory Jaeger-Kenat, 2010.)
I wrote this in response to a discussion held on a blog entitled Dreams
of an Everyday Housewife. The discussion, regarding the modern housewife
was thought-provoking and forthright, and I encourage you to check it
out. We have the feminists of the 70s (and note, there have
been other feminists in other time periods, even going back to the
1700s), to thank for really giving woman the power of career choice in
their lives. However, what the 1970s feminist did that was utterly
damaging is that they fiercely deprecated and devalued the woman's role
in the home. It's as if they thought that biology and eons of evolution
could be wiped away by simply donning a business suit. The feminist movement made several core assumptions that were not universally true. 1. That all women at the time were 'trapped' in the traditional housewife role.
The thing we need to realize is that many women went into this role
joyfully. Remember, they were survivors of World War II. They had seen
brothers, high school sweethearts and other loved ones killed in battle.
Many thought that marriage and settling down might not even be a
possibility. And after growing up in the "dirty 30s", a streamlined
kitchen with a modern fridge and all the other conveniences would have,
indeed, made a housewife's heart sing. 2. Following the traditional role keeps a woman from growing up and having a meaningful life. Many
of these women were the backbone of their communities. They were
powerhouses in charities, church functions, and politics. They were
actually around to discipline their children, and kept a close watch on
the other children in the neighborhood. My mother's talents were/are
enormous. She sewed all of my clothes until I was in high school
(including underwear), quilted, canned, gardened, baked from scratch,
and actually knew all her neighbors, just to name a few. 3. A meaningful life can only be found outside the home.
As a career woman most of my life, I can tell you that this isn't
true. How many of us have office jobs that suck the life out of us? And
what could be more meaningful than raising good, well-rounded human
beings and building a solid home for them? I believe that sometimes
feminists confuse meaning with difficulty. It is powerfully difficult
to deal with kids day after day, to feed them, clothe them, listen to
them, clean up after them. Those so-called menial tasks are hugely
important...and yes, meaningful. 4. That the feminist movement knew best for the next generation of young women.
In this belief, where they silenced the views of women who might want
to be homemakers, feminists stiffled women as much as the repressive
Freudians and other patriarchal institutions. 5. And lastly, that men hold women down.
Personally, I have found that many housewives run the finances in the
home. My husband gets an allowance, and he is truly happy with the
arrangement...as he loathes paying bills. My father was the same way.
Ironically enough, I think that my husband respects and honors me even
more now that I am back home. It seems like we have more quality time
together because we are not frantically, and wearily, cramming household
tasks on top of our already exhausting work day. I think this notion of
men suppressing women has much more to do with individuals, and should
not be a wide-sweeping label for the genders. Just some thoughts.
I am certainly not telling anyone what they should do. However, as an
artist, home business owner, and yes, proud housewife, I can tell you
that I've never been happier. Much of my art deals indirectly
with this topic, from paintings of retro hats, to hard-edged views of
the American Dream. It can be found at my website, Loud Colors online
gallery. A book that I am finding of some great interest is
"Radical Homemakers" by Shannon Hayes, that examines the political,
economic, and sociological aspects of working in the home. * One
more thing I wish I had added to this blog post. It is also important
that the majority of the suffragettes of the 1900s were fighting for the
vote, not for equality with men in the career sphere.
Type in the words "retro housewife" on youtube, and you might be in for a
surprise. There are a plethora of homemade videos out there, mostly
lampooning the June Cleaver-in-pearls-and-an
apron-waiting-at-the-door-with-the-pipe-and-slippers image we so
associate, for good or ill, with post-War America. I chose this
one because it's obviously made by young people who very likely have
never even seen an episode of "Leave It to Beaver." And the narrative
in the video is taken from an actual 1950s era article, which I believe
comes from "Good Housekeeping" and made the email rounds a few years
ago. It's a list of tips advising women how best to run their
households, and (*gasp*) "serve" their husbands. The clip is a strange
mixture of cute and cuttingly sarcastic, a brew of the Greatest
Generation meets the college Goth. You can almost hear these kids
waxing indignant whenever the camera is shut off, declaring "Can you
believe that people EVER lived like this?" Don't get me wrong.
There were gender roles in the 1950s that needed a bit of a stretch.
Repression and perfection were the order of those days...but my theory
is that it was more to be found as a message in the media than in those actual suburban neighborhoods. And the video did make me chuckle. But it also made me think. What's
the hidden things that are being mocked here? Could it be a
well-ordered home? A woman who cares enough about her husband to cook
his favorite thing for dinner? The very concept of giving to others?
Could one even say that it was mocking of women/wives/mothers in
general? Caitlin Flanagan, in her insightful and controversial
book "To Hell with All That: Loving and Loathing Your Inner Housewife",
comments about this same narrative: "[It] advises the housewife
to prepare for husband's arrival at the end of the day: to have dinner
ready, to minimize household noise and clutter, to avoid assaulting her
man with a litany of domestic problems and disappointments, and to
inquire about his day. There was a sense back in those innocent years
that a day at the office was a tiring event that required a bit of
recuperation: a cold drink, a sympathetic companion, a decent meal--all
of which, I suspect, functioned as a sexual tonic." Tonight I'll
have homemade Chicken Parmesan waiting on the table when Dave comes
home. Our evenings are cozily predictable, marked by good conversation
about daily adventures, favorite books, and curling up on the couch. My
husband works a dangerous job, and to me, it is a special occasion every
time he walks through the door. He even says, "Honey, I'm home!" If he
wore slippers or smoked a pipe, I'd bring them to him in a heartbeat.
Yesterday was one of those days. You know...those days where you're
running around like a spastic chicken working your tail off before your
real 'work' begins. I have my own art studio, and a home cleaning
business for people with special needs. And I just so happen to pride
myself on providing a thrifty, happy little home with dinner on the
table--even when I'm not around to putzy in the kitchen. And it
was the day before payday--the day when there are hardly any pennies
left to stretch. And, to top it off--it was HOT, already nearly 80
degrees in our little 1930s house. I looked in the fridge, and suddenly
epiphany(!), I had all the ingredients for a cool, colorful pasta salad
for dinner. First, of course, I boiled up some pasta in olive oil. We prefer the thin spaghetti, and sometimes angelhair. Easy peasy. There
was some cilantro in the crisper drawer that wasn't at it's freshest,
but certainly wasn't bad, either. I chopped up the rest of it with my
cleaver, which really needs a sharpening. It was worth it, though, I
love the lemony clean taste of cilantro!! Then the fun part, raiding the
icebox for this and that. I chopped up a couple of tomatoes, really
impatient for our garden ones to be ready. Chopped up an onion, and
some celery. Cleaning the fridge and cooking something (ahead of time,
no less!)--now that's the way to go. Some salami was sitting neglected in the corner, just begging to be included in the pasta party. The
dressing was simple, and something do-able for even the emptiest
cupboards. I took a scant 1/4 cup of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of
vinegar, some garlic to taste, 1/8 teaspoon of powdered mustard, 1/8 of a
teaspoon of basil, a pinch of tarragon, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a
sprinkling of paprika and pepper. 30 minutes, and my sanity was
spared, and the leftovers gone! We served this lovely salad with icy
cold red grapes, chilled glasses of water with lemon, and the last of
the orange sherbet for dessert. Three cheers for the day before payday!
Home is sacred. And because it is a sacred place, I believe that we
create altars all over inside and out of it--sometimes without even
being consciously aware of it. The objects on the bookcase in our
living room all have meaning to us. The vintage print on the wall
epitomizes our view of the simple blessings of family. Dave and I were
certainly not in a good financial place when we bought this piece, but
we counted out the change we had accumulated in jars--we wanted it that
badly. The Korean bell and the Buddhist monk figurine are souvenirs
from my husband's world travels. I adore stones in any form...I believe
that they give a sense of being solid and safe. And the photo on the
far left is one of our son's marrying his lovely bride. Even the
bookcase has significance. I bought it as my graduation present from
college, one of the few things I've ever purchased on payments. I
wanted it desperately, because although I am a book fanatic, there is
just something about books behind glass, that not only makes them look
tidy, it also makes them look classy. This bookcase has been moved a
handful of times and even jostled around the back of a semi across the
country TWICE, and--knock on wood!-- the glass is still perfect. Here
is another photo, that shows just a minute fraction of our books. Most
of our books are still in storage. Some people look for houses with
guest rooms for visitors; we are looking for a house with guest rooms
for books! We fantasize about having a formal library with hunting
scenes in gilded frames and deep wing chairs. And considering my husband
devours classics and political science, a library with busts of the
founding fathers would be more than appropriate. We
are certainly not where we would have dreamed at this place in our
life. Life has thrown us a few curve-balls, and my husband nearly died a
few years ago of a dreaded MRSA infection. That infection devoured our
savings and really forced us to pare down to the basics. I look at the
painting on the wall, and I never fail to get a warm feeling, noticing
that the living room in the piece is also spare and uncluttered and
cozy, like ours. I know that we are not living big, like so many
Americans, but we are living well. And I know that the family in the
painting is close and warm, like ours. And I have just enough.
Today, I've got homemade spaghetti/zucchini sauce in the kettle on the stove that will go over penne pasta. Just finished making a "Chocolate
Mousse" cake, which I think is essentially a minor souffle. This cake
is made of egg whites, folded with dark chocolate, and it is supposed to
rise high in the oven (which it did) and fall rather quickly (which it
also did.) It is served chilled. I learned today that you don't
need cream of tartar to whip up fluffy, heavenly meringue. Instead,
lemon juice substituted in the amount of cream of tartar the recipe
calls for, makes even higher peaks, and it's something most cooks have
on hand. And speaking of eggs...here is my latest painting...a fun study of
light, shadows and texture. Like my art professors used to say, there's
really no such thing as "pure white" in nature, and upon close
observation, one certainly can see all the reflected colors in an egg
shell. Here's to spring! I'm starting to scrub out all the dirt
and crud out of our ancient windowsills--that is when I can pry the
window open! Unfortunately, I think many of our windows were painted
shut a few years ago, and combined with the settling of this quaint
little cottage, many of our windows just may be sealed for life. I
welcome any suggestions that are accessible even to such tool-impaired
folks as myself. And finally, finally, the rain and chilly
weather has ceased enough that I've been able to put my container
tomatoes, peppers and zucchini out for a sunshine bath. I could swear
that I heard them let out a sigh of joy, as soon as I placed them in the
grass... Talk to you again soon.;) (Image: "Nestled" Acrylic on Canvas, Cory Jaeger-Kenat, 2010.)
A few things from the past that I really, really wish would come back into fashion: 1. Punch cups and crystal cake plates for parties. And place cards. 2. White gloves. 3. Hats with loads of fluffy tulle veiling. 4. "Hello dear, how was your day?" Accompanied with a peck on the cheek and the table set for dinner. 5. "Allow me, ma'am, to open that door for you." 6. Children told to go outside and play, and the children actually doing what they are told. 7. Fedoras--and suits that smell faintly of Old Spice, Camels, and hair oil. 8. Fathers raking leaves on the weekends, and washing their cars in the driveway. 9. Pot roasts, casseroles, dishes washed, and beds made every day--even on the weekends. 10. Dinner hour, getting dressed up to go to the grocery store, clothes hanging on the line. (Image: "Reception Line #2, Acrylic on Canvas, Cory Jaeger-Kenat, 2010.)
No matter how simple the meal, it just
seems that homemade bread makes it something special. And is there
anything more like a hug than the scent of baking bread? Here is a
recipe that I discovered this past year and I probably make at least
once a month. I just love this recipe because it makes a lovely,
almost fool-proof dough that can be made ahead, popped in the
refrigerator, and used over a three day span. (The recipe recommends
that you discard the dough after three days.)
I use this dough
for biscuits, but I have also had great success using it for Saturday
morning cinnamon rolls, either frosted with a basic powdered sugar
frosting or a citrus glaze. I have also used it for caramel rolls.
Simply substitute this dough and follow your usual roll/bread recipe.
For additional convenience, I like to bake cinnamon rolls during a
weekday afternoon and freeze them for the weekend.
Most of the
time, I divide this recipe in half, because there's just two of us at
home these days. But if you make the full recipe, you'll have a
generous amount of bread to either freeze or feed a large family.
1 package regular or quick-acting active dry yeast 2 T. warm water (105 to 115 degrees) 1 c. shortening 5 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 c. sugar 3 t. baking powder 2 t. salt 1 t. baking soda 2
c. buttermilk (I don't use buttermilk because I never have it on hand.
A good substitute is to take 2 cups of milk and add 2 T. of lemon juice
OR vinegar. The milk will sour and work perfectly. )
Dissolve
yeast in warm water. Cut shortening into flour, sugar, baking powder,
salt and baking soda with pastry blender in 4-quart bowl until mixture
resembles fine crumbs. Stir in buttermilk and yeast mixture until dough
leaves side of bowl (dough will be soft and sticky.)
Turn dough
onto generously floured surface. Gently roll in flour to coat; shape
into ball. Knead lightly 25 to 30 times, sprinkling with flour if dough
is too sticky. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with
plastic wrap and refrigerate no longer than 3 days.
To make biscuits right away:
Right after you've kneaded the bread, roll or pat dough 1/2 in. thick.
Cut with 2 1/2 -in round cutter. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased
cookie sheet. Cover and let rise in warm place until double, 1 to 1 1/2
hours.
Heat over to 400 degrees. Bake until golden brown, 12 - 14
minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Makes 2 1/2 dozen
biscuits.
I'm just too tired to do anything too structured with this blog today.
Hubby has been home for several days with kidney stones, and, I ask you,
is there anything more exhausting that taking care of a sick man?
Florence Nightingale has my complete and total admiration... Here
is a photo of the "chop suey" dish that I made the other night, using a
bit of leftover pork, half a head of cabbage, a can of bean sprouts,
and a few dashes of garlic and soy sauce. Delish--especially served
over Japanese rice. Thrifty, and it cleared some leftovers out of the
fridge at the same time.
There's nothing more fun than watching seedlings make their debut. The
zucchini sprouts are going crazy, and I think that the peppers aren't
far behind. Wish I'd labeled these.... all I know is that I'm expecting
zucchini, green onions, tomatoes, and peppers. Does anyone know if
it's okay to leave these (covered) outside during the day? We're in
Montana, and I think the danger of frost is over. I'm really ready to
have my laundry room give up moonlighting as a greenhouse.... The promise of spring...I think that these tulips have been blooming every spring at the back gate for decades...Well, I think that's probably all for now. Hopefully things will be back to their normal craziness in the next few days!
Sweet hubby-man is off for 48 hours on a business trip. Gleefully, this ultra-hip housewife is embracing two whole days where she will not be doing the following: 1. picking up dirty Hanes tidy-whities on the floor by the bed. 2. putting the TV remote in the place it's supposed to be for the 15th time in the course of the day. 3. making anything for dinner that resembles meat and potatoes. 4. making anything for dinner at all, unless it's peppermint ice cream and Capn' Crunch cereal. 4. putting books back on the bookshelf, putting dirty clothes in the hamper, putting anything away that's man-related. 5. even having to think about putting the toilet seat down. 6.
watching "Chuck" (endlessly fascinating to Hubby, big yawn for wife),
kick-boxing fights, (eew) and Harry Potter movies (when will that little
wizard graduate, anyway??)
These are some of the things she is going to dive into: 1. Painting. 2. Painting. 3. Painting. 4. Napping and eating cherry cheesecake, eating cherry cheesecake and napping. 5. Web-surfing. 6. Polishing fingernails. 7.
Watching every chick flick that can be found that involves brooding
heroes with top hats and riding crops, girls in hoopskirts and bonnets,
and lots of soaring violin music playing in the background.
It all comes down to this. Sometimes, people that are madly in love need a chance to miss each other. (Image: "Tea for Two #2" Acrylic on Canvas, Cory Jaeger-Kenat, 2005.)
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."
I
heard this saying recently, and was shocked that I hadn't heard it
earlier, since I have lived my entire life this way. Making do,
especially, is not only how we get by...it is how my family thrives. Here
are some of the miscellaneous ways we run our thrifty household. This
will probably be a review for some of you ultra-hip housewives, but
hopefully, you might have some tightwad tips of your own to share.
1.
We enjoy a great "Hamburger Helper" around here by simply browning some
ground beef, adding cooked macaroni, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and
chili powder. Frozen corn is also great in this dish.
2. I make
my own brown sugar, mixing 1 tablespoon of dark molasses into a cup of
granulated sugar, then mashing and stirring it with a fork. I also make
my own pancake syrup, using brown sugar, water, and vanilla. It's
superb!
3. I don't use buttermilk in recipes. Instead I use a
tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar for each cup of milk. This sours
the milk, creating a very worthwhile substitute.
4. I use
powdered milk for any recipe that calls for milk, either in cooking or
baking. Hubby hates the taste of powdered milk straight, so we drink
acidolphilus milk if we want something in a glass. It's a bit more
expensive, but I figure the health benefits are worth it. We also drink a
heck of a lot of water, straight from the tap. We seldom, if ever, buy
soda.
5. I buy potatoes in large bags, and am always doing KP
duty, peeling spuds. Potatoes are high in vitamin C, and they are
perfect for rounding out meals. We also like to make impromptu skillet
dishes with fried potatoes, tossing in any kind of leftover vegetables
or meats we might have on hand.
6. We don't eat boxed cereals
because it's just too painful on the wallet. Instead, I make oatmeal,
scramble eggs, or pop toast in the toaster. Once in a great while, I
get indulgent and make my own granola.
7. Making your own pudding is almost as fast as making the "instant" variety.
8. We buy vegetables when in season, but also rely a great deal on those that are frozen.
9. I buy a great deal of apples and cabbage, because they keep for a long time and are great in so many dishes.
10.
I freeze leftovers while they're still good, if I know that we won't
eat them before they spoil. They make excellent mini-lunches for me. I
also like to search the refrigerator, looking for leftover
noodles/rice, vegetables, and meat. Combine them with a cream soup, and
often you've got a unique, yummy casserole.
Well, that's ten that I can think of right now. I'm sure there will be more to come. (Image: "OakTree Beauty" Acrylic on Canvas, Cory Jaeger-Kenat, 2000.)
We've all known since we were bitty kids that Betsey Ross sewed our
first American flag. But how many of us know about the contributions of
Martha Washington--and how she played a crucial role in establishing
America? I must admit that my impressions of her when I was a kid was a
glimpse of a rather dowdy old lady in a lace cap. The more I read, the
more I know that this couldn't be further from the truth. It's 1777, Morristown, New Jersey. You know the 'freak' snowstorms that
blanketed the East Coast this past year? Well, contrary to the global
warming theorists, they were happening back in the 1770's. Snow on the
ground was two feet deep, New York harbor froze for the first time in
recorded history, Baltimore's harbor was frozen, and it was possible to
cross the iced-over Hudson on horseback. I've lived back east, and the
cold cuts you to the quick. The snow is unbelievably heavy--that's why
houses in the region have steep peaked roofs because the snow can
literally cave them in. I have also been frost-bitten before (long
story), and it isn't a cold feeling...it burns and burns. Simply put,
it's agonizing. I cannot imagine these colonial men going without shoes,
shirts, pants, some of them virtually naked in that biting cold. Here's a paragraph that really gives us a picture of how really bad our
American soldiers had it, taken from "The General and Mrs. Washington"
by Bruce Chadwick: "Men began to sneak out of camp to steal food, kitchen utensils,
clothing, and anything they could find from area farmers. Washington
ordered a halt to this behavior, writing that his men were 'becoming a
band of robbers [rather] than disciplined troops.' But he looked the
other way and let them do it. They had to keep themselves alive because
the army could not. Finally, on January 3, the commander was told by
Nathaniel Greene that there was no more money left to purchase supplies
and that the army had run out of food. The money for clothing had been
depleted, too. Then, in the first week of January, a double blizzard hit
New Jersey, dumping over four feet of snow on the ground. Accompanying
winds created TEN-foot high drifts. " Enter Martha Washington. She is not only the wife of Washington--she is
his dearest friend and support system. The General has chosen well in
his life partner. She is incredibly strong and capable, a woman able to
smile and embrace the joys in life, despite a life haunted by tragedy.
In a span of less than a year, she has lost her former husband, three of
her siblings, and two of her children. She is, by all accounts, the
kind of woman, who asks you how you are doing, rather than sharing her
troubles. She makes everyone feel special. She's rather plain,
struggles with her weight, and likes understated clothes, but she has
lovely white teeth, and her smile lights up her face. She has
suffered recent economic privation, despite her wealthy background, and
now that she has found love again in George Washington, he has been torn
away from her for years of war and public service. Washington has sent for
her, as he often does during the war. He needs her beyond words. One
could easily argue that Congress is as ineffective and apathetic as it
is today, and he cannot convince them of the dire need for supplies. And
besides, the fledgling government is as broke and desperate as he is.
He is completely worn out, both physically and mentally. First of all, she nurses the General back to health. He quite literally
is on his deathbed when she arrives. He had been shoveling for days
along with his men, and has contracted another devastating sore throat, a
condition that plagued him his entire life, and eventually did kill
him. Bed-ridden and weak from his physician's constant attempts to bleed
him, his troops hold out little hope. When Martha gets there, she
treats him with wifely TLC and certainly her molasses and onion tonic,
and Washington survives. She immediately sets to work establishing
sewing circles with the officer's wives. She orders all of her
seamstress slaves at Mount Vernon to sew for the war effort, and
coordinates circles of paid female laborers. She organizes
get-togethers for the officer's families and generally raises the morale
of every soldier there. This work continues tirelessly into the infamous camping at Valley
Forge. After returning to Mount Vernon, to take care of affairs there,
she again rejoins her husband on the battlefield. Contrary to popular
belief, the winter was not nearly as harsh as it had been in Morristown.
The men were still woefully lacking in basic necessities, including
shelter. Martha resumes her punishing days of sewing, everything from
shirts to knitted stockings. She visits the sick daily, and probably was
the first USO, as she constantly organizes dinner parties, choral
singings, prayer services, and plays. She also understands that if she
takes care of her man, she is taking care of the troops, and she makes
sure that her husband rests, and takes moments out for leisure. Her
sacrifices, among them being away from her surviving children and
risking her life in a war zone, are inspiring, starting a chain reaction
and galvanizing the women in the country. In fact, women from around
the country raise $300,000 (imagine, how much that was in those times)
to give to Martha, not to the General, for the sewing of soldier
clothing. Hundreds of women huddle over their needles sewing and sending
clothes. In fact, many of them embroider their names along a seam, so
the soldier will know their hearts are with the man wearing it. Keep in
mind, clothing was such an imperative in those days, because it wasn't
like one could go the local store and buy a bolt of cloth. The colonies
had been boycotting all ready-made fabric for some time, so all of
these pieces of clothing were completely constructed from "scratch", so
to speak. The cloth was hand-woven on a loom, and the item was
hand-stitched. Martha balanced the operations of an enormous plantation with handling
the needs of an army, and this showed women all over the nation what
they could be capable of. Most of these women were tending their own
farms while their men were away, and working far into the night to
support the war. As Bruce Chadwick puts it: "From Anne Terel, the wife of an American soldier...in a letter
published in 'The Virginia Gazette', 'Women [are] part of another branch
of American politics which comes immediately under our province,
namely, in frugality and industry. [Women] raise their crops, make
clothing, run their husbands' farms and stores, and secure the home
front so that their husbands could continue to fight in the fields." I wish that I had learned more of this in my history classes. In an age
where textbooks are so sensitive about providing role models for women,
it's so sad that the backbone, elegance, and grit of our new nation's
women is so completely overlooked. Heroes do come out of kitchens, and
yes, they can wear an apron.
Recipe from Taste of Home, October/November 1996 "Perfect Apple Pie" I
don't know where the saying, "As Easy as Pie" came from. Probably from
some smug pastry chef of long-ago that could sift flour in his sleep...
I love to make pies, but I make them because in all my years in the
kitchen they never get any easier. They are to me the Mount Everest of
baking--and what's better than scaling the heights with hardly any
oxygen and danger of tumbling off a ledge or getting frostbite at any
moment? It's thrilling stuff, let me tell you. Our first step is to add 3/4 of a cup of shortening to a mixture of 2 cups of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Then
it's time to "cut" the shortening into the flour until the mixture
begins to look crumbly. Some recipes suggest mixing the shortening into
the flour, by using two table knives.
I definitely prefer my pie cutter gadget, as I cannot hope to have such
coordination in my lifetime...:) Add 4 to 5 tablespoons of ice cold
water and mix. I often add a couple of tablespoons of water if it's
still dry, but don't go overboard. It's important that the water be
very cold, as this, along with a generous amount of shortening, makes
your pie crust tender. I just keep balling up the mixture in the bowl
with my hands until it sticks together in a ball. After
this, it's time to get out the rolling pin. I take out half of the
dough, and gently roll it, while also pressing it to the table with my
hands. My pie crusts tend to be very flaky and so this is the touchy
part. I
am always amazed at the bakers on TV that roll out such pliable pie
crusts that they breezily lay into the pie pan. With mine--and I can't
tell you how many countless recipes I've tried-- I invariably wind up
usually molding it to my pie pan, after fixing places where the pie
crust has torn. It's kind of like my form of dessert "sculpture". Oh,
and by the way, that metal spatula works like a charm to slide beneath
the crust on the table and loosen it, once I'm done rolling. Now
it's time to get the apples peeled--I like Granny Smiths for pies. I
peel and slice about 7-8 cups and toss them with 2 tablespoons of lemon
juice. I combine 1 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of
cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg in a
separate bowl. This sugar mixture gets stirred into the bowl of apples
and tossed. I love the touch of nutmeg in this pie. Here is the pie without it's top. Now we roll out the top crust and gently put it on top of the sugary apples. Voila!
ready for the oven! Beat an egg yolk, and brush onto crust. And
remember to cut a slit into the center, something I obviously forgot to
do. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce heat to 350 and
for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and the filling is bubbly. (And
the bigger mess you make, the better it tastes!)
Sorry that I haven't been in better touch. What is it about the onset
of spring that brings out the flu bugs? Probably the warmer
weather...but suffice it to say, I've been ill, and now I'm on the mend. Anyway,
I wanted to let you know about a book that I haven't been able to put
down in the last few days. It's called "Just a Housewife: The Rise and
Fall of Domesticity in America" by Glenna Matthews. Ms. Matthews
realized that in all the feminist arguments, the actual history of the
housewife has been pretty much unexamined and ignored--which I find
ironic, considering all of the speeches about the poor, oppressed wife
coming from the podiums of so many radical feminists. No matter
where you stand on the feminist issue, this book will be enlightening.
One of the things I've been learning is that there is a spectrum
regarding feminism. There are feminists, such as myself, who want women
to simply have equal opportunity under the law (known as equity
feminists) and there are fanatical (gender) feminists who want to
transform everything about the female experience...from our history (or
as they term it--'herstory') to our family and social structure. This
book is fascinating because it deals with the details of a woman's
domestic life over two centuries, and how changes in politics,
commercialism, and academia, all have molded how today's women clean,
cook, and mother their children. It also shows how, in the so-called
name of 'progress', we have lost something very precious in our
society--the safety and sacredness of a well-run home, and the respect
for those who keep it that way.
It's a brilliant winter morning with only a dusting of snow. I don't
have a cleaning job today, so I'm able to work in the studio...yippee!
Got a new painting loaded on the Loud Colors website called "Cocktails
and Salmon Colored Roses". It always feels so good to finish a
painting. I keep looking at it, thinking I should tweak it some more,
but sometimes I just get tired of being so darned perfectionistic.
Besides, the woman in the work looks kinda quirky and kinda tragic, and
the whole feeling of the piece is pretty and expressionistic at the same
time. Does everything I do have to be so controlled, for Heaven's
sake? I certainly hope not! Just got an email from a patron and I think
two more small works have just sold. On Thursdays, my husband's
workout partner comes over for dinner. So after making the bed and
putting away last night's dishes, (and tearing myself away from
Facebook) I'm busy making cranberry meatballs, rice, and chopping up the
last half of the remaining cabbage in the fridge for coleslaw. Oops--
out of chili sauce for the meatballs, so I'll just have to use ketchup.
Improvised on the brown sugar, too, using white sugar with a small
pouring of molasses. Nearly out of onion too, so dried minced onion went
into the meatballs, and the remaining fresh onion will go into the
coleslaw. I've never really thought a recipe should be followed like
it's another Commandment--and besides I'm allergic to grocery stores(!)
Tossed the meatballs into the crock pot to cook while I answer a few
things on the computer, write out an invoice, and jot down my thoughts
on this blog. Puttering around in my kitchen makes me think about
some of the things I learned from my mom (which is amazing because I
avoided housework like the plague when I was a kid.) 1. Focus on the corners when you clean a floor--the middle will take care of itself. 2. Use what you have. 3. Don't add salt to your dishes--people use salt shakers often without even tasting the food, anyway. 4. Wash your dishes as you cook. 5. Figure out dessert and plan the rest of the meal around that. 6. If you don't cook enough, there will always be food left over--because everyone is afraid to eat too much. 7. Tea pretty much makes the day go round. Well, I'm back to the easel. Catch you later. (Image: "Cocktails and Salmon Roses" Acrylic on Canvas, Cory Jaeger-Kenat, 2010.)
Hubby bought me "The Time Traveler's Wife" video for me for Valentine's
Day...it was tucked under my pillow on Saturday night, because he
couldn't wait until the actual holiday. Isn't that COOL?? And on top
of it, when he buys me chick flicks, he even watches them with me. Now
THAT'S a secure man...;) Well, anyway, this isn't going to be a
review of the movie--although I have to admit I liked the book
better--isn't that the way it goes? But it does bring me to what's on
my mind today--which is my fascination with the past, particularly when
it pertains to home life. I had an idea this year, based on some
health issues we are both having. I wonder if people in my childhood
(the 60s and 70s) were of normal weight because going out to eat was a
major--and rare--treat. I remember how as a kid, getting a hamburger at
our local hamburger stand (remember Sandee's?) was a HUGE deal. My
mom, who labored tirelessly to serve us wholesome and home cooked meals,
was forever in the
shadow of anything that came of a greasy paper bag. I think back now,
and I marvel how on a daily basis we were served vegetables out of our
own garden, some sort of entree (my mom was, and is still, big on
Campbell's soup casseroles), often fresh bread right out of the oven,
along with homemade pickles and her owned canned fruit. Cookies,
cinnamon rolls, and all sorts of pies were a staple. We thought nothing
of it as kids, unfortunately. But I sure do now. Anyway, I was
thinking about the whole diet insanity in our nation. And I started to
wonder if it might be that we simply eat out too much. And so at the
beginning of January, I began to cook at home every night, including
weekends. Believe it or not, we are starting to lose some of that
not-so-lovely extra poundage. Hubby, who also works out at a gym, has
lost about 13 pounds, and I've lost around 8. And get this, I'm still
baking cookies and other yummy desserts! So, it's interesting to see
how much we'll lose at the end of the year--or if my theory is a bust. Well,
I'm enjoying this so much, I thought it would be a kick to take it one
step further. Right now, I use my crock pot on busy days. I can't look
at a crock pot and not hear the Helen Reddy song "I am Woman, Hear me
Roar". To me, crock pots are all about 1970s moms in polyester
pant-suits, frantically throwing in frozen ingredients before they scoot
out the door to fight the male-dominated work place. I think, however,
that I want to go back a little further with my cooking style, back to
the alien culinary planet known as the 50s. So, I think this
year, I want to add these things to our menus. Stuffed peppers, shrimp
cocktails, jello molds with grated carrot and artichokes, Rice Krispie
squares, veal chops, porcupine meatballs, Chicken a la King, and even a
souffle or two. And wouldn't it be fun to make a Baked Alaska? Just
thinking about these foods brings me back to all the hours I would spend
as a very little girl poring over my mom's cookbooks, favorites being
"Fun with Jello" and of course, the grande dame herself, Betty Crocker.
Some of those foods looked like they came right out of a spaceship.
And they also looked so incongruous--imagine green olives suspended in
lemon gelatin!--that they had to be delicious...right?? Right?? What a
wonderful thing to imagine ladies in hats and chiffon that "lunched" on
aspics and mousses and ladyfingers and spritz cookies. They certainly
didn't live anywhere in my Brady Bunch neighborhood. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. (Image: "Cherries on a Chair" Acrylic on Canvas, Cory Jaeger-Kenat, 2010.)
In an effort to lose a bit of the love handles, we are trying to eat
more complex carbs. Here is the loaf I baked today. It's made of wheat
germ, whole wheat, molasses, and oats. I feel like an earth mother
right now. ;)
I heard recently on a radio advertisement that the automatic washing
machine ranks as the number one time-saver ever invented. I'm inclined
to agree, but I would think that the freezer ranks close behind it. I
clean houses on a part time basis and I know--because I've cleaned many
a freezer over the years--that people often use this nifty space as the
repository for occasional tv dinners or a box or so of ice cream. But
boy, oh boy, a freezer can be your best friend...well, maybe you're not
THAT lonely, but it sure can save you time and big bucks. Here's
my freezer, crammed with stuff from my once a month shopping trip
(we'll talk about that another time.) I have spent around $150 total
(this includes all the canned and dried goods as well) for a month's
worth of food for the two of us. Here's what we have that's on the cold
side: 1 bag of popsicles...because those are a necessity! 1/2 ham 1 package of bulk pork sausage 2 packages of corn tortillas, 1 of white a bag of onion rings 5 tupperware containers of homemade bean soup 10 chicken thighs 3 bags of zucchini that I grated up this summer 1 half of a cake, which I plan to make into a trifle 2 pork loins--these are so good! a bag of frozen garden tomatoes--whole tomatoes freeze so well, and are as good as canned 1 bag of frozen bananas--I use these for banana bread all the time 1 bag of bread crumbs--can be used for meat-loaves, etc. 10 chicken breasts 1 brisket a tupperware container of homemadetaco casserole two containers of homemadeitalian soup 8 pounds of hamburger 4 pork chops a tupperware container of homemade spaghetti sauce Cool-Whip two bags of mixed vegetables a bag of turkey soup bones, recycled from Thanksgiving that make a great pot of soup! 4 salisbury steaks a package of turkey lunch meat a tupperware container of homemade chicken primivera a tupperware bowl of homemade chicken and rice soup a tupperware container of homemade pork and rice a tupperware container of homemade sauerkraut and sausage I
buy most of my meats from a discount store that sells things that are
slightly irregular, scratched or dented. We have seen no decrease in
quality or safety buying these items. This is where I buy at least half
of my meat--which is often already frozen, and most of the time, half
the price of any store in the area. I like to double up when I
cook, and freeze half. Hubby and I have decided that this year we're
going to work on eating at home at least 90% of the time, and these
doubled-up meals really help me when I'm sick to death of cooking. I can
just take something out the freezer, pop it in the microwave, and
voila, a home-cooked meal! I figure we've saved at least half on
our grocery bill, just by using the freezer to it's full capacity and
shopping more carefully. So, I'm dying to know, what's in YOUR freezer?
me pasta in olive oil. We prefer the thin spaghetti, and sometimes angelhair. Easy peasy.
go.
nives.
I definitely prefer my pie cutter gadget, as I cannot hope to have such
coordination in my lifetime...:) Add 4 to 5 tablespoons of ice cold
water and mix. I often add a couple of tablespoons of water if it's
still dry, but don't go overboard. It's important that the water be
very cold, as this, along with a generous amount of shortening, makes
your pie crust tender. I just keep balling up the mixture in the bowl
with my hands until it sticks together in a ball.
Now
it's time to get the apples peeled--I like Granny Smiths for pies. I
peel and slice about 7-8 cups and toss them with 2 tablespoons of lemon
juice. I combine 1 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of
cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg in a
separate bowl. This sugar mixture gets stirred into the bowl of apples
and tossed. I love the touch of nutmeg in this pie.
