The Life & Times of NotQuiteJuneCleaver

Sunday Shopping

7 June, 2009 by notquitejunecleaver

I am up drinking my coffee and window shopping this morning. Waiting for Rachel to rise and shine!

Today is a big day. It is her first catering job where we are not only making all the goodies and beverages but we are setting up and serving as well. So…we will be off and running soon. This gig is for a piano recital/reception and I think it will be lovely! I am sure Rachel will be posting ALL about it very soon.

So back to the window shopping ~ I found this cool sight called Polyvore. First thing I run across is this OH SO CUTE plaid/prairie/apron dress:

plaiddress

Pretty darn cute and only 2,750.00 Euros. WOW what a bargain…NOT!! I can make this dress, can’t you? Anyway, when I stumbled on this I then searched “prairie” on this site and oh…cute ideas! VERY cute. Here are a couple of things I want to try and make or find a pattern for:

blackgingham

But instead of me taking up space showing you everything I LOVED on this site…go here…and see for yourself!

Before I run off to help Rachel, I wanted to show you one more place I found last night. My oldest daughter is an enabler just in case you didn’t know this. She knows good and well not to send me etsy shoppes to look at. She knows I need to stay away from there but NOOOO, she IM’s me this shoppe.

orangegingham I am a bit hung up on the gingham this morning. Oddly enough, the dress I am wearing today to the recital and reception is black gingham!

Okay…I will leave you with one more site to peruse. Sucre just go look around. SO much inspiration. I love LOVE LOVE zakka. I do. What’s not to love about this look?

sucre I know right? ADORABLE!

I hope to get pictures of the lovely gifts my friends, Karen and Tami brought me Friday evening when they stopped by for coffee. They had been antiquing. I was supposed to go, but with the family stuff going on, and catering jobs, I just couldn’t. How sweet that they brought me goodies…one of which is a vintage apron that you have GOT TO SEE!! And the most adorable chicken pot holders!

They also got to sample Rachel’s homemade/from scratch/even the sauce/even the crust pizza that was waiting for me when I got home from the funeral home Friday afternoon. She will be posting her recipe and pictures on her own blog.

Have a sweet day everyone.

Posted in A Strange Bird, Aprons!, Buy This!, Friends, Frocks, Neat Things, Sewing, Sunday Shopping, Vintage Treasures | 6 Comments »

National Yo-Yo Day is Today!

6 June, 2009 by notquitejunecleaver

I know this means yo-yo’s like toy yo-yos. But that isnt the first thing that came to my mind. Being a crafty chick-a-dee, I thought YO-YO’s as in:

embellishment I have a whole jar of yo-yo’s ready for whatever comes up. I stick them on packages as “bows” or on bags as adornment, use them as a brooch…I just think they are adorable. So HAPPY YO-YO Day!

Posted in Homekeeping | 6 Comments »

Overalls Picture of the Day

5 June, 2009 by notquitejunecleaver

sam4 Grandpa and Grandson Sam working on my dishwasher.

Posted in Homekeeping | 3 Comments »

Friday Baking With NotQuiteJuneCleaver! Recipes for June 5-June 12

5 June, 2009 by notquitejunecleaver

Good morning! Below are your first two recipes. If you have any questions check the tab at the top labeled Friday Baking and if you still have a question email me! I want everyone who wants to participate to find the answers they need so this can be FUN! One of todays recipes is SUPER easy! The other a bit more involved but still simple and DELISH! One is sweet, one savory. One I have never made EXACTLY like this recipe. The other is an old standby of mine. But one I want to encourage everyone to try. If you happen to live with a REAL MAN and he happened to hear once or 500 times that REAL MEN don’t eat quiche…then this recipe and challenge is the perfect excuse for a HEN PARRRRR-TAY!

Let the games begin!

MIXED BERRY COBBLER

Originally Rachel found this recipe in Baking by Dorie Greenspan

Top Crust
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold, unsalted butter, cut into little bits
3/4 c cold heavy cream

Filling
5 cups mixed berries (go light on the strawberries because they can be too watery for cobbler). Fresh or frozen, not is syrup, no need to defrost.
4-5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon or lime
(optional) 1/4 tsp (or to taste) freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 375, butter a 9-inch, deep-dish pie pan (or other similar sized baking dish). Go head and place your dish on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Top Crust
In a large bowl whisk together all the dry “topping” ingredients. Toss in the butter and working quickly with your fingers mix the butter into the dry ingredients. When you’ve got pieces the size of oatmeal, and the size of cornflakes and in between, it’s good to go.
Pour cream in the the bowl and toss ingredients until you have a soft dough. When it comes together use your hand to incorporate everything, but don’t over do it, you don’t want to “overwork” the dough (the dough will be soft & sticky). Put your dough between two pieces of parchment or waxed paper and press or roll into a circle big enough to a little more than cover the top of your dish. No need to be “perfect” – cobblers are “rustic” dishes! Set it aside or refrigerate while you prepare the filling. Just be sure it is covered well, you don’t want it to dry out.

Filling:
Combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix together. Pour the fruit mixture into your pie dish.

Putting it all together:
With a small biscuit cutter or free handed, cut a 1″ circle in the center of your top crust. Gently place the crust on top of your berrie mixture. Crimp the edges of the crust and gently, very gently stretch it to meet the pie dish, all the way around. Then with a very sharp knife cut six slits fanning out from the circle cut in the middle. These slit and the hole will allow the steam to excape your cobbler.

Bake in your preheated oven for 60-75 minutes until the filling is bubbling in the center. Your top crust should be puffed a bit and golden brown.

Let sit 30-45 minutes before serving.
Serve warm or at room temp.
Great Served with homemade vanilla ice cream!

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

Quiche Susan

This is a recipe I posted back in June of last year. It was a HIT! I made it for a Hen Party I was having with two of my dearest girl friends. They loved it too!

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare an unbaked pie crust in a 10″ deep dish pie pan. Use your favorite unsweetened pie crust or a bought one. Be sure it is up a bit past the edge of your pie dish – you gotta alotta stuff to put in there!

Start with two-three cups of your favorite veggies. I use Baby Bella mushrooms, fresh asparagus and leeks. Saute them in a little olive oil or butter – I used a little of each!

Grate 3 cups of your favorite cheese. I used equal parts of Gouda, Feta, Asiago, Cheddar, Swiss and Mozzarella. Yes we always have this many cheeses! I could have also used Provolone, American, Parmesan or Romano!

Spread the cheeses evenly over the bottom of the crust, reserving about 3/4 a cup to sprinkle over the top.

Spread your veggies over the cheese…it already looks yummy doesnt it???

Whisk together 6 eggs and 1 cup of half and half. Add salt and pepper to taste. Be sure your eggs are well beaten.

Pour this over the veggies being sure to cover evenly.

Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top of your quiche.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until golden and firm in the middle.

Let it sit for about 10 minutes before cutting.

HAPPY BAKING!

Posted in Friday Baking with NQJC, Homekeeping | 8 Comments »

Friday Baking Page Updated!

4 June, 2009 by notquitejunecleaver

You can visit the page (look to the top for a tab) titled Friday Baking and find all the rules, regulations, and dates for the next few months. I hope hope HOPE I have made this clear AND easy. I want everyone who is interested to participate and HAPPY BAKING EVERYONE! Remember…recipes tomorrow morning! You will like both of them I think!

Posted in Homekeeping | 1 Comment »

Welcome to Friday Baking With NotQuiteJuneCleaver Redux!

4 June, 2009 by notquitejunecleaver

This post today is to go over the “rules and regulations” for participating in this hopefully fun reintroduced event! I will do my very best to make things easy and clear AND FUN to those who choose to play along.

fridaybaking1

Each Friday (beginning 5 June 2009) I will post TWO recipes for everyone to read and decide if they want to try either, both or neither. One will be sweet and one not.

If you decide you want to participate, you will have until the next Friday, when the new recipes are posted, to notify me via a comment on the original recipe post that you have made one or both and blogged about it or them.

When you notify me that you have made the recipe(s) and blogged, I will visit your blog and leave you a comment to let you know I have seen your post or posts and added your name to my mason jar for each recipe you post about. You may make more than one comment of course, if you make more than one of the recipes. Please note that if you don’t let me know by the next Friday before 8 am CST I can’t add your name to the jar for the old recipes. The new set of recipes will be posted by 9am that same morning.

For every recipe you try and blog about, you will have your name added to the jar. For example if you make and blog about all the recipes for June, then your name will be added 8 times. If you choose to make one a week then you will have 4 entries. If you skip a week…no biggy. You can try the next week.

On the last day of each calendar month after 12 noon CST I will draw a name and that person will receive a prize package. So obviously, the more you participate, the better your chances. And the package will vary from month to month. Some of my favorite things! Vintage, cooking related and always an apron…always!

After the winner’s name is drawn, and notified and I have received their address, I will discard all the names for the month and we will start over with the next Friday’s participants.

I set the particular times so things can stay straight when the last day of the month happens to fall on Friday. I will refresh everyone’s mind at the end of each month when we end a series of challenges, draw a winner and are ready to start a new series.

The winner will receive their prize package from me the next week (or a little longer if you live out of country).

Some months the Fridays may fall as to have more or less opportunities to participate.

Your participation is purely voluntary and you may join or un-join at anytime. I will not keep up with who is participating until you let me know to add your name to the mason jar per the instructions above.

It does not cost you a thing except time and your ingredients and efforts to participate.

Lastly, I reserve the right (since the is my blog after all;) ) to cancel this event either permanently or temporarily if I have reason to. For example if my brother decides to have another heart surgery and I am needed. This is not supposed to be hard, or a source of aggravation for anyone, including me! It is suppose to be fun! And a way for us to connect, share recipes, and baking experiences and maybe learn a little something. If you think it will be fun then PLEASE join me!

Now that all that is out of the way, I HOPE SO MUCH that I made it clear. But please if I didn’t let me know! I will be posting the rules and DATES on a separate page late today.

If you have gotten this far I have a request completely unrelated. My sister in law (wife to the brother that just had heart surgery) lost a nephew in a tragic car accident last night that claimed the life of two other young men and maimed a fourth. My girls knew some of these young men from work and simply because we live in a very small community. I know their parents. This kind of horror happens far too often here. Last night was a bad night to be on the road. We had bad weather and due to overcast skies it was exceptionally dark. There were actually 3 accidents last night within hours of each other. Two involved 18-wheelers and cows on the road…within a few miles of each other. The third that claimed the lives of these kids was on another dangerous stretch of highway in another part of the parish. When my son called me this morning at 6:30 to tell me about the accidents, and said the last name of one of the boys, I hoped it was not my sister in law’s nephew but I really wondered since it is not a common last name around here. Then I got a beep and I knew. I don’t get many calls before 8 am. I really am so sorry for their loss and just wanted to remind everyone to appreciate your kids extra today because a mom I know has lost her son and it could have been any one of us in her place.

Posted in Food, Foodie Blogs, Friday Baking with NQJC, Homekeeping, Thoughtful Thursday | 8 Comments »

I knew it, I knew it, I KNEW IT!

3 June, 2009 by notquitejunecleaver

Lard has making a come back! Well, isnt that interesting!

Isn’t this a beautiful picture:

Photograph of homemade lard by Peter G Werner/Wikipedia.

Posted in Food, Read This! | Tagged lard, homemade lard | 2 Comments »

Jam Packed Post ~ Please Read!

3 June, 2009 by notquitejunecleaver

I am going to cover a lot of subjects this morning so hang on to your hats! I have a lot of irons in the fire at the moment and I would like to drag you all down with me!!

Shout Out #1: Rachel over at Neat Things. You have to take a look at the cake she made for a going away party. WOWZERS! That’s my girl! Her paternal grandmother (the best cake decorator in the world) would be so proud of her. I have often wished she could have lived to see how her granddaughters followed in her footsteps. Hint:

International Overall Day: is coming together. I doubt very seriously (VERY seriously) if we can get any sort of proclamation but who cares? I am however working on contacting companies that sell overalls to donate gift certificates so that we might have a GRAND giveaway sometime in the future. In the meantime if you wear overalls, love overalls, love someone who wears overalls, join the fun. Leave a comment or email me and we will start a flickr group soon. Sound like fun? And here is your picture of the day:

onthephone This is Rachel on the phone with my mom about a month before Ben was born. She had been folding baby clothes and getting things ready for Ben’s birth. I wish you could see the stacks of baby shirts and diapers on the bed with her. She has always been quite the little organizer.

Friday Baking with NotQuiteJuneCleaver: Will begin again this coming Friday June 5th. I told you it wouldn’t be long! If you plan on participating please let me know. I will make a post specifically pertaining to this event tomorrow (Thursday) with all the new and improved rules and regulations and then on Friday you will find the recipe for the week’s challenge. Hint: if you don’t have berries of some sort, plan on getting some And YES, there will be prizes involved!

homebakingbook

Next Holiday: Fourth of July and all the great food that brings! The last week of this month (June) I will devote to recipes, menus and decorating ideas for the 4th. For all my friends who live outside the US, bear with us…this is a big deal around these parts!

libertybell

Cookbook Update: Well, the first agent I approached with my idea(s) passed so that’s not great news. However, I believe all things in their own time. In the meantime while I am waiting on a real deal, I am going forward with self publishing my little series of cookbooklets. Pies will be first and hopefully within 6-8 weeks I will have them in my etsy shop for sale. But don’t hold me to that date ’cause I tend to over estimate what can be done in a 24 hour period. But I am finishing it. It is to the proofing stage…so that is progress.

piebookgraphic

Crafty: One of our all time favorite librarians is leaving our local library for bigger and better things. We will miss her. Today is her going away party (the cake Rachel made is for that party). I made her a Housewarming Basket for her new home.

basket

(Isn’t that the cutest broom handle you ever saw???)

This is a little part of the note (the pink paper tied with rickrack) I wrote her explaining the components of the basket…thought you might like the info in case you ever had occasion for such a gift.

First of all the broom. And what a pretty broom it is! My granny taught me that you NEVER take an old broom in to a new home. You are supposed to start your new life with a clean sweep! So now you can! In the basket you will find two cloth bags that will do just fine to take to the grocery when you need just a couple of things or to keep your potatoes and onions fresh. They are sturdy and should last a long time. Inside those bags are flour, hoping you will always have food and friends to share it with. Salt so you will always have spice in your life! Honey to remind you of the sweetness of life and friends, both new and old. Olive oil for good health all the days of your life. A wooden cutting board representing stability, peace and harmony in your new home and candles so you will always have light. The apron is just because. Just because I wasn’t sure you had one, and if you do…well now you have two! The lavender plant is on of my favorite plants. I thought you might like it too. She will need lots of sunshine so you will want to put her outdoors at your new home. The soap and rag are for your new kitchen sink. Enjoy the gifts. You will be missed!

What could I have possibly left out of this post? If you have gotten this far…THANK YOU! Oh I suppose I could give you a recipe, that should be about enough. This is from the Pie booklet…

Yogurt Pie with Granola Crust

1 1/2 c. granola (reserve 1/4 c.)
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. margarine
1/4 c. honey
8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. lo-fat yogurt
2 tsp. vanilla
fresh fruit (optional)

If granola is very coarse, grind to medium-fine in blender, doing 1/2 cup at a time. Blend granola, brown sugar and margarine. Press onto sides and bottom of 9-inch pie plates. Chill well before using. Soften cream cheese to room
temperature. Beat until fluffy with electric mixer or wooden spoon. Blend in yogurt. Beat in honey and vanilla. Turn into pie shell, spreading evenly. Chill overnight. Before serving, top with fresh fruit (strawberries, bananas or your favorite). Sprinkle reserved granola crumbs on top. Cut and serve.

HAVE A LOVELY WEDNESAY!

Posted in A Little of That, A Little of This, Blogging Friends, Challenge, Cookbook Treasures, Crafty!, Family, Food, Foodie Blogs, Friday Baking with NQJC, Friends, Frocks, Gardening, Giveaway!, Handmade, Holidays, Kitchen, Movie Review, Overall Obsession, Picture of the Day, Read This!, Sewing, This and That, round robin | 16 Comments »

Overall Picture Day Two

2 June, 2009 by notquitejunecleaver

I decided to keep this subject current and help people searching for other overall fanatics. To do this I will try to post a new picture fairly often. I figure I have hundreds of overall pictures…hundreds!

Here is your Overall Picture Day Two:

momanddad This is Husband and me back in the day! This was taken our Senior Year in high school. Obviously in the Winter as I have on knee high boots and a jacket. Of course Husband has his sleeves rolled up! Winter in Louisiana! Overalls, were part of his wardrobe even back in 1977. Awww…I was wearing his Senior ring, and he was carrying my books. Sweet.

Let me tell you a quick “overalls brought us together” story. Go ahead and get ready to be a little nauseous…oh the teenage romance! Okay, I moved to the town we live in now in Feb of 1974. Sidebar: The small town was a culture shock and a nightmare for me. Freshman year is no time to move a kid. Remember that. Anyway, a few months rocked along and Husband and I had hit it off rather well in math class and other classes as well. As corny as it sounds, there was chemistry from the first time we met. I was the new girl, who seemed to be fairly intelligent, wore tight jeans and had a bit of a smart mouth. He was then VERY Smart Handsome Boy in Algebra Class Who Just Looked Good To Me Period, had a beautiful head of long hair and a REALLY smart mouth, and quite the good artist at the time. I knew he had painted things for other kids and I had a brand new pair of carpenter striped overalls and it hit me…he could paint something on them! Anything to get him to my house for the afternoon, you know. So I asked him if he would like to paint a mushroom on my backside. His eyes got a little big, he got a smirk on his face and said “Sure, why not.” He still says that a lot. I went on to say “Backside of my new overalls.” He looked a little disappointed but agreed just the same. So within a few days he was at my house after school, painting a mushroom on the seat of my overalls. I did NOT have them on at the time. The rest is history. We have been together ever since.

By the way, in our engagement picture, I am wearing overalls. I will post that one soon.

Posted in Family, Frocks, Overall Obsession | 9 Comments »