QuiltLady – Page 15 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads Me

SATURDAY COFFEE ~ BLOG 365.329

BLOGMAS 2023 ~ day 1 ~ HOLIDAY DECORATING SCHEDULE ~ BLOG 365.328B

Here we go. Another year has passed and the holidays are upon us again! DAY 1 of BLOGMAS 2023 has me asking you what your holiday decorating schedule is.

I have to admit I’m one of those people who can’t wait to decorate and leave it up for longer than most. We passed our neighbor last Tuesday and he was out putting up his Christmas lights and candy canes right next to his blow up Turkey for Thanksgiving. I had to laugh because while my house IS already decorated inside I made hubby promise to wait until today to begin decorating outside 😀 In our neighbor’s defense he was quite ill last year and never got to decorate at all so he gets a pass on the early decorating and he promised to wait until tonight to turn the lights on!

We’ll be at our favorite local Christmas tree farm when they open this morning at 9AM to pick out 2 wreaths for the front porch.

Are you a traditional or trendy decorator? I’m a traditional, sentimental decorator. I still have ornaments from when I was a kid and some of my grandparent’s things. We tend to have the same decorations year in and year out, but they may be in different places each year because I add a piece here or there and some even get donated or die by attrition.
Are you white lights or multi-colored? This category depends for me. Definitely multi-colored on the tree, but I have white on my sleigh and around the Santa Hot Air Balloon as a landing zone.
When do you decorate inside? PLEASE don’t laugh, but since COVID my tree has gone up at Halloween 😀 and stays up through AT LEAST King’s Day.
Outside? We wait until after Thanksgiving 😀
To Blow or NOT Blow? We’re yes on this category MOST of the time. Years with early snows or stormier than normal windy days we stray away from them.

RUM RAISIN PUMPKIN PIE ~ BLOG 365.328

For us, traditional pumpkin pie has become kind of boring and don’t even try and serve one of those from a big box store, they’re so boring and cardboard like. When I found this recipe I just knew this would become our new favorite! I embellished it a bit with changing up the rum to an apple rum we love. I’m also increasing the amount of raisins next time.

RUM RAISIN PUMPKIN PIE

1/2-1 cup golden raisins**(see notes)
1/4 cup apple rum
1/4 cup boiling water
2 LARGE eggs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon AP flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon QUALITY cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon FRESH ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
15 ounce can pumpkin
8 ounces evaporated milk**(see notes)
Crust for a single crust pie – your choice, homemade or store bought

Preheat oven to 400°.
Roll dough into a 1/8 inch thick circle and transfer to a 9 inch pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 inch beyond the plate rim and flute edge. Place raisins in a small bowl and cover with the rum and boiling water. Let them sit 5 minutes. **(see notes)
In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, brown sugar, flour, salt and spices.
Stir in the pumpkin and raisin mixture.
Gradually blend in milk.
Pour into crust.
Bake 35-40 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean. **(see notes)
Cool on wire rack.
Refrigerate any leftovers if there are some.

NOTE:

I like to use golden raisins which are naturally plumper and juicier than regular raisins. When I use golden raisins I use all rum and let them sit for 10-15 minutes.
Use the rest of your evaporated milk in your Thanksgiving mashed potatoes.
Cover edges with foil last 15-20 minutes if edges are browning too quickly.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ~ BLOG 365.327

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ BLOG 365.326

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHEESE ~ RUBY CHOCOLATE ~ BLOG 365.325B

I’m sure you’ve heard of it on your favorite cooking show, even if you have no idea what it really is. I know I had and even though it was explained, it just wouldn’t register and stay in my brain.

I’m entering a charcuterie board contest on New Year’s Even and chose the desert category. I’ve been looking for not only tried and true recipe ideas, but some new and unusual ones too. I ran across a recipe for chocolate covered cheese. YEP, you read that right, chocolate covered cheese!

I decided to try it three ways, milk, dark and ruby covered with a flake salt. I skipped white as I’m just not a fan – worst discovery of 1930 in my book! I also decided to try it with multiple flavored cheeses. I’m using Jack, sharp white cheddar and a champagnes Havarti. These are the pre-event taste tests> 😀

I figured I should do the research to really understand what Ruby chocolate it. I didn’t believe the cotton colored hue of the chocolate could be natural, but for the most part I was seriously wrong!

Ruby chocolate magically appeared in 2017 after a 13 year development process in Switzerland by the Barry Callebaut company. I say magically because the details of how it is produced are kept closely guarded, but they have noted that the color and unique flavor are products of the bean’s fermentation process.

Nestle released a limited edition KitKat overseas and another version again in 2019 in the UK leaving many companies scrambling to develop their own version.

Ruby chocolate is made from Ruby Cacao Beans which are found in South America; Ecuador and Brazil as well as the Ivory Coast (West African coast). Like specific grapes grown for specific wines, the ruby cacao beans are directly influenced by their growing environment so are cultivated in very specific climates.

So far in my taste testing I’m finding that far more women appreciate the flavor than men do. MEH seems to be the overwhelming consensus of the men I know and even many women can take it or leave it. BUT, it will still be a stunning addition to my charcuterie board 😀

There are NO added berries, flavor or dyes, yet ruby chocolate tastes berry like. The fruity flavor has hints of strawberry and raspberry and is quite smooth in texture, but not milky. While it’s NOT bitter, it does have a slightly tart after effect taste. I did find this image on the company’s website that may explain it better.

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHEESE

8 ounces aged cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Flake sea salt

Cut cheese into 1/2-in. cubes.
In a microwave, melt chocolate in 30 second increments; stirring until smooth.
Dip cheese cubes in chocolate, allowing excess to drip off.
Place on waxed paper.
Sprinkle with a few grains of salt.
Let stand until set.

THE BIG BLOGMAS REVEAL ~ BLOG 365.325

I can’t believe we’re at the end of November and Thanksgiving is over! It’s time for the BLOGMAS 2023 list reveal. I’m going to begin on Friday the day after Thanksgiving and go through Christmas Day. Join in where and when you can, but most importantly have a GREAT, FUN time! I’m not going to add an official linky, but if you comment we’ll know you’re playing along and come visit so have the coffee and goodies ready 😀

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 47 of 2023 with MENUS ~ BLOG 365.324

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Oh my, where did last week go? It started out so great and then just flew by! I know I didn’t get to visit everyone, but am so hopeful that this week will be better with the downtime on Thursday. We’re going to be just the 2 of us for Thanksgiving so I’m planning on vegging on Thursday and playing catch up with visiting blogs.

I’m also planning on beginning BLOGMAS on Friday and will be posting this year’s LOGO and list tomorrow 😀 I was hoping to have it done for today, but spent all of yesterday helping with a Thanksgiving meal at the Eagles and was just plain worn out last night.

We have had a ton of rain and even had a pretty BIG storm on Saturday night that left what leaves were still on the trees everywhere but and the first bits of snow on the hilltops east of town 😀 This week is supposed to be drier, but also MUCH colder! Funny thing is that what I’m wearing doesn’t really change that much – I just add another layer 😀

There is still A LOT going on and I’ve been extremely busy this week also, but weighing heavy on my mind is some health concerns with my mom and uncle. My uncle is doing better this week than last fortunately. Prayers are still needed for all of them.

On the home front I can’t believe Thanksgiving is Thursday. Fortunately, we aren’t planning a big one and the pivot on the menu is something I’m now looking forward to.

I’m going to a lunch for a sweet lady later so am only doing hot water this morning.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I did most of the laundry over the weekend, but still have a load of sheets to fold today and a load of jeans that I’ll set to wash before I leave for lunch so it’s ready for the dryer when I get home.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have NO intention of setting foot inside a store this week – way too chaotic for me 😀 I do have an appointment for my COVID booster on Wednesday.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS not the week for ANY of this!
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I was lucky to get this week planned, but am looking toward the planned downtime to get more organized for 2024.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

AMAZON PRIME- MAX I’m 3 episodes in on the new show JULIA
CABLE – Holiday Baking shows, Hallmark Christmas Movies, Dancing with the Stars, Quantum Leap, Magnum

I just started Jana DeLeon’s Undertow, book #3 of her Tempest Island series

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	take your turkey out of the freezer to thaw!
LUNCH				HAPPY THANKSGIVING
DINNER	STEAK & POTATO SKILLET	TEXAS RANCH CHICKEN CASSEROLE	BUFFALO MACARONI & CHEESE BITES	STEAKS on the GRILL with BUTTER ROASTED POTATOES AND BALSAMIC CARROTS	GRILLED ORANGE GINGER CHICKEN and COTTAGE POTATOES	BBQ BRAISED BRISKET with BUTTER BEANS	SOURDOUGH TURKEY MELTS
DESSERT				RUM RAISIN PUMPKIN PIE		CHOCOLATE CARAMEL POPCORN

I finished my Highland Cow Christmas pillow Saturday. Painting on a flexible fabric canvas is so much harder than a framed canvas and uses so much more paint as well as requires more creativity to get the right textures.