Eggnog and Holiday Celebrations!

I have had the most wonderful holiday season. I began celebrating the joys of this season in Pittsburgh. Between all of the reading and writing I needed to do for school, I snuck away to pack in lots of fun. I am thankful for all of my new friends in Pittsburgh.

A couple friends and I explored my neighborhood by going on a Holiday Cookie Tour. Local businesses had the shopkeeper's favorite cookies for sampling and had holiday specials. It was such a fun event. We looked for these gingerbread cookie signs in the window of shops in the business district.

After the cookie tour, Drew and I were feeling in a festive mood and decided to carve pumpkins... I know, I know. Not very Christmas-y. Except that we carved snow(wo)men, Christmas trees, candy canes and the words NOEL and JOY into the sides of the small, leftover pumpkins from the Fall. We watched Home Alone and drank red wine while we carved pumpkins and it was the perfect end to our mini holiday celebration.

To celebrate being all done, we went out to Banjo Night at the Elk's Lodge for one of their Christmas shows. It was really wonderful. Friends, family, beer, popcorn and live banjo music. Really, is there anything better?

I had to bid farewell to lovely cousin. We tried to spend lots of quality time together before I left. She got a job in New York City (!!!) and is moving before I return to Pittsburgh. I am insanely thankful for all of her help in my transition to Pittsburgh. From giving me a place to stay,  introducing me to lots of new friendly faces and places, giving me lots of great advice, and being a dear friend, I couldn't ever thank her enough. Pittsburgh won't be the same without her, but I am so so so excited for her next adventure. I am hoping to spend my spring break in NYC with her. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ari. I am so grateful for you and your friendship. I love you!

A few weeks ago, a couple friends were hosting a holiday party to celebrate being almost done with our first semester of graduate school and all of the holidays we were going to be apart for!

Drew and I wanted to try something new so we made eggnog! I had never even tried eggnog until I made it. We followed a recipe from Esquire pretty closely. We substituted brandy for cognac.This recipe was very boozy. I wouldn't bring this to a family gathering (you know, unless your family was into that sort of thing), but it was embraced by friends at the holiday party! Below is the recipe we made, but next time I would only use 1/2 pint of each alcohol (or add more creamy ingredients).\

Eggnog

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
• 1 pint brandy
• 1/2 pint dark rum
• 1 pint whole milk
• 1/2 pint heavy cream (we used whipping)
• nutmeg

 

Instructions:
Separate the whites from the yolks. Put whites aside.

 Pretty flower of yolks

Beat the yolks until smooth and slowly add the granulated sugar. Mix until the sugar is entirely dissolved (this is why you use superfine sugar!).

Slowly pour in the brandy, stirring the whole time. Do the same with the dark rum. Esquire says "Pouring the liquor into the yolks has the effect of cooking them more lovingly than any stove could."  Drew made sure that I very lovingly poured the booze into the sugary eggs.

Next, stir in the milk and cream. We did not whip our cream, but the recipe said that you could for a richer taste.

Beat the egg whites until they peak without toppling. We didn't have a hand mixer, so Drew and I had to hand beat the eggs. It was a team-building exercise, that is for sure. We had to take turns viciously beating the eggs with a whisk (it is a good think I lovingly pour the booze earlier!). We relayed beating the eggs for quite a while before the eggs thickened enough to stand without toppling. We weren't sure that the eggs would ever thicken enough.

 VICTORY!

Next, add the whites to the boozy eggs. We just scooped the whites into the mixture and stirred. It had a strange texture until we added all of the whites.

Sprinkle nutmeg to your taste. We only had ground, but freshly grated would be best!
 
This made a lot of eggnog. It will last in the fridge for a several days if kept in an airtight glass container (like the jars below).

 This was a very fun and successful first attempt! We were really happy with how it turned out, but we would make it slightly different next time. We are hoping to try another recipe at some point. We read that the very best eggnog is aged for at least a week.... but that takes patience....

I am very thankful to be home with my family now. I will be here for another couple days before I head to Minneapolis. Many adventures ahead!

DIY Compost Bin

My roommate Drew decided to build a compost bin in our backyard for his final project for his agroecology lab. I volunteered to help build it and take pictures to document his project. I thought it would be fun to share our DIY compost bin!

We built this whole project for free by getting pallets from a shop down the street and finding nails and wire in our garage. You could build a similar bin for very little money too! All of the words and images below are from Drew's final project presentation.

Building a Backyard Compost Bin

SELECT A SPOT

Choose a place for your compost bin that is out of the way yet accessible, is relatively level and has good drainage, and gets some sunlight.

 

PREPARE AREA

 

Clear any debris and, if possible, turn top six inches of soil. This will help give worms and other organisms better access to your compost pile.

 

GATHER MATERIALS

For the simplest of bins, you will only need four pallets and some heavy wire. To create mine I also used a hammer and some small nails. If you want to put a door on the front of yours, hinges, a latch and a drill would likely be handy.

PLACE BACK & SIDE PALLETS

I chose to place the shorter sides of the pallets on the ground to create a taller bin that occupied less space. Put the rear pallet in place and butt the two side pallets against it.

ATTACH PALLETS

You can do this several ways, but I found the simplest and most effective method was lashing the pallets together with heavy wire at the top and bottom of each corner. I found nails and screws to be more difficult to use because of the odd angles of the joints and the likelihood of hitting the nails that were already in the pallets.

CONSTRUCT FRONT

 

You can choose to leave the front open, construct a door or a half-door, or do as I did and build a partial wall. Whatever your choice, just be sure it allows you some way to access your compost pile, as you will need to turn it regularly. 

 

I pulled a number of boards off the fourth pallet and used them to create the front of my bin. I fastened them with small nails, spacing them approximately an inch apart and running from the ground to about halfway up the bin.

START COMPOSTING!

Your compost should be a mixture of carbon-rich “brown” material (dead leaves, wood chips, straw, etc.) and nitrogen-rich “green” material (fruit and vegetable scraps, grass clippings, manure, etc). The ideal C:N ratio for your compost pile is 30:1.

A NOTE ABOUT PALLETS

Pallets are a great material for building compost bins because they are a good size (a pile should be at least 3’ by 3’ by 3’ to heat sufficiently), they are easy to find, and they can often be had for little or no cost. I found mine by asking a local business if they were getting rid of any. They were happy to get rid of a few and didn't charge me for them. I was able to build my bin in just a couple hours for no cost at all.

HAPPY COMPOSTING!

Groundnut Stew

When I was home for Thanksgiving in Wisconsin, one of the first meals I ate was this Groundnut Stew at my mama's house. It was one of the most amazing soups I have ever eaten. It has such a full flavor with some sweet and some heat. My mom learned to make it at a cooking class where she learned to make a handful incredible of soups. I ate it for multiple meals and as soon as it was gone, I dreamed of making more. I loved this soup. My mama has a special touch though, mine fell a bit short of hers.

This stew is also called African Peanut Stew. I found versions that used chicken, okra, cabbage, carrots, etc.  The stars in this version were the sweet potatoes, poblano peppers and peanut butter. The following quantities will make a full pot of soup. Again, I made a large amount of stew for multiple meals and to freeze for a later date.  Next time I will add more peanut butter and more peppers for a bit more spice.

Groundnut Stew
Ingredients:
4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 (very) large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, diced
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 poblano peppers, blackened, skins and seeds removed, chopped
2 cans small beans (I used Aduki and Great Northern Beans)
3 Tablespoons of peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1.5 Tablespoon Ginger, grated
1 Tablespoon Cumin
Salt & Pepper
Peanuts, chopped, for garnish
Cilantro, chopped, for garnish
Slice of lime, for garnish

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub whole poblano peppers with olive oil and place on a cookie sheet. Roast in oven for about 15 minutes or until both sides of the peppers have blackened.  Once peppers have cooled, remove skins and seeds, chop.

Peel and cut sweet potatoes into bite size cubes. Cook sweet potatoes in a fry pan with a bit of olive oil on low heat. Cook until slightly soft (they will continue to cook in the soup!).

In a large soup pot, saute onions and garlic until translucent. Add the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, poblano peppers, ginger and cumin. Stir to combine.

Add beans and sweet potatoes. Simmer until all is heated and sweet potatoes are soft.

Using a coffee mug, remove a cup full of broth and mix in peanut butter. Melt. Pour mixture back into the soup pot.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Top the bowl of stew with chopped peanuts, cilantro and a slice of lime. Enjoy! Please let me know if you make (any version!) of this stew!

I need to only take photos in my dining room, the lighting is so terrible in my kitchen. I also need to learn how to edit photos!

Giving Thanks

I was lucky enough to spend time in both Minnesota and Wisconsin around Thanksgiving. I was able to see lots of my best friends, family and family friends.

The first day home in Wisconsin was spent with my lovely mama getting ready for Thanksgiving. My grandparents came over for coffee in the morning and we relaxed and spent quality time together. We baked pumpkin pie! It was the perfect first day home.

Laurel and I celebrated Thanksgiving with my father's family this year. We had a very full house. My aunt, uncle and cousin (and their pup Gus!) came to Wisconsin from Pennsylvania. My father is dating a wonderful woman who has five darling little ones. We had a fabulous meals with lots of great food and company.

 Daddy with pizza dough!

Laurel and Jessie and the pizza party Thanksgiving Eve!

We harvested sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving morning!

We also had a SURPRISE party the day after Thanksgiving for my father for his 50th birthday. We schemed for weeks before the party to get family and friends to come to the farm. He is a really wonderful, kindhearted, generous, funny man who deserves a house full of people celebrating him. My aunt and uncle made homemade sweet Italian sausage and brought it all the way to Wisconsin. My aunt was the genius behind all of the food, the kids did a great job decorating, and everyone did an amazing job of hiding the big secret. We told him we were having friends over, so he would expect the cars in the driveway and all the food. He was so surprised when the house was filled with family and friends! It was a really wonderful evening with lots of our favorite people!

 

 Birthday decorations (yes we did have all of this in the house already!)

 

 Laurel and my friends sitting in the dining room to trick Dad!

The kids dropped balloons from upstairs on Dad!

The next day was spent with my mom, grandparents, aunt and uncle, cousins! Mom, Laurel and I went to breakfast, went craft shopping for Christmas presents, and had a late brunch at my grandparents house. My family doesn't joke around about food. Just two days after Thanksgiving, we had ham, breakfast casserole, biscuits and gravy, salads, and fruit. We listened to Christmas music, ate until we could barely move, played games and Legos, and watched the little girls put on shows. They make me laugh! I love these little ladies so very much. I am already looking forward to our pajama party on Christmas Eve.

I am thankful to have been surrounded by so much love. I can't wait to be done with this semester and be home for the holidays.

Surprise!!

I made a surprise visit to Minneapolis for a long weekend and it was glorious! Laurel and I rode the train for 23.5 hours from Pittsburgh to St. Paul. We had such a blast.

I had been planning a surprise visit for almost a month before I arrived on Wednesday night. My sister was already planning to take the train to visit her boyfriend and my best friend Allison offered to pick her up from the station. That is when I began to plot with my good friend Nick. I called to tell him that I wanted to make the trip to surprise friends. He was the best person I could have had on my side. He planned his birthday party for the weekend I was in town, kept my secret safe and prepared a warm welcome into his home. Allison was very surprised and our reunion was priceless. Lots of tears and hugs.

To surprise my other friends who weren't at the train station, I posted this picture on Twitter telling them to guess where I was (my old house!) and asking them out on a date with me that evening:

I felt giddy all weekend along. My heart raced every time I got to see my friends. The weather was amazing. The weekend was perfect. I feel so thankful! This is how I spent my time:

 I spent a lot of quality time with some of my dearest friends, 

 

 hung out in my old neighborhood frequenting my favorite coffee shop and saloon,

saw some of my favorite high school students, 

 roasted a turkey for the first time,

went to TWO Friendsgiving dinners (and sat at the kids table!),

 and made roasted brussels sprouts inspired by these.

It was truly one of the best weekends I could have asked for. The best part about surprising my friends?... I received the BEST hugs all weekend long. Thank you to all of my friends for allowing me to barge into their lives unannounced this weekend. You all mean the world to me.