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My husband, Steve, does all our cooking (except desserts, that's me). This is a dish he cooks often that I told Mary (from New Braunfels) that I would share with you. It serves six; may be scaled for larger or smaller amounts:Six medium sweet potatoes (if you can’t find medium ones, get two small ones per person or one large one for every two people)About a tablespoon of olive oil (maybe a bit more)2 tablespoons butter (optional)
Cut the ends off of the sweet potatoes. Peel using a regular potato peeler – you may have to give some areas of the sweet potatoes two passes to get them peeled properly. For irregularly shaped sweet potatoes, you may need to cut them into smaller pieces so they peel more easily.
As you peel them, put the sweet potato pieces into a bowl with water. Drain the water off of the sweet potatoes, and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
I cut the pieces in half longitudinally first, then slice transversely into pieces about 1/4 inch thick. This gives half-round pieces that cook evenly. For big sweet potatoes, cut them into quarters longitudinally and 1/4 inch slices.
While you are preparing the potatoes, heat a skillet that will accommodate the amount of sweet potatoes you are cooking. A wide and flat skillet works better than a rounded deep one, and a well-seasoned heavy-duty non-stick skillet works better than other kinds.
Heat on medium-low heat until warm. Add olive oil to skillet, swirl to coat (remember to scale the amount of oil to the amount of sweet potatoes) and add the sweet potato pieces. Swirl them around in the skillet to coat the bottoms with oil.
Adjust the heat so that the sweet potatoes cook, but so that they don’t cook too quickly – too much heat and they will burn. Allow to cook for several minutes, swirling a time or two to keep them from sticking. Turn with a wide spatula. Allow to cook several more minutes, browning the pieces slowly. As the sweet potatoes get more cooked, turn down the heat and turn the potatoes more frequently. When you turn down the heat, add the butter. Cook for several more minutes, and the sweet potatoes will become softer and browner. As they get more cooked, turn the heat down and finish them slowly. Overall cooking time is about 40 minutes for 6 sweet potatoes.Serve with grilled salmon, Korean barbecued chicken, pork tenderloin, or just about anything else. I like them left-over as well. Enjoy!
The birds are waking up here in Texas. They are noisy in the mornings and flocking to my feeder. I took the screen off of the window in front of my sewing machine today and raised the window so that I could take pictures of them.The cardinals and Downy woodpeckers wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get a good shot. Maybe tomorrow.
These are rosy finches. Of course, it's the males who are "rosy". The females are quieter in color.
It's early, but there are definite signs of spring here. Even the lamb's ear is looking perky. 
There was mist in the air and water droplets were sitting on the hairs on the leaves. Lovely to look at.
I did promise to share the mosaic a table top instructions. Here is the short version:
1. Make sure the surface you are going to stick the mosaic to is hard. If the surface has any give, the mosaic could crack.
2. Clean the surface from any debris and dirt. If is it bare wood, I would prime it.
3. Buy mastic. This is the "glue" that holds the tile pieces in place. Read the information on the bag or can. I used dry mastic that had to be mixed with water. Follow the directions precisely.4. Buy grout. This is the stuff that goes between the tiles. It comes in a variety of colors, with sand and without. I used sanded grout because I knew I would leave large gaps between tiles.
5. You will also need a notched trowel to apply the mastic and a grout float to apply the grout.
6. Buy or find tiles, plates, and/or other ceramic objects.
7. Break any ceramic objects that aren't flat. I put my plates between 2 pieces of cardboard and whammered them with a 4 lb hammer. Wear protective googles!!! Pieces that don't sit flat are going to be hard to use. Discard what you can't use.
These broken bits have sharp edges! You can file the edges of each piece. Being in a hurry, I did not. In most cases the grout covers the sharp edges. Unfortunately, my table still has some sharp points that stick up. I'm going to use a hand-held power sander with the appropriate emory sandpaper when I put the tabletop back in place.
8. If you're smart, you will plan exactly where you want each tile piece to go. If not, you'll need to work fast and hope for the best. Do some web searching and I'll bet you'll find a variety of instructions on how to prepare mosaic tile. In fact, check out the Mosaic Tile Guide!
9. Read the directions and mix and apply the mastic. Don't put down too much at any one time because it takes longer to place those tiles than you think it will.
10. Read the directions and mix and apply the grout after the mastic has set. Enjoy!
Elanor and Jack were over yesterday afternoon. It took me a bit to notice - but look at those socks! She explained that she couldn't find the sock that matched either one so she just wore them together. When I wear mis-matched socks, I do it on purpose and have to stop and think which ones work together. Maybe what I need to do is just dump all my socks in the drawer and wear what comes out together...
We'll be sending an eNewsletter out soon, but I wanted to give you a heads up. C&T has released another of our out-of-print titles as an eBook. Read more about Contemporary Classics in Plaids & Stripes on our website. We're very glad to have this book available again - and we hope you are too!In addition to the eBook, we have the pattern for the cover quilt, Pretty in Plaid, available as an individual pattern. It is in the ebook too - this stand-alone pattern is for those who only want it, and not the whole book.
I am only mildly excited by shoes. That may be because I have to wear flats if I want to walk without pain. At any rate, I was really surprised to find out that my youngest son really likes shoes! He takes care of them way better than I do. His shoes always look new.
Jeff particularly likes athletic shoes in splashy colors. I got him a pair of screaming yellow Puma's for Christmas last year that practically glow in the dark. It looks like he likes these snow-white shoes (that Celia got him for Valentine's Day) just as much!
I spent several days last week with my sister, in the hospital. (I posted as if I was home but no, I was not.) I haven't ever specifically said why Christy has been in the hospital. Here is the abridged story:She has polycystic kidney disease. PKD destroyed her kidneys and they were removed last September. Living without kidneys is not easy. She is, of course, on dialysis 3 times a week. Dialysis is time consuming and there are serious diet and fluid restrictions. Many people still have at least some kidney function to go along with dialysis and that helps to control a variety of things. Like blood pressure. Without kidneys, her blood pressure can spike up very quickly to dangerous levels.If her only problems were diet restrictions, time spent in dialysis, and blood pressure issues things would be pretty good. Unfortunately she's had bouts of constant migraine pain (now less frequent), occasional seizures (none lately), and severe abdominal pain that the doctors could not nail down.
She was in the hospital for the abdominal pain and a blood infection. It was decided that she really had to have a colonoscopy. On top of everything else, my sister had to drink "the stuff". I had a colonoscopy at 50 so this is something I know about. "The stuff" for those of you who have yet to have one is Golytely. If ever a product was mis-named, this is it.As it turns out, though, it's a good thing that she drank the stuff. The colonoscopy showed that she had been pretty well blocked and that many of her recent problems were related to that. The good news is that she's feeling better! She is really tired and ready to not be in the hospital, but things are looking up.I thought I'd share this with you for a variety of reasons. PKD is a disease that a lot of people have and not many people know about. There is not a cure. The PKD Foundation is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for research. I'm happy if this, in some small way, helps them.We have a saying in our house - "Watch out for the beer truck." We are referring to that thing (whatever it turns out to be) that you can't see and that will eventually come at you. For Steve and me, it's a reminder to take pleasure in every day. After all she's been through, Christy does savor each day. If she can, so can I - and so can you! Be happy and enjoy your life!
On the Cup Of Jo blog a while back, Joanna Goddard wrote about a fun thing that she found on photographer Katie Sokoler's blog, Color Me Katie.
In this post, Katie shows how she cut up a variety of photos of family and friends and planted them around her house. These guys crack me up!
I've cut up my own photos before. This is me with my oldest son, Chris, being held up in a magnetic photo holder that happens to look like a friendly alligator. But I know I need to put more of us throughout the house. Isn't this a fun idea!
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