Friday Favorite: Fall Color
Every fall I am reminded of this quote:
“Mostly what’s on my mind right now are the falls colors. I go around gaping, as if I have never seen anything like it before. Perhaps I haven’t, I’m never quite sure. I could see this display every year and not grow tired of it, like seeing the flight of geese, or hearing the bird songs in spring. I remember, and that might reduce the amazement. But I don’t remember the edge–the vividness of the spectacle.”
Bernd Heinrich (A Year In The Maine Woods)
I never tire of the beauty this time of year, the leaf change is one of the most remarkable things during the year. It happens at the perfect time, otherwise autumn would be a very depressing time. It won’t be long until everything is brown, but until them I’ll be soaking in all the beautiful colors as much as I can. There are lots of things to love about fall, cooler temperatures, root vegetables, winter squash, etc. What I love most is the exuberance of the leaf change, I know it’s coming every year and it still takes me by surprise, like the grand finale of a fireworks show!
What’s your favorite things about fall?
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Friday Favorite: All Things Cast Iron
It’s no secret that I love cast iron, you’ve probably noticed that it crops up in many of my cooking photos. I use my old Griswold cast iron skillet more than any other piece of cookware I own. It was left in the first house my parents bought back when I was only a few months old, my mom gave it to me many years ago. It has been used daily ever since. I cook anything and everything in it!
Most recently I found a cast iron muffin pan and a corn stick pan (which I can’t wait to use). The muffin pan is great, I really have been happy with the way it has cooked both muffins and eggs when I used it.
One of the things I love about cast iron is that it is so versatile, you can fry bacon and eggs for breakfast, a toasted cheese sandwich for lunch, tuna steak for dinner and a pandowdy for dessert.
Whenever possible I use cast iron for cooking, mostly because I love the way it cooks and it’s non toxic. No worries about non-stick coating coming off. As a result of my love of cast iron I have collected various pieces including cast iron bread pans and a cast iron pizza pan that gets used as a skillet on the stove top and as a cookie sheet in the oven, along with a collection of smaller skillets and one very small dutch oven.
One of the reasons I love cast iron is that it’s durable, it will last you the rest of your life and you can pass it on to future generations. The skillet in the front below, was the one gifted to me by my mom. It’s a Griswold and nearest I can tell is that it was made sometime in the 1920’s. Cast iron will also replace your microwave and toaster in the kitchen, if you’re into downsizing and minimizing a cast iron skillet or two will go a long way in your efforts of pairing down in the kitchen. Leftovers heat up like a dream and you really can’t get a better piece of toast!
I find a cast iron skillet to be so versatile, when I travel it goes with me, it’s the only pan I carry. My trusty Griswold has been across the country in just about every direction. It has cooked eggs for breakfast in over 30 different states.
My skillet is even used as my popcorn popper!
Cast iron cookware also cooks like a dream. If you keep the skillet properly seasoned you just can’t beat the way it cooks an egg, mushrooms, or a steak. It’s also a healthy option for cooking, because it’s not adding weird chemicals into your food like non-stick and another kinds of cookware does. You want to make sure you buy vintage cast iron or cookware that’s made by a reputable company if you’re buying new otherwise you may not be getting great quality.
Another beautiful thing about cast iron is that is goes from stovetop, to oven, to table with ease. It heats evenly helping you cook food to perfection and then keeps it warm at the table, doing it all with classic beauty that can only be achieved with time and frequent use.
The newest additions to my cast iron collection are a few Staub enameled dutch ovens Staub enameled dutch ovens Mr Chiots got me for Christmas a few years ago. I must admit, they’re as great as I expected. They have pretty much made my stainless steel pots gather dust. They are essentially stove top slow cookers, I often have a pot of soup bubbling away in one during the cold months. If the wood burner is on they can take the heat and bubble away cooking dinner while the stove warms the house. They are also perfect for baking the perfect artisan bread, mimicking an expensive steam oven, they were the missing peace in my quest to making perfect crusty bread at home!
As you can see my love affair with cast iron began long ago and only growers stronger with each day. In fact I love it so much that my go-to gift for newlyweds is always a pair of cast iron skills, both a new one and a vintage one, along with this beautiful cast iron cookbook filled with beautiful recipes and tips and techniques for using cast iron. In the card I always mention the long lasting durable qualities of cast iron along with wishes that their relationship also stands the test of time like a cast iron skillet.
Are you a cast iron cookware lover?
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Friday Favorite: My Chariot
Every time I climb into my little black car I realize how much I love it. It’s cozy and cocoon like, perhaps because it’s small, perhaps because I have the windows tinted really dark, maybe it’s just because it’s a nice little car. We originally bought it because it was inexpensive and we could fit all of our equipment in the back, little did I know how much I would grow to love this car.
This car is my tractor and my farm truck. I haul hay in the trailer and thousands of pounds of grain in the back for the livestock. It works hard and never complains, well almost never.
This car has carried home our Christmas trees and carried us across the country several times. We have headed West and we have traveled South, we have driven East and back again. It has taken us over mountains (just barely when it came to Teton) and through valleys. It’s been a great little car for traveling.
My little chariot is getting old, she’s well into the six figures when it comes to mileage. The other day as I was driving around I thought about how I have been in this car for just about ever single one of these miles, most of the time behind the wheel. While Mr Chiots and I drive this car often together, it’s my car and it’s always the one I take. Lucy and I spent countless hours in this car heading to my mom’s house each week (two hours of driving each time). I think Lucy loved this car as much as I did, it was very fitting that her final breaths were taken in the back seat. There was nothing she loved more than hearing “Wanna go to grandma’s?”, she’d hop in the back seat stick her head out the window for a while and then fall asleep in the back seat. I truly believe it was one of the things she loved most in life.
Lately I’ve had to get a few things fixed, struts, fuel line and a few others. I’m glad she’s still going strong and I hope that trent continues. I’m hoping to get 4-5 more years from this lovely little car.
Have you ever had a car you’ve loved? What kind of car was it? How long did you have it?
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Friday Favorite: Keyless Entry
A couple weeks ago our front door lock broke. When I say it broke I mean it fell apart into a bunch of little pieces, there was no fixing it. For a week or two the door was held closed by a lawn mower tire, classy I know! We debated on which type of lock to replace it with, a cheap keyed lock just like the one that was there or a slightly more expensive one with a keypad. After a little research we decided keyless was the way to go and we settled on this one from Schlage. A long time ago when we had first moved into our house in Ohio, Mr Chiots locked himself out. Since we were going to replace the basement windows he broke one of those to get in.
I’ve actually been locking our front door now that we have this lock, something I rarely did before. You can also set multiple codes, which is nice, especially in cases like this coming weekend when we have a house sitter coming. We programmed a code for her and can easily delete it when we get home. There is an emergency key that you can use if the battery goes dead, but it gives you enough warning to replace the battery when it’s getting low. We’ve only had this for a week but it’s already a Friday favorite!
Have you ever forgotten or lost your keys and had to break into your house?
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Friday Favorite: Eyelet Fabric
Eyelet fabric has been one of my favorite things ever since I was a little girl. I don’t know what it is about it, perhaps the texture, perhaps the intricacy, maybe it’s the subtleness of the pattern. Whatever it is, I find myself gravitating towards eyelet whenever I see it on a piece of clothing. Five or six years ago I purchased this fantastic eyelet skirt. It has a few different eyelet patterns, from the simple to the intricate.
The skirt is white, which is rather unfortunate, but thanks to oxygen bleach it’s as white now as it was the first day I purchased it. This skirt is perfect in summer, it’s light, it’s cool, I can dress it up, I can dress it down. I find myself wearing it with tank tops and flip flops all summer long. I wish I had purchased this skirt in the other colors that it was available in, black and brown. But alas, I only have the white. That’s OK I suppose, it’s more special since I only have one.
Unfortunately eyelet clothing is difficult to find, which makes it all the more special. Perhaps someday I’ll find a beautiful mix of eyelets and make myself another skirt just like this. It wouldn’t be difficult, I have the sewing skills to do it, I just need to find the fabric.
What’s your favorite type of fabric?
