There was a time when I wouldn’t keep anything .. not a single thing . . out on my kitchen counters. I love the kitchen that I have now but look at all the “stuff” on the counters. The top picture has too much “stuff” to even name and it all pretty much needs to stay there. In the bottom picture, I see:
- Bowl of fruit . . where else would you put that?
- Phone . . it doesn’t HAVE to be there but it’s convenient. I think I’ll move it.
- Food Saver . . I love that thing and am not moving it. I use it almost every day.
- Cuisinart . . I use it a lot too but I could probably stick it in a cabinet somewhere. I think I’ll do that.
- KitchenAid Mixer . . not going anywhere. It weighs a ton and I use it a lot.
- Coffee Pot . . I never touch it but Vince uses it every day so I’ll allow him that one little thing.
My favorite house of all time was my purple house:
I love everything about that house! We’re not always lucky enough to get to design our own house though. In the kitchen I had two pantry closets, each with a double bi-fold type door. There was countertop in each closet with electric plugs and I kept all my appliances in there and just closed the doors when I wasn’t cooking.
Darn it . . I miss that purple house!
OK . . life goes on. I no longer live in a purple house in Louisiana. Bloom where you’re planted, right? Yep, I can bloom right here.
Did you notice that pie sitting in the middle of my stove? Maybe you didn’t! It’s ok . . here’s a better picture of it. Take a good look! That’s a homemade pie crust . . top and bottom! Let’s see if that gets me the Good Wife Award! It’s strawberry rhubarb and . . the first time I ever made a strawberry rhubarb pie. In fact, it’s the first time I ever bought rhubarb. I didn’t even know if you were supposed to peel it before you use it. Was I? I did because I figured what could it hurt if I did and shouldn’t have but if I should have and didn’t . . well, that could ruin my homemade pie crusts! Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie is Vince’s favorite. Yep, I see a Good Wife Award in my future! You gotta admit that’s a pretty pie!
With all the cooking and cleaning going on in the kitchen, look who’s feeling just a little left out.
Dot says
I made your Buttermilk Pie last night. WOW, it was wonderful. Sweetman thought it was super and that is the most important thing in my cooking. Thanks .
Maria in Iowa says
I’ve never heard of peeling rhubarb, although I guess if it was an old, tough stalk, that might be a good idea. I think most of the color is in the outer layer, though.
Next time you want some rhubarb, you drop me an email, and I’ll send you a box from my garden by Priority mail.
Strawberry rhubarb is my favorite kind of pie. :o)
Karen L says
Good wife award indeed…….You left out the part of WHY you are trying to earn the GWA!!! Peel the rhubarb…..almost like you do celery…..and don’t, I repeat don’t put the skins down the gargabe disposal!!!!!
The pie looks great, I’m not showing it to my DH as he would want me to earn the GWA!!
Karen L
Vicky says
I’ve never had rhubarb either. Must not be a Southern thing! LOL. The pie looks wonderful, though! Poor Speck. He needs a playmate. You really should get those baby goats!
Patti says
Delicious looking pie! No, rhubarb isn’t a southern thing. One can find it all over out here. I used to have six plants growning my our yard. I made rhubarb pies, cobbler, crisp and sauce every year when the kids were little. And don’t bother peeling it – absolutely not necessary.
Sunny says
I love, love, love your kitchen. I do not like alot of stuff on my counters either. I put most appliances in the cabinets. Hopefully one day I can have a microwave over my stove because I hate that behemoth thing on my counter. You have so much countertop space! I am jealous. BTW, I love your purple house. It was very quaint.
Marla says
Rhubarb Strawberry pie is my husband’s favorite as well. You don’t have to peel it. I usually do a 3 to 2 ratio of cups of rhubarb to 1 cup of strawberries with LOTS of sugar as he likes it pretty tart. Now my picky stepdaughter loves it so make several every spring.
Linda says
I LOVE rhubarb and love friends that are kind enough to give some of theirs!! And no, I never peel rhubarb…just wash it well
Marne says
Gee whiz – that may be too much stuff for you, but I think it looks remarkably tidy. When we remodeled the kitchen, we couldn’t move the walls, so just rearranged what we had. Mostly it works well, but bare counters???? Hardly! I try to only keep out what I use every (or virtually every) day, but even so – there are still things there. So I would, at the very least, give you the TIDY KITCHEN award.
And rhubarb being one of our favorites, you could get some kudos for that too. What a girl!
Marne
Anna says
Hi Judy,
Rhuburb is common here in Alberta. I am not much of a gardener and it grows without any help from me.
Rhubarb is great mixed with blueberries, strawberries or any other fruit. I never have peeled it – just wash it and cut it up. It makes great fruit crisp or cobbler. We also cook it up with a little sugar and eat it like applesauce. My mom sometimes cooks it and then strains the pulp and uses the juice as a drink or for rhubarb jelly.
Regards from a Western Canadian Quilter,
Anna
faith marsden says
oh you have a dream house there but I think its true a house is what you make it with the things you love in it!!
Erin says
I have never made a rhubarb pie! I guess I should try for my hubby’s sake huh? you do deserve the good wife award…and I love your kitchen the way it is!!
helen says
Hi Judy
I have both of your blogs on my bloglines so if you are posting everything here, I will still get it. We don’t peel rhubarb here in New Zealand either. It is very popular with apple. We just make sure we don’t use any of the leaf part (it is poisonous). Rhubarb is great in muffins. I use one of those recipes where you melt the butter in the mild and mix it into the flour sugar and baking powder and whatever fruit you are using. I chop the rhubarb finely for muffins, no need for pre-cookong, and into about 1 ” chunks otherwise.
Lynn Dykstra says
Judy,
I never peel the rhubarb. The rhubarb in the stores is so much thicker than our home grown. I chop it into 1/2 inch chunks and freeze it. A handful on the pan when oven roasting vegetables adds a great flavor. We mainly use it for desserts though. Just cooking it down with a bit of water, add some sugar, and it makes a great apple-sauce type side dish. Or, eat that sauce warm with a scoop of ice cream or some heavy cream. Now you made me miss rhubarb!
Judi says
yum now that sounds good. I have never made a strawberry/rhubarb pie but they sure are good.
Dianne B. says
Judy, I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy reading your blog. You are a lovely person and so talented with your quilting and designing. You are also a great homesickness cure! 🙂 I live in England now with DH and two daughters, but I grew up in SE Texas (Groves-Port Arthur) and spent a lot of time in SW Louisiana, so I bet our accents are very similar. BTW, your kitchen looks great. I wish my was that tidy all the time! Take care — Dianne B. in England xxx
Liz says
Oh that purple house is so grand. That would be a dream for me to live in a house like that. Your houses are just so divine in America.
I think your kitchen is great and the pie YUM YUM 🙂
I have never peeled rhubarb. I only chop the leaves off as they are poisonous but I guess they come leafless from the store. (I have always grown my own rhubarb)