“She had a big white apron tied way up under her armpits, and was bustling around the kitchen…”
–of Muriel in Mary, Emma, and Company by Ralph Moody, page 122
Over-mixed cakes. Cookies that taste like a bit too much something was added. Licking the vanilla spoon. Sampling the dough with no thought of raw eggs. Little floury hand-prints everywhere.
Little helpers in little aprons. They make cooking a joyful mess!
by Lisa Marie
At last, my long searching has come to an end and I have found the answer to my lifelong question. The mystery is revealed, and the case is closed.
Why do some women love to cook? Because behind their skill deciphering a recipe and prowess with a mixer is the hidden secret of their talent: a darling apron.
All right, perhaps that’s not the only reason… Maybe my mother cooked even before we gave her this darling apron for Christmas. It could be that she has cooked for our family for twenty-two years simply because she desires to serve God in her home. That could be why she has made meals day in and day out for years now. But she still says that the apron helps a little.
When I wore it the other day, even washing dishes seemed more enjoyable than normal. If I get married some day, I hope to have a bright and cheery kitchen and cute apron to don. Somehow it seems that it would feel more pleasant to clean and cook. Even in the winter, my kitchen would look like spring.
But I suppose homemakers don’t always feel the delightful urge to “whip up a meal” all the time. It worked out perfectly charmingly the other evening. I chopped up the onions in advance, had clear counter space, and cooked the sauce and noodles as if it were a breeze. Can it be more dreamlike? Probably not. Mom even let me borrow her apron (yes, the same one I mentioned earlier—the one which transcends common kitchen duties and makes everything in the room feel precisely perfect). Continue reading »
They hang there in my kitchen. Often hidden by the bathroom door. Overflowing off a double hook screwed to the pantry cupboard.
My aprons. All seven of them—and counting.
They hang under the double-sided spice chart telling me which herb to choose for poultry or for beef. Adding to the vintage look of that corner of our kitchen, with the antique sectioned child’s plate (a gift from my mother-in-law), the embroidered towel (my aunt gave us an entire set she embroidered for our wedding), the egg wreath (a gift from my mom), the framed copy of The Farm Journal (which I found for my hubby—it has ducklings crowded around the feet of a man who is working on a car), the “Gosling” apples label (an antique find), and the farm animal cookie pan (a gift from my grandma).
The first apron to hang on that hook was the striped one. I chose it from a local linens store with a gift certificate my sister-in-law gave me for my first birthday as a bride. It’s durable and hides the stains—I wear it for everything! Continue reading »
“The strings were tied, it was freshly washed, and maybe even pressed.
For Grandma, it was everyday to choose one when she dressed.
The simple apron that it was, you would never think about;
the things she used it for, that made it look worn out…”
-click here to read the entire poem by Tina Trivett, “Grandma’s Apron”
There is a row of hooks behind the door in my grandmother’s walk-in pantry. Each hook holds a hanger upon which is carefully hung an apron. The pantry is in a newly remodeled section of the house, but the aprons speak of vintage kitchens in older homes of previous generations. Oh the stories they could tell!
When I think of my maternal grandmother Jessica, I think of the advice the rector gave she and Papa when they went for counseling before their wedding (57 years ago!). He advised them that if Grandma had a bad day, she should turn her apron around backwards, so Papa would know when he walked in the door to be considerate, for her day had been hard. Obviously, the assumption was that Grandma would always be wearing an apron (and she is in this picture).
“For several minutes, he sat staring at Millie’s pink apron that still hung on a nail by the pantry door.”
-Fields of Home by Ralph Moody, page 227
It all started when I was watching a friend’s video tour of her house. Never mind that I had actually been in the house before—I’d only just stepped in the door, because some of them had the flu bug; I hadn’t sat on a stool in her kitchen and seen them… The beautiful row of aprons hanging there. Thirteen of them in all. And yes, she said, she really did wear all of them. (In fact, she’d forgotten she was still wearing one when she started the video.)
She looked so cute and homemakerish. And it brought back memories of my grandmothers and great grandmothers—the vintage aprons they have hanging in their pantries, the vintage aprons I remember them wearing. Suddenly, the aprons that had hung almost forgotten on a hook behind the bathroom door were getting a bit more use.
But I kept thinking of Ashleigh’s apron shelf. And how I’d love to get a closer look at some of those vintage fabrics at which I’d only had a fuzzy glance. So I decided that, someday, I’d have an apron carnival on my blog. Because as delightful as it is to look through books with shots of vintage aprons from magazines and ads of yesteryear (not to mention, now, Pinterest—full of enough apron ideas to please any apron lover!), I thought it would be really fun to see my friends, my blog readers, in their aprons, with the aprons they loved.
Not only that, but I wanted to hear the stories behind them, too. Because just like the “heavy square that had been an apron with many pockets” of In Grandma’s Attic, there’s a story in each gingham or floral apron hanging on my apron hook—and I know there must be in yours, as well.
I started taking some self-portraits of me in my aprons back in April of 2010. It’s taken a while, and turned into a fun project with many apron photo-shoots (did you see this weekend’s “1,000 Words” shot?). But here it is. The blog carnival that’s been almost two years in the making…
Here’s the deal. I’m going to be posting about aprons—complete with lots and lots of pictures—all week long (Vintage Aprons, Grandma’s Aprons, Little Aprons, even a guest post about aprons). And I’d love to have you join in on your blog!
Be prepared to link up on Friday, September 16 with all your apron photos and posts.
And the best part? One lucky apron-wearin’ blogger or apron-lovin’ reader will win this beautiful, vintage-inspired apron from the Posey Lane Etsy Shop owned by my longtime pen friend Bethany and her sister: Continue reading »
We’re in the midst of a row of very pink birthday parties here at the little pink house for a little girl who just turned two years old! When I mentioned on Facebook what we had for dessert, everyone demanded the recipe (if not actual pieces of the cake mailed promptly to them).
So, here it is. The church/family recipe for “Crazy Cake” topped by an easy and delicious raspberry frosting recipe I found yesterday on myrecipes.com.
The combination was very, very sweet—so I’d recommend cutting down on the sugar in the cake if you don’t like it too sweet (I know, cake is supposed to be sweet—but maybe that’s the reason I don’t like cake, because it’s always too sweet?). Also, the recipe made more frosting than necessary for a 13×9 cake, unless you like it really, really thick. But the best part about the frosting was that you didn’t have to juice or strain the raspberries—just blend them right in, seeds and all! (And did I mention you don’t even have to grease or flour the cake pan? Talk about an easy birthday solution!)
Chocolate Crazy CakeSift:
Add:
Mix thoroughly and pour quickly into an ungreased 13×9 pan. Do not beat, as that will destroy part of the leavening. Bake for approximately 30 minutes at 350 degrees, until toothpick comes out clean.
(recipe from Southern Living on MyRecipes.com)
Four things have happened since I posted my favorite frappuccino recipe:
I tried using coconut milk in my frapps, but the texture was totally different. The noise scared Mary. And I didn’t need all those calories.
Enter the iced coffee recipes I discovered via Money Saving Mom, Simple Bites, and The Pioneer Woman.
The only thing I didn’t like was the amount of coffee the recipes called for. It sounded expensive making all that coffee at once! But I gathered that perhaps The Pioneer Woman’s recipe used less. My sister and I did the math. Sure enough, according to what we found was the average measurement for 1 pound ground coffee (4 3/4 c.), The Pioneer Woman’s recipe used only 1/2 c. + 2 T. coffee per quart of water, compared to 1 cup coffee per quart at Simple Bites, et al.
So I made my first batch of iced coffee concentrate, with just half a cup of coffee grounds. And many, many quart jars thereafter (some with as little as one third cup grounds).
I’d tried iced lattes before, but always with hot coffee (usually leftovers from the bottom of the pot, to boot). This cold brew makes all the difference.
I like to have one jar ready, one jar brewing. And it’s always nice to have enough ready to serve to company.
We don’t add any sweetener—though I hear that it’s good with sweetened condensed milk. It’s fabulous with coconut milk, that’s for sure! But even just whole milk makes a delicious iced coffee.
I still like my frapps. But I save them for when I need a meal replacement, not just a cold pick-me-up. The rest of the time, it’s iced coffee—preferably, two or three times a day!
Mix in quart jar and refrigerate 24 hours:
Pour through strainer to remove grounds. Return to rinsed quart jar for storage in refrigerator.
And just so you know, it doesn’t work to re-use the grounds for another cold brew. I tried it. It’s kind of like skim milk vs. half and half. Except, the water doesn’t even turn very brown. Better for frugality’s sake just to cut down on the coffee grounds the first time—start with half a cup per quart and adjust to your tastes.
P.S. You know those YouTube videos with amazing latte art created by pouring cream into coffee? Yes, well, this is not one of those. This is what happens when you are too tired and really need coffee: 1) You drop the jar, which creates a modern art look all over the kitchen floor, 2) You take a deep breath, tell everyone to stand perfectly still, then tip toe around the mess to put the children in bed, 3) You call your sister and say you need help right away because the baby’s just finally asleep in the carrier and you have a Very Large Mess for her to help clean up.
