Month: October 2014

Penne with Butternut Squash & Goat Cheese

/ Jodi / 6 Comments
Ohhh was this D E L I C I O U S !
Penne with Butternut Squash plated
My sweet friend, Janet, brought us over some butternut squash from her garden the other day.
I was excited to try something new with it, and found this amazing recipe from Giada at the Food Network.
I just happened to have all the ingredients on hand, so Score!  A simple (and no meat) dinner last night.  I added a big, green tossed salad, and we were set.
(My guys do prefer to have “meat,” but I’ll keep trying with baby steps to slip in alternatives occasionally.)
Penne with Butternut Squash Squash
So seriously – how can you go wrong with…
Penne pasta,
Creamy goat cheese,
Sweet onions and butternut squash roasted to perfection with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper,
Crunchy toasted walnuts,
Fresh, fragrant basil,
and salty grated Parmegiano Reggiano cheese
(well – – – Marty says omit the walnuts and add chicken – – – spoil sport!     Might work – but I LOVED it this way!!)
Penne with Butternut Squash Roasted Walnuts
I just love roasting vegetables.  The way this process caramelizes and brings out the sugars and flavors of vegetables is so amazing!
Penne with Butternut Squash roasted
 So – here is the recipe Giada shares from The Food Network that I tweaked up just a bit.
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 sweet onion, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
Olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound penne pasta (or whatever shape you like)
1 1/2 cups goat cheese, crumbled – or how much ever you like
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Arrange the squash and onion together in a single layer on a baking sheet (I always use baking stones). Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 30-40 minutes stirring occasionally making sure to not overbake – or squash will become “mushy” when mixed in with pasta.

While the squash mixture is cooling, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente – about 8 minutes. Drain and reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water. Mix the pasta, goat cheese and pasta water together and stir until the cheese melts into a creamy sauce. Add the squash and onion mixture, the walnuts and the basil. Toss well and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with Parmesan and serve.

To toast the walnuts, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven until lightly toasted, about 6 to 8 minutes Cool completely before using.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Standing out in the Crowd: wwMc9

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wwMc9 standing out in the crowd

Standing out in the Crowd – Perfection in Imperfection wwMc9 – Click to enlarge

On my walk yesterday, this leaf stood out so boldly among the others.  It was an unseasonably warm 80 degrees F October afternoon, but the sky was filled with fast-moving clouds and the warm wind was whirling the leaves all around Mikey and me.  This leaf with its vibrant color and curvy shape laying on the fallen tree just spoke of perfection in it’s imperfection to me.

And does anyone else see the little face in the bark staring at the leaf and it’s eye reflecting the orange glow?  Or do I just have a really wacky imagination?!    I can’t take my eyes off “him.”

Yep – these are the things I notice on A Walk with My Camera #wwMc – at life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

Happy Boss’ Day & a Color Challenge

/ Jodi / 24 Comments

pp217 jlm

Tomorrow, October 16, 2014, is National Boss’ Day.  (For those of you that forgot, aren’t ready, didn’t know – I thought I’d post a day ahead!)  🙂

I am one of the fortunate ones that works for a great company and has a wonderful boss, so I enjoy letting him know that I appreciate his kindness, fairness, support, and leadership.  I feel privileged to work for the company I do and in the field I do.  It is an honor to wake up every day and know that what we are doing in hospice and home health is making a difference in people’s lives.  We are helping people LIVE when they are facing the last leg of their journey.  We are providing dignity and quality of life.  We are helping families cope, understand, and support their loved ones.  I am truly grateful for the opportunity to do what I do and the boss that allows me to do it every day.

My boss is a man, so no “froo-froo, fussy-fuss” card for this occasion, but I thought I could use The Paper Players Color Challenge (PP217) to make a nice Fall gratitude card to honor my boss and the day.

pp217

For my stamping friends, I heat embossed the leaves with white on SU Whisper White card stock.  I then sponged on the SU Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist, and Mossy Meadow inks (in that order) and hit the edges with some brown distress ink to create a better edge.  I glued on a white border and then Mossy Meadow card stock base, heat embossed the SU Grateful for You sentiment on Mossy Meadow, hand cut and attached with dimensionals.  I finished it off with just a couple sequins, and though you cannot really see in the photo, I hit the leaves with a coat of Wink of Stella to give it a subtle sparkle in just the right light.  On the inside, I randomly stamped the maple leaf with the same three colors.

pp217 2 jlm

So here’s to National Boss’ Day.  A great excuse for me to make a card!  🙂

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

Oh the Web we Weave – wwMc8

/ Jodi / 17 Comments
spider web conneaut lake pa October 12 2014

Spider Web, Conneaut Lake, PA

This spider web caught my eye on my early Sunday morning walk down to the lake.

The thick and heavy morning dew dangled precariously in droplets that would soon disappear on the delicate threads of this web that daintily makes its home between the fence post pickets.

It reminds me of the fragility of life and the crazy webs we so often weave.

I love that having my camera with me causes me to take special notice of things I might otherwise overlook and nudges me to ponder deep and reflective thoughts.

Photography is so much more than just taking pictures.  It’s about observing life, sharing unique views (literally and figuratively), evoking emotions… It is art.

I dream of being an artist of life.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

Old-Fashioned Snickerdoodles

/ Jodi / 17 Comments

snickerdoodle 1

I made some Snickerdoodles this past weekend to take along to Krautfest.  They are such a simple, old-fashioned cookie, but one that folks seem to really love.

Every time I bake these, I think of my friend, Janet and her sweet mom.  Before them, I had never heard of Snickerdoodles.  I recall visiting one day, and their house smelled so cinnamony wonderful with these fresh-baked treats cooling on the kitchen table.  I can remember tasting my first one and loving it.  They are a bit crispy and crunchy on the outside and tender and chewy on the inside. Nobody in my family had ever baked these – not even Grandma, but they have become one of our family’s favorites.  I have passed this recipe on to my daughter-in-law, Colleen, who has begun making them too.

snickerdoodle 2

The nice thing about Snickerdoodles is you can make them in a pinch as you typically have everything you need on hand.  They can also be made pretty quickly, as this is one dough that really doesn’t need refrigerated before baking like I usually prefer to do.  I think because shortening makes for a firmer dough – but if there is someone out there that knows more about this than me, I hope you will offer your feedback.

snickerdoodle 3

Snickerdoodles

1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup butter, soft
½ cup butter Crisco shortening
2 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

  1. Heat oven to 400ºF.
  2. Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, the butter, shortening and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
  3. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Press down slightly.
  4. Bake approx. 8 minutes or until set.  I usually give a gentle push on them with two fingers to flatten a bit more right before pulling them out of the oven to get them to “crackle” a bit.
  5. Cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes, then remove to cool on wire rack.

Makes 4 dozen cookies

My cookie secrets include: Always add a little extra flour (included in this recipe), underbake, bake on well-seasoned baking stones, use electric oven.

ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Dreamy – Weekly Photo Challenge – wwMc7

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dreamy conneaut lake morning fog 101214

My WordPress friend, Barbara at Silver in the Barn, has been encouraging me to join in on the fun at the WordPress Daily Post Photo Challenge.  Feeling a bit intimidated to enter my extremely amateur photos, I’m stepping out and just doing it.

This week’s challenge theme is Dreamy:  A misty morning, your handsome spouse, your grandmother’s house that’s also your elementary school and the Eiffel Tower — this week, show us something dreamy.

Well – after waking up early Sunday morning at Conneaut Lake after Saturday’s Krautfest, I couldn’t resist taking a walk down to the lake and snapping some photos of the “dreamy” fog while the sun was trying to break through for what ended up to be a gorgeous Fall day.  I’m so glad I captured this, because it didn’t last long.  I sat on the dock and got a very cold and wet bum, but it was such a dreamy few moments as I remembered the day before, thought about the day to come (celebrating my oldest son’s birthday), and simply cherishing the moment.

My “walk with my camera” (#wwMc) sure led me to a dreamy place for this week’s challenge.  And interestingly, as I look at this photo, I want to mention it was not taken in black and white or edited as such, this is the natural shot “in color.”  It was that foggy, and taking the shot into the sunrise created the silhouettes.  Not sure what all the technical terms are.  I’ll be learning some day….

Thanks for the nudge, Barbara.  You’ve been such a great encourager all along.  I truly appreciate you.  (check out her awesome blog and photos!)

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

It’s Krautfest Time!

/ Jodi / 32 Comments

kf cover

It was an absolutely gorgeous Fall weekend, and a great one for the Annual Brugnoli Krautfest Party!  What a joy to be a part of the amazing festivities.

You may be thinking to yourself – “What the heck is a Krautfest?”

Our family has a long-running tradition of making homemade saurkraut, and our amazing Joyce and Rob know how to turn a “chore” into a party!

So about 40-50 family members and friends ranging in ages from 2 to 82 got together on Saturday with 600 pounds of cabbage and made a party out of making kraut!

Join me through a pictorial journey of the wonderful day.

It started with cutting…

cutting

cabbage girls

then chopping and slicing and dicing…

marty choppingMarty used his grandfather’s 100-year old cabbage cutter and embraced the heritage of using something today his grandfather used in exactly the same way all those years ago.

mason cabbage  mason cabbage 2and new generations learned the tradition.

chopping

there were measurers and salters…

measuring  measuring and salting

Then lots and lots of pounding and stomping and smooshing and smashing.

pounding

pounding close up

pounding 5

pounding 4

pounding 3

pounding 2

There was food galore!

reuben pierogies
One of my favorite treats of the day were these Reuben Pierogies!  We sauteed potato and cheese pierogies in butter until browned, then layered with a slice of pastrami, swiss cheese, picked purple cabbage, and a small dollop of Thousand Island Dressing.

mason pretzels

Warm soft pretzels were served with homemade mustard and cheese sauces.

pierogies

We also had Parmesan Ranch Crusted Pierogies and Buffalo Hot Sauce Pierogies.

painting 3There was pumpkin painting,

painting 4

painting

painting 2

ella painting

ella painting 2There were games…

mother daughter

joyce

donut game

donut game 2

dg 6

dg 5

dg 4

dg 3

dg 2

dg 1

game

laughs 3Zip-lining and Swinging

zip line

zip line 1

zip line 2

zip line 3

swinging

swinging 4

swinging 3

swinging 2

Friendship, Hugs, and Laughs

watching

talking

talking 3

talking 2

rob

rob jodi

nikole

Michael and Ella

laughs

marty nik

games face

babies

bear

babies 2

Delicious cocktails – my favorite was the Bourbon Apple Cider with Rosemary Sprig!

bourbon apple cide

bourbon apple cider

We ate halushki, halupkis, pork and saurkraut, kielbassi, german potato salad, cheese polenta with homemade sauce. Oh the delicousness!!

We sang!

singing

The saurkraut is divided up evenly between all the crocks and buckets to send home with each family…

to wait – and taste test – and wait some more – remembering the special memories we created and looking forward to enjoying the fruits of our labor throughout the year.

kraut

It was a BOOtiful day!  Thanks Joyce and Rob for your amazing hospitality.  We love you dearly!

boo

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

A Happy Birthday Money Cake!

/ Jodi / 244 Comments

money birthday cake Jake 27

Monday is my son, Jake’s 27th birthday.

First of all – how did that happen?  Where did the time go?!  I feel like I’m still 27, so how could my “child” be 27?

Anyway – when trying to decide what to get Jake for his birthday, we thought money was what he would appreciate most.

But I hate just writing a check or enclosing money in a card.

I need to be a bit more creative and personal than that.

So here is what I made for Jake.  A birthday money cake!

I think this is a cake even pie lovers would like – right?!

money cake Jake 27

It really was quite simple to make.

The layers are stryofoam discs with rolled dollar bills pinned to them.

I then made a “bow” from a $20, a $5, and two $1 bills to represent 27 years.  The layers are covered with 100 $1 bills.

money cake making

I used an 8″ piece for the bottom “layer,” then two 6″ ones glued together (they were not as high as the others, and I wanted to create more height), and the top is a 4″ piece.

I finished it off with some ribbon and poked 27 candles in too.

money birthday cake Jake 27

So – is Jake going to love it or is he going to want to shoot me for making him work so hard to take it apart to get his money???

I’m guessing the latter, but that makes me smile.  🙂

And I think Colleen will get a kick out of it.

Yep – these are the things I do at

life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

Trying to hang on a little longer… wwMc6

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Trying to hang on a little longer daisy wwMc

A daisy among the colorful Fall leaves – trying to hang on for just a little bit longer to Summer – the season it loves.