News from the Nest, August 23
Yes, you are in the right place. The newsletter previously known as ‘Monday Musings’ is morphing into ‘News from the Nest.’
It seems that ‘Monday Musings’ is a rather ubiquitous Monday newsletter title, and heck, the last thing we want to be is ordinary and ubiquitous!
This ties into the subtle rebranding that this site will undergo over the next 2 months. I’ve always been that person who regularly moves furniture, pictures, and plants around, so the fact that this site hasn’t changed in 5 years is really quite remarkable.
Can we all agree that one of the saddest experiences in the midst of summer’s peach season is biting into a mealy peach? I had been blessed with one after the other of juiciest, most flavorful peaches this summer until I brought home ‘that’ bushel. But I am loath to toss them out…I mean, I spent a pretty penny on them. So, it turns out that if you put them in a saucepan and slowly simmer them until they mostly melt down, they taste quite wonderful! I initially made them to top our bowls of oatmeal but then found myself eating the melted peaches by the spoonful. They are also delicious over a bowl of yogurt. So, the next time you bite into a meal peach, don’t fret! Just melt it down! And I didn’t add a thing to the saucepan except for the peaches…no sugar or water. Just simmer them slowly.
Escape the heat of August and September by giving your home a thorough decluttering before the crush of the holidays. The 2021 Decluttering Challenge will pop into your inbox once a week with tips and a checklist targeting specific areas of your home to make your decluttering successful! But, if you are one of those over-achievers and can’t wait a week between prompts, you can access all the weeks at your convenience from the Decluttering Challenge home page.
If you come across unused crayons during your decluttering and cleaning process, send them to The Crayon Initiative. They recycle used crayons by melting them down and then provide them to art programs at Children’s Hospitals throughout the country! Their program keeps the crayons out of landfills and puts them into the hands of young hospital patients.
We have been struggling to keep our compost balanced this summer. We have plenty of green matter; it is the brown matter that challenges us. As such, our compost has been on the wet side. As I searched the home and garden for brown matter, I realized that toilet paper rolls are a great candidate! Additionally, every piece of brown paper that comes into our home now gets shredded and added to the compost bin. If you have brown bags with twine or rolled paper handles, remove the handles before you shred the bag. You can most likely compost the handle, but your shredder might not like it.
Susan knit her Chinese Wave Washcloth in a fun variegated yarn with contrasting picot trim. Doesn’t it look lovely!
If you would like to learn how to knit, I have a whole ‘how to knit‘ series made just for you.
Use your green tomatoes for this DELICIOUS Shrimp and Grits recipe. It will be your most economical vacation ever as you will immediately be transported to the Low Country of South Carolina without even leaving your home!
While I used strawberries and strawberry jam, you can use any jar of jam with fresh fruit to make this yummy Jam Cake.
Not that I’m rushing the seasons, but it is time to gather your materials and start making Fall and Autumn decor. These needle-felted acorns and needle-felted pumpkins are easy to make and are a great first-time needle-felter project.
Well friends, wishing you a wonderful week! I’ll be back next week with more News from the Nest!
Hugs,
Thanks for the picture of the chinese wave dishcloth – its really pretty! I’m making a scarf with this stitch, and I love the h oneycomb effect it’s having as I knit it up. Also, I made the Apple Spice Bread you shared last week and it turned out beautifully!! My husband and son, who is visiting us now, both loved it. And very easy to put together.
Liz
Thanks for the note Liz! I love that Chinese Wave pattern…I can only imagine how beautiful your scarf is.
And I’m tickled that your hubby and son enjoyed the Apple Spice Bread…it’s a nice prelude to fall, isnt’ it?
Have a wonderful day, my friend.
Hugs,
Lynn
Maybe because I’m Canadian and call them something else but what are grits?
Oh, I hadn’t considered that! Grits are basically boiled cornmeal, but not a finely ground cornmeal…more coarse. The closest product is probably polenta, though it may be a finer texture than grits. But at the end of the day, I don’t think it would effect the taste and experience of your Shrimp and Grits.
Speaking of peaches, we like homemade peach ice cream. The best taste comes from the oldest peaches. We used to go to farmers markets and ask the peach sellers for the ones they put back because they were old. The old peaches just dissolve through out the ice cream giving an unbelievable taste.
What a great idea! Thanks for the suggestion. Do you cook the peaches before you add them or just add them fresh?
Thank you for the brilliant peach suggestion! We recently got some mealy peaches (perhaps from the same bunch as yours) and I was reluctant to throw them out. This was fabulous and so simple, and wonderful on oatmeal!
Hi Katy! I am so glad! I hate throwing anything out, especially when I just spent a small fortune on them. But it was good on oatmeal, wasn’t it?! So, where’d you get yours…I bought mine at Costco. Since then I popped up to Fresh Market and dropped an even bigger on the organic ones, but I could pick each one individually and thus far they are good.