Newsletter Preview & My New Red Le Creuset Pot

I'm back... again, I hope you are still enjoying the "Throwback Posts" (aka Oldies but Goodies) that I have been putting up. It's just been so busy here, so much going on "behind the scenes" that I just haven't had a chance to do a lot of new posts.

Samantha & I have been doing an awful lot for the newsletter. There are some fun changes coming- the next issue (February) will be both in magazine format AND (hopefully) in the email format. I will be looking for feedback as to which one everyone prefers- so I hope you won't be shy with your opinions (oh, I know you won't be, based on your feedback at the end of last November!). Although it's been a lot of work, it's been really fun putting the magazine together. Samantha came over on Saturday and we worked on it for hours, in addition to the hours that we had spent working on it separately over the last couple of weeks. We are trying to get the hang of doing the layout differently than we had previously... hopefully next time it won't take quite as long. It's looking really good and I'm so excited to launch it and see what you all think :)

So, there has been cooking and crafting going on... projects to try, fabric to play with, illustrations to draw and recipes to taste....

And in the midst of all that, I'm still working on the pattern that I told you about a couple of weeks ago... Oh and working on the new website (which is still several months down the road, but lots of planning to do). So yes- busy busy busy- but in a good way, a fun way. Not feeling overwhelmed (yet), just having fun with all the activities going on. To be honest, I like it better when I'm working on a few things at the same time- If I have to just paint, or just sew, or just sit on the computer for days on end (which is what happens when I have a deadline looming), I get tired and cranky. But with a lot of different things going on, I never get bored :)

Monday we took my grandmother out to lunch for her 87th birthday. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture, I'm so annoyed with myself. But she had 3 grandchildren (including me) and 4 great grandchildren (including my daughter Megan) in attendance. The waiters sang Happy Birthday to her and she looked a little annoyed, ha ha! We laughed a lot and had a great time.

One new thing that I wanted to "show off" to you today is one of my Christmas presents that I got last month. I had been wanting one for a long time... and I finally got one... in RED- my favorite color...

My new Le Creuset pot. It's cast iron and has a lid that doubles as a skillet, and it weighs about a hundred pounds (Ok maybe a little less than that.) Everything tastes so much better cooked in this- I think because of the way the cast iron distributes the heat and gets super hot. You can use it on the stove top and the oven- so far I usually start whatever I'm making on the stove, then put it in the oven to finish cooking. 

Last night I made a chicken stew (which is really just chicken soup with a few tablespoons of flour thrown in to thicken the broth into gravy.) When it was almost done, I put some layers of Phyllo dough on top (I had a few sheets leftover from a recipe last week), brushing with melted butter in between the layers. Then I popped it back in the oven uncovered for the last 15 minutes of baking so the Phyllo got nice and flaky. Yum!

So far I have used my new "toy" to make the chicken stew, a sausage and bean casserole, and beef burgundy- all delicious. 

What is your favorite tool in the kitchen- the one that you use all the time and couldn't live without? What is your favorite comfort food?????