Tuesday's Tablescape (on Monday!)

This week's tablescape is a day early because it gives a nod to the 114th anniversary of the 1904 World's Fair, which opened on April 30th. Considering today's date and my fondness for the fair, it only seemed appropriate that I toss together this table. Although its real name was The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, it's always been known as the former. It opened on this date and ran through December 1st and must have been a spectacular international event! More than 60 countries were highlighted and it drew over 19 million guests. I'm sure I can't adequately appreciate all it had to offer to the world, but I feel as though I have a small idea of its grandness through books, articles and a personal interview (conducted 37 years ago) with my great aunt and uncle's elderly friend who had attended the fair as a young child. Additionally, I am a member of the World's Fair Society and have learned much from the expert members, lectures, outings and additional books.

  

I used some items from my little World's Fair collection for the centerpiece. In addition to a few pieces, I also have photographs and books.

We purchased this authentic souvenir plate as a joined wedding anniversary gift years ago. It depicts the Palace of Liberal Arts. 

This, too, is an authentic souvenir we purchased through the World's Fair Society. Ruby glasses were a very common keepsake from the fair and aren't valuable since they're so "ordinary". We still think it's pretty!

These postcards are replicas and were given to us during an event the WFS hosted.

This mug was a gift from my parents when I wrote my high school term paper on the 1904 World's Fair. The exposition was to commemorate the 1803 purchase of the Louisiana Purchase, of course, but occurred a year late since the large-scale project could not be completed by 1903. 

The flowers have absolutely no significance or association to the fair. I just thought the beautiful crab and  red bud blossoms added texture to the centerpiece! 

Do you know any stories about the World's Fair? If so, I'd love for you to share them with me. Have a wonderful day!

Manicotti

Just like Monday, today's post is another encore production. 😉 I first shared this recipe a year and a half ago, but it's a good one. Since I just made it a few nights ago, I thought I would mention it again. It's not complicated to prepare and is tasty. Leftovers freeze well.

Here is a close-up to show a single tube.

Manicotti

Meat filling:

1 pound ground chuck

1/4 cup chopped onion (I used frozen)

3 slices bread made into bread crumbs (I used my blender)

1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 T. dried parsley

scant teaspoon black pepper

salt to taste

Pasta:

1 8 ounce package manicotti tubes

Sauce:

1 4 ounce can mushroom stems and pieces

1 15 ounce can tomato sauce (the large can)

1 12 ounce can tomato paste (the large can)

1/4 can chopped onion (I used onion powder in the sauce and onions with the meat.)

3 cups water

1 T. Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

Other:

Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top when finished 

Cook meat and onion in large skillet. Drain fat and remove from heat. Stir in remaining filling ingredients. Fill uncooked pasta tubes, packing into both ends. Place shells in a 9 by 13 pan which has been lightly sprayed with spray oil. Combine all ingredients for the sauce and simmer in pan. Pour over noodles. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour and a half. (**Start checking for doneness at about an hour, though. One of my pans seemed too done around the edges.) Sprinkle with parmesan cheese when it comes out of the oven. Allow it to sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

For a printable version, click here.

Have a wonderful evening!

Spring Mantel

My mantel is actually a repeat performance because it's the same one I did a few years ago. I decorated this late February or very early March and it's still in place. Spring has just been so slow to awaken this year that the forsythia are still perfectly appropriate. The real things are just now blooming out in the yard!

Since I love cobalt and yellow, I was happy to use some of my pieces for the season.

I'm enjoying the blooming spring trees and am looking forward to having things leaf-out. The woods still look so bare! How about you? Are you ready for more green? 

Have a great evening!

Spot Cleaning

I'm sure you, too, have seen cleaning mitts. Lots of people dust furniture surfaces and window blinds with them, but I haven't tried that method. I did think, though, that a cleaning mitt would be handy for spot cleaning our floors when we get an occasional spot. That mostly occurs when our sweet little dogs leaves a water drip near their dishes. I happened to see some microfiber mitts in the car cleaning section at the dollar store several weeks ago and wondered if I could use that for my floors.

I took these photos, above and below, in the store to show the merchandise tag and the two sides. As you can see, the front is shaggy and the back is smooth.

I give a light spritz of hardwood cleaner and follow up with the mitt . Having used this product for a sustained period of time now, I am satisfied with the results. I'd say it's a dollar well spent! 😉

How about you? Do you use a microfiber mitt for any of your cleaning duties? If so, how does it work for you?

Have a blessed weekend!

Pea Pasta Salad

Do you ever suddenly recall a recipe you haven't had for years? That's recently happened to me with pea pasta salad. I haven't made, or eaten, the dish for such a long time. In fact, it's been years so I decided to whip-up a bowl to go with our dinner this evening.

Pea Pasta Salad

8 ounces small pasta, prepared al dente

(macaroni or bow, for example)

1/2 cup (or more) shredded sharp cheese

1/2 cup, young canned peas drained

(or fresh or frozen)

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled 

Dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1 T. apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Prepare the pasta, rinse and set aside. Add, cheese, peas and bacon. Whisk together dressing ingredients and stir into salad ingredients. For a creamier salad, prepare an additional half-recipe of dressing to use. Allow to chill well before serving. Promptly refrigerate leftovers in a covered container.

Enjoy!

Tuesday's Tablescape

Last week we had a temperature spike and it was quite warm for a few days. By the time the weekend rolled around, it cooled off again and by Sunday night we had a freeze warming. I contemplated what to do with my narcissus and hyacinth flowers because they were so pretty. Although the spring bulb flowers are pretty tolerant of light freezing, they do sometimes get slightly limp from extremes so I cut them and brought them inside to enjoy...

and, of course, decided to use them for a tablescape. The following day I added some forsythia and saucer magnolia blossoms from our yard.

My paternal grandparents' wedding china seemed to be the perfect match. Don't the flowers sort of remind you of the springtime beauties?

Hyacinths are a favorite flower of mine because of the heavenly scent. I wish we had a "scratch and sniff" button so that you could take a whiff! 

Have a blessed day!

Butterie

Do you like your butter to be room temperature? We always have preferred it this way since it enhances the flavor and allows one to spread it without ripping the bread! If I remember, I pull out the butter prior to serving time. Long ago, we used an on-the-counter butter keeper with an internal water reservoir, but the results were not entirely successful since the butter would slip from its chamber and fall into the water basin below. Splash! So, we were happy when my mother recently bought us a Butterie.  

I can recall that my grandma always kept out her butter and she never had it go bad. I did research on this practice and learned that salted butter is the key. Butter's high fat acid content makes it less likely to grow bacteria. I have copied and pasted a portion of the findings from the developer of Butterie. When asked about the safety of unrefrigerated butter, Joelle Mertzel writes:

The reason I know it's safe is because I had a food safety lab conduct a shelf life study on butter. The butter was kept at room temperature and tested for yeast, mold, bacteria and rancidity. If food (i.e the butter) is going to spoil, one of those 4 things will happen to it. All 4 spoilage indicators were non-detectable for three weeks. And this is under a microscope! It was on day 23 that little things started to pop up.

This nifty storage bin not only protects the butter while it's sitting on the countertop, it is constructed of BPA-free plastic which is dishwasher safe. It is also compact and attractive. We love it!

If you decide you want to adopt the practice of having soft butter, you may want to try this product. I just wanted to spread the word to you! 😉

White Haven

This month my quest club  took a field trip after having read Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule by Jennifer Chiaverini. Since some of the story of Julia Grant and her slave, Jule, takes place at the family home, White Haven, we thought it appropriate to personally see it. We enjoyed a lovely time touring the home, grounds and museum of Julia Dent-Grant's family. The plantation, in southern St. Louis county, was a successful 850 acre working farm and orchard at one time. Today it is a wonderful historic site operated by the National Park Service sitting on a portion of the land.

This is the original family home authentically painted Paris Green. It is said to have been the trendy color of the day!  Ulysses and Julia spent over five years living and working on the farm in the mid 1850s. After the Civil War, Grant served as a general of the army and then, of course, 18th president. Since he was unable to live on the property, he hired people to manage the operations during his absence. It was their intent to eventually retire to the family home, but they never did. He eventually sold it all to the Vanderbilts to satisfy a loan. 

The plantation provided plentiful amounts of food, which were prepared here. 

Mr. Grant's desk is on display in his office. It was in this room that the 130some plantation slaves were supposed to report for their daily orders, but since Ulysses worked the fields, he was seldom found at his post.

The original horse stable now hosts an excellent museum. 

I find it interesting to read about bygone days and it was especially fun to see this historic gem to accompany the story as we quest for knowledge! 

Tuesday's Tablescape

Today's table inspiration all began with a surprise package I received in the mail. A dear friend sent what she dubbed a "box of sunshine". It's true! Look at this bright and cheery gift.

She had this federal paper pieced quilted table mat made for me and I am so delighted with it! Isn't it gorgeous? I will use it in many applications, but its first role is to pull together this tablescape. 

I simply added some forsythia and simple cobalt and yellow dishware.

I hope you are having a sunshine-filled day! 🌞