tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959918163454225829.post2511004447479142624..comments2024-03-29T00:10:51.155-04:00Comments on Blue House Journal: This Week In My Home: Practice Makes Perfectterricheneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865436021565986224noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959918163454225829.post-9178658279158072042015-10-23T13:30:01.702-04:002015-10-23T13:30:01.702-04:00If I'm making a cream gravy I start with a rou...If I'm making a cream gravy I start with a roux and it always seems to turn out fine. For a broth based gravy (like to go with turkey) I make a slurry of flour in water to add to the simmering broth. As you discovered you can't just sprinkle flour into broth. On the other hand, in a pinch, you can strain out the lumps. <br /><br />Believe it or not, my mom always had trouble making jello. It just wouldn't set. I started making it for the family when I was quite young. Deannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17113928043039917799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959918163454225829.post-85937371529071868372015-10-20T20:36:35.454-04:002015-10-20T20:36:35.454-04:00I used to think I couldn't make pie crusts as ...I used to think I couldn't make pie crusts as I tried to follow my moms method but it just didn't work me. I found a different recipe that I can make quite beautifully. <br />I think most people can about whatever they realistically want to do, as long as they find their way to do it. Rhondahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07898829593961271218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959918163454225829.post-55672962511780001812015-10-18T11:25:34.615-04:002015-10-18T11:25:34.615-04:00Two things that I learned to do well in my Mom'...Two things that I learned to do well in my Mom's kitchen were making gravy and pie crusts. She would set me to these tasks so that she could do the rest of the meal or make the pie fillings. Pie making at our house was never less than 6-8 pies at once so it was a big job but my Mom's sister often made 20 pies at once. Pennsylvania Dutch ladies take pie making seriously!<br /><br /> The thing I failed to learn was gardening. My family is one of green thumbs but it is practice and doing that results in those gardening skills. Once I had my own home I set out to learn what I had made fun of as a child and that was my Mom always playing in the dirt. I have become a very good gardener now but it was a lot of trial and error that brought me here. This weekend we transferred 50 pots of plants and flowers to a large dolly for overwintering in our garage. Thirty five of those pots are geraniums and I have all those because I learned to propagate them. It took a lot of failures before I learned how to overwinter plants and bring them back in the Spring but it saves us a ton of money and we have a beautiful flower filled deck every summer for almost no out of pocket expense. It was the same with making homemade compost. Purchased compost is so expensive but I have all that I want for no out of pocket cost after many years of practice and building my compost heap. <br /><br />So, what have I tried and quit on? Crochet! Ugh, I can make a mess of that. I have a pile of the most crooked and strange looking dishcloths in my kitchen drawer. But, they do the job and I like them better than store bought. I have plenty of yarn on hand so I need to get back to trying! Thanks for the reminder!Lanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09380649410508372279noreply@blogger.com