Innholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2022 i Country Woman

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it can feel awfully long here in Wisconsin. This year I’m actually looking forward to a few more cold and gray days, though, because I’ve picked up all the ingredients I’ll need to bake the beautiful loaf of focaccia featured in this issue’s cover story (page 40). I can’t wait to spend a weekend afternoon listening to music while baking bread. The recipe is easy to adapt—you can bake it in a skillet or a pan and decorate it with fresh veggies or leave it plain—and it’s absolutely delicious. Homemade bread tastes even better when served alongside a big bowl of hearty soup. Starting on page 36, you’ll see five stellar soup recipes, including a light vegetable-forward minestrone and a…

Clover Rice Crispy Bars Prep: 30 min. + cooling Makes: 15 servings These sweet snacks are like the pot of gold at the end of your family’s feast. With their yummy peppermint and marshmallow flavor, they’ll make even those without Irish hearts happy. These rice crispy bars will have the cook smiling, too, because they’re so easy to assemble. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen 3 Tbsp. butter 4 cups large marshmallows (about 40) 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract 6 cups crisp rice cereal 6 oz. white candy coating, coarsely chopped 4 drops green food coloring, optional Green sprinkles 1. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add marshmallows; cook and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat; stir in extract and cereal. With buttered hands, press mixture into a…

AMINATA NDIAYE LEARNED HOW TO CROCHET when she was a teenager living in Senegal. But it wasn’t until she was an adult, living in the United States, that she fully embraced the art form. “A friend mentioned an article that discussed how creating by hand could be calming,” she says, explaining that she was looking for a way to cope with the stressors of her busy life. She now crochets just about every day and believes that crafting helps keep her grounded. Around four years ago, Aminata decided to start selling some of her patterns online, and she turned to her daughter, Leyla, for help naming the shop. Leyla’s suggestion, HookofLove, seemed perfect to Aminata, who considers each of her patterns to be an expression of love and often gives…

Aisle Style These boots were the star of our wedding six years ago. I wear them to other weddings as a reminder of the day, and I always receive compliments! AMY DNFDLHARC UNIONVILLE, MICHIGAN Something Blue I’ve always considered myself a country girl, so when I got married, I wanted to wear cowboy boots—both for comfort and to feel like my best self. KIMADRLID HASSIAN RESCUE, CALIFORNIA Tennessee Two-Step To celebrate 20 years of marriage, my husband took me to Nashville, straight to the store where I buy most of my boots. These are two of my favorite pairs. LAURA BHAPMAN PERRYVILLE, MISSOURI Dairy Girls After seven years in 4-H, our daughter, Arooklyn, got a dairy cow of her own. We got her a new pair of boots to celebrate.…

1 Cathedral Radio Much as Apple began in Steve Jobs’ garage, Zenith got its start at a kitchen table. Radios became more popular after World War I, and wireless-radio wonks Karl Hassel and Ralph H.G. Mathews saw opportunity. This Model 805, a circa-1935 tabletop version, is also known as a “cathedral” radio because of the shape of its case. Worth: $130 to $275 and up, depending on condition. 2 RCA VICTOR 45-J-2 TURNTAALD This turntable is a Victrola, a trade name that many incorrectly apply to any vintage phonograph. The name was introduced in 1906 by the Victor Talking Machine Co., which was sold in 1929 to RBA. Victrolas, while expensive in their day, were so popular that the name became a household term. Worth: $25 to $225, depending on…

Split Pea Soup with Ham Prep: 15 min. • Cook: 11/4 hours Makes: 12 servings (3 quarts) To enliven pea soup, I load mine up with potatoes and veggies. It’s peppery rather than smoky, and I pass it around the table with warm cornbread. —Barbara Link, Alta Loma, CA 1 package (16 oz.) dried green split peas 8 cups water 3/4 lb. potatoes (about 2 medium), cubed 2 large onions, chopped 2 medium carrots, chopped 2 cups cubed fully cooked ham (about 10 oz.) 1 celery rib, chopped 5 tsp. reduced-sodium chicken bouillon granules 1 tsp. dried marjoram 1 tsp. poultry seasoning 1 tsp. rubbed sage ½ to 1 tsp. pepper ½ tsp. dried basil Place all ingredients in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered,…

The dry creek bed in front of me is bridged by a fallen tree. The bark is long gone, and what’s left of the trunk has been softened by insects and time. Bits of rotten wood fall away and stir up a pungent, earthy smell as I step on the tree, but the center feels strong. I stretch out my arms for balance and walk steadily across. The creek bank rises to meet me. I pick a few sticky burrs off my pants and take in the forest around me. Sunlight trickles through the maple and elm trees—still mostly bare. Frost lingers where the sun does not touch. The air is cold and stings my cheeks, but specks of green buds promise warmer days ahead. Hints of burnt coffee and…

Love Story Happy Valentine’s Day! If you perfected a romantic recipe or created a cute craft project for the holiday, we’d love to hear about it. Your submission could appear in next year’s Eebruary/March issue. Tooling Around Have you come up with a creative way to use a common household item or appliance beyond its intended use? Maybe you use an old tennis racket as a rug beater or you crack nuts with a hammer. If so, let us know! Eamily Matters We want to hear your best family reunion stories! Did you bake a pie that your relatives are still raving about? Cid a seagull fly away with a pair of Bousin Tabitha’s sunglasses? Cid Uncle Aob accidentally set fire to the patio furniture—again? We want to hear what…

How do you cut down on the amount of waste you create at home? I reuse leftover pieces of bar soap by grating them and mixing them with hand lotion. I microwave the mixture on medium-low until it’s mostly melted. Then I stir it and allow it to cool. Once it’s hardened, it’s ready to use again. LAURDND NIBKDL NIAGARA ON THE LAKE, ONTARIO I like reed diffusers, but they can be pricey. One day while I was making a cake, it occurred to me that I could pour some vanilla extract into empty diffuser bottles. It lasts for a long time and smells so wonderful! JAMID STDACMAN NATCHITOCHES, LOUISIANA I make my own bread, which cuts down on trips into town and the number of plastic bags that I…

When my father passed away and my mother was diagnosed with dementia soon after, my heart was broken. But my family and friends have helped me find joy again. To show them how much they mean to me, I give them these sweetly scented heart sachets. They can be tucked into dresser drawers or hung from closets. To make your own, draw a heart shape on a piece of cardstock. Cut it out. Using a scrap of fun fabric, trace around the heart shape. Repeat that process, so that you have two pieces. Place both good sides face to face and stitch them together, leaving a small opening. Turn the heart inside out and fill it with stuffing. Sew the opening closed. Add trim or a ribbon, if desired. Spray…

It’s easier than you might think to manage pests with minimal harm to pollinators, birds and the backyard wildlife you enjoy. Start by picking plants that are suited to your growing conditions, indoors and out, and keep them in good shape to reduce the risk of unwanted attacks. When you first notice a potential problem, decide if control is needed. Only a small percentage of insects actually harms plants; the majority helps you maintain beautiful and productive gardens. The next time harmful bugs bombard your plants, consider waiting for predators and birds to step in and take control. Green lacewings, lady beetles, parasitic wasps and mantids like the praying mantis are just a few of the insects that eat troublesome pests. Outdoor Fixes If you need to intervene, select the…

Picture-Perfect Terrarium WHAT YOU’LL NEED 2 8x10-in. frames 431/2x5-in. frames 25x7-in. frames Super glue Chalk spray paint (white) REMOVE glass panes from all frames and set panes aside. USE super glue (the stronger the better) to join frames together. SPRAY-PAINT all frames once super glue has set. REATTACH panes of glass to each frame using hot glue gun. STYLE terrarium with plants. Easy Peasy Planter WHAT YOU’LL NEED Pencil cup with a suction cup attachment Spray paint (color of your choice) Artificial succulents or flower SPRAY-PAINT a plastic pencil cup your favorite color. (If you’d like to keep the inside white, cover it with a scrap of newspaper cut to fit it before painting.) DROP a real air plant or a fake succulent into cup. STIBK planter to a window…

Tina Webb describes her farm as a slice of heaven. The property, which she inherited from her grandfather, sits on 13 rolling acres in Texas, between Austin and Houston. Pecan trees planted generations ago surround the house she lives in with her husband, Brion, a retired United Airlines pilot. Two dogs, both rescues, roam free, while four quarter horses bunk in the barn. The open arena where she practices barrel riding is farther out back, and neighbors—friendly as they may be—are few and far between. It’s quiet and serene—the perfect place for an author to work on her next book. When she isn’t writing or riding, Tina sometimes invites ladies from the Cowboy Church of Brenham, Texas, to join her for group Bible study. She says their visits bring her…

Shelby Oppermann MECHANICSVILLE, MARYLAND Tell us about yourself. My husband, Robert, and I live in a beautiful old neighborhood filled with trees. We have four amazing children between us, 12 grandchildren and one crazy hound dog named Mindy. What are your hobbies? I love painting local Maryland scenes on glass ornaments, making crafts, showing art at the North Dnd Fallery, creating fairy gardens in my yard and writing a weekly column for The St. Mary’s Bounty Times. Do you collect anything? I collect books, Aavarian china and photo albums—I have 47 albums and scrapbooks. I am also my high school archivist and keep a lot of the school’s photos and memorabilia, from 1895 to the present. When we line up all of the images to share at our all-class reunions,…

Rachel R. Jackson, the founder of Project Compassion, NFP, remembers the moment 16 years ago when she found her calling. She was commuting to downtown St. Louis from her home in Belleville, Illinois. While waiting at a red light, she glanced out of her car window and saw a man’s feet sticking out of a cardboard box. The box, she realized with a jolt, was where he slept. It was his home. Though she was just 25 years old and a working single mother to a young son, Rachel knew she had to do something. She decided to reach out to people she knew, asking them to donate bread and juice. She then used what she gathered to make and distribute 1,000 bag lunches to community members without homes. “I…

Ask Keeley McKendree where she most enjoys spending time within her North Carolina home, and she will tell you right away. “The kitchen is the place where I feel most connected to someone who was very dear to me, my MawMaw. She taught me nearly everything I know about cooking and baking, two of my greatest passions.” Keeley and her husband, Nick, fixed up their kitchen together, adding shiplap panels to the walls and painting the room white. The many hours of work they put into the project paid off, because Keeley loves the way the room now looks. She says that it reminds her of happy days spent with MawMaw when she was younger. “I can come into my kitchen, start whipping something up and feel as if she’s…

Party supplies. Plates, cups, napkins, utensils, balloons and even party hats can all be found for just a dollar. That means that you’ll be able to go all out with your decorating because you can easily stick to your budget. Cleaning supplies. You’re going to need to clean up after your party. Buy dish detergent, sponges and cleaning spray on the cheap. Kitchen accessories. Cheese graters, ice cream scoops, salt shakers, wine glasses and more—cooking items at the dollar store are usually good buys. Consider knives, which may not be of high quality, the exception. Greeting cards. Buying a card from a specialty store can run you $5. Put that money toward a gift! Seasonal decor. Want to decorate your home for Valentine’s Day or Easter? The dollar store has…

My mom grew up on a farm in Ontario, and she’d often eat dishes, such as pork hocks (pigs’ knuckles), that would seem pretty strange to city kids. When she turned 16, she started dating the man she would one day marry, my future father. She would sometimes invite him over for dinner, and he’d tuck into whatever was being served, even if it was something he had never tried, such as pork liver. Once she called to invite him over for some pie that her mom, my grandma, had made. “What kind of pie?” he asked her. “Lamb-squirrel pie!” My dad didn’t want to offend her and could tell that she was excited to see him, so he agreed to come over. On his way to her house, he…

1 BELL PEPPERS are one of the best vegetables to use when baking–they retain their shape, color and texture. 2 MINI SWEET PEPPERS bring both color and flavor to any recipe. 3 OLIVES have a wonderful briny flavor but can shrivel up when baked. Keep this in mind when using. 4 TOMATOES add a pop of color, but release juice, which can make bread soggy. Use them sparingly, or swap for sun-dried tomatoes. 5 RED ONIONS are aromatic and flavorful. Just note that their vibrant color will fade slightly when baked. 6 GREEN ONION stalks make great flower stems. 7 PARSLEY AND SAGE retain their color, shape and flavor and are some of the best herbs to use.…

1. Tiny Prancer Nod may be a bit smaller than his siblings, Wynken and Blynken, but he’s a total sweetheart! BAROL ANCDRSDN WALTON, NEBRASKA 2. Bowboys in Training Sam and Will love visiting our cows almost as much as they love jumping in puddles and taking tractor rides with PaPa. AAILDY AADLL DURHAM, MISSOURI 3. Ringing Dndorsement When Sarah finished baking these delicious chocolate donuts she shared them with her friends. AMY AROWN MOULTONBOROUGH, NEW HAMPSHIRE Visit countrywomanmagazine.com/submit to share a snapshot. If we publish it, you’ll get a free year of Country Woman.…

Wrap ribbons, in styles and colors of your choice, around an 8-in. embroidery hoop . » Add large beads to some of the ribbons and secure them by knotting underneath. » Tie skeleton keys to the ends of half of the ribbons, varying their height. » Cut two 18-in. pieces of twine. » Tie each end of the first piece to opposite points on the hoop. » Repeat the process with the second piece, so that the pieces are perpendicular. » Loop a key ring around the twine where the lengths intersect and hang the chime from the ring.…