The Friday Friends

Going back to school

2012-01-27T08:11:00.000-08:00

Yep, the Handyman and I are going back to school. With some of our friends.

(I took a few secret snapshots of our class, of course...to document our journey. These are my friends)

Last night was our first "Digital Photography" class. Let me rephrase... that would be: Art 149, Introduction to Digital Photography.
A REAL college course, complete with quizzes (I didn't know we would have tests for heavens sake!!) and homework and a "final", which requires entering two pieces of our work in an art show.
I was thinking this would be a fun, community-type of class without pressure.
The Handyman says, "Well it should be a serious class, considering the amount of money we paid!"
But we'll end up with a college art credit Handyman!! It's well worth the money. Just to be spending time with you! (yes, I'm sucking up--in case he reads my blog)

One other exciting aspect of this class (besides doing something fun with the Handyman) is that, half the class are friends of ours. We did a 'couple' thing. (and also a couple other friends who came without their spouses)
( a couple other friends. Funny. Was that a pun?)

We all met for dinner before class began at 7pm.
This week it was Mexican food.

Then, because we are all old (I say this joking) we got tired halfway thru the class. NOT that it wasn't exciting... IT WAS, but we are all used to going to bed at 9 and the class lasts until 10. We had full tummys, maybe had a glass of wine or a beer with dinner, the room was warm, and the lecture rhythmic, and as I looked around--I saw sleepy eyes from all of us.
(except for the row of teenagers behind us.)

Mitzi paying close attention.

Maybe to use for our birding weekend!

click here for birding fun--It just dawned on my that Mitzi is in all my blog posts about birds.

As is Jolina!

Birding friend.

Photography friend.

Bookclub friend.

(that's Doug there on the left)

And the Handyman (head turned)

and Lorin.

One thing we talked about last night was the fact that Kodak filed bankruptcy yesterday.
That makes me so sad. Why, you ask?
Besides it being one of the premeir camera/photography companies, my grandma always called her camera, any camera, "a kodak".
She would say, "let me get my kodak and we'll take a picture" (and then come out with a polaroid or something.)
I don't know why excatly...it just makes me very sad.

I will keep you posted on my photgraphic journeys. Both in class and out of it.
I'm excited!

Rainbow cupcakes

2012-01-26T07:21:00.000-08:00

See this cute girl? She is my niece. Her name is Devin. (D.C. -- Cutie Pie) She loves to cook.

I would love to take credit for her love of cooking, because I have a blog, where I feature food.

Mostly.

Kind of.

Not lately really.

But I cannot take credit for her love of cooking ....she's just amazing all on her own. She's grown up around food--her mom has a small catering business -- but the thing about Devin is she'll find her own recipes, put her own spin on them and with her mother's encouragement, enter the kitchen and create! Most of all, she just has fun doing it. She's enthusiastic, and that's what I love!

Not to mention her creations are quite tasty!!

I'm very excited, because I will get to see her in a few weeks and I'm hoping for some of the great rainbow cupcakes!

(and Dev....if you hate this picture, I'm sorry. I stole it from your mom's album.

I think it's gorgeous tho!! )

or maybe this pic with your brother Nate?

I love this picture too.

May I just say "ADORABLE!!"

(I can say that because I'm your Aunt, and Aunt's get bragging rights)

When I saw that she had made these cupcakes, (pics sent to my phone) I asked her if she wanted to be a guest blogger on my blog. Lucky for me, she said YES!

She sat right down and wrote the post.

"I found these on youtube and I thought they would be fun to make. And I thought they would be hard but they were actually not hard! And they WERE fun! They light up your day.

Get one box of white cake batter and make the mix. Divide them into 6 glasses. Dye each batter into different rainbow color. Layer them from last color to first color (purple,blue, green, orange yellow, red) bake at 325 for 20 minutes. That is it! You can decorate them any way you want."

Love ya !!

How clever is that?

They are so pretty and festive.

I can't wait to try one. (okay, I'll be honest, I probably won't stop with just one)

Thanks Devin.

As I mentioned before....she has always been creative.

Once she had a pizza making contest with her brother

her mom said of her pizza:

Both were yummy but Dev's had pesto, onion rings and fresh mozz balls... Pretty damn good.

Oooohhh...pizza!

I'm pretty excited for Grandpa's 80th birthday party in February. I was thinking cupcakes sound perfect, but fresh pesto, onion ring and mozzarella ball pizza sounds great too!

It's a hard decision.....but.....but.....

cupcakes are easier to take to a party!

Love you Devin!

and thanks for being my guest blogger.

First Chapter

2012-01-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

I love First Paragraphs! I bought this new board game to take with me over Christmas vacation, called "It was a Dark and Stormy Night". We were headed to our son and daughter-in-law's and I thought it would be a fun game to play.

Well, I should have realized it would be fun for Sadie and me, not so, for The Handyman and certainly not for my son Marcus. They gallantly suffered thru one game. That was all they could do.
I bought it from Bas Bleu and they say:
This is officially Bas Bleu's favorite board game ever! The concept is simple: Your opponent reads you the first sentence(s) from a work of great literature--categories include children's books, mysteries, nonfiction, novels, poetry, Shakespeare's plays, and short stories--and you name the title and/or author. Correct answers earn a cute little book token…collect eight and you win. The production value of "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" is top tier, from the wooden pawns and tokens to the "library card catalog" of clue cards. The difficulty of identifying the opening lines varies greatly; we think giving clues makes the game more fun. For adults, two to four players or teams.

examples:
Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. --Gabriel Garcia MÁrquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable looking child ever seen. --Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

To be honest...it was very difficult...but Sadie and I had fun. I kept saying to the grumbling, sighing loudly, slouching men at the table, "but this will be nice to know if you're ever at a dinner party and someone brings up the subject of this book. You'll be glad you know this stuff."

Two things...
1. They didn't care. They didn't ever think they'd be at a dinner party where someone would bring up "The Secret Garden" or "100 years of Solitude" to them. Nor did they have any intention of 'remembering' that stuff. (first lines of great novels)
2. My friend Brenda from Brenda's Canadian Kitchen teases me about using the term, "dinner party." So I just thought I'd throw that in there.

(for the record, there is another book game I am going to buy soon, and make them play: Bookchase. I think it's good for their characters. Being well-rounded. They are going to kill me.)

I digress again!

I'm joining in with Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea on her "First Chapter, First Paragraphs" meme.
Every Tuesday, she'll be posting the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she's decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s). Feel free to grab the banner and play along.

This week, I just felt the need for something simple... a cozy mystery. Something I can cuddle up by the fire to. I haven't started it yet , so tonight's the night!
Here is my first paragraph (QUICK! Name the book and I'll give you a game piece. ):
Had CC de Poitiers known she was going to be murdered she might have bought her husband, Richard, a Christmas gift. She might even have gone to her daughter's end of term pageant at Miss Edward's School for Girls, or 'girths' as CC liked to tease her expansive daughter. Had CC de Poitiers known the end was near, she might have been at work instead of in the cheapest room the Ritz in Montreal had to offer. But the only end she knew was near belonged to a man named Saul.

from "A Fatal Grace" by Louise Penny.

The 2nd in the Three Pines Mystery series.

Wow CC!!

Mean to her daughter and cheating on her husband, while not punishable by murder, certainly deserved something!!

I'll have to let you know how it is as soon as I finish.

Snowy Drive to work

2012-01-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

Let me just post the last picture first....

Hey, I live in rural northern Nevada. It's legal. (and that's a subject I plan to write a post about soon, but for now...well, I was just driving to work this morning and this was on the way)

I sent some pictures to some of my friends of my snowy drive to work.

Shelly said:
So were you driving and clicking???

Karen said:
The last picture showing a sign pointing the way to the brothels. Did you work there today?

Sally said:
Send the third set of pictures, please. Your drive to work should not end at the brothels!

Um...yes, I was driving in the snow and taking pictures while I was driving.   We were all going 5 miles an hour.
And no....I don't work at the brothels.
I do work at the Visitors Center...where sometimes people ask about the Brothels, and it is my job to "point them in the right direction."   (laughing)
Seriously tho, someone will ask about them once every other year or so.
No one is EVER honest --they make excuses, such as: I have to make a delivery and I can't find the address. I told my wife I'd drive by and take a picture.   We just want to see what they look like, we're not going to go in or anything.

I did have one older Italian couple come in once and he wanted to know about the billboards and why it said "girls, girls, girls." I told him it was a brothel. But he didn't quite get that word. I kept on trying to explain it in non-emotional way, and he just couldn't figure it out.
All of the sudden his wife said It's a WHOREHOUSE!   Then he laughed and said, Oh "WHOREHOUSE".   They thought that was the most amusing thing ever.
I got a kick out of them.

I am getting ahead of myself....I really do have a whole post written up.....almost....about brothels. It's quite amusing and enlightening. I think.   And it fits right in with my cookbook countdown..... as I have the official brothel cookbook. Cat House Cusine.
(omg....I can't believe I'm actually writing about this!!)

Stay tuned....it should be fun(ny).

more of my drive to work..... WE NEED the snow!! So we were all happy.

Saturday Snapshot

2012-01-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

This is my photo for Saturday Snapshot (click the link to get all the details!!)

It is---things in my yard I should have taken care of last fall.

For other photos of yard things I should have taken care of last fall, you could look at my Big Backyard photos.

I'm off to my grandson's basketball game. Then to the grocery store, then home to make chocolate chip cookies.
I was planning on rice pudding...and beer steamed mussels with chorizo tonight, but that plan has changed. We have been invited to friends for supper.
As the Handyman said....there's always tomorrow

Have a great day!

Book Club and eating crow

2012-01-20T09:55:00.000-08:00

I must......eat crow.

I admit it, I didn't want to read this book. Complained to everyone I know about having this as a book choice for bookclub. Dreaded the thought of such a long, long novel which I didn't want to read in the first place.
Okay, I'm being a little dramatic--it just wasn't something that called to me, that's all. But I love the person who picked it and it was for bookclub after all...where we expand our literary horizons, agree to read what the group has chosen, so read it I would do.

But...as I eat my crow...and listen to the last hour (on audio) of Gone With the Wind, I am sad to know that it will end.
I really, really enjoyed the book!
I'm really glad I finally took the plunge. It was so much more than just a glorified romance--there was so much history--and it gave such a clear view of a time gone by, Social statuses of that era, language, customs.
I'm just so doggone happy with myself! (read that in a southern accent please)

It was a fun read, but the most fun of the evening was having our annual, election of a "Miss" something or other! One year it was Miss Congealdiality (jello salad competition) last year it was Miss Hot Dish (casseroles and hot dish competition), this year it was an appetizer competition and we elected Miss AppeTEASEr.

Who would it be? Miss Congealdiality 2009 holds the sash just before voting begins.

It was such a fun evening full of friends and food and BOOK TALK.

For my appetizer, I made this Sweet Mustard Shrimp from A Spoonful of Thyme ( a great food blog, if you want to check it out)

Here is the recipe:
(note that it says to lay on a bed of greens? I stopped by the store on my way to book club and they didn't have leaf lettuce only iceberg...not so pretty, especially if you are trying to plate it in the backseat of the car before going into the house like I did. ~grins~)
(I did not win the title of Miss AppeTEASEr, but everyone LOVED the shrimp. I would make it again for anything....tastes great, simple and fast. Perfect)

Sweet Mustard Shrimp

1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
2 tsp dry mustard
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
6 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp fresh dill, minced (dried can be used)
2 Tbsp red onion, very finely chopped
2 lbs raw shrimp, peeled, tail on, 21-25 shrimp per pound, cooked

Combine the first five ingredients in a bowl. Whisk in the oil. Stir in the dill and onion. Chill, tightly covered. If you are using fresh shrimp, peel and devein the shrimp. Steam or boil until done. If you are using frozen cooked shrimp, defrost in a colander under cool water, then steam or boil until done. Place the marinade into a large Ziploc bag and add the shrimp. Seal tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight. Serve over a bed of greens.

Variation: The fresh uncooked shrimp may be marinated and then placed on a skewer and grilled on the barbecue. Grill over medium heat. When the tails begin to turn pink flip the skewers over and continue to cook until the shrimp tails are pink and the meat is opaque (white.)

A picture of the pretty table ......
.....and then.....
....THEN
The Revealing!!

The excitement builds....who will it be?

Mayor (that isn't a made up title, she really is the mayor of our town) Di An Putnam wins for her Chicken Cheese stuffed jalapeno poppers! Yay!!
Our 2012 Totally Lit Miss AppeTEASEr!

The runner up--Ms Kay with her blue cheese bacon wrapped stuff dates.

Previous winners---Cindy, Misss Congealediality, Jean, Miss Hot Dish, and Di An, Miss AppeTEASEr.

It was a fun night. I love book club. (I have another one next week...THE LIT WITS! I can't wait)

Black Magic Cake

2012-01-19T07:15:00.000-08:00

These pictures might not be the best, but this cake is.
I made it on a whim, because it kept popping up on the side of my Facebook page (I 'liked' Just a Pinch Recipe Club, and this recipe is from them). I guess it just called out to me---MAKE ME! COME ON, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO. HURRY UP AND MAKE ME!

So, I did. And it was ---heavenly.
It had a few things going for it...

1. It was easy
2. It was quick
3. It was really, really good

When I made it, the batter was really, really thin. It kind of scared me, it was so thin. (the directions said it would be thin, but still...)
Then, also, it didn't poof up in the middle (I made a 9x13 cake) like my other cakes do. It was flat. And very heavy.
I had made this cake (which I had never made before) to take to someone's house for a potluck.   I was a little nervous about how it looked, but I am very brave, so I just frosted it and off we went to the party.
When we arrived, I set it away from the rest of the food...in the laundry room. I wanted to cut into it first--just to see if it was okay.
Well, someone got a hold of it and before I knew it, it was cut, on plates and half gone.   There was nothing wrong with it AT ALL.   It was very, very good.

The Handyman and I got home at midnight and shared a piece before going to bed. We never do that. It was just too good to stop eating.
It was so moist. I love a good heavy moist cake.
There used to be commercials for a boxed cake mix--I can't remember if it was Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker or Pillsbury, but their claim to fame was that their cakes were NEVER heavy. I think these commercials were over 20 years ago, maybe even more, and they touted "light and fluffy cakes, never heavy."
I really could never understand that.   Those boxed cake mixes taste so different...not bad, just different. The texture is just so different from homemade, no matter what they do, they cannot get that good 'heaviness'. So, I guess they went the other way and said, heavy is not good?

I mentioned that I had made the cake from scratch and a friend asked, "where do you buy scratch?".   She was joking, of course, but, do most people make boxed cake mixes now?    Will that be the taste our children remember fondly?
I say, make this cake and they won't want another boxed cake mix ever again.

Here is a link to the original recipe.

Black Magic Cake (Best Chocolate Cake Ever!)

Ingredients

- 1 3/4 c all purpose flour
- 2 c sugar
- 3/4 c cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 c strong black coffee, cooled
- 1 c buttermilk - 1/2 c vegetable oil
- 1 tsp real vanilla extract

CHOCOLATE FROSTING
- 1/2 c margarine, softened
- 2 oz melted unsweetened chocolate, cooled
- 3 c powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp milk
- 2 tsp real vanilla extract

Directions
1. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer.
2. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.
3. Beat at medium speed for two minutes. Batter will be thin.
4. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan or two 9 inch cake pans.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes for a 9x13, or 30-35 minutes for layer pans.
6. Combine frosting ingredients and mix with a hand or stand mixer. Spread frosting on cooled cakes.

Outdoor Wednesday

2012-01-18T06:54:00.000-08:00

Today I am linking up with Outdoor Wednesday, hosted by a   Southern Daydreamer.
Outdoor Wednesday photos can be something outside of your home such as your porch, deck, patio, garden or lawn. Your photo can be outdoor shots of the beach, forest or mountains. (We don’t want to exclude anyone who might not have a yard). Or, you could simply post pictures of a favorite plant or flower. Only rule is it has to be outside!

When I was growing up, my parents were huge on picnics and hanging out by lakes, rivers, lagoons on summer days off.
These were the days of no sunscreen, but rather, baby oil tinted with iodine and also cocoa butter.   Suntan lotion, NOT sunscreen.
Ahhhhh, those were the days.
Not really, of course, as now everyone is paying the price, but let's just forget that for a moment.   Cocoa Butter smelled SO GOOD!
One summer, my parents had a contest between the two of them, to see who could get the darkest tan. I can remember my mom taking the ironing onto the back patio and ironing in her bathing suit.
It was the 60's.   (as if that explains it all)

My dad worked shift work, so in the afternoons, we would load up the station wagon with towels, blankets, sand buckets, snacks and.....cocoa butter and head down to the Lagoon.
We lived on the Columbia River and in Columbia Park, there was an inlet of water called "the Lagoon".   I have to laugh at that name, it wasn't distinguised from any other lagoon. There was a beach (all sand) and picnic tables above the beach, a snack bar where we would buy frozen Milkshake candy bars on a stick. Darn those were good!

I have very fond memories of summer afternoons at the Lagoon. We swam the afternoon away and lay in the hot sun getting our tans.
Even when I was in high school, we would go to the Lagoon to hang out. To look at the lifeguard sitting in his chair in the middle of the water, to show off our new swimsuits, to flirt with the boys, try to swim out to the dock in the middle.

I moved away from home over 30 years ago--and I knew that the Lagoon had changed, but last year when I finally had the leisure (when I was visiting) to spend some time at Columbia park, I was really shocked to find that the Lagoon, had been changed to a fishing hole. Everything was different!
It's very pretty, but it made me sad. I know there are reasons for the change--I don't know what they are--but it still makes me sad. The Lagoon of my youth is now a fishing hole.

There is a nice walking path around it tho...

The old Snack Bar, where we bought the frozen Milkshake candy bars. They still have restrooms there and you can see a little train in the back there---it drives children around the "Playground of Dreams", which I don't have pictures of, but it also wasn't there when I was a kid. (to be honest, even tho I'm sad to see the Lagoon as I knew it, gone, the Playground of Dreams is so, so amazing! Just goes to show, even tho change is difficult, it's sometimes good.

All that grass used to be a sandy beach. All of it.

First Chapter

2012-01-17T15:48:00.000-08:00

Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea has a fun weekly meme--- that I just found out about it. I always get to the party a bit late. She says:
Every Tuesday, I'll be posting the opening paragraph (sometimes two) of a book I decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s). Feel free to grab the banner and play along.

I decided to play along......

First Chapter

First Paragraph

First Intros

This is the opening paragraph:

Pictures arrived this morning....I am so damn happy to have them and thank you both from the heart. All from one kitchen knife. It was a miracle, wasn't it? To think that we might easily have gone through life not knowing each other, missing all this free flow of love and ideas and warmth and sharing...
We share almost everything.

And this is the book:

I'm so excited to start it. It just arrived in the mail from Powell's Book store (Thanks Sally for my birthday gift card!!)

It's Monday!

2012-01-16T13:56:00.000-08:00

What am I reading?

I am still reading.... "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" not because I am not enjoying it, but because it dawned on me that I have bookclub (Totally Lit) this coming Wednesday and I haven't even started the book! It is our 'classic' read month--we use the term loosely--and we are reading GONE WITH THE WIND. 1101 pages. 49 hours of audio. I decided on audio. As I write this, I have just finished 17 hours of the story.

Let me back track a bit---I wasn't going to read the book. I have never read Gone with the Wind nor have I ever seen the movie. It did not call to me.   The characters didn't speak to me. An epic love story? Uh....not that I haven't read love stories, but, like I said, it just wasn't for me.
But then my good reasoning came back to me and I thought---it's what we chose for the book club, and I LOVE the book club, LOVE the members, LOVE the times we get together. So on Saturday, I downloaded the book from Audible.com and began to listen to it.
Well, guess what? I am sorry I didn't start sooner, because I am finding it a really good book. It's interesting, it is a part of American literature, and the narrator is doing a wonderful job.   I do have to say that the character of Scarlett, still is not one I love, but I do find her interesting.
I don't believe in changing the language of literature to fit into a more politically correct time, so I would never want a word of Mitchell's novel to be changed, BUTTTTT......
the language bothers me something terrible. It's vulgar to my ears. I understand that is how they talked during that time (and sad to say, sometimes now), but it wasn't part of my life growing up or now.   I'm talking, of course, of the racist language. I cringe when I hear it.
But again...I am liking it and wish I had started earlier. Book club is Wednesday night and I think the best I can do is 3/4 of the book/audio. I'm going to give it my best shot tho.

This is what I said about the choice of Gone with the Wind on this blog last April:
I have never read "Gone With the Wind." I have no intention of ever reading Gone With the Wind, but for 2 things.

One is that a lady in my book club has chosen this as her 'book'. A re-reading of an old classic she says. I love and respect her. But I don't want to read "Gone". The second is that Pat Conroy says it is the novel that shaped the South he grew up in. He says Gone with the Wind is a war novel, an historical romance, a comedy of manners, a bitter lamentation, a cry of the heart.....

he goes on.

I am resisting Gone With the Wind, with all my might. I do not want to read it. In my mind, it's a silly romance about a spoiled girl which takes place during the civil war. With tons of clichés.

I could be wrong. It's been known to happen. Quite often in fact.

I love everything about Pat Conroy's books. And I've often envied his friendships.

So...should I really read "Gone with the Wind" when it comes around in book club time?

Since I profess to love Southern Writers, will this be the ultimate experience for me? Or will it be as I thought... a silly romance about a spoiled girl, taking place during the civil war?

How funny. It is all those things, but it's also ---interesting.   And good. And the narration is great.

Another exciting part of book club on Wednesday is our annual crowning!! This year, we are having an appetizer contest and will crown
Ms AppeTEASERher.   Last year, we crowned Miss Hot Dish and the year before that Miss Congealediality (Jello salads).   Yes, we are just a barrel of fun.
I can't wait.

Of course, It's Monday, What are you reading is hosted by Sheila from "Book Journey". Check out her wonderful blog!

******************************************************************************

The Musing Monday question for the week is:
What devices - if any - do you read books on? Do you find it enjoyable, or still somewhat bothersome? Or: If you only read the print books, why haven’t you chosen to read on any devices?

(Musing Mondays is a fun blog hop/meme hosted by Miz B at Should be Reading--another fun blog to check out)

My answer?   I use them all. This was not always the case tho. I used to be a book purist, but....  the Handyman said I was acting like an old fuddy duddy.
HE KNEW, that would get me! Because I don't want to be an old fuddy duddy, grouchy, cranky....

Well read this blog post from last year:
and the bottom line is:
And guess what? I LOVE MY KINDLE!! I. Love. It. While I still do love a good paper book, there is something to be said for the convenience of having access to practically any book I want, at any time I want it, or any newspaper or magazine, or....I could go on and on. That and I can make the print as big as I need it to be ~grins~.

and as for audio books? I love them too.   Last year, I participated in Audio book week and it was so much fun.
I love audio books, because you can walk, and walk and and ride in a car for hours and still have/listen/read a book. Audio just opens up the door to so many more books. IF you don't mind being read to.... and I don't.

My first love tho is a printed book. An old fashioned book....but.... technology is not stopping for any of us....it's best to embrace it.

*********************
and just because I told you last week what I was listening to.....(it was Pink Martini), today I am listening to the Everly Brothers --All Time Original Hits. My kids say I listen to weird music. I'm actually listening to Pandora and my Leslie Gore channel, in which the Everly Brothers are singing.
I like listening to music early in the morning. And in the afternoon too.   And any old time, I love the sound of  music.   So much more than having the TV in the background.
Now, it's Ricky Nelson!!

Yay!

Not weird music....just old music. (for now)

These songs remind me of my parents. They are old songs/artists even for me.

I would play my parents old 45's and dance around my room listening to this music.

I like it even now.

Sunday Soup --Chicken Chipolte Chili

2012-01-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

You all know that I love soup, and a couple of weeks ago, I pulled out this cookbook of mine to glance thru and found some great soups that I want to try this winter.

(sigh) This post would be so much better if I could say that soup warms the soul or some such other winter reference, but.....its sunshiny and 60 degrees outside right now. I'm not sure what happened to winter.

Nevertheless, this chili, found in Sunday Soup by Betty Rosbottom, tasted great! We loved it.

It was spicy, but not too spicy, and full of flavor. It is one I will definitely be making again. And again.

I did write in the column of my cookbook --- this was good! spicy tho.

so, perhaps it was spicier than I recall. But it was that great smoky spice of the chipolte chili. The sweetness of the corn cut the spice a bit, and the chicken was so tender, it almost melted in my mouth. Mmmmm.... good.

Since Christmas, I've been happy to put a pot of soup on the stove on Sunday afternoons, and then we can eat whenever we want....early, later, whenever.

I've enjoyed the low-keyness of these Sundays, the laziness of winter days, the early afternoons of discarded coffee cups, scattered newspapers, the sound of football in the background, breakfast dishes found still in the kitchen sink. I like the idleness of winter---gives me more time to read and cook.

It's been fun to look thru all my soup cookbooks too!

Try this one--I bet you love it.

Chicken Chipolte Chili (with corn)

5 1/2 tablespoons of canola or, divided

1 1/2 pounds, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but into 1/2 inch cubes

2 cups chopped onions

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt, or more if you need it

4 cups chicken stock

1 280z can Italian style tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped

3 canned chipolte peppers in adobo sauce, coarsely chopped

3-4 cups fresh corn kernels or frozen corn kernels

2 190z cans dark kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Garnish:

sour cream

cilantro

lime

Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a large soup pot, set over medium high heat. When hot add the chicken and saute until light golden-4 to 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and drain on paper towels. Add remaining oil to the pan. When oil is very hot, add onions and cook, stirring until limp, about 3-4 minutes. Return sauteed chicken to the pot.

Stir together flour, chili powder, cumin and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over the onions and chicken, and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Add stock, tomatoes and chipoltes; bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover and cook until chicken is fork tender and mixture has thickened slightly, for 25 to 30 minutes.

Add corn and beans, and cook for 10 minutes more. Taste chili and season with salt, if needed.

Chile can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Reheat, uncovered, over medium heat.

To serve, ladle chili into bowls. Garnish each serving with a generous dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro, if desired.

Serve each bowl of chili with a lime wedge to squeeze over the chili before eating.

I am going to link this to Cookbook Sundays as well as my own little Cookbook countdown. I'm on cookbook #49!

I bought 1 new cookbook this past week, so I am way up over 225.

I'll just keep plugging along.

Booking Through Thursday and Chocolate Chip Cookie #3

2012-01-12T22:29:00.000-08:00

Today's (even tho it's late Thursday on the West Coast) BTT question, isn't just one, but many. It's part 2 of the interview (part one was here) and I just thought I'd end my night by answering it.

You can check out Booking Through Thursday here. It's a fun blog hop/meme which is all about books.

This week, it begins like this:

But enough about interviewing other people. It’s time I interviewed YOU.

1. What’s your favorite time of day to read?

I love to read anytime of the day, but my most favorite is early in the morning. I get up early (between 5-6am) and love nothing more than to grab a cup of coffee and my book.2. Do you read during breakfast? (Assuming you eat breakfast.)
Yes, I do.

3. What’s your favorite breakfast food? (Noting that breakfast foods can be eaten any time of day.)
If I am honest? 2 cookies to go with my coffee (while I'm reading my book, of course. 2 HOMEMADE cookies, preferably the PERFECT chocolate chip!)
But I like oatmeal too. (I mean a bowl of...not the cookie)
And muffins and fruit.

4. How many hours a day would you say you read?
It all depends of course, but on the average, about 2hours.

5. Do you read more or less now than you did, say, 10 years ago?
I would say more. No reason why, I've read my whole life...it's just now I dont' have any kids at home.

6. Do you consider yourself a speed reader?
No.

7. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
To be a speed reader.
(I have so many books to read before I die!!)

8. Do you carry a book with you everywhere you go?
Yes, I do. Everywhere.
(I have a big purse)

9. What KIND of book?
What ever I'm reading at the moment. And my Kindle. And my Ipod with my audio book on it.

10. How old were you when you got your first library card?
Probably about 6 years old. I loved, Loved, LOVED the summer reading program at the public library.

11. What’s the oldest book you have in your collection? (Oldest physical copy? Longest in the collection? Oldest copyright?)
I can't answer that question....that would involve going up to the library room and sorting thru all my books.

12. Do you read in bed?
Yes, I do.

13. Do you write in your books?
Not very often, but once in a great while I do.

14. If you had one piece of advice to a new reader, what would it be?
A new reader? That would be, what? 1st grade? My advice would be to--turn off the TV and grab a book. Never go to bed without a bedtime story. Eat your cereal while looking at magazines (Ranger Rick, Ladybug, Cobblestone, etc)

HEY!! All that advice is good for grown ups too!

*********************************************************
Now about those chocolate chip cookies to go with my morning coffee.....

If you remember, I am not only working my way thru this book:

I am also going to make all the recipes I've collected from friends over the years and any that YOU suggest to me (I've bookmarked them to try during the year)

But this week, I made .....

Chocolate Chip Cookie #3 from the book above.
exactly as the recipe is written---to see if we can find that 'perfect' one.
I must note, tho, that all the NON-perfect ones don't stick around the house too long. (if they are someone's perfect , just not mine, they are still great to eat!)

Recipe #3.
These tasted real good on day one, shortly after I took them out of the oven. I was very excited about them. They weren't quite as crispy as I would have liked, but they were chewy. My excitement waned on day two tho, as they did not hold up. They lost everything and were just kind of dry.
I also had to increase the cooking time from 12 minutes to 15 minutes, and I still wasn't happy with their color. I wanted them to brown up just a tad bit more. To be more golden. But that could have been why they dried out on day two.
Still good---just not "the one".

They kind of look crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, don't they?

The ingredients and directions for CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE #3 are:

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 extra large eggs
18 oz (3 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

Combine without stirring, flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream margarine with sugars until light. Beat in vanilla and eggs until smooth. Beat dry ingredients into creamed mixture, a little at at time.
Add chocolate chips and stir to mix well.
Drop by heaping tablespoons onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake at 325 F for 12 minutes, turning sheets end to end halfway thru the baking time.
Remove from oven and slide parchment off sheets, with cookies still on top.
Leave undisturbed until cookies are just barely cool enough to handle.
Transfer to racks to cool completely.

PS Readers: I found a great blog with a great picture of the not so perfect chocolate chip cookies. It explains what went wrong with each cookie and how NOT to do that.
I'll be sharing that soon, but just remember that even if you want to correct my cookies--I am just copying the recipes as written in the book. I would be really happy to make yours tho, if you want to send it to me.

Bookstores at Night

2012-01-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

My good friend Karen, from

Karen Cooks

sent me this video

I love it!

Thanks Karen.

I like to think that my books have a good time when I turn out the light.

(maybe that's why the library room is such a mess?)

I have a Kindle and I do listen to Audio Books,

(here is a great link to an Audio book challenge. I would join it but my challenge this year is to not join any challenges. And to not buy any cooking magazines. And to walk more, and to have more dinner parties and to write more letters.....and....and GAWSH!! They just keep adding up)

but I still love an old-fashioned book in hand the best.

I read a quote by someone recently. I can't remember who or where but he/she said (about the evolution of the book) that he/she wondered if the cavemen got 'all up in arms' when paper was invented. Or when the printing press was invented....

Progress is difficult sometimes, but it happens.

(I'm referring of course, to the book/electronic reader debate)

I like them all, but as I said, I love my books best!

The Handyman is snoring in front of the TV and I have a cup of tea...maybe I'll sneak in a few pages of my book before I wake him up to go to bed.

It's Monday....

2012-01-09T06:11:00.000-08:00

....What are you Reading?

A weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, It's Monday, what are you Reading is a fun way to get info on new and old books you might want to read yourself!

I am in the middle of two books right now.

I am reading "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky, for one of my book clubs.

Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie is navigating through the strange worlds of love, drugs, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", and dealing with the loss of a good friend and his favorite aunt.

It's an interesting read...and by that I mean, I'm not sure about it yet. I just started last night, but am about 20% thru it, and it's good.... just.... I don't know. I'll let you know when I finish.
I'm pretty sure it's a YA book, which I do love. I have it on my Kindle, so I can't flip thru (as easily as with a book) to find out info about it. I'm reading 'blind' for my bookclub. Ahhh....what faith I have in their choices!

I am also in the beginning of "The Tiger's Wife" by Tea Obreht.

Weaving a brilliant latticework of family legend, loss, and love, Téa Obreht, the youngest of The New Yorker’s twenty best American fiction writers under forty, has spun a timeless novel that will establish her as one of the most vibrant, original authors of her generation.

I'm really enjoying this one!

I'll be lucky to finish these two this week, as it's a big work week for me.

I'm sitting here drinking my coffee, writing up this post and listening to "Pink Martini". I've just discovered the group Pink Martini. Have you heard of them? Last Sunday (the 1st), when I 'discovered' them....CBS Sunday Morning described them as, "the best group, you've never heard of." (altho they have a huge following and are known world wide--I'm always the last to know these things)

They are my favorite thing to listen to right now...

from PANDORA:
The eclectic, acoustic-oriented sounds of Pink Martini have never been easy to categorize, but that hasn't prevented the Portland, OR-based band from acquiring a loyal, enthusiastic cult following. Some reviewers have considered Pink Martini to be a product of the neo-swing trend of the 1990s and have compared them to bands like the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and the Cherry Poppin' Daddies; however, Pink Martini have a much broader range of influences. And while most of the neo-swing acts that emerged in the 1990s favored a combination of jump blues and early rock & roll -- sort of Louis Jordan and Big Joe Turner by way of Little Richard, Buddy Holly, and Chuck Berry -- the diverse Pink Martini have offered a risk-taking blend of jazz (mainly swing), world music, cabaret, lounge, and 1940s-1950s film music. Pink Martini's influences are far-reaching, ranging from Cole Porter and Duke Ellington to French icon Edith Piaf to Latin greats such as Xavier Cugat, Beny Moré, and Tito Puente -- and a variety of world music has affected them, including French chanson, Afro-Cuban salsa, Argentinian tango, Brazilian samba and bossa nova, Italian folk, Greek rembetiko, Middle Eastern music, and Asian music. Impressively, Pink Martini's lead singer, China Forbes (b. April 29, 1970, Cambridge, MA), has performed in at least ten different languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Greek, Arabic, and Japanese. In 2004, Pink Martini founder/pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale (b. July 14, 1970, Oakland, CA) articulated the band's global outlook perfectly when he said: "I think it's important to be a citizen of the world as opposed to being a citizen of this particular country. Part of that means studying other people's languages."

I love music....

Cookbook Sundays--Toppers Greek Salad

2012-01-08T14:04:00.000-08:00

Continuing on with my cookbook countdown.... among other things. (this could be one of those random posts, where I talk about everything under the sun)

Let me begin tho, with Cookbook Sundays. Hosted by Sue at Couscous & Consciousness.
It's a blog hop, where you use a cookbook you own, either old or new and you post the name of the cookbook and the author. You can use an old tried or true recipe, that you love, or like me, make one you've never made before. I do that to force myself to use every single cookbook I own. I used to own 219, but now...it's closer to 230. I can't help it! It's a glorious sickness.

This is the cookbook I used for this week's hop:

Still Gold'n
Celebrating Spokane One Meal at a Time
by the Junior League of Spokane.

It was sent to my by my good friend Ruth, who is now living in Spokane. (I grew up just 2 hours southwest of Spokane (Washington), so it was fun to browse thru and see all the recipes with "Washington" in the title or that had to do with apples or huckleberries, but the recipe I made didn't have anything to do with Washington State.... I made a Greek Salad.
I was having friends for dinner, and I had made lamb, so, it seemed to fit. It was really good too.
It's company worthy.

It's called Toppers Greek Salad. I have no idea who Topper is or was, but that's what it's called.

Toppers Greek Salad
by the Junior League of Spokane

Dill Chive Dressing
1 tablespoon chives
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh dill
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Salad
8 oz zucchini
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
4 small tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
Kalamata olives
green olives
2 hard cooked eggs, sliced
8 oz feta cheese, crumbled

For the dressing, combine the chives, olive oil, dill weed, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl or jar with a tight fitting lid. Whisk or shake to blend.

For the salad, slice the zucchini into rounds. Combine the zucchini, onion, tomatoes and bell pepper in a bowl or on a salad platter. Drain the olives and arrange over the vegetables. Top with the eggs. Pour the dressing over the salad and crumble the cheese over the top.

****************************************************************************

Late yesterday afternoon, we got a call from the police dispatch informing us that someone ran into the front of our business. Ran their car into it. We were not open at the time, and no one was hurt. (we own a dry-cleaners)
In the scheme of things, it's big hassle. It took time that the Handyman had to hang around on a Saturday afternoon, evening and night, until it was all boarded up, etc. And it will take some time and money to fix it, till it's right, BUT no one was hurt. All it was was a hassle....and we'll take that. It could have been much worse.

I don't know how this segues, but you know how all the bloggers have posted their "10 best recipes" or "10 most loved books" of 2011?
I didn't.
I was going to say how I look forward and not back ( laughing here, because truly my blog is such a mix of things, my most popular posts were a hodgepodge of books, my yard and cooking, so I couldn't find a title. Maybe the BEST junk posts?)

Anyway, in light of really looking forward to 2012 and my blog.... let me just say, that I am excited about finding the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie (and anyone who makes a suggestion, that recipe is bookmarked for me to try), making more soups, reading more books, gardening, having more dinner parties, walking, and---(believe me, I WILL blog about this) Cousin Camp!! All my grandkids are coming for a week this summer WITHOUT their parents. I'm so excited! (something only a Gramma could understand)

Here's to blogging! (I am raising my wine glass)

Saturday Snapshot

2012-01-07T07:11:00.000-08:00

Last year I took this picture of the Robin in winter, right outside my house, while standing in my driveway.
This year? We have no snow....we've had no snow. It's as dry as a bone. And it's warm (for winter) during the day and people are being advised to water their trees--which is really weird, because IT'S WINTER. We don't water our trees or grass during winter! Mother nature is supposed to take care of that for us.
It's supposed to look like this picture. It's supposed to be cold and snowy outside, or at the very least, rainy.
It feels really odd to me....I don't like it. Of course it's nice to travel in and heating bills are down, and there is no mess or tangle of boots by your entry way....but this spring and summer when I want green in my backyard? When I want to water my flowers and plants? I don't know that it will be--- that I will be able to have lucious greenery.... because I hear that terrible phrase being uttered every once in a while: water rations. Ugh.

I am linking this to At Home With Books, where Alyce hosts "Saturday Snapshot".
Stop by and check it out.

The Night Strangers--a 'not' review and Booking Thru Thursday

2012-01-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

So, last night I finished "the Night Strangers" by Chris Bohjalian.
It was very satisfyingly....creepy. And I liked it very much. It was kind of a good old fashioned ghost story. Kind of.

(this is why this post is a NOT review, because I can't write one )
Just wanted you to know I finished and it was good. Bohjalian is a really diverse writer--and it's always well done. That takes a lot of talent

Read it if you kind of like to be creeped out....

and now, the Booking Through Thursday question is:
If you could sit down and interview anyone, who would it be?

And, what would you ask them?

That is a really difficult question to answer.
Tonight, I am thinking Julia Child. I just ordered a book of letters of hers. A book about her correspondence with a friend. So besides her cooking, I would love to know about her correspondences throughout the years...she was a great letter writer. (as I want to be)

I think that what I would ask her tho, has nothing to do with her life as a cook, or a military spy, or her letter writing.... I would ask her about how she dealt with her and her husband's infertility.
REMEMBER, I am thinking that since this is a pretend interview, I wouldn't be hurting her feelings by bringing it up. I wouldn't seem insensitive. I would never want to do that to Julia or anybody. IT IS PRETEND....and I would just like to know how she got thru that. That maybe she could be an inspiration for others in the same situation.
It is touched on---ever so briefly---in her book and the movie, Julie and Julia.

That's what I would ask her about.

Sunday Soup

2012-01-02T19:20:00.000-08:00

I've deChristmased the house! Except for the spirit, of course.

And now I'm off to read this (and relax, because I'm pooped!):

Just in case you are disappointed (that I'm not posting a new recipe), I DID make soup yesterday (Sunday)...clam chowder. It's just that I have made it and posted it before, but, we can do a rewind or an update, cuz it's really good soup!

I invited friends for lunch.
I never invite anyone for lunch.
It was quite nice.
I invited them for 'after church.'
The Handyman and I didn't go to church. (what lazy bums!)
Neither did they. (we tend to like lazy bums, I guess)
But, I made Heavenly Clam Chowder. That's got to count for something, right?
I think I 'll do lunch more often....it's easy and no 'dinner party' pressure. And a big pot of soup is just the thing.

My original post is here, but I will recap and give you a new picture. (note to self: in the future, white bowls are not good for taking pics of a cream soup)

Heavenly Clam Chowder
from my friend Barb Brown.
( Heavenly is the name Barb gave me)

(and this is exactly how she wrote the recipe for me)

Cut 5 slices bacon into 1-inch pieces and cook in the soup kettle till limp.....about 5 minutes.
Add 1 large chopped onion and 1 cup chopped celery and cook until onion is limp...about 10 minutes.
Add 3-4 potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks, 1/4 cup parsley, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1 quart chicken broth.
Cover and and cook until potatoes are tender...about 30 minutes.
Stir in 2 10oz cans of minced clams with liquid.
Stir in 1 quart of milk and cook until soup is hot, but not boiling.
Blend 5-6 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup water until smooth and add to the soup.
Continue cooking until soup boils and thickens.
Taste and add more salt if necessary.

***************
Things I did differently
I used only 1/2 onion
I used half and half instead of milk
I used "new" potatoes and left the skin on and I think I added an extra one.
I used 3 cans of minced clams with juice
I used more than a quart of chicken broth/stock

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-12-30T09:40:00.000-08:00

I've made two decisions for the New Year. (Dare I call them resolutions?)
1. to join Weight Watchers
2. to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie (besides the one my mom makes, which is the perfectest!)

You might think these 2 things are conflicting. Except that WW teaches you can eat everything--in moderation.
So...that's my story! And I'm sticking to it.

Time to dig out my many cookie recipe books!
(this would be stupid to do, because I have leftover Christmas cookies in the freezer, except I actually made these BEFORE the holidays)

These being 2 different recipes from my cookbook "The Search for the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie" by Gwen Steege. (I guess I am not the only one on a quest)
(that sticker is not coming off at all....it's stuck like glue... so now you know I am a bargain shopper too)

My quest, in today's post, will serve me with my very own cookbook countdown too, as well, as Cookbook Sundays, and See Ya in the Gumbo, two great blog hops.
But back to the cookie--the Chocolate Chip Cookie. Everybody's favorite. There are so many variations on the CCC. What is your favorite?
I prefer a crisp/chewy CCC, while the Handyman loves a soft cake-like CCC.
I wonder if we can find a common CCC ground this year of me making a CCC recipe a week?

This will be fun! (for me)

I thought I would just work my way thru this cookbook to find out if what Steege says is the best, really is the best.
Her first chapter is on Traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies....some that are quite similar to the Original Toll House Recipe.

She says, "the ingredients are all pretty standard, but each will produce a different texture and taste, depending on the proportions of those ingredients, the presence of butter, margarine or shortening, or even the method of mixing everything together. We each seem to hold in our mind some archetype of "The" chocolate chip cookie--is one of these that model for you?"

I was disappointed that none of her recipes had adjustments for high altitude. I think it makes a huge difference in the chemistry of baking. We sit quite high at just over 4000 feet above sea level.
I also had a slight problem using margarine, but, I am making the cookies as written, so... onward I went.
I began with cookie recipe #1. It is labeled "Finalist".

Hmmmmm.....
too flat and greasy for my taste. But that didn't stop me from eating them...I just didn't like them as well as my mom's.
I think the altitude thing played a big part here. I followed the directions EXACTLY but the dough was soft and the cookies flattened out. I don't like that. Having said that, tho, my son and his girlfriend loved them.

Chocolate Chip Cookies I

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
6 tbls granulated sugar
6 tbls brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/21 cup chopped nuts (optional)
6 oz (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate bar cut into pea-sized pieces

Sift flour before measuring, then resift with baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter. Add sugars gradually, and continue beating until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in sifted ingredients. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet, placing cookies well apart. Bake at 350F for about 8-10 minutes.

**********************************************

The second cookie I made from this book was touted as being softer and chewier than most traditional CCCs.

They were softer, but they were not the crispy-chewy consistency I like.

And they were a bit heavy on the chocolate chips for me. I love CCCs, but like about half as many chips as is usually recommended.

But again--this didn't stop me from eating them.

Chocolate Chip Cookies II

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon water
2 eggs
18 oz (3 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

Sift flour before measuring, then resift with the soda and salt. Set aside.
Combine the margarine, sugars, vanilla and water in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer about 2 minutes, until creamy. Add eggs and beat until fluffy.
Gradually add the sifted ingredients and beat with the mixer for about 2 more minutes, until very well blended.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets.
Bake on the middle oven rack at 350F for 10-12 minutes. Do not over bake.
Remove from oven when slightly browned, lightly crisp on bottom, they may seem slightly undercooked.
Cool 1 minute on baking sheet, them remove to paper towels to cool completely.

I'll be back next weekend with a new chocolate chip cookies on my countdown.
Do you have one that you always use? Never vary from? Or, are you like me and are always looking for that perfect cookie?
If you already have the perfect recipe, please share with me! (except you mom, I already know your's, and it really is perfect!)

Confession?

2011-12-29T19:34:00.000-08:00

This morning after reading, Book Journey's Morning Meanderings, I was very excited to 'confess'  and to post a picture of that confession.
She asked where your books were laying around your home....besides bookshelves and baskets and places they should be, and how many you had...in places they shouldn't be.

For a bookworm (me) I thought that would be fun to go around and count, because I always have books just laying around in places (3 and my Kindle right here by me on the compute desk), BUT, a few weeks ago, I started a project of making the spare bedrooms into "the grand children's room" (got twin beds, wall decals, funny pictures of them, a topee in the corner, etc) and 'the library'.   I began to take all my books to the 'library'.   All of my books...well over 100.   Well over 200.
This would be fine except the library doesn't have bookshelves yet. (waiting for the Handyman to build them. He was waiting for the holidays to be over).

To make a long story short--I have well over 200 books lying on the floor of a spare bedroom upstairs.
They are homeless right now.   And invisible, since I just shut the door to that room.
It's really not a pretty picture. It's quite embarrassing. I couldn't post it.
I will tho AFTER my book shelves are done.

The Countdown is on...

2011-12-28T11:04:00.000-08:00

The countdown to 2012 is on!   I know this seems weird, but the turning of the year bothers me. Like birthdays bother some people (my birthday has never, ever bothered me. I'm 52 years old. Big deal) the new years makes me feel reflective, thoughtful and sometimes melancholy.    Does this ever happen to anyone else? It's not that I am a 'glass half empty' person.....it's just that for a short period of time, I wonder where the heck times goes, because it goes so fast. (sometimes at this time of year, I will torture myself by watching old home videos of my kids when they were little) (please don't take me seriously when I say torture--it just sounded so dramatic--)
I find a strange sense of pleasure in that melancholy--but only for a couple of days, then it's on to new adventures!
It's the same thing as hating to turn older I'm sure...I just don't attach it to my birth date and age. I attach it to "Father Time".

I do, however, love the fact that January is slower, and there is time to read. I've missed reading lately. I love the fact that January gives a sense of organization and goals (yes, I do love the dreaded resolutions that everybody else hates), fresh ideas and a clean white slate. January and I have become friends of sorts--we have the slower time to paint the bathroom, tile our hallway, get our new kitchen cupboard built....
...WAIT!! What happened to 'slower'?   Doesn't sound like I'll be slowing down anytime soon.

Speaking of reading and books....I just finished Three Day Town by Margaret Maron. I love her Deborah Knott Series!   In Three Day Town, she brought in the character Sigrid Harald of her previous series. It was quite fun to see the two characters who are so different in one book.   I haven't finished the whole Sigrid Harald series of books, because I love Deborah Knott so much, but in reading something by Maron a few months back, she said she hoped that people didn't disregard Sigrid and they come to love her for who she is (she's not a warm and fuzzy character), anyway, reading that line and just having read Three Day town makes me want to go back and finish the Sigrid Harald Series.
Needless to say, I enjoyed the book.

and now......I have just started "the Night Strangers"! I can't wait for this weekend. I would love to just hunker down on New Years Eve, with some Hot Buttered Rum and leftover Christmas Cookies and finish this book.

I'll let you know how it goes,

....to be continued.....

Christmas Cherries

2011-12-20T14:46:00.000-08:00

When I was little, my mom would make a few treats at Christmas, that I just wouldn't eat. I wouldn't touch them with a 10-foot pole! Now, as an adult, I hunger for them. It's that nostalgic feeling that comes over me during the holidays. I'm still not sure that I love them, but I liked them very much. (maybe I should have tasted one when I was a kid) They make me think of home and my mom.

Christmas Cherries--that's how I think of these, altho, my mom's recipe says "Quick Cherries". I can't find anything like them when I google the recipe. To be fair, tho, I only spent about 10 minutes on Google.

Five little ingredients--that's all you need.
One being maraschino cherries with stems (and when all else fails and you can't find them in your little town call your friend Karen, from Karen Cooks! Thanks Karen)

Christmas Cherries
maraschino cherries with stems
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups powdered sugar
graham cracker crumbs

Whip the butter, powdered sugar and extract together until it is of a consistency you like and you can wrap around a cherry. Kind of like a good stiff frosting (you may have to add or subtract a bit of powdered sugar).

Take a tablespoon (I didn't really measure) and wrap around a cherry.
Roll in graham cracker crumbs
Refrigerate.
Eat.

These are super sweet, so you only need one or two with a good hot cup of coffee, but they are pretty and nice to have setting on a holiday plate.
A different take on a candied cherry, if you will.

Thanks Mom! (and Karen!)

(the trick is to not get too much 'candy' around the cherry, but of course I kinda flubbed on that part. Still if you like the taste of almond,cherry flavor, you are going to love one of these)

I do not procrastinate!!

2011-12-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

I just reschedule!

I am having my coffee this morning in this cup.....

.....which I received in the mail yesterday from my friend Karen in Havre, Montana. (Karen Cooks! Check out her wonderful blog)
I have never met Karen face to face, but I think she is one of my BFF's! Do they even say BFF anymore? I am usually behind the times, you know, in both my use of current slang and, well, in most everything I do.
That is why I got the mug. Because Karen knows me so well.
That has been one of the great benefits of being part of the blogging community: getting to know people, you wouldn't otherwise meet. Kind of like the old "pen pal" except with technology and video and Twitter and Facebook thrown in.
Karen and I will meet someday and then I have to buy the first glass of wine, maybe the 2nd and 3rd too, to show her I appreciate all the kindnesses she does.

I really don't procrastinate, I just reschedule! HA!
And that rescheduling has never let me down yet. I love to work under pressure. (okay, i might not LOVE it, as it is stressful sometimes, but I don't know any other way to do it)

Thanks Karen! I love my mug. And this morning I poured hot coffee in it and sat in the living room with the lights of the Christmas tree and a book in hand. It was PERFECT! The only thing missing was some snow falling and some sugar cookies.

In other news:
We put up our Christmas tree the day before they lit the tree in Rockefeller Center. When we put up our tree, we checked the lights---let me rephrase--the Handyman checked the lights, before putting them on the tree and they all worked....until we were done decorating, and then the middle strand didnt' work.   The Handyman, in his ingenious way of thinking, solved that problem by taking the strand and 'shaking' it.   They came on. (he is so smart, it scares me sometimes).
The next night when we watched the news as the tree in Rockefeller Center was lit, I said,   "man, I'd hate to be in charge of that tree. What if the lights didn't work from year to year and they had to --shake them??"
I thought I was funny. The Handyman told me they probably got new lights every year.
REALLY?? SERIOUSLY? What a waste. I mean, if they can afford to buy new lights every year, can't they just pay someone to "shake" them from year to year?   It's job security and not wasteful!
Don't tell me the White House does the same thing? New strands of lights every year?   When there are tons of good shakers out there?

Oh man.

And last....I found this little article that I thought was kind of funny--the 7 types of book lovers. What kind are you?

Banana Cookies

2011-12-04T21:54:00.000-08:00

I have been collecting recipes for years. I get them from friends and family and magazines and blogs. Often I have been known to just randomly ask a friend if I can see her recipe box. I will never live long enough to make all the recipes I have collected. But I think I should try.

I keep my recipe collection (which is different from my cookbook collection) in notebooks that look like this (below). I used to have one with dividers for every category, but now I have 5.     Each category now has it's own notebook.
The other day, I was looking thru the "cookie" notebook and came across these Banana Cookies   made with a lemon frosting. I must have printed it off months ago and always meant to make them, but you know how we recipe collectors are--there is just never enough time.

The combination of lemons and bananas was something I had not heard of before, so I was intrigued.    The Handyman was skeptical.   He likes  the banana cookies I usually make.
The cookies , without the frosting, were really great. Soft and moist and just the perfect combination of spices. We loved them!

Then I frosted them.   The frosting itself was really good. The tang of the lemon was perfect. We just weren't thrilled with the two tastes together.   My son and his girlfriend on the other hand loved them.   So I sent them home with them.

But would I make them again?

I WOULD. Because once I gave them away, I wanted them right back. Icouldn't get them out of my mind. I craved them, once I didn't have them. I yearned for that perfect banana and spice flavor and the tangy lemon frosting once they were gone. I longed to bite into that soft cake like cookie once again.
It makes my mouth water even now, thinking about them.

It's a good cookie. Try it and then if you aren't sure--try one in the morning with a cup of coffee. You'll be hooked.

Banana Cookies with Lemon Frosting
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
2 cups flour
6 oz chocolate chips (optional--I didn't use)

FROSTING
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbs+ lemon juice (adjust until you have the right consistency)

Cream together shortening, brown sugar, eggs and bananas. Sift in soda, powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and flour. Mix thoroughly. Stir in Chocolate chips if using them.

Spoon heaping tablespoons onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Let cool and top with frosting if desired.

Spicy Sausage with Hominy

2011-11-21T06:47:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, we had a business dinner to attend. I didn't really want to go, but the Handyman felt we should, so I am there for him, and off we went.
The dinner was held at a local Basque Restaurant, The Martin Hotel. It's an old Basque Boarding house... the Basque people came over from Europe (the Pyrenees mountain area between Spain and France) originally as sheep herders. They set up boarding houses for the young men away from their families.
The dinners are always 'family style'. They set big bowls of soup, salad, beans, bread, and then they bring out your meal, which consists of a meat, and three or four side dishes. One of the side dishes on Wednesday was this hominy, chick pea dish. I fell in love with it.
I had to come home and recreate it. I Googled and could only find a soup recipe that was somewhat similar. So, I made the soup, but substituted my own stuff.

In a Basque restaurant, they most likely would have used a spicy Chorizo, but I didn't.  I substituted Hot Italian Sausage and we liked that just fine.
And Garbanzo Beans and Hominy? I guess they are not for everybody, but as I ask my kids --my grown up kids---all the time, have you ever TRIED them?
I think you just might like them.
If you are not sure if you like them, maybe you should try the soup version instead of the this version.
I think that would be great, but I chose to recreate the side dish version I had at the restaurant, because I liked it so much. All I did to recreate was use less liquid than the recipe below.
I do love soup and I am going to try the soup version also one day, just not today.

The reason I had to come home and recreate this so soon after we had it in the restaurant was because, one thing about a family style Basque restaurant is that sometimes, they whip the dishes off the table quite quickly. There is just so much food, that when they see everyone has taken some of a certain dish, the waitress will ask, "is everyone done with this?" and then take it with her on the way back to the kitchen. (she has lots of tables and lots of dishes to serve and clear--there is no bus person).
Anyway, when she asked if everyone was done with that dish, I wanted to say, NO, dont' take that!!   But my plate was full of beans, and potatoes, and carrots and salmon and bread. And we were with other people, who kept their mouths shut, so I watched sadly as the waitress carried away the bowl full of hominy and spicy sausage.

No worries now tho, I can make it whenever I want.

The Handyman got this bean/sausage dish for his supper on Saturday night. It was really cold out, had snowed the night before and we just stayed home, watched a movie and ate our beans. I would say this is definitely a comfort food, warm and rustic and good.  COME ON--seriously, hominy is not bad! Neither are Chick peas. In fact, I think they are good for you. If you used Turkey Sausage, you could even make this a 'good for you' comfort food.

I am going to ( link this to) "See You in the Gumbo" a Potluck roundup at Ms. enPlace's place. You should go check it out to see all the other good recipes in this week's roundup. Or better yet, join in!

Spicy Sausage (soup) with Hominy

1 lb mild sausage (I used hot Italian) casings removed
1 onion diced
1 can (14oz) diced tomatoes (I used mild Rotel)
1 can (15oz) black beans (I used garbanzo beans)
1 can (15oz) yellow hominy, drained
1 can tomato soup (condensed)
3 1/2 cups water (I didn't use)
2 cups beef broth (I used about 3/4 cup)
1 cup salsa --optional (I didn't use)
1 tsp parsley, dried

Brown sausage in a large Dutch oven or soup pot and drain fat.
Add diced onion and cook until tender.
Add everything else, but the parsley and stir. Bring soup to a boil and then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for about an hour.
Stir in the parsley and season to taste. (you may not need additional seasoning, I didn't)
Serve with warm bread (I made cornbread)

Saturday Snapshot

2011-11-19T14:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday pre-dawn, this was the scene looking down on Reno, NV. A horrible fire in the southwest part of Reno and as of this morning about 30 homes have been lost.

(phto sent by a friend via facebook)

so...I am not submitting that photo to Saturday Snapshot, but these below....

I am.

Our thoughts and prayers have been with the people of Reno all day yesterday, today, and tomorrow....

***********************

I love Reno....it's 'home' territory, even tho we live 2 hours away. We go there often.
When you live in rural Nevada, you have to travel to do lots of things,
sometimes doctors, a bit of shopping, business, entertainment.

For some reason, I love to snap photos from the front seat of the car--I am usually the passenger when I do this--and most of the time, they turn out just fine. I took these last year when we were driving thru the downtown.
It must have been around Christmas time, because I notice the marquee on some of the casinos.

Every big city has it's own landmark for which it is famous (or at least recognizable) and the Reno arch is Reno's! I always get excited to see it.

I am submitting my Reno photos to Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce from "At Home with Books"
Stop by and check it out.

2011-11-18T11:54:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that I love my bookclubs....and the people in them. We don't see each other on a regular basis, except for our once a month book discussion, but we have such fun when we do.

Last night was my Lit Wits book club and it was especially exciting because our host, Massey, had just moved into a new home (next months host has a new home too....woo hoo!) and we all were treated to a 'tour', which is so fun and exciting, but I think it interesting that when we were in the Massey's last home, we never asked for, or got, a tour.
No one comes into my house either and wants to see my 'upstairs'. (which is fine, please, please don't ask to see my upstairs!)
It just strikes me as funny that it is expected to 'tour' someone's 'new' home, but we never 'toured' their old home--since we always knew them in that one.

(dang, now I better have my 'upstairs' clean and ready to show at a moments notice. )

Massey has a very nice home and we had a very nice dinner and book discussion.
Dinner was Chicken Cacciatore (wonderful) the book was, Damned by Chuck Palahniuk (weird, but intriguing, and smart).

Our cute little book club baby! She's a Lit Wits girl! She was born on a book club night!
Guaranteed to be a life-long reader!

Dinner was so yummy!!

And it just wouldn't be bookclub without a glass of wine (or 2)
OR...a great vodka drink, with a lime wedge. I don't know how she made it, but it was quite tasty!

Here she is 'framing' it. That little vodka tonic.

mmmmm.....

(I just thought it funny, that her hands are pretty much framing it, as she tells another story)

(my friends hate it when I post random pictures.... but they always forgive me. I think)

It was just a great book and dinner club night! And I think we all (those of us who read it) had the same opinion of the book "Damned". While it wasn't our favorite, we did really see the intellect of the author. The story was wild and crazy and really some gross parts, but also very smart and edgy.

from Goodreads:
The author described the novel as "if The Shawshank Redemption had a baby by The Lovely Bones and it was raised by Judy Blume." And "it's kind of like The Breakfast Club set in Hell."

Yep...the author had it right.

And I really don't know if I would recommend it.... but I'm glad I read it.

Booking Through Thursday

2011-11-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

It's been quite some time since I've participated in Booking Through Thursdays. I've always loved to reflect on and ponder questions like these.
Sometimes when I try to engage the Handyman in my thinking and reflecting process, he gets a worried look in his eyes. (sometimes not, but most of the time, yes) As if I'm going to make him discuss "feelings" again.

NO worries Handyman (as I know he reads my blog faithfully), today I will reflect and ponder with other Booking Through Thursday people. And here is our BTT question for today:
Of the books you own, what’s the biggest category/genre?

Is this also the category that you actually read the most?

My answer?
Interestingly the biggest genre of books that I own are cookbooks. I have about 250 of them right now. Yes, YES, YES. I know. Nobody in their right mind needs 250 cookbooks (as a side note tho, we are having new cupboards built and he is going to build me a wall to ceiling bookcase, so I can house ALL my cookbooks in one place and will not have to move and transfer and look into big plastic blue tubs under my bed for cookbooks anymore).
But I love them, so .... what's the problem?

Moving away from cookbooks, (because I know that Booking Through Thursday is really a meme about books and not cooking, ) I would have to say that the genre` or category I have the most books of are series mystery/suspense. I do love continuing characters and I love to see how they develop over the course of a series.

I'm not sure I read that genre` "the most", but I never sell them in yard sales....which I will do once in while in a moment of insanity.
Like when I did the 3day/60mile walk for breast cancer a couple of years ago. I had a BOOKS FOR BOOBS sale, and used all that money for my financial goal for the 3 day walk.
Yes, I love my books, but I figured if cancer survivors can be so courageous, I can sacrifice some of my books.
That was my thinking.
But I miss some of them.

oh well, too many books, too little time, as they say.

Outdoor Wednesday

2011-11-16T07:11:00.000-08:00

It's time for Outdoor Wednesday. Hosted by a Southern Daydreamer, this is a fun blog hop where you get to share your 'outdoor' pictures.

We live in rural Nevada. There are very pretty things (do not fall off your chair laughing, there really are) in rural Nevada....but the sad thing is, you really do have to get off the roads to find them. Well, you have to 'take the time", I guess. One cannot just drive thru Northern Nevada on Interstate 80 and say, what can we see? You really have to get off the freeway to appreciate us.
Wide Open Skies
fresh air
clear lakes (up in them thar mountains)
hiking, hunting....

I could go on, but I won't. For now.

This is what it's like to drive Nevada Roads.......

You drive for miles and miles and miles.....and nope, we are not "there yet", just in case you're wondering.

If you look off to the side, you see mountains ....and that is where the pretty stuff is, but this is just about the drive for now. We are not going off road.
Silly fact (for when you play Trivial Pursuit) Nevada is the most mountainous state in the whole United States. We have more mountain ranges than any other state. I'm not saying we have trees on them, but....we have the mountains.

If you look close you can see the irrigation sprinklers. We grow lots of alfalfa and potatoes up northern in Nevada. Yes, it's dry, but the high desert is not full of cactus like you think of when you think Nevada--that would be Vegas, and that is about an 8 hour drive for us. On roads like this.

When you see a clump of trees off in the distance, that is where a farm house is. A family home. We have lots of cattle and sheep ranchers in Northern Nevada.

With my naked eye, I could see the coyote in the alfalfa field. Can you spot him?

When we were out for a drive one afternoon, we saw the moon out. It was the middle of the afternoon...like 3:00.
Maybe it was closer to 4:00, but still very early for the moon to be out. Or to be seen anyway.

Be sure and stop by a Southern Daydreamer to check out more great outdoor pics!

Mexican Turkey Crescent Bake

2011-11-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

This morning on Facebook, Pillsbury posted this quick easy weeknight meal. I don't usually do anything new on a weeknight. I like to come home from work, make something tried and true (and quick) and get down to business with my books (or writing a letter, or watching TV with the Handyman, or...well, you get the idea. )
Anyway, I thought I would give this a try as it's a five-ingredient dish.
I was home by 5:15, this dish was made and in the oven and we were sitting down to eat at 6:00. At 6:30, we had to put on our pajamas because our pants were too tight from eating this.
That's a little bit of an exaggeration, but we really liked it. It was a bit spicy, but we liked that. I used pinto beans instead of the black beans it called for, because I couldn't find the type of black beans they suggested. We have nothing against black beans at all....just don't have them with chipolte and corn here in Winnemucca.

Okay, so it's not steak and shrimp, but it was good on a chilly fall evening.

Mexican Turkey Crescent Bake

1 lb ground turkey, cooked and drained
1 can (21oz) black beans in chipolte sauce with corn and red peppers
1 TB taco seasoning mix (from package)
1 can Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls.
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

In a skillet, mix turkey, beans and taco seasoning. Heat to boiling over med-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Separate dough into two long rectangles. Place in ungreased 12x8 glass baking dish, press over bottom of pan to form crust. Be sure to press perforations to seal. Spoon turkey mixture over dough, sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 375 F 15-20 minutes. Top with sour cream if desired.

***I could not find Black beans in chipolte sauce here in my little town, but I did find pinto beans in chipolte sauce and black beans with jalapeno and lime. It was a toss up, but I chose the pinto beans. I also used more of the taco seasoning than the recipe called for.

Upside Down Apple Pie

2011-11-13T20:41:00.000-08:00

I may not have as many followers or as many fans or be as productive or inexhaustible as many of you (some of you post every single day--that is inexhaustible to me), but I do have my own funny little cheering squad.
Case in point: I sat down in church this morning and the lady in the pew behind me leaned forward and said, "I tired your Roasted Shrimp and Feta last night and it was great!".
I must have looked at her funny, because she said, 'from your blog."
I live in a really small town, and it seems I have become known for having a blog. It's really rather funny. (and really, only a few people know, but it always surprises me when someone mentions it)

On Friday night we had some friends for dinner and I made this Upside Down Apple pie and before my guests took their forks and dug in, they said, "have you taken a picture of it yet?"
They know me so well. But, again, funny.

This Upside Down Apple pie was easy, smelled great, looked good, and it tasted good too. You can hardly go wrong with an apple pie recipe. A bit of cinnamon, sometimes some nutmeg, some good apples. Apple pie is my favorite of all pies. In fact apple desserts are among my most favorite, even over something chocolate. This one did not disappoint -it was especially good with the caramel nut topping. The only thing I took an issue with was the
pre-made Pillsbury Pie crust.
I know they are easy, and I know that most people LOVE them. They'll say, why make a homemade crust when these are so good and so easy?
I have to disagree. I can tell they are not 'homemade' and while they are fine, nothing but nothing can beat a homemade from scratch pie crust. For me anyway. If you are a fan of the pre-made crusts, they are a lot easier and less time consuming, but I think the next time (and there will be a next time, because I really liked this version of apple pie) I will try to use my 'made from scratch' pie crust.

You can google Upside down apple pie and come up with many versions and sources. I don't remember where I got mine, but it is handwritten on a piece of scratch paper. None of my recipes are truly mine, I find them from magazines, cookbooks, friends, and from YOU, the blogging world.

Thanks friends!

Upside Down Apple Pie

1 cup chopped pecans (heaping)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
6 TB of butter
1 box of Pillsbury All-Ready Pie Crusts
1 tsp flour
5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2" slices
1/4 cup sugar
2 TB of flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Heat oven to 375 F

In a 9" deep pie plate, combine pecans, brown sugar and butter. Spread evenly over the bottom of the pan. Prepare the pie crust according to package directions for a two crust pie. Place bottom crust evenly over the pecan mixture in your pan. Press the crust down around the sides of the pan.

In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg. Toss gently to coat the apples. Spoon the apple mixture into the pie crust.

Top with the 2nd crust. You can flute the edges or just pinch them together best you can. Cut several slits into the top crust to vent.

Place the pie plate on a cookie sheet and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until crust in golden brown.
Cool pie upright in pan on a rack for about 5 minutes. Place a rimmed serving platter that is larger than your pie plate over it and invert. Your pie is still going to be hot, so be careful. I used two big oven mitts.
Carefully remove the pie plate. Allow the pie to cool to desired temp. Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Confetti Bars and Sugar Cookies for a Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T07:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!!

I have two great little treats for you today.

I just finished reading 'Rosemary's Baby' which is still, after all these years, REALLY CREEPY.    I don't know why I subject myself to that, except to say that I like a little "fright" once in a while. (nothing like slasher movies tho...not blood and gore, but real ghost stories)

When we were kids and got to go Trick-or-Treating (on our own, no parents--it was a different world back then) we always loved those so-called Haunted Houses. You know the ones--every neighborhood used to have one..where the creepy people lived. The ones where you held your breath as you walked by on your way home from school? The one your friends DARED you to go up to on Halloween night?
And when you did, there were these nice old people living there, and they gave homemade treats like caramel apples or popcorn balls, sugar cookies and yes, maybe even these Confetti bars!
That's why we loved to Trick or Treat at those houses--first, a bone-chilling fright and then we got the best treats!!

Today, I can only give out my homemade treats to kids I know. It's sad in a way, but on the other hand? We've had over 600 little Trick-or-Treaters come to our door before. I don't have the time or energy to make that many sugar cookies.
We are all set up and ready to go tho....we have a little cemetery in our garage, complete with ghosts and witches and spooky sounds.

OH....maybe I'm the neighborhood's "Haunted House". ???

The Sugar cookies are from an old friend of mine, Sandy. Our husbands were both in retail and we transferred around a lot when we were younger, but found ourselves in the same town about 18 years ago. We became great friends, she's a great cook. It's always been fun to share recipes with her... even now that we are again, in different towns.
The Confetti Bars I found in old 2007 Nestle` baking magazine.

The Sugar cookies are great. Soft and moist and tasty. Pretty much like the frosted cookies you can buy at your local market--but a lot cheaper! And if you make them, you will be very popular with friends and family.
The Confetti Bars are really good too and so easy. They literally take no time or effort at all.   We loved the marshmallow chewiness on top of these chocolate chip cookie bars, and the pretzels added a little saltiness with the sweet....mmmm, mmmm good!

Have yourself a Happy Night! Don't let the goblins get to you!!

Confetti Bars

1 package (16.5 oz) Nestle` Toll House refrigerated Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bar dough
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate-covered pretzels, broken into pieces
3 Tablespoons rainbow sprinkles
Nestle` Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate mini morsels (optional)

PREHEAT: oven to 350 F. Grease a 13x9 inch baking pan
PLACE: whole bar of dough in prepared pan. Allow to soften for 5-10 minutes. Using fingertips, pat dough gently to cover bottom.
BAKE: for 11-13 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Sprinkle marshmallows over cookie, bake for an additional 1-2 minutes or until marshmallows are puffed. Distribute pretzels, sprinkles and mini chips over marshmallows; press down lightly.
Cool completely in pan on wire rack. cut into bars with a wet knife.

Sugar Cookies
Courtesy of my friend Sandy

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tarter
pinch of salt

sift together and set aside
*****
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 Tbls milk

Cream together
*****
Blend the butter and sugar mixture with the dry ingredients. Chill overnight.

Heat oven to 350F. Roll dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on waxed paper. Frost with a creamy vanilla frosting. Decorate, if desired, with candies, etc.

Saturday Snapshot

2011-10-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday....you know what that means? Time for Saturday Snapshot! Hosted by Alyce from At Home with Books
To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky below. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

A while back I went for a walk around my neighborhood and when I turned on my street, all these little Swallows were lined up on the street sign. I didn't have my camera with me, but I walked down the street to my house, got my camera, came back and they were still there. Silly little birds.

These pictures remind me of the song, Zip-a-dee-do-dah from Disney's 'Song of the South'.
Especially because I said, "stay there birds, I've got to run home and get my camera" and they did. ~grins~

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay

My, oh my what a wonderful day!
Plenty of sunshine heading my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay

Mister Bluebird on my shoulder
It's the truth, it's actch'll
Ev'rything is satisfactch'll
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
Wonderful feeling, wonderful day!

apricot oatmeal bars

2011-10-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

I've been reading about writing lately. Yep...reading about writing.   It seems weird, I know, but I love to read and I love to write to people (see here), and I love to eat cookies, which you will see at the end of this post.

Right now I'm reading "Put Your Heart on Paper-Staying Connected in a Loose-ends World" by Henriette Anne Klauser. (It has such great suggestions for staying in touch and staying connected ).

In her book she mentioned how we used to pass notes to each other in class.
Do you remember that? Passing notes? I loved passing notes. We never wrote really bad stuff in the 60's and 70's. More like: do you think Alan likes me?   or: this class stinks. Or: There's going to be a fight after school by the old gym!
(there usually wasn't because the teachers intercepted the notes and the principal would should up and all of us spectators would scatter like leaves in the wind).

I am just wondering.....are passing handwritten notes a thing of the past? Now days everyone can just text, right?

And did you ever write a lipstick note on the bathroom mirror to your spouse or lover? (okay...I'm laughing my ass off now, because the word lover does not flow from my mouth EVER.   It does from Stephen King's mouth tho... I saw him and his wife Tabitha on a interview show once and they made it clear they were "lovers" first and then parents, and then authors. It kinda creeped me out hearing SK say lover.    But later, after reading some of his memoir, it didn't creep me out at all...I find it endearing that SK and TK love each other so much and aren't afraid to voice it.   Still..... that word makes me laugh--I raised 3 boys and can't get over the sophomoric sense of humor they left me!)

Moving on....lipstick notes? Did you ever write one?   Lipstick's really hard to clean off of a mirror! But what the heck...so are toothpaste splatters! Or shaving cream blots for that matter. (I don't know what the heck we do in the bathroom, but it's messy.)
It's kind of sad that Lipstick notes used to be romantic and now they are just a pain to clean.

Maybe I'll go write one tonight before I go to bed, so the Handyman will get up in the morning and see it.
After all, he did ask for a second helping of my Apricot Oatmeal bars last night.   He never does that. In fact, if I didn't just hand him dessert on a plate, he would probably never eat it.   He does not have a sweet tooth like I do.

I used to make these bars every fall, but it's one of those things that fall by the wayside somehow. It has been a good 10 years since I've made them.  Once I tasted them again, I thought man, these are good, why did I wait so long to make them?
Apricot preserves are spread on top of a buttery almond flavored shortbread then sprinkled with coconut. They just melt in your mouth. I've eaten more than my share in the past couple of days. They can be very dangerous---You have to like apricots, almond flavor and coconut tho. Some people don't, but that just means there is more for me!
They are just a good bar cookie --or dessert if you want to call it that. They would not be bad with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top...ESPECIALLY when they are warm. Mmmmm..... and you could leave a sticky note-love note on the ice-cream, so your lover can see it when he opens the freezer...to stay connected. It said so in the book I'm reading.

All joking aside... I love these apricot bars and I think you will too.

Apricot Oatmeal Bars

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup melted butter
2 tsp almond extract

Combine all in a large mixer bowl. Beat at a low speed until crumbly. Reserve 3/4 crumbs. Press remaining mixture into the bottom of a greased 9-inch square baking pan.

3/4 cup apricot or peach preserves
1/3 cup flaked coconut

Spread preserves to within 1/2 inch of crust. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture and coconut.

Heat oven to 350. Bake for 2-25 minutes, or until browned. Cool completely.
Cut into squares.

Secret Reciep Club--Deluxe Mashed Potatoes

2011-10-10T04:30:00.000-07:00

It's the Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day!. My secret blog was, Cafe Mayhem & Pictures of all my Pretty Princesses. I had fun looking thru this blog, but I chose this recipe.... because I saw the picture of the cookbook and I thought "OH MAN, I HAVE THAT SAME COOKBOOK!" see picture here at Jules blog and here at my blog. (well, it's not THIS blog, it's a running list of all my cookbooks )
Of course, then I realized that it was a cookbook cover from a fundraiser.
Still the excitement lingered and I felt Jules and I had a bond. We both like to cook for example. We both LOVE this cookbook cover and the recipes each contains.
And we both like to particiapte in the Secret Recipe Club.

When the Handyman noticed I was putting carrots into his beloved mashed potatoes he was kind of horrified to tell you the truth, but I am happy to say that his words when eating this were " This really IS good!"
And the Handyman spoke the truth!!

Yes, these Deluxe mashed potatoes have carrots in them....that is not cheese....and they are a bit lumpy....but that made them really, really good.
I did have to add a bit of heavy cream (because I had it) or mine would have been really dry, but other than that I stuck to the orginal recipe and we loved it.
I served these with some grilled salmon and fresh brocoli--what a perfect mea. In fact....there are leftover potatoes. I think I'll go fix myself some.

In the Secret Recipe club, we are assigned a blog and we choose any recipe from that blog to make and post about. We keep our assigned blogger a secret until posting day. It's a lot of fun getting to know another blogger by actually 'stalker' (or visiting) their blog.

It's such a fun blog hop to take part in. I can't wait to go visit all the other Secret Recipe bloggers!

Mashed Potatoes Deluxe

2 1/2 qt. chicken broth

8 russet potatoes

6 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch lengths

1 large onion, cut into quarters

1 tsp dill (dried or fresh)

6 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp parsley

2 Tsp. salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

In a large pot, bring chicken broth to a boil. Add potatoes; cover. Lower heat. Boil 15 minutes. Add carrots and onions; boil 20 minutes until potatoes and carrots are tender. Drain potatoes and carrots in a colander; cool 5 minutes and peel.

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, onions, dill and butter. Mash with potatoes masher. Add parsley, salt, and pepper; mash again. Heat and serve warm.

****************

Saturday Snaptshot

2011-10-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

To some of you who have come to my blog via " Saturday Snapshot" you might be wondering--what the heck?
I agree, most of the pictures associated with Saturday Snapshot are beautiful landscapes of vacations we've taken, beautiful pictures of people we love, beautiful pictures of crafts we've made, places we've been, things we've done.

I love all those pictures!! But this week.....

......well, let me backtrack just a bit please.
I used to be a prolific letter writer. I love writing letters to friends. I love receiving a letter in the mail.   It puts a smile on my face. Going out to the mail box and finding a real live letter---well, let me tell you--I run back into the house and make myself wait just a bit (okay, sometimes I rip them open on the way back into the house, I won't lie...) kind of as if the letter is a reward for something I have to finish.
In a letter I just got from my friend Georgann, she wrote to me, "I saved the first letter, waiting for a quiet time to visit with you. No time for tea or wine--I did try to put that all together--your letter, tea and solitude, but the tea never happened."

See? A reward! She saved my letter for a time to visit with me.
I LOVE THAT!    It makes me happy too.

I sent 38 letters out to friends during the first of September. I was beginning an old hobby that I loved and had neglected for so long.
Once email came around people slowly stopped writing at all.   It slowed way down with telephones--but cell phones, making calling anyone, any time, any where as easy as pie, virtually stopped letter writing all together.
Of those 38 letters sent out I received a few notes back, so in late September I did it again.... I sent out to those same 38 friends and I added a few and guess what began to happen? More letters started trickling in.

This past week, I got a letter in the mail every day!
1 on Monday
1 on Tuesday
1 on Wednesday
4 on Thursday
1 on Friday
1 on Saturday

Me and my friends! We're gonna save the United States Postal Service! (yes, I'm laughing)

It's just fun for me..... something I love to do.
So.... this week, I am going to leave you with a picture of those 9 letters that are waiting to be answered as my   Snapshot for today.
They are beautiful to me.    A dying art they are!

oh....and this quote from a book I have and was re-reading:

“I write letters for myself, because it makes me feel good. I could spend that time doing all the things I should be doing, like defrosting the refrigerator, but I’d rather sit down, calmly and try to connect with someone I care about, someone I don’t want to lose in the busy bustle of things.”

From The Pleasures of Staying in Touch by Jennifer Williams

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books.

Stop over and check out the blog hop!

Beautiful, beautiful letters from this week..... (I have check marks on the ones I've answered. And yes, I do know what a dork I am. Do you know, I also can't throw them away? They are bundled, chronologically, in ribbons, in boxes in my attic. Okay, upstairs closet of the spare bedroom.... attic just sounds so much more romantic)

I think YOU should surprise an old friend with a handwritten (or at least typed out on the computer) letter this week. It will put a smile on their face, believe me!

Out of This World Corn Dip

2011-10-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to jump right in and pretend I haven't been a lazy blogger lately.

I found this great appetizer on the blog "A Well-Seasoned Life" and made it to take to my friend April's "movie night" this past August.   I have no idea why its taken me so long to post about it. It was really good....pretty addictive....the kind of thing you just keep eating and eating, trying to figure out what makes it so good.

I ran into another friend who had been at the movie night and she said that she had tried to recreate this corn dip by memory. I said, 'well, it's on my blog, just go there." Then I realized that I had never posted it.   Silly me! And silly her for not just calling me to get the recipe.   I am always happy to share.
Or to point out where I got the original recipe.

This next week is going to be a busy week... we have a big Wine Tasting event Fundraiser at work to get ready for. It's always fun, but I'm always glad when it is over and done with.   We do appetizers and and desserts.
Hmmmm.... I wonder........ how hard it would be to make this corn dip for 300 people?

Out-of-this-World Corn Dip

3 (11-oz.) cans sweet corn & diced peppers, drained
7-oz. can chopped green chilies
6-oz. can chopped jalapeno peppers, drained and liquid added to taste
1/2 c. green onion, chopped
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
16-oz. pkg. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
scoop-like corn or tortilla chips

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except chips. Chill two hours to overnight. Serve with your favorite chips for scooping. Makes 6 cups.

Saturday Snapshot

2011-09-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

It's coming!! There's no stopping it now.   Autumn! Fall!
It IS my favorite season, but at the same time, we got such a late start on summer, I will miss summer.
We leave our window open on summer nights (small town, two story house) and I will miss the crickets and the katydids, the sound of the train whistle late at night, the rustle of the wind in the trees.

But.... let's bring it on!!!    Falling leaves, the crisp air, being able to wear a sweatshirt while walking, football, apples, pumpkins....WOO HOO!!!!

We live in the high desert, which means, not many fall colors, because we don't have a lot of trees. Well, let me rephrase that...we don't get the same type of fall color as the rest of you.   Last year, we took a walk up the canyon above our house (about 5 miles out of town) and we got to walk thru this fall wonderland.   So far this year, the trees have not started to turn. Maybe soon.... for now I leave you with the pictures I took last fall of "Water Canyon".

We have pretty falls in the High Desert.   Just different.

I am linking this to   Snapshot Saturday.
Snapshot Saturday is hosted by Alyce from At Home with Books. It's a fun weekly meme/blog hop, that just lets us all show off something fun to us.   The rule is tho, that the photo has to be taken by you or a friend/family member and appropriate for all ages. No photos off the Internet.

I love to see the carvings in the Aspen Trees. I've never actually done it....I worry about what it does to the trees, although, it doesn't seem to phase them, as there are groves of trees all over in the canyons...with carvings. Some very old.

You can click here to see the trees in my backyard.

Rocky Road Pie

2011-09-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

It rained last night. We had thunder and lightning and rain-- lots of rain...in a short time. A 'beware of flash floods' kind of rain. That's how it rolls in the desert.

I sat out on my patio on the swing, wrapped in a blanket loving every minute of it. Nothing smells as good, sounds as good, or feels as good as a rainstorm in the desert.
The only thing that would have made my pleasure complete would have been to have a piece of this Rocky Road Pie and a hot cup of coffee. BUT, there was none left as we ate it all (with a little help from friends) the other night.
I just might have to make it again!

I served this when we had company for dinner--it was an 'ooooo' kind of dessert as it looks so pretty when you bring it out. I should have taken a picture of the whole pie, but I didn't. Even my friend Theresa said, "do you want to take a picture? It looks so pretty."    They know me so well. And the good thing is? They put up with me.
Anyway, I should have listened to her.

When you make this, you will get a lot "oooohhss and aaahhhs" from the table. Besides being show stopping pretty, (as a whole pie that is--it looks kind of messy when you try to cut it) this was one of the easiest desserts I've ever made. The most time consuming part was the 20 minutes it took to bake the cake base. It was super simple and super good.    A chocolate cake base with a mousse-like topping filled with marshmallows and nuts, drizzled with a chocolate glaze. It is very much like a Rocky Road Candy bar.

The top layer was--ambrosial.    (yes, ambrosial--don't laugh too much) Ambrosial. Tasted heavenly. Pretty darn good. Great. Marvelous.
It was really, really, really good. Who knew that dry cake mix and whipping cream would make a mousse-like texture?   I'm thinking what a great way to just make a faux-mousse and serve it just plain. It was that good.
The Handyman did not like the nuts in the mousse layer, so that again, is personal preference.

We both agreed that we would have preferred a more brownie like base, a denser and chewier base. That's just us tho...it was great as is and I would definitely make this again for company...it's too dangerous to have in the house if you are by yourself.
It's a perfect, easy, no-stress, never fail, kind of dessert.

Rocky Road Pie Recipe

source: Lady Behind the Curtain

Ingredients
1 package chocolate fudge cake mix
2/3 cup water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 - 3/4 cups chilled whipping cream
2/3 cup miniature marshmallows
2/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
chocolate glaze (below)

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and dust a 9-in pie plate with sugar. Reserve 1 - 2/3 cups lightly packed cake mix (dry). Beat remaining cake mix, the water, oil and eggs. Beat until smooth. Spread in pie plate. Bake until cake springs back when touched lightly in center, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely.

Beat whipping cream and reserved cake mix (dry) until stiff. Fold in marshmallows, walnuts and chocolate chips. Spread over cooled cake. Prepare Chocolate Glaze, immediately drizzle over top. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Refrigerate any remaining dessert.

Chocolate Glaze Ingredients and Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon whipping cream, 1 teaspoon butter and 1 ounce coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate in a microwave until melted and smooth.

Book Bloggers I appreciate You! And my mother-in-law too.

2011-09-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

It is BBAW (Book Blogger Appreciation Week), and while I don't qualify as a real Book Blogger, I have to get my 2cents in anyway.

I love Book Bloggers. I love to read their posts and get new ideas, I love to read about their lives, their likes, their blog hops. I just don't always have time to do them justice---in community.   That is their topic for today. How do we (they) stay connected to others in the book blogging community.
One thing they all say is "comment".   Comment on other blog posts.

I suck at commenting. I read them---a few everyday. Every single day. Book Journey, Bermuda Onion, Beth Fish Reads, Booking Mama, At Home with Books, to name a few,   but do I comment? (yikes!), no, not as often as I would like to.

WOULD SOMEBODY PAY ME TO BE A PROFESSIONAL BLOG READER/COMMENTER/WRITER?
Please?

I read them every day! And I love them. So this is just a shout out to ALL the Book Bloggers who keep me up to date on books, and the book/publishing/literary world. And also because I look forward every morning to sitting with my cup of coffee and check out your blogs. It makes my morning special. (and I hate it when you go a few days without posting, darn it!)

Yay Book Bloggers!!

*****************************************************************

Margaret Maron, (I am a HUGE fan) wrote a post today on the blog,

"the Lipstick Chronicles" about mothers-in-law.

I have to say: I have a GREAT mother-in-law!! And I AM a GREAT mother-in-law. (yes, I'm laughing, but it's true!!) I think.

A story about my mother in law.

When the Handyman and I were newly married, I was a young bride of 19. We were at his mother's house one night for dinner. The Handyman, thinking he was being funny, told everyone I only cooked macaroni and cheese out of a box....and that was all I knew how to cook.

I could have killed him!! I was so young and kind of shy around his family still. I was horribly embarrassed.

After dinner, his mother took me aside and handed me $5 and said, "I want you to go to the store and buy 14 boxes of mac and cheese and fix it for him every night for 2 weeks--he thinks he's such a smarty pants!!

I FELL IN LOVE WITH HER RIGHT THEN!!

Another time, at my son's wedding (we all know how stressful those times can be)---the day of the wedding rehearsal, I had all kinds of relatives in my house, chopping fruit, making salads, cleaning my house, etc etc etc.

My middle son (one of the groomsmen) and the Handyman (my husband, his father) had an argument at work (he worked for us then)...and I saw my middle son driving out of town. I called him and he was GROUCHY and snippy and, well.... I then called the Handyman on my cell phone-- a short argument ensued and then I went home to 20 people in my house all chopping and sweeping....and I burst into tears!! I blubbered out how my middle son was going to RUIN the wedding by being an ass, and then I looked at my mother in law and said, "and it's all YOUR SON'S FAULT!!"

The room went silent, all chopping and sweeping stopped, you could have heard a pin drop--I had insulted an Italian woman's oldest son.

She looked at me and said, "I'm sure it was."

All chopping resumed.

I just love her!!

And of course, the wedding was beautiful and all my sons were there doing their job.

The Handyman said...."what was the big deal? We just had an Orange County Chopper moment." (if you've ever seen that show, you'll understand)

Moving on.....

I think I'm a good mother in law. I honestly like my daughters-in-law. I LOVE them, but I think "liking" is more important. That way we can be friends too. My sons love their wives. And my sons are happy. A friend and I, long ago, when our boys were little, made a pact to truly appreciate whoever our sons married. It worked out well for me--My daughters-in-law are really interesting people. I find them fun to talk to and I like what they do, who they are, what they read, how they raise their kids.

They are all DIFFERENT, but that's what makes them unique....they read different books, have different opinions, raise their kids different. But that's really okay with me.

I'm sure I annoy them sometimes.....after all....that kinda goes with the territory. But I hope they have some funny stories about me when I'm old.

Like 'that's the moment I fell in love with her!'

Of course my daughter-in-law Sadie, will not love me if I don't hurry up and finish this book she suggested to me....

Looking for Alaska by John Greene.

I am in the middle of it and it's REALLY GOOD. This brings me back to the start of my blog post. REALLY GOOD is not a book review. And that is why I'm not a 'real' Book Blogger.

But that is the best I can do. (and hopefully they will still let me live vicariously thru them--YAY book bloggers!!)

pssst.....the book is really good! Young Adult, controversial subjects... I am loving it.

Roasted Shrimp with Feta

2011-09-14T06:12:00.000-07:00

The aroma in my house on Sunday afternoon was---heavenly. I wish YOU could have been there. We could have shared a glass of wine, sopped up some of these great juices in the pan with some rustic country bread.

STOP. I just realized what I wrote.   "Shared" a glass of wine?   Shared?
Hell no! I get my own glass and you get yours. None of this 'sharing" stuff.   Maybe I meant we could share a BOTTLE of wine.   Yeah, that was it.   A Bottle of wine, not a glass--silly me.

Back to the matter at hand: this is a great dish. I came across it in Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa-How Easy is That cookbook.
It's not a new recipe, it's been around the blogosphere (??) before (and perhaps even in the next day or two my friend Brenda   will be posting her experience with making the dish), but I think it's a recipe worth repeating....again and again. And then again and again!
I could go on about the complexities of the fennel and tomatoes, the creaminess and saltiness of the feta and crunch of the breadcrumbs, but I really don't know what I'm talking about there. All I know is that this was REALLY GOOD. And we ate it right up.

There was one thing tho, that didn't fit in with what Ina said and my friend Brenda told me.

The juices to sop up with crusty bread.
1)I didn't have as much juice as I thought I should. I used Panko bread crumbs, which I love, but I think 1 cup of those was a bit too much for the dish.

2) the problem could also have been that I am over 4000 feet above sea level. I never used to think it made a difference in my baking and cooking...but it does.
So, I am thinking higher elevation? Use less bread crumbs... they soak up too much of the good juices.

Having said that tho, the mixture of tomatoes and feta with garlic and fennel, is a GREAT topping for crostini. We would spoon it atop our slices of crusty french baguette and eat it like that...it was great!! I would serve that at a party! And if you came to that party I would be sure to do more than just share a glass of wine with you.

So --the only problem with this dish was the fact that I didn't have as much juice as I thought I would have? Next time, I'm just going to double the wine in the recipe. Then...perfection!

It has been a long time, but I am finally using a new cookbook--so I can continue with my cookbook countdown. (It's my own personal countdown, so I feel no guilt when I am a lazy sloth and neglect my personal challenge for months on end)
(although I would like to coincide with Cookbook Sundays again, because it kept me on track--going thru 209, make the 210+ cookbooks)

My Cookbook Countdown will continue with this: Barefoot Contessa How Easy is that? by Ina Garten. It's #46 in my countdown.
Her Roasted Shrimp with Feta is worth making.

Roasted Shrimp With Feta
Serves 4

4 tbs good olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups medium diced fennel
1 tbs minced garlic (3 cloves)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbs Pernod (I didn't use)
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 lb (16-20) peeled and cleaned shrimp, tails on
5 oz good Feta cheese, coarsely crumbled
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (I had Panko, so used it)
3 tbs minced fresh parsley
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 lemons

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat 2 tbs of the olive oil in a 10 or 12 inch heavy, oven-proof skillet over medium-low heat. Add the fennel and saute for 8-10 minutes, until the fennel is tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the wine and bring it to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the tomatoes with the liquid, tomato paste, oregano, Pernod (if you have it), salt, and pepper to the skillet. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 - 15 minutes.

Arrange the shrimp, tails up, in one layer over the tomato mixture in the skillet. Scatter the feta evenly over the shrimp. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parsley, and lemon zest with the remaining 2 tbs olive oil and sprinkle over the shrimp.

Bake for 15 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked and the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the shrimp and serve hot with the remaining lemon cut into wedges.

The Secret Recipe Club--Vickie's Tortilla Soup

2011-09-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

Amber and I could easily be friends.   We could be friends because, well, I love her blog. And her enthusiasm-- for cooking, for her blog, for her family and for her home.

Amber is the blogger from Bluebonnets & Brownies, the blog I was assigned for the secret recipe club.    I love the secret recipe club, because it introduces me to blogs I haven't seen before. It's such a great way to be introduced to new blogs and bloggers.  Some are extra special like this one.

I LOVE food with a Mexican flair--a Tex-Mex flavor--as well, as the occasional chocolate treat. Bluebonnets & Brownies--A Perfect Fit!!

Although, there were many great recipes to choose from, I decided on this Tortilla Soup .    I love Tortilla Soup.    I have made a good Tortilla Soup in my time, but I'm kind of always on the lookout for a better one now.     (It's all because of Heather from Girlichef and her Tortilla Soup round-up).   My favorite has lots of cheese and cream and some other really unhealthy ingredients in it, (it's sooo good!) so when I read this recipe, I thought, "well it sounds really good, but where is the cream?"

We Loved It!!!
It's like apples and oranges. They are two completely different soups. No one really need compare.
It felt like a fall day here in Winnemucca (in fact, it rained a bit) and this soup smelled so good simmering in the crock pot all day. It was just perfect. The weather, the soup, the football on TV.
The soup was so good....it had a lot of flavor and the veggies simmered in the broth were just perfect. It was a great soup to bring in the fall for me.
I love to chop vegetables for some reason and this soup was chalk full of them...carrots, zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes. It's soothing to me to chop.
Our taste buds were very satisfied and we felt like this was a soup that was actually good for us!

I would make this soup again, even if I didn't have tortilla strips on top. It was just a really good soup. I'm not sure why it's called Vickie's Tortilla soup--maybe you should read the blog to find out. What a great idea. That way you can see what other great recipes Amber has.

In the Secret Recipe club, we are assigned a blog and we choose any recipe from that blog to make and post about. We keep our assigned blogger a secret until posting day. It's a lot of fun getting to know another blogger by actually 'stalker' (or visiting) their blog.
It's such a fun blog hop to take part in. I can't wait to go visit all the other Secret Recipe bloggers!

Vickie’s Tortilla Soup

Directions
1 onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
2 regular carrots, peeled and diced
4 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 zucchini, diced
6 cups of chicken broth
1-1 1/2 lbs chicken breast
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 bunch of cilantro

Directions
I started by chopping all the vegetables except the cilantro and tossing them into the crock pot. Then I added the chicken broth and spices, and allowed this to cook on low for about 2 hours. Then I added the raw chicken pieces (I used tenderloins) directly to the crock pot, and put it on high.

About 4 hours later, I removed the chicken pieces from the soup, and pulled them using two forks. This makes for very tender chicken throughout the soup, and guaranteed chicken in pretty much every bite. I added the chicken back to the soup, and just let it cook for another 3 hours on low.

The soup gets its name from what goes on top of it at the very end.

Preheat your oven to 350F. Take 1 corn tortilla per person eating, and cut the tortilla into strips. Place the strips on a baking tray, and spray them with cooking spray. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake the strips for about 8-10 minutes until crisp.

When you ladle up the soup, sprinkle it with some sharp cheddar cheese and the tortilla strips, and garnish
with some cilantro.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2011-09-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

I give up! I had made these muffins a while ago, took pictures and saved them for a post. That was in July...but this morning when we woke up, the Handyman and I went for a walk (it has been a long time--we used to walk every morning--we are so out of the routine now, we are trying to get back into it) and it felt like fall.
While I was walking and feeling the teeniest of fall in the air, (it's coming, there is no getting out of it) I thought of these muffins and how good they would taste with a cup of coffee.
Sitting on my patio. With a book, of course. Always with a book.

I didn't have any of these muffins made, so I thought the next best thing would be for me to finally post about them.

I knew they were a 'King Arthur' recipe. I looked thru my pile of printed out recipes and came across it, and that's when I noticed little notes in parenthesis in the directions.

WHAT? I was thinking to myself. Why in the world would King Arthur put notes in there. Then it dawned on me. Even tho they are technically a recipe from the King Arthur Flour Website, I printed it off of "Brenda's Canadian Kitchen".
And that's why "I give up!" I tired hard not to stalk her site, but she just makes good stuff. Enough said.

We liked these muffins a lot...how can you not like muffins that taste like banana bread and chocolate chips? They were moist like banana bread and even tho I couldn't find the cinnamon chips or cinnamon flav-r-bites in rural Nevada (I went to three stores!), we didn't miss them. The chocolate chips made up for them.
I make a banana chocolate chip cookie and these muffins were reminiscent of those...they tasted just like a cookie. Only better for you! (Because of the whole wheat flour of course---let me have my delusions, okay?)
Well and maybe the butter is not so good for you... and don't get freaked out...The Handyman wanted butter, and since his wish is my command (laughing) I gave it to him.

I will be honest and tell you....this is the first time I've used Whole wheat flour. I like whole wheat bread, so I don't know why I've never considered baking with whole wheat before... but I guess I will now, as I have 4 more lbs of whole wheat to use.
Maybe I'll make them this coming weekend. As I said in my last post, I am more of a muffin and fruit for breakfast person, than a greasy bacon and eggs person, and these muffins hit the spot.
I used mini-chocolate chips in the recipe--I like them better in muffins than the regular size, but that's just my preference.

King Arthur Flour's Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup mashed banana, about 2 medium or 1 1/2 large bananas (I had to use 2 1/2 bananas)
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. butter rum or coconut flavor, optional
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup traditional whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour (I used traditional)
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts, pre-toasted in a 350°F oven for 8 minutes, if desired
1 cup cinnamon chips or cinnamon Flav-R-Bites, optional (I couldn't find these in Rural NV, but I bet they would be a great addition)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12 to 14 standard muffin cups. You'll use the larger number of cups if you include the full amount of all three add-ins: chocolate chips, walnuts, and cinnamon chips.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar till smooth.

Beat in the mashed banana, then the egg, flavorings, and milk.

Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flours, stirring till smooth; if the mixture has a lot of lumps, beat at a higher speed until they've nearly disappeared.

Stir in the chocolate chips, walnuts, and cinnamon chips.

If you've used cinnamon Flav-R-Bites, allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature; this will soften the bites up. While the batter's resting, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Heap the thick batter into the prepared muffin cups, mounding them quite full; a muffin scoop works well here. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with coarse white sparkling sugar, if desired.

Bake the muffins for 20 to 23 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of one of the middle muffins in the pan comes out clean.

Remove the muffins from the oven, and tilt them in the pan to cool a bit; this will prevent their bottoms from becoming soggy. As soon as you can safely handle them, transfer the muffins to a rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 to 14 muffins.

Breakfast Sandwich

2011-09-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

Like her or not...The Pioneer Woman has a new show on the Food Network Channel. And, yes, I watched it. She shared some dishes that I knew the Handyman would like...one being this breakfast sandwich. It was quick and easy and really not messy.

For some reason cooking breakfast is not my favorite thing--the kind of breakfasts the Handyman likes anyway. It's all greasy (bacon or sausage ) and messy (batter for waffles and pancakes) and you use so many bowls (eggs and cheese and hash browns), the toaster, the butter, the syrup...... it usually looks like a hurricane came thru my kitchen by the time I am done.
I am more of a muffin and fruit kind of breakfast person on a lazy Sunday morning, but the Handyman? No, he likes all of the above--in the same breakfast. And to me...it's messy and I don't want to start my day with all those greasy dishes.
(does that sound odd coming from someone who likes to cook?)

In this breakfast sandwich, you put all these things together and it worked! I only used one pan too. Woo Hoo! And it was really tasty. And really big. I ended up eating only half of my sandwich.
The recipe says to use Texas Toast and I had some leftover from my Southwest Burgers of the other night that I needed to use (but I'm sure you could use any bread and it would be just as good) and, I had eggs and cheese. The only extras I had to pick up were the sausage and jalapenos.
The jalapenos are 'to taste' of course--you can use as many or as few as you would like. We liked the little bite of spice these chilies gave.
I might make them again--soon!

Cowboy Breakfast Sandwiches
16 slices Texas toast
Butter
1 pound breakfast sausage, cut into 8 patties
12 eggs
1/2 cup half-and-half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup jarred jalapeno slices
Sandwich spread of your choice, such as mayo, spicy sandwich spread or spicy mustard (I did not use this, I just used butter)
8 slices cheese, such as American, Cheddar or Cheddar-Jack

Cook the Texas toast on a griddle over medium heat, using lots of butter. Set aside.

Fry the sausage patties in a skillet over medium heat, flattening with the spatula as they cook. Set aside.

Mix the eggs, half-and-half and some salt and pepper in a separate bowl. Pour the eggs onto the griddle in a rectangular shape. Flip to cook on both sides. Cut the rectangle of eggs into 8 squares and set aside on a plate.

Increase the heat, then dump the jalapeno slices onto the hot griddle. Let them sizzle for a couple of minutes, chopping them with the side of the spatula as they cook. Drop on a tablespoon of butter for flavor. Cook until the jalapenos have some brown and black bits. Remove from the griddle, then set aside.

Spread whatever sandwich spread you'd like to use onto the Texas toast. Top with a sausage patty, eggs, a slice of cheese and some jalapenos. Top with another slice of Texas toast, then wrap in foil for serving.

*****************************************************

I snapped a picture of the Handyman....eating the half of my sandwich I couldn't eat.

We ate outside on the patio.

I will really miss the Sunday mornings on the patio.... this morning I can feel 'fall' in the air. It's not here yet, and is supposed to be in the 90's today, but....it's coming.

Truth be told....it's my favorite season.

Lemonade Pie

2011-08-29T14:40:00.000-07:00

I am laughing at my own pictures. Apparently I did not 'mix' my ice-cream and lemonade very thoroughly. LOOK!! You can still see little pockets of vanilla ice-cream.   I guess that just gives my pie some character.

This lemonade pie was....wonderful! It's a great summer pie, and will be going on my list of great summer desserts. (You know, those ones we love but don't make as often as we would like because we are food bloggers!   See yesterday's post if you don't understand this reference ). It is now one of my top five to make in the summer time. It's a bit tart---the lemonade flavor really comes thru---so you must like lemon flavor---but also very sweet and it just melts in your mouth.   My friend Brenda says it tastes just like a cold glass of lemonade. And it does.

And here is where I must confess---once again---I got the recipe from Brenda at Brenda's Canadian Kitchen. (sigh) But isn't that what good friends are for? Don't you go to someone's house, enjoy the meal they prepare for you and then ask for the recipe?    I do it all the time.
I have never actually been to Brenda's house. She lives in Toronto, I live in Winnemucca, NV. But...we have met. In Las Vegas, last November.   I consider her a friend, so I'm borrowing her recipes.

She's probably laughing, looking at my polk-a-dots.

When I served this pie to friends, it was on the patio, after dinner and it was dark....no one saw my polk-a-dots.
What they thought, was that was a good pie. I didn't just try this out on the Handyman, no I invited guests too. It was a hit with everybody.
Just the perfect pie to have on a hot summer evening. (while the rest of the country is cooling down, heading towards fall, we have been hitting almost 100 lately)
I made the pie according to the directions with ALL OF Brenda's variations. I used a ready made graham cracker crust (I used the extra big one, so it made a big pie. ) and I used Cool Whip and not real whipping cream.
It was a great dessert. Super easy with only a few ingredients, whipped up in just a moment.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Pink Lemonade Pie
from Brenda's Canadian Kitchen

CRUST
4 1/2 cups CHEERIOS cereal, finely crushed
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 T sugar

NOTE - I used a ready made graham cracker crust

FILLING
1 quart (1 L) vanilla ice cream, softened
1/2 can (341 ml) frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 cup whipping/heavy cream, whipped
Red food colouring
Lemon or lime wedge, if desired

In small bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix well. Press mixture in bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate. Chill for 30 minutes before filling.

In large bowl, mix ice cream, lemonade concentrate, whipped cream and a few drops food colouring. Spoon and spread ice-cream mixture into crust.

Freeze until firm, about 4 hours. Let stand at room temperature a few minutes before cutting. Garnish with lime or lemon wedge if desired.

Variations:
If a crispier crust is desired, bake crust at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes.

Spray a metal spoon with non-stick cooking spray, and use the back of the spoon to press the crumb mixture into the pie plate.
1/2 tub (1 L) frozen whipped topping, thawed, can be used instead of whipped cream.

Serves 6-8.

It's Monday,What Are You Reading?

2011-08-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?--is hosted by Shelia from Book Journey.

She says:
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! D This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

Wow! I haven't particpate in 'Its Monday' since June. The Summer has flown by!!
I felt the need to do a little book talk around here....but I'm not very good at this...on paper. Set me in the middle of a book club with other book lovers and a glass of wine or a cup of coffee and I can 'book talk' up a storm.
Last week, I had two book clubs back to back. I enjoyed each of the evenings so much! And the books too.

I listened on Audio to "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand. I have come to love audio, but only listen to about one book a month. "Unbroken" was narrated by Edward Herman. He did an excellent job. The book was about 14 hours long and I got so engrossed in it, that I kind of quit doing anything but listen. I brought my Mp3 player to work one day and pretty much just sat there and did nothing but address envelopes.

My daughter in law said:
Wow. This book is incredible. It's heartbreaking and the atrocities of war (on both sides) is presented. Louis is an incredible man, who while flawed (and he's honest about his flaws), figured out how to survive in some of the most horrific conditions.She is right. I appreciated so much the amount of research Hillenbrand did for the book, as did everyone in my book club.

We met for dinner and sat around the table as we had dessert and couldn't get enough of the conversation about the book. While we didn't LOVE Louis Zamperini's story (we didn't love that he had been a prisoner of war), we did love the book, and Zamperini's strength of character...and we loved him. We rooted for him and discussed the atrocities of war and how war changes people. How different it is now than it was then, and what makes those differences
We are of the age, where most of us had stories of family members being in WWII, and we discussed them.
We discussed the way Hollywood portrayed WWII, and the way, it portrayed Vietnam.
We wondered if Zamperini's story would make a good movie. It made for an excellent read. An amazing man, an amazing life.

As I said, it's hard for me to put into words what we thought of the book.... it got a 13 thumbs up from my group!!

***************************************************************************

Hideaway by Dean Koontz was book club #2's book of choice this month.

It was....well, to be honest, I have about 15% left to read (that's what my Kindle says). I'm enjoying it, and the people in my book club seemed to enjoy it too.

I have really loved some of Koontz's books in my time, Watchers, Strangers, Odd Thomas.... those are some of my favorite books.

You can rest assured that good always triumphs over evil in his books. Sometimes it just scares the crap out of you getting to that point.

***********************************************************************

What's up next for my reading week?

Looking for Alaska by John Greene

Death in Blue Folders by Margaret Maron

One Day by David Nicholls

We'll see how I do.

Southwest Burgers

2011-08-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

We had Southwest Burgers Friday night, and they were really good. I'll probably never make them again.

Yes, you heard me right. Why? Because I'm a part time food blogger (book blogger, garden blogger, etc) and there is not enough time in the world to make and eat everything I want to.

Do you, as a food blogger, (book bloggers need not reply) ever feel that with some of these great dishes you make, you'll never 'get a chance' to try again, because you are so busy looking for something new for your blog? Always on the lookout for something new and tasty? And it's fun and we enjoy it, but sometimes while looking thru my blog, I'll come across something and say, 'that was really good, I should make it again.' But I don't. Usually. I hate that. And the Handyman hates it more. He'll sometimes ask about something I made once and say, "that was really good, why don't we have it again?"
I have no answer for him. Do you?

I said this was a really good burger and they were. They were a fun, novel, unique kind of burger.
Everyone liked them and they were really pretty easy to make. BUT ---while they were really good, they weren't really 'great', if you know what I mean. So, that's another reason I probably won't make again.
YOU should try them if:
you love the southwest flavor (They had a great taco flavor! They really did.)
love french fried onions (I now have half a can leftover that I don't know what to do with)
are so burger crazy, you feel you must try them all.

I found this in Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Best of Summer magazine and we had our friends, the Milton's to dinner to help do the taste test. As I said, everyone did like them, and it was a really fun evening, eating out on the patio, drinking wine and finishing the meal with a Lemonade Pie (post tomorrow).
All said, they were a fun burger and a fun evening.

Southwest Burgers

1 pound ground chuck
1 package original taco seasoning mix
4 Colby-Jack cheese slices
2 Tbls butter
8 slices Texas Toast
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup french-fried onion rings
1/2 cup chunky salsa--medium

1. In a large bowl, combine ground chuck and taco seasoning mix. Form mixture into 4 patties.
2. Spray grill rack with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat grill to med-high heat.
3. Grill burgers covered with grill lid, for 5 minutes on each side or until desired doneness. Top each patty with 1 slice cheese and grill, covered with lid until cheese melts, about 1-2 minutes.
4. Spread Butter evenly on both sides of toast. Grill toast for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
5. Spread 2 Tbls sour cream on 4 slices of toast. Top each with 1/4cup fried onions, 1 burger and 2 Tbls salsa. Cover with remaining 4 toast slices.
Serve immediately.