This week's  Booking Through Thursday question asks:
do you like to give books as gifts?

My answer?
Why yes, of course I do.  I want to share all the good ones I've read, and surprise people with books about things they've mentioned in passing.   (I try to remember stuff like that)  Book cards/gift cards are okay, but I love to give a book!
I don't think it's hard to give a book as a present, at all....books and book related things are all good.

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so, having answered that---Hello. I've been gone for a couple of months. Only from the blogging world  (Like I've said before,  you guys amaze me, those of who post every day or so--AMAZING.)  But just when I'm ready to come back, blogger is having some problems.  When I try to upload a picture,  I cannot find a browse button.   I've looked on Google a bit and it said they are trying to find a solution.  They gave a couple of other ideas for uploaded pictures, but it sounds like a lot of work to me.
Hopefully they'll be back on track soon, so that I can get back on track too.

PS  is anyone else having these same kinds of problems?

Butter Rum-Glazed Applesauce Cake

I can only say one thing about this cake--YUM!!  That is if you like an applesauce cake and the flavor of butter-rum lifesavers.  (and who doesn't like butter-rum lifesavers??)

And talk about easy!   This is one of the easiest cakes to make.  When you look at the directions there seem like a lot of steps, but really, it takes no time at all. 
I took this small cake to our   "Friday Night Friends"  (standing dates for supper--we've been getting together for years on  Friday nights if we have no other plans) and everyone loved it. 

It's not fancy at all, so if you are looking for a fancy dessert, this is not it---this one is just plain, simple and good.   Applesauce cake is such a throwback to when I was growing up.  It even sounds  old-fashioned.  I mean,  when was the last time someone served you an applesauce cake?    My grandma used to make an applesauce cake--it was so moist and dense and  I loved the taste of  cinnamon--and this reminded me of that cake, but she didn't glaze hers... we just ate big pieces without frosting.  Using the glaze brings the taste to a whole new level for me. It was so good.

It is my opinion that you should bring it back--bring the old-fashioned cakes back!  And start with this simple 'butter rum glazed' one.  It will be a hit, I guarantee it.

I did not 'frost' the cake but just dolloped the glaze on top of each slice.  Also, my 'glaze' looks really thick, so perhaps I turned it into more of a frosting, but that's fine, more butter-rum flavor in each bite that way.
In the photo in the magazine  (Betty Crocker's  Best Loved Christmas recipes) they frosted the whole cake.  You can do what you want.

It's been good to do a post again.  I've been gone for a bit from the blogging world.  I just needed a little break I guess. I still am in awe of all of you who manage to have lives AND  do blog posts every day.

Butter Rum-Glazed Applesauce Cake
from Betty Crocker's Best Loved Recipes

Cake:
1/3 cup butter  (do not use margarine)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350 F. Grease bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray.
In a 1 1/2 quart saucepan, melt 1/3 cup butter over medium heat. Cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until butter just begins to brown.   Immediately remove from heat. Stir in sugar, applesauce and vanilla.
In a large bowl, mix four, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir in applesauce mixture.
Pour batter into pan.
Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Glaze:
2 Tbls butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp rum extract
3-4 tsp half and half or milk

In a  1 1/2 quart saucepan, melt 2 Tbls butter over medium heat. Cook about  3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until butter just begins to brown. Immediately remove from heat. Stir in remaining glaze ingredients until smooth. 
Pour glaze over warm cake.
Cool 30 minutes.  Serve warm.  Sprinkle with additional cinnamon if desired.

Saturday Snapshot

Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

(I am singing this now as I type!   It will now be stuck in my head all day.  sigh.)

Last month our friends, the Cain's, invited us out on their boat.  April gives me a bad time about not being
1) a spur of the moment person  (I'm not--I need to work from a list)
2) an outdoor person  (she's wrong with this one. I LOVE to work in my yard and take long walks and do some short hiking AND we eat our supper out on the patio every night during the summer)

Okay, she might mean I don't like to do ADVENTUROUS stuff outdoors.  But I do love the outdoors--I think sunlight on water is the most beautiful sight in the world!!  I could take my book and sit by it all day long.  In the shade, with my good book, and sunglasses and sunscreen, BUT HECK, I do too love the sounds of all those other people being adventurous on the water!! 

So, when they invited us to spend the day on the water in their boat--after giving me a few days advance notice of course--I jumped at the chance!   It was just the 4 of us,  and we didn't ski or swim or anything  (thank goodness),  we just relaxed  and enjoyed the day. Outdoors!!  April took some crab salad and shrimp salad and I took some fresh bakery rolls to put it on.  We had fruit and cheese  and some snacks ,  magazines, books.... It was a Pontoon boat, so we even had space to sit back and take a little nap.  Which April and I did.   Doug did a little fishing-- It was a glorious day.

I bet a couple of you are wondering--how can they have enough water to go boating if they live in the desert?  There is a huge reservoir about 40 miles from here, that's how.  Yes, it is 'desert' boating--I'll show you pictures--which brings me to today's post SATURDAY SNAPSHOT.
I'm going to link up with Alyce from At Home  With Books and her Saturday Snapshot meme.
You should too.  It's fun.  All you have to do is share a picture (or two) that you or someone you know took.  (nothing pulled from the Internet or anything).  You can write as little or as much as you want about the photos. Then link up at her Blog and wah-la!  That's it.  It really is fun.

Wait---this is all coming back around--with the antelope song--I'm working it in.

While we were boating, we saw some antelope on the shore.  Can you see them? 

We go closer so I could get better pictures--that and I changed lenses too.
This was a 'cluster' of antelope.  Or a herd.   I looked up collective nouns because I think they are funny.  I mean, who ever heard of a cluster of antelope?

A couple  of them climbed to the top of the bluff.

This one was walking the wrong way--I was a bit worried about him, as he was leaving his friends.

And that is the end of what I am submitting to Saturday  Snapshot. 
What follows are just a few for my friends  (but you can look too if you feel like it)

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This is where we put the boat in.   Our lovely desert reservoir---it's huge tho.   22 miles long to be exact.  We went from the beginning  (here) to the end and back.  We saw birds and antelope and a beaver, whom we followed for a while to see where he was building his home.

There it is--SUNLIGHT on the water.  I love that sight.  And of course, April and the ol' Handyman.  ( did not, DID NOT say old.  I said  ol')

And Doug driving the boat.  We were just taking off from the boat ramp.

Just the desert as scenery.

And  a nap is always good in the afternoon!   (but I don't know how anyone can sleep on their stomach.  )

It was a great day! Thanks  Cains.

Lemon Graham Squares

Often,  even tho I love to cook and bake, my time seems very limited sometimes-- with work, social commitments and friends and family--so it's always a nice surprise  when I find a recipe that is really quick and really easy and most of all really good. 

I love the taste of lemon and these little graham cracker squares are packed with lemon flavor.  I used the juice a two lemons, but depending on how juicy your lemons are you might need a third.   This would be a great bar to take to potlucks, family gatherings, or to work--to woo your co-workers.   

Since it is just myself and the Handyman at home, and I have no co-workers, I had to give some of these bars away---to anyone who came thru my door. They would have been too dangerous to keep to myself.

The first day, the crust and the topping are  kind of crunchy or crispy and it is just right with the lemon filling.  I loved it.

The recipe doesn't say to, but I did keep them refrigerated after baking them--that creamy, lemony filling kind of begged to be refrigerated, but it does tend to make the graham crackers moist and not so crispy. Still good, but not as good as the day you bake them

Here's the thing tho--it's only a  9-inch pan, so if you have people over, they will get eaten all gone and then you don't have to worry about it!

I found these bar in the Taste of Home, Ultimate Cookie Collection cookbook. I've had this cookbook for about 5 years, but I think I glanced at it when I first got it and them it got stuck in a drawer or upstairs in a closet.  I had no room to keep all my cookbooks in one place.  Now that my kitchen is done,   I have been having so much fun looking thru old cookbooks...everything is displayed in my kitchen.  I've never had them all at my fingertips before---now they are all in sections, by theme, by author/chef--like I said,  SO MUCH FUN!

I'm really enjoying this cookie cookbook tho. 

Lemon Graham Squares
Taste of Home Ultimate Cookie Collection

1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4  cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
dash salt
1/2 cup melted butter

In a bowl, combine the milk and lemon juice, mix well, set aside. In another bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in butter until crumbly.

Press half of the crumb mixture into a greased 9-inch square baking dish.  Pour lemon mixture over crust; sprinkle with remaining crumbs.   Bake at  375F for  20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. 
Cool in pan on a wire rack.
Cut into bars.

Chicken Fiesta Chowder

I love soup.  And I'm always looking for good soup recipes, but still, I had a hard time purchasing a $10  magazine.   Do you?  I love all the special publication magazines--especially the ones that come out in the fall for autumn and the holidays.  I have to pick and choose, because I could easily spend  $20-$50 in special publication  magazines each week.  YIKES!
But one I'm glad I did pick up was the Taste of Home Heartwarming Soups.   I have marked about  20 that's I want to try---that's only  50cents a recipe. Not a bad deal, huh?

I love chicken soup and I love tortilla soup and I love beans and rice and chillies and corn. This soup was all those things/had all those things.   Plus the fact that Beth Jenkins Horsley of   Belmont, North Carolina (the Taste of Home contributor) won first place in a hometown newspaper cook off with this recipe--how could I go wrong?  

We really enjoyed this soup.  It was good, easy to make, had common ingredients that are easy to find in your local market.     While I did like it, the Handyman liked it more than I did. He loved it.  That should be reason enough to make it again, his seal of approval.  He used to think of soup as something awful...out of a can, watered down broth and a random noodle or two, but now that he's been introduced to real soup--homemade-- he loves it.  And he especially liked this one because it was hardy--like a meal--with a slight Tex-Mex flavor, which he loves.   
The reason I hesitate to say that I too, loved it,   is that I put in too much lime juice.  It calls for 1 T and I squeezed in a whole lime (and it was a really juicy lime).  It was a bit tangy for me--BUT that didn't discourage the Handyman--He ate 3 bowl fulls in one sitting.  He really liked it.   So, I guess  tanginess is all in the eye of the beholder.
I also forgot to buy cilantro which the Handyman was happy about--me, not so much, as I love the taste of it.

The bottom line?  It was a really good, slightly spicy  (but you could really spice it up if you wanted to),  fall soup.  I will try it again, without so much lime juice for me.  Oh, and don't forget the cilantro.

Chicken Fiesta Chowder
Taste of Home special soup edition 2012

3 T all-purpose flour
1 envelope fajita seasoning, divided
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into  1-inch cubes
3 T canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups water
1 can, (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (11 oz) Mexicorn
1 can (14 oz) Mexican stewed tomatoes, juice and all
1 cup uncooked instant brown rice
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 can  (11 oz) condensed nacho cheese soup, undiluted
3 T minced fresh cilantro
1 T. fresh lime juice

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine flour and 2 T fajita seasoning; add chicken.  Seal bag and shake to coat.  In a large saucepan, saute chicken in oil until no longer pink. 
Remove and keep warm.

In the same pan saute onion until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in water, beans, tomatoes, corn, rice, chillies and remaining fajita seasoning. Bring to a boil.  reduce heat, cover and simmer for   5 minutes or until rice is tender.

Stir in the soup, cilantro, lime juice and chicken. Heat through.

Satruday Snapshot

I always thought this picture was funny--if you look fast, it looks like on big long zebra, but upon closer inspection you can tell it is two zebras and a big rock.
We took this a few years ago when we visited the Portland Zoo. 

I'm linking to At Home With Books,  weekly meme, Saturday Snapshot.
Thanks Alyce for hosting.

Pumpkin Pecan Tassies

Everybody has had the pecan tassies, those little miniature pecan pie like treats, right?  I love them.  I also love pumpkin pie, so when I came across this recipe the other day, that used a pumpkin filling along with toasted pecans, I thought why not?  I'd give them a try.  It was a wonderfully cool day--a day that felt like fall, and what is fall without the taste of pumpkin?  Well, in my book anyway.
The recipe, which I found in  a Taste of Home Cookie Collection cookbook, said that the extra steps were well worth the effort.  I didn't think there were that many extra steps.  It was an easy recipe for me to make.  Funny how we all have different perspectives, isn't it.  And--this never happens to me---the recipe came out exact.  24 balls of dough and the exact amount of filling. I usually have too much of one, or not enough of the other.
I think if you like pumpkin and pecan pie and a little butter rum flavor (did I mention the rum extract? YUM!),  you will love these little cookies.   I did.
I ate them when I made them, and I ate some the  next morning for breakfast with my coffee. They are so good!

Pumpkin Pecan Tassies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 3oz package cream cheese, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour


Filling:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
4 tsp plus 1 tbsp butter, melted--divided
1 egg yolk
1 tbls half and half
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp run extract
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup chopped pecans

In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and cream cheese. Beat in flour. Shape into 24 balls. With floured fingers press onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased mini muffin cup pan. Bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, pumpkin, 4 tsp butter, egg yolk, half and half, extracts, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon into warm cups.

Combine the pecans and remaining brown sugar and butter; sprinkle over filling.

Bake 23-27 minutes longer or until set and edges are golden brown.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks.