Favorite Things

There...that's better.  I got pretty tired of looking at my clean kitchen sink!  Another new favorite thing to share.....THANKS TO STARBUCKS!  Since we've retired and moved far away from the nearest Starbucks we've been brewing our own.  Though I use their coffee, and even bought several of their cups, I felt like something was missing.   It was the paper cup experience!  The next time I stopped in to  Starbucks for a coffee...low and behold....reusable, recycleable paper cups!  Thank you, thank you thank you!  They are the best!

FAVORITE THINGS

It's been a long time since my last post.  I'm finding it's much more fun to read other blogs than work on my own.  But, today, I just have to share my new "favorite thing."  BAR KEEPERS FRIEND!  I grew up in a house loyal to Comet...first the powder, then the soft scrub.  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to clean my porcelain sink as well as I'd like.  So, while looking through one of my favorite, amazing blogs, For The Love of A House, I read Joan's post on the 10 household things she can't live without.  They are all great products, but I was most curious about her Bar Keeper's Friend.

I've tried it...and it is AMAZING.....my sink looks brand new!  Put it on your shopping list.  You won't be disappointed!

Favorite Things

Out of this world delicious...with the added bonus of being good for you (in moderation of course)!  Brookside Dark Chocolate Acai.  You have my attention!

Yet Another Winter Storm

Another snow day here in the Midwest.  Much as I've enjoyed sitting by the fireplace, reading a book and watching it snow....I'm looking forward to spring and warm summer days relaxing on the screen porch.

In the meantime, here's a new item I'm adding to my Favorites List.  It's Noosa Greek Yogurt...their strawberry/rhubarb is out of this world good.  I'm not a yogurt fan, but the folks at Noosa have my attention!

Picture A Day

Day 31...............................

Me

....And that's it folks...31 days of pictures!

Picture A Day

Day 30..............................

Down

Picture A Day

Day 29.............................

Grow

Picture A Day

Day 28............................

Through

Picture A Day

Day 27...........................

Sun

Picture A Day

Day 26..........................

Together

Picture A Day

Day 25.........................

Landscape

Picture A Day

Day 24........................

Stripes

Picture A Day

Electric

Picture A Day

Corner

Picture A Day

What I Do

...Life is good!

Picture A Day

Day 20....................

Something I Saw

Picture A Day

Day 19...................

Delicious

What's so delicious you ask?  Ginger Creams...that's what!

My mother used to make these and I revisit this recipe every so often.  Why sure...I'd love to share the recipe!

GINGER CREAMS
    350 degree oven

1 Cup granulated sugar
3/4 Cup shortening
2 beaten eggs
2/3 Cup molasses (dark)

3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/3 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Add 1 tsp. baking soda to 1 cup lukewarm water


Cream sugar and shortening.  Add beaten eggs and molasses.  Combine flour and spices.  Add baking soda to lukewarm water and add alternately with dry ingredients.

Bake in greased and floured jelly pan for 20 to 25 minutes.  Let cool

FROSTING

1 lb. powdered sugar
2/3 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla
Enough milk to reached desired consistency

Frost...eat...Delicious!

Picture A Day

Day 18..................

Shadow

Picture A Day

Day 17.................

Ready

Picture A Day

Day 16................

Two Things

Picture A Day

Day 15...............

An Ordinary Moment

Picture A Day

Day 14..............

Something Yellow

Picture A Day

Day 13.............

Circle

Picture A Day

Day 12............

Surprise

Surprised the grandkids with Boo bags for Halloween...they were a hit!

Picture A Day

Day 11...........

Water

Picture A Day

Day 10..........

One O'clock

Picture A Day

Day 9.........

Paper

Picture A Day

Day 8........

Something That Begins with T

Picture A Day

Day 7.......

Street

Caye Caulker 2007

Picture A Day

Day 6......

Mine

A loyal follower...love all 10 you you guys...suggested I add the story behind all my silver bangle bracelets.  Thanks Mara, I'd be delighted!

Mr. A's sister had an arm full of bangle bracelets.  When he returned from his tour in Vietnam he brought her a few more for her collection.  We married in 1970 and I suggested we start a collection for me, adding a new bangle every anniversary.  Mr. A thought it was a great idea....no worries about flowers or candy for him!  If you're doing the math...that would make 42 bracelets!  The collection started with  very narrow silver bracelets.....which I NEVER take off by the way.  Over the years, the narrow bracelets would break and were replaced with one wider bangle.  We love the hunt...searching antique stores and art fairs for the perfect addition to my collection.

Cute story:  at the time our daughter was in preschool (I had about 10 bracelets), an inquisitive toddler asked about my bangles so I shared the story.  He went home and told his mother the story....changing it just a bit....to I got a bracelet for every time I was married!  

There you have it!

Picture A Day

Day 5.....

Movement

Picture A Day

Day 4......

The View From Here

Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Picture A Day

Day 3

Heart

Picture A Day

Day 2...Something New

Something New

Picture A Day

Day 1

Today

Happy New Year!  We've made it to 2013...the world did NOT come to an end....the fiscal cliff still looms over us but...I'm hopeful!

I decided to accept the challenge presented by Fat Mum Slim on Facebook to post a Photo a Day for the month of January.  Let's see how far I get!

Gracie just can't get enough of Michael.  I think he may be her favorite....unless Kim happens to come home with him...then it's a toss up!

Friends

This summer has been filled with visits to and from friends, both old and new (have I mentioned I love that about retirement!)  Last weekend, Mr. A. and I hopped into the car and drove through monsoon rain to reunite with friends from our "college days."  We've been talking about a reunion for...hang on here folks...over 42 years!  So, when Mr. A received his All-Greek Reunion postcard last Christmas, I decided it was now or never.  I grabbed the bull by the horns, emailed Jane, Mary and Rosa, made Hotel Reservations and eagerly awaited our long talked about reunion.  We were not disappointed!   It was as if we hadn't missed a beat since our conversations ended so many years ago.  We laughed till we cried...and then laughed some more.  The fifth member of our group, Susie, had passed away in 2004, yet she was so very much a part of each story told that we felt she was with us in spirit.

We all did our best to bring everyone up to date on our lives since we'd parted and made a pact, henceforth, to meet at least once a year.  So, stay tuned!

Milestones

...our lives are filled with them.  Some are big...some are small...some are happy and some are not.  Last week I watched as our first grandchild strapped on his backpack, hugged his brothers and his dog and headed off to SCHOOL!  A huge, happy, milestone for him...and a happy/sad one for those of us who have fussed over him, watched him learn to walk, talk and develop into his own little man.  ...Oh, the places he will go!

This summer has been filled with some big milestones.  My Medicare card arrived along with my 65th birthday.  That word, Medicare, always conjured up visions of old old, white haired folks shuffling through their day while waiting for their social security checks to arrive. Don't get me wrong...I'm grateful as all get out for my Medicare coverage ad my social security checks.  I just can't quite believe I've reached that age! For the most part I'm still, say, age 32!  Somewhere between 32 and 65, I raised a family, several dogs, one cat, and one husband!  To say time has flown by is an understatement!

Morning Buns

I LOVE breakfast...could eat it three times a day!  One of our favorite breakfast restaurants, Ovens of Brittany, made an out of this world morning bun that made your mouth water just looking at it.  They were in business for a long time but, sadly, closed their doors several years back.  You know how every once in a while you get a craving for something you used to eat?  Well, every so often I would crave their morning buns.  Then, one day, while reading the newspaper...there it was...the Ovens Of Brittany Morning Bun recipe!  It's rather time consuming...but worth every minute!  I won't even tell you how many calories and fat are in each bun....let's just say....a lot!

Ovens of Brittany Morning Buns

DOUGH

4-½ Cups warm water
1 1/3 Tbsp dry active yeast
2-½ Tbsp sugar
½ Cup dry milk solids
1 1/3 Tbsp salt
9 1/3 Cups unbleached white flour plus ½ Cup, divided
1 pound unsalted butter

Combine warm water, yeast and sugar in a 5-quart mixer.  Let yeast become activated and foam, then add the milk solids, sale and 9 1/3 cups flour.  Mix with dough hook until flour is just incorporated.  Avoid over mixing as that causes rapid toughening of dough.  Place dough mixture in airtight container (a 2.5-gallon plastic container with lid is perfect) with room for rising, and refrigerate at 38 to 40 degrees for 12 to 24 hours, punching down occasionally if dough rises too much.

Roll butter into dough:  Place 1 pound unsalted butter into 5-quart mixer.  Mix with paddle dough hook, gradually adding remaining ½ cup flour.  Mix until butter is moderately soft but not creamy in texture.  Too soft butter will not layer properly in dough.

Remove dough from refrigerator and turn out onto well-floured surface.  Spread dough with hands into a 6 by 8-inch rectangle. Shape soft butter into 3 x 4 inch rectangle.  Place butter in middle of dough.  Envelope butter with dough, bringing dough from sides into middle without overlapping; then dough from top and bottom into middle, again without overlapping.  Press envelope of dough down evenly with hands, preserving rectangular shape.

Set aside to rest 15 to 20 minutes (you may want to refrigerate the dough during the first rest period if butter is very soft.)

Turn envelope of dough and butter onto its “tummy” with seams down.  Using a large rolling pin, roll rectangle of dough down to 3/8 to ½-inch thickness uniformly.  Fold in thirds.

Turn the dough 90 degrees and place seams down on your rolling surface to rest 15 to 20 minutes more.  Finally roll dough down again to 3/8 to 1/2-inch thickness.  Place in large 2.5-gallon covered plastic container, carefully preserving its folded shape.  Refrigerate 12 to 14 hours, again at 38 to 40 degrees.

FILLING

1 tsp. beaten egg mixed with 1/3 Cup water
1 pound brown sugar mixed with 2-½ tsp cinnamon
1 pound granulated sugar mixed with 2 ¼ Tbsp cinnamon
Butter for greasing muffin tins

Roll croissant dough into rectangle 12 inches wide and 1/8-inch thick.  Relax by lifting with hands and let it contract on table surface.  Length of dough determines the number of morning buns ultimately cut.

Wet exposed surface lightly with mixture of egg and water.

Spread brown sugar and cinnamon mixture (2 ½ tsp cinnamon to 1 pound brown sugar) over entire surface of dough.

Note:  Too much moisture from either water or melting brown sugar can overwhelm the dough during the baking process.  Water mixture is only to help sugar and cinnamon adhere to dough.  The butter in the dough will melt into the sugar.

Crimp long edge of dough closest to you as you begin to roll this dough up like a jellyroll into a tube.  After having rolled your tube of dough, cut off slices 2-inches wide or to stand above your greased muffin pans by ¼ to ½-inch when placing them in cut side down.

Bake immediately or refrigerate overnight before baking.  Bake in a 350-degree oven for 35 to 50 minutes or until puffed and dark brown.  Check for doneness in center of buns.  They should spring back. 

Garnish buns by rolling them in white sugar and cinnamon (1 pound granulated sugar to 2 ¼ Tbsp of cinnamon.)

Serve warm within 4 hours, or freeze immediately to serve warm later.  Makes 24 Morning Buns.

Cowboy Caviar

I spent four days up north visiting friends this summer.  Since I hate to arrive empty handed I brought along Barefoot Contessa Outrageous Brownies (yes...they ARE OUTRAGEOUS) and Cowboy Caviar.  I have no idea why it's called Cowboy Caviar...the beans perhaps?  Both were a huge hit.  You can find the Outrageous brownie recipe on the Barefoot Contessa website.  Thought you'd enjoy the Cowboy Caviar recipe too.

Cowboy Caviar

1 Can black beans, drained

1 Can Black-eyed peas, drained

1 Can whole kernel corn, drained

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

1/2 red pepper, finely chopped

1/2 green pepper, finely chopped

Handful of cilantro, finely chopped

1/2 Cup olive oil

3/4 Cup sugar 

1/2 Cup cider vinegar

Biol oil, sugar and vinegar for three minutes.  Cool.  Mix dressing with vegetables.  The longer it marinates the better it tastes.  Serve with scoops

Enjoy!

Window Box

I tried Dragon Wing Begonia in the window box this year...with great success.  This is s shady location until later in the day so not everything will flourish.  Dragon Wing Begonia's have never failed to perform.  And, combined with sweet potato vines, I'd say it's a winner!

Wait...what's that I see in the window?  Why...it's Gracie...

You Can't Take The Boy out of the Man

Had a complaint from a loyal follower (love all 9 of you guys).  A one word comment:  "....yawn."  I get it....you want more, interesting, exciting posts.  Well...here it is!  Mr. A has purchased a Honda Metropolitan scooter!  Now....Mike wants one too!

I'm off to buy lots of bandages and antibiotic cream!  Stay tuned!

BIRTHDAY

I'm officially a card carrying Medicare member!  It was another scorching hot birthday but we didn't let that stop us from having a fun afternoon.  Carrie brought the boys over and Mike and Kim came home in time to have some water fun on the Slip N Slide!

I made my mother's Chocolate Angel Food Cake (can you see where little fingers just had to taste the frosting?)  Since it's such a delicious cake I thought I'd share the recipe.

Chocolate Angel Food Cake
3/4 Cups sugar
3/4 Cup cake flour
1/3 Cup cocoa
   xxx
12 egg whites (at room temperature)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Cup sugar
   xxx
In a separate bowl, sift together sugar, cake flour and cocoa mixture 3 times.
Using the wire wisk attachment on your electric mixer, beat the egg whites, salt, cream of tarter and vanilla to a foam using high speed.  Add 1 cup of sugar in a slow steady stream.  Reduce speed to medium and continue mixing until whites form soft peaks. Remove bowl from mixer. Fold sugar/flour mixture into  egg whites.  Pour into an ungreased angel food cake pan.
   xxx
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35 minutes.  Invert pan to cool.

Frosting

Beat 1 Cup butter (room temperature) and 1 Cup powdered Sugar until creamy.
   xxx
In separate pan, melt 2 squares of unsweetened chocolate on low heat.  Add 1/4 cup sugar and stir to combine.  Add 4 room temperature egg yokes (be sure to temper the yokes before adding to chocolate and sugar).  Cook this mixture slowly until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat to cool. Combine with butter and powdered sugar mixture.
   xxx
Beat 4 egg whites to firm peaks (I substitute meringue powder for egg whites for safety).
   xxx
Fold egg whites into cooled chocolate mixture.
   xxx
Frost cake..REFRIGERATE until ready to serve.
Yum!  


Have a lovely 4th of July everyone!

Oak Tree

As I take my daily walks I'm trying to be more, well... "present." Deepak Chopra, a pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine, says its important.  The bottom line is...it's all about spiritual wellness.  For a good part of my life I haven't been "present." I was either worrying about something that's already happened or wondering about the something that might happen in the future.  So, I've been taking my camera along for my walks and I snapped a few "present" shots of one of our oak trees as it began to leaf out this spring.  I wondered just HOW the leaves developed so I took a few progression shots.  They're such magnificent trees, some of them probably over a hundred years old.  Yet, every year with the advent of spring, they renew the cycle of life by shooting out thousands of leaves and acorns.  I love my oak trees...

...now, back to my walk!

Peonies and Beer?

When the local garden center had their end of season sale last year, we purchased two very sad looking peony plants.  The price was so good we couldn't pass them up.  Our hope was that one of them might survive.  To our surprise, they both came up this spring and each plant had 5 or 6 huge, pink flowers. I love peonies but I don't love the ants that come with them.  So, after a bit of research I decided to try submerging the entire cutting in water for 20 minutes to see if I could get rid of the ants.  I needed something heavy to weight down the cuttings and, well, Mr. A's beer  bottles fit the bill. Apparently commercial growers harvest the peonies when the buds are soft like marshmallows to avoid the ant problem.  Ill remember that next year!