Wordle fun

Posted on February 23, 2011 by heidiannie

My friend Joanna at Zeb Bakes made me a wordle from Jonathan Feinberg’s Wordle site.

I really like it!

It is words from my blog- and some of the topics I’ve had up lately.

Want to play? You can go to Zeb Bakes and follow Joanna’s VERY helpful instructions and links that will

take you to the right place and grab the wordle for yourself.

And – Jonathan says you can use the wordle free- even for commercial use.

What I really like is that this is a view of my blog from my friend’s point of view-

and that really adds to the fun! Because it gives a fresh perspective and I can see how well I’m

communicating.

Thanks, Joanna!

Making a treat out of a trial.

Posted on February 22, 2011 by heidiannie

I give up.

We had temperate weather for a weekend and then

WHOOSH back to winter.

Snow and temps below freezing.

BUT- I’ve decided that giving up can be sweet.

I made a orange snow sundae for dessert!

I was making candied orange peel and decided to use the left over

syrup and some scoops of snow from the deck to make a treat.

So I have some orange peel to decorate some cupcakes-

and a yummy frozen treat!

And look how pretty the sun on the snowy treetops look!

I thought I might update this post and add an old recipe for candied

orange peels. In case you’d like to make some!

I love to use something I might have discarded to make something beautiful and delicious. My husband takes an orange in his lunch everyday. When he packs his lunch, the peel is thrown away as garbage. When I pack his lunch, I peel the rind off first and then peel the pith away- saving the rind( the orange part) and tossing out the thick white peeling underneath.

The thin orange rind is where all the oils and flavor are in the skin- so when you peel it off, make sure you don’t pick up the white part- it is bitter and unusable.Cover the rind with water and simmer for about 20 minutes, then pour off the water and repeat (Cover, Simmer, Pour off). The water will be a light orange each time- you are getting rid of the bitter flavor with the water baths.

Add about 3/4 cup fresh water and 1 cup sugar and stir to dissolve sugar, then put on low heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. The peels will become translucent and the sugar water will become a simple syrup.

Put fine sugar in a filter or plate and, using a fork, lift out the orange peel and dredge in the sugar.

Cover both sides and set aside onto wax paper.

To make flowers, use a long piece of peel and after dredging in sugar,

roll into a rose shape while still warm and pliable.

Shape into rose by wrapping peel tightly at base and flare out the “petal” top.

Allow to dry on wax paper until it isn’t sticky, and then you can garnish cakes- or dip into dark chocolate for candy, or just use in recipes- like in Irish soda bread or hot cross buns.

And, pour the simple syrup into a bottle and save to use in orange flavored punch or sauces or dressings.

It’s a wonderful addition to many recipes.

Hanging with the icicles!

Posted on February 11, 2011 by heidiannie

Sub zero temperatures.

This is not about the weather. Or at least, not complaining about the

weather. But we have been going through a cold snap.

My rhododendren is partially encased in ice.

In fact there is a symphony of ice sculpture around the house.

Even my glass bowl of marbles is frozen in place.

So I’m spending a lot of time in my kitchen.

Where I can be warm inside and out! Smile

There is nothing like beef stew and dumplings with fresh bread to warm you up!

And if you want to warm up your kitchen, make a batch of granola- nutty and grainy-

salty and sweet- baked for 4 hours at 275 degrees F ! It makes the kitchen toasty and

the aroma is just plain wonderful! Bakeries don’t smell this good!!!

I could put up recipes.

Do you want them?

Because I’d RATHER show you some pictures of buttons.

I collect buttons. Or I did.

I’ve used them in a lot of projects.

Like wreaths…

And pins and trees-

I just can’t find my button box right now.

And that is frustrating.

Kind of like hanging with icicles- cold and drippy with only a puddle at the end.

I’m going back to my craft room to look again.

Wish me luck!

Looking into the face of WINTER-

Posted on February 2, 2011 by heidiannie

Looking out my kitchen window,

the view is rather drear.

The sparkle of my bottles and glasses and lavender

helps make the scene cozier and dear.

But , no.

Winter has more than one expression

Soft snow has melted into any icier declension.

There is ice caked on my sidewalk.

Ice is coating all the trees.

Ice is running down the windows.

And has covered all the streets.

So I sit inside my ice cube-

Slippered feet up, cheerful fire crackling on the grate,

and sip chai tea and nibble on cookies-

The world is frozen-

chores can wait.

When you give a child a…

Posted on January 14, 2011 by heidiannie

Camera-

You sometimes get close-ups of their shoes. Or-

sometimes fuzzy self portraits. 🙂

When you give a child a…

Bottle-

You can get a lot of fun!

And when you give a child a…

whole lot of love and attention-

You get a whole lot back!!!

As for me…

I’m going to keep on giving!

Eating good at Sailor’s Rest

Posted on December 21, 2010 by heidiannie

I love to cook down here in Virginia!

First of all- the fish is delish and fresh!

Second, Meredith is a foodie like me- AND- she buys the most wonderful balsamic

vinegars and oils. The slaw in the upper left is dressed with a marvelous white balsamic with

pear vinegar and a little mustard and olive oil. It was so very yum!

And then there were potato jackets stuffed with creamed chicken and bacon and Virginia gingerbread!

Fresh baked flounder with pecan and parmesan bread crumbs on top- Me,tasting batter-linguini in white garlic

sauce. And, chicken pot pie with crispy homemade waffles as the crust-red velvet cupcakes (with pureed

beets instead of food coloring)- a plate served up with the fish and linguini and homemade garlic bread!

We are going home tomorrow.

But we got a visit tonight from a very important person!

There were red lights coming down our street- and a siren blaring

Can you see who is sitting on top of the fire engine?

Yes! It is Santa Claus and his fire elf chucking candy canes onto the porches where people are

waving! Merry Christmas from Chincoteague!!!

Ponies and birds and waves and soup!

Posted on December 19, 2010 by heidiannie

Driving out to the Assateague Island Wildlife Refuge, you have to go very slow. Mainly because the speed limit is 25mph- but also because there is so much to see and look for along the way.

Like these egrets.

And the ducks.

And, of course, the ponies!

Those are ponies- they are just a very long distance away- out in the estuary.

The ponies are shaggy in their winter coats-

we got a little closer to this group of ponies on the wildlife loop.

Actually – A LOT closer!!!

Meredith jumped out of the car and walked over to an observation area and got some great pictures!

Although he kept his head hidden in the tall grasses- so we never got a good look at his face.

And then we went on to the beach.

Come with me- the beach is just over this small crest.

And here it is- the Atlantic Ocean – at just a mild roar!

And it is COLD and WINDY! Brrr!

We fed the seagulls some stale bread-

this guy wanted seconds.

But it was bone chilling cold and all I could think about at this time-

was the Chick a Leekie soup I had made to warm us up!

And it was so good at the end of a cold time at the beach.

I forgot to give Meredith credit for the wonderful pictures! She took all of these on her

Nikon D90!

Gift-away-

Posted on December 9, 2010 by heidiannie

I’ve been meaning to do this for a long time.

Since summer’s end, actually.

But things went awry.

I made plans, started working on projects- but some major parts of them didn’t come to fruition- so I started thinking up new plans.

And then I started working on some gift exchanges and that brought me back to the earlier idea of giving away a gift from Steps on the Journey.

I wanted to make note cards- but it just didn’t come together.

So- I have a pumpkin tea cozy- and some Santa cinnamon stirring sticks that I made to give away to one of you, my friends and family in the blogging universe.

Leave a comment, or a verse, or a seasonal wish between now and next Thursday ( when I will be in Chincoteague!) – and I will send you a happy little knitted pumpkin cozy for your teapot and a cup cozy to match. I may even throw in some homemade chai tea mix- and cinnamon stir sticks.

I’d love to hear from you!