The more it snows

(Tiddly Pom)
The more it goes
(Tiddly Pom)
The more it goes
(Tiddly Pom)
On snowing.
And nobody knows
(Tiddly Pom)
How cold my toes
(Tiddly Pom)
How cold my toes
(Tiddly Pom)
Are growing.
The more it snows
(Tiddly Pom)
The more it goes
(Tiddly Pom)
The more it goes
(Tid!dly Pom)
On snowing.
And nobody knows
(Tiddly Pom)
How cold my toes
(Tiddly Pom)
How cold my toes
(Tiddly Pom)
Are growing.

winnie the pooh

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Sigh!  It really is pretty.

But it’s almost April.

Enough, already.

Busy,busy,busy.

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We came back from Chincoteague and got caught up in children!

From watching Aidan while his parents went for a couple of days

to Canada to preparing for a celebration for Aiden’s adoption into

my niece’s family- totally caught up in the affairs and world of small

children.

So, now –Aidan and his parents are happily back at home.

Aiden and Ally and Chad are officially parents and son.

The party is over –for now, at least- I’m sure the celebration is going

to go on for quite a while!

And- after all the pots and pans are washed and put away- am going to

take a rest.  After I finish this post.

I love working on the house in Virginia, I LOVE my grandchildren- and

I absolutely love parties.  But I’m tired.

And I want to make some bread.

I did, however, make some cookies on Sunday and I’d like to share the recipe.

Luke and Willow brought me some grape skin flour back from Canada.

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It looks like cocoa.

They brought me a recipe for making cookies with the flour.

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Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter-softened

1/2 cup almond butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup stone ground whole wheat flour

1/4 unbleached flour

1/4 grape skin flour

1 cup chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars.  Add almond butter.  Beat in egg and vanilla.

Sift and add dry ingredients.  Add chocolate chips.  Roll into small balls.

Flatten with fork and bake for 12-15 minutes. 

Makes approx. 4 dozen cookies.

That is the recipe as given to me.  I added 3/4 cup sliced almonds.

These cookies are a little deceptive because of the color.  You expect a

real dose of chocolate and only get a hint- and they have a very nice flavor-

but rather mild.  I’d make them again for little ones to enjoy.

I also have a recipe for Harvest bread using a small amount of this flour.

It uses 8 tsps. of yeast, though- so I’m not sure- I may have to tweak it up a bit

with some sourdough!

You can get with this…

Psalm 17

A prayer of David.

1 Hear me, LORD, my plea is just;
listen to my cry.
Hear my prayer—
it does not rise from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.

3 Though you probe my heart,
though you examine me at night and test me,
you will find that I have planned no evil;
my mouth has not transgressed.
4 Though people tried to bribe me,
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
through what your lips have commanded.
5 My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not stumbled.

6 I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
7 Show me the wonders of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.

10 They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance.
11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a fierce lion crouching in cover.

13 Rise up, LORD, confront them, bring them down;
with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
14 By your hand save me from such people, LORD,
from those of this world whose reward is in this life.
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
may their children gorge themselves on it,
and may there be leftovers for their little ones.

15 As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness

There is an annoying commercial for the KIA  Soul ( a boxy little car made in Korea)

It features Urban hamsters dressed in hoodies- the music is  a hip hop song that says,

The Choice is Yours- Black Sheep (1991)- the refrain is basically “ …you can get with this or

you can get with that.”  I kind of like the song- but I hate the commercial.  I hate the

hamsters- think the car is ugly- it is arresting, but I hate it.

(If you haven’t seen it go to the link below and take a look.)

Hampsta’ Hip Hop

This psalm reminds me of that commercial.

There are choices in life.

(“…you can get with this or you can get with that-

I think you’ll get with this for this is where it’s at”)

We can live a life that is exemplary before God-

(“ I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
through what your lips have commanded.”)

or we can choose our reward in this life and be like the wicked

who fill their bellies or like their descendants who gorge themselves’ on it.

I don’t often hear hip hop songs when reading the Psalms,

but do you hear it?

You can get with this (choose to live according to the statutes and laws of

God) or you can get with that ( searching out ways to get ahead of others, even

to the point of their destruction in order to survive and win here in this life!)

I hope “you get with this for this where it’s at.”

image

God’s truth is real.  And it is out there.

Sometimes the images are a little more out there than we are

comfortable with, but listen to the cadence of David’s psalm

and you can almost hear him singing a little hip hop with his harp.

Handmade pay it forward

image

Got this from my nephew’s blog– he got it from a friend.

I’m not sure if it is against the rules, but I’m going to try to

enter on both of theirs and see what the “pay” looks like!

Here are the rules:

 

I promise to send something handmade to the first 3 people who leave a comment on this post saying that they will also participate in Pay It Forward – 2011.

Those 3 commenters must fulfill the following requirements:

1. You must also participate in Pay It Forward on your blog, making this same offer to 3 other people.

2. The rules are that it must be handmade by you and it must be sent to your 3 people *sometime* in 2011.

I did this on Facebook and ended up with a wonderful chocolate ganache cake.

It is a lot of fun and I love the promotion of people making stuff for each other.

So- what do you think? 

What should I make?

What would you like?

And comment please , even if you don’t want to sign up.

I haven’t posted lately and I miss hearing from you.  Smile

In My Kitchen…

I borrowed this idea from Celia, at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

She has the most interestingly delectable things in her kitchen.

Today, I’m still in my test kitchen in Chincoteague, so I decided

to show some of the things I have here.

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…I have basalmic vinegars that have been the base to marinades, dressings,

sauces, soups, and dips.  A can of chai tea that I’ve enjoyed hot and iced and

plundered for a source of cardamom.  And a small tin of Mediterranean spices

that I’ve used for pizza and focaccia toppings.  Plus a bottle of Virginian white

wine that we served with grilled shrimp and flounder over the weekend.

 

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…there is a nice mix of cookies and flowers at the breakfast nook.

Jeanette Jha painted the butterflies on the pot and brought the primrose

when they visited! 

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(the cookies are great for nibbling with tea!)

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…there are shiny pots and pans hung over the 6 burner stovetop.

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…two new ovens- convection and regular-

brand spanking new!!!

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…A LARGE container of cashews- we’re eating them by the handful- and I

chopped some up for Chicken Salad with cashews and grapes.

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…Four tea pots of graduated sizes- and a tea cozy Willow made me for

Christmas.

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…sugared orange peel I made to use in Irish soda bread tomorrow.

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…and a cupboard full of dishes and bowls and cups-

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…where I have these cups displayed!  It makes me so happy to see them-

happier still to use them.

 

What’s in your kitchen, today?

Making do-looking for cardamom

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Some spices are really hard to find.

I knew this- and planned on bringing some down with me.

But, although I bought some, it never made it into the spice satchel.

So, I was all set to make cardamom owl rolls for our guests over the weekend- and – no cardamom.

There is one source here, but they want to sell me a cup+ of cardamom. 

Why would anyone want to buy more than a few ounces of a ground spice?

And who in their right mind would pay $18 for the privilege of a ground spice that has been sitting

on the shelf in a thin plastic container for half a year?

So, I raided the Chai tea container.

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And I pulled the seeds out of the pods-

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and ground up my own spice.

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I love having and using a mortar and pestle.

It makes me feel like an apothecary.

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And gives me the opportunity to make and eat-

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THESE!

(The recipe is here.)

Hopefully, you have a small tin of cardamom.  But I really enjoyed the freshness and

novelty of grinding my own.

Dancing with the roomba.

I didn’t say the rumba.  Room-ba.

It’s a little robotic floor sweeper that scurries about a little

like a crab and moves about by lightly bumping into walls and

cabinets and people.

I turn it on when I’m busy in the kitchen and it goes about its

merry way- bumping  around the house.

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Sometimes it comes up right behind me and bumps into my heels.

I can usually hear it, so I’m kind of prepared-

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except it is much quieter when going over a rug, so it can really

surprise you sometimes. 

Yesterday, I would step to the right and it seemed to follow my steps,

right step, left step, glide, glide. 

I’m so glad no one was taking a video.

“What cha doin’, Heidi?”

“Nothing.  Just a little dance with my roomba!”

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here he is, hooked up to his momma!

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close up of my new dance partner

Salad and Pizza

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I love strawberries and pecans in a green salad!

I put a white basalmic vinaigrette with a little honey added- on top and it was superb.

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Add a pepperoni and mushroom pizza made with an Italian bread crust and sprinkled with

garlic, oregano,basil, and fennel seeds – and supper just doesn’t get any better!

Unless you decide to grill some fresh flounder after marinating it with soy sauce, white wine,

and olive oil and herbs.  But that’s for tomorrow night’s dinner….

Making do- with Oatmeal!

I don’t have a whole lot of ingredients to work with

here in Virginia.  I can’t find any specialty flours in the

amounts I want to buy.  I brought down my own bread flour,

made an acceptable sourdough starter whilst here, and

have made some very decent loaves, but I wanted to make

another loaf of sourdough rye before I ran out of the loaf

I brought down.  Not going to happen, I think.

But I got a box of oatmeal today and made a loaf of

oatmeal bread.

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It will do nicely for toast and peanut butter sandwiches.

AND, since I had oatmeal, I decided to make Frank his favorite

cookies ( although I don’t have any raisins, I added walnuts.)

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I picked some daffodils this morning-

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Don’t they look pretty next to the cookie jar?

Oatmeal Bread

ingredients:

3 cups bread flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 TBS butter

3 TBS honey

2 tsp instant yeast

1 1/4 cup scalded milk- luke warm

Mix all together, it should make a nice soft dough-not too sticky.

Place in buttered bowl and let sit to raise for 1 hour.

It will not be doubled, but nicely puffy.  Shape into a log, and place into

a greased loaf pan.  Cut slashes across top if desired. Cover and proof for

another 1 1/2 hours, top of loaf should come a couple of inches over

the top of pan.

Bake at 375 F for 35 to 45 minutes.

Cool on rack, don’t slice until completely cooled.

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Orange Fig Chorizos with brandy and Pinenuts- eating good at the Sailor’s Rest

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RECIPE

for the chorizos:

1 lb of bulk sausage

6 dried figs- finely diced

1 TBS grated orange peel

2 TBS red pepper preserves ( or hot pepper jelly)

2 TBS lightly toasted pine nuts

1 TBS smoked paprika

1 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 TBS brandy

Mix all ingredients well together. Form into patties. Pan fry over medium heat, covered, 8-10 minutes- turning once.

for the pasta:026

 

1 lb of angel hair pasta, cooked al dente.

3 TBS snipped fresh chives

3 TBS salted butter

Toss together and put on platter first. Add broccoli next, then put your chorizos around the edge of the platter. Dribble a little of the sauce left in the sausage pan over the pasta.

027Decarmelize your pan with a little cream.

for the broccoli:

1 large bunch of broccoli- I peel my broccoli- it’s a pain, but it is really worth the pain- steamed but still a little crunchy.

1clove garlic, crushed

1 TBS olive oil

3 TBS butter

1 TBS basalmic vinegar.

Sautee the garlic in the oil and butter, toss broccoli with garlic and vinegar.

This recipe served 5 people very generously. Add a green salad and some garlic bread and you have a feast!

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