Steps On The Journey

walk with me a while

Leaving a little later…

Posted on October 27, 2012 by heidiannie

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We were supposed to go to Chincoteague on Sunday.

But there is a Nor’easter hanging over the Eastern Coast and it looks like the

causeway out to the island may be closed.

I’ve done this trip during a Nor’easter before and I’m not anxious to repeat it.

At this point the waves were washing up over the road- it was really scary. They closed

the causeway behind us!

So we are waiting until – maybe Wednesday or Thursday to go. There is no

one waiting on us and no reason we have to risk driving in the bad weather.

So- I’m biding my time here at home- putting my packed bag back into the

closet- baking some more cookies and waiting this storm out from Ohio.

Building a big cake!

Posted on October 19, 2012 by heidiannie

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My niece recently said on her facebook status,

“We are a family that likes to make big cakes.”

So true.

We made one for her father’s birthday one year that was 5 different cakes

all stacked up on top of each other.

And today we made a 5 layer cake with filling and frosting- a chocolate

decadent cake that was so large that no one could eat even the thinnest slice

by themselves!

Here it is layer by layer- Chocolate chip cookies- 1

Chocolate cake- layer # 2

Chocolate marshmallow fluff – icing# 1

Chocolate chip cookie dough- layer # 3

More Chocolate marshmallow icing

another chocolate cake- layer # 4

top layer chocolate chip cookie- # 5.

Chocolate Ganache icing.

Drizzling Dark chocolate and sea salt caramel on the sides and top.

Garnishing with marshmallows and chocolate bits.

Lighting the candles!

Admiring the cake!!!

Cutting the cake with an electric knife – thin slices were mandatory!

A peek inside-

Well that is the pictorial review of our endeavor.

We all baked a part of the cake- or made an icing- and then we brought it together

and built it. My family has lots of birthdays in October- so we decided to celebrate them

all with this giant cake.

Happy Birthday to Elizabeth, Martha, Roger, Allyson, Aaron, Lily—,Dianne, and Kieran.

Did I forget anyone?

Leave me a insulted comment and I will ask your forgiveness!

Knitting

Posted on October 17, 2012 by heidiannie

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Whenever I am down- feeling low and uncertain in life- I do three things:

first- I read incessantly.

Like this little mouse I walk around with a book and read

wherever I may stop.

second- I cook or bake.

There is nothing like food or cake to lighten your mood.

pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting and raspberries!

And finally- I knit. I knit a lot.

And I’m still knitting. I work myself out of depression.

My husband would like it better if I would clean when I’m down.

I only clean when I am feeling happy, though. So right now-

my house is a mess- but every one’s tummy is full.

And my hands, neck and head is warm.

What do you do when you are down?

Ginger bread and Pumpkin pie

Posted on October 11, 2012 by heidiannie

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sourdough gingerbread

Sourdough gingerbread- really good- now if I can just figure out where the recipe came from!

Pumpkin pie

My first pumpkin pie this season!
Frank was VERY pleased!

Yesterday was a breezy, coolish, dark clouds interspersed with sunshine, gingerbready and

pumpkin pie sort of day. I had a recipe sort of copied down ( ingredients and oven temperature

only) – NO IDEA where I got it- and no notes on how to put it together- but the first ingredient

was sourdough and I’ve been working with my starter lately and needed to use up some. So

I made it. It is very good- although I couldn’t find my molasses so I used half Pomegranate molasses

and half ginger syrup, added 2 tablespoons of brown sugar- and took a tablespoon of hot water out

of the half cup so it wouldn’t be too runny.

It has a lot of flavor, a nice springy texture, a good mouth feel, and a very pleasant fruity/tangy

aftertaste.

Here’s the recipe-

(Please let me know if you recognize it or it is yours!)

1 cup sourdough

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

3 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

1 tsp pumpkin pie spices

1/2 cup shortening ( I used butter,melted and added at the end to batter)

Bake for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees F.

This is the first post on my rebuilt site. Please leave a comment if you can and let

me know how it is working. Thanks so much!

Miscellaneous photos and short recipes

Posted on October 9, 2012 by heidiannie

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I made my lovely basil into a lovely and delicious pesto-

recipes for pesto are quite easy, to about 2 cups of basil leaves- add

as many cloves of garlic as you desire- I usually add two- process this

in some sort of chopping device (blender, processor, etc.) Add walnuts

or pine nuts ( about 1/3 cup pinenuts, 1/2-3/4 cup of walnuts) and chop

it up small, adding a good olive oil- at least 1/3-1/2 cup while device is

running. Add 3/4 to 1 cup of good shredded Parmesan Reggianno cheese

and then taste adding S + P according to your preference.

I also make a good pesto using mint leaves and sesame seeds- but that is

another post.

Foccacia bread with pesto. Yum!

Apple Cardamom Upside Down Cake- you can find the recipe here.

And a little Fall foliage around my house- plus a happy ceramic scarecrow my mother made me

a long time ago.

Please leave a message/comment if you have the time- I’m having some problems with the

comment section and we are trying to work out the bugs- Thanks so much for stopping by!

October- In My Kitchen -2012

Posted on October 3, 2012 by heidiannie

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In my kitchen…

are these delicious candies that Jordan and I made-

Homemade butterfingers.

They use only 3 ingredients: 1 lb. candy corn, 1 lb. peanut butter, and chocolate.

They are really good- but perhaps not everyone has access to candy corn?

In My Kitchen…

Supper last night- a tomato, red onion,goat cheese and bread salad with a balsamic

vinegar dressing and a wonderful chicken stew with dumplings. I love it when

my kitchen produces such simple but delicious food!

In My Kitchen…

Bread – glorious Bread!

In My Kitchen…

Australia’s Women’s Weekly!

my new soup book- Meredith got it for me and it is full of wonderful recipes- I love making

soups and stews all Autumn and Winter long!

In My Kitchen…

Splayds! Here we would call these sporks. But since they are Australian I will use their

proper name.

I’ve yet to use them for a meal- although I used them several time when I was eating lunch

at home alone- they fit my eating habits quite well- and will go splendidly with the stews

I am planning for the future!

Well- that is what is in my kitchen-

Except –

for the bush basil that I intend to make into my last batch of pesto for the season!

What is in your kitchen?

Join us at Celia’s blog , Fig Jam and Lime Cordial , for a whole listing of IMK posts. I’d love

to know what is in YOUR kitchen!