This and That and Kitchen Stuff

Ack!  Not exactly a few days later.  Well, in my defense, I've been busy!  My big Bernina 830 sewing machine was in need of a spa treatment and the best technician lives in Montana.  He does come over to the Spokane area once a week to pick up machines at several designated drop-off points so we had taken Moby Stitch (the great white Bernina!) up earlier and we picked it up last week.  That's a day out of town, but there is a Trader Joe's up there which is, of course, a mandatory stop.  :-)

We've had Daniel over each Sunday night through Monday dinnertime since the beginning of August until this week as Ann had to be back to work at school, prepping for the new year.  He's so easy to have, but still it seemed like the days went differently when he was here as we visited and found things to do.  School started last week on Wednesday so he's back to learning.  Fifth grade this year!  Where does the time go?

Last Monday it finally worked out for Dan to have my birthday party and Ann and family showed up with pizza to share dinner and cake with me. Such a fun, wonderful time we had!  

Since my machine was back, I have ventured into my sewing room and have started a new round of bibs.  I had only two left in my gift pile and they were both for girls.  I've embroidered five new ones and cut out about twenty blanks to work on next.  

But enough on this stuff.  I mentioned in my last post that I'd do a kitchen post, so here goes.  

In May when we were at Costco I stopped to look at a Ninja Foodi Flip Air Fryer they had for sale.  I have friends who love their smaller air fryers but I didn't have a space for one, either on my counter or in my pantry, and I draw the line at storing kitchen items in the garage! The foodie is made to flip up and take up a smaller amount of counter space when not being used.  As I pondered the display, Dan picked one up and put it in the cart. "Happy Mother's Day!" he said.  Okay!

It took a bit of figuring to decide where to put it in my crazily designed kitchen but I finally put it in the corner where my mixer has lived and moved the mixer next to the frig.  It works, and somehow it seems I have even more room in that corner than I did before.  And we love our Foodi!  I've always loved the Mexi-fries at Taco Time and now I can make my own.  Score!  And the Foodi is more than an air fryer, it is a convection oven, a toaster and can broil, too.  It has a much bigger capacity than the usual air fryer and so is great for families.  I made little pizzas last week using ciabatta bread from Costco and they were so good using the air broil feature on low.  And it's perfect for reheating things like pizza or crispy casseroles so they aren't soggy the second time around.  

In its down position, otherwise up against the side wall

Yummy ciabatta bread pizzas!

And in other kitchen news, we are awash with zucchini!  Awash I say!  Last year we could hardly get any to grow and this year Dan brings up four or five (or more!) a day.  I'm working hard to be a good zucchini steward and use it all, so varied recipes have been used.  One winner was a chocolate cupcake recipe found in the August Costco magazine.  Oh my!  As I've told all my friends, it received rave reviews from everyone who ate it (I made it into a cake).  The zucchini chips featured in the article are good, too!

This cake from the Six Sisters is also a winner. And last week I found this recipe for zucchini onion pie.  I did change it a little; I caramelized the onions instead of adding them raw.  We loved it! Of course we've already had multiple dinners using my old stand-by summer squash skillet. Zucchini bread?  Of course!  

And thus ends this summer's zucchini themed post!  ♥

Cookies

It was the Christmas of l963 that Mom and I baked and baked and baked. Some out-of-town friends of Mom and Dad's dropped by one day and the wife brought a plate of Christmas treats. Hmmm, perhaps we could make some of our own was a thought that came to my mind.  Meanwhile, Mom picked up the latest issues of Woman's Day and Family Circle, inexpensive but good magazines available at the grocery store.  The Woman's Day always had a tear-out section of recipes and this month's was, of course, Christmas cookies.  Right into the palms of my hands! I was a freshman in high school and old enough to handle recipes on my own.

As far back as I could remember there had been a Dormeyer stand mixer just like the one pictured below in the cupboard over the stove.  

I don't remember it ever being used.  When I asked Mom about it she said it didn't work.  Then why did we have it? No answer.  However, we were about to embark on some heavy duty baking, so Mom borrowed a hand mixer from our neighbor, Goldie, and we went to work.  (Dad gave Mom a hand mixer for Christmas that year so we didn't have to borrow ever again.)

Mom and I continued this tradition for the next few years.  I don't remember if I baked when I came home from college on Christmas break, but I know Mom pretty much gave it up.  She did, however, turn into a manic fudge maker.  As I've mentioned, she was never much of a baker, and she loved chocolate, so fudge was a natural for her.  Pans and pans of it, which she shared with the neighbors.  

I made some white candy-coated pretzels last night and today I made another batch of cookies--frosted soft vanilla sugar cookies. The recipe comes from the Six Sisters and can be found here. I discovered the recipe last year and loved the ease of it.  Dan loves frosted sugar cookies but I confess to being too lazy to make them if I have to roll and cut. 

A cookie decorator I'm not, but the Christmas sprinkles make them look festive. They're yummy, trust me.  ♥

Just a Week Until Christmas!

A week from today we will have opened all the presents and by now will be laying around, sated from leftovers and cookies.  Some will be napping, others playing with new toys (and no matter the age, some presents will definitely be "toys"), and others still trying to get the puzzle completed. 

I feel like I have most things done and am pondering any last minute fun things to make or give.   So far no brilliant ideas have emerged.  I have yet to wander any stores, so I might do that.  We'll see. I am out of coffee creamer so that will necessitate a trip to Safeway in a short while or, as I told Dan, tomorrow morning will not be pretty. Sometimes they have interesting things stuck in out of the way places that are gifty.  

I pondered whether to put the recipe for the Puddin' Head gingerbread on here, but a request for it lets me know some are interested.  I got the recipe from a student's mom the spring of 1985 when I took over a classroom in Clarkston for half a year. The student brought me cookies now and then. I really liked this one so her mom was happy to share.  It's called Puddin' Head gingerbread because (gasp) it uses a box of Jello brand cooked butterscotch pudding mix.  Yes, a mix is part of the recipe.  Gives great flavor, more of a spice cookie rather than a true deep gingerbread.  

Puddin' Head Gingerbread

1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c brown sugar
1 (3 1/2 oz) regular (not instant) butterscotch pudding mix
1 egg
1 2/3 c flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cream butter, brown sugar, and pudding mix.  Add egg; beat well.  Add dry ingredients and chill 10-15 minutes.  Roll out on floured surface to 1/4" thick; cut. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350° for 6-8 minutes. If using large cutters, increase time to 10 minutes.  

I usually double the recipe because they are one of my son-in-law Eric's favorite cookies.  Oh, who am I kidding? We all love them! I don't even decorate them, they are good as is.  ♥

Christmas Baking Starts!

I did it!  I got two kinds of cookies made today. One was kind of a cheater cookie in that it was just a layer and bake--the Magic Bar Cookie made with sweetened condensed milk.  Haven't made those in years and since I had four cans of the milk, decided to "give them a whirl."  Still yummy!

I also made gingerbread cookies.  Several years ago Ann gave me a box of cookie stamps as part of my Christmas.  I've used cookie stamps before, but just small ones on shortbread type dough. These stamps are big!

And they make big cookies.  Very yummy big cookies.  I use the recipe on the box and the first time I made them I was a little leery as they call for a tablespoon of ginger, but they are really, really good cookies.  Guys especially like them! Last year when the men from our church came caroling, I passed out cookies before they drove away in the van.  From the back I heard, "Now THIS a gingerbread cookie!" followed by several assents.  In the photo below you can see some ready for the oven, some baked ones behind, and the stamps to the side.

When I was making the bar cookies I got out my stash of baking chips and realized I might have a problem.  A problem with buying baking chips. Apparently I have no shortage!

I didn't count the bags, but I'm guessing around two dozen.  ♥

And the Snow Came Softly Down

The view at dusk this evening

They had forecast snow for today and they were right.  I woke up to hear my phone signal a text and found one from Ann saying too much ice, no school today. Apparently there was black ice everywhere.  Dan said he had trouble even in the gravel while getting the paper when he got up. And it was starting to snow.  A day to spend in the kitchen for certain as the snow continued to fall. At first I thought I would begin on my Christmas cookie baking, but then I remembered a recipe I've been wanting to try.

A little back story:  When my brother and I were kids, as in grade school, my mom, who was not a baker, would very occasionally make a sweet roll she called orange kuchen rolls. Oh, were they ever good! For whatever reason, she only made them during a short season of a year or two. They had a crunchy topping of butter, sugar and grated orange peel and the bottoms were gooey with the same ingredients.  

When we were cleaning out my parents' house, one of the things I searched for was that recipe. As I looked, John came in and asked if I'd found a recipe for "those orange rolls Mom made when we were little." He'd never forgotten them, either!  I never did find it.  I searched the internet and came up empty.  I looked through her old cookbooks. Nothing.  And then one day this past year, I was looking through her Electric Bread cookbook which I had kept and spotted a picture that looked like those orange rolls I remembered. The recipe was called Orange Kisses, and from the description, sounded like it came from the same era Mom made hers.  

Today was the day.  I texted John and told him my plan to try and began.  I did use my Zojirushi bread machine to make the dough and then finished up in the oven.  I seemed to remember that Mom made hers in an angel food cake pan, so I dug out mine and used it.  That was mistake number two.

Mistake number one you ask?  Well, I've used the same brand of yeast for ever and a day.  It's Saf-Instant Red and it's great stuff.  I opened a new package about the time the virus became known and everyone was buying up all the flour and yeast in the land.  And a strange thing happened the first time I used it.  My bread rose twice as high. What? So I tried again, with the same results.  High is nice, too high, not so much. As a result, since then I've used half the amount of yeast a recipe calls for.  Until today.  Um hum, I used the full amount and my dough was very soft and puffy.  

Back to the pan.  The  butter and sugar/orange peel mix leaked out the bottom of the pan, all over the oven I just cleaned a few weeks ago. 

I know what I'll be doing tomorrow!  Running the self-clean program again!  

Meanwhile, the rolls.  The verdict?  I think I've found the right recipe! I'm so excited! I just ate one, and despite the "fluffiness" of it, the taste seemed to be what I remembered, with the crunchy top and the gooey bottom.  Bruder Bear will be thrilled!

I made supper in the crockpot, potatoes, carrots and hamburger in white sauce, but I just may eat my way through these rolls instead.  Oh, and about the yeast.  I think it's been a gift to me that it's, for some reason, double strength, because it has been impossible to find these last ten months.  I've made all our bread and I still have so much yeast left. I'm thankful. ♥

It's Zucchini Season!

Every summer since we've owned our own home, we've planted some type of garden.  In the early days, it really was for "survival" in that we certainly didn't have much money and a garden provided much needed food for us and our little ones.  And every garden included zucchini and yellow squash (which we called crookneck) even though as years went by, and locations changed,  it was more for the fun of it rather than cheap food.  

It seems that we always wait in great anticipation for the plants to finally produce something big enough to eat. Then, all of a sudden, there's too much!  And there's always a few zucchini that hide (how do they do that?) and turn into torpedos.  Ah, but they are perfect for zucchini bread and zucchini relish.  Until your freezer is full and so are your cupboards. This year Dan has tried to beat the system by picking the squash when it's very small, and for the most part, it's worked.  Mostly.

We've had Summer Squash Skillet; bread; steamed, blackened, and topped with cheese; PW's Simple Sesame noodles with chicken and squash added; and so on.  Last summer I discovered a spice cake that was extremely well received when we had company over a weekend.  I think one will be in the works later today.  

We've also grown green beans over the years, usually very successfully until this house.  The soil isn't very good, apparently, and Dan's often so busy with his consulting that the garden usually gets short shrift.  This year we were determined to get beans enough to can. Here's a photo of our crop.

Yes, that's it.  Seven jars.  The bunnies ate the rest. Sigh. Such is life here on the edge of town.  ♥

Time Out for a Little Cooking

I'm almost embarrassed by that title, because for much of this week I've just not been in the mood to cook, but I did have one great success with a new recipe.  

We have friends who have a Christmas Tree farm and a few years ago they began planting blueberries for a summer crop.  Annette texted me last Friday to say the blueberries were finally ripe and I elected to let her pick and deliver vs. driving out and picking myself.  She delivered the berries Sunday and Monday I tried a new recipe I'd printed out recently for Homemade Blueberry Sauce.  It comes from My Baking Addiction's website and can be found here.  It was very simple to make and is very delicious!  

Tuesday morning I made a Dutch Baby and added the sauce to the top after taking it out of the oven.  I usually top it with canned apple pie filling which we love, but Dan was raving about how good this new sauce was.  

Today I added a good dollop to my homemade yogurt and it, too, was a winner.  Breakfast tomorrow?  Another Dutch Baby!  ♥

And in the Kitchen

Well, here we are, finishing up week eight (or is it nine?) of this quarantine, and I'm thankful I'm still actually enjoying coming up with two meals a day (we're both on our own for lunch because we're never hungry at the same time).  Our food is holding out well, and we've made several trips to the store at low volume times.  

I've heard that before this is over, we'll all have added the Covid 19, meaning adding nineteen additional pounds.  I hope not!!  But I will say that desserts have come into play way more than usual around here. Homemade pudding, peach shortcake, cookies, pie. . . Yum!!

The other day I noticed my fruit bowl had some fruit that should have been used earlier.  A couple of lonely bananas reminded me of a recipe I got from my Aunt Betty Jane, back in my high school days.  I stopped by her house one day and she was making them and allowed me to copy the recipe with the comment that the handwriting was her younger son's when he was home one day and wanted to help in some way.  So, this is a recipe from sometime in the 1940s.  

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup shortening
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup mashed bananas

1 3/4 cups quick oats

1/2 cup nuts

Mis together flour, sugar, soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Cut in shortening (I just use my Kitchenaid and it does the work).  Add egg, banana, oats and nuts. Beat until thoroughly blended.  Drop on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400° about 13-15 minutes.  Remove immediately.  Makes 3 1/2 dozen.  

I used to like to make these just before the kids came home from school and have them ready with a glass of milk for a tasty snack.  Memories. . .

And then yesterday, I took some less than stellar looking apples and turned them into a yummy apple pie.  I don't even remember the last time I made an apple pie.  Dan was in heaven.  

Today I have some blueberries that I need to turn into a coffee cake for tomorrow's breakfast.  And Sunday's, too!  Bon appetit!  ♥

Hmm... Hmm...

I feel like I should write a scintillating blog post, but what can you say about day after day of the same thing?  I am thankful that I'm continuing to enjoy outfoxing dinner for the 30th night in a row, so that's a good thing.  We are eating well.  

I have been doing a lot of reading on my iPad.  Ann introduced me to the Libby app and I'm happily downloading books from the library as well as getting the freebies from Amazon Prime.  I never thought I'd like reading on a mobile device, but I'm having to eat my words.  

Dan has gotten to go out in the woods several times this week, and he also taught a "class" using Zoom with the help of the U of I forestry extension department.  (He didn't enjoy it...) 

Our excitement tonight was peach shortcake featuring peaches I froze back in August of '18.  Still delicious! The cake part was a recipe I got many, many years ago and is an easy yellow cake.  According to my handwritten recipe card, I got it from the Family Weekly, which was, as I recall, the precursor to the Parade Magazine we get in the Sunday paper these days. Here's the recipe in case you've got some frozen peaches or strawberries in your freezer and don't want to head to the store for those cute little shortcakes in a package.

Shortcake (Yellow Cake)

2 cups unsifted flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 350.  Grease and flour a 9 x 13" pan, or two 8 or 9" cake pans or two 8" square pans. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Add butter and 2/3 cup of the milk.  Beat two minutes at low speed.  Add remaining 1/3 cup of milk, eggs and vanilla and beat two minutes longer at medium speed.  Turn into pans and bake 30-35 minutes or until done.  

I've made this dozens of times over the years and it always tastes so good.  Sturdy, sweet, and when split and topped with the juicy fruit, soaks it up beautifully and is very satisfying in an old-fashioned sense.  Didn't think to take a picture.  ♥

Day 500 of Quarantine

Or so it seems.  Hmm, even for a homebody like me, these days are getting a little weird.  There were always things we did each week that helped us keep track of the days, but now we don't even have church on Sundays. We gathered in front of our TV last Sunday and using my computer and our Chrome-cast, watched "church" live-streamed via Facebook. Somehow, it didn't seem like Sunday. . .

One thing that has helped me pass the time besides the laundry (haha!), is Ann's reminding me that I could download the Kindle app on my iPad and get books through Amazon Prime.  I've rewarded myself with several interesting/fun reads over the last couple of weeks which has been very helpful because the library is closed.  One was recommended by Ann and I found it interesting because I could remember many of the names featured in it.  It's Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by J.B. West who was Chief Usher during five presidencies, Roosevelt through Johnson.  

Of course, meals are a constant and keep me busy. There's no eating out because all the restaurants are takeout/delivery only, and somehow I can't bring myself to eat something made by someone who may have the virus and not know it yet.  While I'm trying not to dwell on the reason for this quarantine,  I don't want to be imprudent.  So, all meals by Chef Moi.  This morning I thought I would upgrade our breakfast and decided to make Ann's recipe for scones.  Oh yum!  We each had two, I froze four, and tomorrow we'll feast on another four.  

I'm thinking of other things I can make and freeze some of.  Stocking the freezer seems like a worthwhile endeavor during these must-stay-at-home days.  ♥

Greetings from the Last Outpost

Ha!  At least I think that's how my poor husband is feeling these days.  At least the weather is crummy, so he's not tempted to be outdoors right now.  Rain! Wind! Cold! 

As I told my longtime pal, Kathy of Homestead Happenings, this whole situation is like a challenge to me.  How long can I keep making meals with what we have? Meals that taste good! I had a win tonight.  We often have waffles and bacon for dinner on nights when a cozy meal is called for.  But we had that last week. Somehow or other, I stumbled onto a recipe for pancakes this afternoon. Normally I'm not much of a pancake fan; they've always tasted too heavy to me. This recipe had rave reviews so I printed it off and gave it a try.  YUM! Simple, simple ingredients, but awesome flavor and texture.  And Dan, who loves pancakes, gave them two thumbs up, too.  Here the link. I halved the recipe and we got ten yummy pancakes, which was perfect for us.  

To backtrack a week or so, I have a couple more things to say about our vacation house.  It was kind of a "smart house."  It had a thingy in many of the rooms that turned out to be a Google version of Alexa.  We drove that poor thing crazy with a myriad of questions such as When's low tide? When does the sun set in Rockaway Beach, Can you play some Ella Fitzgerald? and so on. The best part was when we were cooking.  "Hey Google! Set the timer for ten minutes!" and she would.  Do I want such a thing at home?  Nope, but it was fun for a while!

And here's a picture of the intrepid Keat cleaning off our windows for a better view after a naughty seagull left splatters all over them.  

And those pillars under the house?  It is supposed to be tsunami resistant.  The angle of the photo makes them look a little weird, but they were straight up and down. ♥

Two Breakfasts in One Day

Waaay back in the last century when I married my sweetheart, I discovered to my shock that he did not eat breakfast!  I told him that was terrible, breakfast was the most important meal of the day and would get him off to a good start.  And then I discovered another thing:  he hated cereal, hot or cold.  Uh oh.  So began my years of making him a hot breakfast every morning.  

Recently I found a recipe for making oatmeal in the crockpot that was supposed to be yummy and take only an hour of cooking.  I like oatmeal, so one morning when Dan was gone, I decided to try making some.  The recipe said it would serve four and unfortunately did not reheat well.  Hmmm.  It also needed a smaller crockpot than I had.  Hmmm.  Again.  Then I remembered that my favorite Instant Pot cookbook had some oatmeal recipes so I checked them out and decided to improvise. If it didn't work, I could just throw it out and no one would be the wiser except maybe the garbage man.

It turned out to be a phenomenal success.  And not only that, when I made it one day when Dan was home he consented to try a bowl.  He loved it!!  He even asks for it now, as he did yesterday morning.

Here's the scoop: 

Instant Pot Oatmeal

1 1/4 cups old fashioned oatmeal

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 cups milk (I use vanilla almond milk)

Stir everything together in a 3-qt Instant Pot and set for 1 minute at high pressure.  Let it sit for 10 minutes and then release the rest of the pressure manually.   Stir and enjoy!  

Dan really likes raisins in his; I don't, so I just put the raisins in a small bowl, cover with water and zap in the microwave for 30 seconds and then let them sit until the oatmeal is ready.  I drain them and he stirs them into his bowl.  

After forty-eight years, he can still surprise me!  The original recipe comes from Bare Feet in the Kitchen and I've cut hers in half.  Besides how good it tastes (so creamy and just the right texture), I love that while it cooks I can get myself ready for the day or sit with my coffee and the paper.  No babysitting it while it's on the stove.

And then last night, for supper?  We had breakfast again--waffles and bacon.  Both breakfasts were delicious!!  

Cookbook Reminiscing

I think past posts have made it clear that I am a lover of cookbooks.  I have many, and even often have one on my nightstand for bedtime reading.  Yes, it's true, I do! I kind of rotate though my shelves and when one comes up again after a long time, it's like meeting an old friend.  And one cookbook is especially like that. 

I found this cookbook in a little shop the first time we went to the ocean as a family.  Actually, it was the first time I was ever at the ocean! Dan bought it for me and then he and the kids autographed it.

Ann (known in those days as Annie), was five and about to enter kindergarten. Matt was six and headed for first grade.  A week before our trip, the middle finger on his right hand was broken when it was accidentally smashed in a door and he was sporting a splint and bandages on it following stitches.  Hence his shaky signature.  (We have pictures of him digging in the sand with his left hand, right hand held up in the air to keep it clean and dry.)

The cookbook is a thoughtful read on mindful cooking, and the handwriting on the title page makes it priceless.

♥ ♥ ♥

Time Goes By!

Mercy, how quickly the days go by!  It's been fall, fall, fall here for the last few weeks and I'm loving it so much.  If the leaves were turning and falling I would swear it was late October instead of September.  Of course  a few have, but mostly all are still green so the actual fall colors are still to come.  

Bruder Bear and Karen were here for a few days last week and we had such a good visit.  They'd been on a round robin of visits with family and were glad to land here for a few lazy days.  We enjoyed dinner out at our favorite Mexican restaurant one night and I made a huge pot of Taco Soup the day they arrived so we got our Tex-Mex fill!  (Yes, there are a lot of cans in this soup but I did use my own pressure cooked pinto beans (1 1/2 cups drained and frozen equal one 16 ounce can), and I use lower sodium cans of the other beans and corn along with a low sodium or homemade taco seasoning.)  When you're feeding a crowd, this recipe rocks.  

I finished the yellow and blue baby quilt and I'm so in love with it that it's graced the top of the love seat for days.  It's just a happy quilt!

I was really feeling fallish yesterday and decided it was a good soup and bread day so I made the Swedish limpa rye bread from Foodie with Family and the wild rice chicken soup from Pressure Cooking Today.  I first discovered this tasty combination when Bruder Bear came up last fall and it's a winner.  Needless to say we're having repeats tonight and the second loaf is in the freezer for some other day(s).  

This morning Dan helped out with a community service day the boys' school was having and took his chain saws to help clear out overgrown shrubs and trees in a local park.  I think I mentioned that daughter Ann is teaching there and her estimation was that the school had saved the town at least $15,000 in labor costs.  Dan said it was amazing how hard those kids worked, even the tiniest ones.  ♥

It's Dan's Birthday!

Yup, today is my honey's birthday.  Most of the world has been concentrating on the fiftieth anniversary of the moon walk, but here at the Resort, it's a birth-day! Dan remembers well the day of the moon walk and he says that while the rest of the world thinks it heard Neil Armstrong say, "That's one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind," Dan says he really said, "That's one small step for Dan..."  to honor his birthday.  LOL!!  

Anyway. . .

Dan had a fun day in the woods with his buddy Dennis exploring and picking a few huckleberries. While they were gone I decided I would go for broke and make him a totally from scratch cake and even use round cake pans to make it a layer cake.  Several times this year a message from King Arthur flour has popped up either in my email or on Facebook with a link to their recipe of the year--a birthday cake.  I looked it up and printed it and decided to give it a whirl.  It did not disappoint!

I didn't take a picture of mine and now it's all wrapped up for tomorrow, so I borrowed this photo from the KA website.

Believe it or not, mine looked just like that except it's on a pink depression glass cake stand that belonged to my Grandma Hansen (of the picnic photo in my last post). We both loved the cake and if you'd like to give it a try, click here for the recipe.  (In full disclosure, I used my usual recipe for the frosting--from the back of the box of C&H powdered sugar, chocolate version.)  ♥

Movin' Right Along

We've been busy little beavers elves today.  Dan cut our tree and brought it in (although we have yet to decorate it) and I got started on the cookies.  Two batches are chilling in the frig and another batch has been baked. Oh, and a pan of fudge is chilling in the frig, too.  Yum!!

The fudge recipe I use is a combination of two that I found on the internet.  I used the ingredients from a crockpot recipe (and I've done it that way in the past), and the method of another. It's so easy and only has four, count 'em, four ingredients!

Super Easy Fudge

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated)

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat

 and stir until chips are just melted.  Stir in butter and vanilla and pour into a

8 or 9" square pan which has been lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick spray.

Refrigerate 3 hours, until very firm.

Remove from foil and cut into small squares.

Store in covered container.  

So easy and so good!  ♥

A Little This, A Little That

Our phone rang a little after noon on Friday and it was Bruder Bear saying he was in Riggins just coming off a fishing trip with some friends and wondered if he could come up for a visit for a day or so.  Yay!!  So Dan and I hopped to and got a little house work done (left undone for too long due to my cold and Dan's knee) and we were mostly ready when he arrived about three-thirty.  We ate out that night (ref. clean house instead of cook...) but I came up with some plans for Saturday night.  I'm always okay with breakfast and lunch, but dinner often stymies me when I have company, even someone as easy at Bruder Bear.  

My plan?  One Hour Swedish Limpa Bread from Foodie with Family and Chicken Wild Rice Soup from Pressure Cooking Today.  The boys kept busy with discussions of hunting and reloading and then, thanks to BB's scouting skills, left to buy some rims for winter tires for the new SUV we purchased last summer.  I have tried to do some preliminary work for my cooking these days, so I gathered ingredients and chopped away on onions, celery, and carrots (which I have learned is called mirepoix in the fancy cooking world) and chicken. Having all these things plus the other ingredients at the ready is called mise en place.  All these French terms!!  But I am becoming a true believer in mise en place, it keeps me from leaving something out and I'm much more relaxed when it comes to actually doing the cooking.

The bread recipe truly is quick although an hour and fifteen minutes is probably closer to the truth for me.  AND it makes two lovely sized loaves!  Win, win!  We decided when I first made it earlier this year that we weren't fans of the fennel seeds, but otherwise I follow the recipe exactly.  And oh! the smell of the orange peel.  Mmmm!  We had leftovers from the first loaf toasted with breakfast this morning and it was delicious with a little butter and peach jam.  Dan said it was as good as dessert. 

Our beautiful days seem to be coming to an end with light rain and clouds in the forecast for the next week or so.  Fine with me!  Makes it all the more cozy.  We've had the fireplace burning merrily many nights.

The front porch is very festive for the season.  We've gathered in a few more pumpkins this year thanks to some friends who had leftovers after a Fall Festival at their Christmas tree farm.  We usually have one, but I'm loving the look of more!

I realized as I looked at this picture I just took that I need to take down the birdhouse and put up the Indian corn!  So I'm off to do that before I forget.  ♥ 

Saturday

I know that we're retired and all, but there's still something about Saturdays that makes them special.  I made a coffee cake this morning that I haven't made in quite some time.  Isn't it strange how some things just disappear off the mental menu list?  The recipe is from the quite substantial cookbook that came with my very first microwave, back about 1981.  It was a GE and of course it was huge.  Anyway, this recipe has stood the test of time and I'll share it with you.

Microwave Coffee Cake

1 1/2 c. Bisquick

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. milk

1 egg

2 T. oil

Topping:

1/3 c. Bisquick

1/3 c. brown sugar

2 T. butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix Bisquick and sugar.  Beat milk, oil, and egg together and add.  Mix well, by hand.  Pour into greased 8" round dish.  Blend topping ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over coffee cake.  Microwave 5-7 minutes (although in my newest one, 4 1/2 does it).  

Couldn't be easier, or quicker, and it's just perfect.  It's often made at Ann's house, too.

I finished my socks and they're on my feet today.  And that cute little knit pumpkin?  A present from Ann last Thanksgiving.  

And I've started another pair.  I think I'm in sock addiction right now!  I'm loving this Oyster tweed from Knit Picks.  

We had frost yesterday morning, and while the sun makes its appearance almost every day, it's cool, cool weather.  The trees continue to respond!

Dan invited me out to lunch today and we went to Subway.  We haven't eaten there in a long time and we discovered their rotisserie chicken.  We ate it on their flat bread and enjoyed every last bite.  What a fun thing to do on the spur of the moment!  

And now I'm taking my half-finished hot chocolate and heading for the sofa and my knitting needles.  Happy weekend!!  ♥

Back in the Kitchen

I seem to move back and forth from the sewing room to the kitchen.  As you can see, life at the resort is very exciting!!  (Actually, it's just the way I like it.)  And now that fall truly seems to be here, both by weather and calendar, I deemed it pot-of-soup time.  

Monday morning I said as much to Dan and decided the soup of choice would be potato.  He immediately volunteered to be my potato peeler.  I think he was in the mood for soup, too.  Because I knew I was going to use my InstantPot, I told him we had some time so I puttered and he worked on his exercises.  His knee continues to do amazingly well, and I'm sure it's in part because of his dedication to the exercise regime his physical therapist has him on.  

About four-thirty I declared it potato time and hauled out my six-quart pot. Dan got out the potatoes and we went to work.  One of the sites I found when I first got my electric pressure cooker was Pressure Cooking Today (link on sidebar).  I was excited when she announced she'd written a cookbook and I ordered one immediately.  It has not disappointed!  Her recipe for chunky potato cheese soup is sooo good!  

As Dan peeled, I sauteed diced celery (used in place of onion) in the pot, then we both chunked the potatoes and added them and chicken broth to the celery, along with seasonings.  Soon, very soon, all was cooked and cheese, more chicken broth, half and half and bacon were added.  I use reduced sodium broth and fat free half and half. Mmmm...  We ladled it all into our bowls and practically swooned as we ate.  And then scraped every last drop with our spoons.  

It makes a lot and we'll enjoy our third go-round tonight.  As good as it was the first night, it, like soups seem to do, tastes better with each passing day. 

I can't recommend this book enough.  I've made many recipes from it and each one is excellent.  

Short and Sweet

Heh, heh!  I love the title of this one!  Last night Dan attended the monthly men's dinner at church and when he came home, he handed me a small plate.  One of the wives had made their dessert (the men usually do their own cooking), and I said, "Terry made apple pie!" as I took a bite.  So good!

And then Dan said, "No, it's zucchini!"  What?!?  I kept eating and saying that it tasted just like apple pie, and when I was done, I immediately texted Terry and asked for the recipe.  She texted back and told me to google zucchini cobbler and Taste of Home.  And people, to help you out, click here for the link,  You're welcome!  You won't regret it.  

See, short and sweet.  Get it?