Ordinary Life

For the most part, ( words you don't normally associate with following a recipe )  we followed the recipe found on Ree Drummond 's site. She has much better photos- if you plan to make this, I highly advise checking her coverage out.  What follows is really just a documentation of our attempt to re-create tasty apple fritters- not a "how-to". We had to scrap our deep fryer as the inside coating was beginning to flake. I knew you could fill a pot with oil as a makeshift fryer but I had never been brave enough to try it until I saw Ree's photo coverage. It was less daunting to see that not only had someone else successfully made fritters in a pot of boiling oil, but that they had done so without burning down their kitchen.  Heat the oil on Medium... a test drop of batter will let you know if the oil is too hot or not hot enough baed on shade and speed of browning.  We halved the batter but not the fruit. So 3 apples went into half the batter. To the other half we ad...

BUTTER SAFE THAN SORRY by Tamar Myers This was my first time reading Tamar Myers. I loved the featured Amish and Mennonite characters, as well as Methodist, Baptists, good old fashioned pagans-(wait, is that redundit?) and nudist nuns to boot. Amish themes make me nostalgic for our time in Kentucky. I welcome writing that incites nostalgia. The story is full of word play, while the storyline itself is a little zany. This was the last title in a series of 18 and if I'm not mistaken, meant to be read in a particular order. Most of the characters were spoken of in familiar tones with little time spent re-introducing them. Many 'incidents' were referred to as if everyone had already heard the gossip (or read the previous books) I love interactive books, though I have yet to try the butter based recipes included between chapters. I am looking forward to trying at least a few of them and probably, every single one. Myers offers some other genres that I may check into. To me, the...

HAPPY JULY 4th, 2013! From the archives- circa 2006 :

Some family members from home alerted  us to the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship when the ad started airing on tv during this season's Master's Tournament. I promptly registered Chandler and a little later, we received notice that he had made the 'lottery-style' cut for the first qualifying round.  We've been a little pre-occupied with baseball, but Chandler took the opportunity to practice at the driving range whenever he could find a chance to do so.  Though he has been swinging a club since he could hold one, and though he believes golf to be his birthright (I mean, he's from Augusta, how could it NOT be so, right ? Right. ) Aside from friendly rounds of "PuttPutt", this was Chandler's first competitive anything to do with golf.  Chandler's First ScoreBoard   Chandler warms up before his group is called to the tee box.  Chandler waits for his turn at the first event: Driving  Is there anything more fun than entertaining a toddler in a ...

The BigKids were forced to exit the pool when the rain grew heavy and annoying and cold. We took our little sunshine with us. On the way back to The Dry, we spotted bananas growing over the community fountain. I have since charged Clay to fetch them for me.  We recently watched The Princess Bride again and my head is still full of Buttercup and Farm Boy I suppose- Clay said "I'll get right on it" to which I reminded him he is supposed to say "As you wish." I am happy to report he quickly amended his reply. However, I am still waiting on the bananas. 

Another entry in the "Not Pretty But Palatable" files:  Pita Pockets I followed the recipe linked in the title loosely. I used White Whole Wheat along with regular All Purpose flour. I believe it added a chewy quality that I appreciate in bread. I made two batches of dough, and due to life circumstances, I left them covered on the counter overnight - as opposed to for a few hours. This turn of events gave a sour dough like quality- also appreciated in breads we consume. Pita dough discs waiting to be flung into the oven. Two factors made my pita less than desirable: My hastiness to finish the project and my fear of very high temperatures.  Had I rolled the discs more uniformly and had I not flung the discs haphazardly onto the HOT baking sheet in the oven, leaving them to cook more or less in the shape that they landed, they'd have no doubt been easier to use for sandwiches. I chose to roll some discs smaller with the kids in mind, but they were too small in the end.  I t...

GOOD POEMS ~ various authors, arranged by Garrison Keillor Lots of good picks here (fitting title) but I had no doubt there would be. I had gotten ahold of Good Poems for Hard Times  first- a long while back. I hope to enjoy  Good Poems, American Places  in the near future. I copied so many of the poems into my quote journal that my hand began to ache. I eventually had to write the remaining titles of those I wished to keep so that I could look them up, print them out and just paste them in instead...too, too many. Someday, I will have all of these volumes on my shelf...somewhere. Currently, we move too much. Stacks and stacks of books are glorious, but heavy to move about the countryside, plus I hate what happens to books in storage.  Iscariot by Tosca Lee Lee's writing- and subject matter- reminds me of dark chocolate. And I love dark chocolate. I love when a book glimpses a familiar subject from an unfamiliar vantage. Iscariot was that kind of book. Painting a v...

I had some 'leftover' ingredients. We turned them into lunch.  Sauce: Half a tomato, cut & mushed up Mixed with a little wine, tomato paste, balsamic and seasonings Crust: Last remains of Greek yogurt & self rising flour Pressed into an oiled pan with using a layer of plastic wrap (big help on the sticky dough finger problem) Then, buttered & seasoned with crushed garlic & pantry stocked italian flavors. Hunked up Mozzerella ball and Basil from our patio "garden" Baked at 375  til bubbly Remaining garlic tossed in olive oil & salt, roasted alongside pizza in tin foil packet Whatever roasted garlic was not eaten whole (love that stuff!) we mushed and mixed with sour cream for our dressing of a bag of orphaned Florida Red potatoes that lay abandoned in the bottom of the pantry.  ( Italian Bakers~ Mozzerella & Italian seasonings) It weren't fancy, but it was tasty. 

Earlier, I shared pictures I found online of an unlikely friendship . Here is another strange pairing found a little closer to home:  That's my patio grape plant holding the leaf of my patio corn.  I am happy to see them supporting one another in such constructive ways  ;)

I have been creating some visual art type things for a project. For one part, I needed a picture of ' unlikely friends ' At least, that was one of the search terms I used. It was late when I came across these photos... and that is what I blamed the initial fit of giggles that overcame me on... this very late hour I found myself awake and playing with graphics.  I have no such excuse however,  for every other time I am overcome by mirth by these candids- which is every time I happen to see them.  That monkey's smile...  the way he's so sincerely sharing his banana...