I am finally jazzed about this election. John McCain's pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate has made this the most historic election ever in this country. We will have an African American president or a female vice president. Wow!
Laura left for New Orleans this morning. She will stay a few hours away with my mom until the storm passes. Tyler took this picture of us this morning before she left and I had some fun with some online photo editing programs.
My oldest daughter has been home for a couple of weeks and is getting ready to move to New Orleans. We have been busy getting her ready to move and spending some quality time together.
I picked up around 2 bushels of pears that I have been canning. I'll have some recipes from that up probably next week. It has been a productive and fun couple of weeks.
I thought I would share another recipe that we enjoy. This is from Andrea's Recipes . I think is quite yummy.
Cottage Cheese Rolls
1 c. flour
dash salt
1 stick butter
Cut together until crumbly.
Add: 3/4 c. cottage cheese
Mix well.
Separate into 3 balls.
Roll each ball out into 8-10" circle.
Cut into wedges and roll like crescents.
Bake at 350' for 20-25 minutes.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Cottage cheese disappears and leaves a sweet, flaky roll.
Let me know if you like them.
Also I found a link to a page with lots of recipes for Spinach, Sprouts, Summer Squash, Sweet Potatoes and a few others that I thought everyone might enjoy. So check out the Veggie Venture for some great ideas.
I think you will like this cake if you try it. Very tasty.
Ingredients:
1 yellow cake mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
4 Tablespoons Poppy Seeds
Mix the ingredients together only adding one egg at a time. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes in a greased bundt pan. Let cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
My husband and son are huge fans of parody. They especially enjoy Weird Al and we had the chance to see him in concert last summer. I was a huge Osmond fan back in the day. So when I saw this outtake of Weird Al's video "White and Nerdy" I cracked up. Donny is indeed "White and Nerdy" and embraces his image by poking fun at himself. Nerdy or not he is a talented man. I especially enjoy his performance in Joseph on Broadway. I thought I would share a little of both. Enjoy.
I am so happy to have found that Jewel has reopened her blog Eyes of Wonder! Her pictures are so peaceful and I love reading her accounts of their simple life. If you haven't been to her blog before be sure to have a look.
Tribute to Maria
"We might have landed right on our face, but this foundation was solid. And it was there. We landed." Mary Beth Chapman
I've been a very bad blogger. I haven't been posting regularly enough to even justify doing this. My days have been filled with working in our business, working in my garden and working in my kitchen putting all the things from my garden away. I will go 4 or 5 days in a row without leaving our property. Even though I feel like I'm very busy it's been nice; life seems much simpler in someways.
I had a wonderful visit with Jesse last week. He helped us pick out a new computer . Our old one is close to 8 years old and I have resuscitated it several times. It has been relegated to a school computer and once I get a router an additional internet surfer.
I've been busy making Jams and Jellies and I thought I would share the two I like the best.
First there is Jalapeno jelly, one of our favorites. I decided to grow Jalapenos this year because my youngest son loves hot peppers. I haven't tried any other hot peppers fresh from the garden so I have nothing to compare them to, but these babies I'm growing are HOT! When I sliced them up I started coughing and my throat burned! I was concerned that the jelly would be too hot to eat. It was too late to turn back so I just had to take the chance. I will say that the jelly is perfect. Not too hot but with a bite at the end.
My favorite way to serve Pepper jelly is over cream cheese. At Christmas I have a tree shaped platter that I spread my cream cheese in. I then spread a layer of Pepper jelly over the cream cheese and serve with crackers. It is something that is easy to keep on hand in case unexpected guest drop by. Easy and delicious.
Also a note: The recipe called for 2 packs of pectin. I think next time I may try it with only 1 and see how it works. You might want to check it for yourself before you add the second pack.
Jalapeno Jelly: From the Ball Blue Book.
Makes 6 jelly jars.
3/4 lb Jalapeno peppers ( I used about 1/2 lb)
2 cups cider vinegar
6 cups sugar
2 pouches liquid pectin
Green food coloring, ( this is optional)
Be sure to wear gloves when handling the peppers. They will burn your skin. DO NOT touch your face or believe me you will be sorry.
Wash peppers and drain. Remove stems and seeds. Puree the peppers and a little of the vinegar in a blender or food processor . If I use the food processor I only put in about a tablespoon of vinegar.
Combine the rest of vinegar, peppers and sugar in large saucepot. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes, stir constantly.
Stir in pectin. Return to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and skim foam if necessary. If you like ad a few drops of food coloring. I added 4 drops to mine because I like it to look festive at Christmas.
Ladle into hot, sterilized jars, leave 1/4 space at jar top. Process 10 minutes in water bath canner.
The second recipe is for Tomato Jam. This is another family favorite and works great for tomatoes that are just a little too ripe to can or freeze.
This is delicious served with butter over hot homemade biscuits. Oh my! My mouth is watering!
Tomato Jam
Makes 6 Jelly Jars.
2 and 1/2 lbs tomatoes. About 5 cups.
2 lbs sugar
dash of salt (to taste)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 box of Sure Jell
Peel and cut tomatoes into small pieces. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Add lemon juice and Sure Jell. Bring to a full rolling boil, stir constantly. Add sugar and again bring to a full boil while stirring. Remove from heat, skim and place in sterilized jars. Process for 10 minutes in water bath.
Note: I meant to try this with liquid pectin and forgot to pick up an extra pack. I think it might work better. I used a product called Dutch Jell that I picked up at the Mennonite community. It is supposed to be a natural substitute for Sure Jell.
If you try these out be sure to let me know how you like them.
Come back soon.
