Moving to Wordpress

At least for the time being, I'm moving to Wordpress. Here's the link to my blog there.

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Pie

The picture is a little blurry but you get the idea. I'm on a roll with "traditions" right now and this one is purely Southern. I used my new cookbook, Bon Appetit Fast Easy Fresh, although I altered the sweet potato part a little. I also baked that layer a little first before pouring on the pecan layer. It tastes a little like pumpkin pie and the pecans add a nice dimension to it. The thing that strikes me is that this pie tastes HEALTHY. Something you can feel good about eating. Think about all the vitamins in it.

Today was rainy, one of those dreary kinds of days. I didn't want to be just sitting around watching TV so I made up a batch of Multigran Pancake Mix from the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking cookbook. It's kind of like a healthy bisquick, all you do is measure out a cup, then add an egg and buttermilk.

A New Year

It seems that so many people are glad that 2008 is over and are looking forward to 2009 with hope that things will get better.

I ended up calling my brother & sister today, and talked with most everyone, including the kids and spouses. They probably thought it was weird I was calling, and even more, that I was talking for so long, but I was tired of brooding over the fact that nobody had called at Christmas. My sister said she wished I lived closer so she could give me some mochi. I told her that I still had some from several years ago, that I had vacuum packed, and I'd eaten one today too. It's a rice cake made from glutinous rice, when it's cooked, it puffs up. The photo above is mine that I made in the microwave. As soon as the cooking stops, it deflates. I like it with sugar and kinako (soy bean flour). My aunt apparently still makes it (she has a machine now, instead of the men getting together and pounding it by hand). When everyone was younger, she used to host a New Year's party with all the traditional Japanese New Year foods, like ozoni (soup with mochi).

Post Holiday Blues

Today I took down the few Christmas decorations I’d put up (it was a warm day and the boxes are in the attic where it's cold), so now I guess the holiday is officially over, plus our houseguest left. Sigh.

I always kind of hit a wall around Christmas Eve, from the busy-ness of planning what to have for dinner, shopping, cooking, dishes, expectations, etc. I felt stressed out and left out on Christmas when everyone wanted to watch a movie in the afternoon and I wanted to prep things for dinner so we would eat on time. Hubby seldom helps with dishes plus I had gotten mad at him earlier that day for dropping something out of the dishwasher (an inexpensive dish but it was from my Mom) so he steered clear of the kitchen at that point anyway. My visiting stepdaughter had a cold so I didn't want to ask her to do anything. And then neither my brother or sister called me. I had called them on Thanksgiving so I decided I was going to see if they would call on Christmas, they didn't. Needless to say I was kind of grouchy on Christmas. I think I expect too much on Christmas, or sort of get my hopes up too high. Some of my cynicism melted away when I saw the pictures my stepdaughter had taken on Christmas, and it actually looked like we had a good time. Some of the little things I had blown out of proportion were not that big a deal after all. I really get stressed out when I feel like I’m alone or stuck with doing everything. I’m not good at asking for help either. And sometimes I feel resentful when I feel that I shouldn’t have to ask for help, people should volunteer.

We make wish-lists and the gift-givers went overboard and gave me everything on it. Usually they'll split up the list and get some things for Christmas and then others later for my birthday. I had wanted a thermal French Press coffee pot (Peets tastes so much better that way, I like my coffee like jet fuel), a Brian Culbertson CD (he opened for Barry), and two cookbooks (Bon Appetit Fast Easy Fresh, and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian). I really like the vegetarian cookbook since it was written by a meat eater (Mark Bittman). His premise is that it's written for meat-eaters who want options for healthier meals, and vegetarians who aren't all that strict. (I’m probably more the former.) Both cookbooks have tips that are inspirational in a "New Years Resolutions" sort of way.

I made Cinnamon-Nut Buns from Everyday Food, for Christmas breakfast. It’s the same dough as for dinner rolls, so I was able to do two things at once. I think I like sticky buns better.

Me Want Cookie!!!!

It was my sis-in-law's idea this year to do Christmas cookies. We both made 5 kinds and swapped. Then we still have some left to give as gifts or have on hand for visitors. Most of her recipes are from an old Southern Living Christmas cookbook. She made (left to right) macaroons with chocolate covered raisins, chocolate covered espresso bean cookies, chocolate macaroon swirls, rum raisin sugar cookies, and rolled florentines. My favorite are the ones with the raisinettes.

Here are mine...Clockwise from the left, are jam-striped cookies from Everyday Food, Scouts Honor Peanut Butter Cookies from King Arthur Cookie cookbook, oatmeal toffee cookies from Cooking Light, and a cinnamon swirl cookie made with the same dough as the raspberry cookies. In the center is an old recipe from Sunmaid raisins, an oatmeal cookie made with raisins that have been soaked in orange liqueur & orange juice, with orange zest in the batter.


I started with recipes from December magazines. Some of those were disappointing, for as much effort as they took. It was aggravating working with the dough for the raspberry cookies...it was too warm in my kitchen and it was hard to work with, the layers were too thin if you followed the instructions, and then the cookies flopped over when they baked. After two batches of magazine recipes, I gave up and went back to some standby cookbook recipes. One of them is a take-off on the Girl Scout PB sandwich cookies...yum.

Sad news in the area is that the Peanut Butter Emporium burned down in a fire last night. The local news is making a big mention of the fact that it had been mentioned in Rachael's magazine (September 2008). I hadn't even noticed it, it's a small blurb on a page where they rate products, that month it was peanut butter, and they won for best honey PB. I found the blurb last night and I hadn't paid attention to it originally, since it didn't mention where the PB was from.

Age of Aquarius

Tonight is the only night we can see the Moon, Jupiter, and Venus. I took this with a digital camera so one of the planets is hard to see. It's hard to get the camera to focus on something an infinite distance away. Pretty cool to see.

I took the dogs for a short walk and I saw what I think is another pig! Fortunately I got the dogs to turn around before they spotted it, and for a change, they came home with me instead of going off on their own.

Thanksgiving 2008

We had a nice Thanksgiving, very low key. My sister-in-law made the turkey & gravy, dressing, veg (brussel sprouts) and mashed potatoes. She tried brining it, neither of us had ever done it. It turned out deliciously moist, although a little salty, but too much, especially when you gather the "perfect bite" with all the other unsalted foods.

I made the baked goods…pecan pie, turtle pumpkin pie (from Kraft Food & Family, plus the recipe has been in a bunch of other magazines), rolls (from the December "Everyday Food"), and Parmesan Straws (from the November "Everyday Food").

The pumpkin pie was the favorite, hands down. I used whipped cream instead of Cool Whip. The pie had the consistency of a mousse pie, but not too soft.

The straws were OK, kind of greasy, but they went over well since the turkey took longer to cook than expected, so everyone wanted something to munch on while we were waiting.

The rolls were eggy, in a good way, and sturdy enough to mop up the gravy.

Now Thanksgiving is over and December is just around the corner, I can’t help but feel the holiday rush come on, and the helplessness that another year is coming to a close.

The best part about yesterday was all the phone calls. I don’t call my siblings that often, and same vice versa. I called them both to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. I felt choked up talking with my sister, because it always seems that the gap in time between phone calls just disappears when we start talking. My inlaws also wanted me on the phone when hubby called them, it sure made me homesick…yet I was loving the weather we had in Texas last night, when I walked home from dinner wearing just jeans & a t-shirt, and looked up into the star-filled sky.

Vampires & Sweet Potato Bundt Cake

Around here, you often see people selling things from the back of their truck, like firewood, or more recently, yams. My sister-in-law got a bag of yams for $3. They’re huge and dense, not at all like the sweet potatoes at the grocery store (that seem watery). She didn’t want a whole bag so I inherited a few and made Sweet Potato Bundt Cake, from the orange Bon Appetit cookbook.

It tastes very much like a spice cake but the sweet potato/yam gives it a dense moistness. The frosting is what makes the cake, it’s a caramel with butter, whipping cream, brown sugar and powdered sugar, but mysteriously the combination of ingredients adds up to taste like the glaze on a maple donut, even though there’s no maple in it. Anyway, the flavor is very appropriate for the Thanksgiving season.

I take back what I wrote about "Twilight" recently. I do still think the writing isn’t as mature as "The Host," but I’m hooked now. I’ve got the audiobooks playing all the time…I’m behind on reading magazines because I can’t read and listen and comprehend both at the same time. But the audiobooks really help combat the drudgery of things like doing dishes, I get so absorbed into the story that those kinds of mundane chores are over before I know it. I’m up to "Breaking Dawn," and was excited to read that the movie studio now has the options for the second, third and fourth books. The one I’m most looking forward to is "New Moon," I’m rooting for Jacob. I just watched "Spoilers" on MTV and got to see who some of the actors are, plus a clip from the movie. At first I wasn’t too sure about Robert Pattinson, but I think that’s because all I’d seen of him on the internet was photos of him, as opposed to him transformed, made up and dressed in character, for the movie. The actors portraying Bella and Emmett are perfect. However, I wish "Alice" was a smaller person, as is emphasized so much in the books. Next week on the Reelz channel, there is a ton of coverage, in addition to the regular promos the actors are doing for shows like Ellen and Today.

I don’t know why I like vampires so much. I was an avid Anne Rice fan but found some of her books too intense (as far as the history of the characters went). Stephenie Meyer’s books are kind of at the opposite end of the spectrum, I wish they had a bit more substance, but I like that they don’t emphasize the horror/gore aspect of vampires. What would be perfect is something in between the two authors.

Next week will also be busy for Barry Manilow, whose Greatest Songs of the 80’s is coming out on the 25th. He’ll be on the Tonight Show on Monday (11/17), as well as QVC on Thursday.

Beans and More Beans

I love beans. I learned how to make them from my mother-in-law. Take 2 cups of pinto beans, rinsed, and put them in a pot with some onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and salt pork/hambone/hamhock, cover with water, then simmer for about an hour. (She doesn’t presoak them but I usually do, then precook them for about half an hour - not sure if it helps with the GI distress but that’s why I do it that way, although I like it her way better, it‘s not so soupy.) After that, put it in a crockpot and cook it all day. Pick the meat off the bone and add back into the beans. Mush up some of the beans if you want it thicker consistency. It comes out kind of like a bean soup. Very simple but tasty.


For part two, take the leftover beans, add some more onion, chili seasoning (I use McCormick Hot Chili), New Mexico Chili Powder (about a tablespoon to half the packet, depending on how much you like), cayenne, green pepper & jalapeno if you like, a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, and some browned meat (like hamburger or thinly sliced beef). Put it all back into the crockpot and cook on low for about 6 hours.


I don’t have any preset times or amounts, for day two, since the beans are already cooked, the cooking in the crockpot is more to blend the flavors together. If I think of it, I’ll add a bay leaf or the bottom of a jar of salsa, etc.

For the two of us, this makes enough beans and chili to where we’re tired of eating it. Sometimes I’ll freeze a little for later (like to top a chili dog).

In Texas, chili does not have beans, but I like more beans than meat, with the meat being more like a seasoning.

In the local paper recently, there was an article about how to reduce the “beano” effects of beans. Some of the suggestions included adding cola (it seems to me that would be sweet), or cooking everything with a potato (which is removed before serving). Someone said, “You can eat beans on Saturday night and go to church on Sunday without risking any embarrassment.” I tried adding half a teaspoon of baking soda. I don’t really know how well it worked, since beans don’t bother me.

Today hubby started talking about Thanksgiving. Arrrrgggh!!! I'm such an uptight person (over planner) that just the thought gives me an anxiety attack. I’m not sure if we’re having it at our house or at my sister-in-law’s. I look forward to it and dread it all at the same time, especially if I’m cooking. I’ve already started marking recipes. I can’t deviate from the regular turkey/stuffing/mashed potatoes, but I was thinking of those cheese twists you make with puff pastry for an appetizer.

Happy Howl-o-ween

Happy Halloween! Don't mess with Girl-Dawg, she's the strong paw of the law. I couldn't get a picture of Tigger, he is afraid of cameras.

Hard to believe that October has gone. There were Christmas decorations at Walmart already today. I think it will be a low-key holiday for us, hopefully there won't be too much of a frenzy.

What happened to Reese's Take-5 candy bars? I couldn't find any this year. Those are my favorites, next to Snickers.

Chicken and Dumplings

It’s gotten chilly enough here that I’ve been craving something soul-soothing. My sister-in-law and I both get “Cooking Light” magazine. She cooks more than I do, and last week she made the Chicken & Dumplings from the October 2008 issue. It looked so good I decided to try it myself. I made a few changes, based on how hers turned out, adding a little more baking powder to the dumplings, as well as cutting in a tablespoon of butter. I was wondering how this would be different from just regular chicken soup. I’m not sure if I overcooked the dumplings (15 minutes), they weren’t as fluffy as when I checked them at 10 minutes., but they sort of dissolved a little, thickening the broth. Anyway, the dish was wonderful, comforting like beef stew is but lighter since it’s chicken. The bread in the picture is my homemade sourdough. I finally got it to taste somewhat like San Francisco. I combined the starter with the liquids and a bit of the flour, and let it sit overnight, before incorporating it into the dough. Just that little bit of sitting out, really helped develop the flavor.

I started listening to audiobooks again, I’d sort of slacked off and then got interested again when the library got “The Girl With No Shadow” by Joanne Harris, which is the sequel to “Chocolat.” I thought it was OK. Fortunately “Chocolat” was on TV again recently so I was able to watch it again. Definitely one of those where the book is better than the movie, but after so many years, the movie wasn’t so bad, just not as good as the book (it’s hard to convey descriptions in a 2 hour movie).Now I’ve started on Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight.” It got so many rave reviews and after listening to her other novel “The Host” I was looking forward to it. So far, it seems geared towards kids. Harry Potter is geared towards kids too but does a better job of drawing in an adult audience. I listen to the audiobooks when I’m driving, or even at home like when I’m doing dishes. It really helps me get through mundane tasks like that.

Million Dollar Baby

This week I finally got around to making the latest Pillsbury Bake Off million dollar winning recipe, Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies. I made my own dough instead of buying the refrigerated kind. They were a little tedious to make, but a fun variation on a classic cookie. I liked the taste of the cinnamon sugar on the outside, and the surprise middle adds more peanut butter flavor. I almost hate to say this, the cookies kind of look like they have a tumor, though when I went to the Pillsbury website, the photo there kind of looked like it too. So maybe people won't notice it if they aren't looking for it. Anyway, it was a fun project for the morning that day.

Today we went to the local Forestry Association's meeting. We got to tour a chip mill, and then listened to lectures about carbon offsets (getting paid for growing trees) and the potential for local plants as medicinal ingredient sources. Both talks were interesting. It kind of sounded like the carbon offset program is too new and the details need to be worked out more. (Translation: too much paperwork for the monetary benefit, at least for now). Interesting concept though. It's not like people are going to stop growing trees, so the positive environmental aspect is still there. And I liked the point the speaker about the plants made, that in looking at local sources, perhaps we can not be so dependent on importing products, especially if someday those sources disappear due to whatever reason (environmental, political, etc.).

I'm collecting Yoplait pink lids for their Save Lids to Save Lives campaign. Our local Barry Manilow fan club is participating as a team, something we've done for many years. Here's a picture of Girl helping out. She loves licking the container clean. You can see her dual personality in the photo, one side of her whiskers is black, the other is white.

Happiness

I am the World's Worst when it comes to financial savvy. I found this quote in Money magazine (Sept. 2008 issue), about "21 Good Things To Do In A Bad Market." Somehow, reading it made me feel better after this especially gloomy financial week.

This is #21:

"Finally, think about something besides money. Scientists have joined poets in declaring that money really won't buy you happiness. Research shows your net worth--along with other "circumstantial" factors like your job or where you live--accounts for just 10% of your overall well-being. According to professor of psychology Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How Of Happiness, people in general have a genetic propensity toward feeling good that determines about half their happiness. Another 40% is influenced by how you spend your time. Why? You quickly get used to money and things. Activities, on the other hand, are fleeting and endlessly variable, which means you don't get so jaded about them. So stop glowering over the size of your 401(k) balance and go do something. Run a 10K. Learn to play the trombone. Happiness is not something to acquire and save up; it's something you pursue."

Catching up again

My laptop is working! (Although I just put a CD in and it went black but I was able to get it going again.) My brother-in-law had mentioned the problem I was having, to someone in conversation and this person suggested I take out the battery, let it sit for a few minutes, then power it up. That seemed to do the trick. Apparently the computer gets stuck in a loop trying to hibernate, and taking the battery out breaks the connection. (The problem was that the screen went black for no reason, and it got to the point where the computer wouldn't stay on long enough to boot up.) It has been so long (over 2 years) since I've used the laptop plus I uninstalled a bunch of stuff in the process of trying to fix it, that I need to learn how things work again, and update some of the software (browser, antivirus, etc.). I can't get the internet to work yet either. The OS is Windows ME which is not supported anymore. Anyway, it was kind of like a time capsule, looking at what all I had on the computer that got stuck in time with no updates for 2+ years.

I've been pitiful at keeping things up on this blog. I went to California for 3 weeks, then tried to catch up on things at home. Hurricane Ike came through this area, as a storm, and we didn't have power for a day. We spent time getting ready for the rain and anticipated power outages. Now I have more incentive to use up things in the refrigerator. We had a generator to keep things cold but it took awhile to get it going.

We had a few trees in the neighborhood fall down and block the road. Fortunately the road people cleared things right away. We were quite lucky in that respect. The power was out for only a day, while our neighbor (with a different power company) was out for about a week. Anyway, the first photo above is the sky the morning after the storm.

I enjoyed getting away the everyday, when we went to California, it always gives me a new perspective to come home, and more inspiration to finish things on my perpetual to-do list. At the same time, I feel more overwhelmed than ever, by all the little odds and ends that I never seem to get accomplished.

Learning Something New Everyday

There were neat clouds out today, they had a "line" to them that made them look like a mountain range. (See photo above, just above the tree line.) I’m not sure if it’s because of the high pressure system or the recent rain we had (we got a good soaking 2 days ago).

I was watching a "Good Eats" show about cupcakes, and was surprised to learn that in 2005 the Texas legislature passed a "safe cupcake amendment," allowing cupcakes to be brought to school. From what I could find online, there had been an effort made to reduce junk food in school which would make cupcakes verboten, but enough people wanted to bring them in to celebrate kids’ birthdays, that a special amendment was passed. Amazing.

On the "new" shelf at the library yesterday was "Asian Texans: Our Histories and Our Lives" edited by Irwin A. Tang. Of course I had to check it out to check it out. I’m only a few pages into it, so far the old laws that used to exist (limiting marriages and owning property, etc.) were no surprise. It was illegal for an Asian to marry a white person, so some marriages in Texas were between an Asian and Mexicans or African-Americans.

One of my favorite actresses is Zooey Deschanel. Recently we watched a movie called "Flakes," about a cereal bar in New Orleans. I didn’t realize how much nostalgia cereals represent. The Food Network had a "Heavyweights" show about cereals, and the three big companies (Kelloggs, Post and later, General Mills). I learned where the term "granola" came from, it had to do with a name infringement for a cereal called "granula." The competitor ended up changing the name of their product by one letter.

Edouard

This was the sky tonight just before Edouard trickled by. We only got a few sprinkles and shortly after, what did hit the ground quickly evaporated. It cooled things down to the low 90's though.

Carrot Cupcakes

I made these carrot cupcakes yesterday, from a recipe in the Harvest 2008 Penzeys spice catalog. (The recipe in the catalog is slightly different than the one online, it calls for 3/4 cup oil vs. 3/4 cup applesauce + 1/4 cup oil.) They were just what I was craving. The texture is cake-like, not heavy like banana bread. I made a Penzeys One recipe for dinner, chicken piccata. That was the second time I'd tried it, and that was good too. I'm trying to clear out old items in the freezer & fridge, and was able to use up some chicken, capers, lemon juice and pasta.

I had fun watching a bunch of Samantha Brown's "Great Weekends" shows. The San Francisco show made me homesick. The Vegas episode was fun without being sleazy. I watched the first episode of "Food Detectives" on Food Network - sorry, did not like it, the "food techs" looked like their reactions & experiments were scripted and not real. It almost seemed as if it were geared towards kids. I'm looking forward to Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" in the southwest next week. It's not likely that I'll be going to any of these places soon (aside from living in the sort of southwest), and armchair travel is the next best thing. It's increasingly difficult to find programs on TV that are not dumbed down (e.g. Food Detectives) or that don't make you want to yell at the TV.

Falafel Burgers

It was with great anticipation that I tried making falafel burgers. I love falafel and there isn’t a local restaurant (that I know of) that serves it. I tried Rachael Ray’s recipe, skipping the flour (Ellie Krieger's recipe doesn't have any), adding red bell pepper and fresh cilantro. I also made my patties smaller and probably didn’t use as much oil as her recipe calls for.

It smelled spicy and yummy while it was cooking. Unfortunately I thought it was just OK. I think mine had too much garlic (the cloves were big so there was probably twice as much). Maybe it would be better if the onions and garlic were sauteed first before mixing them with the garbanzo beans, to tame the bite a little. I also didn’t have any tahini (I’m going to see if I can find some next shopping trip) and I know that would have sort of tied the flavors together.

The dogs went to the vet today, they are continuing to lose weight! (They’re both overweight and have lost quite a bit.) Tigger was the biggest loser this time, he lost 6 pounds (since January), Girl lost 1 pound. Tigger's "Mom" said his highest weight was 84 pounds, now he's down to a svelte 66. I can't believe he used to be that fat. This is him smiling for the camera. He’s getting grey hair just like me, at least I don’t have any under my chinny-chin-chin.

Dolly

We didn't get a drop of rain from Dolly. It looks like that's the extent of our rain chances for awhile, too.

The clouds looked dramatic last night, though, and there was thunder & lightning in the distance, and my dial-up came to a screeching halt. Tonight the sunset is pink and there's a weird yellow cast to the sky.

Update: I was finally able to turn my aluminum cans in, my 5 bags came to 8 pounds, which brought in $5.92. It hardly seems worth it but on the other hand, something is better than nothing. We're going to smash the cans and collect them for longer.

My dog-sitting came to an end and I was given Peet's as a thank-you! I was just overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness of the gift.

Dogs Raised in The south Y'all

I've been dog-sitting and this morning when I heard the coyotes out, my heart sank because I knew there was a high probability that Girl would come back covered in coyote poop. She had to get another bath today, her third in two weeks. It's funny how she struts her stuff when she's so stinky, like she thinks it makes her irresistible. It made me start putting together a profile like you might find on a dating site for her.

Pooch Profile:

My name is Girl-dog and I’m a D.R.T.Y. Girl (Dogs Raised in the South Y’all).

I like long walks in the woods, chasing rabbits and rolling in poop. I call it my Chanel No. 2.

My favorite time of the day is breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I love fried chicken, anything covered in gravy, and moldy bones.

I hate bugs and baths, and working out.

Some people think I’m stubborn but I’m just an independent Southern girl.