Week 87, 8-20-2017

Thoughts and Quotes: May you walk through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.  Apache Blessing

For international viewers who don't know the name, the Apaches are a Native American tribe, known for their bravery.

Thank you: To Brandon at the library for the photos on my header. I wouldn't have figured this out in a million years. 

And speaking of libraries, our library tax bill passed, so we will now have our very own library here in Nixa. I've already started gathering things for the teas, as you will see later. No sense carting things back and forth between libraries, and besides, the two libraries might have a tea on the same day, and then what would we do?

I'm going to keep track of the expenses so you can see how inexpensively you can gather things for a tea at your library. The ladies love them, and you've never seen happier smiles than the ones on the little girls at mother-daughter teas. 

Tasting: My nephew broke his ankle and my brother (his father) is staying with him. I've been over a couple of times to have dinner. Saturday I took a pecan pie and realized that you might like to have the recipe handy on the pull downs above.

PECAN PIE

(Karo® syrup)

3 eggs

1 cup Karo® syrup

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbs butter, melted

1-1/2 cups chopped pecans

9” pie crust

Heat oven to 350°.

Using a spoon or whisk, mix all filling ingredients except pecans.

Stir in pecans.

Pour into pie crust.

Bake 60-70 minutes or until center reaches 200° in center. If done, center will spring back when lightly touched.

Note: You can also use coarsely chopped English walnuts for a walnut pie.

And I needed a quick dessert to take to a friend's house, so I made this easy cake, origin unknown.

TWO-INGREDIENT CAKE

1 cake mix

1 12-oz can Sprite

Heat oven to 350°.

Mix Sprite with cake mix using a hand mixer. Beat on medium 2 minutes.

Pour batter into a Bundt pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake 20-25 minutes.

Cool completely.

Dust with powdered sugar, drizzle with glaze, or frost.

Note: If you frost, I  suggest using Pudding Frosting.

And some down-home tasting at Rosie Jo's. Bad girl!

Thrifting: Then across the street for some shopping. I found this beautiful butter dish for cooking club friend Mim, who just returned from a trip to Rome. $2

And this sweet little dish for cooking club friend Bev who loves Paris and has even celebrated Bastille Day while sitting on the lawn by the Eiffel Tower to watch the fireworks. She's a minimalist and might tell me "no", but maybe not as it's small. $1

I also found this cute couple - my favorite kind of ceramics; the kind you buy as "greenware", paint, and fire.$2 each.

Another lovely Asian lady to join the other two on the Asian table - see week 70, HERE and scroll down. $1

A Spanish senorita for an international table - $2

And things for the new library - dessert plates, $1 each.

Four water glasses - a bargain at 50 cents each.

No use for sherberts at the tea, so I'm keeping them - also 50 cents each.

The Pepper and Pals Report: Pepper continues to chase Stormy back out to the indoor patio if she enters the house; however, when he's in her territory, he loves her. The other day he pawed the side of the carrier to wake her. No luck, so he pawed the other side. Still sleeping, so he decided to join her. She continues to rearrange the patio and scatter her toys (and other things), so I tell her she's a brat cat. She won't eat until I pet her a few strokes.

I'm reporting this with tears on my cheeks. All five kittens have disappeared. Recently a kitty was poisoned where a friend lives in another city, so that was my first thought. But what kind of monster is evil enough to murder innocent little kittens? They only came on my outdoor patio and went under the fence to live in the hayfield behind us. I doubt that anyone even knew of them except my neighbor (who loved them), and readers of my blog. It's truly a mystery. BJ, the mother, had such a sad look on her face the first day she came alone. The next day she ate only a few bites, and she didn't show up for dinner last night or breakfast this morning. I'll keep you posted.

Taking Care of Our Health: How did you do with eating apples? I ate applesauce twice, drank apple juice once, and chopped them into my oatmeal or Cream of Wheat three times - love that.

And once I chopped them, two minutes on high in the microwave, a little sugar, topped with whipping cream and nutmeg, and Voila! dessert.

I recently saw a report about magnesium, which was really interesting. According to the report, a shortage of magnesium can cause the following:

Constipation

Depression or Anxiety

Frequent Headaches

High Blood Pressure

Increased Sensitivity to Noise

Irregular Heartbeat

Insomnia

Low Bone Density

Low Energy

Twitching or Cramping of Legs

Type 2 Diabetes

Foods high in magnesium are:

Protein Sources

Edamame, Fish, Halibut, Salmon, Soybeans, Tofu

Fruits and Vegetables

Artichokes, Avocado, Bananas, Broccoli, Chard, Figs, Okra, Spinach, Raspberries, Strawberries, Watermelon

Grains

Buckwheat, Corn, Flax Seed, Millet, Oats, Quinoa, Wheat Germ, Wholewheat Bread

Legumes

Black Turtle Beans, Kidney Beans, Peanuts, Peanut Butter, Pinto Beans

Seeds and Nuts

Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds

Other

Cashews, Dark Chocolate, Molasses, Peas (not specified if dried - legumes) or (fresh - vegetables)

I assume that halibut and salmon are higher sources than other fish, and that's why they were singled out.

So - this week's assignment is to eat one of the above foods each day, while continuing to eat apples every day.

Even if you don't have a magnesium deficiency, it can't hurt you to eat these healthful foods.

Tablescapes: The four October tablescapes are finished. We're getting there.

A Walk in the Autumn Woods

Apples

The snack set had soup in the cup, quiche and a small salad on the plate, tea in the cup and saucer, assorted muffins in the apple baskets, and spreads in the opaque apple dish.

Autumn Meadow

The funny part is that the name of this dish set is "Summer Meadow". Looked autumn to me.

Brown-Eyed Susans

The National Days: Some yummy days coming up this week. 

Monday: If you're not old enough to celebrate Senior Citizens Day, you can eat spumoni.

Tuesday: If you don't want to loose a tooth so you can celebrate National Tooth Fairy Day, you can eat a pecan torte.

Wednesday: It's Sponge Cake Day. I've never made one. Maybe this is the time.

Thursday: If you're not from Maryland, you can eat waffles or peach pie.

Friday: Put together a second-hand wardrobe or eat a banana split.

Saturday: Dog Day. If you don't have a dog, you can eat a cherry popsicle. It's also Women's Equality Day. I don't know, Ladies. Are we ready to give up being superior?

Sunday: Pots de creme Day. Love it!

EAT THOSE APPLES

AND FOODS HIGH IN MAGNESIUM

CELEBRATE THE NATIONAL DAYS

TIME FOR ONE MORE SUMMER PICNIC

CONSIDER A CLASS AT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE OR ON-LINE THROUGH YOUR LIBRARY

START COLLECTING THE ITEMS NEEDED FOR A TEA AT YOUR LIBRARY - ENLIST THE HELP OF YOUR FRIENDS

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE