Week 116, 3-11-2018

Thoughts and Quotes:  From Robert Browning

The year’s at the spring,
And day's at the morn; 
Morning's at seven;
The hill-side's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven- 
All's right with the world!

All's right with the world. That's how I'm feeling right now. My flu is gone, my kitchen faucets drip no more, I've finally cleared all the debris from my new computer, and my roof problem is under control.

When I searched for the origin of "God's in his heaven - All's right with the world," I found that I'm really a literary wimp. I had no idea it came from a poem known as a verse drama. Interesting reading, so I've supplied the link HERE. Be sure to read the part about "A distressing blunder". A good chuckle.

Tips: Now about my roof problem. The howling winds did this:

The shingles started flying off at 3:00 p.m. The winds finally started dying down at 7:00 p.m.  I called the roofing company and they had an estimator out the next morning.  I saw this huge repair bill in my future.  

The estimator checked the damage and we sat down at the table to discuss his findings. He told me that the repair would be $562 and for an additional $150 they could come out and do a temporary cover in case it rained before the repair could be done.

I guess my mouth dropped open and I looked shocked, because he then told me that, "Well, they could do the temporary job for free." I'm sure he thought I was a little old lady who was wondering where I'd get the money to pay. Actually, I was shocked that the price wasn't more. So here's the tip: The next time you get a price for having your car (or anything else) repaired, just get a shocked look on your face (try to make your eyes get really big), and see if there's some "padding" in the price.

Now - kudos to Dale's Roofing because the very next morning someone came and did the temporary fix, and then picked up all the shingles lying around and took them away. It was cold in the morning, so I had planned to pick them up in the afternoon. For sure, once the job is finished, there will be a great review on their website, but I won't mention the tip I gave you.

Tips: I've changed the recipe I posted last week for Upside-Down Muffin Cakes. I hope you haven't used it already, because I figured the amount of butter and brown sugar incorrectly. I also improved on the method so that the upside-down cakes have less batter, which makes them taste better, and you also end up with a dozen regular-size plain cupcakes for another use. 

Theme Dining: Now that I have all my photo files in my new computer, I can show you my Back to School Dinner. I did this with kids in mind, but adults who are kids-at-heart will also enjoy the food. They might even get a kick out of the party favors. My brothers got a chuckle.

THE INVITATIONS

THE TABLE

THE MENU

THE FOOD

THE FAVORS

THE RECIPES

KID-FRIENDLY SLAW

3 cups shredded cabbage

1/2 cup mini-marshmallows

1 small banana, quartered length-wise and then sliced

1 8-oz can crushed pineapple, undrained

1/3 cup mayonnaise

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cabbage, marshmallows, and banana.

Mix pineapple and mayonnaise and add to cabbage mixture.

Mix well and refrigerate, covered.

Stir gently before serving.

MIXED GRAIN MUFFINS

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, quick-cook is okay

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

Heat oven to 400°F.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the cornmeal, oats, and buttermilk.

Add the egg, brown sugar, and melted butter. Beat with wooden spoon until well blended.

Add flour mixture and stir until moistened.

Spoon into a 12-cup regular muffin tin.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until nice and browned.

Note: If you reheat, wrap in foil and use a regular oven. Microwaving makes them soggy.

The recipes for Meat Loaf and Quick Cobbler are already in the pull-down menus above.

The Pepper and Pals Report: Pepper and Stormy continue to rule the roost. Stormy is still working on destroying everything in sight. I can't leave anything out for more than a minute.

Hail, hail, the gang's all here. Midnight the mother, her daughter from an older litter BJ, and the three from the latest litter Flower, Fred and Ginger.  

BJ is the only one I haven't been able to trap and spay, but now there are new kids in town.

I'll bet one of these two is Stormy's father. You think?

And there's this pretty lady(?). She looks well-kept, so maybe just visiting from the neighborhood. I've seen her only once.

Hopefully, it will warm up so the trap can go out again to get BJ, (and maybe one or both of the tabby-cats).

Thank You: I received this beautiful teapot in a beautiful gift bag from Nancy, a lady with a beautiful soul.

Time for Others: I made my very fist bendi-card for a birthday. Three tries before I figured it out. If you haven't made one, listen up. If you're using a template instead of a die, use pencil to draw the lines so you can erase them if need be. Ballpoint lines are difficult to hide and make the folds come out evenly at the same time. And if you're using a template, complete the cut lines with a ruler before you attack with the scissors.

Thank yous: To my friends and family for the birthday calls, e-cards, store cards, and these handcrafted cards:

Jean - this is an explosion card. 

Side view

Jeanne

Joey

Katie

Susan - I believe this is called a "swing" card

To my Special Girls in the North Woods for these beautiful birthday roses. I said to plant a rose in my post on Sunday, and these arrived on my doorstep the next day. They say we're connected mentally to those we love, and maybe it's true, because these were ordered before I created my post.

Don't you just love mini tea roses? They can be planted outside when the weather warms.

To Martha for lunch at the Springfield Family Restaurant. Our lunches weren't photo-worthy, but the desserts were.

And then she, Nancy, and I went to the aquarium at Wonders of Wildlife. I just can't stop taking pictures there. If I get redundant, please forgive me.

We found Nemo; as a matter-of-fact, we found his entire family.

The speckles on the piranhas are sparkly gold.

There's an entire room of shells.

These jellyfish remind me of mushrooms.

Love her high-fashion print.

To Joey for the new gadget she brought me when we celebrated our birthdays (hers is in February) with two for $6 Whoppers at Burger King (and then we spent the afternoon at Hobby Lobby, wrecking our budgets).

And to Nancy for - sound the trumpets - my birthday cake (Yes, it's a cake).

She even fringed the table-topper cloth.

Tasting: Only a few days until St. Patrick's Day, so I made Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup as my soup of the week. I always start with a recipe from a book, a magazine, or the internet and then revise it to suit my tastes by adding or subtracting ingredients, adjusting the measurements of the ingredients, the baking temperature, etc. I made this soup posted by Kevin at Closet Cooking (a really fun blog with great photography), and it was good, but basically the same as corned beef and cabbage but with a lot more work. I won't be making it again. I'll just cook mine the old way. If you'd like to try it, or check out Kevin's recipes, here's the LINK. He's a delightful young man who lives in Toronto, and his kitchen really is the size of a closet. I can't even imagine how he creates such imaginative dishes and produces such wonderful photos in that small space. Take a look.

In the meantime, here's a soup from my archives.

CREAMY TOMATO-BASIL SOUP

My friend, Katie Sue, and I attended a demonstration on scarf tying at the library one evening.  I sat next to a delightful young lady named Priscilla, who sent me this recipe, and I’m glad she did – it’s delicious.

3 Tbs unsalted butter

1 medium onion, diced

6 celery ribs with leaves, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbs flour

4 cups chicken broth

3 – 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes

1 – 6 oz can tomato paste

1 tsp sugar

2 bay leaves

1 Tbs basil or a handful of chopped fresh

1 cup whipping cream (or a little more if you wish)

Salt and pepper to taste

Croutons and/or shredded Parmesan cheese for topping

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery and garlic; cook for 4 minutes.

Stir in flour over low heat.
 

Add broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, bay leaves and basil.

Bring to a boil.  Turn heat to medium and simmer ten minutes. Remove bay leaves.

Puree half the soup in a blender (I used my immersion blender, but be careful that you don’t splash yourself with hot soup).

Return to saucepan and stir in cream and season with salt and pepper.

Top with croutons and/or Parmesan.  I had cornbread in the freezer, so I made cornbread croutons.

And in keeping with the St. Patrick's Day theme, I made:

CORNED BEEF SALAD

1-1/2 to 2 cups cooked and cubed corned beef

2 medium potatoes, peeled, boiled, and cubed

3 boiled eggs, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

2/3 cup mayonnaise

1 Tbs mustard

2 tsps sweet pickle relish

Mix the mayonnaise, mustard, and relish.

Put the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Gently stir in mayonnaise mixture and refrigerate.

Note: This is a good way to use corned beef leftover from your St. Patrick’s Day corned beef and cabbage. Or just add the corned beef to your favorite potato salad recipe.

Muffin Tin Monday: I made up a recipe for breakfast muffins using sausage, eggs, cheese, onions, and spinach. I baked them a little too long, because I don't like browned eggs.

And then I thought, "Why am I doing this? I don't like warmed up eggs; I certainly can't eat a dozen at once; this is a lot more trouble than sausage and eggs since I used pre-cooked frozen sausage patties; I hate washing muffin tins; and besides, oatmeal and fruit is better for you.

So instead, I made chocolate cupcakes. This is my favorite chocolate cake recipe. It's a Hershey's Cocoa recipe I've used for years.

DEEP DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE

From Hershey’s Cocoa

1-3/4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

1-1/2 tsps baking soda

1-1/2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

2 tsps vanilla

1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour baking pan(s) or put paper liners in two 12-cup muffin tins.

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixer bowl.

Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.

Beat 2 minutes on medium.

Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).

Pour into baking pan(s).

Bake suggested times below, until done when tested with a toothpick.

Note: Can be made in a Bundt or tube pan (33-36), 8” layers (26-31), 9” layers (23-28), 13 x 9 (33-36) or cupcakes (24 regular)(18-21).

I frosted them with Chocolate Pudding Mix Frosting

Tissue Box Card of the Week:

Yes, I know I'm still four behind. 

Tough Decision 1: I've decided that this is the last week I'll be sending an email to my blog list to let you know that I've published. I don't have my old computer back, so I'm not sure my list is correct yet. Some of you might be getting notifications in two places and some of you have inadvertently been omitted.  

It's simple to sign up for notification from Blogger, but they cycle some time in the wee hours, so if I publish on Sunday evening, you will be notified on Monday morning. Just remember that I always publish on Sunday. If you wish, you can check earlier by just going to the link at www.teasandts.blogspot.com to see if I've posted yet.

To sign up for notification, go to the box near the top of the right hand column and enter your email address. You'll be asked to click that you're not a robot, and you'll receive an email to which you must respond to become connected. 

Tough Decision 2: My Easter cards are ready to mail, thanks to Nancy, who did 90% of the work. This will be my last group mailing of holiday cards. I'll still be making cards on a limited basis, so those of you on my card list will be getting handmade birthday or anniversary cards sometimes and cards from the store sometimes. It all depends on the time I have for card making.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

WE'RE ALL IRISH ON MARCH 17

BUY A NEW EASTER OUTFIT

AVOID THE BEACHES AT SPRING BREAK

EAT YOUR APPLE A DAY

AND DRINK SOME COFFEE AND TEA

OH, HECK! MAKE IT A MOCHA FRAPPACCINO

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE