Week 12, 3-13-2016

Taking Care of My Health: Still hasn't become a priority, alas, but I'm getting better, and I made a commitment to Blogger Carrie B to really get with the program this week.  No new goals for now.

Just wait until we give up sugar.  Groan!  I'm not quite ready for that.  However, when we do get to that level, all is not lost for those who love to cook and bake.  Testing your results is perfectly legal.  That means one serving of anything you make, but only one. Don't get excited.  We're not there yet.

Tasting:  Remember the last week's pecan chews that I made from Joanne Fluke's book, The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder?  

They're so good, but I didn't post the recipe because I'm always trying to avoid stepping on someone's copyright.  I emailed the authoress, Joanne Fluke, and asked for permission to post her recipe, but no response.  However, I've discovered that if you Google "pecan chews", up pops the recipe, posted by other bloggers.  I guess it's okay if you give credit to the source.  Anyway, it's available, if you'd like to try these.  You won't be disappointed.

Next Tasting:  When I lived in California, my kids (Son Michel and Daughter-in-Law Kathy) and I used to go to an Italian restaurant, and they'd make up my requested fettuccine dish.  I decided to do it myself, and I call it "Pasta Patricia".  Here it is:

PASTA PATRICIA

Me

Oil and butter to sauté chicken and mushrooms

6-8 chicken tenders, cut in bite-size pieces

8 oz fresh button mushrooms, sliced

1 jar or can artichoke hearts (not marinated), drained and cut into bit-size pieces

1 cup ripe olives, drained and cut in half if large

1-2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

8 oz uncooked fettuccine

4 Tbs (1/2 stick) butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Sauté chicken tenders in butter with a little oil until golden and done through.  Tent with aluminum foil to keep warm. 

Sauté mushrooms in same skillet, adding more butter if needed, until golden.  Remove and keep warm.

Put a large kettle of water on to boil. Add fettuccine, cook to desired stage, 10-12 minutes.

Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat.  Cook garlic until soft but not brown.

Add cream and cheese, and stir until cheese melts and sauce is thickened. Add salt and pepper.

When sauce is ready, stir in drained fettuccine, chicken, artichokes, mushrooms, and olives. 

Sprinkle with tomatoes and serve.

Note: Have all ingredients prepared ahead to make this a quick and easy dinner.

Definitely comfort, not diet, food.

Thrifting:  I had to do some marketing, so I dropped into my local thrift store and found all this for $5.60.  (When I got home, I discovered I already had four of these placemats, so now I have eight).

The placemats have a nice design (haven't laundered them yet)

I love the necklace, and I broke one of the beds on my old standby brown one and needed a replacement.

And the purse is fine, once I took off those little dingle balls.  Maybe I can hang them from my windshield mirror.  Or maybe not.

And since the Orange Purse gods were still smiling, I got this for $2 and therefore,

Togs:  Still another orange outfit.  Come on summer!

Trying My New Gadgets:  Friend Joey, my gadget friend, gave me this little number.

You just squeeze the handle and the bottom opens and lets out the batter in a nice little stream.  I tried it in my new mini-cupcake baker and also with regular cupcakes.  See - not one drip on the muffin tin.

One cake mix made all this:

I used a canned frosting and froze these to see if they hold up.

Things That Grow:  I planted peas this week.  So far, none of my seeds have sprouted. My daffodils in the raised bed were a total waste, as I can't see them from the house, so I cut some to bring inside.  They're so cheerful.

In the family room

In the living room

 In the entry

And if these dreary days continue, I'm bringing in more.

Tasting:  Thursday was our monthly meeting of the VECC (Very Exclusive Cooking Club).   Only four members, and the same rules as the U.S. Supreme Court.  No one can be added unless a member retires or dies (Heaven forbid!).  January was cancelled due to flooding in Branson (Carol's home), and February was cancelled due to my brother's accident/death.

We had a sumptuous meal and I have permission to share part of our recap of the day.

THE TABLE

Love her new placemats

THE MENU

Carol’s Zuppa Toscano

Carol's Antipasti Salad

Carol’s Basil/Tomato Bruschetta

Carol’s Crown Roast of Pork

Carol’s Italian Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing

Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Mary's Bread Machine Yeast Rolls

Bev’s Famous White Cake with Almond Buttercream Frosting

Iced Green Tea

THE FOOD

THE PARTY FAVORS

So now I have new Things That Grow in my entry (daffodils moved to kitchen).

And Bev brought us each three cupcakes to take home

After lunch, Carol took us on a Branson tour.  The Chamber of Commerce should hire her as the Ambassadress of Branson and area.  She loves it there and knows every little nook and cranny and everything that goes on.  We experienced the Ozark Mountains first hand. San Francisco has nothing on us.  I guess the people who live on those hills just stay home when it ices, because if you started out your driveway, you could slide for blocks.

We also toured the College of the Ozarks to see all the spring planting.  If you're ever in the area of Branson-Hollister, lunch at the Keeter Center at C of O is a must.  The students do all the cooking, serving, raising of the food, growing flowers for the tables, etc.  They even have a dairy and make their own dairy products, including ice cream.

Then we stopped in the little thrift store run by the volunteer library ladies.  I found all of this for $3.25.  It was half-price day.  My Thrifting luck is holding.  I already had four of these snack sets, so I'm very happy to have eight now.  The silver trivet is perfect for a teapot, and I have dishes to match the little flower dish.  You'll see them in action one day.

Before I left Carol's area, I drove around for a few photos.  Branson is about thirty miles south of Nixa, so their spring is a bit ahead.

Tales:  I finished another Joanne Fluke book and really wish I had time to make all her recipes.  I've read two books and each had two murders.  I wonder if all her books have more than one murder?  I should think that creating the plot would be doubly difficult.

Another Tale:  I finished the third Covington book.  Lots of problems, but they were mostly resolved by the end of the book.  A little depressing at times, but I'm moving on to the fourth in the series.

When I went to the library to pick up the fourth book, I got caught in a hailstorm.  I pulled into a bank (closed on Sunday) to wait it out under the drive-thru cover.  I put a quarter on the ground for size comparison.

More Things That Grow:  My birthday roses from Katie Sue.

More Tasting:  This is the recipe I promised you I'd post after I tweaked it.

BANANA COFFEE CAKE

1 8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup (2-3) very ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp vanilla

2-1/4 cups flour

1-1/2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Topping

2 cups chopped pecans

4 Tbs sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix the topping in two separate bowls, 1/2 of each ingredient in each bowl.

Heat oven to 350°.  Grease and flour a 13 X 9 baking dish and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, butter, and sugar.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well.

Add the bananas and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.  Slowly add to banana mixture.

Mix one bowl of topping ingredients into batter.  Turn out into prepared baking dish.  Top with other bowl of topping ingredients.

Bake 40-45 minutes or until it tests done.

Tidbits:  The other night I was reading in bed, and I saw an old wrinkled crepe-skinned arm holding my book, and I thought, "Whose arm is that?" and then realized that it was mine.  I truly believe in "ask and ye shall receive", so soon after a website called www.curejoy.com came my way to tell me about the eleven foods to eat to avoid aging skin.  Carol probably sent me the link because she's very interested in health and anti-aging.  Well, anyway, if you find a stranger in your bed holding your book, you might want to try these with me:

Almonds, coconut oil, avocados, bell peppers, spinach, chia seeds, blueberries, cilantro, dark chocolate, grapes, and aronia berries which are choke-berries, but I have no idea what they are, no matter what you call them.

I wonder how long it takes to make a difference?  And I'll have to stock up on chia seeds before the holidays because there will be a run on them to grow grass hair on all those clay heads people get for Christmas gifts.  I'll work on the aronia berries aka choke-berries before next week. 

Thoughts and Quotes:  In honor of St. Patrick's Day coming up on Thursday, I'd like to share an Irish blessing my Lil' Sis' sent me in my birthday card:

May God grant you always...

A sunbeam to warm you,

a moonbeam to charm you,

a sheltering Angel so nothing can harm you.

Laughter to cheer you, 

Faithful friends near you,

And whenever you pray, 

Heaven to hear you.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY TO ALL

Follow our goals from last week.  Eat corned beef and cabbage on Thursday.  Make a pie Monday on pie (pi) day 3-14-16 (3.1416) - it won't be back for a hundred years.

Sorry if my posting was somewhat disjointed this week.  I created it as it was happening instead of waiting until Sunday and organizing the material.  Busy week.  

Week 11, 3-6-2016

Taking Care of My Health:  As I said in the last post, I needed one more week to get squared away.  Now it's time to really get serious about my health.  I still have many, many goals to finish, and when I feel good, I do more, so here's the updated plan.  Come on, you can do it.  Make time to do the things you know you need to do to be healthier, more energetic, and have the satisfaction of living up to your commitment.  I'm giving myself a pep talk, but it goes for you, too.

Some form of exercise five times a week.  Walking thirty minutes a day should be at least two of the five.

Eat the following daily:  Green leafy vegetable, apple, a white fruit or vegetable, a yellow or orange fruit or vegetable, a blue or purple fruit or vegetable.  Now we're up to our full rainbow of five colors per day.  But don't stop there.  You can have as many of any color that you wish.  

Drink the following daily:  Black, white or green tea, eight glasses of water.

Get at least ten minutes of sunlight each day.  Most of us are vitamin D deficient.

Try to maintain a regular sleep schedule, with six to eight hours of sleep per night.

Trying New Gadgets:  Remember the little mini-cupcake baker from last week?  Friend Joey tried hers with mini-pineapple upside-down cakes.  

Then I decided to try mine with the chocolate cupcake recipe which came with the baker.  I read it over and thought it sounded more like brownies, so I just whipped up the batter from a mix I had in the cupboard.  It said that brownie type batters needed liners, so I used some I bought recently.  The bottom diameter is only 1-1/2 inches.  They're on a salad plate, not a dinner plate.

It worked well, but I wanted smaller, so I used some paper cups left from Christmas which are for holding candies.  They made cute little cupcakes, but they're not the right type paper, so it was difficult to separate the cupcake from the liner.  Still a work in progress, but I'm hopeful.  Remember, they're on a salad plate.  You can see the difference in the size.

The instructions say that I can use my own cake recipes or even cake mixes and get good results.  To be continued. . . 

Tales:  Unfortunately, the book awaiting pickup was not a new Covington book from Tulsa and still waiting.

Friend Patsy in Arkansas mentioned that she'd been watching movies on a Hallmark channel based on Joann Fluke's mystery books and really enjoyed them.  Then I remembered that Friend Joey had mentioned those books also, so I borrowed the first in the series from her.

The protagonist, Hannah, owns a cookie shop and included in the book are seven cookie recipes.  I decided to try one, so more 

Tasting:  I decided to make Pecan Chews.  Oh, dear!  This is the best cookie I ever tasted, and you can't lose.  If you bake them a little longer than you should, you have Pecan Crisps instead of Pecan Chews, but they're just as good.  I made only half the recipe.  They're on a luncheon size plate, not dinner size.

Then I decided that you just can't have too many pecans.

And then I wanted to try a smaller size for afternoon teas.

They were still larger than I wanted, so I tried just 1/2 teaspoon of batter, and bake for only five minutes.

They're delicious in any size.  Now the dilemma is whether to bake or read.  I want to do both.  I started the next book, "Strawberry Shortcake Murder", but there are six more recipes in the first book to try.  Think I'll do Regency Ginger Crisps next.

My bananas for the coffee cake still aren't ripe enough.  Soon though.

Tasting:  Not mine.  Brother Bill and Nephew Will went to Punta Cana in The Dominican Republic, and I wanted to share some of the photos of their yummy-looking food.

Punta Cana is in the Caribbean Sea on the island of Hispaniola, with Haiti on the western side and The Dominican Republic on the eastern side. Punta Cana is on the eastern tip of The Dominican Republic.  If you like a laid back beach vacation with fresh fruit and seafood, this is the place for you.  And the prices are very reasonable.

Things That Grow:  My north raised bed is finished and partially planted with all kinds of good veggies.  Some might be too early, but we'll see.  I just planted a little of a lot of things, like lettuce, spinach, kale, chard, onions, leeks, radishes, beets, turnips, carrots, and parsnips.  I planted soon radish seeds I bought at the Garden Show.  They're called Watermelon Radishes and they're white on the outside and red on the inside.  Hope they grow, because I'm very curious.

The daffodils I didn't get transplanted are blooming beautifully in the middle bed.

I'm only allowed fresh flowers when the house is clean, so maybe I can put that vacuum to work tomorrow so I can pick some of these little rays of sunshine and bring them in where I can enjoy them.  I never should have planted them in the raised bed in the first place.

Thrifting:  Not at the thrift stores, but at Staples.  Brother Dan alerted me to this bargain.

I got a case and a ream of paper (5,500 sheets) for $10 plus tax.  It's one of those rebate deals where you pay up front and then they send you a Visa card with the rebate difference. Hey, money is money.  I can take five minutes to go online and fill in the rebate numbers. You have to be a rewards member, but joining is free.

Togs:  I'm in love with that new orange handbag, so I came up with another way to use it.  I bought the jacket (Coldwater Creek) at the thrift store for $2.40, but it has to be ironed (ugh!).

Do you think the t-shirt is too golden?  I have one which is more lemony colored.  And I couldn't decide between yellow or orange beads.  

Sadly, this outfit won't match the purse, but I can use white.  I only paid $2.40 each for the top and the pants (which are Alfred Dunner).  My thrift store charges $3 for any top, skirt, pants, or jacket, and I go on a Senior Day and get 20% off.  Another top to iron.   I couldn't believe that I found these on the same day, and they match perfectly.  If I don't lose some weight, I'll have to put a white tee-shirt underneath and use coral beads.

Tidbits:  My seasons don't go by dates, but by months, and March is the beginning of spring. So down with the winter wreath.

And up with the spring wreath.

And some miscellaneous T's.

Teaching:  As promised last week, here's how you print your recipes or send them to someone by email.

To print - open the recipe - left click the butterfly in the upper left corner - left click "Print" from the drop-down menu.  The recipe must be open before you can print it.

To send - open the recipe - left click the butterfly in the upper left corner - left click "Send" - chose the first option (Email) and it will take you to a new email form with the recipe as an attachment.  Add your message and the name of the recipient.  

If your friend doesn't have Word, just open the recipe, highlight it, right click for "copy", open a new email and paste it in the message area.

Easy peasy.  

Thank You:  I'm new at this, so I don't know how to trace information, but I owe someone a thank you.  Last week someone who has lots of followers must have mentioned my blog, because I had 86 page views in one day, and I don't even know 86 people.  It's always nice to know that someone likes what you post, so Thank You, Nice Person, whomever and wherever you are.  You made my day.

Our VECC (Very Exclusive Cooking Club) meets next week, so I should have some nice Tasting photos.  My bananas should be ripe so I can work on the Banana Coffee Cake, also another cookie from Joann Fluke.  Go get her book.  If you don't like cozy mysteries, buy it for the recipes.  And, no, I don't know her, but if the recipe I tried is a sample of things to come, I'm her new BFF (Biggest Fan Forever).

Until next week - 

THINK GREEN FOR SPRING - BE NICE TO YOURSELF -BE NICE TO ONE ANOTHER - AND WORK ON OUR HEALTH GOALS