Playtime Finished

I've been fooling around too much, I know! This is what happens when the sun hasn't shone on my home for 11 days! Not once!

Sunny Forest

Housewarming

The Dock

Winter Stream - photo by daughter Missy

I made about nine or ten of these "creations" today and these are my personal favorites. They will show up best enlarged.

Well I must get up and become a cook and dishwasher now.

Overlook

I found a new way to manipulate my photos. Here are my "playtime" results today. This is such fun I could do it ALL DAY LONG

 Electric Icicle

"Overlook" (Please click on image and view larger!)

Costly

I mentioned to my daughter that I had made pickled beets and eggs and she said she loved them (I didn't know that!) and wanted my recipe. I told her that she should be sure to use cinnamon sticks and not the powder as I was forced to do when I made my last batch. The powder gave the flavor but left little speckles on the eggs and the juice didn't have the clarity it should have had. 

I said I would bring a batch to her when we arrive for Christmas Day dinner.  I looked for the cinnamon sticks in Walmart last week and they didn't have ANY. Today I picked up a .75 oz. container at our local Shur Save market and was shocked at the price! I bought them anyway. I paid $7.59 for a container of 6 sticks! My recipe calls for 2 or 3. 

After I settled down I began a price check on the internet. This is what I found:

*Walmart sells them (.75 oz.)  $5.48

*Target  (.75 oz.) $5.59

This is what I bought.

*Sams Club (3.25 oz.) cost not given on line. I'm not a member.

*Costco (8 oz.) $7.40 There are no Costco stores in my area at all!

I will guard my recent purchase of 6 sticks with my life and be very stingy when using them. And to think I used to use them for decorating when making holiday crafts!

There are two types of cinnamon grown and harvested today: Ceylon cinnamon, which is also known as "true cinnamon," and cassia, which is usually sold and marketed as cinnamon in the United States. The two spices taste and smell very similar to one another, but they are grown and harvested in two very different places.  Source: Beth Asaff

I did learn that whole cinnamon sticks are from the bark of evergreen trees. They are harvested by peeling off the tree bark and allowing it to curl up in quills as it dries. The lower portion of the cinnamon tree, where bark is older and more flavorful is scraped down to become ground cinnamon. 

True cinnamon usually grows in Sri Lanka and South India. 

Cassia cinnamon comes from a different plant. It is native to Southeast Asia and can be found most often in Indonesia, Vietnam and China.

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Well now you know more about cinnamon!

Spice and Ice

First the Spice! 
These are sooooooo good! (recipe below)

Please note that I saved three for you and three for me.  Also note that my Christmas plate was a gift to me in 1972 and was created by my youngest child.

Now the Ice! 

The icicles are forming. I've stopped the Mister from knocking them down this morning because I would like to photograph them when the sun is shining. They might be longer then, and prettier!

click on image to view larger

Spicy Raisin Cookies

21/3 C. flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 C. (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 egg

2 tsp pure vanilla

1 C. raisins(softened by soaking in water 10 minutes then drained.

Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl.

Beat granulated sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla - mix well. 

Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed.

Hand mix in the raisins until they are well distributed throughout the dough. 

Drop teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 350°about 9 minutes. Let cool before removing to rack.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Cookies Are Good For You

As I watch the snow covering my outside world, I'm back at it - making cookies. The cookies of choice this time are molasses raisin, You do know to soak the cup of raisins in water then strain them before adding to the dough, don't you?

Referred to as nature's candy, raisins are simply dried grapes. Raisins are very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. They're rich and have concentrated sources of energy, vitamins, electrolytes, and minerals. In addition, they are packed with several health benefiting anti-oxidants, dietary fiber, and other phyto-nutrients.

Molasses is very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. It is also a good source of vitamin B6 and potassium, and a very good source of magnesium and manganese.

That's all I'm sayin'!

Today I followed this recipe that was my mother's. I didn't roll them in sugar - just dropped on cookie sheet. They were soooo good!

Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies  (Raisins Optional)                            

(Delicious! The perfect cookie-soft and chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside. Yummy with a cup of tea!) Makes between 32 and 42 cookies, depending on your ball size. ;D

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3/4 cup shortening

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup dark molasses

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Cream together shortening and brown sugar.
2. Stir in egg and molasses and mix well.
3. Fold in dry ingredients and stir.
4. Cover and chill till firm (1-2 hours).
5. Preheat oven to 350°.
6. Roll dough into small balls and roll in white sugar.
7. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
8. Bake at 350° for 9-10 minutes.
9. Leave on sheet one minute until set.
   
   
   
    They weren't as brown as they look in the picture! I didn't burn any! Made 36 and we already ate 6! It is only 10am.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Click on image to take a bite

Again and Again

I win! I make the best quiche. Mr. says so! I say so!

This is spinach with pre-cooked Perdue chicken breast pieces. It was wonderful and we topped it off with brownies. 

Comfort food for cold weather.

Why?

I have a gold pin that was my mother's. It is a pin yet it has the loop on the back to make it a pendant - but doing so would have it upside down from how they are usually shown. This makes me wonder. The only thing I know for sure, is that the Lily of the Valley was my mother's very favorite flower and fragrance. They grow here still - in the old flower beds surrounding the cabin front porch. She said it was her father's favorite flower. The pin must have been a gift to her and I'm sorry I never asked who gave it to her before she died.  After some research I'm more befuddled. The following three paragraphs are taken from different internet sites. 

Lily of the Valley symbolizes sweetness and humility and “You’ve Made My Life Complete” is the hidden message connected to the flower.

"Fleur de lis is French for “flower of the lily” or simply “lily flower.”  I have no real notion of the symbolic meaning of the fleur-de-lis, other than that it is associated with France and, in a nod to the French origins of Louisiana, it is the logo of the New Orleans Saints NFL franchise. Not only does the fleur-de-lis pre-date the establishment of France, it goes back about far as you can go, to the first region permanently settled after the Flood: Sumer, in Mesopotamia. - It is reported to have a dark history."

"A traditional fleur-de-lis, which means "lily of the valley" in English, has many meanings. The most common is a representation of French royalty which symbolizes life, light and perfection. There is no traditional symbolic meaning, though, for an upside down fleur-de-lis."

"The fleur-de-lis symbol evolved from the ancient symbol of the bee and represents the same thing: the "royal" families. It was and still is used extensively by the blue bloods."

Well, I'll just say it was a gift to my mother and represents her favorite flower and fragrance. I too, like the fragrance - very much!  As for wearing the pin upside down - well, maybe.

I scanned the pin and the backside isn't as clear as I would like, but you get the idea.

Here are pictures of others I found on the internet with the same loop which would cause it to be hung upside down. 

Sweet Treat

I made a batch of brownies. Ummmm...
chewy and rich.

 click on image to taste

Rainy Day Project

Today it is pouring rain and not freezing. Ok, we can deal with that.  Can you guess what I'm making? Once a year I make these and they go fast after waiting three days for them to cure.  This year I had to substitute with ground cinnamon. I had forgotten that I used up all of my sticks in a fragrance potpourri last year. The the ground variety leaves little spots but the taste is still great!

 Six peeled - six to go.

 This year 

Last year

(if you click on an image to view larger you will see the difference)

December James

He's waiting for snow and Santa! Aren't we all.....

I made his hat from a man's XXL sweater I bought at a thrift shop for $1.00 and his scarf from an inexpensive Walmart throw. He is warm now. 

If Mother Nature will just decorate him with a bit of snow, he could visit some of my friends for real on a holiday card. Time will tell.

Click on image to view larger

Maple Bacon Cookies & Woodpiles

Well, I tried a cookie mix and it was pretty good. After hundreds of years making cookies from scratch I am convinced that labor intensive cookie baking is not for me anymore... IF!  IF!  IF I can find mixes as easy and tasty as this one is!

We are going grocery shopping tomorrow and I will look to find more of these, but I don't have high hopes. I bought the package early in November and I'm sure others have discovered how palatable they are. There was also a frosting and a cake mix. I didn't buy those. 

No, mine aren't shapely but are salty/sweet and surprisingly different.  

This is a common sight in our area. Some even have stacked their winter wood up and OVER the windows on their front porches!

Click on image to view larger

THE END - of Note Card Creations

I've decided to move on to other creative projects. These last ones were a "have-to" because I had already printed out all of my photographs for just this purpose.  I have scanned 137 and photographed the 45 that I made when in South Carolina because I had no scanner. Yes, 182 is a nice number and I'm sticking with it! That is the total of all I have made since 2010. They are all gone except for the last 32. 

Here are scans of the last 10 - All 32 that I made in the past three days will be sold in March when I head to SC again and then I will have only memories. 

Click on image to view larger