Blooming!

When I bought this succulent there was no tag telling me what it was or how to care for it. After research I identified it and learned about what to expect. Today I'm delighted to see blossoms!

Mini Blue Chalkstalks makes a wonderfully low-maintenance, drought-tolerant ground cover in frost-free climates, but it can also overwinter indoors near a sunny window or under a grow light. With time and plenty of sun, it can even cascade from containers. It produces a classic Asteraceae flower: a white pompom made up of tiny, fragrant blossoms.

to see more detail please click on image

Why Didn't the Turtle Cross the Road?

Why did this turtle stay in the road? My daughter was the driver as we rode around the area on the golf car. Of course I had the camera but didn't really expect to see anything as an interesting subject. Wrong! We came up on this fat medium sized critter just sittin' on the warm road and surmise that he had traveled from the other side where there is a shallow lily-pad pond. Maybe he was heading for the large lake on the other side of that road! A man in a truck stopped and we all thought that if he tapped it on its shell with my cane it would move. Nope! It did a little, but not forward. We then left it alone with hopes for its safety. Yes, I did see the tucked-under left foot. Maybe it was broken. Maybe its weight was too much for it to straighten it out. Maybe that is how it just plain felt like resting. We also noticed that there were also three toenails missing on its right hind foot. My rule is to let nature take its course, but this time it was a hard one to follow. 

My driver did a great job maneuvering around it so I could get pictures from many angles. I'll have to hire her again!

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P.S. I thought this was our huge lake turtle but it was just a log floating around. Darn!

Labor Day Shoot

I took a rideabout yesterday for photos to post on Labor day so I could stay home when there were people all out around the area. Well, wouldn't ya know about two hours after I returned home, a guy knocked on the back door and he wanted to know why I was taking pictures of him cutting down trees! He wondered if there was problem with him cutting down trees. He said it was the lady driving the green golf car. NOT ME!  I don't take photos of strangers chopping down trees! There has to be another person in the area taking his picture. I know of at least one other green golf cart near me and am sure this person wasn't taking pictures of him either. We sent him away promptly. Creep!

So, here is my picture-taking effort. Beware... lots of pictures. I'll start with flowers. Mr. Singer's tall sunflowers, a wildflower and Debbie's hydrangea.

Now the "Nobody at Home" photos.

"Looking Up" images

Do you see what I saw!!!!!!

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No guy was anywhere in sight cutting down trees, either!

 

Design

My very first design for a potter! I would like to try to bake a loaf in a hand-made pot! We shall see what he thinks of my design. (He has an order to make.)

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"creekroadpottery @geraldinereed3590 Hey I have a surprise for you. If you have time and would like to help me design the small bread bakers I'll send you over one. Let me know."

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These are my computer drawings. I used an application called "ArtRage Lite." I rarely use this. It came along with a gift of a Wacom Tablet from a granddaughter a few years ago. 

VERSION #2

Beauty in My Eye

Yes. It's RED. Yes. It is a beautiful sight! Yes. It is the last of my gifts of the Oxhearts. Yes. It will not disappoint when we have lunch today. The flavor is like no other tomato. The meat is dense and juicy. This beauty will give seeds to continue on the propagation of this treasured variety. It almost hurt to slice it in half. Almost. It was a pleasure to reap the few seeds it produced. They are special. Believe me. After fermenting in their own juice for about 10 days, they will be dried, saved in a paper envelope and put in a pill bottle to go into the freezer until next spring. YAY!

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Winter Prep

 A friend sent over two of her zucchini breads when I was hobbling around on my walker due to the injured knee. They were in little tins and the perfect size to demolish quickly. Since then I have been accumulating the ingredients after requesting the recipe she used. I must say, this was an all-morning project for me but well worth it! This recipe produced a very large baked result as I didn't follow the directions exactly as listed and put my own twist on it. After our lunchtime treat, I packaged 1/4 for my grandson, 1/4 for a friend, and will package and freeze the rest to enjoy over the winter. Sometimes I feel like a squirrel! 

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YIELD: 2 Loaves *

Lemon Poppyseed Zucchini Bread

PREP TIME: 25 minutes COOK TIME: 55 minutes

 

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

• 1 package (3.4 oz.) instant lemon pudding mix

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 4 large eggs

• 1 1/4 cups milk

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon lemon extract

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

• 2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium sized zucchini's)

• 1/4 cup poppy seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. *Spray two 9x5 loaf pans with nonstick spray.

2. *Shred two zucchini's using a food processor with shredder attachment.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

4. In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk, oil, lemon juice and lemon extract.

5. Pour lemon mixture into dry ingredients and mix until JUST COMBINED! Do not OVER MIX!

6. Fold in zucchini, lemon zest and poppy seeds. *I added 1 cup of ground walnuts.

7. Pour zucchini bread mixture into prepared *loaf pans and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

NOTES………………………………………..

* I shredded one medium zucchini with a hand held grater. The food processor shreds too finely for my tastes.

* I lined a 10" x 15" pyrex glass pan with release foil instead of using two loaf pans. (Everyone who bakes or cooks needs one of these! I use it mostly for bread puddings!)

* I didn’t remove from pan after cooled. Sliced and packaged individual servings.

Internet Photo

Black & White

Fellow bloggers are showing some of their B/W photos so I am trying it. As most of you know I LOVE color. This is taking a turn now since my playful morning. What do you think?

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Testing, Testing...

I have held on to a recipe for a couple of years always intending to try it. Remembering that ground pork was part of the ingredient list, I finally purchased some and got started. Now I must say that I have never heard of a Danish meatball recipe that wasn't made with a white creamy or cheesy sauce. I think I'll change the name for this one as "Spicy Cocktail Meatballs." We actually are not in favor of hot spicy foods. Well, I made it anyway. 

I baked the very small meatballs on a parchment covered cookie sheet. When more wouldn't fit, I just created burger patties with the excess and froze them for future use. While these were baking, I prepared the sauce. After removing the meatballs from the tray and patting them with paper towel to remove excess fats, I stored them in the refrigerator for two days while the sauce was aging on the counter.

*To warm them for consuming, I put the meatballs and sauce into the fermentation pot in the oven (NOT-preheated) and warmed it all for about 1/2 hour at 300°. These were served over cooked rice. Not bad. Not too hot. Tasty. Leftovers frozen.

Swedish Meatballs (A/K/A Spicy Cocktail Meatballs)

Make Ahead Sauce:

¾ cup Catsup

1 ½ tsp Salt

1 tsp Pepper

½ cup Water

1/4 cup Cider Vinegar

1 Tblsp Minced Onion

2 Tblsp Brown Sugar

2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

Place all ingredients in a jar.  Put cap on tightly and shake vigorously.

Let stand two days.

Meatballs:

2 – 3 lbs  ground chopped meat

½ lb ground pork

2 tsp prepared horseradish

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2-3 dashes Tabasco

1/3 cup Catsup

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Thoroughly mix all ingredients and form into balls the size of prunes.

Cook over low heat until done but not brown.  Pour prepared sauce 

over meatballs and simmer thirty minutes.

These can be transferred to a crockpot to keep them warm when entertaining.