Master K turned 15 yesterday! We made him a chocolate layer cake. The recipe I chose was Black Magic Cake, which I found on allrecipes.com but which probably originally came from Hershey's. The batter is frighteningly thin but the cake turned out great. I think the addition of the coffee is what makes the difference.
For icing, I made this frosting, only after adding 2 tablespoons of milk as it said to, the icing was still a clumpy, dry mess. I added some more cold coffee to thin it and to echo the coffee in the cake. I'll do that again for sure.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Name That Handbag! Contest at Yellow Bird Art
Allow me to direct your attention to the contest over at the blog of my favorite quilt ship, Yellow Bird Art. The prize is a delectable collection of gorgeous fabric swatches. The contest is to suggest the perfect name for their new original handbag pattern.
I got to see the sample bag you see pictured over there ==> and it's not only gorgeous, it's a practical, roomy bag that I want! I'll be buying the pattern for sure once it goes on sale.
Just Started Marinatin' a Brisket
Two, actually. To be cooked consecutively. They can marinate for 24-48 hours, so the plan is to start one cooking tomorrow morning at around this time, and the other after that one is finished, possibly even overnight, as one is about twice the size of the other.
Ever since I discovered Pioneer Woman's delicious recipe for brisket, I am no longer intimidated by this cut of delicious, though rather challenging, cut of meat. I invariably dried it out before finding her marinade and cooking method. Her marinade which looks dauntingly salty when you look at the ingredients list, but ends up quite delicious. It's not health food, believe me, but it's very good. A 10- to 12-pound brisket makes a lot of meat, and can easily be divided up in meal-sized portions for the freezer, for quick and yummy meals over the weeks to follow.
I'm considering doing brisket for Britta's graduation party, which will be on Mother's Day, so I would like something special enough not only for her, but for my/our mothers, both of whom expect to be with us for the day. I could cook a couple of briskets between now and then and have them in the freezer to take the pressure off the preparations for the big day. I like this idea.
My wish list for May 10th this year:
Ever since I discovered Pioneer Woman's delicious recipe for brisket, I am no longer intimidated by this cut of delicious, though rather challenging, cut of meat. I invariably dried it out before finding her marinade and cooking method. Her marinade which looks dauntingly salty when you look at the ingredients list, but ends up quite delicious. It's not health food, believe me, but it's very good. A 10- to 12-pound brisket makes a lot of meat, and can easily be divided up in meal-sized portions for the freezer, for quick and yummy meals over the weeks to follow.
I'm considering doing brisket for Britta's graduation party, which will be on Mother's Day, so I would like something special enough not only for her, but for my/our mothers, both of whom expect to be with us for the day. I could cook a couple of briskets between now and then and have them in the freezer to take the pressure off the preparations for the big day. I like this idea.
My wish list for May 10th this year:
- Both sets of grandparents able to attend, feeling well and having tolerated the drive without discomfort.
- Sunshine and a high of 73 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Enough time in the schedule between church, graduation ceremony and grad party that we are not rushed and frantic.
- Nobody sick. Nobody with a migraine. Nobody with cramps. Nobody with a bad attitude. Just happy, loving family members honoring their elders with grace. *
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Mourning Dove Spotted
March 18th: See, I'm writing this down. First it was robins, then I started hearing lots of red-winged blackbirds (though I have yet to see one), and just now there was a tired-looking mourning dove picking around looking for flower seeds in one of the beds. Isn't that a little early?
The ground is still so cold. It's going to take a long time to thaw out this year. Rochester, Minnesota, just a few miles to the north of us, was reporting the frost line at 3 feet deep in some places. That's DEEP. It was a hard winter!
The ground is still so cold. It's going to take a long time to thaw out this year. Rochester, Minnesota, just a few miles to the north of us, was reporting the frost line at 3 feet deep in some places. That's DEEP. It was a hard winter!
Asking for Help Here: We need scholarship/grant money.
I'm putting out this appeal hoping that someone can help us. We are trying to piece together funding for Barry to attend Viterbo University beginning in the fall. As private colleges go, it's really not bad, but it's still going to be about $20,000 a year.
If you belong to a group that offers college scholarships that Barry might qualify for, please let us know. He is a displaced worker, a Christian, a firefighter, an EMT, a husband, a father, a first-generation college student, the son of a truck driver and coal miner, a home beer brewer, sails small sailboats, is a runner for exercise, and wants to be a nurse, specifically a trauma or flight nurse. If I think of anything else that might bring to mind a specific scholarship I'll post it here.
Small is no problem. A hundred bucks here and there adds up! So does fifty bucks here and there. Anything. And any grant money can save us from going more into debt with college loans. If you know of a scholarship that we can apply for, please let us know.
If you belong to a group that offers college scholarships that Barry might qualify for, please let us know. He is a displaced worker, a Christian, a firefighter, an EMT, a husband, a father, a first-generation college student, the son of a truck driver and coal miner, a home beer brewer, sails small sailboats, is a runner for exercise, and wants to be a nurse, specifically a trauma or flight nurse. If I think of anything else that might bring to mind a specific scholarship I'll post it here.
Small is no problem. A hundred bucks here and there adds up! So does fifty bucks here and there. Anything. And any grant money can save us from going more into debt with college loans. If you know of a scholarship that we can apply for, please let us know.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Vintage Find: Vintage Oilcloth Shelf Lining
Look what I found, set out for the trash! It's a strip of vintage oilcloth shelf lining. It was actually stuck on the back of a strip of vintage linoleum. Talk about jackpots! So I'm guessing the oilcloth is at least 1940s and the lino 1950s (the lino was some of that very geometric style of the '50s).
"What on earth will you do with THAT?" asked my mom on the phone. I don't know. But I couldn't just walk away and leave it for the trash man, now could I?
Monday, March 16, 2009
Look who's driving!
Also look at that beautiful - and expensive - smile. Master K just got his braces off a couple of weeks ago.
Baby Fix
Last night Mike and Sara brought their new little girl over and we had supper and a nice visit. We all got our baby fix with that wee little girl, just 6 weeks old. I think we were pretty boring because all we wanted to do was watch the baby. :o) She's an extremely easy-going little lady and hardly cries, but at one point she was crying (not very loud, though I thought she was probably giving it her all and would be disappointed to find out that we were not awed at the volume she was putting out), and I kind of laughed. Lil Miss A wanted to know why I would laugh at a baby who is sad, and after thinking about it, here's what I think:
It's because as distressing as that particular moment was for Baby B, as upset as she was about whatever it was she was crying about, when we looked at her we saw a well fed, clean, comfortable, and doted upon little baby whose parents would do everything, give everything, risk everything to keep her safe and well. There are so many children out there who do not have the blessing of loving, stable parents. Looking at that little gal from our perspective, we could see that in a few minutes, all would be right in her world once more, and that her concerns and discomforts are minor in the scheme of things. What a blessing to see a child who is so loved. :o)
By the way, Mike and Sara are not very typical first-time parents. Very easy-going. In fact they didn't even freak out when Bo walked over and licked their baby on her head! I was nowhere near that calm when Britta was brand new. No. Where. Near.
P.S. We served Garlic Cheese Chicken Rollups from allrecipes.com, with a few alterations (I just mixed garlic with cream cheese rather than going out and paying twice as much for pre-garlicked cream cheese, for example). Extremely rich. I split some of the half-breasts in half and made smaller rolls and I think I would do that for all of them next time, as it would enable people to take more reasonable, non-heart-attack-causing portions.
It's because as distressing as that particular moment was for Baby B, as upset as she was about whatever it was she was crying about, when we looked at her we saw a well fed, clean, comfortable, and doted upon little baby whose parents would do everything, give everything, risk everything to keep her safe and well. There are so many children out there who do not have the blessing of loving, stable parents. Looking at that little gal from our perspective, we could see that in a few minutes, all would be right in her world once more, and that her concerns and discomforts are minor in the scheme of things. What a blessing to see a child who is so loved. :o)
By the way, Mike and Sara are not very typical first-time parents. Very easy-going. In fact they didn't even freak out when Bo walked over and licked their baby on her head! I was nowhere near that calm when Britta was brand new. No. Where. Near.
P.S. We served Garlic Cheese Chicken Rollups from allrecipes.com, with a few alterations (I just mixed garlic with cream cheese rather than going out and paying twice as much for pre-garlicked cream cheese, for example). Extremely rich. I split some of the half-breasts in half and made smaller rolls and I think I would do that for all of them next time, as it would enable people to take more reasonable, non-heart-attack-causing portions.
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