Quotes to ponder . . . but not too long!

It's not whether you win or lose, but how you place the blame.

You are not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.

When you work here, you can name your own salary. I named mine, "Jeff's".

The original point and click interface was a Smith & Wesson.

Money isn't everything, but it sure keeps the kids in touch.

Don't Drink and Drive, you might hit a bump and spill something.

If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

We are born naked, wet and hungry. Then things get worse.

Red meat is not bad for you. Fuzzy green meat is bad for you.

Ninety-nine percent of all lawyers give the rest a bad name.

One good thing about Alzheimer's is you get to meet new people every day.

Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

The more I learn about terrorism, the more I understand the phone company.

The latest survey shows that three out of four people make up 75% of the population

True story from our educational system . . .

My friend, a student taking photography, discovered that many of his classmates saw no problem with taking nude photographs, sometimes of each other. One day, a fellow student held up one such picture and inquired of my friend, "How’s this look to you? Too dark, too light. . . suggestions." My friend was at a loss of words, trying to keep his eyes averted. I suggested he should have said, "I think it is overexposed!"

A favorite story . . .

We used to have a delightful pastor with a keen sense of humor. He was always cheerful and never let anything get him down. He passed away a few years ago but I remember so many of his stories and this was always a favorite of mine.

Our pastor told us about a fishing trip he went on one time. He was with a group when they noticed a woman in another boat frantically waving to them. Thinking she may be in trouble, my pastor’s group investigated. It seemed the woman had fished more than her limit. Fearing the strict reprisals if discovered, she was anxious to give away some of her fish. Father said he would take a fish so she tossed one to him, he caught it and secured it with his tackle box. When they came into shore, the park gamekeeper was there making sure everyone was obeying the rules. The gamekeeper looked at Father‘s fish and asked him, "Did you catch that?’ Father looked him squarely in the eye and very truthfully said, "Yes, I did!"

If you have an extra Hail Mary, this evening, please send it Father Ed's way . . . just in case he got in trouble for this stretch of the truth! :-)

Broccoli - eating your vegetables and actually liking them . . .

My husband set a strict rule in place when our children were old enough to actively participate at the dinner table. You have to eat a bite of everything to leave the table. You have to try and clean your plate to earn dessert. You have to eat your vegetables/salad completely. That set me into cooking mode to present vegetables in ways they might like. Now that three of them are out of their teens, they are pretty good about eating vegetables . . . even when there isn't a dessert in sight.

Broccoli is one vegetable they all deal with almost happily. I remembered this recipe and thought I'd share it with you. Not that any of us really have any picky eaters . . .

Broccoli-Cheese Bake
3 cups fresh broccoli, rinsed, and chopped into florets
2 cups grated, sharp cheddar
1 ½ cups whole milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
2-3 slices of bread, your choice
3-4 strips of bacon, fried and finely chopped
Salt and black pepper
Dash of chili flakes

Melt the butter in a saucepan until bubbly but not brown. Add the garlic and saute a moment to soften. Sprinkle in the flour and cook until it combines well with the butter. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add the grated cheese and stir until melted. Add the bacon, salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Set aside.

Steam the broccoli until almost tender. It should still be a bit crisp. Spread into a buttered casserole dish. Pour over the cheese mixture evenly. Tear the bread into pieces and arrange over the top. Spray liberally with vegetable spray. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the bread topping starts to brown and the cheese is bubbling.

Fourth of July Cupcakes

 

Kept my promise to myself and produced 48 cupcakes for the Fourth of July. My waistline is not in any danger as I gave away most of them to friends and neighbors. I tried the bakery-style frosting and it was a perfect balance to the spicy cupcakes as well as the red velvet chocolate ones.

The bakery-style frosting recipe was easy and quick to make. It's a keeper but I'm not giving up on my usual buttercream types. Sometimes, you do not mind the icing overwhelming the cake - it's an excuse to eat icing!

As the weatherman promised, the heat has set in so dinner is getting cooked on the rotisserie this evening. Potatoes are simmering for potato salad. I also have five, fresh yellow squash from the garden to herb and garlic for the vegetable. What's for dessert? Cupcakes, of course!

Potato Salad - summer holiday fare .. .

Planning on making a batch of potato salad today and thought I'd share my recipe with you. I know every family has their favorite. I also know that my own recipe has evolved, over the years, as other people shared their secrets with me and I found them unique and very usable in my own.

Barbara's Potato Salad

Peeled and cubed potatoes, raw

I like to do the peeling and cubing ahead of time to save time. I used to watch my mother pay 'hot potato' with her own version of the salad as she tried to pull the peel of a just boiled potato. Anyway, boil the cubes of potato in heavily salted (1-2 tablespoons salt) water until just done. Drain and let rest while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

This is for a relatively medium batch so adjust to your needs.

1 cup mayo (I like the olive oil version)
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 tablespoons regular yellow mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
Sweet or dill pickle relish or a combination of both
1 small can of already sliced, black olives (use green ones if you like)
2 teaspoons hot, powdered mustard
2-3 hardboiled eggs, peeled and roughly chopped (optional)

Place your still-warm potatoes in a large bowl. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of cider vinegar (or regular vinegar if that's all you have on hand)  Add the rest of the ingredients, mixing gently so you don't smash up your potatoes too much. Do a taste test and see what else you might want/need. Refrigerate until needed/cold.

I like to use the small potatoes but have gotten excellent using the Russet or baking potatoes, too. Just have to be more careful in not over cooking the baking potatoes. My husband actually prefers the softer, Russet potatoes for his salad.

Other additions:

Finely chopped, red onion
Chives
Crumbled, cooked bacon
Drained can of tuna if you want a more hearty side dish
Canned chilis for a spicy version
Diced ham, again, for a substantial offering
Braised cloves of garlic, pureed and added with the mayo dressing
An addition of Ranch or Thousand Island dressing
Fresh, diced tomatoes, use Roma tomatoes as they don't release as much liquid into your dish
A tablespoon or two of Feta cheese

Summer, summer, summer . . .

 

This is the look I got from our dog, yesterday. She objected very much to the heat and felt that the entire day should have been spent inside. Although we did let her reside on the somewhat cooler floor by the backdoor, we did usher her out every few hours to take care of personal matters lest she have a mishap. Most of her outdoor time was spent peering in the windows she could reach and whining. I think it was dog talk for, "Let me back in NOW! It is hot out here!"

It was hot, yesterday. The first day of summer and it hit the triple digits. It was 'only' 100 degrees in our area but a few miles away, it was said to have reached over 103 degrees. It was a cool 85-plus IN our house in spite of the hard work of our fans. Our central air conditioning is useless and costs more than it is worth to run in the summer so we have been doing without it the last few years. Yeah, I know, not the part of the world to do without it.

We are just hoping and praying that people realize the fire danger with the added heat and set off their fireworks responsibly. Interesting but about a mile up the road, the city is considered unincorporated and they have a ban on fireworks. Wish our city government would do that here, too.

Trying the two recipes I posted yesterday for the weekend. The peanut butter dessert sounds good and I'm thinking about layering it with some kind of chocolate pudding/parfait. The Chocolate Pots de Creme sound even better. Hey, it's a holiday weekend, right? Calories don't count on holiday weekend . . . right?

Speaking of holidays, I was cleaning out the freezer and found two tins I had packed away full of my Christmas baking. I had put them together for some friends who suddenly decided we were no longer friends without a word or whisper. Their loss! Anyway, my son opened up the tin of cookies and I had packed them so well, they were still in perfect shape and we are now enjoying a late Christmas treat! Fourth of July and Christmas on the same day?

Lived this quote more than a few times . . .!

"After the last of 16 mounting screws has been removed from an access cover, it will be discovered that the wrong access cover has been removed."
       -- De La Lastra's Law