Best revenge yet!

You are not permitted to kill a woman who has wronged you, but nothing forbids you to reflect that she is growing older every minute. You are avenged 1440 times a day. Ambrose Bierce

Yesterday's chore . . .

 
The tomatoes keep appearing in our garden. My favorite lunch is fresh tomatoes with Feta cheese, lots of freshly-ground black pepper, and Asian salad dressing. However, one serving of tomatoes a day isn't keeping up with the output of the garden this year. The easiest way to preserve the many, many extra tomatoes is either with spaghetti sauce or skinning, slicing, and freezing them in zip lock bags.

I got six or eight bags of tomatoes frozen, last year, and it was a blessing to have them on hand during the months when the price of tomatoes was the highest. I already have several containers of pasta sauce in the freezer. I make a tomato/vegetable sauce which has become a family favorite and also gets lots of extra vegetables into them without a complaint.

Homemade Crumb Cake

 
This crumb cake smelled amazing as it baked and it tasted pretty good, too. The first picture is fresh from the oven. The second one is with a generous shake of confectioner's sugar. Easy recipe, too!

Homemade Crumb Cake

1/2 cup butter (Margarine would be an insult!)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
Pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. You can also use two, smaller pans.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and stir until well combined. Add the milk, flour, baking powder, vanilla, lemon zest, and spices and beat until well mixed.

For the topping:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups Bisquik or your favorite biscuit mix
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
Dash nutmeg

The easiest way to do this one is to either use your hands to break in the butter or use a pastry cutter or even a potato masher! You don't want smooth but lumpy-bumpy.

Spread your cake batter into your prepared pan(s). Now sprinkle your topping over the entire cake. Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes depending on the size pan you used. When it is done, let it set for ten minutes and then sift the powdered sugar over the top. Can be eaten warm, room temperature, or cold.

Ideas . . .

I'm thinking about adding some toasted almonds to the topping next time I make this recipe. Walnuts would be interesting, too.

Whipped Cream and Fresh Fruit . . .

 
Pictorial proof of my productive afternoon - the dessert treat for the family. Fortunately or unfortunately (for the fat content in the cream!), I was short on whipping cream so it didn't get topped quite as high with cream as I might have wished . . . purely from the artistic viewpoint, of course!

Tip for making the best (at least for me and mine) fresh whipped cream - add 1/4 cup or more of sour cream when you beat the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla. It gives it a nice tang and the whipped cream doesn't break down as quickly or separate.

Weekend starts early . . .

Hectic weekend stuff happened early this week because we have several things going on and have to address all of them before Monday morning rolls around.

My daughter is heading back for her last semester at college so the house is cluttered with boxes and piles of items that need sorting as to traveling with her or staying home. We got the shopping done for the school year and just have her early-morning flight left to do. Where did the summer go? It is going to be a difficult last semester as she will be saying goodbye to her best friend at college in December. Besides that, she faces decisions on either continuing her education or getting a job.

I just heard on the radio that the United States has more money owing on student loans then credit cards. Also, the lenders of student loans aka the government is viscious in getting every penny back. If you are in litigation for a bankruptcy or something, they can't touch your Social Security or pension. Not so with student loans! This wouldn't usually be a problem for the majority of graduating students except for the current economy. You can graduate at the top of your class and still not get a job of the caliber for which your education prepared you. I have a friend whose son still hasn't landed a job in his chosen field and it is over four years since his college graduation. On top of this delightful news, I hear there are noises from Washington that another stimulus package might be in the works. Gosh, and the last one was such a success, too.

With all this going on in home and world, it sure brings one's prayer life to the forefront of living!

Treated the family to a cool dessert in the face of triple-digit temperatures today. It is a simple one where I puree three or four different fruits and then layer them with freshly whipped cream. Yeah, decadent but good for a once-in-awhilte splurge. Today's is layered with kiwi, raspberry, nectarine, and strawberry/cranberry. I've found that a few fresh cranberries will bring out the flavor of strawberries.

Okay, where do I come by cranberries at this time of the year? I stock up on fresh ones during the Thanksgiving/Christmas season and just freeze them in the back they are originally packaged. It is great to have them on hand as we happen to like fresh cranberry sauce with beef and gravy! They are also good in smoothies or . . . Whipped cream desserts on a hot day!

Monday, the air conditioning duct work is being torn out so I'm going around the house to see what furniture needs moving for easy access to the vents in each room. Naturally, three of them are in places that will need a lot of stuff moved. I'm torn between cleaning up the house really well or doing it after the two-days of work is done.  Yes, pride but then I'm thinking . . . do men really notice dust when they are in the middle of creating even more?

Quote Offerings for the Day . . .

"There are two ways to pass a hurdle: leaping over or plowing through... There needs to be a monster truck option."
       -- Jeph Jacques

 

"We live in a Newtonian world of Einsteinian physics ruled by Frankenstein logic."
       -- David Russell

 

"I was not a child prodigy, because a child prodigy is a child who knows as much when it is a child as it does when it grows up."
       -- Will Rogers

 

"The secret of eternal youth is arrested development."
       -- Alice Roosevelt Longworth