California is avoiding it's usual sunny adjective, these days, and rain has become our liquid sunshine! I'm happy about it as the drought has gone on long enough. The best part of rainy, cold days is cooking and baking. Yes, I cook/bake during the heat of the summer but it never smells quite as nice as when the rain is sheeting the window panes and the oven is keeping it warm inside.
I was inspired today! I had made my favorite marinara sauce for a Friday pasta meal and had two cups of it left. I decided to make chili! It has been simmering on the stove most of the day and rice is presently cooking in the microwave. Nothing like a bowl of spicy chili over rice with a generous sprinkling of cheese on top.
Thoughts of pasta sauce and tomato reminded me of a fun recipe.
Chocolate Cake with Tomato Soup
1/2 cup real butter, softened
1 1//3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup water
1 can (20 3/4 ounce or there abouts) tomato soup
1 cup chopped nuts, your choice
1 generous teaspoon grated orange zest
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease adn flour a 9" x 13" pan.
Cream together buter and sugar. Add eggs, and beaut utnil fluffy. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Mix tomato soup with water. Add dry ingredients and soup mixture alternately to cream mixtures. Combine gently but well. Fold in nuts, spices, zest and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan and bake approximately 30 minutes.
If you want to impress, ice with:
Cream Cheese Glaze
2 tablespoons butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Mix until smooth and spread on cake when just slightly warm.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
All too true . . .
This quote struck me as very appropriate to our current state of affairs in our country.
"There is no nonsense so arrant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action."
-- Bertrand Russell
"There is no nonsense so arrant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action."
-- Bertrand Russell
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Explains a lot . . .
One that has been making the rounds of the Internet for ages but always funny! Thought I'd share.
****
A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture
in California when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud
towards him.
The driver, a young man in a Armani suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan sunglasses and
YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly
how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?"
Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully
grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, Why not?"
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer,connects it
to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet
where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which
he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an
ultra-high-resolution photo.
The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it
to an image processing facility in Hamburg , Germany .. .Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has
been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database
through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and
after a few minutes, receives a response.
Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-Tech
Miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says,
You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."
"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says Bud.
He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as
the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.
Then Bud says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your
business is, will you give me back my calf?"
The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"
"You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government", says Bud.
"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though
nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew,to a
question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you
are; and you don't know a thing about cows...this is a Herd of sheep. . . .
Now give me back my dog!
****
A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture
in California when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud
towards him.
The driver, a young man in a Armani suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan sunglasses and
YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly
how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?"
Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully
grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, Why not?"
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer,connects it
to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet
where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which
he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an
ultra-high-resolution photo.
The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it
to an image processing facility in Hamburg , Germany .. .Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has
been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database
through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and
after a few minutes, receives a response.
Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-Tech
Miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says,
You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."
"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says Bud.
He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as
the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.
Then Bud says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your
business is, will you give me back my calf?"
The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"
"You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government", says Bud.
"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though
nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew,to a
question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you
are; and you don't know a thing about cows...this is a Herd of sheep. . . .
Now give me back my dog!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Husbands who work miracles . . .
My dryer is back to working order thanks to my husband who is up to any appliance challenge. A couple of hours of hands-on labor plus research on the Internet and my dryer is functioning again for the cost of $60 for parts. I think we got away a lot cheaper doing it ourselves and not calling a repairman and then waiting two days or more for him to show up.
I was twice as thankful today to pull the warm, softly scented laundry from the depths of the dryer. Waiting two days for laundry to dry on the line during a damp season just wasn't working for me.
My husband is very good about tackling new repair problems. He is one of those people who ALWAYS read the directions first. Just shows me that opposites DO attract! When he wants to do a task, he does the research and is more often than not, very successful.
Somone told me that I am able to cook and bake because my mother knew how to cook and bake. Always seems to take away from my kitchen conquests. When it comes to the kitchen, I was pretty much a novice but knew how to read a cookbook. Like my husband, when I want to do something, I look it up.
Another storm coming in this evening but I'm okay with that. MY DRYER WORKS!
I was twice as thankful today to pull the warm, softly scented laundry from the depths of the dryer. Waiting two days for laundry to dry on the line during a damp season just wasn't working for me.
My husband is very good about tackling new repair problems. He is one of those people who ALWAYS read the directions first. Just shows me that opposites DO attract! When he wants to do a task, he does the research and is more often than not, very successful.
Somone told me that I am able to cook and bake because my mother knew how to cook and bake. Always seems to take away from my kitchen conquests. When it comes to the kitchen, I was pretty much a novice but knew how to read a cookbook. Like my husband, when I want to do something, I look it up.
Another storm coming in this evening but I'm okay with that. MY DRYER WORKS!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Covering all the bases . . .
Whenever I put a load of laundry in the washer, I always pray a thank you that the hardest part of the job is putting the laundry in and and taking it out. Sure beats pounding dirty clothing on a rock by a creek. Besides, finding a creek in California isn't that easy with a drought. Got reminded that I might remember to send up a thank you for the benefits of a dryer, too.
Just as my husband drove off to work, yesterday, after having repaired the automatic gargage door opener, the dryer went into spin mode while emitting very loud BUMP/CLUNK noises. I hastily stopped it and decided the better course of action would be hanging up the damp clothes and waiting for my husband's return from work. After all, what husband wouldn't be pleased with yet another breakdown of household equipment on the same day?
Although our week of rain had let up, it was a very cold day yesterday and a garage isn't the best place to get a whole load of clothes dry. Once the dryer gets fixed, I will double my laundry prayers to include it. Finding a patch of clean, dry grass in a sunny place to dry ones clothing is as hard as finding that laundry rock in a creek. Another way for God to remind us to pray because you tend to not appreciate your blessings until they go on a short vacation!
Just as my husband drove off to work, yesterday, after having repaired the automatic gargage door opener, the dryer went into spin mode while emitting very loud BUMP/CLUNK noises. I hastily stopped it and decided the better course of action would be hanging up the damp clothes and waiting for my husband's return from work. After all, what husband wouldn't be pleased with yet another breakdown of household equipment on the same day?
Although our week of rain had let up, it was a very cold day yesterday and a garage isn't the best place to get a whole load of clothes dry. Once the dryer gets fixed, I will double my laundry prayers to include it. Finding a patch of clean, dry grass in a sunny place to dry ones clothing is as hard as finding that laundry rock in a creek. Another way for God to remind us to pray because you tend to not appreciate your blessings until they go on a short vacation!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Rainy Day Projects and Discoveries . . .
I was working on a quilt yesterday and found a pattern for an 'organized' scrap quilt. I made a test square to see how easy/good/attractive it was and was delighted to find it a simple pattern that looked complicated! My favorite kind of outcome. Sigh . . . Although I'd like to immediately cut out all my scrap fabric and get started on this find, I'm being good and completing the two currently in the works. Being a grown up isn't all that fun when you are trying to be practical!
I've been perusing old cookbooks lately. One was given to me by a now unremembered source. I finally took the time to check it out and was pleased to find THREE childhood baking memories in it, recipes I have wished I could find for ages. Very nostalgic going through these cookbooks and they hark back to a simpler time when Moms put some happy time into their kitchen production and felt it WAS worth their time to be a Mom in all aspects.
I just baked a recipe out of one of the books. It is cooling on the counter and I have to say, it was an easy to assemble recipe with little worry or angst involved. It's a keeper.
Fudge Cake
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (4 ounces)- melted and cooled slightly
1 cup chopped nuts (your choice and optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour two layer cake pans, 8 inches. Measure flour, sugar, baking power, soda, and salt into mixer bowl. Add shortening, milk, and vanilla. Beat for approximately two minutes. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl. Add eggs and chocolate. Beat another two minutes, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in nuts. Pour int prepared pans. Bake 35-40 minutes or until top springs back when lightly pressed. Cool before frosting.
Anyone looking for a good fudge frosting, let me know!
I've been perusing old cookbooks lately. One was given to me by a now unremembered source. I finally took the time to check it out and was pleased to find THREE childhood baking memories in it, recipes I have wished I could find for ages. Very nostalgic going through these cookbooks and they hark back to a simpler time when Moms put some happy time into their kitchen production and felt it WAS worth their time to be a Mom in all aspects.
I just baked a recipe out of one of the books. It is cooling on the counter and I have to say, it was an easy to assemble recipe with little worry or angst involved. It's a keeper.
Fudge Cake
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (4 ounces)- melted and cooled slightly
1 cup chopped nuts (your choice and optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour two layer cake pans, 8 inches. Measure flour, sugar, baking power, soda, and salt into mixer bowl. Add shortening, milk, and vanilla. Beat for approximately two minutes. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl. Add eggs and chocolate. Beat another two minutes, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in nuts. Pour int prepared pans. Bake 35-40 minutes or until top springs back when lightly pressed. Cool before frosting.
Anyone looking for a good fudge frosting, let me know!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
When it rains . . .
According to the weather reports, California is supposed to get more than a week of rain up to 16 inches! I have found that when the news gets ahold of the weather, it doesn't happen. We do need rain in order to cope with the dry, summer months so I'm hoping God provides us with rain in 'due abundance' meaning, we don't want to build another ark just dampen down the earth and replenish our water supplies.
Although we can't vote in the senate election happening on Tuesday in Massachusetts, we should keep the end result in our sincerest prayers. The election of the Republican candidate could be the turning vote on obamacare IF they can do it in spite of the dirty politics of the Democrats. No, the Republican candidate isn't perfect but it would be historic to break the Democratic hold on that state and open it up to real change.
Don't forget Haiti! Besides our parishes, there are many good charities out there collecting for Haiti. Food for the Poor said that a mere donation of $12 could feed a family of four for a month. I know that this would be difficult for us to do it here which shows how much we have and how little the people of Haiti NEED to survive.
Although we can't vote in the senate election happening on Tuesday in Massachusetts, we should keep the end result in our sincerest prayers. The election of the Republican candidate could be the turning vote on obamacare IF they can do it in spite of the dirty politics of the Democrats. No, the Republican candidate isn't perfect but it would be historic to break the Democratic hold on that state and open it up to real change.
Don't forget Haiti! Besides our parishes, there are many good charities out there collecting for Haiti. Food for the Poor said that a mere donation of $12 could feed a family of four for a month. I know that this would be difficult for us to do it here which shows how much we have and how little the people of Haiti NEED to survive.
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