I have to wonder about the politicians in our California State government these days. They want to pass a bill that would give undocumented students access to the same funding as citizens. Yet, because of government cutbacks and other bad moves on their part, state college fees have gone up, classes are cut, and even getting into a public college is very difficult these days. As I posted earlier, my son is finished with high school and not able to attend the local community college. There isn't any room. Another friend with a 3.9 GPA had to wait a year before she could start classes at the State college even though she was accepted.
Simple math would tell one that if there isn't enough for the residents to even begin college, how can the floodgates be open to everyone? I'm not starting an argument here, one way or the other. I just think that having paid into the tax system nearly my entire life, my children should be able to attend college.
The bill, according to the news, is now before the governor. This current governor made a mess of California his first round in office, years ago, so I have little hope on any salvation of sanity here.
The interesting thing is that we had to opt for private colleges for two of my children which has my husband looking at working until he is 75. One son is going to school and living overseas in order to afford it. The more the public school system takes away from us, the more people will turn to other states or private schools . . . which will mean further cuts, even less classes, no opportunities . . . Someone in government needs a pencil and paper as the calculator on their computer sure is crumbling the numbers rather than crunching them.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Butterscotch Cookies
Last week, I posted a day-to-day plan for getting several kinds of cookies baked and ready for the holidays in three days. It included all the recipes and the time frame in which to get them done. However, for those of you just looking for a cookie reminder, I'm going to blog one of the recipes every day or so. It might be what you are looking for or could clue you into checking back on the first posting for Christmas baking and inspire you to get started! The holidays will be here before we know it.
Butterscotch Cookies
2 ½ cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup finely chopped pecans
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 ¾ cups butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl and set aside. In a pan over low heat, melt the butter, letting it simmer but avoid burning. Add the brown sugar and beat it until well mixed. Let cool before adding egg, beating vigorously until smooth. Add vanilla and flour mixture until well combined.
Form dough into two logs, about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap them in wax paper and refrigerate about 30 minutes, then shape them into smoother, more even rolls. Freeze for two hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove rolls from freezer and slice into ¼ inch thick cookies. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for approximately ten minutes or until just golden. Cool and store in airtight container for one week or freeze for up to 2 months.
*Depending on how hard or fast your freezer will cool down things, you might have to let the roll of dough sit out a few minutes when ready to use it so it will be easier to slice.
Butterscotch Cookies
2 ½ cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup finely chopped pecans
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 ¾ cups butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl and set aside. In a pan over low heat, melt the butter, letting it simmer but avoid burning. Add the brown sugar and beat it until well mixed. Let cool before adding egg, beating vigorously until smooth. Add vanilla and flour mixture until well combined.
Form dough into two logs, about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap them in wax paper and refrigerate about 30 minutes, then shape them into smoother, more even rolls. Freeze for two hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove rolls from freezer and slice into ¼ inch thick cookies. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for approximately ten minutes or until just golden. Cool and store in airtight container for one week or freeze for up to 2 months.
*Depending on how hard or fast your freezer will cool down things, you might have to let the roll of dough sit out a few minutes when ready to use it so it will be easier to slice.
The Christmas crafts begin . . .
All it takes is one slightly cooler day and I start thinking about Christmas gifts. Yesterday, I got started on a Christmas quilt. I'm using three fabrics in each square plus an applique of various scenes in the Christmas story. So far, I have five ready for the next step, borders. I decided to go with handsewing on the applique work so when I do the quilting in white thread, it won't be obscured by previous machine stitching. I'm currently thinking about making a star pattern for the quilting, one multi-bordered Christmas star in each square. I'm back to my usual palette of deep blues and vibrant colors. I veered off slightly to piece a horse quilt for a friend. Horses don't come in blues or purple. There may be some folks who indulge in strong holiday egg nog that may have seen horses (or elephants!) in such colors but I never have!
Actually needed a sweater for my morning walk before Mass this morning. Now, that was a great change of pace (pun sort of intended!) for me.
Great observation!
"It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power."
-- David Brin
-- David Brin
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Many uses of dry biscuit mix - Sloppy Cake!
The one thing I try to never run out of is a box of the dry biscuit mix. Even as a little girl, I remember seeing my mother go to it when she wanted to get a fast dinner on the table or even to make a quick treat. Just using the recipes on the side and back of the box will set you up for success for several days. It is good for breakfast pancakes, biscuit sandwich lunches, or a golden-crusted casserole. The reason it came to mind today? I was musing over what to cook for dinner and my son begged for spicy spaghetti which meant I only had to defrost a jar of my homemade sauce and boil pasta. I said he was making life too easy for me as it gave me an extra thirty minutes to sew this afternoon. He joked, "In that case, bake something for dessert."
Even as I type, there is a gooey coffee cake of sorts baking in the oven. Thought I'd share it with you so you can impress your family some evening unexpectedly. I call it "Sloppy Cake"! Why? Because I usually am in a hurry which I decide to bake this and make a mess.
Sloppy Cake
2 cups dry biscuit mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Enough milk to make a sort of thick batter
Mix the first four ingredient in a bowl. Gradually add the milk until you have a thick but pourable batter. Spread it in a greased 8x8-inch baking pan.
Topping
1 cup dry biscuit mix
1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Mix these ingredients together to form a lumpy, crumbly mixture.
Scatter the topping over the batter and bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 15-20 minutes until the batter rises up and turns golden. The topping will be swirled in and a bit gooey. Cool for a few minutes before serving. It is also very good cold the next day with a cup of coffee!
Even as I type, there is a gooey coffee cake of sorts baking in the oven. Thought I'd share it with you so you can impress your family some evening unexpectedly. I call it "Sloppy Cake"! Why? Because I usually am in a hurry which I decide to bake this and make a mess.
Sloppy Cake
2 cups dry biscuit mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Enough milk to make a sort of thick batter
Mix the first four ingredient in a bowl. Gradually add the milk until you have a thick but pourable batter. Spread it in a greased 8x8-inch baking pan.
Topping
1 cup dry biscuit mix
1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Mix these ingredients together to form a lumpy, crumbly mixture.
Scatter the topping over the batter and bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 15-20 minutes until the batter rises up and turns golden. The topping will be swirled in and a bit gooey. Cool for a few minutes before serving. It is also very good cold the next day with a cup of coffee!
Christian Hospitality . . .
Our pastor blessed us with a series of classes regarding our Faith over the Wednesdays in July. We were happy to learn he is, again, offering some more classes during the month of September. Our pastor said he loves to teach and you can feel this in the way he presents the subject matter and gets excited over the fact that he is able to share the subject matter.
Although he covered a multitude of important facts and lessons in the last set of classes, the one that sticks with me the most was Christian Hospitality. He said the Church has a lot of rules, traditions, etc. but hospitility trumps them all. You do not hurt and embarrass another person in the name of Faith but welcome them with your show of Faith and Christian Hospitality leads the way.
The subject got started when several of our class remarked about an usher who insists on shaking each and every hand of the people processing up to Communion. This is not a time to meet and greet as we should be focusing on our folded hands as they lead us to the altar. Much to everyone's surprise, Father said, "You have to return the greeting." He went on to say that he was working at teaching the ushers the correct way of doing their job but, as Christian people, we cannot hurt a kindly usher who doesn't know any better. I know of a few people in the group who will continue snubbing the gentlemen which shows they have missed the whole point Father was trying to make.
Over the years, I have had seemingly nice people suddenly decide my family wasn't worthy of the friendship. No matter how you drape yourself in lace chapel veils and kneel on the stone floor in front of the congregation, kindness and Christian Hospitality weren't there.
The older I get, the more interesting I find people's perception or reactions to matters of Faith. One person refused to let me know when the funeral would take place for a relative of hers. She later said she felt embarrassed as the relative wasn't a nice person. Talk about putting misplaced feelings ahead of the welfare of a newly deceased soul. Christian Hospitality can extend beyond the grave!
Anyway, just thought I'd share that concept with you. I'm not a reformed person but do catch myself more often and try to be kind before I walk away from a person. And, you never know what a person is going through and what a kind word might mean to them.
Father said his next class is on exorcism, Satan, evil, sin, and confession! Seems like a good follow up. Let's just hope he doesn't randomly pick five out of the class and see what he can 'scare' out of them with a blessing!
Although he covered a multitude of important facts and lessons in the last set of classes, the one that sticks with me the most was Christian Hospitality. He said the Church has a lot of rules, traditions, etc. but hospitility trumps them all. You do not hurt and embarrass another person in the name of Faith but welcome them with your show of Faith and Christian Hospitality leads the way.
The subject got started when several of our class remarked about an usher who insists on shaking each and every hand of the people processing up to Communion. This is not a time to meet and greet as we should be focusing on our folded hands as they lead us to the altar. Much to everyone's surprise, Father said, "You have to return the greeting." He went on to say that he was working at teaching the ushers the correct way of doing their job but, as Christian people, we cannot hurt a kindly usher who doesn't know any better. I know of a few people in the group who will continue snubbing the gentlemen which shows they have missed the whole point Father was trying to make.
Over the years, I have had seemingly nice people suddenly decide my family wasn't worthy of the friendship. No matter how you drape yourself in lace chapel veils and kneel on the stone floor in front of the congregation, kindness and Christian Hospitality weren't there.
The older I get, the more interesting I find people's perception or reactions to matters of Faith. One person refused to let me know when the funeral would take place for a relative of hers. She later said she felt embarrassed as the relative wasn't a nice person. Talk about putting misplaced feelings ahead of the welfare of a newly deceased soul. Christian Hospitality can extend beyond the grave!
Anyway, just thought I'd share that concept with you. I'm not a reformed person but do catch myself more often and try to be kind before I walk away from a person. And, you never know what a person is going through and what a kind word might mean to them.
Father said his next class is on exorcism, Satan, evil, sin, and confession! Seems like a good follow up. Let's just hope he doesn't randomly pick five out of the class and see what he can 'scare' out of them with a blessing!
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