Happy Halloween 2009

Everything is ready for the little ghouls tomorrow night.  Brian and Nicky are looking forward to tomorrow.  Tom decorated the outside and I cleaned today and did some more decorating for Halloween.  Their costumes are ready and so are they.  Tom bought them some flashlights and a couple of little wind up trinkets.

Now they are saying that candy that is given out can spread the H1N1.  It comes to a point that one doesn’t know what to do.  Do we all stay home and cower in the house or do we go on with our lives.  It is all very confusing.

I forgot to mention that Carrie is doing well.  She isn’t having any more labor pains.  And, in case she does, she has some medication to stop the contractions.  Boy, it can get scary when the baby wants to come too early.  I am sorry that I didn’t mention it.  I know that a few of you have asked about her.

Earlier this evening, Brian tried to do a balancing act around the edge of my above ground planter, fell off and hurt his arm.  He complained a little this evening of it hurting him.  It is swollen or anything.  If he still complains tomorrow and we see any changes then we will call his doctor.  Geesh!

 

Food Meme

Connie, over at Connie’s Sandstone Haven and CC, recommended to me a delightful blog- Mermaid’s Treasures.  There she has many recipes and ideas.  Also, on her blog, she has a food meme that I was anxious to do.

Food Meme

1. What’s your #1 comfort food?
Pasta

2. If you were on a deserted island, what one food would you want to have with you?
Potato Chips. I am addicted to the things.  Yet, I haven’t eaten on in over a year.  I have a tendency to eat a whole large bag in one sitting.

3. What is/are your signature dishes? (What dishes are you ‘known’ for?)
Spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna.

4. It’s Friday night, you don’t know what to cook. You opt for…
Haddock. Fried or baked stuffed.

5. What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to food?
Bread.

6. What food can you absolutely not eat?
Anchovies

7. You need a drink. You grab a….
water or coffee.
Both. I only drink water, coffee or diet coke.

8. What’s the most decadent dish you’ve had?
Pollo alla Firènze (Florence style chicken)

9. What’s your favorite type of food?
Italian

10. Favorite dish?
A seafood platter with fried clams, fried scallops, fried haddock and fried shrimp.

11. If your partner could take you to any restaurant you wanted, which one would it be?
The Dinner Horn in my hometown of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I would get the seafood platter and a couple of Ward 8’s

12. Are you a soup or salad person?
Soup.  I love all kinds of soups.

13. Buffet, take-out or sit-down restaurant?
Sit-down restaurant.  It would be nice to have some one wait on me for a change.  We rarely go out to eat.

14. What’s the most impressive dinner you’ve ever made?
Umm! I’ve made a few. I can’t think right now.

15. Do you consider yourself a good cook?
At times.

16. Do you know what vichyssoise is?
Yes

17. Who’s your favorite TV cook?
I like Ina Garten, Alton Brown, Giada De Laurentiis and of course Julia Child. Julia is who most of us remember as our first experience with cooking after our mothers and grandmothers.

18. Can you name at least three TV cooking personalities?
Yes. Ina Garten, The Galloping Gourmet, Julia Child. There are so many more. Can anyone else remember the Galloping Gourmet?

19. Homemade or homemade from a box?
Homemade.

20. Name 3 or more other foodies you are going to tag. Anyone can feel free to tag themselves for this!
If I were going to tag three they would be Connie…all of my blog buddies.

Life’s Curves And Blessings

Carrie had to go the hospital yesterday. She went into labor at five in the morning. She is 33½ weeks pregnant.  The hospital was able to stop the contractions after four hours and them sent here home.  She is on Terbutaline.  She is on bed rest  for the next 2 weeks until she is at least I 36 weeks along.

We are keeping Nicky for the two weeks that Carrie is on bed rest.  This morning, after we saw Brian off on the bus, Nicky drew some pictures for most of the day on big sheets of paper that I have.  He drew Sponge Bob’s pineapple house, Mr. Krabbs, Patrick and Plankton.  He also scribbled out two pools-one for me and him. He wanted me to write Grammy and Nicky over the pools. Of course his pool was bigger. *smile*

I pray that everything is going to be all right for Carrie and the baby.

Brian got his report card and made the honor roll.

Go, Brian! We are so proud of you.

Last  Thursday I made half of a recipe of Butter Cupcakes. The full recipe calls for five eggs. Not being able to half five eggs, I just used two extra-large eggs. They came out delicious. These cupcakes have a hint of almond flavor. I decorated them keeping Halloween in mind. I topped them off with a marshmallow creme frosting

I find that my presence is getting less and less here on my blog. I have been over on Face Book. My sister and Carrie are on Face Book and I go there often to interact with them. I do miss my blog and feel like I have neglected an old friend. Also, on the other hand, I haven’t had much to write about.

I am still working on the baby’s afghan for my soon to be granddaughter. I am doing a little on it each day.

Go, Tom Go!

It is the end of the long weekend.  These past three days were wonderful in that we didn’t have to get up in the wee hours of the morning and Tom did many of the choirs that needed to get done.

Saturday we cleaned the garage and yesterday Tom finished-off the garage by vacuuming and putting down new door mats and then he finished off the laundry.  Today, Tom cleaned the garage refrigerator (inside and out)  and used bleach and water to clean the seals. He took all the garbage cans outside and washed them then and that evening he cooked burgers on the grill and then did the dishes.  And what did I do while Tom was toiling away?

I made a Halloween Digital Quick Page/Scrap Page.  I am sharing it and if you want it you can click onto it and save it to your hard drive for your personal use.  The original is 705 x 913 pixels. I draw all the graphic using my computer mouse and my Paint Shop Pro.

I did a little crocheting on the baby blanket that I am making for my new granddaughter-to-be. Carrie doesn’t know about it yet. But she will as soon as she reads this.

Hi, Carrie.

I very much appreciate all that Tom did around here these past few day.

Thank you, Tom.

Whoopie Pies

In my previous post, I said that I was going to bring down the ol’ jar of fluff and get to cooking.  This afternoon that is just what I did.  I made Whoopie Pies.

The recipe says to drop by tablespoon onto cookie sheets. I used about two tablespoons for each pie and it was just the right size. One of my scoops that I use for cookie dough holds two tablespoon. I am not sure of the size but here is a comparison.

The middle scoop, in the photo on the left, is the size I used.

I stacked them on a cake pedestal just to take a photo, but I don’t suggest to keep them stacked as they have a tendency to stick together. I used waxed paper to separate them and then stored them in a closed container in the refrigerator.

Keep a napkin handy, as they will stick right to your fingers.

Fluffernutter

Nicky spent the weekend with us.  Friday, after Tom and I took him shopping, we gave him a peanut butter and fluff sandwich aka A Fluffernutter sandwich.  As you can see, he enjoyed his fluffernutter.

It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that we were able to buy marshmallow fluff here. It was something we New Englanders remember fondly.

Marshmallow Fluff also makes ‘wicked good’ Whoopie Pies-another New England childhood memory.

I also remember my father making  my favorite fudge-Peanut Butter Fudge-using marshmallow fluff. Even when I got older and married, I used to ask him to whip up a batch.  I was never a good fudge maker.  But my sister is good at making fudge.  I am going to try to make a batch of fudge and see if I can do it.  I have a microwave recipe, but it is not as good as the kind made on the stove.

This post is a walk down memory lane for me.   Also, it has inspired me to bring down the ol’ jar of fluff and get to cooking…er…maybe not.  :)

Wheat Skeets

Yesterday I made honey wheat hamburger buns. My idea was to make meat loaf burgers on homemade buns.

The dough on the left and the final product on the right.

They look pretty good in the picture but they tasted terrible and were too heavy and dense. While the dough was rising I wasn’t getting the yeasty dough smell…if you know what I mean. While they were baking I still wasn’t getting that smell of fresh bread baking.

When I took them out of the oven I noted how heavy they were. After I cooled them down, I tasted a smaller one that I made (I always make a sampler) and it had a metallic/chemical taste and smell to it.

I don’t know if it was the flour or the honey. I know that the flour isn’t expired. I keep wheat flour in the freezer in a container as it will go rancid quickly if not.

I just don’t know what went wrong.

“Hi, Tom?”

“On your way home from work can you stop and pick up some hamburger buns?”