It's Saturday!

Have my youngest son here this weekend.  Even makes the coffee taste better.. if that's possible.. lol We're going to totally re-do the front flowerbed.  It's been quite a mess for the entire year and the fact is ... I'm tired of it!!!  Haven't the faintest idea what it will turn out to be, but it certainly can't be any worse than it is.. 

I don't know if I've mentioned my rash...  I've had it since February of 2014 and it seems quite content to set up housekeeping and stay until it retires.  The only reason I'm mentioning it is that I've totally set aside all the wool and fiber things to see if I can find the culprit that is causing it.  So.. I have taken up watercolors.  

I realize that I will never take the place of Picasso or Michelangelo...lol... but I do enjoy the process. So for the time being this will by my passion.  Not that I won't be doing some knitting or crochet or sewing...  I just won't handle the raw wool for a while.  (She says that and somewhere deep inside a voice is snorking... )  Well, I'll try to stay away from the raw wool... :)  

I had another heart cath a couple of weeks ago... results wonderful.  Dr. says will not have to have another one for years..  Now to work on the bradycardia.. slow heart rate.  I think this definitely is caused by the meds I take for familial tremor but I've tried 2 other meds and they didn't work so this is my last option... I think.  We'll see.. :)

Every year I say the same thing... can't believe how the year has passed so quickly.. but... Here we are at nearly Halloween and the holiday season is upon us once again.  All the heat from the summer will be gone and we'll be complaining about the cold...lol   Personally, I think we just like to complain.  :) 

I suppose I should get busy if I plan on accomplishing anything, so I will just say ... I hope everyone has a wonderful day.  I know I will.. since every day spent with my children is a day worth it's weight in gold.  

Gluten Free Buckwheat Waffles

My sweet DH has diabetes.  In an effort to find something he would enjoy for breakfast and could eat without his sugar skyrocketing, I tried buckwheat.  What a hit!  He loves them. 

Today was a buckwheat waffles day.  I found the recipe at Cooks.com ... here .  I made a few changes to the recipe.. well, not really changes.  I just added some stuff.  I always add 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon allspice and 1 cup chopped pecans.  Sometimes I add 1/2 cup finely chopped apple.  He can eat these and not raise his blood sugar.. sugar free syrup is a must.. :)

The recipe calls for an overnight wait to let the buckwheat thicken.  This is always best.  Today was a hurry up day, so no waiting.  It's a good thing this makes a lot of batter...  now I can let it set for a couple of hours and then make up what is left into waffles for the freezer.  Love those days when no cooking is necessary for breakfast.. sigh  My sweet DH just grabs some out of the freezer and pops them into the toaster.  Great!

The sun is shining out there today.  Guess this may be the day that I have to go clean the mess off the back porch.  I've been putting it off claiming the heat was too bad... then the wind was too bad.. then I was too tired... hmmm  Are we seeing a pattern here?  lol

Have a wonderful day... Hug anyone who will let you and enjoy that sweet warm feeling.. :)

Today in My Life.. October 25, 2013 (Making Brown Sugar tute)

Today is:  Friday, October 25, 2013

I got up this morning:  with thoughts of the Big Blue Quilt clanging around in my head.  I still haven't decided on an edging color or a binding fabric. Sam was walking all over my feet and had decided he didn't want to wait any longer to get up.. :)  Baby Girl, (this would be Katie)  on the other hand, never wants to get up.  Her whole idea of a great day would be for Sweet DH to stay in bed all day with her right beside him.. :)

I am hearing:  not much... just the whirring of his computer and the ringing in my ears.. :(  I seem to be the only person in world awake this morning.

Out the window:  I see only the reflections of life as we know it in this room.  :)  The darkness turns the window into a mirror.  I can only imagine how it was before the invention of the mirror... everyone standing around waiting for darkness so they could fix their hair.. hahaha  (not really)

I will be wearing:   hmmm ... Today is a stay at  home day (I think), so the choice of the clothes I will wear breaks down to jersey pants and polyester top.. of some form or fashion.

I am thinking: that it's almost Halloween and another year has been slipping by right before our eyes.
I will be getting ready to go to Dear Daughter's tomorrow see our newest great grandson Nathan.  I cannot wait!

I am thankful: for the feel of my DH's hand as he reaches across the bed to touch me in the middle of the night... the smell of tiny apple turnovers cooking... the okra plant that fell over and still decided to produce a few okra... the lovely green of the spearmint plants that are slowly taking over the back flowerbed... my crocs that have the nubs that drive me crazy digging into the bottom of my feet...and more. 

From the kitchen:  comes a test to see how much molasses it takes to make light or dark brown sugar.  I did this yesterday when I realized that I didn't have any brown sugar to make the Tiny Apple Turnovers.  This first photo shows:

1 cup of sugar placed in my small nut chopper
1 tbsp. molasses added
Pulsed for about 20 seconds. 










I could see that this would not be dark enough for the brown sugar I wanted. 









So I added another tablespoon of molasses.  This made a much softer brown sugar and I found that I had to use my spatula to wipe down the walls of the nut grinder bowl and stir the sugar around
between pulses to get a good mix of the molasses and sugar.  The additional pulsing and wiping down took another minute or so.  But I did wind up with just the brown sugar I needed.   And now I know how much of each to add..no more guessing!


Creatively:  I have been hunting for the business sized envelope that I have stashed "somewhere" containing the chamois that I made my leather thimble from.. arghhhh  I know where it is.. the same place as the crazy quilt wall hanging that I have been looking for for the past 3 or 4 months.. I hate that.

Thought for the day:  I once told my mother how down in the dumps I was.. my house was just not pretty anymore.. I hated housework... I didn't want to get up and clean it.. blah blah.. I'm sure we've all been there.  She said.. "Go to town. Buy some little something. A new dishtowel.  A tiny picture to hang in the kitchen or hallway.  New wooden spoons.  New pillow cases.  Go home and use it immediately.  You'll be surprised what a lift that one little thing will bring."  I know she didn't mean that I had to "buy" to make me happy.  She was just saying that a new "something" whether made, gifted to me, found or bought would bring a lift to the job of "same old, same old" at hand.  And she was right.. :)

Have a good Friday and on into the weekend.  :)

Cooking... hmmm Recipe for diabetic "Almost Mince"

My sweet DH and I have decided for health reasons to change our diet to eliminate as much meat and sugar as possible.  Counting carbs (diabetes) and also counting cholesterol and fats (heart) means having limited choices.  Yesterday I found that I had a couple of apples that I needed to either eat or cook.. I also had a package of   3½ inch squares of phyllo dough.  So.... here is what I did..  I call it "Meatless Almost Mince"....

2 medium Delicious apples
1 cup chopped pecan/walnut mix
2 tsp. cinnamon (I did this to taste... )
1 tsp. cloves  (I did this to taste..)
1/2 tsp. nutmeg  (I did this to taste .. also.. ;o)
4... 1grain Necta Sweet saccharin tablets 
1/2 cup water
36... 3 1/2  inch phyllo dough squares

I cut the apples (unpeeled)  in quarters and cut them into about 1/2 pieces.  These I placed into my tiny little electric chopper  and chopped until about the size of large grains of rice.  I also chopped 1/2 cup of pecans and then 1/2 cup of walnuts.  I crushed the Necta Sweet tablets between 2 spoons. All of these I placed into a large stainless bowl.  While mixing everything, I added the spices.. a little at a time and tasting as I went to see if I needed to add more. 

I placed the finished mixture into a medium size pan, added 1/2 cup of water and simmered over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  When it was finished cooking, I set it aside for a bit to cool slightly and laid out single squares of phyllo dough on a plastic cutting board.  I moistened all edges of the phyllo square, placed a really heaping teaspoon of mixture in the center and then folded the phyllo over the mixture into a triangle.  I used a fork to press and seal the edges.

I placed the triangles in a Baker's Joy sprayed baking sheet and baked at 350° oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.  ( I could only use one piece of phyllo because of the carbs.  If you don't have that worry, you can use 1/2 cup sugar instead of the NutraSweet, add butter to the mixture and use 2 phyllo sheets that have then brushed with margarine to make a more golden, flaky crust.)

Now... what we found.  He could not eat the triangles because of the carbs in the phyllo.  But... he can eat 3/4 cup of the apple/walnut mix as a side dish for chicken, turkey, fish or just plain Eggbeaters and toast!  (I think next time I will add some Rum or Brandy to the mix and a little lemon juice.  That will give it a more Mincemeat flavor than it already has!  And I LOVE mincemeat! )

Today is Easter and I am wishing for all of you a really lovely day...whether you can be with family or not.  ;o)