Tea and Toast

 It's a beautiful morning.  Cool 80° now, but weather says it feels like 77°.  It was cooler this morning and I made it out in time to pick the Lemon Balm and Apple Mint.  The Lemon Balm needs to be moved...I think the sun is burning it.. :(  I got it in and washed it a couple of times.. It's on the counter drying now.  Had Lemon Balm tea yesterday and am having Mint tea this morning. 

I don't know what's gotten into me, but I've been on a baking spree for a couple of days.  I made Peasant Bread using the recipe from Alexandra's Kitchen.  Go have a look .. she has many wonderful recipes.  

I've used this recipe many times and the only thing I change is .. I add 1 tbsp. gluten for each cup of flour and 1 tbsp. dough conditioner for the entire recipe.  This makes it just like Wonder Bread..lol.. anyone remember that bread??!!  

The recipe itself is  HERE..

  In the process of spending all that energy,  I also made a Custard Pie.  I can't take credit for just WANTING to make that pie.. The fact is, I'd had that pie crust in the fridge until it was almost out of date.. use it or lose.. ya know..  And my sweet husband likes Custard so it was a win-win ..  

I used a different recipe than I usually do.  It's called Grandma's Egg Custard Pie.  I made it exactly like the recipe .. HERE .. but it calls for an egg white to coat the crust before you bake the pie.  The egg white is supposed to keep the crust from becoming soggy... Well, I didn't want to have an egg yolk sitting around doing nothing, so I skipped that part and just stuck the crust in the hot oven for about 7 or 8 minutes to harden it a bit and voila'.. no soggy crust.  

It actually turned out very well.  My hon says it's the "best pie I've ever had"!  You don't suppose he was buttering me up, do ya??  :) 

I'm a little on the tired side today.  I don't expect to get much done today except maybe knit on my scarf.. I'll show that in another post.. :)

Have a good day.. rest if you need to..Hugs.. 

Home Made Bread and Things

 I finally decided to get the food processor out that we bought last year and try to learn to use it.. :)  I found a recipe for whole wheat bread and decided to cut it in half since I didn't think the processor could hold the entire thing at once.  After about an hour watching YouTube videos of how to use it, I gave it a try... and felt entirely silly for putting it off so long.  :)  The results were wonderful..

Went out to check on our Bradford Pear tree in the front yard that was planted last year and stopped to see the pansies.  I don't know how we did it, but it seems that one of them was a different color from all the rest.  And I love it!  I'll wait until it has some more blooms and you can bet at least one or two will be picked to be pressed and kept!  This photo may also become a watercolor painting.  :)





We've had such beautiful weather for almost all winter that I have to pinch myself to remember that Spring is so near.  The temps will be in the 70s for the next couple of days and then possible rain.  :)  I didn't think I would ever welcome rain again after the flooding of last spring.  I'm still not sure about my peach tree in the back yard... Flooded and sat in standing water for a month... May not live but I'm not giving up yet.. :)

Have a wonderful day..

Home Made Dog Treats... Recipe

I love the flourless Peanut Butter Cookies.  So does my husband.  So do our poodles, Sam and Katie.  It has become almost impossible for us to have them without giving some to the dogs.  Soooo... I decided to come up with a doggy recipe that doesn't have so much sugar in it.

I use the 1 cup peanut butter, 1 egg but I halve the sugar and use only 1/2 cup.  To that I add 1/2 cup flour and enough chicken broth to make a soft cookie dough.  (Believe me.. they are not too worried if I get too much of one thing and not enough of the other..lol )

I first tried making a BIG FLAT SQUARE COOKIE-LIKE THING and cutting it into tiny squares.  It didn't work.  So I got out my cake decorating bags and just didn't put a tip of any kind on it.  It dots out the perfect size tiny cookies onto the cookie sheet.  I bake them at 350° for about 7 to 8 minutes.   The time will vary with individual ovens so just bake until golden brown.  After cooling, I keep them in a gallon size ziploc bag.  They love them.... and we get to eat our own cookies.  :)

Peasant Wheat Bread ... Free Recipe

Beginning in January last year I decided to start cooking.  (Yes, I was already cooking... but I mean "cooking" ).   I came across this recipe for No Knead Bread in some way I can't remember.  I LOVE IT!!  The recipe is at Alexandra Cooks where she has photos for every step.  Her recipe is for regular white bread but she also has hints, tips and other things.  The recipe is on THIS PAGE.

While you're over there, have a look around.  She has some really wonderful recipes!

It's been quite nice the least few days here in North Texas.  Temps in high 50s to mid 70s.  Prior to that we had a truly unseasonable arctic front come through that was seriously out of character for us.  My grandmother always said that "If winter comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb."  We can surely hope so.. :)

Have a wonderful day.

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.. :)

Freecycle Dolls and Potato Soup Recipe

Got an email from my Freecycle account the other day.  It showed some pictures of the cutest little ceramic dolls and I just had to have them.  It took a couple of days to find the person who had posted them because her posts were showing up in the the emails but not on the group site.. wonder what's up with that?   Anyway, I finally reached her and I did get the dolls.  Love them.. ♥

 I keep thinking this might be a Bye Lo Baby, but then I think not. She is a full body ceramic, anatomically correct baby girl.  There is a broken piece on the neck and the cording that holds her together is loose so I'm not sure I am educated enough in the "Doll Hospital" techniques to fix her by myself.  Guess we'll see how good my searches on the net will be as I try to find information..

I have seen these two faces before but can't remember what they are called.  These two have ceramic face and hands with full cloth bodies.  I expected them to be much dirtier than they are and they should not be too difficult to clean.

The dressing of these babies is what I am looking forward to (and yes... I do realize that I left that sentence ending in a preposition..lol )   I'm hoping I can find a baby doll clothing pattern with multi sizes since I really don't want to spend huge amounts of money on several patterns..  hmmm

My sweet DH asked me about Potato Soup last night.  He says that I used to make a potato soup that he could eat with his diabetes.  Since my mind deserted me about 5 years ago I have no idea what he is talking about, but I will definitely try to find something if he wants it.   Sooo, I got on my trusty internet steed and galloped off into the sunset on a search for the perfect potato soup.  When I found this recipe that I think will be perfect and in the bargain found myself laughing... well.. I just had to share it.

Take a look ..   The Pioneer Woman Cooks   Her writing reminds me so much of  Dear Oldest Son's writing that I was chuckling all the way thru... While you're there, click at the top of her page and see more of her delicious recipes.  Love this site... (By the way, I am only a fan of this page and not affiliated in any way. )

Messed up the Big Blue Quilt yesterday.  I guess I was just too tired to be working on it and now I have to rip out a big part of it.  But that's ok..

Fog has us blanketed in today and it looks like we're going to have cloudy and rain thru Thursday and a sunny weekend... Now is that not a change from the usual??.. lol 

Hope you have a good today..

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.  :)

Today in My Life.. Oct. 18, 2013

Today is:  Friday, October 18, 2013

I got up this morning:  around 5am.  I stopped taking my sleep meds about a week ago and found that I don't sleep past around 4 each morning.  But... I am not so tired and sleepy during the day.  If I need a nap I can doze right off to sleep and awake refreshed instead of the constant tired and sleepy and unable to doze that was happening with the meds.  Also.. another plus.. I find that the heavy heart beats and arrythmias that I was feeling every night when I went to bed don't happen when I don't take that med.  This is a good thing.. :)

I am hearing:  the ticking of the clock hanging in the hall.  It is the first clock that Jerry made.  I had just learned to paint roses so that was the motif it got.. :)

Out the window:   it is still dark.  I don't know why I am so surprised at this... it is, after all,  mid October.  Daylight Savings Time will end soon.. November 3... and then it will stay dark even longer in the mornings.

I am wearing:  my blue gown.  At 6:59 am it is almost time to dress, but not quite.. ;)  I have finished one cup of coffee and at the end of cup two I might consider putting on the blue jeans and t shirt for the day.. and then again... maybe not ...lol

I am thinking:  sometimes that a move to England might be a really wonderful thing.. ;)  I grow so weary of our government acting like the idiots they are... sigh   Anyway.. perhaps I am just tired of our president haranguing on ... if it's not "Bush's fault" then it's "the Republicans"... and the bad thing is that our media leads everyone to believe that he's right.. sigh  How sad for our country...

I am thankful:  for Mariella of Knitting Nonni whose knitting inspired me to learn to knit.  :)

From the kitchen:  in a "round about way".. :)   I spent a few hours with my friend Pat B.  of Confessions of a Fiber Enthusiast some time ago.  She prepared a light lunch for us that centered around her home made pimiento cheese ..  Wow..

It was great.  So, since my sweet DH loves pimiento cheese, I decided to try to make some myself.  Turned out really good!  I was surprised at how really easy it is to make..

Here is an "almost" recipe since I never measure anything.

Pimiento Cheese

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 jar chopped pimientos
2 to 3 tbsp. salad dressing ( I just taste it.. if it's enough I don't put any more in!)  :)

Mix well and place in covered bowl.  It tastes better if you let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours or so... gives the flavors enough time to meld.   The next batch that I make will have cream cheese added to give it a creamier texture.  Will let you know how that works out.. :)

Creatively:  speaking there isn't much getting done these days.  I find myself in a slump.  In all honesty though, the house has been a bit of an uproar.  New desks in the the office that didn't work got moved into the "guest" room that has become my work room.  And a lot of time has been spent with Katie keeping her from damaging her broken front legs... soooo Things are settling down now and yesterday I got out the fabric that I bought last week for a king size quilt for our bed.

I'm thinking about a Split Rail pattern and then I get to thinking about a Log Cabin with the red centers... can't really make up my mind.  Guess there really isn't any great thing about the choice here.. can always make another quilt using the other pattern!  :)

I am going: to the Health Dept. today to get a flu shot.  I went to Target Pharmacy last week and was told that they did not have the vaccine that was recommended for persons 65 and older.  It seems that there is a vaccine that protects against 4 kinds of flu and the one they had only protects against 3 kinds.  Now I wonder why that is?  It seems the 4 kinds of flu vaccine has a shortage.. :/

Thought for the day:  I found myself quite down in the dumps last week.  Suddenly I remembered something that my dad used to say.. "Sing!"... so I did.  It was really bad singing.. I just wasn't really in the mood, but the strangest thing happened.  Suddenly, immediately .. my mood changed.  I can't tell you how amazed I was!  You can bet that I won't forget that word of advice again.. :)

The weather is cooling down here in North Texas and what a relief it is.  We've had rain for several days now... a slow and invigorating rain.  Makes everything feel clean and refreshed.

Hope your days are good.. :)

Another Book

It seems that every time I try my hand at making a book I find another "thing" to do.. lol   Anyway, I'm happy with this one even if I had to finish it up in a bit of "around the world" fashion. (If you're from the South, you'll know what that means..lol )

First, I found a recipe for cooked white glue (actually called "book glue" ).  Turns out it's just the same flour and water paste we used as kids with a little sugar and vinegar added and then cooked until thickened.  Here's the recipe I used:

4 tbsp. white flour
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. vinegar
6 to 8 oz of water

Mix well in a small pan, then bring to a boil over medium heat.  Stir continually until the mixture reaches the thickness you desire.  I put mine into small jelly jars and stored in the refrigerator.  I haven't worked on how to do a hot water bath or something that will allow this to be stored on the shelf for a longer shelf life.

Here's how it ended up...

The pages are regular printer paper that I soaked in hot strong tea, allowed to dry and then ironed.

I have no idea how I will actually use this book.  The truth is that I just enjoy making them.  I don't want a professional looking book... I want my great grandchildren and great great grandchildren to recognize that this book was hand made by me.. :)

Well, it's now late August and coming quickly to Labor Day weekend.  Where does the time go?   This has been a relatively mild summer this year with more summer rain than we've had in the last few years.  Only one burn ban that I know of this year... and that's amazing.. :) 

Hoping your Tuesday is a good one.  Here in North Texas the sweet tea is made and the back porch is calling.. .

Whole Wheat Peasant Bread.. yum yum

I was wandering around the web the other day and found the coolest recipe for the easiest yeast bread I have ever seen.  The web site is a recipe blog called Alexandra's Kitchen.  The recipe is HERE for her wonderful Peasant Bread.  I used her recipe almost exactly to make the first batch..

Oh my... was it wonderful.  Of course I had to eat all of it myself.  While I love the look after cooking them in bowls, the slices were not the right size for my toaster, so I had to toast whatever I wanted in a skillet.. Can't say I minded that either.. ;)

Since my DH is diabetic,  I set about trying to make it using whole wheat flour.  I used 3 cups of whole wheat flour to 1 cup of all purpose flour.  Amazing.. not a problem at all.  It rose up so light and fluffy I was surprised.

I decided to use mini loaves so I could freeze what we were not going to eat right away.  It turns out that he can eat them when I slice the mini loaves into 10 slices.  The slices are just big enough for a lunch sandwich and make wonderful toast..

For the sandwiches, I sliced the loaves lengthwise... perfect....

The weather is just on the coolish side this morning with lots of fog and mist.  It's one of those days you read about in your favorite English novel.. ;) 

Hope all is well with you and yours.. ;)
Hugs...

Pinky Has A Brain...Free Recipe for Home Made Starch

I'm trying to finish up all the projects and get everything packed up for the Show tomorrow.  In the process of gathering up the doilies I found that some needed some quick work.  I tried the sugar syrup thing a few days ago and Boy! What. A. Mess. I. Made!  Will try that again when I have more time..;o)

I remember going with my grandmother to the laundromat when I was a little girl and the lady there would ask her if she needed starch...which of course she always did..  That lady would mix up some mystery concoction on the stove at the back of the laundry..(wringer washers..;o)  .. and voila'.. starch. 

Today I thought about that and did a quick google search... Here is what I found..  A wonderful, easy recipe for home made starch.. Can be made a quickly as boiling water.  Pinkyhasabrain.com  ... wonderful site for all the old home made recipes used for cleaning..and etc..

Have a great day!

Vegetable Stand

We found a Vegetable Stand here in town and decided to go see what was up with it.  Drove across town and found packing crates strung around fruits and veggies.  The fruits and veggies had been freighted in just like any of the stores.  But they did have some peaches that looked fair, some overripe strawberries and some .. ta da...banana peppers!  I seldom find banana peppers in our stores.

I looked online for recipes, but they all called for sugar or for making large batches of pickled peppers.  So, I made my own recipe.  I used:  1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar, 1tsp salt, 2 tsp pickling spice, and 1 clove garlic.  In a couple of weeks we'll see if I like them or not.  ;o)

 

 The peaches are in a freezer bag and freezing.  The strawberries were not good enough to eat fresh, so they were cooked down in a medium syrup for about 30 minutes then poured through a sieve.  The strawberries have been wonderful on toast and the syrup is waiting for me to find something to put it on..lol  But I did taste it with a spoon and it is seriously wonderful ...

Now... with all that being said.. my SDH and I have begun using Atkins Shakes and have seriously started dieting.  So... ;o( ... no more strawberry syrup...

Anyway, this is late July and August is just around the corner.  Let me tell you the joys of Iced Coffee!... ;o)

Have a wonderful day...

Very Low Carb Muffins

I'm always on the look out for recipes that I can use for my sweet DH since he is diabetic and is very careful what he eats.  These muffins are perfect!  Easy to put together, bakes quickly... and here's the recipe.. ;o)

 Low Carb Muffins

Heat oven to 350 °F

Butter or spray with baking spray a 6 cup muffin  pan

Dry ingredients:

3/4 cups almond meal  (9 net carbs)
1 ½  tsp. baking powder (3 carbs)
1 ½  Tbsp. cinnamon (1.7 net carbs)
½ tsp. salt ( 0 )

The recipe I found calls for 3 packets of Splenda.  My DH has an allergy to all the artificial sweeteners, so he requested that I leave out all the sweeteners.  You may not have this problem.

Other ingredients:

3 eggs, beaten  ( 0 )
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil ( 0 )
1 dash pure vanilla extract  ( 0 )
1 cup chopped nuts .. I use either pecans or walnuts  ( 4.65 net carbs)

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.  Mix in beaten eggs, oil, and vanilla well.  Add the nuts and stir until blended. Pour batter into each muffin cup, dividing evenly.   Bake at 350° for 25 minutes until golden brown.  ( NOTE:  Not all ovens are the same.  My oven bakes them in 10 to 12 minutes.. Don't ask me why!   So I would suggest keeping an eye on them and when the look a little dry on top, test them with a knife to see if it comes out clean and if it does, take them out. )  I seldom let them cool more than a minute or two.  I use Pam Baking Spray or Baker's Joy on my pan and they just pop out.  I cool them on a paper plate.  Then I store them in a large ziploc.. but they don't last long.. The midnight strolls of my sweet DH see to that.. ;o)

They are quite good served with whipped cream.  We sometimes put them in a bowl and pour Silk Vanilla Soy milk over them.  Wonderful!

When I add the carbs and divide them by 6 ... I come up with a net carb of 3.06 carbs per muffin.
Even with the addition of 2 Tbsp. of granulated sugar ( 33.06 carb)... after dividing it all out into 6 muffins there will still only be 6 carb in each muffin.  I think I will make a batch using the sugar for me.. ;o)

My husband loves them.  They fill a big hole in snack department.. ;o)

Looks like we're going to have more rain this afternoon and while I am totally tired of all the dreary day blues that I get when there is no sun for a while... we really need the rain.  So.. I will turn on every light in the house and enjoy it.. ;o)

Have a great day..

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)

Crystalized Ginger... Easy Almost Tutorial

I use ginger root in my tea sometimes, but often have lots of that tuber left over to throw away after it shrivels up into nothing.  Today I decided that there was no way I could drink enough tea to use up what I had on the cabinet, so I searched the net and found recipes to crystallize it.  Had no idea it would be so easy. 

First... peel or scrape the ginger. Rinse it off and slice it as thinly as you can.

Put it in a small saucepan and just cover with water.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer and simmer the ginger for 30 minutes.  It should be tender and getting translucent when this step is done.




My sweet DH came in about now and I forgot to take pictures of the next steps. (Did I tell you to open all the windows and turn on all the fans in the house?  I didn't!  Well, perhaps you should.  ;)   I actually like the smell, but some people don't, so better safe than sorry.)

When the 30 minute simmer is done, pour off the water.  Measure the amount of cooked ginger using a food scale or  a dry measuring cup.  Place back in the pan and then add an equal amount of sugar and about a teaspoon of water.  Bring to a boil once again and it will take another 20 minutes or so for the syrup to boil down.  When it reaches the stage that it begins to look like the bubbles that come up when making candy, be sure to stir it constantly until it is almost dry. 

While the ginger is cooking, take a paper plate or something and put about a cup of sugar in it.  Gently spread it around a little.

After the ginger has cooked almost dry, pour it onto the bed of sugar.  Using a fork, spread it around quickly to cover each slice of the ginger.  Spread it out on a paper towel and let it cool and dry out completely.

After the ginger cools and dries, it can be stored in a sealed jar for several months.  The left over sugar has now become "ginger sugar" and can be used in your tea or in baking. 

I love this and will definitely not be without it from now on.  As I was researching ginger, I found that chewing this is good for nausea...among LOTS of other things.

BTW... if you were one of those kids who loved Red Hots  when you were a kid, you'll love this.  Tastes wonderful, but as you go along eating it suddenly it becomes hot and then hotter.  Never hot like a jalapeno tho.. just more like the Red Hot candies..

This was fun... If you try it, I hope you will let me know how your came out.

Have a wonderful day.. ;o)

Nachos ala Pace

We have found a way to make nachos that are low enough in carbs that DH can have them...and love them. We searched all the chips on the store aisles and finally found that Fritos Small White Corn Chips (round) have about 18 carbs in 24 chips...Kroger brand has about 19 in 24 chips. We use either one. And you would be amazed at how many 24 chips that turns out to be...

This is what I do...

Brown 1 to 2 lbs. hamburger in large skillet..

Drain and return to skillet over medium heat. Add Picante sauce (I use Pace mild...NAYY...but any you choose will work.) I usually add about 1/4 of the large jar and continue to cook a bit to let the flavors work into the hamburger...but not long enough to be completely dry.

While the hamburger is browning, I have placed the chips on the plates, chopped some tomatoes and green onions. I usually buy the packages of shredded mild cheddar cheese, but if I am out of that this is when I shred it.

I personally like to put some of the shredded cheese on my chips before I add the hamburger mixture so it can melt when the hot hamburger mix is added...this is a personal thing.

When the hamburger mix is cooked long enough to re-heat and blend the flavors, place by spoonfuls onto chips. Top with onions, tomatoes and shredded cheese. I like to add more picante sauce...DH does not... This is very good with guacamole and sour cream on the side...

Yumm..Yummm

Weigh In Day

Today is weigh in day.. DH and I decided that we would weigh in on Friday so here it is... Last Friday was 197 on our scales..would much prefer to use Dr. Truly's scales ;) ...but anyway... today was 193. I am finding it much easier this time than I thought to stay on the diet...what's not to love about it...

This is a ham salad that I made with ham, onions, boiled eggs, cheese, fresh mushrooms and a mix of Miracle Whip and real mayonnaise and served on crisp leaf lettuce with one small Roma tomato...yum yum. If I need something crisp & crunchy to go with the salad, I use pork rinds.

The hardest thing I have found is drinking my coffee with no sugar. But after a couple of weeks, I'm finding that it isn't half bad with real cream. Drinking tea without sugar hasn't ever been much of a problem, however I have always preferred to have it sweetened. And I decided that I wouldn't try to find an artificially sweetened drink this time... I just use bottled water and have done fine.

I will try to post weigh in every Friday...

Grandma's Plain Cake

I suppose I overdid it again last year during the holidays. I had all kinds of brownie and cookie mixes left over... cans of cake icing...etc. So yesterday I decided to see if I could remember how Grandma showed me to make a quick cake. I'm not sure this is it exactly, but it's good anyway..grin And it also helped get rid of that can of lemon icing I've had in the cupboard...

This is what I did:

"Grandma's" Cake

2 eggs

1 stick softened butter

1 cup sugar

Beat these together in large mixing bowl. Then add

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Add in alternating small batches

2 cups self rising flour

1 1/2 cups milk

Beat briskly for about 2 minutes. I did this all by hand.. You can also use a mixer, which would probably give a fluffier cake. Pour into greased and floured cake pans and bake at 350 degree for about 30 minutes or so.. or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 min., loosen sides and place on rack to cool. Ice with whatever icing you would like..

Mom's Icing

1 lb. powdered sugar

1/2 stick of butter or margarine

cold coffee

Put powdered sugar in medium size bowl with softened butter. Mix well. Use the cold coffee to soften the mix to spreading consistency. Especially good on spice cake.

Lotion Soap....mmmm good!

I get so tired of dry hands and dry skin in the winter. Not long ago we were in a doctor's office or hospital or somewhere... anyway, after washing my hands they felt like I had just put lotion on my hands. So today I decided to see if I couldn't come up with something like that.

Since we have any number of lotions around the house (trying to find one that will work..sigh), I picked up the soap for the dispenser and some lotion we bought to try and voila'...

I filled the dispenser about 3/4 full with the soap and then finished filling it with the lotion. I stirred them together, replaced the dispenser top and then shook it really well to continue to mix the two. Felt so good when I did the experimental first try..grin It still has plenty of suds and washes the hands without leaving them feeling like sandpaper.

I don't think this will totally replace using lotion on my hands, but it will keep them from drying out completely with every wash of the hands.