We're Back.

Hi Everyone,
Just a quick note to say that we're home from our Austrian adventure, and it was a great trip. Our luggage has not yet made it home, but we're optimistic. I have an airplane cold, but other than that, everything is good, and nothing seems to have exploded while we were away.
Amanda

Prayers for Sale

Just finished a book I really enjoyed reading; Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas. Set during the depression, the main character is spry 86 year old women who lives in a small mining town high in the Rocky Mountains. As she makes friends with a newcomer to town we learn about her life during the Civil War and early years living in this isolated mining town. Guess what? She quilts all the time. It was a fun read.

Daughter of a Home Ec Major

Yesterday in Foods Class Rachel was playing a game where kitchen tools had to be listed. Rachel needed a kitchen tool that started with a "M". With no hesitation, Rachel said "Microplane". The teacher said there was no such thing...  Hum?


I asked Rachel if she wanted to take my small microplane to school to show the teacher but, we were afraid since it is so sharp it might be considered a weapon. I guess one could cause injury to another by finely grating them to death. 


The fact the teacher can't identify a microplane kind of "grates" on me. Or we could say it makes me "rasp" in surprise. ( I am full of puns tonight!)

What we did today...

I washed doilies; mostly made by my Great-Aunt Mamie and my Grandmother Selma and two from my neighbor Judy. (well I think from Judy, might be some from my God-Mother Helen. I really need to mark them somehow). I learned from my Great Aunt Irene if you let they dry flat they are easier to iron or you may not need to iron at all..

Then we also watched the butterflies. For several days now our yard has resembled the butterfly screen saver from our old computer. Mostly monarch and viceroy but also a few yellow swallowtails.

I counted 9 monarchs and two bumble bees.

Adventures with Boston Creme Pie

Well, I finally finished making the recipe and completed the review form. It took 5 hours start to finish but some of that was chilling time. You see I am " Friend of 303" Official Reviewer of Cooks Illustrated Recipes before they hit the show or the press.

Some of the recipes just don't interest me. I am not fond of tough cuts of meat or lima beans and sometimes the ingredients are not available in FDL but a couple weeks ago the recipe emailed to me was Boston Cream Pie. I have not tasted Boston Cream Pie for years and years. So today I filled my grocery cart with things I don't often buy: cake flour, extra large eggs, whole milk, half-and-half and whipping cream. The rules state I can not substitute ingredients or switch procedures. 

The Pastry Cream was made first. It was yummy. I mean how could it not be yummy? Six egg yolks, 2 cups half and half, 1/4 cup butter, vanilla extract. I have not had to temper eggs for many years. It may motivate me to make more puddings from scratch. The last time I made cream puffs was in Alliance but some winter day I might just whip some up just so I could put pastry cream into them. ( Jeff said, while scraping out the bowl with a rubber spatula that it was "pretty good". Not one drop was left in the bowl! Yeah it is more than pretty good. )

The sponge cakes were basically a hot milk sponge. Not too tough. But, I had to sift the dry ingredients twice which was a problem as the stainer I use for sifting was already dirty with pastry cream. (I was instructed to run the Pastry Cream through a fine mesh strainer just in case I didn't get my eggs tempered correctly and the mixture contained scrambled eggs.) So I had to wash and dry the strainer right in the middle of cake mixing.  If I make this again, I need to invest in a 2nd strainer. Also annoying was removing the cakes egg mixture from my mixer bowl to a large diameter bowl so I could gently sift the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. I have so many dirty bowls sitting around. But, it worked my cake did not loose volume. 

Lastly I made up a bittersweet chocolate glaze with heavy cream, corn syrup and bittersweet chocolate. It is a tat too dark for me but OK if eaten with a cup of coffee.

Assembly of the Creme Pie was kind of a problem. I chilled the pastry cream for 3 hours but it still didn't hold up the 2nd cake layer very well so cream oozed out between the layers. It was still quite tasty though.

I think there was also a "test" in the recipe. I think I passed since I found it. Listed as an ingredient of the cake is 1 1/2 t. of vanilla extract, yet nowhere on the directions does it say to add any vanilla to the cake batter. I hope I win a prize. Maybe some maple syrup from Christopher Kimball's maple trees. Or maybe a visit to his farm in Vermont..... I would settle for a support staff. It has been some time since making one item has taken so long and dirtied so many dishes in my house. Time to wash dishes.

Some shots of the yard

Lots of rain earlier in the summer makes for a very green yard.







Don't forget.... click on the photo to view larger or stop the autoplay.

Jeff's Vacation

Jeff officially goes back to work tomorrow, Monday. I have enjoyed his puttering the last two weeks.  He fixed two sink facet washers, trimmed some trees, mowed the lawn several times and probably many other things I have not noticed yet.

Last Tuesday night, in less than an hour we planned a trip to Chicago and left Wednesday morning via the Milwaukee Amtrak.  We found the short train ride very comfortable and had no problems at all getting around on the city buses. I feel the 3-day bus pass for $14 was a great bargain.  

So we shopped, ate somewhere where the waiters polished the silverware and glasses when not busy, saw Shrek The Musical, shopped, went to the Shedd, enjoyed dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, shopped, ate lunch at the top of the Hancock building and came home. Did I mention it was really, really hot? We probably would have gone to the Science and Industry too but it was just so hot we enjoyed staying close to the air conditioned hotel and mall.

Donkey was very funny!

One of my highlights was Teavana tea store. A small store with many cute tea pots and delicious samples. Even the ice tea sample was wonderful. I asked about a Seattle Market Spice and they were ready and willing to blend one up for me with a citrus, spice and Golden Monkey black teas. The smallest amount they could sell was 2 ounces. Priced per two ounces the black tea was $16.50, the citrus and spice teas were each $8.50. So had I given the OK to "blend it up" my 6 ounces of tea, that's only 1/3 pound, would have been $33.50 plus $8.00 more as I would have needed to buy a tin to put it in. It was a VERY NICE TEA ..... a tea for the nobility -- Definitely out of my league. I am content with Twinings and Stash. ( but I will say again, the samples were really tasty)

Another Weekend Doings

This weekend I have canned 15 pints of green beans and 7 more quarts of dill pickles. That makes 21 total quarts of dill pickles.
Clothes are on the line.
We went to the Home Depot yesterday and picked up all of the stuff for the bathroom closet. Joe has been working on that. We will eventually have 2 closets in the bathroom, they will be open between them, but with separate doors.
My plan is bead board to the ceiling in the bathroom on all walls, just a nice creamy white color. I think it will be lovely in the end.
I think folks should get all of this stuff done when they are 30, it would be much easier on the body. However, canning never ends.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Weekend Doings

We went to the Free Range Film Festival on Saturday, right here in a barn in Wrenshall. I think the whole thing is so cool.
They show everything from 3 minute movies up to an 83 minute feature film. This year they also had a band playing during breaks. Had a great time.

On Sunday we went to Menards and Home Depot to figure out what we need to redo the bathroom. We are putting in another closet, where the old chimney was, so will have 2 closets in the bathroom. Need to build the closet, tile the floor, put up walls, shelves, doors, etc. Lots of work.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

P.S. Thanks Darleen, for the hot dog photo. I love that shot

Emily on Trekkers Trip

Emily was asked to help chaperone the 10th grade Trekkers trip to Colorado. Several of her friends are also chaperones and she knew the Trekker teens, so she didn't need to be asked twice if she wanted to go. She left Maine yesterday.


If you want to follow her Itinerary click HERE.   Mesa Verde is one of my favorite places.  Sometimes the group has internet access and a Trip Log is written which often includes pictures. You can click HERE to see if a log has been started.


In parting she said she hoped they didn't get in a lot of rain as her rain suit pants have a leak!