I am just popping in to say a quick hello. This last week and a half has been very crazy and VERY busy. Last week I was gone on our annual Christmas project week with my sister-in-law. But at the end of the week we had a Christmas craft fair to attend, so hence we didn't quite get all our Christmas projects done as we were preparing for the craft fair. I wasn't nearly as prepared for our annual week as I should have been. So I still have a lot to do before Christmas  Thankfully there is still a month and a half left in which to finish up my projects, maybe even start and finish some! Hmm. We'll see.

This past Sunday through tomorrow I am staying with some friends and helping out for a few days. They have a deer processing business and things get very busy during opening week. So I am helping with the children, making meals, keeping up with the dishes, etc.

Speaking of food, I'd better run. The menu for tonight is Mexican Chicken Chowder and cornbread and it smells amazing. The perfect meal for a wet, chilly evening such as this! 

Have a blessed evening!

P.S. The photo is from last weekend; Saturday night to be precise. I was on my way home from my sister-in-law and brother's home and had to slow down a few times to snap some photos as the sun set.

September Snapshots: Autumn Is Here!

 A batch of warm Fudgy Cappuccino Cookies. They tasted a little bit like molasses cookies, but with a nice coffee twist.

 The boys enjoying their new pasture. 

 Carding some of my Chestnut colorway with grey angora fiber. it is turning out beautifully and such a fun spinning project. I'll share a picture of the yarn soon....

 Collecting guinea eggs. Normally we get five. But one of our guineas had an incident with the neighbor's puppy. She's a little traumatized.

 When the Physostegia begins to bloom you know autumn has arrived.

 Field corn is ready. I hope they cut it all down, SOON.

 Despite the fact that my allergies hate it, goldenrod is so pretty and I like it.

 The rain and wind cut my walk short. I snapped a few photos before it started pouring.

 Poplar leaves on the ground.

 My one lone Sunflower plant. It spread all over and is so gorgeous. It all sprang from one seed scattered last spring. I never even knew there were sunflowers in the perennial mix. It was a lovely surprise.

Autumn Joy Sedum is turning. Let the cool weather begin. Bring on the donuts, hot apple cider, crisp leaves, warm woolly knits, crackling fires and hay rides. Fall has officially arrived!

Holiday Baking

Yesterday a friend and I decorated all these sugar cookies. We had fun mixing colors and planning it all out. We had a mix of chocolate and plain sugar cookies, colored and chocolate frosting. There were some interesting cookie combinations going on!

I'm not sure how many cookies we decorated, but it was a lot! We enjoyed ourselves though. It's a nice time to chat and just enjoying being together as friends.

How about you? Have you been baking any special treats for the holidays? If so, I'd love to hear about it!

A Bridal Brunch

Panini Sandwishes

With the way my throat has been the last few months I have not been doing a lot of cooking/baking. But I got a book out of the library about panini sandwiches so I thought I'd give them a try. I have always liked them, but this book has all sorts of interesting and unusual types of panini.

I made them for supper for the family on Saturday. They all thought they were pretty delicious.

The sandwiches were made with two different types of ham, muenster cheese, mustard, and parsley fresh from the garden.

I also made a cheese sauce to go on top of the sandwich.

The finished results looked nice, and I think they were a big hit.


The whole process seemed quite time consuming to me. But I think if an assembly line system was used they would go a lot faster. It might have taken longer because it was a new recipe and I wasn't quite sure what I was doing. Plus I changed the ingredients slightly, so I wasn't following the recipe exactly. We didn't have a sandwich grill, so I used the lined side of our big electric griddle. It worked great!

Melt-in-your-mouth Strawberry Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

1 cup Stoneyfield Farm yogurt

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped strawberries, fresh or frozen

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar and baking soda. In another bowl, mix eggs, yogurt, butter and vanilla. Toss strawberries into flour mixture. Then pour yogurt mixture into flour mixture and stir. Spoon batter into greased muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Yields: 12 muffins

Nutrition Facts:

(using Stoneyfield Farm lowfat plain yogurt)

Calories 150; Calories from Fat 45; Total Fat 5g;

Carbohydrates 24g; Protien 4g; Fiber 2g

I have never tasted these since I am still on liquids only. But they were a huge hit with my family, so they must be pretty tastey. I used fresh strawberries.

Enjoy!

Bits of Knitting, Color, & Cooking

I kept my word and am including some knitting in this post. Sarah's bag is just about done. I have half of one handle to go, then I need to seam it together. Right now it is huge but she needs lots of space for her things.

This yarn has been a lot of fun to work with. I know from past experience that it felts well, but I am not sure how it felts when knitted, or how much it will shrink. That makes me a bit nervous.

Some of Paton's 100% wool that I am going to use for another purse. I have a fiber festival I am hoping to do in June so I am trying to whip together some things for that. Well, not 'whip', but try and get as much done as possible before then. I am hoping to do it with Debi if she is back by then.

Bee Balm just starting to bloom. The picture doesn't do it justice, it's coloring is simply stunning!

The amaryllis is just opening up! It is gorgeous, I think so anyways.

Dahlias on the porch.

Petunias on the other porch.

And look at these sweet little pansies! Do not they have the most adorable faces? All smiley and cheerful looking.

To finish of the evening last night, I did some baking. I have not done a whole lot of baking over the last six months. Mainly because it is extremely hard to bake something and know you can't eat it! Even more so when you have only had liquids for months on end! So I try to steer away from it most times. But Grandpa is back in the hospital with some sort of infection and fever. He has 'round the clock care from either Grandma, Mother or Aunt Sarah. So I knew they'd be needing a bit of sustenance for the day. I whipped up these "Melt-in-your-mouth Strawberry Muffins" It was a recipe I found on the lid of a Stoneyfield yogurt container.

This morning I put some eggs on to boil. Then I gathered together yogurt, cheese, cut up muskmelon, snack crackers, oatmeal, nine muffins, butter a box of Raspberry Green tea, and various bits of necessary cutlery. All of this went into the little cooler and a grocery bag, to be sent back to the hospital. Because of my poor diet (although we have been supplement as able) my immune system is low so I am not supposed to be in hospitals right now. Or anywhere else where there could be sick people. That is pretty much everywhere! But I still go out and do what I need to, shopping for Grandpa and Grandma mainly, quick visits to the library. I carry hand sanitizer everywhere.

But back to the cooking. At least this was some small way I felt that I could help. It's hard to be far away and not in the midst of where the action is, lending a helping hand.

Today I am home, visiting the family for a while. We might play some games or perhaps I'll do more knitting. My lace shawl has simply not gone anywhere. I suppose it would help if I worked on it.......

Good Can Come From Mistakes

Mmmm......I am eating supper right now. At first I thought it was a total loss and you will see why after I give you my "recipe" :)

Holly's Disaster Soup

Step 1. Get a can of chicken dumpling soup from the pantry. Run it through the Champion juicer until smooth.

Step 2. Put juiced soup on stove to heat, add some milk to thin out.

Step 3. Go to bedroom and collect library books to be returned, pausing to look through several of them.

Step 4. After being rudely awakend from the browsing of books by a burnt smell, dash wildly into the kitchen and take the furiously boiling suace pan off the stove.

Step 5. Lament the loss of supper.

Step 6. After a moments thought ( and tasting of the horrible stuff), decide that to waste it would not be frugal and plot how to remedy the situation.

Step 7. Throw in about 2oz. sliced velveeta cheese, 2TBLS Sweet Baby Rays Barbeque sauce, and 6TBLS ranch dressing, also a bit of milk. Heat on medium, stirring constantly and making sure not to burn it the secound time.

Step 8. Sit down and enjoy a delicious, albeit different, meal!