I am still having problems with my Kitchen Aid and I am trying to muster up some courage to call them and explain the whole situation. Maybe later on today. I know it will probably be one of those exasperating phone calls that will keep me on the phone for over an hour and then I'll end up angry and I'll cry, especially because this is so NOT a good time of the month for me to have confrontation.
Or maybe I should say that it is so NOT a good time of the month for them to have confrontation with me?
Before I go, I want to link you up with a really great recipe I tried over the weekend. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was. Really. It was delicious. The recipe is Tortilla Soup from The Mansion (I know that doesn't make your heart jump, but it has GREAT flavor, I promise) and you can find it here.
These are my notes:
-I used a whole large onion instead of 1 cup and I pureed in a food processor. I can't tell you how much flavor this added. That's why this recipe caught my eye in the first place-that pureed onion.
-For the tomato puree, I processed two 14-ounce cans of diced tomatoes in my food processor.
-I added two grilled boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced and coarsely chopped.
-I didn't add cayenne because I'm a wimp.
-I added 8 cups of water with 8 chicken bouillon cubes instead of the chicken stock.
-Take the time to fry up some crispy tortilla strips!! It completes the soup to me.
-I topped with avocado, fresh squeezed lime juice, shredded cheese, and sour cream. And more cilantro because I'm a lover, not a hater.
I didn't take a picture of the soup, but here, please enjoy this random sampling of pictures!
This is a picture of Brayden and me back in September.
This is a picture of a really cute snake print blouse that I bought at Steinmart this weekend on clearance.
These are some brownies that I made myself sick on this weekend.
And here is our cat, Bella, and a large field rat that she just killed.
It has been a long time since I have had the need for toys in my life, but suddenly (well, not suddenly suddenly, more like nine months suddenly) out popped Brayden from my daughter's belly (well, not exactly from her belly, but I'll just leave it at that) and now our lives are full of diapers and baby wipes and Boudreaux's butt cream and toys.
And speaking of toys, I miss the era of simple baby toys because a lot of them now are just kind of complicated with all of the bells and the whistles and the lights and the sounds and the blinky things, and not that any of that is bad, but just where in the holy heavens did the little wooden blocks go?
I am pleased to report that I have found a line of toys that I'm very impressed with and I just have to give a shout-out and a trumpet blow and whoop 'n' holler and a cock-a-doodle-doo to Melissa & Doug Toys.
And when my good friends from Out of the Toy Box gave me a couple of toys to review a few weeks ago for my sweet little grandson, I was totally like YES, because I was going to do that anyway with the toys he already had and, as I've already said before, it's all about babies and cuteness from here on out at Rice and Beans and what is cuter that baby toys? (The answer is my Brayden playing with them.)
So with the toys that they gave him and the ones that he had already received as gifts, he has quite a collection. Nevermind that he is only a wee little baby and doesn't really play with anything yet except his fist. The important thing is that he has them for future use.
These monkey and crab teething rings they gave me to review are bright and cheery and soft. To be honest, I thought the little ridges on the plastic rings were going to be a little too hard for his gums, but they weren't. He dug right in with all the ferocity of a wolf pup.
See? He's kickin' his legs up which in baby body language means "Dude, this hard plastic thing feels like totally awestupenterrifabtastic on my gums."
Don't look at me like that. It's a real word.
The best part about them is that they are MACHINE WASHABLE. That means you can wash the cockanoonies right off of them! (FYI...Cockanoonies=Germs and other microbes which may or may not include slobber.)
So is this cute sports ball set. Completely machine washable.
His daddy just threw him a 20-yard pass across the living room and even though it knocked him down, he was able to keep it from touching the floor. We're so proud of our three month-old.
But I think my favorite toys are the wooden toys. Melissa & Doug have wonderful wooden toys. This little wiggle worm twists and bends. Good for hand-eye coordination.
This froggy rattle is the prettiest shade of green ever. I want a chair in that same color. And a new blouse. Oh, and some Le Creuset cookware.
I think I got one of the last froggies, though. But they still have the bright red monkey which is redonkulously adorable, too.
And these blocks. I bought these blocks for him before he was born and let me tell you, I am SO pleased with them. I just think every baby should have a set of wooden blocks. They're so nostalgic. And simple. He'll be playing with these for a long time. His brothers and sisters will, too, because my daughter informed me the other day that she wants four children. (!)
I told her she needed to run that by her husband first.
And since Melissa & Doug have six children themselves, they are very serious about safety. This makes me feel especially good.
You can go to this link and get a code for 15% off of orders from Out of the Toy Box, but you'll have to hurry because the offer ends October 31. They have tons and tons of toys for all ages and needs and not just Melissa & Doug toys, but lots of other uber cool stuff.
Sunday afternoon I was at home working on the computer and when I checked my email I saw that one of my Facebook buddies had written on my wall. This is my Facebook buddy:
This was her comment that I have copied and pasted:
"I just read through your ENTIRE blog. (The rice and beans one.) I am printing out some of the recipes. You are the coolest person I know." (Emphasis mine)
Let me tell y'all, my head swelled to four times it's normal size and I was giddy the rest of the day. You know you've really made it in life when a middle schooler thinks "you are the coolest person I know." And for her to read through my ENTIRE blog? I have no words, people....I AM QUEEN OF THE BLOGOSPHERE, I AM!!!!!!
Taylor, sweetie, I'd like to dedicate this entire post to you. Keep cooking and maybe one day I'll be reading your blog, or better yet, watching YOU on Food Network!
The other day I was in Sam's and I was doing some major bulk shopping and while I was in the baking aisle I heard the faint calling of my name. I turned around and it sounded like it was coming from a HUGE bag of roasted and salted macadamia nuts and then I heard it again and indeed, it WAS coming from a huge bag of macadamia nuts. I quickly answered back, because, hello, I am not going to NOT answer someone who calls my name, even if it is a bag of nuts, so I said YES and put them in my buggy.
And I immediately went to Wal-Mart and bought several of these:
Because everyone knows that you just shouldn't have one without the other. No.
Oh, I made cookies alright, but the real star has been the muffins. This past summer I was in a little store in Georgia that carried imported items and right by a big jar of Nutella was what looked like a white chocolate version of Nutella, and I am SO kicking myself for not buying it because how good would that have been slathered on these muffins? Note to self: Work on a recipe for white chocolate butter.
If you make these:
-Take care not to overbake them. I did once and they were just not as good.
-I love chopping my own nuts because I like 'em kind of big, but you could certainly used the pre-chopped kind.
-I sometimes add in a whole cup of white chocolate chips. I also used extra drizzle because I have a tendency to overdo things like white chocolate.
This recipe won me a second place prize in Taste of Home Magazine a few years ago. I've copied and pasted the recipe below, but you can click here if you want to see how much fat and calories are in one muffin. Beware. It's not pretty.
White Chocolate Macadamia Muffins
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup white baking chips
3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
Glaze:
1/2 cup white baking chips
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chips and nuts.
2. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400° for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.
3. For glaze, in a microwave, melt chips with cream at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over warm muffins. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.
Over the weekend I went fishing on Buckatunna Creek with my hubby again and this time is was super cold outside, and when I say super cold, I mean it never got out of the 60's which is super cold for me to be outside in a canoe on the water. I was a frozen popsicle all day long.
A weird thing happened, though, and this has never happened to me before. After being in the canoe for about two hours, my morning coffee was like, so there, and I had to use the facilities. We pulled over to a sandbar and got out and I was pretty darn stiff from being cold and and in the same sitting position for so long; however, I have been doing this for years, so it's nothing new to me.
I looked for a place to, ehem, tee-tee, because I am not going to tee-tee in the middle of a sandbar on the open creek, despite my husband telling me "nobody's around, Lorie." I prefer the covering of the trees and bushes to an open sandbar for doing my business. That's just the way I was brought up.
So anyway, I was really, really cold and stiff, but I made my way up a very steep and sandy hill into the facilities which consisted of an appropriate amount of tree cover and a bed of leaves. I assumed a typical female-ish squatting position and everything else that was supposed to happen happened in an uneventful manner.
I know this is all probably more than you want to know, but it's important to the story. I mean, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. We've all squatted in the woods, haven't we?
You have squatted in the woods, right?
Anyway, and this is the weird part, when I started to stand up, all of my leg strength was gone, I mean ABSOLUTELY GONE, and I could not pull up out of the squatting position to save my life! And I thought to myself "this is soooo not good." I tried and tried but I couldn't move. I was completely numb and couldn't feel a thing.
Now, I am not in the best physical shape I could be, but seriously, I have never before had trouble getting out of a squat.
I started to panic a little and just before I called to my husband "Babe, I'm stuck in a squat and I can't get out" , I tried putting my hands on the ground in front of me and I was able to roll forward on them and slowly and painfully straighten my legs. This caused my hiney-butt to go into the air first and have I mentioned how cold it was outside? My bottom was not happy and I felt very exposed and...well, I don't know, just exposed, which I don't like feeling. Thankfully, though, I was able to complete all potty squats without the help of my hands for the remainder of the trip, much to my relief and the relief of the entire animal kingdom that resides on Buckatunna Creek.
You can bet the next time that I hear that my grandmother has fallen and can't get up, I'm gonna have a little more compassion.
The day was also plagued by a number of mishaps and errors, including my husband falling into the creek because I accidentally tipped the canoe when I got back in it one time, but the highlight (lowlight?) of the day was what happened to me later.
When we fish on the creek we use lures that are shaped like minnows and they have three hook things on them and each hooky thing has three sharp prongs on them with barbs. So, really, it's like nine hooks in all.
And the creek is full of logs and twigs and all kinds of stuff that the plug (another name for the lure) can get caught on and, believe you me, this happens a lot. Especially to me.
So when we cast out and the lure gets caught on one of these things, there are only two options. The first option is to do what I call a "Jerk and Pull" which is pretty self-explanatory: jerking and pulling back on the rod at the same time. This action will sometimes cause the plug to dislodge. The second option is to do a "Manual Job" and dislodge it with your hand or maybe hit it with the oar to unhook it.
(Oh, wait. There is a third option that I just thought of and that is to cut the line and leave the lure in whatever it is caught in, which is probably a high tree that we can't reach. This option really makes my hubby mad because it means he leaves a perfectly good plug behind. I haven't thought of a name for that option, but I will.)
So one particular time I cast out and got hooked in some sticks and twiggy matter in the middle of the creek. I did what I always do which was a Jerk and Pull, even though my hubby said that it looked like it was going to be a Manual Job. I pulled hard, like in a really violent manner, because I didn't want my husband to have to get me unhooked one more time because he was already wet and shivering and I felt really bad about the whole falling in the creek incident earlier.
The next thing I knew is that the plug dislodged itself and soared into my face at lightning speed. I felt it hit hard on my forehead and I just froze and didn't move a muscle, kind of like when I was in the squat only this time it was from the complete and utter fear that I had a minnow shaped lure embedded into my face and the only reason I couldn't feel the pain was because my the nerve endings in my skin were just so darn cold.
I just sat there for a second or two, stunned, and envisioning Richard laying me over a log and using his rusty pliers to pull nine hooks out of my face, not unlike he does a large mouth bass.
I started feeling my face and I couldn't feel the lure anywhere, but I know that it did indeed hit me because I felt it. I looked around for the plug but I couldn't find it. I turned around to Richard and he said matter-of-factly, "oh, I see it."
And he was looking straight at me and I am like "where?" and then I felt the top of my head and that's where it was.
And even though I was really, really happy that my husband would not have to perform emergency surgery on me in the middle of Buckatunna Creek, this was still a problem.
Because, let me tell you, I do not have the kind of hair that is easy to dig a nine hook lure out of. I have coarse, curly hair and a lot of it.
So I tried to start untangling it and it was just getting more and more tangled up and anyone who's ever used a lure with many prongs knows what I'm talking about because the second you get one of the hooks out, another one has gotten caught.
I asked my husband if he had a mirror, and he gave me that look that lets me instantly know I've asked a really dumb question. Note to self: Put a small mirror in the dry bag for future use.
Anyway, we pull over to the bank and he gets out and untangles the plug from my hair, which is no easy feat, but not before I ask him to "take a picture, Sweetie, for my blog and to always remember this day." (Batting eyelashes and smiling sweetly)
But when you look at these pictures, please keep in mind that when we float the creek, we often float under branches and hanging vines and moss covered logs that have fallen across the water. Those things have leaves and twigs and bark and other crunchy bits and pieces that sometimes end up falling into my hair and I have just learned to deal with it over the years.
And when I downloaded these pictures, not only did I see the minnow that was so perfectly placed in my hair that it could have been mistaken for a piece of hair jewelry, but also a twiggy thing that looked a little like a worm, but it's not, it's a twig because I took it out and examined it.
The great outdoors are just so great sometimes.
I took my daughter to town yesterday for some errands and we found ourselves thirty minutes early for an appointment, so we did the only thing that was the right thing to do and we went by Sonic and got a Mocha Chip Java Chiller. It's one of those "limited time" specials, so we really had no choice but to seize the opportunity when we could.
I thought it would be great fun, not to mention extremely helpful and very informative, to do a critique, you know, like a food critic does, except not.
Here's what we thought about it:
Me: Presentation is pretty. Server was pleasant and smiley. I'm loving this environmentally unfriendly styrofoam cup and I don't care who knows it.
Her: Looks good. Lots of chocolate chips on top. I think I'm gonna need a spoon and she only brought a straw. Call for a spoon, please.
Me: Good coffee flavor. Very thick. There are a lot of chips in here.
Her: It does have good coffee flavor. But the chips are soft, which I really like. I hate hard pieces of chocolate in my ice cream.
Me: I couldn't agree more. They're getting stuck in my straw, though. But in a good way. I like using my teeth to squish them out.
Her: Okay?! How about using a spoon? This is definitely thick enough for a spoon. I wonder why serving it with a spoon is not standard.
Me: It's thick, but thin enough to suck through a straw, although I'm having to work very hard. I bet I'm burning extra calories from all the effort.
Her: I doubt it. I'm glad we parked on the end where no one can see you.
Me: The whipped cream is okay, but it has that sort of waxy, diner taste.
Her: I like it. I wish there was more, though. I just think this tastes an awful lot like a Frosty.
Me: I really liked the fact that when the girl came back with the spoons, she commented about how cute the baby was.
Her: Indeed. It was like her comment made me instantly like my ice cream more.
Me: I felt that surge, too. But I would definitely order this again.
Her: Me, too.
Me: I give it two thumbs up. I'll be back. What about you?
Her: Me, too. Two thumbs.
This is an easy, quick sidedish that I make often. No, it will not change your life, but it's good. I like to serve it with grilled chicken or fish. And guess what, my hometown friends? Wal-Mart has orzo now. Check the pasta section.
It's so easy, you don't even have to have a recipe. Just cook some orzo (as much as you want) according to the package directions. Drain all the water. Drizzle with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. Stir in some pesto (as much as you want-a little goes a long way). The pesto has olive oil in it but I found the orzo needs a little extra olive oil drizzled into it to make it stir better.
So to recap:
Cook (orzo)
Drain (water)
Drizzle (olive oil)
Stir (in pesto)
Last weekend, my husband and I made a canoe trip on Buckatunna Creek to fish for bass. This is one of my favorite things to do in the whole wide world, but if the fish aren't biting, it makes for a long day and a sore hiney-butt from sitting in a canoe. About an hour into an eight hour float, we knew that the fish weren't going to be jumping out of the water. We had the option of turning around and paddling back upstream.
Something made us press on, though, and so we floated. It was nice. We discussed what we could be doing if we weren't floating, but we came to the conclusion that those things would still be there when we got home.
We talked about how we needed to slow our lives down and make more time for each other.
I spread a sheet out on a sandbar and we took a nap. We watched the clouds. And my camera lens was very dirty, I found out.
I took a picture of us that turned out not to be us, but only me.
Then I took another of me, even though I meant it to be us.
Then I finally got the shot, even though we are scruffy, dirty, sunburned people with five o'clock shadows (he on his face, I on my legs).
I watched an ant crawl on the sheet for the longest time. Believe me, I tried to take a picture of that, too, but it didn't turn out.
I caught the big fish of the day.
I also saw a huge tree fall in front of us and now I can add that to my top ten list of things to be afraid of on Buckatunna Creek. Having a tree fall on our canoe and smashing us to smithereens will come right after alligator attack but before being caught in a lightning storm while in a metal canoe. Or maybe it should come after having a snake fall into my lap while we float under a tree branch? That's always caused me anxiety. I'll have to really ponder this some time.
No more than ten minutes after we pulled the canoe out of the water, the sky burst open and there was a torrential downpour. We got trapped under the Highway 84 bridge because we had left our other vehicle in another location, thinking that we were not going to float quite as far as we did. I fell in the mud which always makes for a good laugh.
It was red clay mud. The worst kind.
But even though we didn't catch many fish and we got trapped under a bridge and I now have another new fear to add to my list, we still pretty much had a great day. Being trapped under a bridge in a thunderstorm wasn't so bad now that I think about it and my husband told me not to worry about a tree falling on us when we are in the creek, because "the chances of that happening are just so slim, Lorie. Why would you even think about that?" That's what he said.
And we might not have these memories if we had paddled back upstream.
So I said all that to say this. Nothing is wrong with working or surfing the internet or watching football or blogging or hunting or reading magazines or watching cheesy Lifetime movies, but the most important things in life are relationships. They must be nurtured. And sometimes you should put all that other stuff on the backburner and spend some quality time with the one you love.
So make sure you do some nurturing soon, okay? It's really, really important.
Last week I got my first real opportunity to babysit my grandson for a couple of hours while my daughter and son-in-law went to do something--I'm not exactly sure what-- with a deer stand.
My darling daughter called me that morning and told me that she would be texting me within the next thirty minutes and when I received the text could I please come straight there.
Sure. Lolli will come straight there. (And by the way, I have chosen Lolli as my grandmotherly-type name. My husband is Pop.)
The text came before I expected, but I was very obedient and hopped into my SUV and traveled the six miles down the road to my daughter's house.
Let me tell you, it was hard for her to contain her excitement about getting out of the house without the little one for a couple of hours with her hubby, even if it was to do something--I'm not exactly sure what--with a deer stand. She is the best little mama ever, but sometimes mommies need a little breather space. That's what Lollies are for.
When I got there, he was asleep in his swing and as much as I wanted to hold him, I knew that it was better that he stay asleep as long as possible while his mommy was gone. He's a breast boy and he takes the ninny about forty to fifty times a day. If he wakes up and decides he wants a snack, I can't deliver. And then he'll get mad and cry.
It is SO darn cute when he does that!
But it wouldn't be cute for long if there was no ninny. No working ninny, that is.
So I waited and waited...
...and waited. And although I love watching him sleep, it's just not the same as cuddling with him and feeling his soft baby skin and his squishy little thighs.
And laying him on my chest. And making faces at him and trying to make him smile. And patting his little hiney-butt.
But eventually he began to stir from his sweet baby slumber.
And when he finally focused on me, I think scared him.
Probably because I was directly in front of him with no make-up on, my hair in a frizzy ponytail on the very top of my head (which could have possibly looked like an actual head on top of my head since I have SO much hair), a holey t-shirt, and a camera in his face.
Yep, that would probably startle anyone waking up from a peaceful nap. Just ask my husband. He's been startled on more than one occasion.
I really hope what was running through his little mind was "Yay! Lolli's here."
Even if he wasn't thinking that then, it is now my mission in life to make him think that in the future.
This little pig statue is probably one of the most sentimental items I have in my home right now. I made this for my Aunt Dara when I was about ten or eleven. She was absolutely my best friend at the time and we remained close until she passed away earlier this year. I can't even tell you how much I miss her. Before she died, she gave me this little pig statue back. I had completely forgotten about it, but I was so touched that she had kept it for so many years.
She lived with my mother for a short time before she passed away and during that time I developed a cookie recipe for a contest and shared it with her. She fell in love with these cookies. I call them Sugar Pigs and they're oatmeal cookies with toasted pecans and bits of candied bacon in them and she requested them on more than one occasion. Let me tell you, when a dying woman requests cookies, you stop what you're doing and bake cookies. It was my pleasure, though.
Even though these cookies never won the contest, they are still a family favorite and I will never ever make them again without thinking of her.
Sugar Pigs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
12 slices plain bacon
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 1 cup light brown sugar in a pie plate. Place each slice of bacon in the brown sugar and coat both sides, pressing sugar into bacon and gently shaking off excess. Place flat on a wire cooling rack in an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes or until done. Outside pieces may get done before the inside pieces, so remove as needed. Let bacon cool completely, then finely chop with a knife; set aside.
2. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside. Beat the butter, shortening, 1 cup light brown sugar, the dark brown sugar, the eggs, and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy. Mix in the flour mixture until combined. Stir in the oats, chopped pecans, and reserved chopped bacon. Chill dough for one hour.
3. Drop dough by a 1-tablespoon measure cookie scoop onto an ungreased baking sheet, spacing about 2-inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown around edges. Cool on pan for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle each cookie with a small amount of maple syrup. (Cool pan completely between bakings.) About 5 dozen cookies.
Yesterday evening, my hubby and I made the trip to Mobile to pick up my Kitchen Aid. My mother-in-law had loaned me hers so I haven't exactly been without one, but I am glad to have mine back because it is quite a bit bigger. I was happy to find out that the cost to fix it turned out to be much less than the original estimate. I am, however, a little troubled at what the cause of the problem was.
Mr. Mixer-Fixer told me that the little board inside (I'm not sure if this is the motherboard he is talking about) was dirty and covered with a white powdery residue, so he took it apart and cleaned it and it worked like new.
Now, let me put on my thinkin' cap for a minute.
Hmmmm...
The white powdery residue sounds suspiciously like flour.
Hmmm...
I use flour a lot when I mix.
Hmmmm...
My biggest concern is how I am going to keep this from happening again or am I going to be destined to make only flourless cakes for the rest of my life? He did say that my particular problem was very unusual. I haven't tried it out yet to see if it will work properly, but I will soon very soon, like possibly today.
In other news, during our little trip to Mobile yesterday we headed across the bay to Eastern Shore and just guess where we ended up:
Apparently, there are some camo clothes that are taking the hunting world by storm and Richard just had to check them out. They're called ScentLok and one pair of pants is $120.00. He didn't get any, but I saw that the wheels were turning in his head.
We were on a strict time schedule because he had school the next day, or believe you me, I would have spent some quality time at Stein Mart. We did end up eating at Islamorada and I really like the restaurant in the Eastern Shore store better than the one in Jackson, where we usually go. Richard really, really enjoyed his meal. You should have seen his face light up when they brought him his Bass Pro burger with sauteed onions, mushrooms and cheese. (For the life of me, I cannot figure out how to get the accent mark over the first E in sauteed. Or maybe it's the second E? One of them.)
He said it was the best burger he had ever eaten and it must have been because the conversation on the way home always went back to " Man, that was a great burger." I did take a bite and I don't know about the best ever, but it was very good.
I made a resolution to myself that I would post more frequently and here I am, six days from my last post, but truly, I have been busy. I have had a very special house guest. A house guest that hides little race cars in my entertainment cabinet. A house guest that has the cutest dinosaur pajamas I have ever seen, and when I find some like them, my little grandson Brayden is SO going to have some, too. A house guest that calls my name every morning, but pronounces it "Lo-wie" instead of Lorie, cause everybody knows it's hard to pronounce R's when your two years-old.
This was my house guest:
His name is Jaron and he likes bananas.
Family is the BEST.
There are very few things that I am "foodie" about. I break all kinds of food rules in the kitchen, I don't take myself too seriously, and I am not an uppity cook. Hello, I use canned cream of mushroom soup--um, the off-brand--so I'm really, really laid back and not picky when it comes to cooking and eating.
There is one thing, though, that I am very serious about and that is my Key lime pie. I would never, ever serve it plain, but, I would never, ever top it with meringue either. Yes, I would use bottled regular lime juice if I had to. Yes, I would use a store-bought graham cracker crust if I had to. But I would never put meringue on it. Eeeew! Key lime pie just cries out for freshly whipped and sweetened heavy cream in my book.
We went to one of my favorite seafood restaurants back in the summer and for dessert, my husband ordered a piece of Key lime pie. It came to him plain and although it was decent, I was completely disappointed that there was no whipped cream on it and I was really, really happy that I had ordered the mile high peanut butter pie instead.
Here is my recipe for Key lime pie that I have tinkered with over the years. I like my crust thick, so this should deliver if you like it that way, too. I know my son-in-law, Isaac, agrees with me on this. :o)
Here are some tips if you make this:
-I like to whip my cream until it's slightly stiffer than soft peaks, because it's going on a pie and I want a clean cut. (This is another one of those foodie rules I break, over-whipping cream, but hey, I like it slightly over-whipped on a pie.) If you want to serve it on the side, it can be whipped to softer peaks. I like my whipped cream spread on my pie because then I can take some lime wedges and a maraschino cherry and make a beautiful flower on top as a decoration.
-Key limes are much more tart to me than regular limes. If you need to substitute regular lime juice, you can decrease the powdered sugar by 2 tablespoons.
-This pie freezes well. Just let it thaw out in the refrigerator, then add a little garnish. You know, like a beautiful flower made from lime wedges and a cherry.
-Yes, you could certainly buy the graham cracker crumbs, but I like crushing my own to get a variety of sizes within the crust.
-The zest of the lime is very important here. I wouldn't skip it.
Key Lime Pie
Crust:
1 2/3 cup finely crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter
Filling:
3 egg yolks
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup key lime juice (Nellie and Joe’s is the brand I use or substitute with regular lime juice)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar plus 2 tablespoons
The zest of one lime
Topping:
1 cup heavy cream, well chilled
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. For the crust, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Stir in the butter until well mixed.
3. Press the mixture on the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch foil pie plate or glass pie plate that has been placed on a baking sheet for easier removal from oven.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven.
5. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice, sour cream, powdered sugar, and the lime zest until smooth. Pour into pie shell. Pie shell will be full.
6. Place in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until set in the middle. Remove from oven and let cool at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until well chilled.
7. Beat the heavy cream on high speed until frothy. Gradually add the powdered sugar and continue to beat until medium-soft peaks form. Spread evenly over pie, then garnish as desired. Keep refrigerated.
I had this post prepared back in the spring, but life got in the way and I put it on the back burner. There is a reason I'm still posting it, though. Someday, someone who knows all about Frost Bridge is going to Google it and this post is going to come up and then they're going to call to their wife and say "Honey, remember that camp meeting we went to in '98? Well your not going to believe these pictures..."
And I am making that search result possible.
It's that time of the decade again in Wayne County, Mississippi. Yep, Buckatunna Creek has risen beyond it's banks and flooded the Frost Bridge area. This is the most exciting thing to happen in these parts since...
since....
...since it happened ten or so years ago.
And I have the full story with pictures. Right here. Right below.
When we arrived at Frost Bridge around 4:00 PM, the water level was here.
This is the view from Frost Bridge looking down the Mathersville-Frost Bridge Road. This is not the creek. This is a road covered in creek.
This is what should be worn to any good flood. Rubber boots. Preferably with a camouflage pattern.
What we like to do when there is a flood is to get in our canoe and put my son-in-law and daughter in a john boat with their dog and paddle to the Frost Bridge camp ground. Talk about fun! Woo-hoo!
This is the outdoor tabernacle at the camp.
We paddled up and down the aisles. It was a lot like being on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, except not. There were no pirates or fireflies or talking skulls.
Tadpole foraging is a sport everyone enjoys when it floods.
As you can see from the building in the background, everything is built on stilts at the campground.
That is, almost everything. This building is going to be in bad shape when the waters recede.
When we got back to the bridge about two hours later, the water had risen even more...
...and a crowd of people had gathered.
The sheriff's department, the Wayne County Emergency Management Homeland Security Director, and the Supervisor of Beat 2 all came. Some other bystanders were there, too. And a couple of dogs.
There were a few people that live at the campground, however, that didn't want to leave their home. The sheriff's's department wouldn't hear of it, though, so they launched a rescue mission to bring those people to dry land. It's their duty, you know, to go in and save people from flood waters. It also gives them an excuse to use that super official sheriff's's rescue boat. I wonder if they'll turn the siren on?
"Watch the current, Men! Stay towards the middle!" Since we had already paddled down there once, we knew that those trees to the left side can be kind of tang-ly.
"Towards the middle, I say!"
Oops.
My husband helped out in the rescue and landed on page 6A of the Wayne County News.
He also gave free canoe rides the rest of the evening, because that's just the kind of person he is.
Everybody likes to see a flooded tabernacle.
No? I don't really like it either. But I'll be changing often because I have Adobe Photoshop Elements now.
Yep, I'll be practicing my banner making. That's a very important skill to have, you know.
And I have decided to hereby proclaim the deer as my mascot for this blog.
But I also like owls. But I really like deer. So deer it is.
With an owl here and there.
And it doesn't matter that this blog is called Rice and Beans so don't be all "what has a doggone deer got to do with anything...rah rah rah..."
I think deer are really beautiful creatures. And they taste good, too.
And, they will look pretty in banners.
Banners that I will one day make. Not the one I have now. I'm just getting started.
I'm really coming along in Photoshop, though. Over the course of about 12 hours, I turned this googly eyed, slightly freaked out deer:
Into this really cool, eyeless deer:
What you do is you erase the eyes with the eraser tool.
And it only took me 12 hours to learn this.
I've always been a quick study.
You can look for more of these amazing Photoshop actions in the upcoming years on Rice and Beans.
I'll be changing to Wordpress at some point in the near future, too.
When I can figure out how to move it all over.
Because I'm too cheap to pay anyone to do it for me.
This recipe ran in this month's edition of Today in Mississippi and I made it for dinner last week. I always check out the recipes in this little publication and have cut out more than a few over the years. I also cut out the turnip green soup recipe, but haven't made it yet.
I was really pleased with the outcome of this pot pie. That said, I did change a couple of things:
-I swapped out smoked turkey sausage for the ham.
-I added an extra 1/2 cup of chicken broth because the mixture was supposed to simmer for 10-15 minutes, but it was so thick I basically just cooked it while stirring frequently until the turnips thawed out.
-And last, I was lazy and used a package of Martha White Cotton Pickin' Cornbread Mix, which was good, but I definitely could have used two packages. Next time I think I will make the cornbread topping as directed in the original recipe.
A similar recipe ran in this month's Southern Living, but with collard greens. I love turnips, though, so this recipe spoke to me. This would make a good main dish or side dish, depending on how much meat is added.
The only clear picture I took was a close-up of a bite; I know it looks a little messy. The original recipe is here. My changes are below.
Turnip Green Pot Pie
(Adapted from Porches Turnip Green Pot Pie)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound diced smoked turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 (1-pound) packages frozen chopped turnips
1 (15-ounce) can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 packages cornbread mix, plus ingredients to make the cornbread
4 tablespoons melted butter
1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the smoked turkey sausage and cook until golden brown around edges.
2. Add onion, celery, and chopped red pepper and cook until soft.
3. Add flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.
4. Add chicken broth. Cook, stirring often, until thickened.
5. Stir in frozen turnips and cook for 10-15 minutes or until heated all the way through, stirring often. Stir in peas and crushed red pepper.
6. Transfer to a 13 x 9-inch casserole dish and smooth out top.
7. Mix cornbread according to package instructions. Spread over turnip mixture.
8. Drizzle with melted butter and bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes. If top is not golden brown, place under broiler for a few minutes.
Last Friday night, my husband and I took my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson with us to drop off my sick mixer at a restaurant supply store in Mobile, which is the nearest authorized fixer of Kitchen Aid products.
There was a lot of smiling and cooing going on in the backseat on the drive up there. Since his car seat faces away from the front seat, I had my daughter hold up a mirror so I wouldn't miss anything.
Whenever we go to the big city, we eventually end up at Bass Pro Shop. It's inevitable. There and Marble Slab.
So this trip was a huge milestone in Brayden's life. His first trip to BPS.
"Brayden, don't you know that your gonna love this place one day? There are copious amounts of camouflage around every corner."
He looks less than enthused.
The men go about their merry way. The women are left to entertain the baby.
At this point, though, it's hard to get him interested in anything but his mama. Thank God that BPS has a big, cozy seating area in the front of the store where the women can wait on the men.
