Rose Petal Jelly

I LOVE reading food blogs so many great ideas & inspiration...  like this one from Cupcake Rehab ~

ROSE PETAL HIBISCUS TEA JELLY  

sounds amazing - right?  well, anyway the rose petal thing inspired me and I not could find a recipe that made sense to me (grams/ and dried petals? )   so, I just took what I know about canning & I must say I was very pleased with how it turned out ~ wonderful!  not too sweet, SO flowery & pretty pretty pretty!!!  

1 cup fresh unsprayed fragrant rose petals 

1 cup sugar  

2 tablespoon lemon juice 

2 cups water 

1 1/2 tablespoon Ball low/no sugar pectin 

1/3 cup sugar  (additional)

1 pat of butter

Trim white tips off petals with scissors rinse and dry

Combine petals, 1 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice and let sit for 24 hours 

...add mixture to stainless steel steel sauce pan, along with water and 1/3 cup sugar 

Simmer on med low for 25 min

 OMG!!  this smells SO amazing  =) 

Return to medium add pectin and a pat of butter - boil 5 min 

~ sieve to remove petal pulp and pour into prepared jars  (sorry, I did not take a photos of this this step, petals will become all mushy and loose their color - you could add a few fresh petal to the jars before sealing for looks) 

~ Carefully wipe down rim of jars, place lids and bands on jars 

~ Hot water process the jars...   

8 oz jars for 15 min

4 oz jars for 10 min

Let jars cool completely - check seals (refrigerate if seal is questionable) store in a cool dark place. 

YUM!!!

Here is another rosy blog post I stumbled upon today  - ukrainian preserved rose petals (rozha z tsukrom)

very interesting ....  I just might try something similar to this next year  =) 

We have asparagus!!!

We have asparagus!!!   

This is their third year and them means we can eat some - not much but, I am super excited none the less!!!  
I planted 2 year roots 2 years ago in a 4 x 4 raise bed with strawberries  -  last your we just weeded, watered and watched - got all of 5 delectable little berries...
In the fall we added a few inches of mulch and a sprinkling of manure and coffee grounds.

asparagus <3

sugar snap peas  =)

Happy Gardening  =)

getin' the garden going....

Just starting to get the garden going  - I have BIG plans this year =)  after last years bummer (not bumper  total bummer crop  =(     part of me wanted to  was about to give up, instead, I spent a good part of the winter planning, reading, admiring others gardens, basically soaking up all things garden  =)  
Last weekend input in a few brussels sprouts - they had stater plants and  was so excited about growing  so I picked up a 4 pack and a couple 6 packs of pansy's (we got a dusting of snow last night and that are all ok - YAY!)  I also sowed a few seeds - 2 kinds of lettuce, spinach, short & sweet carrots, and sugar snow snap peas  =)  

The  3 varieties of cucumber seeding's - bush type pickle, basics vine variety, and my favorite lemon cucumbers - I started indoors a few weeks ago are looking good!!!   While the basil and lemon balm are still tiny little sprouts.  

The strawberries and rhubarb are peeking out!!!   and dandelions, hmm  salad?  wine?  anyone down with that?  I am thinking maybe, the hubby hasn't weeded and feeded  in at least a year - we should be good?  right??

Monday - the hubby's had the day off and he cut back all the thorny bushes....oh no no no, those were wild blackberries and they are delicious - so you can imagine how the birds and I have been a bit biter about that all week...    he redeemed himself by building me another 4 x 12 foot x 12 inch tall garden bed.   =)  

I picked some pretty 12x12x12 red cedar  planks for him to use - the wood and corner brackets cost $160  plus another $40 for the dirt, manure and peet to get it ready for growing this year.   Luckily we had some some galvanized pipe lying around  ( yes, I would have loved LOVED to use copper but at $80 for 10 ft piece of 2 inch pipe  <eeek>  and the hardware store only had up to one inch diameter of the UPVC  (PVC pipes can leach vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen - so you do not want to use that in the garden!)  anyway, I am going to have him cut a couple 2 foot sections to put in some deep watering holes in  - this will be my primary tomato bed - I companion plant so there will be other things in there but from what I have read tomatoes love deep watering and I love tomatoes - so there you have it.

chocolate dip and sprinkled

Sugar-coated Saturday!!!

....   so as I begin to make chocolate dipped Easter treats - my hubby strolls into the kitchen and asks me "are you going to dip those sugar bunnies in sugar and sprinkle sugar on them.?"
I'm like duh, yeah!!!  I smile and he just shakes his hear and walks way...  sometimes it think he is just weird  8)

thanks to http://www.lovefromtheoven.com for the delicious idea!  PEEPS - dip them in chocolate and cover them in sprinkles

I made white chocolate (Baker's)  AND semi-sweet (Ghirardelli baking) - and I'm like this chocolate will not firm up...  I'm like what the?!??

chocolate dipped peeps =)

Hubby says to me, you have to but the tray on ice...  huh?  <whips around> huh? i'm like oh duh - yeah thta totally makes sense...   he's all like yeah, my mom used to dip stuff in chocolate all the time ...  

ok, so he has earned his keep for another day & I made in some chocolate dipped candied ginger - this is going to be amazing!!!

nom nom nom 

...and then there were 3, they jumped into the vodka - yaaayyy this has to be a good thing  =D

peep infused vodka 

Happy Easter y'all ~ Peace be with you.

clearly I need a schedule...

well...   it has been 12 days...  clearly I need a schedule... I need work on that - any thoughts? 

I am kind of stuck - my life is like SO random.  Random Tuesday, What I ate Wednesday, Thursday...   Friday....  Back yard Saturdays... Scrumptious Sunday...  

Mondays will be  "Thrifty Monday"  thrift shops, rummage sales, garage sales oh my = me blah blah blahing about about some of my most wondrous finds =D

like this past monday!! 

 - -  I scored a Vera Bradley clutch wallet for $2.99 found it stashed in the bins at goodwill - ya, you can't hide pretty little things from me =D

double kisslock in Paprika / Winter 2009

....  and a second Jack LaLanne Power juicer deluxe -  only $6.99  barely used!

sweet!!!  now we can have fresh juice at either home.  =) 

apple, orange, pink grapefruit and carrot - YUM!!   GO CUBS!!!   

ok, back to pondering the scheduled ....   

....  and Easter preparations http://wingsinthevoid.blogspot.com/2013/01/eggcellent-eggsact-made-in-usa.html

Peace be with you =D

... how I spent my St Pat's weekend!

Spent the weekend with the hubby and my BEST GIRL!!!

She arrive kinda late on Saturday - we had a yummy dinner of left over BBQ beef, smoked bratwurst, macaroni and cheese,  sauteed asparagus & mushrooms, and cesar salad - she ate it all up except the  mac & cheese.  (weirdo)

Eating ice cream ~ with green sprinkles ~  of course  =D 

We cleaned out the crabitat and set it back up all new fun and exciting - the are so happy with their new digs! round all crawled night and most of the day and looks like they are up for another all nighter! 

happy crabby land

We stayed up WAAAAYYYY  to late ~ like midnight!!!   but thanks to the mantle clock in the living room that is stuck on 4:50 & the light blocking thermal drapes the little monster ~ eeerrr, darling was fooled and let us all sleep till 9:00 am!!!

 ZZZzzzzzzzz......  =D   

We had a delicious breakfast - bacon, fried apples with cinnamon and candied ginger YUM!   with scramble eggs and ice cream =)  yup, I am the cool aunt - we eat ice cream for breakfast AND after dinner... we might have, on occasion had ice cream with lunch as well... perhaps.  8)

round 2 - note to self she is a 2 egg kinda girl 

With full bellies we started on a little sewing lesson ~  made a super cute Barbie  outfit.  Ok, I made the skirt last weekend & we worked on the tank top together.  I have not sewn in a looonnng time and she she has done on a little for girl scouts and once in kindergarten (with real needles she tells me - I  do not believe it!?)  We used fabric scraps from well loved, beyond repairable clothing. 

I was so excited when I found Miss B. Couture - she is AWESOME!  thorough, simple directions - very cute outfits - we want to make them all!!! 

just getting started ~ thanks to http://www.missbcouture.com 

almost done ~ just needs some velcro fastener sew on the back 

Sew cute - right?

While we worked on our sewing she helped me make this amazing crock pot beef stew ~  we totally cheated used one of those McCormick beef stew packs, 3 lbs of chuck roast beef chunks (browned in a bit of olive oil)  1 1/2 cups water...   cooked for a hour on high.

Then we added 5 cups of these pretty little assortedbaby  potatoes & some fresh/frozen rosemary (Mmmmm  smells like summer).

Finally,1 1/2 cups halved baby onions, 2 cups halved baby portabella mushrooms, and a 1/2 cups baby carrots  ....  generooouuuusssss pour of cabernet sauvignon - because as I told my young assistant - wine makes almost everything taste better.   We let that cook on low for a few more hours...  =D

We went off to meet up with mom, dad and the little brother - to return her and do some thrift shopping!!!  They got all the good finds...  and yes another Barbie (with blond & pink hair) I think she is addicted - but it makes me happy to see a 10 yr old acting like a 10 year old - yup, enjoy being a kid!

Back to my Home Sweet Home and OMG - pretty sure this is the BEST beef stew ever!  YUM!  =D

....  this girl ready for bed  - NOT ready for Monday  =/

Namby-Pamby Gumbo

...  evidently the King Cake gave my hubby a taste for New Orleans cookin' which I thought was odd, but I figured why  not ~I love Gumbo, the big man can not handle the spicy food, has only had a little taste here and there....  So naturally, I had to tone to down the spicy & to make it gluten free (for me) I have to say my first attempt was quite a success. =D

I think the smoked sausage really made it, along with all the fresh ingredients, especially the okra - it ain't gumbo it it ain't got okra!-  Lots of chopping but totally  worth it!   You can spice it up if you like with your favorite hot sauce. 

2 - tablespoons butter 

1 - tablespoon - flour

Enjoy =D

 6 - clovess of garlic 

2 - small onions diced 

1 - celery stalk diced 

2 cups - of light chicken broth  

1 - medium red bell pepper diced 

3 - carrots sliced 

1/2 cup - (heaping) frozen corn kernels 

1/2 lb - okra sliced 

2 lbs - tomatoes chopped 

1 cup - hot water

1 teaspoon  -parsley 

1 - bay leaf

salt & pepper to taste 

3 - smoked beef sausages, sliced 

1 lb - raw shrimp, de-veined peeled, tails removed

Melt butter in soup pot over med heat add flour  (I used rice flour - gluten free) stir continuously about making a light roux .
Add onion, garlic and celery - cook about 5 min.
Add broth (I used Herb-Ox Instant Sodium Free Bouillon Packets - they are also gluten free), vegggies, and smoked sausage, parsley, salt& pepper - cook over low for about 1 hour.
Bring  to simmer, remove bay leaf - return to low - add shrimp, cook until shrimp are done.
server over hot cooked rice - makes about 8 servings.
I hear it freezes well.

 leftover are even better...  =)

King Cake =D

Happy Mardi Gras Y'all!!!

.
Stuck here at home in the frozen Midwest I could not resist making King Cake Mam Papaul's Mardi Gras King Cake Mix with Praline Filling, you can find them at World Market (probably a bunch more place this time of year) ...  

King cakes are a  sweetbread ring shaped cake filed with cream cheese, fruit or in this case praline decorated with purple (justice yellow (power) and green (faith)  colored sugar  with a little toy baby hidden beneath the cake - the person who finds the baby brings the next cake or hosts the next party. 

I have to say a bit more labor intensive than I recall.--- chalking it up to being old and out of shape  w   I totally need dough hooks for my stand mixer --- but TOTALLY worth it!

The mix comes with just about everything you need - just add hot water, butter and an egg,  and nuts are optional, but I highly recommend them  ---  I used walnuts, pecans would be great too =D

I made 2 small cakes so I could bring one to work and leave at home for the hubby. 

They turned out fairly well -- LOL ok so,  one fairly respectable mini king cake and a blog for Rob -ha!!   I am quite certain I should have flipped them so the pinched side was on the bottom  - but oh well  -  nothing icing and colorful sugar cannot hide  =)  

A medallion from the the Krewe of Iris parade  (far too  many years ago)  Named for the Goddess of the Rainbow and Messenger to the Gods, the lovely krewe wears full-length masks and white gloves -awesome! 

smoky yellow split pea soup

this turned out SO good!   I it topped it with a little shredded  asiago cheese & served it with grilled Ham and Swiss on Rye to the hubby He was quite pleased  =) ...  after a long day of working in the cold - he had a second bowl, a second sandwich with a third bowl of soup and another 1/2 a bowl  - big man had a loonnnggg  cold day at work!!!

...so much for leftovers for lunch burring the week (note to self - double the recipe next time!).

the broth... 

4 smoked neck bones (about 1/2 lb)
8 cups of water
1 bay leaf
12 peppercorns
2 cloves of garlic
1 small carrot

the soup...  
1 large shallot (diced)
4 cloves of garlic (smashed & chopped)
1 pat of butter
1/4 cup red wine

6 cups of broth
16 oz yellow dried split peas (green is OK too - I just prefer the color of the yellow)
1 tablespoons dried parsley
dash of celery seed

1/2 cup heavy cream (optional- you can use a bit of water or mike instead)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup carrot (shredded diced or sliced - whatever you prefer)
2 tablespoons finely shredded spinach (optional)
1/3  cup diced ham
(optional) Salt and Pepper to taste

Simmer the neck bones, bay, peppercorns, garlic and carrot for a about 3 hours - resulting in a savory smoky broth...  Strain broth and set aside..  Use a fat separator to make it healthier...   I have a cheapy  4 -cup plastic one - hoping to get this sweet - made in the USA tempered glass one for my birthday =D

Brown shallot an onion in butter...   Deglaze pan with red wine...  Add 6 cups broth, peas, parsley and celery seed  - simmer for 40 min...    Mash up the peas with potato masher  or blend a bit with and  immersion blender....

Combine cornstarch and milk - add mix slowly to soup whole stirring....    Add carrots, spinach  and ham - low simmer 20 min longer.   Keep warm until ready to serve .  =)

eggcellent! Eggsact - Made in the USA

I like eggs scrambled, fried, egg-drop soup, frittata and hard-boiled, in salads and deviled eggs <YUM>   fortunately  I am pretty much incapable of cooking a perfect hard boiled egg...  once in a great while I get it right...   most of the time it takes  1 or 2 test eggs...  ugh!  wasting eggs totally annoys me...

oh but what joy - about a out a month ago while I was out doing a little gift shopping at at Bed Bath and Beyond when  I spotted the amazing  "Color Changing  Eggsact Eggtimer" proudly Made in the USA  - price $4.99 ...                                                    ... I recalled my sister me calling me (more than once perhaps) around Easter to ask me how to cook eggs - because I am such a great cook - or more likely because her first dozen eggs turned out to be a gooey gross  mess - as she trusted the instructions online & didn't test - her second batch following my advice & testing turned out better I assume lost another 1 or 2 test eggs  - ugh!!!                                         ... I scooped up 4 of them to purchase and wrapped then up for my sis, a friend and dad-in-law...   I hope that are as please as I am!    pretty sure sis and the kids will be  =)

about 10 min...   

of course, I got one for myself as well!  I followed the direction on the back, placed my timer and eggs in the pot and filled it with hot tap water, cooked em over a low boil while keeping a slightly watchful eye on them.  now, I prefer my eggs a tad past what most people call hard and so I waited until the entire thing turned purple and  scooped the eggs and timer out and placed them into a bowl to cool - and....     TA-DA!!!  PERFECT HARD-BOILED EGGS  =D

you need this!

now, I am not a kitchen gadget freak at all - basic only for the most part - this is a necessity! Even if you only make them a few times a year - pretty inexpensive and small - totally worth it and I suspect the fact this makes boiled eggs so easy and stress free - like me, you just might find yourself making them more often...   now if you have a cholesterol issue, please skip the yolks..  or maybe just have half?! 

Anyway, did you give or get any great Made in the USA gifts for the holidays?

And what is your favorite egg dish?


update 3/10/13 -  great blog about cooking eggs perfectly and peel EASY!  

Chocolaty Christmas ♥ Spoons

please check out the deliciousdeliciousdelicious beautiful tutorial blog post - on making these cute and delicious festive chocolaty  spoons!

I made 24 spoons - using good old Hershey milk chocolate (8 oz bar) topped them with assorted christmasy sprinkles and dots  (I do not have double boiler nor a microwave - so I melted the chocolate in my 1 cup Pyrex measuring cup placed inside a gently simmering pot of water - worked perfectly!)  SO easy!  and who would love to receive a jar of these?  perhaps long with a bottle of Vanilla Coffee Liqueur     YUM!!!  =)

Merry Christmas

on the wall... and whats happened since my last post =)

During a little trip to San Diego, California in 2000 -  hopped the border to do a little shopping Tijuana  Mexico --  I got this pretty colorful pretty fish =)   

November 30 - one the wall #FMSPHOTOADAY

SO... Thanksgiving has come - it was a lovely stress free day =D  

starters

the best in a long long time!  it was just me, the HB and My little sis came out with the family. 

We had plenty of appetizers - so no one had to cry 'I'm hungry"   crackers, salami, pepperoni, 5 kinds of cheese - cheddar bacon cheeseball, swiss, mild cheddar, colby jack and brie, black & green olives, sweet pickles... oh and the  cheese & caramel popcorn -  nom nom nom!!!

The table was set with (all made in the USA) festive paper tableware and a "tablecloth" made for coloring =) having no plates and glasses to was a joy for the dishwasher (my HB) 

A certain young man came bearing a football adorned in GB Packers attire - I adore him none the less.   

The boys went out for a bit to throw and kick the football around a little, while we girls chatted, snacked, sipped a little Barefoot Red Moscoto sparkling wine & browsed the black Friday sale ads - oh and we also did a bit of cooking  =)

We had Ham, Turkey breast, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, green beans, corm, cranberry sauce, crescent rolls, cornbread & peach orange jello with marshmallows - everything was SO good!!!

I  am thankful for a lot of things -  food on the table, happiness on my heart, a comfy bed to sleep in, a good job, and not ever having to say President Romney  =D

Miss America 2012

After busting the doors <LOL> mostly we got great deals on Items we plan to donate =)  and a few little gift things - drank coffee and then tried to napped for like 3 hours <ha!>  we all went out for breakfast and then hit the Downtown for the annual lighten up festival...  we painted a ornament Christmas trees at the local "paint you own place" kinda a new tradition - this was our third year - can't wait to see how they turned out!  then we hopped from shop to shop to take part in all the festivities -   we meet Mrs. Santa Klaus and wrote letters to Santa, frosted & promptly ate cupcakes <yum> and made pine cone feeders for our birdie friends...  finally waited in like for like an hour to meet Ms. America - totally worth it, my niece was so thrilled!

Miss America 2022

Small Saturday we girls hit the local resale stores, a little holiday shop and a family run Christmas tree farm  -  among other fun things we picked up this pretty little dress - which we needed to play toddlers in tiaras!


other than that - I have been working one building a sweet Lego Police Spaceship - picked it up at Good will for only $3 ...  build most of it and found I am only missing a few pieces...  luckily the Lego website is awesome & I was able to find them all and order everything I need =)


started a diet last week - Dr's orders no wheat or refined sugar... ugh!!!  actually doing pretty good, eating more fruit...  been ok with the no wheat thing -  except what is in my beer =D   IDK, I guess I will have to try some of the gluten free beers... already lost 5lbs.

photo a day... morning

morning #fmsphotoaday

2 eggs scrambled, a spot of milk, few dashes of parsley  a dash of ginger, a couple twists of fresh ground pepper, as dash of sea salt.. and a side of 2 thick cut strips of smoked bacon from Kenosha, WI... (...the hubby picked up some Bacon and 5 lbs of Smoked Beef Brats from The Brat Stop   on his way home from a job in Milwaukee - good stuff!!)

and a BIG cup of coffee - to which I added a generous amount  coffee vanilla liquor  (BTW, this makes a wonderful holiday gift & now is the time to make it!!)  and spot of cream - aaahhhh, a lovely way to begin the day!  =D

GOOD Morning

... made me smile today

Did my nails last night - for day 1 of Pumpkinfest - they glow in he dark   =D   SO MUCH fun!!! 
Also, made the first batch of pumpkin seeds....   garlicy...  nom nom nom  - they are going very fast!

Halloween Nails - Round 1 

...  jack-o-lantern pictures coming soon  =D

...who has an obscene quantity of pumpkin seeds!?

This girl  =D

3/5 of my pumpkin seed cache!

*pumpkin seeds are a good source of zinc, vitamin E, fiber and a whole bunch or other healthy stuff  
good lunch box, or after school/work snack!

spoils of my toils...  nom nom nom!!!

I spent 2 1/2 hours scooping pumpkins (1 1/2 hours longer than I expected I would last - hello my good friend heating pad) should have brought 2 giant pots!   haha!!   But, seriously SO MUCH FUN!   =D

I am going to roast em'  -  a am thinking lightly salted; garlic oil and salt; maybe sweet and spicy - red pepper and brown sugar..    and perhaps this recipe for Caramelized Spicy Pumpkin Seeds  nom nom nom!!!

any other suggestions???


*update 10/27  I took some offline advice and made a batch about 1 1/2 cup cleaned seeds - soaked them in water to cover (about 1 cup) with a generous splash of lemon juice (2 tablespoons)  and salt (1/2 teaspoon) for about 1 hour... drained in a colander...  added about 3 twists of fresh ground pepper...  dumped em on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked for about 25-30 minutes at 300 degrees...  I did not preheat!

lemon, salt & pepper seeds  - nom nom nom!!!

only freaking Tuesday...

It is only freaking Tuesday!?  

Only a day late…    

Where I stand…   

thanks for the reminder of how often I spill coffee and how infrequently, if ever the cleaning crew mops …ick.. I suppose that is a good thing – I’m sure that mop is about germ infested as the bottom of a dumpster…   yuck!!!                                                        but cute shoes - right?  =D

Lunchtime!   

I ate my ham & swiss on egg bread for morning bread...  

so lunchtime  I went out to take care of some errands - bank & nonperishable grocery shopping and snack drawer replenishment...   

second half of lunch - my free peanut butter cookie form Jason's Deli and a strawberry kiwi natural soda...  the a Special Dark Hershey bar...  that's for 4:00 pm  teatime  =D