Still time to enter the Funny Caption Giveaway

Don't forget about this giveaway!!! There's still time to enter - right up to midnight Nov. 8th,

Just think up a funny caption for this picture. (His name is Jesse and he's one of my great-nephews, or at least he thinks he is. We're afraid to tell him any differently!)

Just leave your caption in the form of a comment and be sure I can get in touch with you through your blog or e-mail.

So, what's the prize?

Something holiday oriented and made by me especially for you. It's sort of a mystery prize. The prize for the last caption contest went to Flannyoak and looked like this:

Ummm! Ummm! Now, that's a great cake!

Okay, I promised y'all Gran's pound cake recipe.

Got your mace ready? (That question only makes sense if you read yesterday's post!)

Gran's Pound Cake

1 lb. (2 cups) butter
3 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp. mace
½ tsp. salt
4 tsp. vanilla
10 eggs
4 cups flour

Hey, I NEVER said it was dietetic!!

In mixer bowl, cream butter, add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add mace, salt, vanilla and 8 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour, a little at a time; add the remaining eggs. Combine and mix well.

Lightly grease and lightly flour bottom and sides of pans. Pour into 2 4-qt. tube pans or 6 loaf pans. Bake at 300° for 1 ½ hours or until done. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Turn out onto rack to cool completely.
***This cake tastes best if made 3-4 weeks or more ahead of use. Wrap it in plastic wrap and then in heavy foil. Place it in freezer. Get it out of the freezer and thaw to room temperature for 1 hour before serving. To serve, cut into slices. This is especially good served topped with ice cream or fruit such as strawberries or peaches.

Gran used to always say the freezing intensifies the flavor and slightly changes the consistency and texture of the cake. Just recently, I caught this same tip on a cooking show on t.v. They, of course, explained why that happens using scientific terms. I think my Gran learned it from experience. Either that, or she just never wanted to admit most people didn't eat crispy cake as she often forgot to get it out ahead of time!

Weapon or Spice ?

I straightened my spice shelf the other day. Okay, so they aren't all on one shelf. I'm not that organized, folks.
Mine are stretched out across the kitchen. We use a tremendous amount of some spices, so we buy them in 55 gallon drums. (Okay, maybe not quite that big. But we do buy the large economy size!) Those of course, really never quite fit anywhere specific, so they tend to sit out on the counter most of the time.
Then, there are others that sit across the back of the top of the stove. NOTE: I know that's not how you are supposed to store spices due to the heat but we do it anyway and have for years.
Some actually reside in a legitimate "spice rack" mounted on the side of a cabinet. Unfortunately, it's an old rack and not really built to accommodate more modern containers so many just don't fit there. The remainder are arranged on a Lazy Susan in a cabinet near the sink. (I use the term "arranged" loosely, of course.)
As I moved the can of mace, I remembered a funny conversation with The Big Guy last Fall:
We had been out to dinner and were on our way home when he asked the standard question: "Is there anything we need, want or desire before going home?" In other words, "Do we need to stop at the store?"

I knew I was going to make my grandmother's pound cake the next day for a family event and knew it called for mace. Our ensuing conversation went something like this:

Me: I should probably stop and get a can of mace.
Him: Mace?
Me: I'm not sure I have an open can in the cupboard.
Him: I guess not!
Me: I don't want to have to run out for it first thing in the morning.
Him: Yeah!
Me: I really do need it. I'm just going to go ahead and pick up a can. (With this statement, I pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store.)

Now, since I was driving, I had not seen his facial expressions throughout this talk. Now, he stared at me in disbelief, shaking his head and saying, "You've GOT to be kidding, right?"

It was then, I realized he only knew mace to be a weapon! He had absolutely no idea it was a cooking spice!! (Just what did he think I expected to happen at my family's dinner?)You do know, mace is a spice made from the bright red covering that partly encloses the nutmeg kernel, don't you?

I'll give you a chance to run out and get a can of mace and then I'll share my Gran's pound cake recipe with you tomorrow! It's really, really good!!!

51 Days & Counting - Keepsake Gingerbread Ornaments

It's easy to make adorable keepsake ornaments from altered gingerbread dough. (Although they do take a little pre-planning as the dough need to sit in the fridge overnight!) They look and smell like real cookies and, I believe, acrylic paint is easier to decorate with than real icing!! You can use them as tree ornaments, gift tags (that can then be hung as tree ornaments), adornment for wreaths, magnets, attached to baskets, garlands, etc.

This particular recipe is made with ingredients most of us already have on hand, rolls and cuts with cookie cutters just like regular gingerbread cookies but bakes up rock hard! They will even smell great for years and years!

I have found the scent comes through when you glaze them with a regular craft shellac but I prefer a polyurethane coating and that often eliminates the scent. It's your choice!

Recipe for Gingerbread Ornament Dough (NOT EDIBLE)

3 Tablespoons shortening

1/2 Cup sugar

1/2 Cup molasses

1 Teaspoon baking soda

3/4 Cup flour

1 Teaspoon each of cloves, ginger and cinnamon

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

*Beat shortening & sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in molasses.

*Sift the dry ingredients together. Stir them into the shortening mixture in 3 parts, alternating with 1/4 cup water each time. Dough will be stiff.

*Refrigerate overnight.

*Cut dough into 3 pieces. Knead to warm dough slightly, then roll each piece to about 1/4 " thick.

*Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out cookie shapes and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. (You can use parchment paper if you'd like.) **If you will be using these as hanging ornaments poke a hole in the top center of the shape using a sharp, pointy object. (I usually use a small Phillips screwdriver for this.)

***The hole will shrink about 50% during baking so be sure it is large enough for whatever type of ribbon or string you plan to use.

*Bake 20 minutes, then turn the oven off and let them cool in the oven.

*Remove from the cookie sheet and place on a rack to dry for approximately 3 days to harden. (I generally cover a clean, cold cookie sheet with wax paper and set my shapes on that. I stash them on top of a high bookshelf in my dining room and mark my calendar to remind me they are there. - Yes, I have forgotten them for days!)
*When set, you can seal the "cookies" with a clear acrylic shellac available in any craft store and use acrylic paints to decorate them.

These are inedible. They are purely for use as decorations.

Memories & Tears

As many of my regular readers know, we lost my nephew in early August. He would have turned 44 today.

Of my various losses within the last few years, this has been one of the hardest for me to accept. We were fairly close in age and my mother practically raised him until his early teens when he went to live with his Dad. We were more like brother and sister than aunt and nephew. My immediate family is small and we've stayed close. We spent all our holidays together, celebrated children's birthdays together and exchanged e-mails several times a week. Each morning when I check my mail, I expect to see some new internet joke or quiz or such, and once again my heart aches.

I am writing this post several days ahead of time, partly because we'll be away and I won't have internet access on the 2nd and partly because I know I feel up to doing it then.

He was born about 6 weeks early and was a skinny, scrawny looking baby with long dangly arms and legs. His father was quite upset and claimed he reminded him of a spider. My thoughts ran more to a monkey but then, I was, and still am terrified of spiders, and tried not to think about them when possible. As a little kid of 4 or so he played my hero rescuing me from many a spider.

My vision of him as a "monkey" was quickly supported by his ability to climb. If he could get a toe-hold, he climbed, no matter what it was. If there wasn't enough texture for a toe-hold, he shimmied up whatever it was. By the time he was 3, he could shimmy up just about any doorframe and hang from the top by his fingertips. Once, when he was about 5, we caught him shimmying up a flagpole. He was actually high enough to be out of my dad's reach and he was ordered to slide down immediately!

I remember shopping with him and having him pop up out of the top of one of those round clothing racks. He didn't mind shopping as he made a game of it. Back then, even discount stores (predecessors of Walmart, Target, Marshall's, etc.) had mannequins . Tom discovered how to unscrew their hands and feet and would busy himself doing so throughout the clothing department. You could always trace his wearabouts by following the various dismembered mannequins! (He was good. He always left the parts laying next to where he found them.)

Most of the dressing rooms then had chairs near their entrance where people would leave their children or spouses sitting while they tried something on. (You could take your eyes off your kids back then without worrying.) He'd dutifully sit down, promising to wait patiently. About the time we'd get stripped to our undies, we'd realize he was crawling along the dressing rooms, looking under the curtain to locate us by our feet or shoes. How embarrassing!

He played football in high school and started college majoring in computer assisted drafting. Shortly, he joined the Marine Corps, a calling he loved. He served in the South Pacific and then in Desert Storm. He anticipated being a career man with the Corps but ensuing knee problems would have limited his assignments and he wanted to settle down and start a family. (He had married before heading to the desert.) Tom had always loved children and related well with them. In return, most worshipped him. He was a favorite and well-loved uncle. Fertility eluded them and the marriage eventually failed.

He developed new medical problems, suffering a heart attack and undergoing by-pass surgery in his 30s. Additional health problems ended his new career as a commercial truck driver. He took a less demanding job and became close with the members of that family owned business. He got engaged. His fiancee came complete with grown children and a grandson. He adored that little boy.

He died from a massive coronary sitting in his parked car on a shopping center parking lot. He had stopped for gorceries on his way home. Tom believed a military funeral was the highest honor one could show a veteran. He was well honored.

Once a Marine, always a Marine!

I just wanted you all to know what a great guy we've lost. Thank you for indulging me.

I will always miss him.

What'cha dressin' up as, this year?

So, have you picked out a costume yet?

If you were a cute little pink pig, maybe you'd dress up as a ...

reindeer!
Or, maybe if you were a big ole milk cow, you'd try being a ...


reindeer !

But, what if you're just a cute little puppy ?

How about a ...
REINDEER !!

Okay, I admit it - I like reindeer.

I collect reindeer of all types, sizes, medium etc. I currently have about 500 different pieces so I take every opportunity to show them off.

And, yeah, I may just dress as a reindeer, too!

Readings …

I’ve had a weakness lately for what I refer to as “murder mysteries lite.” A genre which includes such authors as Janet Evanovich and Joanne Fluke. They all involve murders but are written in a lighter easy-read style. They provide quick reads. Usually they feature some humor and, in Fluke’s case, include recipes! Both of these authors have written series featuring the same lead character and I’ve come to know and love those characters. I can discuss Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum’s life and history the same as those of some of my friends.

As a subset of these “lite murder mysteries,” I’ve also discovered a whole series of books featuring food in some way associated with those murders.

Joanne Fluke’s stories feature Hannah Swenson, the owner of a cookie bakery in a small lake-front Minnesota town. All of the murders involve her baked goods in one way or another and she, of course, plays a role in figuring the mystery out. (NO! They aren’t choking to death or being poisoned by the cookies!!) The best part, she features a cookbook at the end of each book!

In my opinion, the best, so far, is The Sugar Cookie Murder. In that one, she is launching a community cookbook and the story line features a big community holiday meal where all the recipes are featured. Various characters comment on the foods and then, as an appendix, the entire cookbook is there! There’s a crock-pot German potato salad that I’m dying to try. (No pun intended since we’re discussing murder mysteries!) Other titles include Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, Strawberry Shortcake Murder, Peach Cobbler Murder and more

Somewhere along the line, I picked up a book by JoAnna Carl called “The Chocolate Puppy Puzzle“ featuring the amateur sleuthing of Lee McKinney, business manager of TenHuis Chocolade (a candy shop in a small lake-front town in Michigan). Now that was a quick and easy read - only about one day! This is one of the “Chocolate Mysteries.” This series features chocolate trivia throughout the book! I haven’t been able to find the rest of that series, “The Chocolate Cat Caper“, “The Chocolate Bear Burglary” and “The Chocolate Frog Frame-Up”

I'm really looking forward to shopping at Half Price Books while we're out West. (We don't have that chain of stores here.) I can usually find some of these harder to locate tomes there!