The First Day of Fall

Today is the day........................, you know, the day that most everyone I know looks forward to, the first day of fall. Here we go, let's grab a slice of pumpkin pie and sip some Chai.

Even though summer is the ultimate for me, there are things about fall that I love:

*Lacy was born in November, a Thanksgiving baby, which just happens to be my favorite holiday. Having the people that I love here, all together, sharing a meal makes me happiest.

*The fall foliage. I love riding on the Parkway in mid October. The colors can be breath taking.

*Fall foods. Hot tea, hot cocoa, spice cakes, pumpkin anything and always turkey and dressing.

*Dark nights. I am one of the few people who loves the time change. I love the early dark nights when it is cooler outside. Perfect for snuggling.

*Elections. I am drawn like a moth to a flame to the TV on election night.

In keeping with the theme of fall I am posting one of my favorite cooler weather drinks. This is also a great mix to package in a cute little Christmas mug and give as a gift.

Instant Chai Tea Mix

1 cup Carnation nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer - French vanilla flavor
1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer - regular flavor
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups instant tea - unsweetened
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. ground clove
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. regular salt
1/4 tsp. chili powder


Combine all ingredients in a large zip lock bag. Run through the blender 1 cup at a time to create a fine powder.
Add 2-3 Tbsp. to a mug of scalded milk.

**Note: I have omitted the blender step several times and I really think the difference is minimal.**

So, Until Tomorrow........
S~~~

It's A Super Sunday

Weather you are a Saints or Colts fan, it is a Super Sunday. I really don't have a dog in this fight, I will be fine with either team winning. The Saints are the southern team, plus they deserve the win after Katrina, but then the Colts have Payton Manning..........


Truthfully, the Super Bowl is really all about the food anyway, isn't it? This is the day we get to eat "junque" food" all day and justify it. Pretty sweet if you ask me.


A multitude of circumstances have come together this year that have Ronnie and I celebrating Super Bowl Sunday here at home, just the two of us. I wanted to have some people over but after this lovely winter we have experienced no one in there right mind wants to traverse our driveway, so I didn't even ask. We had a couple of invitations, but Ronnie has put in a lot of hours this week and I knew he wouldn't be up for much. So, we are having out own Super Bowl party.



This afternoon I made the Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake. I haven't cut it just yet, but it smells wonderful.

Pioneer Woman's Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever

FOR THE CAKE:
2 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
2 sticks Butter
1 cup Boiling Water
½ cups Buttermilk
2 whole Beaten Eggs
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Vanilla
_____
FOR THE FROSTING:
½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans
1-¾ stick Butter
4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
6 Tablespoons Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.
In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.
In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.
While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.
Cut into squares, eat, and totally freak out over the fact that you’ve just made the best chocolate sheet cake. Ever.

The rest of our spread looked something like this:

Union Square Bar Nuts*
Guacamole and Pita Chips
Sticky Chicken Bites
Creamy Beef Dip with Veggie Crackers
Oprah's Favorite Pomegranate Martinis*

Union Square Bar Nuts

2 1/4 cups assorted unsalted nuts
2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. course sea salt
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter -melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spread nuts on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until light golden brown, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and melted butter.
Thoroughly toss the toasted nuts in the spiced butter and serve warm.

Oprah's Favorite Pomegranate Martinis

1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
2 oz. Absolute Citron vodka
1 oz. Cointreau
Cup of ice
Splash of tonic water

Squeeze of lemon (optional)

Shake pomegranate juice, vodka and Cointreau in a shaker with ice, pour into chilled, sugar rimmed martini glasses. Top with a splash of tonic water and a lemon wedge.

Serves 2

So, until tomorrow.........

S~~~

"I Think it Was The Fourth of July"

Saturday in the park I think, it was the Fourth of July
Saturday in the park I think, it was the Fourth of July
People dancing, people laughing
A man selling ice cream
Singing Italian songs

[Foreign Content]

Can you dig it? Yes, I can
And I've been waiting such a long time.... for Saturday
Another day in the park
I think, it was the Fourth of July
Another day in the park I think, it was the Fourth of July
People talking, really smiling
A man playing guitar and singing for us all
Will you help him change the world
Can you dig it?
Yes, I can
And I've been waiting such a long time....for today
Slow motion riders, fly the colors of the day
A bronze man, still can tell stories his own way
Listen children all is not lost
All is not lost, oh no, no
Funny days in the park
And every day is the Fourth of July
Funny days in the park
And every day is the Fourth of July
People reaching, people touching
A real celebration
Waiting for us all , if we want it, really want it
Can you dig it? Yes, I can
And I've been waiting such a long time....for the day

Chicago, 1972 - Chicago V

What an appropriate song for a gorgeous Fourth of July Saturday. It also happens to be one of my favorites.

I hope everyone has big plans for today, cookouts, spending time with friends and family, music, fireworks................ and most of all celebrating our Independence.

I haven't done a lot of cooking this week, with the exception of putting up freezer meals. I love to have something I can take out of the freezer and have supper ready in a flash on those days when I have exhausted every brain cell I have left. All that falling out of the bed when I was a kid demolished most of them I'm certain. Those that were left after sticking two bobby pins in a receptacle and being knocked across the room. I was raised by an overly protective mother who would NEVER let me have a coke with my meals except on my birthday and Kool Aid was a big no-no, but somehow covering wall receptacles was unheard of. My parents were/are both intelligent people and I think they assumed they would have a child that possessed the same large amounts of common sense they were so richly blessed with. When I did the dumb things that most children manage to do a puzzled look would pass between them that clearly questioned where this alien child came from.

Now back to the reason I actually write this blog......................

What I did make yesterday was Rosemary Infused Cucumber Lemonade. Wow. We loved it
A few months ago Deb and had lunch at Curras Dom and they had a cucumber lemonade type drink that we enjoyed. We both wanted to try it but were a bit unsure so we ordered tea as well. We didn't drink the tea. Thursday Ragan and I were talking and she was writing an article (she is the entertainment editor at the Hickory Daily Record) about fun drinks for the holiday. She mentioned a cucumber lemonade that a caterer in Hickory makes that gets rave reviews. She had promised to send Ragan the recipe but failed to do so. (Her loss, why pass up free advertising?)
I went on line and found several recipes for cucumber lemonade and combined several to come up with this recipe. I love the rosemary in it, rosemary is my favorite herb.
Give it a try, I promise you will be pleasantly surprised.

Rosemary-Infused Cucumber Lemonade

Makes 4 glasses

3 large cucumbers
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary, plus 4 sprigs for garnish
1 cup Sprite Zero
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1-2 Tbsp. agave syrup

Cut 12 thin slices of cucumber for garnish. Peel and chop the rest of the cucumber; transfer to a food processor, add rosemary and puree. Pour the puree through a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium bowl or large measuring cup. Press on the solids to extract all the juice. Add water, lemon juice and agave syrup to the cucumber juice; stir until the agave is dissolved. Divide among 4 ice-filled glasses. Garnish with cucumber slices and rosemary sprigs.

And for after the fireworks....................

Cucumber Mojito

Makes 4 glasses

6 limes
1 cup packed mint leaves, no stems, plus 6 sprigs for garnish
3 large cucumbers - peeled
½ cup sugar
1 1/2 cups vodka, light rum or gin (rum for the mojito purist)
tonic water

Thinly slice 3 limes and place in large (4 cup) glass measuring cup. Juice the rest and add juice. Add mint leaves. Slice 2 cucumbers and add, then add sugar. Muddle ingredients. (Use a wooden spoon with you don't have a muddler) Add vodka, rum or gin. Place in refrigerator to steep 30 minutes or longer.
Peel remaining cucumber and cut lengthwise into 6 spears.
Fill 6 large glasses with ice. Strain mixture into a pitcher. Fill glasses ½ full. Fill glasses with tonic water and stir, garnish each glass with a sprig of mint and a cucumber spear.

My best wishes to all of you and your families for a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

So, until tomorrow..............
S~~~

Blueberries and Summer

I know it really isn't summer yet....., that's OK, it's close enough.
This weekend was so beautiful, but it sure did go by like a whirlwind.

Yesterday I made Blueberry Lemon Tea* for Ronnie ( I don't eat blueberries, it is that seed thing again). We put BBQ chicken on the grill, fresh creamed corn and had a salad from the garden. For dessert I made a Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake.


Tonight we grilled pizza. Honestly, if you aren't making your own pizza sauce you are missing out. It makes all the difference in the world. Try the one posted here and I promise you won't ever buy sauce again.


Blueberry Lemon Tea

1 (16 ounce) package blueberries
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
8 cups water
3 family-size tea bags
3/4 cup sugar

Bring blueberries and lemon juice to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, and pour through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a pitcher, using the back of a spoon to press out juice. Discard solids. Wipe saucepan clean.
Bring 8 cups water to boil in same saucepan;add 3 family size teabags, and let stand 8 minutes. Remove and discard teabags.
Pour into pitcher with blueberry juice mixture and stir in sugar. Cover and chill 1 hour.
Serve over ice.

Sorry to be so short tonight but I am having some minor computer problems.

So, until tomorrow...........
S~~~