Who Says Stuff from the Freezer isn't Good?

Freezer Biscuits

 just under 1 tbsp regular Yeast

2 tbsp White Sugar

1/4 cup Warm Water

5 cups  Flour

3 tbsp White Sugar

1 tbsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

3/4 tsp Salt

1 cup  cold Butter 

2 cups Buttermilk

In a  bowl, stir yeast and 2 tbsp sugar with warm water; let sit for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix flour, 3 tbsp sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter to medium coarse texture.   Stir in yeast mixture and buttermilk, and mix  until dough sticks together. It will be soft and a bit sticky. Flour your work surface, roll out dough to 3/4" thick. Cut out biscuits with a 2 1/2 in biscuit cutter and poke tops with a fork. Place on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once biscuits are frozen, put in a freezer bag (mark what's inside and the date) and return to freezer. Biscuits can be frozen for up to one month. 

To bake, take out number of biscuits needed and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover with a cloth and place in a warm spot and let rise for about 1-2 hours (pretty vague time requirement!) until biscuits almost double in size. 

Preheat oven to 425 deg F or 220 deg.C , and bake for about 10 minutes, watch carefully, as cooking time depends on thickness and size.   Yes, size matters.

Happy Day

Just a quick update on the goings on with our friends after they where figuratively punched in the gut and had their feet kicked out from under them.

My friend had her surgery, did not have a mastectomy but instead a lumpectomy.  The cancer cells do not appear to be in any surrounding tissues or lymph nodes so the doctors feel her future is good.  They will be deciding in the next couple of weeks if treatment is needed.

One day at a time.   

Breathe in, breathe out.

Sean's friend, Austin, came out of the surgery quite nicely, is alert and has spoken a few words.  Something he was unable to do before surgery so everyone is hopeful that there will be no more bleeds or clots and that when the swelling on the brain goes down he will be back to normal.  

He had his dad Facebook pictures of him after the operation with the comment "I can talk, bitches!"

The entire thing brings tears to my eyes and when he's back to normal I will say "language, Austin, language!"

Sean said, "Look, he won't need a halloween costume.  He has the  bandages, stitches, bruises..."

He got 'the look' for that one.

Kids..... they make our hearts burst with pride and break apart with anguish and worry.

So another prayer of thanks and a prayer that you will all be safe, well and happy and that we will all see the  things in life that are joyful.

A Parents Worst Nightmare

This evening we heard that one of the boys in the Earthquest program with Sean was in a car accident last night.  He was on his way home from a friends volleyball game 7:30 at night when his truck went off the road and down a 25 foot  embankment and hit a tree.  The Jaws of Life were needed to help get Austin freed from the vehicle.  He has serious head and limb injuries.  Tonight he is having surgery  to remove a blood clot from his brain. 

Austin is 17 years old, a Lacrosse star, likes to joke and laugh and have fun and is very much liked by many, many people.  My heart is breaking for him, his friends and his family. 

We are praying for him.

Three Rights makes a Left

My son will be 16 in the beginning of December and on his birthday he wants to write his driving test so that he can drive our car.  He has also been saving his money so that he can buy his own car.

That got me thinking about my first car.

It was a 1962 Ford Falcon and had been well used.  It's top speed was 55 miles per hour which is fine until you have the need to pass another vehicle.  I learned to follow the slow movers.  

Sit back, relax and follow.

The car was white, automatic, four door and had a grey interior.  It was neither sporty nor sleek.  It was embarrassing for a 16 year old to drive until I realized any car was better than no car.  I drove that car quite a lot.

The antenna for the one station radio it could reach was broken, the big chrome horn honker was loose and rattled,  there was an odd scraping noise that came from the bottom of the car that sounded like I was dragging wire.   I wasn't - I checked.

One day my sister and I were driving to the family farm.  I had told her I would pick her up pretty early as the car's top speed was slow and that we didn't want to arrive mid afternoon.  When I pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex I could see her fiance standing at the window so I honked and waved.  He waved and I saw him telling my sister I was outside waiting.  

After the car was loaded with all her  necessary stuff, off we drove. 

 I turned left to face the exit of the parking lot - the horn honked - fiance waved.  I  turned left around the parked cars - horn honked - fiance waved.  I turned left,  exiting the parking lot - horn honked - fiance waved.  I turned left to get on the main street - horn honked - couldn't see fiance wave.   I turned right to get on the highway - no honk.

Later that day when I dropped my sister off at her home - her fiance said he had several dirty looks and several talking to's about the rudeness of his fiances friend honking the car horn so early in the day.

He thought we were just honking because we would miss him.

A few weeks later I turned left into a parking spot in front of a restaurant where I was meeting friends and the horn honked.   

and honked, and honked, and honked.

Friend came out, lifted the hood, pulled a wire and the honking stopped.

Soon there was a bumper sticker on the car that read,  "Horn Broken, Watch for Finger"

Yes, such a thing does exist.  

Still.  

Fruit, Fall, Fail and Finally

Fruit

Regular apple on the right and mutant apple on the left.  That apple is large enough for 3 people.  We had several like that.

Fall

I read an article that stated you should not rake the leaves in the fall.  Yay!

Fail

 The following pictures are of my glazing disaster.  Further down this selection of pictures you will see what I was aiming for.  This is not it.

 A tiny bit of the correct color is visible on the rim of this bowl below.

 

Wall plaque - cracked and warped.  Grrrrr.

I think I will fill this one to the brim.  I think there is some chilling in the fridge.

 The bowl on the right is the color this stuff should be.

 

 This bowl below shows some hint of the blue. Not nearly enough though.

Christmas tree decorations for my away family's stockings.  It looks like the star is goosing the polar bear.  

They are not to be hung on the tree like that.

Finally

  This is the new paint on our house - we are getting close to finishing but it's also getting close to winter. 

We need to move along.

Note to self - start nagging The Husband.

The two dots on the garage door?  That's  my car headlights.

$% # ! *& "{ +@ !! #

.....or as my son says "Bob Sagget!"

This weekend was volleyball tournament weekend.  Not too far from home but far enough that all three where gone from 7AM until 9PM - give or take a few minutes.

I ate all my favorite foods and did all my usual chores - minus the interruptions - and spent a lot of time in my pottery room.  What a luxury to be uninterrupted.

Saturday was a pottery glazing day.

Sunday was a firing day.

I had high hopes.  

All the recipes had been followed with the utmost of care and consideration.  

All large pieces were sprayed.  All small pieces carefully dipped in the buckets. 

 All were dried completely.

This morning I opened the kiln and #$@!}^%.

Darn glazing..

I need to take lessons.

(insert disappointed face here)

Dining Alone

Both boys had  volleyball tournaments weekend.
The husband and dad did the driving.
He is also in charge of feeding them which was meals from the drive through.
One meal was Subway sandwiches so that's not so bad.....
Better than fries or poutine, I guess.

This was my opportunity to make something for my dinner that not one of them will eat but something that I absolutely love!

Beets and squash, two of my favorite foods.

So this is how it goes together.

1 (2-pound) chunk of Squash (butternut is my favorite) peeled and cut
 into 1-inch cubes


1 pound Beets, (3 or 4) tops cut off, peeled and cut into 
evenly sized chunks



1/3 cup Olive Oil


3 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar


1 tsp. Fleur de Sel

 Pepper to taste


1 Tbsp. fresh Thyme 

Crumbled Goat Cheese

Place the squash and beet pieces in a bowl.

Add the oil, balsamic vinegar, fleur de sel and cracked pepper.

Toss well to coat.

Transfer to a cookie sheet and spread out in a single layer.

Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for about 50 to 60 minutes or until vegetables are golden brown and tender.

Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with a bit more olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Sprinkle the thyme leaves over top and garnish with goat cheese.

Season to taste with additional fleur de sel and pepper.

Try to use Fleur de sel in this recipe.  The taste is superb.

Serves 4-6.
  


But I almost finished it all.  


Yum.

Planet Sark knows

Child, teen, husband, friend..... this would work for all of them.

http://www.planetsark.com

Life Goes On.

I have been away mentally.  I have not felt like sharing and I have not had joyful happy thoughts.

These past weeks have been a blur of emotions.  A close friend has been diagnosed with breast cancer.  I am panicked.  She is panicked.  Its hard to look her in the eye and not think that her days on this earth have been shortened substantially.

So many things run through my mind and I try not to say them out loud because they are not always the right words.

'There is a cure around the corner.  I heard that they are making great progress with (insert new drug name here)'

'You'll be fine - just keep positive thoughts.'

'I know someone who was diagnosed with cancer seven years ago and he/she is  still alive.'

'Just hang on till your kids are graduated.'

'I can make you chemo turbans.'

'What am I going to do without you?'

And then I start bargaining with God.

Dear God, I promise not to pray for the lottery win if you just let her live.

Dear God, I promise to be a better person if you just let her live.

Dear God, I promise to spread the word of God if you just let her live.

I promise, I promise, I promise .... etc. etc.  

I think my voice is too quiet for God to hear as I've bargained before with not good results.

And I am suffering guilt from thinking how my life will change with the extra work helping them out and the extra time they will need that will be added to my already busy life. And then I think how her life, and the life of her husband and kids, have changed and I feel like an ass.

But our lives still go on.  I go to work, she goes to work. I meet with friends, she meets with friends.  We clean and cook and discipline our teens and talk on the phone and take out the recycling and try not to think too far ahead.

 Not past the surgery date which we hope and pray will be the end of her cancer.



I can't help but worry about her kids.  I hope they don't have to live their lives without her.

Dear God.

He Didn't Even Try...

getoutdoorgear.com


Son #1 came home from his Earth Quest adventure on the west coast of Vancouver Island last night.  This is about 4 days early.  

When they left last Thursday the weather was forecast for 110 km winds (that's about 60 - 65 mph) and 200 mm  (that's about 8 inches) of rain had already fallen that day.  

This weather was to continue for days.  

Their leader, who has been doing this for 30 years, told them to dress and pack appropriately. 

They would be sleeping in tents.  

They went skim boarding on Long Beach.

Sean hit a clam shell and needed  stitches to the bottom of his foot but wouldn't go as he wouldn't be able to continue to skim board.  I think the doctor will try  crazy glue on  the wound today - it really is quite nasty, has not started to close and is still bleeding.

He met a pro surfer.

cbc.ca

They went kayak surfing, which I am told was "awesome! the most fun I've ever had!" 

gotofino.com

He bought a $30 tee shirt at the Tofino "Give Me All Your Money" tourist shop.

He had the best fries he's ever eaten.

Yesterday they were to go to an outlying island by water taxi where they would camp for the next three days.

The ocean swells and crashing waves were over 8 feet so the water taxi would not go out.  

chestermanbeach.net

"He didn't even try mom!"

I love that water taxi driver.

ctv.ca

This was the weather and ocean forecast for the next week which is why their leader decided to bring them home.

I'm disappointed that their adventure was cut short. I am thrilled to have him home.
Safe and Sound.

My Pail Runneth Over....

...with apples, that is.

I made this on Friday because my apple tree is full of apples.

And because I love to eat.

This is very quite easy to make and really, really good.

This baked thing in the background of this photo is not the Apple Pudding Cake but it also uses apples, is cut into squares and is great in the kids lunch.  One day I'll post the recipe.

Apple Pudding Cake

Step One

2 cups Apples - peeled and sliced
I usually partially cook the apples before using them in the recipe and then I add the following

2 tbsp Lemon juice

1/2 cup   Brown Sugar - packed

(You can add a handful of raisins if you like but I don't because my kids complain)

Butter bottom and side of 9" pan.  

Put apples, lemon juice and brown sugar in a bowl and mix around until apples are coated with sugar.

 Gently press apples into the pan and set aside.

Step Two

1/2 cup  Butter

1-1/4 cups Brown Sugar - packed

1 Egg

1 tsp  Vanilla

1-1/3 cups Flour

1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp  Nutmeg

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Ground Cloves

3/4 cup Milk

In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves. Stir into butter mixture alternately with milk, 3 dry additions and 2 wet additions.

 Pour batter over apples; smooth top.

Step Three

1-1/4 cups Apple Cider or Juice - Hot

1 Tbsp Cornstarch 

Heat the cider and cornstarch to just below boiling, either on the stove top or in the microwave.

It doesn't have to be thick, just hot.

Pour over cake batter.  

Do Not Stir. 

Place in a 350 deg F oven and bake for 35 -  40  minutes or until cake is set and apples are tender.

The cider will form a pudding sauce with the apples on the bottom of the cake.

Cool for 15 - 20 minutes.

Serve with Rum laced Whipped Cream
(unless you don't want the kids to get tipsy in which case leave out the Rum.)

This is also delicious with a blob of vanilla ice cream.

This picture is not very good.  It doesn't show the spicy cake, just the caramelized apples.
I was just too excited to begin eating it to take a better photo.


There are leftovers in the fridge - I hear them calling me.....

Warts and All

This morning I went out to pick some apples.  

They are crisp and sweet and juicy.

I kicked my slippers off at the back door, walked across the deck and slid my feet into my Crocs.

Gaaaaahhh!

It was soft and cold and it moved under my toes.

myownbeeswax.com

I didn't kill it and it did hop away - slowly, dragging one leg a bit.

I hope he is just bruised.

Poor little toad.

It brought back memories of a time when we got to experience a toad nose to nose.

thehapalife.com

In our local school, Grade 4 year end, there is a lottery held to see who gets to bring the classroom toad home for the summer months.

Both my lucky boys won this lottery in their grade four years.

Her name is Wartina and she had been living in the terrarium for 14 years.

The teacher didn't know how old she was when her son brought it home to her.

The first summer I worried that Wartina would die from old age while in our care.

The second go-round I was less concerned.

She enjoyed her time with us.

She got to swim in our pond.

She had rides on top of the remote control jeep.

She got to hop along the sidewalk and catch ants and bugs.

She didn't hop well on the grass.

We fed her big juicy earthworms.

She is still living in the grade four classroom.

I wonder, is Wartina still the original, or has she been replaced?

I also wonder, how long does a toad live, if they don't get squished in a Croc?

brookebessesen.com

Sexy!

A couple of days ago I received an invitation to a ladies get together and other than "it will be fun" received no other information on the night. 

Do I dress for crafting?

Do I dress like I'm going to meet the Queen?

Will we be hiking?

Drinks and appies?

Then it hit me.

This happened to me two years ago at our ladies club.

"Wear something comfy, and stretchy," the hostess said

What was there when I arrived?

A big shiny pole that went from  floor to ceiling and a woman, who was a stranger to me, in tights and a  leotard.

NOOOOOOOO!

Pole Dancing.....

Emma Grannon Pole Dancer

"Be sexy!"  the instructor shouted

Its hard to be sexy when sex is not on your mind but instead, humiliation ... and fear.

Maybe I could do the athletic route,  that she would confuse for sexy.

No.

"Pout your lips!"

My face was turning blue from trying to hang on upside down and not fall and crush my skull on the ceramic tiles below.

"Straddle the pole like you mean it"

Maybe a drink would help but then alcohol  not just loosens my inhibitions it also loosens my muscles to the point where they are noodle-like.

My ladies were cheering me on.  I was praying for a power outage and complete darkness.

My shirt was hanging over my face.  My torso was exposed.

Gravity, you are not my friend.

Sexy indeed.

yaletownkeg.com

Mutant Ninja Tomatoes

It is tomato season.

Yesterday they were canned, frozen, made into salsa, dried, roasted and made into soup.

My fingers were wrinkly and tingling from their acidity.  

There are normal tomatoes.

Tomatoes that grew so I would know where to cut them for wedges.

Tomatoes that are too big to fit on a slice of bread.

and tomatoes that defy description.

There are green ones, red ones,yellow and  some with a purplish tinge.

All are delicious  and most have left juice, seeds and pulp on my shirt, the floor, the stove (that's a bad one!), the floor and the dog.

There are still strawberries.

And now I need to make chips for dipping.

My feet hurt.

My lower back hurts.

The kitchen smells like tomatoes and peppers.

and now I'm going outside to paint trim.

The next time this house needs painting I think we'll move instead.