Sunday, November 30, 2008

Gobble Gobble!



I LOVE leftovers! (for the most part)

So, when you have Thanksgiving dinner at someone else's house, you just don't usually get to enjoy leftovers.

However, today, I went to the grocers and they had fresh Butterball turkey, 2 turkeys for $7!!! So I got a 13.5 pound turkey (the smallest one I could find) for the whopping total of $3.50.

Took it home and roasted it. We had our own extra turkey dinner tonight, and plenty of leftovers!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!


I am thankful for my mom's recipe for pumpkin pie. I am about to load up two pies, and several loaves of pumpkin bread and have some turkey! I will be with my best friend Cat and her family. Gobble gobble gobble!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Tang Would be Better




Finally, urine recycler passes astronauts' test

MIKE SCHNEIDER


Associated Press Writer




After several days without luck, astronauts finally ran a successful test on equipment that turns urine into drinking water — a necessity for supporting the international space station's crew, which will soon double.


"Not to spoil anything, but I think up here the appropriate words are 'Yippee!'" space station commander Mike Fincke told Mission Control early Tuesday morning, shortly before bedtime.


"There will be dancing later," Mission Control replied.


Read the rest here.



I was 9 years old when man walked on the moon. I remember watching rocket launches in school. They would wheel in an old black & white set into the classroom, and we'd all sit, mesmerized by the scratchy reception. It was a romantic time of dreams. A dream to shoot for the stars and reach the moon! We ALL wanted to be astronauts!


Suddenly, the thought of being one doesn't sound so intriguing.


Sunday, November 23, 2008

Covered Up



HELP! I'm buried inside!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Witches Bottles


If you do any kind of needlework or sewing, save the snippings of thread that accumulate. They are great for witches bottles!
Here are some we made last year. They were made for protection, mostly.
One idea behind a witches bottle is to fill with things that stop or delay the "bad guys" from getting in. So, if you fill the bottle with snippets of thread, the idea is that the thief or bad entity must first COUNT each thread before allowed entry. Also, place sharp nasty things inside to deter the negative energy - things that would "hurt" such as nails, pins, razor blades, rusty screws, etc. Also, put some of yourself in there: body fluids, such as urine or blood.
We painted runes on the caps of the bottles, sealed them, and I buried mine outside the front door.

Meet My Family














Tiny Dancer is 3, and is ALL BOY.





Gigi is his mom, and the best mom and girlfriend there is!





Here's another pic of Tiny Dancer, in his karate outfit:


CUTE, huh?

But here's how he USUALLY is, in the "Inja" outfit we found for him at an after-Halloween sale:



Of course he's saying, "I KILL YOU"


















Finally, here are the two furry boys:



Toto is 11 and schizophrenic - hisses and purrs at the same time, I don't think he knows WHAT he wants. And Dobbie is 1? He's a Scottish Fold, and has total Kitten Energy. Always.
In fact, I am going to put up a xmas tree this weekend (I THINK) and so.... it may come crashing down repeatedly. We'll see how this goes...


Friday, November 21, 2008

Ginger Economics



So, last night, I set out to make a couple pumpkin pies, and in the middle of it all discovered I had run out of ginger. The spices are SO important to this recipe, I simply had to drop what I was doing and run to the grocers.

I am so glad I read this post about spices: Why Spices Are a Complete Rip-Off and What You Can Do About It: The Spice Series Part 1 over on the Casual Kitchen. It's too close to the end of the month for me, and my wallet is very skinny! I am lucky because the closest grocery is one that is geared towards the Hispanic population. So, therefore, a bigger selection of spices like these. If you don't speak Spanish, you will have to be familiar with what the spice looks like. Instead of having to shell out $3.56 for a small bottle (0.8 oz.) of McCormick's ginger, I found El Guapo's pouch, 1/2 oz. for the awesome price of 79 cents!!! After scanning this pic, I opened it and sniffed. Smelled just like McCormick's ground ginger! Tasted some of the pie, and NO DIFFERENCE.

Check out the above article, and Part 2. It saved me quite a bit.

My Mom's Punkin Pie

Of course, don't we ALL think our mother's/grandmother's/etc. pumpkin/other pies are THE BEST and the SECRET RECIPE to outshine all others?

Of course.

But, when I bake one of these pies, and I baked TWO last night, to donate to a charity bake sale at work this morning, but when I bake this recipe, all warm fuzzy feelings of a happy home come flooding back to me. And by giving these pies, my aim is to pass along those warm fuzzy feelings. I imbue that positive energy into my baking.

Now, I know that most times, a pie is a pie is a pie. Especially when it comes to that Thanksgiving staple, pumpkin pie. BUT after I moved across the country, I discovered that no one else REALLY makes pie like this pie. The "common" pumpkin pies I have run across are very orange, and like custard in consistency. And that's all fine and good. But THIS pie is MO' BETTA! Trust me on this one.

Scald: 1 can evaporated milk with more regular milk added to make 2 cups. Add 2 tablespoons butter, and let sit off heat.

Mix together: 3 cups pumpkin (or puree from 2 small pie pumpkins), 2 cups sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. ginger, 2 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg.

Slightly scramble: 4 eggs. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix in. Add milk, mix in.

Pour into two pie shells. You should also have a little extra to bake in a bowl/dish separately, as a "crustless pie." Don't throw it out! This is an extra BONUS. Sprinkle the top of each pie with 3 tablespoons of diced/finely chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans). Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes, until a knife inserted between the center and edge comes out clean. (The smaller dish will take less time to bake.)

Total yum.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Jewish Penicillin


See this burger? It is COVERED in garlic. That is the brownish stuff on top of the meat. This is the meal my brother ate, last year at this time, and he STUNK for three days afterwards! It was AWFUL. We were visiting our parents, and had to share a room. I don't think any seed or parsley could have saved him (or me). If you love garlic like he loves garlic, you will love this recipe.

It is from my doctor, and is PERFECT for cold and flu season.


Garlic Chicken Soup

2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 head of garlic (about 15 cloves, crushed and peeled)
1 medium red onion, quartered
½ - 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 ½ tsp. minced parsley
1 ½ tsp. cilantro
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp mint leaves
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. grated ginger
Salt to taste

Spray Pam in a large saucepan and add onion, sauté for a few minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute more. Add broth and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Add lemon juice and salt to taste.

You may inhale the therapeutic fumes. Take 1 to 2 cupfuls everyday until you are well.

It is important to crush the garlic; this action activates the enzyme allinase which then works on the active ingredient allicin. Use fresh garlic and crush it yourself. Wait 10-15 minutes before cooking; this allows the allinase to work on the allicin. Crushed garlic is effective against bacteria, viruses and fungi. Worried about garlic breath? Chew Fennel or Anise seeds, or Parsley.



Also, you should get a FLU SHOT. And wash your hands (a lot!!!) Good luck and get lots of rest and "try" to stay stress-free.


Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Thou Shalt Not Steal



I had occasion to go out of town for business last month. I went with my boss, who definitely lives up to the title (BOSSY!) And as we parked in front of the motel, and walked up to the doors, there was a massive granite slab there, as you see - with the Ten Commandments chiseled on for all to see. At first I thought, well maybe it's the "10 commandments of friendly motels" but no.... upon closer inspection, you can see the same commandments from the movie with Charleton Heston. (LOL) At first, I thought I might burst into flames upon passing this monument. However, I must have uttered the secret password, as I was able to enter safely.

On the morning of checkout, my boss rushed me through breakfast and I didn't get a chance to finish my coffee. So, since I was commanded (but not one of THESE 10 commandments) to "bring the car around," I jumped up to see if there was a to-go cup I could take my coffee in. I found none, and not wanting to waste perfectly good Go-Juice, I just took it with me. I was waiting in the car in the front for her, when I was COMMANDED: thou shalt not steal. So, since I'd finished drinking the coffee while waiting, I set the cup down, as commanded, and snapped this photo as a memento.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Paper Dolls

I'm old. I used to LOVE playing with paper dolls!!! And one of my favorite toys was a lightbox where I could trace new fashionable clothes for Barbie. Doll. That was her last name, right? I love, now, to watch Project Runway. I mean, I'm not artistic by any means, but I so love to dream about being a fashion designer, or a model, or just rich and beautiful.


So, I found this web site with loads of online paper dolls. TOO MUCH FUN! Best link of the day. (Note: some links on this page no longer work.)


Here's my favorite (my "adult" self has changed tastes from the days of Barbie's fashions):


Monday, November 17, 2008

Where You At?


Here is where I go, daily, sometimes multiple times!


I read the comics, such as Argyle Sweater, Lio, and Pooch Cafe.

I scan the news, keeping in mind that this newspaper pretty much sucks ass. The Avalanche (huh?) Urinal.

Gotta keep up with my "pretend" internet best bud, Ree, over at the Pioneer Woman. Her blog is so REAL and she is so funny, I feel like a pretend stalker friend.

Then, I go search for books to swap so that I can amass a bigger pile of "To Be Read."

Finally, I get my sweet tooth fix with some of Whitney Matheson's Pop Candy.


Sunday, November 16, 2008

What's Cooking?





The first unofficial Free Pagan Hot Meal was held last night. Gigi requested meatloaf and mashed potatoes from our Xena-Warrior-Princess Kitchen Witch. Xena made some yummy additions to the "meat" theme I'd come up with!


My mom first served buttercup squash long long ago, and I thought she'd done something different to the squash recipe. Turns out, she had just added a butterCUP to the butterNUT squash puree. I never forgot it. So, every fall I look for a buttercup to cook. Some stores list it as a Kubota or Kubocha, I forget. But it's a buttercup to me.


Sharpen a knife and cut that sucker in half. Scrape out the guts and place cut-side down on a cookie sheet. Add a bit of water, not too much that it sloshes out and makes a mess. Bake at 350-ish for 30 minutes or so until it's fork tender. Cool and scoop out sweet goodness. Mix with other squash puree or not. Add some salt, cinnamon, maple syrup, brown sugar, whatever floats your boat. But don't float it too much. You want a HINT of extra flavor, but let the buttercup yumminess shine through. Mash and bake until heated through.


I froze mine (plain and unseasoned) and then thawed it out about a week later to bake up. Served it last night and it was so sweet and so good. Even Gigi liked it, and she is The Picky Eater.


Orange foods are good, and good for you! This is a picture of a butterCUP squash.