Loaf of Bread, This Is YOUR LIFE!

A good way to spend Sunday afternoon...

Country Seed Bread - Complete Canadian Living Cookbook.

Cream of Broccoli Soup - The Way Mom Made It

Years ago, my mom went to a gourmet cooking course at the Algonquin Hotel in St. Andrew's NB. Once a week she and a couple of ladies from our town would drive to St. Andrews and spend the evening making delicious foods and wandering around the walk-in refrigerator. Then she would come home and make these recipes for us.

You must keep in mind that this was the 1980s, so what was gourmet then might be considered mainstream now.
There were a few recipes that stuck and which I still make are:
1. Bacon wrapped Chicken Breasts stuffed with cream cheese and chives. (quite tasty, really)
2. Cream of Broccoli Soup.

Last night when looking through my refrigerator, I discovered that Mr. Happy had purchased two heads of broccoli at the grocery store. I decided to make the soup, since I haven't made it in years...

There is no real "recipe" just instructions, so here you go:

Steph's Mom's Cream of Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

• a head of broccoli
• 1 large or 2 skinny carrots
• onion - ummmm... I think I used about 3/4 of a cup
• butter
• chicken stock
• Salt and pepper

Tools:

• Knife
• Cutting board
• Large pot with cover
• food processor

Instructions:

• Wash and chop broccoli - I peel the large stalk and throw it in as well - if you don't peel it, your soup will have very fibrous pieces of broccoli that don't always get chopped up in the processor.
  
• Peel, wash and chop carrots and onion.
  
• Throw all veggies into the pot with about 1/8 C of butter.
  
• Turn on burner to medium and cover the pot. Allow the vegetables to "sweat" (J? Is that the correct term?)... I don't remember how long this takes so keep an eye on everything so you don't burn the butter or your veggies. You'll know that your veggies are "sweating" once they have turned "bright" (their colours, not their candle power).
  
• Add chicken stock to the pot, but only just enough to reach the top layer of veggies.
  
• Add salt and pepper. I put in about 3/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper.
  
• Simmer until the vegetables are soft.
  
• Take the pot off the heat - allow to cool.
  
• Process the vegetables in your food processor OR use your handy dandy submersible wand blender thingy.
  
• It will look like baby vomit or alien poop. If you added too many carrots, it will be a particularly vile colour.
  
• This is your concentrated soup.

To serve:

• In either individual bowls or in a saucepan, thin the concentrated soup to your liking with cream or milk or whatever you prefer. I use 1% milk, which helps to counteract the richness of the butter. I think we used to do a 3:1 ratio soup: milk. Do whatever makes you happy.
  
• Heat on the stove top or in the microwave.
  
• You can serve it with a bit of grated cheese, or just on its own.

The concentrated soup can be frozen.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got plans for the rest of that broccoli.

Fibre Content!

It seems like forever since I've written a proper post about knitting. How are you all doing? Everyone fine? Would anyone like a cup of tea? Yes? I've got Ginger Peach, it's divine? You get comfy and I'll put on the kettle.

Are you all set? Good, I've got lots to show you. Lemme just grab those photos. Now where did they go?

Oh, here they are. Goodness, would you look at that? Dust! Just a second, (discretely wipes dust on pantleg)... Here we go!

This is the Pineapple Rhubarb jam that I made the other week. It's just so darned pretty I had to take a photo of it. Can you see the bits of pineapple and rhubarb in there?

I've had peanut butter and rhubarb jam sandwiches these last couple of weeks. Judging by its colour, taste and sugar rush effect, I've decided to rank it #2 in the peanut butter and jam sandwich list of possibilities. This places it well ahead of #3, peanut butter and Kraft raspberry jam and but yet still behind #1, which is peanut butter and strawberry freezer jam made with lime juice instead of lemon. The freezer jam comes later in the summer.

I know, a photo does say a thousand words, doesn't it? Oh, I've said a thousand words... ok, moving on.

This is the state of my Mudflap Girl Tank. I've been calling it the Mudflapless Girl Tank, well, because it would seem I have abandoned the pretext of employing proper grammar and have, instead, joined the countless people who say such things as "The book fell off from the desk." End tangent here.

The Tank has looked like that for two weeks. I should probably seam the shoulders, do the edging and block it so that I can wear it before January!

Here we have poor Isabella. She's been in this state for a while. I'm using borrowed needles - one would think that this would quicken my pace. One would be wrong. (Please excuse the shoddy photography. I was in a hurry.)

I have knit these socks faster than any other pair I have ever made (please disregard the fact that I've probably finished less then 10 pairs of socks). I started the second sock on Wednesday evening and am now past the heel and the first cable. The yarn is a Lana Grossa cotton-wool blend that was given to me by The Ninja's son, Mr. Munchkin. She should never, ever, let him into her stash to go shopping because the little guy has excellent taste. He also gave me a skein of her Sea Silk. I almost didn't accept it, but hey, I couldn't disappoint Mr. Munchkin, could I?

Ok, that's all for this post. Next up - Fabric content - I know it's shocking. Don't burn yourself on your tea, dears. Do you need a serviette?

The MacGyver of Jam

I sorted out my pot issues last night and am the proud owner of 6 jars of Rhubarb Pineapple jam.
Because I don't have a canning rack, I needed something to keep the jars off the bottom of the pot while I "processed" them (i.e. boiled the full jars to keep nasty germs from growing in the jam). My cooling racks for cookies were too large for the pot. After "studying" the problem last night, I realized that I could use a small Madeleine-type cookie pan to keep the jars off the bottom.

At 9:30pm, I set up the kitchen for jam making and two hours later, I removed my processed cans of Rhubarb Pineapple jam from the pot of boiling water, turned off the stove and went to bed.

I had just shut my eyes when I heard, from the kitchen, the distinct "POP!" of the snap lid sealing.

Success!

Cupcakes, Knitters and Rhubarb

On Friday night, Mr. Happy and I went to the esteemed Ms. Poppy-loo's birthday bash - Cupcakes and Karaoke! Here are just some of results of the cupcake decorating:



I would love to claim artistic rights to these amazingly decorated cupcakes, but alas, the moment I finished decorating mine, I stood over Poppy's sink and snorfed down the entire thing.

On Saturday, after a successful yardsale, I headed over to the Worldwide Knit in Public event at the Public Gardens. Henry was well received by the crowd. When he wasn't smooching Lynne, he was soothing Grace's tears:



He's considering a career in childcare, but I wonder who would leave him alone babysitting (seriously, hide the keys to the liquor cabinet).

On my way home, after watching Mr. Knit move a train, I came across this "lobster graveyard".



These poor crustaceans seem to have met an untimely end. (For those of you who are looking at this and thinking "What the heck?" - the lobster shells will help improve the soil.) Mike? That photo is for you - do you know where it is? (No hints, anyone - this is part of a challenge.)

This evening I jumped the neighbour's fence again to steal some rhubarb. I was hoping to make rhubarb jam tonight, but I don't have a pot big or deep enough to boil the jars. I also don't have a canning rack, so if anyone has one they can loan me, I'll give you lots of jam in return. I thought I had the whole thing under control (Dutch oven + cooling rack) but then discovered that I wouldn't be able to submerge the jars deep enough. Sigh.


A Saturday sky photo taken in the Dartmouth Commons yesterday - I was sprawled in the grass waiting for a cloud to roll by

Two Phos to Go* - and a Party

I've actually got one FO and one almost FO to show you when the sun comes back.

I blocked the Flower Basket shawl for my grandmother in the midst of a Gilmore Girls watching marathon** yesterday. Using blocking wires made such a difference. It usually takes me an hour to block out a shawl like that - instead, it took me about 20 minutes. Thanks again, Alison!

I also finished all the knitting on my mudflap girl tank - rather, my mudflapless girl tank - I didn't include the intarsia as I want to be able to wear this FO to work. I've got the sides seamed, now I just need to kitchener the shoulder, do the edging and block it. (I probably should have blocked it before I seamed it, right? Whoops - someone was a little overzealous. If I have enough yarn, I'd like to do what Knittypants did with hers. But I'm not sure I have enough for the edging. We'll see.

Saturday was my darling SIL's 40th birthday. My BIL, along with some of my SIL's amazing friends and family organized a surprise party for her. Can I say amazing, when I was one of the helpers? TOOT! TOOT! Sorry, that's my own horn honking there.

At 6:30pm Saturday night, I called my BIL's cellphone from my own while standing among a very large and loud crowd of people in her kitchen. My SIL answered. EEP! I quickly ran to the bathroom and closed the door:

Me: "Hi Birthday Girl! There you are! I've been trying to track you down all day!"

SIL: "Hi! I think I must have had I've had my cellphone off."

Me: "What have you been up to all day?"

SIL: "Oh, we were out for a bike ride with the kids and we're just getting gas before heading home."

Me: "Are you going out for supper?"

SIL: "Yes, John says I can choose where I want to go."

Me: "Well, why don't you call me when you get to your house and Andrew
and I will come over and join you."

SIL: "Ok, that sounds great. We're almost there now."

Me: "Ok, we'll head out now. See you in a bit."

SIL: "Bye"

Me, running out of her bathroom: "OK everyone, they're almost here, get into the family room NOW!"

*Stampede of people*

Moments later, they came through the front door to find about 45 people in their family room - she was thoroughly shocked and delighted. My SIL is an amazing, wonderful, fun-loving, caring person and it was easy to see, with all of her friends gathered around, that she is well-loved in return. We had a great night and, we ate well:

I made the cake with the 40 on it. When my SIL saw it, she grabbed my arm and said, "Did you make a Chocolate Blackout cake for me?!?!?!?" And I had to inform her that I hadn't made one... I had made two. 'cause you never know with this crowd how much they're going to eat. Other desserts were Pumpkin cake with chocolate cream cheese icing, cupcakes for the kids and baklava provided by the caterers, Anatolia's. I managed to snag a piece at the end of the night. It was delicious!

I've promised her a birthday "wrap", so we'll be going out yarn shopping, hopefully some time in the next week or so.

*Pho Hoang Minh is a little Vietnamese restaurant in our neighbourhood - Mr. Happy and I were having supper there one night when someone came in and ordered "Two Phos to go", which struck me funny, for some reason.

**This is only my second experience with watching a TV series on DVD, and the temptation to watch an entire season in one weekend is overwhelming.*

Maggie Muffin Strikes Again - 6 Layer Toffee Torte

On Easter weekend my 12-year-old niece was baptized*. My FIL, being a Baptist minister, did the honours. After church we went to my SIL's house for supper. My job? Cake, of course. Special occasions require special cakes!

I made Six Layer Toffee Torte. This is one of my mom's recipes. I don't remember where she got the recipe, but that doesn't matter - the cake is wonderful!

The cake itself is a dense mocha cake. It is baked in three layers, then cut into six. I use the thread method of cutting layers. It was a little harder with this cake, but it still worked.

In between each layer, the cake is topped with coffee flavoured whipped cream and...

Oh yes, Skor bar bits. This probably comes "pre-crumbled", but we don't believe in convenience food here (Ok we do, but I sent Mr. Happy to the grocery store, and we were on a schedule - he didn't have time to wander the aisles.)

Here's the cake being "built":

It was lop sided, but that doesn't affect the flavour.

Here's the finished product:

The cake sat in the car during the service, and got a little bit "melty", but that just brought out the flavours. There wasn't enough room to put it in the refrigerator that day, but luckily we had had a snow storm that weekend, so we stuck the cake outside on the back deck in the snow.

Did I mention that this cake has 450 calories per serving? Oh, and I should mention that there are supposed to be 20 servings in the cake - so 9000 calories total. Yikes.

Totally worth the calories. And my niece loved it.


*For the non-Baptists out there, who are wondering - in the Baptist church, children are not baptised as infants. The church believes that each person should make his or her own decision whether or not to be baptised. There is no set age - in fact, the same day my niece was baptised, there were three other people baptised as well - another girl about the same age and then two men - one in his 30s and another in his 40s. Baptism in the Baptist church involves total submersion, so many churches have "baptismal" tanks somewhere near the front of the church - often behind the altar. In my hometown, our church didn't have a tank for a long time, so many people were baptised in the river, and the braver ones were baptised in the Bay of Fundy - which is pretty cold, even in the summer.

My Mom called me Maggie Muffin when I was a kid. Probably just her version of Maggie Muggins.

How I spent my Sunday afternoon

The astute among you will recognize that those are homemade marshmallows floating in my homemade cocoa. If it weren't for the lighting you would be able to see that my marshmallows are pink.

Angela may recognize that she gave that plate to me many years ago - and that I gave her a mug that matches this one.

The Flower Basket Shawl is coming along quite well - Thanks for asking. Since this photo was taken, I have reached the first row of the 8th pattern repeat. I'm knitting this on 3.25mm needles. This means that I will need to do about 15 repeats to make this a decent size for my grandmother.

So much matchy-matchness - I thought Martha would be proud.

However, some of you might notice that the icing on my cupcake looks like doggy poo.

You can't win 'em all.



My dad and SM are off to the Dominican tomorrow for the wedding of two dear friends. Have fun guys! And Dad? What's up with the ball caps?

Swimming Pools, Soup and Portraits

We were hit with a winter storm last night - it arrived so quickly that one minute I looked outside and it seemed overcast and the next moment the ground was covered in snow. Mr Happy and I were invited to a dear friend's dessert party last night, but made the decision to stay in - surrounded by homemade marshmallows and two dozen cupcakes. I probably don't have to tell you that we woke up this morning with cupcake hangovers and bits of lint covered marshmallow stuck to our faces.

We also woke up to a cold water swimming pool in our back yard. We've got a serious drainage problem going on back there - Mr. Happy spent part of the afternoon attempting to pump out the water. When I arrived home this afternoon he had set up the pump in a garbage can and was dumping buckets of water into the garbage can. The sump pump won't work unless it is submerged and while there is a lot of water in our back yard, there wasn't enough to cover the pump - hence the garbage can system.

Now, I know that you all love it when I share the boring odd observations of my life with Mr. Happy, and while this isn't another photo of bellybutton lint, this was one of those bloggable moments. This is probably only of interest to me, and perhaps to Jaichan:

That's Squash Soup. Well, when we ate it last night, it was soup. Tonight, on the other hand, it was pablum for grownups. It wasn't until I was almost finished eating it that I held up this spoonful and said, "You know, soup just isn't supposed to look like this." Jaichan? Any explanation? It's squash, broth, potato, spices, onion, garlic, milk. And apparently eggs.

Mr. Happy was drawing while I was eating. I think he captured my face just as I was expressing my disdain over the viscosity of the soup:

"It's Not Dessert If It's Not Chocolate"

We interrupt this knitting blog with a message from our sponsor - The Food Network.

In my world, it's not dessert if it's not chocolate. For the most part, those are the words by which I live and bake. Given that fact, I had been already thinking about dessert for Easter dinner when my SIL called. We decided that it was high time we revisit the Lemon-Lattice White Chocolate Cake that I had made for her birthday a couple years ago. I got the recipe from my Aunt Heather (who is known for her incredible desserts). Bless you, Auntie Heather!

Since, I had made this cake before I knew that I wouldn't have time to make it this morning. Last night, at 11pm, I started making the dessert for our family dinner today. I won't tell you what time I went to bed, but I will say that I heard the cabs and cars going by when the bars closed down. Recipes should come with a disclaimer. Perhaps if it said something like this:

"Caution: This cake will take a sizeable chunk of time to make. You will need 4 hours to make all the components, several hours of cooling time and about an hour to assemble the whole thing. It is a pain in the arse, but the result is a cake that presents well, is delicious and totally worth it. But we just wanted you to know."

I asked Andrew to take some photos of the cake assembly this morning. He agreed to take them but then asked, "When is it that you start doing things just so you can blog them?"

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... maybe now?

You don't want to know what it looks like now.

Because I Love A Good List

Not saying that this list will be good, but I do love making lists.

Thoughts While Waiting To Remove My Nephew's Birthday Cakes From The Pans:
1. Wow. It's 12:30am. Why didn't I make this cake when I got home?
2. Because I'm a stupid arse. That's why.
3. My eyes are so dry my contacts feel like they are about to hurl themselves from my eyes into the sink.
4. I wonder if I should ice the cake tonight?
5. When did I become my mother? (She used to bake late at night or early in the morning.)
6. I wonder if the neighbours are bothered by the Christmas music I have playing?
7. When Andrew and I have kids, I think we should plan it so that we aren't celebrating birthdays this close to Christmas. Poor Evan gets the short end of the stick every year.
8. What the heck did Dave put on this cd? It was Harry Connick Jr a second ago. Now some dude is wailing about singing Auld Lang Syne alone... wait, that is Harry... WTF?
9. I really NEED a shower.
10. I wonder if I can flip those cakes out of the pans now...

My GRAND Vacation

I picked up some of my photos the other day and finally scanned them in tonight. Can I wax poetic, yet again, about how much I love Grand Lake? It's a large lake, about 32km long and 11km wide at the widest point. You can be paddling about in calm waters and see a storm start on the other shore and know that you have about 4 minutes to get off the water and into the cottage for shelter. The water can be as smooth as glass or it can pitch you about in waves that hide you from the view of your fellow swimmers. It's also remarkably warm for a large body of water. Especially if someone, er, voids their bladder in the water near you. Yeah, you knew it was too good to last.

Enough prose, let's get to the photos.


This is the gang having breakfast. That's my MIL on the left, my nephew, B, hiding behind the milk, his mom, Suzanne (who is not red-faced, she just looks funny in this photo), my other nephew, E, with his arms raised and his mouth full, my FIL on the end and my beautiful niece, R, on the "this side" of the table. The table and benches were in the "old" cottage (a new, larger cottage was built on the site of the original) and are perhaps 40 years old or more.


We were eating what we call "Wildflower Bouquet". It's granola, yogurt, and the berries we picked ourselves. Those blueberries were fresh off the field that morning. Yummy. No wonder E has his triumphant hands in the air!

Of course, we did find other things to do with the Strawberries. My niece and I made strawberry freezer jam. I love strawberry freezer jam. A few years ago I started substituting lime juice for the lemon and found that it was like having a tiny strawberry daquiri on my toast every morning. Oh yeah, baby. We also ate lots of strawberry shortcake and lots and lots of strawberries and cream... but we also made Strawberry Cream Pie. Since I know you're going to ask, here's the recipe:

STRAWBERRY CREAM PIE:
PREP TIME: about 2 hours.
CHILLING TIME: recipe says 2 hours, but I think it needs about 3 or 4; it's worth the wait. Make it before lunch and have it as dessert with your supper.

You'll need: 1 quart of strawberries, a baked pie crust, cream cheese, whipping cream, sugar, unsweetened pineapple juice, cornstarch, a medium saucepan, a masher, a butcher, a baker and a candlestick maker.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Stem 1 quart of strawberries (that's the little wooden box). DO NOT SLICE THEM.
Reserve half of the berries.

MASH the other half of the berries with 1 Cup of Sugar and let stand 1 hour. (as if you can wait that long)

Combine in a saucepan:
1/2 C unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 C cornstarch.
The mashed berries. Stir well.
Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Reduce heat. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. ALLOW TO COOL (sweet mother of GOD it takes so long to cool... put it in a bowl or something and stuff it in your freezer!).

IN THE MEANTIME:
Beat together:
6oz cream cheese, softened
2/3 C whipping cream. (yeah, actual whipping cream... none of that artificial crap. You want the liquid stuff that you find in the DAIRY aisle, not the "can't believe it's not fueling my car" aisle)

Spread over 9", BAKED and cooled, deep dish pastry shell (if you're making the pie shell on your own, please use either a deep dish pie pan, OR use a bigger pie pan; for those of you who make pastry the way I do, it's the BLUE Tenderflake box, not the yellow one). There is almost always TOO much of the cream cheese stuff. This is why I kind of double the recipe and make two pies.

ONCE THE BLASTED BERRY CONCOCTION HAS COOLED:
Spread 3/4 of the mashed berry stuff over the cream cheese.
Top with the reserved WHOLE berries. Hum to yourself. Channel Martha through your fingertips. Admire your artistry.

Spread remaining mashed berry stuff over the berries. This is where you'll see the benefit of that deep dish pie crust. There is almost always spillage. Curse me for this disasterous recipe. Scoop up the stuff on the countertop. Lick your fingers. Understand why the kids are always looking for dessert when I walk through the door. (Someone, take me down a few pegs, I'm getting a little too full of myself).

Put the whole thing in the refrigerator. Wait about 2 hours. Check to see if the glaze stuff has set. Go ahead, stick your finger in it. It's not ready, is it? Wait about another 1/2 hour. Get impatient.

Once it has chilled, serve it with sweetened whipped cream. Oh yeah, baby.

A NOTE ABOUT WHIPPED CREAM:
Now, in my experience, there are quite a few people out there who have never used REAL whipped cream. I know, it's horrifying. I don't know what you all think you're doing out there, putting that Reddi-Dream-Edible Oil-whipped crap into your mouths. Look, you're already eating pie. Stop worrying about the fat content and the calories. Get the real stuff. It's worth it. Plus, someone gets to lick the beaters. (Be sure to remove the beaters from the electric part before you hand them to the kids.) So, for those of you who have been eating that crap all these years, may I present:

Stephanie's Cream Whipping Technique:
Pour some whipping cream into a nice deep bowl (some people chill the bowl, but I don't. I live in Canada - it's frigid here most days of the year) about 3/4 of a cup... put the beaters into the bowl and fire them up... toss in a capful of vanilla (yes, just use the cap off the bottle), whip it some more... grab the sugar bowl, sprinkle some in, quite a bit, but not too much - grab a spoon and sample it. DON'T you dare be so gross as to double dip. You may or may not need to add more sugar. Keep in mind that the pie is already fairly sweet.

When the cream forms soft peaks (this happens when you turn off the beaters and lift them out of the cream), you're done. Well, you're done if you like kind of runny whipping cream. If you want, give it another quick whirl with the beaters. Be CAREFUL! You're dangerously close to making butter.

How good is the pie?
Well, I took some photos of it before the hordes descended on it...



uh, apparently the hordes were closer than we thought...



Back away from the pie, kids. Geez. You would think they hadn't eaten everything that wasn't nailed down that day.

Anyhoo, I'll leave you with a couple more photos from the cottage:

These grow wild on the beach.



Beautiful, n'est-ce pas? These are Irises, right? Anyone?

And this little guy,


is staying with me until Monday. Yay! Pippin is in da house! Actually, he's on the couch, sleeping right now. His visit to the yarn store this afternoon kind of wore him out!

Goodnight, gang!

Pump Up The *ahem* Jam

Alrighty gang... Enough of you asked for it. Here it is...
I've got three versions of this recipe - so I'm going to give you the recipe I used plus the canning instructions from the same recipe in ye olde Canadian Living Cookbook.

First plant rhubarb. Allow to grow... OR steal rhubarb from the neigbours. Rhubarb should be PULLED, not cut.
Ok, here's the recipe.

Rhubarb Pineapple Jam
5 CUPS OF RHUBARB - cut into small pieces (everyone knows to wash this and cut off the leaves, right? - but don't cut off the nice juicy whitish part at the bottom - just trim the yuck off it - that's the sweetest part of the rhubarb... And she's off on a tangent!)

5 CUPS OF SUGAR

Combine rhubarb and sugar in a LARGE pot (if the jam boils over, it isn't pretty) - allow mixture to sit until it is juicy (perhaps overnight, or several hours at least)

Boil sugar and rhubarb for 10 minutes

Remove scum if there is any (this means the froth on top of the boiling surface, not cousin Gerald - but if he's still at your place, playing Nintendo at this hour of the night, kick him out too).

Add one 19 OUNCE CAN OF CRUSHED PINEAPPLE (the whole thing - crack it open and dump it in)

Bring to a boil

Add one 6 OUNCE PACKET OF STRAWBERRY JELL-O. That's right folks, everything is better with Jell-O.

Remove from heat and stir well.

Pour into prepared 1Cup (250ml) bottles leaving 1/4 inch head-space. Seal with prepared discs and bands. Process in boiling water canner for 5 minutes.


It is important when you are making any canned goods that you use real canning jars. It is ok to reuse Mason jars as long as:
1. They are free of nicks and cracks.
2. You sterilize the jars properly (in boiling water for the specified amount of time - 10 minutes).
3. You have new lid discs (you can buy these in the grocery store, usually in the baking supplies aisle).

If you buy a box of canning jars, they'll tell you how to sterilize the jars and how to get the lids ready for use. I sterilize the jars and the get the lids ready for use, but I don't have a canner, so I usually just give the jam to people and tell them to refrigerate it and use it right away. People with proper canning skills will probably tell me that this is the wrong thing to do. Hey, no one has died yet! If any of your jars don't seal (the top still clicks up and down when you press on the centre), put those jars in the refrigerator and use them first.

Canadian Living says: DO NOT REUSE OLD MAYONNAISE JARS OR JARS THAT HELD COMMERCIAL PICKLES, RELISHES, JAMS OR SPREADS.

Whenever you make any type of jam or pickle, remember, botulism is NOT our friend.

Esther's Cinnamon Buns

With apologies to those on wheat, gluten or flavour-free diets.

You'll need a 9x13" pan for this (see photo), a rolling pin, and people with hearty appetites.

Mix together:
3 Cups flour
1 Tablespoon Cream of Tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Cut in:
1/2 cup softened butter or margarine

Add and stir just until combined:
1 and 1/2 cup milk (I use 1% - 'cause it's low fat. hee hee)

Knead with a little flour.

At this point, you actually have tea biscuit dough - you could roll it out now and cut out some nice little tea biscuits... or you could say "Forget that!" and proceed with the rest of the instructions.

Melt 1/2 cup of butter (I use less than this. Maybe 1/3 cup???)

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 12" x 16" (I think I make mine larger than this now, but I'm not sure - I don't pull out the measuring tape.)

Spread about 4 - 5 tablespoons of butter over the dough (I don't measure this - I just glop it on)

Sprinkle the dough with approximately 1/2 C of brown sugar.

Sprinkle LIBERALLY with cinnamon (cinnamon isn't as potent you might think - so go wild)

Roll the dough (you'll be starting the roll on the 16" edge) and pinch to seal.

Pour the leftover butter into the 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and some cinnamon into the pan. (This makes a nice carmelized coating on the bottom of the bun. Yeah baby!)

Cut the dough into slices (about 1") and place them in the pan.

Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes (Ok, this is wrong - I think Esther's oven ran hot - so keep an eye on them. I usually keep them in for 25 minutes.)

Remove from oven and ICE THOSE BABIES WHILE THEY'RE WARM!!

ICING:
1 tablespoon melted butter / margarine
1 C icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
milk to thin

Pour over the cinnamon buns. When no one is looking, lick the icing bowl. Wait five minutes. Experience sugar high. Serve buns. Await applause.

In my experience it is best to remove any un-devoured buns from the pan and place them in a plastic container as soon as possible. If you don't do this, that nice carmelized concoction on the bottom of the buns will STICK LIKE CEMENT to the bottom of the pan and you'll be crying over dishpan tomorrow. Also, the buns won't come out of the pan in one piece.

A Good Day In Happy Land

First of all, I went to see "Revenge of the Sith" last night and although I have to say there were some cheesey moments in this film, weren't there cheesey moments in all of them - including the original three. Now, while I didn't have much use for the Episode I and II, I now understand the need for them AND how this one ties them together with Episode IV, V and VI. Two thumbs up from Andrew and I... oh, and yes, Yoda does kick ass.

On CBC's Go this morning they announced that 20, 000 Canadians listed Jedi-ism as their religion (was this on the last Canadian census?). I've realized in the last two days what a Star Wars freak I am, but I don't think I'm ready to declare Jedi-ism as my religion.

Alrighty, moving on. Here's why it was a good day at our house. First of all, it started like this:



These cinnamon buns are pretty darned good, if I do say so myself. A lady who used to work for my parents and who is widely known as one of the best bakers around, used to make these and bring them into the store. The bun part is actually a tea biscuit - so it's very moist. Anyone want the recipe? Let me know.

Just before Andrew and I headed out for the afternoon, we noticed a feline mating ritual going on in our yard. We don't have cats, so we were greatly amused by the "Wild Kingdom" episode going on in our backyard (well, until I saw the big cat poop by the fence, ew). Hmmmm, I wonder what was going on between those two. If only cats could talk:



Awwwww... Poor Richard. Spurned because of his genetic make up. Wait, he's turning to look at me. Poor, poor boy...


Oh.

Oh dear.

After watching the cats slink away, I headed down to do some knitting with Sheryl at Tangled Skeins. Here's her cute little sign.



And in stark contrast to her gorgeous shop - here is one of the neighbouring businesses. I love, love, love the truck with the white flame job.



Oh baby, seeing that truck just makes me want to ride in the middle sitting snuggled up against my boyfriend while I run my fingers through his MULLET!

I must regain my composure.

Here are a few shots of the inside of Tangled Skeins:



Sheryl's collection of antique needles.




Check out that go go girl dress. And the purse, look at the purse. Don't those flowers look like they're going to pop right off and start dancing around the room? (nooooo, I am not high! How many times do I have to tell you people that?)



Ok, this isn't the best photo, but aren't those colours great?
Alrighty, that's all for now. I can't give away the farm on the first go round, right?

Awwww, screw it, I've got a digital camera at my disposal today. Here's the last one.



Look who's blocking!!!