I’ve been mulling on this discussion most of the week and have done a little sleuthing on the Net to see what others had to say. Even though both are baked in a ‘muffin’ tin with cupcake liners, it would seem there is an accepted difference.

Overall consensus and conclusion: Muffins are considered a bread, ie., pumpkin muffins, cornbread muffins, Morning Glory muffins (this one really got David going – thought they were made with flowers), while cupcakes are deemed ‘little cakes’ are made from cake batter that after baking  is either frosted, filled or decorated. So there you go – end of story.

Now, back to the blueberry muffins….I make these from a mix but like to add a couple extra ingredients and switch out one. I’ve found that doing so makes them a bit lighter and they taste better with more berries. Here’s what I do:

• Add 1/2 – 1 teaspoon vanilla to the batter
• Use melted butter instead of cooking oil
• Add in 1/2 cup extra blueberries along with the canned ones
• Sprinkle the top of the batter with streusel before baking

The streusel recipe is available at this link.

Bake as directed and enjoy. Any leftovers I freeze for later.

I’ve uploaded recipes for Morning Glory Muffins at this link, and found a new muffin – Salsa Cornbread Muffins that I thought sounded really good. You can get that recipe here.  And the morning glory picture really has nothing to do with anything – I just thought it was pretty.

Staycation Texas

Spring break is near and summer vacation is just around the corner. For those looking for something to do or somewhere to go right here in Texas – don’t forget you can get lot’s of good travel information at This is Our Texas.   And, for those that enjoy the Round Top Spring Antique Show – visit this link to see a video with some of the goodies you’ll find there this year.

Final thought – if you’re considering purchasing a home safe, check out some of the different types of safes and what features you might want to think about.   Just click here.

The Cypress trees have become huge – but do offer nice shade to the propane tank during those hot summer months- so they’re keepers. Did not get the peach trees pruned this year – and they are now in bloom – so guess that’s one chore that won’t get done. The garden is the next thing we’ll tackle this upcoming weekend, weather permitting – and as much as we enjoy fresh vegetables – I’m starting to wonder if it is worth all the work,  especially if we have another dry summer. But guess I’ll give it one more try . . . hmmmmm, seems I say that every year.

With all the extra outside work and what’s upcoming . . . need to completely clean out and re-plant at least two beds – my supply of freezer casseroles is getting low – so I’ll have to set aside a day, pretty soon, to replenish those. Really enjoy having stuff in the freezer to just heat up and serve . . . and have a new treat to add to the list. Not a casserole – but something for breakfast – easy sausage kolaches.

In the past, we’ve enjoyed those quick breakfast sausage rolls from the store’s freezer section with the exception of two things – I didn’t like the cheese in the sausage (not fond of cheese) and the price. So when I ran out of the store bought ones the other day, decided to try making my own. Of course, I looked for the easiest way to do this. Decided to use frozen yeast rolls (Rhodes brand here) and our favorite sausage. It’s a pretty simple process and you can make as many or as few as you like.

Before you begin – decide if you want small bite-sized or full-sized ones. We’ve tried both and like the larger size best.  (But we ate those up before I got a picture of them!)  And, for the sausage, we prefer the Eckrich skinless – but again, you can use your own favorite.

To make these easy kolaches follow the steps below.

1)  After taking the yeast rolls out of the freezer, let them defrost and come to room temperature. (It’s best to place them on a floured or lightly greased surface so the dough won’t stick when you start working with it.)

2)  Once the rolls are soft (but haven’t started to rise) flatten them out on a floured surface using a rolling pin. (Yes, they will rise again) You want the rolls flattened out enough to totally enclose the section of sausage you will be using or if you are making the bite-sized ones, large enough to cut in half but still wrap around a smaller portion of meat.

Since I was using link sausage, I cut a section of sausage (about 2-1/2 to 3 inches in length for full-sized) and then cut that into halves – lengthwise.

3)  Next, wrap the halved section inside the flattened roll, sealing the ends and pinched the bottom to seal. Again, if you are making bite-sized, adjust the length of sausage to fit the dough size. Wrap the sausage in the dough and seal the bottom. For my bite-sized kolaches, I left the sausage sticking out the ends.

4)   Place the finished sausage kolaches on a ungreased pan, sealed bottom down. (Enough of the fat from the sausage will cook out to keep them from sticking.)

5)  Allow the finished kolaches to rise for about one hour in a warm place. (I find sitting them on a wire cake rack over a pan of warm water works nicely.)

6)  Bake in a preheated oven (375 degrees) until they are golden brown on top.

7)  Brush with butter before serving – or if you plan on using later, allow them to cool (no butter). They can be frozen and re-heated in the microwave.

When re-heating, allow them to defrost  for about 30 minutes before micro-waving at 50% power. Depending on how many kolaches you want to serve, only re-heat for few seconds at a time. Start with 10-15 seconds for two (2) or 20-30 seconds for three or four (3 or 4). Brush with melted butter before serving.

The only drawback I’ve found to these sausage kolaches is that if you heat them in the microwave while they are still frozen . . . or heat them too much after they have defrosted, the dough will become slightly tough – so use caution. If you have the time, it’s best to let the frozen ones sit before re-heating – much better.

After making these at home, doubt if we’ll ever buy the packaged ones again. Especially since I’m always watching my budget and have found that these can be homemade at about half the cost of buying the same quantity at the store . . . not to mention we like them better! Enjoy!

PS – Check out  I Can’t Believe It’s Sugarfree where I’m putting up two new sugarfree recipes – Strawberry Pie and Blueberry Cobbler  -you won’t believe how easy this one is!  If you don’t see them, please check back – the Blueberry cobbler is still in the oven.

Not sure what the old round tin building is – but I’ve always found it intriguing. It looks like it’s almost octagonal but collapsing so much, it would be hard to say. And, looks it’s been there so long the trees are pretty much all that’s holding it up. There is a lovely little stream on the back side – took a picture of it as well, but with no leaves on the trees and the grass all brown – it didn’t turn out as pretty as it looked in person. Maybe this spring I can get a better shot of it when the wildflowers are in bloom.

The red ‘quail’ building is part metal with the rest being screened in wooden framework. It is quite large with lots of quail. Not sure what they do with them – but there always seems to be plenty of them there.

The very old, decrepit building is in the town of Oakwood – judging from the sign – appears to have been a food pantry once upon a time, long ago – but looks to be in need of much repair today. The property has just recently gone up for sale. You can see that the building to the left is completely gone – only a shell left. Have no idea what it could have been – but I bet this little town was quite something in it’s hey-day.

The tin shed on the road at the edge of the field is ‘new’ and we guessed it was built as a cover for children waiting for the school bus – note the pallets to keep them off the wet ground.

Finally, just had to get a picture of the cows as they looked quite contented in the mid-day sun – but gave us a curious stare when we stopped to take their picture. With the warm weather we’ve been enjoying (until today), they’ve had lots of green grass to munch.

Had a flashback the other day of pumpkin muffins. When we lived in Houston the gym where we worked out had a cafe and made the best pumpkin muffins. Now, while I try to stay away from too many baked goods – thought I’d make some pumpkin bread … justified this decision by saying we could have it for breakfast . . . although it’s good anytime. Found my old recipe (below) and set to work. Of course, I had to alter it a bit – and since I don’t like baking (hate all that measuring), while I did include everything – have to say not all the ingredients were exact portions …. but nevertheless, it turned out delicious.

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

• 1 can 15 oz pumpkin
• 2/3 cup butter (softened)
• 2-2/3 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-1/2 teaspoon salt (one of the ingredients I fudged on – used less)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (always add a little extra)
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2/3 cup chopped nuts (we like pecans – but walnuts sound good too)
• 1/2 cup coconut (options*)

* You can use coconut or raisins here

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans

Directions:

1. Mix softened butter with sugar, add in eggs, water and pumpkin
2. Blend in vanilla and remaining dry ingredients
3. Stir in chopped nuts and coconut – add raisins at this time if using
4. Pour into loaf pans and bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
5. Cool – refrigerate leftovers.

I like to freeze one loaf to enjoy later and always cut it in slices separated with wax paper before freezing. This makes it so easy to get out just one or two slices at a time.

One last cooking tip. We enjoy the pre-cooked frozen sausage we get at Sam’s and Wal-Mart (original flavor). So when we want sausage for breakfast this is how I fix it. Add about 1/4 inch of water to the skillet and then cook the sausage over medium-low heat. Using a little bit of water helps keep the sausage tender, keeps it from getting over-cooked (too crispy) and if you like, you can add a dash of sage to the water to give the sausage a little more homemade taste. Once it’s done, place on paper towels and use a fork to press out any excess grease.

Finally…I’ve found a dishwasher soap I like and works better than most.  I’ll tell you about it next time.

First thing I want to tell you about is a WOW!  David got an email from a friend with pictures attached.  Seems Texas might have a Bigfoot running around.  At least you might come to that conclusion from looking at the size of that footprint. 

The photos were taken on their property in central Texas (after a rain) and not only is the print HUGE – yes, that is a yard stick being used for measuring – but would seem that whoever or whatever might also have  six toes.  After looking at those pictures did a search on the Net to see what other information I could find about Texas having a  Bigfoot and was surprised to find a website dedicated to sightings and other ‘pertinent’ information www.texasbigfoot.com – just copy and paste in the address bar if you want to read more.    I’ll be curious to hear if they have more sightings on their property.  If so, I’ll be sure to pass along the details.

Haven’t been outside much – but have been watching with astonishment the gopher or mole that has been wrecking my flower bed.  Seems he has decided to make himself a home right under one of my Nandina plants.   That pesky rascal has almost covered the plant with dirt – not once but three times this week!  I have no idea where all the dirt is coming from or why the ground hasn’t collapsed underneath the plant.  During the past week David has gone out and stomped the dirt back down twice but the gopher?  just keeps coming back.  Guess I’ll  have to get my garden book out and see if there is anything I can do to make him go away – something using household agents.

You’ve heard me say that on Sunday mornings we like a quick breakfast of coffee cake or muffins.  On occasion we’ve had the cinnamon rolls ‘in the can’ – the ones you buy in the dairy section -  and while we’ve enjoy them to a certain degree, they don’t have a home-baked flavor.  So I set out to see what I could do to make them taste better.   Tried cutting them up in pieces then baking them in a pan so they would be similar to ‘monkey bread’ – adding brown sugar and butter to the pieces.  Didn’t really care for that – bottom pieces were too brown (almost burnt) and the center pieces  weren’t cooked enough.   On hindsight – probably should have used a tube pan to help even out the heat …. but  don’t think I’ll try fixing them like that again because my second try was much better.

Took the dough and placed it in a well buttered glass pie plate with the cinnamon side up.  I then cut an ‘ X ‘ across the top of  each cinnamon bun about 1/4 inch deep.  Next placed a thin slice of butter in the middle of each ‘ X ‘.  Next finely chopped  about 1/8 cup pecans and sprinkled them over the tops.  Next sprinkled streusel (recipe below)  over the chopped pecans and baked according to directions.  When the rolls come out I have some frosting ready (optional)  – but don’t put it on the hot cinnamon rolls until we’re ready to eat.  If you put the frosting on as soon as they come out of the oven,  the frosting  will melt and disappear into the roll never to be seen  . . . meaning we’ll have to smear more on when we sit down to eat them . . .  and that is just too much sugar for us.   

Streusel is  a crumbly mixture of regular flour, granulated sugar and butter.  I don’t have a recipe for this but just mix the ingredients in a bowl with a fork until it is the texture and has the taste I like.  We prefer our streusel a little more sweet and buttery.   Typically I use about  1 tablespoon of butter, 2-3 tablespoons of flour and 3-4 tablespoons of sugar.  Adjusting butter as needed.  You want enough butter so that the mixture is pea-sized crumbles.  

Frosting for cinnamon rolls -  1 tablespoon butter softened (or melted), 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, powdered sugar and water.  Again no recipe – just add everything together until I get the consistency and taste wanted.  You would probably not want to use over 1 cup powdered sugar and 1+ tablespoon of water or you’ll have too much frosting leftover.  You don’t want the rolls smothered in frosting – just a taste because the streusel already makes them sweet – just not sweet enough for David!

Read about the ‘other’ golds, i.e., how much gold is really in ‘rolled gold’, etc. and what you need to know before buying ‘other’ gold jewelry. Click here to read more.  And to follow the market value of gold and calculate how much gold is in your 14K, 18K other K jewelry – visit this link - for online tools and more.  And finally….. if you have checked out our new online antique store – please take a minute to see what we’ve been up to.  We’ve got over 600 items in dozens of categories – adding new items weekly – and of course, shipping is Free!

Either one of these would have been more than enough by itself – but two !?! . . . then you add in the ‘boy toys’. I’m sure you’ve all heard the old saying, “The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.”. Both of these projects afforded David the opportunity to use two of his new ‘boy toys’ – the cement mixer which we bought a while back and his pride and joy – his new saw. It’s the one that has the two blades that go in opposite directions allowing it to cut through anything! Which I have to say – it performed as advertised. We had to cut cement board and some acrylic sheets for the well house – no problemo. So, if any of you are thinking about buying one of these saws for your significant other – they do work. Just be sure to get the saw with the 10amp engine – a little more expensive but anything less and the motor tends to burn up . . . or so I’m told.  (The actual name is Rigid Twin-Blade circular saw – 10Amp )

I’m not going into anymore of the details on pouring the cement other than to say the mixer worked equally as well as the saw and …. I’m just glad to be through with both projects.

We’ve gotten totally hooked on fried potato skins. In fact, I’ve found that if I dredge them in Zatarin’s Fish Fry mixed with a sprinkling of Paul Prudhomme’s blackened seasonings before frying, they are even better. But, we don’t like eating – and I might add,  can’t eat -  fried skins plus a pot of mashed potatoes in one day, it’s just too much . . .  so I’ve taken to keeping which ever part we’re going to save for another day -     skins or peeled potatoes – totally submerged in a bowl of water in the fridge.   I’ve found they keep quite well for at least a couple of days.  I don’t even add anything to the water – as long as they are completely submerged,  they won’t turn brown.

While looking the other day for a new way to fix my peeled potatoes – I remembered a recipe my mom (nickname Charlie) used to fix many years ago. I’m not sure what it was originally called, or even where she got the recipe – but I decided to try and re-create it based solely on memory – and, I’m not even going to tell you how many years I had to go back to remember this one!

I did remember it being layers of sliced potatoes, onions and cheese (sounds like au gratin doesn’t it) – but then she would take a mixture of egg, milk, salt and pepper and pour over the top and bake it all. I’ve modernized it a bit – for a faster cooking time and a little thicker bonding by using some corn starch in the egg/milk mixture. We enjoy it and it reheats well if you have any left overs. Since I don’t have a name for this dish – I’ll just call it …

Charlie’s Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• Thinly sliced 4 russet potatoes;  pre-cooked in the microwave for about 8-10 minutes. You don’t want them mushy – so depending on your microwave you may need to adjust the time downwards here.
• Thinly sliced onion rings - 1/2 medium-sized onion
• 4 ounces of finely grated cheese (we like the Mexican 4 mixed cheeses you can buy already grated – but Cheddar or American will work, what ever you like)
• 2 tablespoons of butter cut into about 8-10 thin slices
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 heaping teaspoon of corn starch
• salt, pepper – to taste
• 1-1/2 quart casserole dish

Directions:

1.  Spray the casserole with Pam or use an additional tablespoon of butter to coat the bottom and sides (keeps everything from sticking and makes for a nice crust)

2.  Begin layering the ingredients as follows …

Half of the potatoes, half of the sliced onions, 4-5 butter slices placed on top of onions, half of the grated cheese

Repeat the process using the remainder of the potatoes, onions, butter and cheese

3.  In a bowl mix the eggs, milk, corn starch, salt, and pepper with a whisk until smooth, and then pour evenly over the top of the layered casserole (Don’t worry about it too much as it will fill in between the potatoes and rest of ingredients)

4.  Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and bubbly.

Note: If you use less ingredients, i.e. potatoes, or if your casserole dish is larger – so the layers of potatoes, onions, etc. are thinner – you’ll need to adjust the cooking time so they don’t burn.

PS – It rained most of  Wednesday afternoon and the fall colors were spectacular – so just had to upload a few pictures I took from the front porch so you could see how pretty everything is.  This is one of those years that the trees are exceptionally colorful. 

The air has been filled with smoke from fires around the Crockett area (about 30+ miles away) and just the other day David and I could see a huge billowing smoke cloud in the distance – from our front porch. Thankfully it was gone in about 2 hours so I can only think that it was put out in short order. I’m really glad now for all the efforts we’ve made during this hot, dry summer to keep a green belt around the house. In fact, I’m sure we’ll continue to water until we get some sort of significant rain . . . hopefully in the not too distant future.

Potato Skins

Every now and then I get a wild idea to try something – either just to see what would happen or maybe see what something tastes like. Had this happen the other day when I was peeling potatoes for lunch. Looked at that large pile of potato peelings and thought, ‘ what a waste!’. Got to wondering what they would taste like if they were fried. Now I know you’ve all heard me say David will eat anything fried – so thought I put this to the test and since I love to experiment – it was the perfect match.

Took my potato peels, cut them into lengths about 3 inches long, dried them with a paper towel so they wouldn’t spatter too much, and fried them up in hot oil. Took them about 3 minutes to cook and they came out with lightly browned edges and while they weren’t crunchy like a potato chip or a traditional French fry – they were actually good. Have a nice texture and the skin gives then a somewhat nutty flavor – especially sprinkled with a little salt.

We had that first batch served along with hot dogs and David being the creative eater that he is – ended up dipping his fried potato skins into some of the leftover chili. That was good too. Bet they would be good served with just about any type of dipping sauce. Anyway – make a long story short – we no longer throw out the potato peels, but fry them up. In fact, they’ve become one of our new favorite side dishes. Like today when I served up a batch of them with another one of our favorites – a Gyros sandwich.

Gyros

We used to enjoy eating Gyros sandwiches in Houston but around here they are no where to be found. If you’re not familiar with Gyros it’s a Greek/Lebanese style meat loaf that is typically served with pita bread, tzatziki sauce and tomatoes. (Tzatziki sauce consists of yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, pepper and sometimes lemon juice and parsley.)

So that we could enjoy Gyros here – I was able to find a good recipe for the spices on the Internet so I could make my own. It isn’t exactly the same (flavor or texture) – but we enjoy it and I can make a large pan of the meat, cut it into serving sizes and freeze it for future enjoyment.

While the traditional Gyros is made with ground lamb and beef – I also find it hard to get ground lamb so we end up using only beef. Served on flat bread – same one I use for the pizzas – with either yogurt (if you like it) or some buttermilk ranch dressing, tomatoes and onions – it makes a different kind of sandwich.   Hey Jerry – remember all that bread I bought last trip to Austin – we enjoyed some of it today with our sandwiches.

If you think you might like to try making your own Gyros, this is the recipe I use, and while I only use beef, I would have had at least 25% of the mixture ground lamb if I could find it just to give a little more traditional flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium sized onion cut into chunks
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (I didn’t have cumin , so left it out – we still enjoyed  it)
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon ground dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon ground dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

• Process onion in a chopper until finely chopped; squeeze out liquid.
• Place onions in mixing bowl along with meat
• Season with remaining seasonings and mix well
• Refrigerate for 1-2 hours to allow the flavors to blend
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
• Place the meat in a food processor and pulse for about a minute or until the mixture feels tacky
• Pack the meat into a lightly greased loaf pan (leave no air pockets)

I’m giving you the rest of the recipe that calls for using a towel in a roasting pan, but I just baked my Gyros covered with foil and it came out fine. I then followed the same last two steps below to finish off the gyros.

Rest of Directions:

• Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel
• Place the load pan on the towel and add enough boiling water to reach half way up the loaf pan.
• Carefully place  in oven
• Bake until the meat has an internal temperature of 165 degrees F; typically 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Pour off any excess fat and allow to cool before slicing or freezing

Helpful Hint:  When packing the meat into the loaf pan, keep your hands wet – this will keep the meat from sticking to your fingers.

Italian Chicken Pie

Ingredients:

• 1-1/3 cup Pioneer biscuit mix
• 2 cups of white navy beans, cooked, drained and mashed (any white bean will work)
• 1/3 cup Italian dressing
• 1-1/2 cup cooked, diced chicken
• 1 package (10oz) of frozen, chopped spinach (thaw and squeeze out the water)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 eggs (lightly beaten)
• 1-1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix Pioneer mix, beans and dressing. Spread mixture in bottom and 2 inches up the sides of an ungreased springform pan (9×3). Bake this for 10-12 minutes or until set.
2. Next layer the chicken, spinach and mozzarella cheese over the crust (in that order).
3. Mix the eggs and milk, then pour over the cheese.*
4. Bake uncovered for about 50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes sout clean.
5. Let stand for 10 minutes. Loosen edges; remove from pan.

* Add toasted nuts on top before second baking for a nutty crunch.

Favorite Veggie Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped broccoli or sliced cauliflower  ( or 1 cup each)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green (or red) bell pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup Pioneer biscuit mix
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 3 eggs
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease pie plate or torte pan (approx size 10×2)
2. In boiling water pre-cook the broccoli and/or cauliflower until almost tender (about 5 mins.)
3. Mix pre-cooked veggies, onion, bell pepper and cheese in pie plate.
4. Stir together biscuit mix, milk, eggs, salt and pepper. Pour this mixture into the plate over veggies.
5. Bake (uncovered) for about 35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Quick Cardamom Rolls

At any rate, tried to get into one of the files…. nothing…. even my computer couldn’t see the ‘new hardware’ when I plugged the drive’s connection into the USB port. Panic set in. That drive had about fours years of files on it – I couldn’t even imagine trying to duplicate some of them as they had taken me so long to develop.

After about a dozen tries at getting it to work on three different computers – we made a desperate ‘midnight’ call (it was actually more like 10:30pm) to a friend of David’s who is nothing short of a computer guru-miracle worker. We explained the situation to him – he said “not to worry – think I can get them back”. So we made a special delivery trip to get the drive to him and he went to work. The before/after picture above is of the dis-assembled drive after he finished with it. Don’t have a clue as to what he did or how he did it – but YEAH!!!! – he was able to retrieve and save all my files. Just got the discs back Saturday.

So now I’m on a dedicated program to have everything backed-up in at least three different ways – portable hard disc drive, jump drive and CDs. I think this important enough that on our ‘Power to Earn Money’  blog I’ve posted about the five (5) ways to back-up your files . . . as well as discussing the good and bad features of each. If you have anything of value in your computer, pictures on digital camera sticks or in your cell phone … particularly files you haven’t downloaded ….you really need to think about  backing everything up and saving it elsewhere. Read more about back-ups here.

Now on to something that I enjoy more than working on the computer – cooking. Made a loaf of zucchini bread on Sunday – I do this about once a year because we love it and will sit down and eat half a loaf at one time… not good. I had one zucchini squash left over and since I don’t like to waste food – needed to figure out a way of using  it. David won’t hardly eat squash in any shape or form (except something that’s a kin to cake) – BUT he will eat just about anything that is fried. So Zucchini Fritters to the rescue.

I’d not ever seen any zucchini fritters or zucchini pancake recipes so I set out to do my own thing… and they weren’t bad. In fact we decided we liked them well enough to have them with the next Chinese meal we have here at home. They are not unlike Egg Foo Yung (David said they tasted like an egg roll with out the wrapper) - and were really good with a little bit of Sweet and Sour sauce on them.

They were a quick fix and didn’t require any unusual ingredients. This is my recipe. . . .

• 1 medium sized zucchini (shredded)
• 1 tablespoon fineyly chopped onion
• 1 egg
• 1 heaping tablespoon flour (maybe a little more depending on high you heap)
• 1 tablespoon water
• salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and fry in oil that has been pre-heated to medium high (about 1/2 inch in depth). Spoon heaping tablespoons of the mix into the oil, flattening it a little, so you have pancake looking fritters. Fry until golden brown; turn and fry until second side is golden brown. Remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain. Serve hot.  This recipe will make four fritters.

While talking about these at lunch and trying to decide what would make them ‘better’ – in addition to the Sweet and Sour sauce – we thought they might be good with a few bean sprouts thrown in as well as some finely chopped shrimp mixed in with the batter. May give that a try next time, especially if we have them as a side dish with maybe a P.F. Chang dinner…. sounds good to me.

Although if you would have asked me about that yesterday,  you probably would have gotten a different answer.  Our bad weather started shortly after 4pm and lasted all the way to midnight - coming in waves of strong wind, heavy rain and lots of hail. At one point, the rain and hail were so dense we couldn’t see the fence in the front yard and that’s not far at all  (maybe 20 feet) and the front porch looked like it was carpeted in white marbles.  That whole scene was totally eerie with the wind blowing the rain and hail around – so much so I felt like we’d  been engulfed in a white cloud or worse yet – a Stephen King novel.

I have to say – for me – the scariest part was when I was heading into the kitchen and the pressure in my ears changed…significantly.   Enough that it stopped me in my tracks.   I’ve not been in an actual tornado but I’ve heard people talk about the pressure changes – I just knew we were about to have a tornado hit in the house in the next few seconds.   Thankfully, we didn’t. And, believe it or not, we didn’t even loose our power – now that is amazing!

We’re pretty much back to normal today. David did have to do some repair on the sky lights in the garage. They had little round holes from the hail; and some of the plants and seedlings in my garden took a  beating so I’ll have to do some re-planting … maybe.  Otherwise everything else is OK.

Last Auction?

Went to what we think will be Johnny’s last auction in Reagan this past weekend. It was good to see everyone and – of course – who can go to an auction without buying something?   Didn’t buy much, but couldn’t resist a box of c1940′s Family Circle magazines. I enjoy thumbing through old magazines looking at the vintage ads and reading some of the old recipes and ‘home remedies’.

Hadn’t really noticed until going through this last batch of magazines just got how much recipes and photography have changed over the years. From the looks of the pictures – especially the food ones – not a lot of care was taken in how the food was presented.   And I would also have to say that stuffed olives and pimento were really big in the 40′s. In the magazines I went through, they were both used to garnish everything from vegetables to cake. That’s right – cake.

One such recipe was for a nut cake frosted  with cream cheese  (no butter, no powdered sugar, no vanilla – just cream cheese)  and then decorated with slices of  stuffed olives.  Another ‘strange’ recipe was for a  lime ice box pie made with lime and avocado.  David’s favorite ‘old-time recipe’ was shredded cabbage cooked in a milk sop! Can’t imagine fixing any of these.

Quick & Easy Breadsticks

Guess the difference really popped out because I’d just received my 2011 copy of  Taste of Home Annual Recipes – my kind of book.

It’s full of great recipes from cooks all over the country. Haven’t had a chance to look at it other than flip through a few pages. One recipe that caught my eye was for Pesto Breadsticks made from store bought dough. They looked good and  like they’d go with spaghetti, soup or salad.  I’ve placed the recipe below.

Ingredients:

• 1 tube (11 oz.) refrigerated bread stick dough
• 2 tablespoons prepared pesto (see recipe below)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic-pepper
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Unroll and separate the dough placing it on an ungreased baking sheet
2. Combine pesto, garlic-pepper then brush over bread stick dough
3. Twist each bread stick 3 times
4. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown
6. Enjoy!

Pesto

* Here’s a quick recipe if you want to try making your own pesto at home:

You’ll need 2-1/2 oz fresh basil, 1/2 cup pine nuts, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2 cloves garlic (more if you want a stronger flavor), salt and black pepper (both to taste) Combine nuts and garlic together in a food processor and pulse to break them down before adding other ingredients. Add in remaining ingredients and pulse to desired consistency. (Note: Get a more aromatic flavor by lightly toasting the pine nuts in a dry skillet before using them in the recipe; or try replacing the pine nuts with walnuts.)

PS -  If you’ve ever wanted to put together your own cellophane gift basket, I’ve  put up a post on Perfect Jerky  about what you’ll need and how to put the basket together.