Ode to Yellow Jasmine

It has been in the 70's for the past four days. Today was the fourth day in a row that I have worked in my flower beds.  That is quite a record with the crazy weather we have been having here in South Carolina. You gardeners out there know the strong pull the warming dirt has.  I've been knuckles deep in it for four days!

While pulling up some offending mint, I felt a softness in the air.  That  warm breeze that brings with it promises of warmer weather and a sweetness  previously missing.  I was instantly transported back to my youth and similar days of idyllic weather.  Yellow jessamine days, that's what these are.  There was a large vine of it in the woods behind my childhood home.  It twined around a fallen tree making it just the right height to sniff and steal a tendril or two.  Days like today would send me running to check for the yellow trumpeted blooms.

Lacking a my own vine, you can bet I'll be scanning the treetops along the byways in my travels.  There has to be some yellow jasmine blooming out there somewhere.  I can feel it in the air.

Blueberry Bread 

     I don't know why I'm on a blueberry kick - well, it's been a couple of years, which is more than a kick.  They are by far, my current favorite fruit.  I want blueberries in my fruit smoothies, in my yogurt, in my fruit salad, and in my breakfast breads.  I've been saving this Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe (from Southern Living magazine) to try when I had the yogurt and blueberries on hand.  It seems to be chock full of blueberries and that almond sugar crunchy goodness on top looks too good to be true.

     Feeling the need to bake something and finding myself with blueberries AND yogurt, I stirred this cake up.  All went well and as planned in the recipe except that I baked it 40 minutes instead of the 25-30 minutes called for.  It is a beautiful moist cake filled with blueberries and topped with almonds, sugar and more blueberries.  I'll definitely copy this to the "make again" file.  I think it would be good with bananas and coconut, too - my two other go to fruit of the moment.  

Crimpin' Pie Crust

My Mother always made her own pie crust.  Always.  To bring a store bought crust into the house was sacrilege.  My Mom also did what she called, "recreational baking."  Yep, I inherited the gene.  I know what it's like to leave butter out softening "just in case" the urge to bake strikes.

When I was 10-ish, my Mother began my education of pie crust making and baking.  It took on a life of its own and stepped up a notch or two one summer of peach pies when I was 15 - (more about that later).  Mom's pie dough recipe is simple:

Pie Dough 
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup Crisco shortening
3-4 tbls cold water

There are secrets to it as there are to many of the great recipes.  Mom was always a stickler for the details and would leave out the tricks just to see if I could figure it out on my own.  (Remind me to tell you about the lemon cake.)  It took me 20 plus years to get the full technique for making a pie crust from my Mom.  I was not the only one who felt the frustration.  Memory serves me of a time when I went to visit my sister in law who was baking a pie for Mom's birthday.  She had 4 pie shells in various states of completion scattered throughout her kitchen - none of them fit to serve the Queen of Pastry.  My sister in law was reduced to a babbling mess.

Part of the beauty of a handmade pie shell is the crimped edge.  I have never been able to achieve the pretty even crimp like that of my Mother's.  My daughter, though, has it down pat and a nephew can turn out a pretty crimped edge on pottery.  Mine is "backwards" somehow.  I can, however, bake a blind pie shell that would make Martha Stewart envious.  All without pie weights.

Pie weights. Pie weights?  Who has time for pie weights, or dried beans?  My Mom never used them.  She would stand close by the oven and whenever the pie crust would bubble up, she'd stick it with a fork to release the stem and flatten the bubble.  I can't tell you how many times I was assigned the duty of pie shell monitoring.  I guess I learned something.

Now, when I need a blind pie crust, I use my Mom's recipe and all of her little tricks and bake one from scratch.  Invoking a bit of her baker's spirit with each crimp and poke.

 

Memorial Day ~ In Remembrance

Life is hard.

War is even harder.

Today is Memorial Day.. a day to give thanks to all of those who have served to protect us.  To thank all of those who are currently protecting our freedom on three fronts.  So many of these heroes go unrecognized.  The news all day has shown gatherings of thankfulness and remembrances... local parades, wreath laying in Washington, and candle lightings in Iraq.  I am thankful and I am saddened for the sense of loss.    I'm also very fortunate.  You see, I've never personally known anyone who has served in active duty.   During the Vietnam war my brother was drafted and served in the lab at an army hospital in Germany.  We had the luxury of knowing he was safe. It was a blessing - and a luxury.   I count my blessings and feel an even greater sense of gratitude to those men and women who go into harm's way to protect our freedoms. 



Life is hard.... war is even harder.
To those who serve so others don't have to    Thank you.

Princess Lessons

Kate Middleton aced her first (and second) royal engagements this week. Did anyone think she wouldn't?  She has had years to think about being a princess and years to study.  Kate, a level headed brunette, has studied photos and film from past royal engagements. Including  appearances of Lady Diana.   To further ensure her success, Kate has been assigned a tutor for all things "Princess."  

For her first outing, Kate and the proud Prince William  appeared in their hometown of Anglsley to christen a lifeboat.  Kate wore a beige coat, circa 2004, which had been recently re-hemmed to a more youthful length.  The Welsh people are hardscrabble folk.  It takes a lot of gumption to live in that  windblown   salt sprayed   spot of land.  Kate showed her resourcefulness by "making do" with her old coat.  With this act, she became one of the locals.. not any better than they are but ONE of them.  Then, she sang the Welsh National Anthem with gusto.  With a nod to the Royal Family (particularly her father in law to be), she wore a fascinator in her hair containing a brass button moulded with the Prince of Wales feathers.

Kate also christened the lifeboat with great aplomb.  Once, when the Queen was asked what it was like to be queen.  She replied, "I pour champagne over a lot of boats."  I don't know which royal secretary decided to send Kate out to a christening for her first duty, but I know the Queen got a good chuckle out of it.  There you are folks... I hope you got  a good look at your future Queen pouring champagne over the first in a long long line of boats. 

Cat Head Biscuits Part II

It has been chilly lately.  One way to keep warm in a cold house is to fire up the gas oven and bake.  I've baked the past two days in an attempt to warm my old bones.  This morning I revisited the Cat Head Biscuit recipe.  When I first made the biscuits, I was disappointed because they crumbled too easily. Putting jelly on them proved to be a challenge.  What I'm looking for is a biscuit that will hold a hunk of sausage, or a few slices of bacon  and jelly.   So, today, I rolled out the biscuits and baked them close together in a 13X9X2 pan. 

 I think you'll agree, they came out pretty good.   Now for the sausage test.

Ahhhhh... much better!  The Cat Head Biscuits rolled out and cut with a biscuit cutter were much more to my liking.  The biscuits are light and fluffy but still substantial.  One of these for breakfast and you'll be ready to chop some wood!  I'm not sure they are my all time favorite biscuit, though.  I think the expensive cake flour would be better used in something like... a cake.  More biscuits to come.

Travel Bug Rehab

Finding travelers - Geocoins and Travel Bugs, in Geocaches is one of my favorite aspects of the hobby.  In five years, I've found and discovered 539,  the majority having been "moved" by me, not merely discovered at meetings.  Travelers are fairly personal and usually have a story behind them.  "This beanie represents my favorite cat," "I'm releasing this toy John Deere tractor because it reminds me of the farm I grew up on,"  and "You've found a  subway ticket used on vacation in New York,"  are all reasons behind some of the Travel Bugs I've come across.  I'll travel miles out of my way to pick up a traveler.


Once home, I log the traveler and print out the info sheet if it's missing.  I'll also make sure it's in a clean zip lock bag before sending it back on its journey.  My hope is that this will keep them traveling a little longer. On occasion, I'll come across a Travel Bug that is in serious need of rehabilitation.  More than the simple new info sheet and new baggie.  The first traveler to go into Chickahominy's Rehab was Kentucky Boi.  I found this scary fellow in February of 2009 in a cache I owned in Elgin, South Carolina.

KentuckyBoi 2/25/2009

This traveler was released in Florida in 2002 and it's unclear if it had it's original head at the time.  Someone along the way added Barbie's head to KentuckyBoi.. making him somewhat androgynous.  This bothered me.  After some thought, I pulled out my sewing kit, some fabric and my hot glue gun and gave this fellow a makeover! A friendlier, much prettier Kentucky Boi is still traveling after nine years and 13,500 miles!

The New and Improved KentuckyBoi 

Recently, I came across Fanny.. not once, but twice.  Once at an event  in Myrtle Beach and then again in a cache. Fanny began traveling in 2008, starting from Washington state. A sexy little Flamingo, she had lost her head and wasn't able to see where she was going. What's the point of spending all of your time at the beach, if you can't enjoy the view???

Fanny 

I knew that Fanny was destined to become one of the exclusive few to enter Chick's Rehabilitation Center for Travel Bugs.  After my initial examination, I had the perfect solution to remedy Fanny's plight.  Once again, using what I had on hand, I went to work. With a renewed outlook, Fanny is now in sunny Florida adding to the 13,000 miles she has already traveled.

Fanny on the Beach - Sullivan's Island, South Carolina 



 

Mr. Purple from Texas 

Mr. Purple came to the rehab facility via a Geocaching Event in Camden, South Carolina.  Others shunned the dirty, torn zip lock bag in favor of shiny geocoins and travelers with bling.  I tucked him into my Geo-satchel and brought him home.  Mr. Purple has traveled 20,000 miles in two years, and was definitely showing it.  He looked as if he had been thrown against a wall AND placed in a flooded geocache. Yet, he still smiled.  Fortunately, I had just what it took to make him whole again.  I think he may be my greatest achievement to date.

Mr. Purple with a Spring in His Step!