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Sunday, June 30, 2013

Mississippi Mud Cake



Thinking this might just have to be the dessert for the 4th of July.  I know it's not the right color theme but I can always stick a little paper American flag in each piece.





Mississippi Mud Cake Recipe from Southern Living Yield: Makes 15 servings

Ingredients

  • 1  cup  butter, melted
  • 2  cups  sugar
  • 1/2  cup  unsweetened cocoa
  • 4  large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
  • 1/8  teaspoon  salt
  • 1 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2  cups  coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
  • 1  (10.5-ounce) bag miniature marshmallows

 Ingredients

  • 1  (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1/2  cup  milk
  • 1/4  cup  butter, softened
  • 1/3  cup  unsweetened cocoa

Preparation

Whisk together melted butter and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in flour and chopped pecans. Pour batter into a greased and floured 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; top warm cake evenly with marshmallows. Return to oven, and bake 5 minutes. Drizzle Chocolate Frosting over warm cake. Cool completely. Note: 2 (19.5-ounce) packages brownie mix, prepared according to package directions, may be substituted for first 7 ingredients. Stir in chopped pecans. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Proceed with marshmallows and frosting as directed.

 

Preparation for Chocolate Frosting

Beat all ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Colors In the Garden


June has been a colorful month in
my little corner of the world...






























Wednesday, June 26, 2013

The Little Gardener...


 Our granddaughter,who is now 15 months old, just loves flowers.  She spent the night with us on Saturday and on Sunday morning she and I took a walk around the yard.
She went from flower to flower to investigate.
 


 











Future Master Gardener???


Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The Simple Daisy...









 "The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of it’s scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness."
...Therese of Lisieux...



Monday, June 24, 2013

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie


 Lucy and I waited for the "Super Moon"  last night.  She really wasn't
too excited about it but I wanted to try to get a photo.



 The moon came up over the trees and I got several photos but I think
I should have run up to the shop for the tripod.  We had some clouds and lots of moisture in the air. This sorta looks like a Halloween moon.
 

 



 I admired the photograph of the moon that was on the Now You See Me Blog and Facebook page.  Go to the blog and take a look.  When I asked Sharon if she used a tripod, she told me she had balanced the camera on her knees.  Maybe I should try that!  Her photos are lovely.









Sunday, June 23, 2013

All because a boy kissed a girl...


 May 11th was our 38th anniversary...
This is Lou and I dancing the last dance on our wedding day.


 

 May11th was the wedding day of our niece Elizabeth and her love,Eugene.  Knowing it was our anniversary, the Bride and Groom had a special dance for the original Bride and Groom.



 However, at this dance we had our ring bearer grandson dancing with us.  






Friday, June 21, 2013

I want My Toes in the Water...


Wishin' I was at the beach today...












 Things haven't changed much in 50 years.









Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Super Heroes...Father and Son


Thought I would share these Father's Day photos of my grandson and his Dad.


Dylan wanted to give his Daddy a super hero cape
like the one he had..
so my daughter made a larger version of
the one she had purchased for Dylan
.
.


The two super guys spent the afternoon flying
around the backyard fighting bad guys.




My son-by-love is certainly a great Daddy...
and he wears a super hero cape too!



Sunday, June 16, 2013

What to do....


 A trip to Lancaster, PA yesterday for a large belt sander found on craigslist...that was for Lou.  Stopped at a junk/antique shop and found these old Ball jars for me.  I'm thinking of getting some of those solar lids for mason jars and using these for a lovely blue light for the porch or maybe filling each one with hydrangeas for a centerpiece.









Friday, June 14, 2013

Most Fun Flea Market Find...


 My best flea market find wasn't a lovely piece of furniture or a wonderful pink depression glass bowl.  It was this funny little blow up water toy/pool. 
The grandkids love it...



 




Thursday, June 13, 2013

And it's over...

The first of a line of storms quickly passed through Carney this morning.  Some rain, some thunder and lightning and wind but it was gone in 10 minutes.  Not as severe as was predicted thank goodness.  We've been watching the weather for the past 24 hours, following the storms that were in the middle of the country and heading our way.  Hoping the storm the weather people are warning us about this afternoon will go through as quickly.
If you are in the path...stay safe.


Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Fathers and Grandfathers



My husband and I were each blessed to have wonderful Fathers.

Lou's Dad was a dear man who loved his children and
adored his wife and always called her Babe.
He could do carpentry, plumbing and electrical work.  He worked on his own cars. 
Lou is so much like him...he can build or fix anything.
  When the 6 grandchildren came along, he taught them how to crab and fish and they helped him (not that he really wanted/needed their help) build a train garden in the basement.
Lou's Mom was Greek and he was Pappou to the grandkids.









My Dad  was a funny, warm loving husband and father.  He stole my Mother's heart when she was only 17 and they loved each other for the next 47 years.  He taught my brother, sister and me how to ride a bike and later how to drive a car.  He had a vegetable garden every summer and when we were small, would put us in an old wooden wheelbarrow and run us around the yard.  He was the "fun" Dad and all the kids in the neighborhood
came to our house to play dodge ball with my Dad. 
He always would say, "You know what?" and I would answer,"What?" 
He would say, "I love you!"
He continued that tradition with my daughters..."I love you!"
My parents moved to the beach and the girls spent time in the summertime with them. 
Pop Pop and the girls would ride bikes together,
jump the waves and dig for sand crabs.
They too have good memories.







I think every day how fortunate Lou and I were to have these 2 men for Fathers.  Our children were so blessed to have these men for their Grandfathers.  We miss them every day.  I believe they are both looking down from heaven keeping watch over their children,
grandchildren and now their great grandchildren.

 



Sunday, June 9, 2013

Strawberry Shortcake...



 I've had this recipe for years.  I believe it came from Country Living magazine.  Originally I made a 3 layer shortcake but it was very hard to cut so I now make individual cakes for each person.  I would make this for the teachers at the daughters elementary school for teacher appreciation week so it must have been from the mid eighties.

Many people use a sponge or butter cake to make Strawberry Shortcake
but this recipe is for a true shortcake.



The term "short" refers to the crisp texture of a pastry made with a generous amount of shortening. European cooks were making shortcakes long before the colonization of America.  When the first settlers discovered the wealth of berries in their new home, they soon put them between rich shortcake layers.

4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon of salt
½ cup of granulated sugar
½ cup of butter cut into chunks
1 large egg
1 cup of milk
1 cup of heavy cream
3 tablespoon of confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 cups of strawberries, washed, drained and sliced in half
Fresh mint (optional)
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and all but 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Add chunks of butter.  With a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles crumbs.  Make a well in the center of the mixture.
3.Thoroughly blend egg into milk. Pour egg mixture into well.  Stir with a fork until combined.
4. Separate the dough into 8 pieces, drop onto a cookie sheet and press into rounds.  Sprinkle with the reserved sugar.  Bake until edges are golden and center is firm, about  8-10 minutes.  Cool on rack.
5. In a large chilled bowl, whip heavy cream, 2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar and vanilla until stiff.

Put some whipped cream on the shortcake, add berries, and garnish with mint if desired.


Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Am I Blue?


On my way from the shop to the house in the late afternoon yesterday,  I saw the sunlight shining through the first of my blue hydrangeas to bloom this year. 
A preview of things to come.



Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Wedding Sign...As Two Families Become One


When my niece was planning her wedding, she and her soon to be husband wanted a sign to let their guests know there wouldn't be the tradition bride's side and groom's side.  The bride's family is huge while the groom's family is small.  We came up with this saying for her.