Hi Everyone! I have learned an important lesson recently, "Always Backup Your Computer!"

This lesson was learned the hard way- my computer was infected with not just one, but three Trojan Horse Viruses. When it was happening, it reminded me of the computer "Dave" (I think that was it's name anyways!) from Space Odyssey 2001. It was possessed, and I fully expected it to melt down to a puddle of smoking wires and gooey plastic in front of my eyes. It didn't, but I took it down to our computer guy and he actually got it running again! (I was really sweating it out for over a week!)I now have a few more "dead sectors" on my hard drive, but all of my documents and pictures have been saved, as well as most of my programs. I am lucky!  Anyways, on Amazon.com I purchased a little gadget called a Clickfree Automatic Backup (for under $98.00 and free shipping) it plugs into the USB port and does it's thing without any effort on my part and it's got enough brain space to backup multiple computers! A marriage made in heaven!  I've missed blogging, so I'm off to do drudgery housework, and when I take a break, I'll blog some more!

Sweet Potatoes!

My family LOVES sweet potatoes. I always bake too many and always have leftovers. No one ever stops me from putting too many in the oven, I think because they like what I do with the leftovers! Here are two recipes that make great use of leftover baked sweet potatoes, or pop a couple in the oven, slip them out of their jackets when they are done, mash 'em up and add them to the following:

Sweet Potato Cornbread

(Bob's Red Mill brand make an awesome Gluten Free Cornbread mix that I use instead of regular cornbread mix, but here's the original recipe:)

2 cups self-rising cornmeal bread mix

1/4 cup sugar (I usually cut that in half and add some honey)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup mashed cooked sweet potato

1/4 cup of butter, melted

1 large egg, beaten

Whisk together all ingredients, whisking just enough until dry ingrdeients are moistened. Spoon batter into a prepared 8" pan.

Bake at 350* until a pick inserted in middle comes out clean, approx 20-25 minutes.

 Sweet Potato Pie (Andrew's All Time Favorite Pie)

From Shelly, and her wonderful Blog "My Vintage Kitchen"

http://myvintagekitchen.blogspot.com

Crust (this is out of the 1950's Betty Crocker Cookbook)
3/4 stick of cold butter
1 cup flour (substitute RICE Flour for a Gluten Free version)
3 Tablespoons water (adjust if needed)
I just use a pastry cutter until everything is incorporated and starts to stick. Roll in a ball and put on a floured surface. Roll out...makes a 9" pie crust. 
Pie Filling
2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (again, substitute Rice flour for this to be Gluten free)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Mix together mashed sweet potatoes, butter or margarine, and eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, flour, and salt. Mix in spices if desired. Add to sweet potato mixture and stir well.
Mix together buttermilk and baking soda. Add to sweet potato mixture and stir well. Mix in vanilla extract. Pour filling into pastry shell.
Bake in preheated oven for 70 minutes, until set in center.

Spring Cleaning?

Tonight we set our clocks ahead 1 hour, it's getting close to SPRING! I am actually looking forward to Mud Season and even the Blackflies. This winter has been brutal. This weekend, aside from a bit of rain, was absolutely lovely and spring like. Of course more SNOW is in the forecast for tonight and tommorow- 4-6 inches. Because we're near Mt. Monadnock, we usually get a bit more. *sigh*

Anyways, I am thinking SPRING and getting preparations underway for spring cleaning. I am starting with the most disgusting nastiest toughest job first- the oven. I do a lot of cooking and baking. After this weeks homemade baked beans, Indian pudding, baked ham, sweet potatoes, homemade pizza (which I bake directly on the rack, no pan) the bottom of my oven looks like a creature is ready to burst forth and grab a passerby. It is covered with black crusty bubble like formations of gooey junk. I have long ago gave up the nasty chemical oven cleaners and use the all natural and better smelling homemade stuff with great sucess. Here's the recipe: 

Oven Cleaner (non-toxic)

You only need four ingredients:

Borax, which is found in the laundry soap section of your grocery store.

distilled white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar (I prefer the apple cider vinegar- smells a bit better)

water

Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap, (I love the Almond one) which you'll find in your local natural food store, or section of your grocery store. I use Dr. Bronner's for doing dishes, it doesn't hurt my hands  or our septic tank.

Mix two teaspoons of Borax, four tablespoons of vinegar, two cups of water and an eighth of a cup of Dr. Bronner's Castile soap.

Spray this homemade cleaner into your oven ... all over the oven walls and floor. Then, cover the wet surface with baking soda and follow with a second layer of your homemade cleaner. Let that sit overnight and wipe clean in the morning.

*If you remember your 3rd grade science class experiments, baking soda and vinegar make a foamy chemical reaction. Don't be alarmed! This is a good thing! For scorched stuck on stuff in pans, I throw in some baking soda then a bit of vinegar and let it sit, comes right off. Your oven will be sparkling and no brain cells will have been harmed in the process.

Pink Princess Tea Parties

Dear Daughter's elementary school is having it's annual Scholastic Book Fair and although our home is bursting with books, I couldn't resist getting a couple of books. (Snuck into the house lest I get caught by Dear Husband bringing "yet MORE books" into the house!) Amongst them the "Pink Princess Tea Parties" book by Barbara Beery. (ISBN: 1423604164, published by Gibbs Smith). It was the cover that attracted me- and of course it's a COOKBOOK. Gah! Like I need another cookbook! I have been "weeding through" and passing some of my cookbooks on to friends as I had far too vast a collection. Anyways, this book gave me the idea that for my Girl Scout Troop's annual End-Of-The-Year Awards Dinner we could do a formal Tea Party theme. We've done the Luau theme, Pirates, Under the Sea and other themes but not a Tea Party. This book is geared towards younger girls, but I think it's completely adaptable to an older age group. Now mind you, "my" girls are all going to be in Middle School next fall, so it can't be all pink, sparkely little girl cuteness-the girls would say they are "too mature for that". (Although I know for a fact that they are all still sparkly, pink, little girl cuteness!) So I will have to dress things up a bit. Some mature tea party foods added to the menu. I do love the idea of cupcakes baked right in the tea cups- I know the girls will think those are COOL. I'm sure I can get some cute teacups at the dollar store.  The picture on the cover of the book (above) is actually the cupcake I'm talking about, pretty nifty I say! Here's the recipe from the book:

Teacup Cupcakes

*Miss Pixie Pants says: although this is not a Gluten Free recipe, there are some wicked good G.F. cake mixes that could be used inplace of the regular mix. 

This makes approx. 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1 box chocolate cake mix *Miss Pixie Pants suggests not using a box mix, put a little effort in and make it from scratch- if time allows!

milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract *Miss Pixie Pants says NEVER use anything but REAL Vanilla Extract! It's flavor doesn't compare to imitation vanilla extract. Nielsen-Massey's is a favorite.

Frosting:

2 cups butter, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

food coloring (if desired)

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract

1 (16ounce) jar marshmallow creme

Assorted sprinkles or candies 

Preheat oven to 350*. Generously spray 24 heatproof teacups with your favorite non-stick spray and dust with cocoa powder. Place on cookie sheets and set aside.

Make cupcake batter according to package directions, substituting milk for water and adding vanilla. Divide batter evenly between the prepared teacups. Bake cupcakes according to package directions. Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Beat in half of the powdered sugar. Add the remainig powdered sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add food coloring. Add Vanilla and stir in the marshmallow creme until well blended. Frost cooled cupcakes and decorate teacups. 

*The author shows three teacup cupcakes, each with a different frosting color, one a lovely spring green, one a cute dark lavender, and one in pink. 

Of course no tea party would be complete without the tea! I think my girls will find this very agreeable!

Sweet Chai Tea
4 cups filtered water 
3 regular tea bags* 
2 cinnamon sticks
6 cardamom seeds
3 whole cloves
6 black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 inch thinly sliced fresh ginger 
1 cup plain or vanilla soy milk 
4 teaspoons honey or maple syrup 

*English breakfast tea, orange pekoe, Darjeeling, or Earl Grey

Makes 4-5 servings

Let's start stirring! 

Place water, tea bags, and all spices in a large saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. 
Remove from heat and add soy milk. Return to heat and simmer another 5 minutes, or until steaming. Remove from heat. 

Pour chai through a large strainer into a teapot. Stir in honey or maple syrup and serve. Or chai may be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day and then served cold over crushed ice.

We were bombed with snow yesterday- a typical New England Nor'Easter. The snow blew around so much up here on our hill, it was hard to measure, but if I had to guess I'd say we got around 14". Probably more. School was cancelled. The dog did not want to go out, but finally gave in and braved the storm, shaking and shivering for all of the 5 seconds it took him to do his thing. And that was with his doggy sherpa coat on. The kids were brave and went out to play. Hypothermia Playing in the snow sure does make them tired.   After a cup of hot chocolate, they were total lumps only good for watching movies the rest of the day. It's a good thing they're cute. Especially with their rosy cheeks. 

They are back in school today, so I'm actually getting some things done (besides blogging!) The wind is still howling around outside, the temp is all of a balmy 18* and the dog will not come out from under my down comforter until absolutely necessary. Not even for the UPS guy. 

Aside from drudgery housework, I'm baking today. Just in the mood to bake something sweet and warm for dessert tonight. This cake is like a light almond macaroon cookie, soft and - yum! And it's gluten free. Emily and I are giving it a go w/ the gluten free thing as she has Irritable Bowel Syndrome and we think gluten may aggravate it. We know dairy does, so she takes a tablet every morning of pro-biotics to help digest any dairy that she may have throughout the day. Works like a charm.  Anyways, here's what I'm making:

Almond Cake with Roasted Pear Compote

Almond Cake (Gluten free) 

Ingredients 
6 ounces blanched slivered almonds (about 1⅓ cups) 
¾ cup granulated sugar (divided) 
5 eggs, separated 
1 teaspoon almond extract 
¼ teaspoon salt 
Powdered sugar 


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment or wax paper; butter the paper.  

In a food processor, pulse the almonds with 2 tablespoons of the sugar until very finely ground. (Do not over-process or you'll have nut butter.) Put the egg yolks in a large bowl with the remaining sugar. Using a hand-held or standing mixer, beat the yolks until thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Stir in the almond extract and the ground almonds. 

In another large bowl, combine the egg whites and salt. Using clean, dry beaters, beat the whites until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Using a large rubber spatula, fold a quarter of the egg whites into the almond mixture. Gently fold in remaining whites in 2 or 3 additions.  


Pour the mixture in the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake. Remove the pan sides and move the cake (still on the pan bottom) to a rack to cool completely (it will deflate a little as it cools). When the cake is cool, remove it from the springform base and peel off the parchment paper. Sift powdered sugar over the top of the cake. The cake can be made one day ahead and kept well-covered at room temperature. Serve with Roasted Pear Compote or on its own.

Roasted Pear Compote

Ingredients 
4 ripe pears, such as Comice, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces 
2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar 
2 tablespoons melted butter 
Pinch salt 


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine the pears, brown sugar, butter and salt in a rimmed baking sheet. Roast the pears, stirring once, until tender, about 10 minutes. Turn broiler to high heat and broil for about 3 minutes or until the pears are lightly browned. Serve warm. Or, make up to 2 days ahead and keep covered in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave before serving. 

Recipe from somewhere on line last year, I had printed it out and it did not print the source. I believe it may have been in an Oregon newspaper.

More Snow

Winter Storm Warning 12"-16" by tommorow afternoon. Snow is now in the  4 letter word catagory and is not allowed to be said in the house. Even planning the veggie garden isn't cheering me up. At least it will cover the petrified dog poop that is all over the yard. Dear Dog hates the snow, and doesn't ever want to go far to do his "business" when the white stuff is on the ground. It's not like he's a Hairless Chihuahua! He is 10 and a 1/2 now, so I cut him some slack. He's a good boy. Except when he tries to bite the living crap out of chase Dear Son, who has to run fast. Dear Son has unmercilessly teased Dear Dog  pretty much constantly at times with D.D.'s favorite sqeaky toys and bones. The corker was just the other day when Andrew decided to Nerf Gun Mr. Squiddley,Jack's FAVORITE squeaky. In front of Jack. Dear Dog was very upset. Andrew was astonished whenever he was in the same room as Jack and Jack growled at him. Lips curled and teeth bared growling. For about a week.  Dear Son deserves to get bitten must realize that Dear Dog is older and crankier and will not put up with any crap tolerate teasing. Much like me and Dear Husband. Atta boy Jackie!

A trip to Boston

We stayed at the Royal Sonesta (right around the corner from the Museum of Science) It is very modern in decor but has awesome service and spotlessly clean rooms. This is our third time staying there and have not been disappointed yet. Reasonably priced, especially for Boston. We had complimentary early check in and an upgraded room to a river view room. Sweet! We took a hotel shuttle to Faneill Hall, and I begged and pleaded convinced Dear Husband to have lunch at Durgin-Park. My World Traveler/Adventurer husband was dismayed a bit surprised at the service -the waitress was awesome, but Durgin Park is (still) a Tavern, pretty much unchanged since revolutionary times. Glasses pluncked down next to the water pitcher, silverware and cloth napkins plunked down as well- left to you to divvy up amongst yourselves. You are seated at one of many long tables elbows to the next person regardless of whom they might be. I LOVE the place, the food is incredible (see below for some of their recipes) Yankee cooking done perfect! Bob decided he liked it very much too, and will go there again. It helped alot when I explained the history of the place to him. Yes it is dingy in there, Tablecloths are not changed after every guest leaves, another one is laid atop the last. I think it's an awesome place and the kids loved it as well!  

I am always in awe of the sheer history of Boston. Fanueill Hall  was built from the bricks that were used as ballast in the ships coming from England. Egads! How cool is that?! Walking on the same cobblestones as did the Founding Fathers and Mothers of our country!

Ok, yes, I am a sappy sentamentalist, and a Patriot. I love history. As a 1st grader, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up,  an achaeologist- and that has remained unchanged throughout my life, although obviously life had other plans for me. (I still secretly dream of sitting in seclusion in some quiet, dingy basement of a museum cataloging shards and remnants, making copious notes and sketches) but I digress....Anyways, from there we walked around the market, met Ben Franklin (see picture in previous post) and headed onto the Freedom Trail.

The Old State House on the Freedom Trail in Boston, MA

All there is to remind us of the Boston Massacre, is that circle of bricks in the center of the traffic island directly infront of the Old State House. Sad really. Dear Son (and consumate Patriot now that he is studying early American history) Andrew was shocked that "THAT is it? That's all there is? And it's in a traffic island? That is just....WRONG!" I agree.

A little off the freedom trail, I was attracted to this building, I really wanted to go inside!

The Old Corner Bookstore, now a jewelry store. This sits across the street from the South Meeting House.

The old South Meeting House. It is very beautiful inside, unfortunately pictures were not allowed to be taken inside the building. So of course I snapped one, just to be a rebel. I didn't use flash, so it was ok, as far as I was concerned!I would have taken more but both kids were hissing loudly whispering at me "MOM! The SIGN says NO PHOTOS!" So I said "always question authority" and continued to snap away I behaved and didn't take anymore lest I set a bad example for them.

Incredibley, this building was once slated for demolition, but a rallying of locals came and saved it by purchasing the building. We were astounded at that bit of information. Sitting in one of the seats quietly, one cannot help but feel the history of the place seep into the soul. 

Old City Hall. A bit of a creepy looking building. I wanted to go inside to investigate it a bit, but family kept saying "Let's go mom....we have to see the next thing!". We will return and spend more time here on the Freedom Trail. 

A stone in the Granary Cemetary commemorating the burial spot of the victims of the Boston Massacre.  A very, very interesting cemetary- I could have spent hours there.  Yep, I'm one of those people who LOVE old cemetaries.

We also went to the Grand Lodge of Freemasons but had missed the tour time, so had to settle for checking out the lobby which was interesting.  We went and had dinner at Legal Seafood, which was good, if not a bit pricey. Bob loves the place, but I'm trying to get him to expand his horizons to try other seafood places in Boston. Like the Union Oyster House. I did actually get him to try McCormicks and Schmicks for dinner on Friday night. He liked it better than Legal S.F. Hurray! There's hope! Our day at the Museum of Science was fab- I love that museum- I remember when my mom took me, I was Emily's age- 10- some things there remain unchanged, which is cool, and their traveling exhibits are great- Frogs- (it was awesome!) and Mythical Creatures (equally fab!) and we took in 2 Omni Theater movies- Amazon (it made me a bit dizzy at times so I closed my eyes at those bits!) and Roving Mars (Just AWESOME). Never a disappointment at the Museum of Science! Dear Husband and Dear Son had to go back home friday night as D.H. had failed to check his calendar as I reminded him to do prior to making reservations forgotten that D.S. had a Boy Scout event to attend prior to the crack of dawn, so they had a car come and pick them up to deliver them home.  Dear Daughter and I got to stay over by ourselves another night. We were a bit famished around 8:30pm (the men took the leftovers from dinner home with them) so we ordered room service- it was a princess pampering evening! We slept in a bit the next morning, had breakfast out, and shopped a bit at the Cambridgeside Galleria before venturing home. I am tired!It was a good adventure!