I like it French...

I decided to do an experiment today. I wanted something to go with our dinner of crock pot roast and baked potatoes, so I tried out a new recipe--french bread. I had never actually made french bread before, so this was an new experience. See, the way I look at it, is if you can't get away to have some experiences, like maybe Malibu or something, you've gotta make those experiences happen where they can happen. In my case it's right in my own little abode.
The bread went together pretty well, the only glitch being that the stated time for cooking was 35 minutes, and when I checked on the bread at 28 minutes, it was a little darker than I would have liked. I had rushed getting it in the oven, only letting it raise for half of the stated 30 minutes--mainly because it was getting a little later than I'd like to have dinner. That was my only critique I got from my wife Ann, who said that it needed to raise a little longer. Good thing I didn't wait too long though, because right after we finished eating, the power went off.
All in all though it was pretty tasty, and not nearly as hard to make as I would have thought.

Meet the new Bosch...same as the old Bosch (Who fans will get it.)

Rolled out and ready to go

As I said, a little dark, but still tasty

Christmas cooking is just plain awesome

We have a family Christmas party tomorrow. Tonight, after going out for dinner, I made some chili verde and some artichoke/spinach dip. It's cooling now, not quite ready to put in the fridge. In fact, I just burned the roof of my mouth sampling the chili verde. I'll be staying up late tonight so that it can cool down a bit before cooling it down a lot. Of course, I could probably just put it outside. The high tomorrow is only supposed to be forty.
One thing I always have trouble with is when I'm trying to make two recipes at once. For a while there, I was thinking I was going to be making chili verde artichoke dip. Luckily, I managed to avoid cross-recipe tragedies that I've been unable to avoid in the past. Like the time I was trying to make a coffee cake and some cheddar broccoli soup at the same time...
Now that I've got the cooking out of the way for the party tomorrow, I only have two or three more events for which to cook something. There's the family party a week from Sunday for Ann and I and our children and grandchildren, but prior to that, I have a work party that I'll need to bring something to--I haven't decided what. Right now I'm thinking beans, but that could prove to be too much for my limited time this year. Maybe I'll sign up for the chips...
For the family party on the Sunday before Christmas, I'm on the line for shrimp cocktail sauce and guacamole. Nothing real difficult.
I need to start looking for some sales on steaks for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. I'm hoping for a snow storm that night. There's nothing like barbecuing on a snowy Christmas Eve to make one feel good and homey.
Somewhere in there I'm going to begin making treats for the neighbors. I'm not sure what I'll make this year. Maybe some fudge as that goes a long way, and maybe some things to go with it. I'll have help of course.
Now, I need to get to the store, maybe tomorrow, and pick up some eggnog. Southern Comfort is my favorite brand. What's yours? Christmas is a busy time for all of us who celebrate it. But let's do just that--celebrate with happy hearts and warm welcomes to our loved ones. I personally can't think of a better way to spread love.

Today I'm grateful for butt-kicking good recipes

There's nothing like getting a treat from a neighbor or friend. It's especially nice when that treat is out of this world. Even better is when that friend shares the recipe with you.
The thing about the internet is that there are millions of people sharing a lot of great recipes...far too many to try in any one lifetime.
So, I narrow it down by things I must eat. And one of those things is great oatmeal cookies. I got a great oatmeal raisin cookie recipe a few months ago, and it was so good, that even though I made mistakes making it and when I put them in bags they turned into crumbs, I snarfed down the crumbs. And then I tried making it again after contacting the person who had posted the recipe and using the tips she gave me. They worked better, were still delicious, and still turned to crumbs. I guess I'm going to need to get a real baker to make them for me.
I've received other good recipes in the past year...a great cinnamon coffee cake recipe that I made for Christmas morning last year...that was fabulous! And many other great concoctions.
I'm grateful for people who share their recipes. Now, if I could only get them to cook for me, I'd be really grateful.

Cluttered freezers would be fun to dump...

In our household, we have our daughter, Rebecca, and her husband and four kids living with us. A household of eight. Sometimes it seems like an army of twenty. I'm frequently reminded of this when I open the freezer and try to find anything. Jam-packed with everything I don't need, I cannot find the stuff I do need. Our ice maker knows that an army lives here. It keeps making ice, dropping it behind the bin when the bin gets full, so that we have ice cubes layered throughout the freezer half of the side by side. I pulled out a basket today to try and find corn tortillas, and there were enough ice cubes to fill a plate holder, and then some, just behind the basket I pulled out.
The search for the tortillas continued. I emptied an entire shelf before I found any, cursing along the way. "Why do we need all this stuff in here?" I said, rather loudly. "I will be glad when it's just you and me," I said to my wife, Ann.
Mind you this was only minutes prior to searching in vain for measuring spoons. Lost somewhere in a vast concoction of toys, papers, food, and clutter, the spoons may some day turn up. Someone may have to move in order for that to happen, but some day, I'll find all the spoons, can openers, wooden spoons, and various other implements I need on a regular basis in order to make anything to eat.
It makes me want to bring home something for dinner every night, rather than try and cook, getting frustrated because every time I need to thaw some chicken, I have to wade through layers of burritos, hummus, hot dogs, and pecans that got put in upside down in an open bag.
I think instead of bringing something home for dinner, I'm going to run away...

I'm not lying.

Just try finding  what you need without emptying this bin!

This is where most of the random ice cubes are found.

More signs of fall

You wouldn't know it around here with the unseasonable temperatures. For the past few weeks, we've been hard-pressed to find any temps below 80. I'm waiting for a little cooler weather to facilitate the most productive time for killing bindweed (better known as wild morning glory), and other noxious weeds.
Despite the warm weather though, there are some signs that fall is coming on. My tomatoes, which were coming out of my ears, have slowed their ripening process--just not enough hours of warmth in the shorter days. Pumpkins are quickly being bought up from the nearby vendors. We just bought a couple to make jack-o-lanterns with from Ream's, on sale for 13 cents a pound...and since it was the last day of the sale, we were picking from the last five or six they had, literally. With the recently announced pumpkin shortage, I'm not thinking we'll see another sale like that between now and Halloween. Just a couple of weeks ago though, we were up in Perry, Utah watching some guys unload pumpkins at one of the fruit stands up there.

Unloading pumpkins--a sure sign of fall.

With the shorter days, it also means that I'm leaving for work before the sun rises. This has created an opportunity to take some shots of the dawn sky. I wish I could remember to set up the good camera on a tripod and get a wonderful shot, but instead, I just think about it when I'm already nearly late for work, so I pull out the cell and snap a shot. Like this.

The Moon, Venus and Jupiter have been close together in the morning.

Before long, it's actually going to cool down enough to turn on the furnace, and to spray the weeds. Summer, with its hikes, fishing, and barbecues will be done. But fall and then winter have their own unique activities that make them special as well. And who's to say that you can't hike, fish or barbecue in the fall and winter? I do all of these activities year round. We've cooked our Christmas Eve steaks on the grill outside when it was snowing. It was a wonderful experience.

There will be more wonderful experiences in the days and years ahead. We need to look at each day as a God-given opportunity to grow, learn, and love. Of course, there are often challenges to endure and to survive, Those are part of life. Some times may be hard, but if we keep our eyes focused on what's truly important, and our trust in God, we will eventually become not spectators, or unwilling participants, but victors. And I kind of like that.

New recipe

I just made this new recipe: Bangin' Blueberry Coffee Cake
I had a bunch of extra blueberries to use up after stocking up on them at a recent sale. I had already made some blueberry muffins, and Ann had already made a great pie. I had used them on my cereal in the morning. They would begin to go bad soon, so it was time to use up the rest. A few minutes ago I tasted the cake and it was great. It was like eating To Die For Blueberry Muffins in a cake pan, maybe even better since it was coffee cake and not muffins. So the next time you have some blueberries to use up, try the coffee cake--or the muffins. Whichever one you're in the mood for.