Quilt Show Visit

Our local quilt guild in DeRidder held their quilt show today.

Here is what my Mom, Hub, and I saw:

This crazy one is my favorite. I think it is great that the oddball rectangles were so well placed.

Quilt Diva was a hit.

And what little (or big) girl would not like this pinky?

Sew bowtiful!

And why did I throw away that HUGE dogfood bag? This is a neat idea.

PS: my quilter mom and I hate that modern quilters do not hand quilt anymore. They just do the piecing, and an expensive machine does the quilting.

National Peanut Butter Lovers Day

National Peanut Butter Day

My mother tells the story that when I was a child that I would choose a peanut butter sandwich over a steak.

Well, I suppose that is still true. Oh, I love a good steak prepared by my son or my youngest brother out on their grills, but finding a good meat today isn't what I am famous for.  Most of our steaks taste like cardboard after I try my hand at broiling them.

But steaks are not what this day is about. 

It's Peanut Butter! 

I love it! My hub loves it! And Flip loves it! Now what more could I ask for?

This week we are eating the Walmart Great Value brand of the yummy, peanutty spread. Our absolute favorite brand is Dollar General's nut butter from Clover Valley, but we aren't too picky. Our spread does not have to be the most expensive, but it has to taste good. 

Oil on top that needs stirring into the mixture is not what I like. I do not want to see how much "fat" I am consuming. 

I don't like the kind with chips or chunks of peanuts, so that means that when we visit our Beltway apartment in The Netherlands we do not buy Calve peanut butter. We buy the cheap stuff from Lidl or Aldi. It tastes better, believe it or not!

My Dutch hub usually eats his treat right out of the jar. I spread mine on bananas, bread, cookies, Ritz crackers, and even cake. My favorite lunch sandwich is peanut butter and Nutella on white bread. Tastes like a Reeses peanut butter cup sandwich. 

Flip prefers his PB on a cookie.

Yes, this horse (Animal Crackers) will do fine.

Just a smear of PB, otherwise he will have it stuck in the top of his mouth. And that isn't fun for him, but we get a good laugh while he manages that.

He is waiting patiently.

Happy Peanut Butter Day!

For more info, check out this site or click on National Peanut Butter Day at the top of my text:

http://nationaldaycalendar.com/2014/02/28/march-1-2014-national-peanut-butter-lovers-day-national-pig-day-national-fruit-compote-day-national-horse-protection-day/

So Sweet Bread Pudding

Who does not know Paula Deen and her too much of everything? This time I made her "best bread pudding" that is so sweet it will make your teeth hurt. (And mine double hurt since my sweet hygienist niece cleaned my teeth yesterday!)

One for us.

One to take to my dear neighbor whose husband just passed away.

So double the sweetness!

Here is Paula's recipe:

The Best Bread Pudding

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, 2007

Prep:
10 min

Cook:
50 min
Yield:8 to 10 servings
Level:Easy

Ingredients

2 cups granulated sugar
5 large beaten eggs
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups cubed Italian bread, allow to stale overnight in a bowl
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1 cup chopped pecans

For the sauce (which I was too lazy to prepare)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup brandy

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan. (I made two small ones in disposable aluminum pie pans.)

Mix together granulated sugar, eggs, and milk in a bowl; add vanilla. Pour over cubed bread and let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, mix and crumble together brown sugar, butter, and pecans.

Pour bread mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the top and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven.

For the sauce: (would have been waaay toooo sweeet for us)

Mix together the granulated sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir together until the sugar is melted. Add the brandy, stirring well. Pour over bread pudding. Serve warm or cold.

© 2014 Television Food Network

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/the-best-bread-pudding-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

From the Heart

Four years ago when my in-laws (ages 93 and 94) were finally considering moving to a care facility, my 93 year old father-in-law was most concerned and disturbed that he would be having his meals in the community dining room with mostly "old ladies." Indeed men are outnumbered in such situations. But lately I have noticed that the male population in my own "neck of the woods" is also decreasing. 

Earlier in this short month, our closest Dutch neighbor passed away due to cancer. A. had only reached his 76th birthday two days before his death. We will miss his kind wave as on our way to our Beltway apartment we pass his kitchen window. 

And then yesterday morning early we received the sad news that our farthest neighbor on our street here in the US had passed away. I am still not sure what caused T.'s death, but I am reasonably sure he was younger than I am.

Two "young" men that we called our neighbors are now only in our thoughts and memories. May they both rest in peace. 

And their loving wives will live on to help us all remember the good times we enjoyed being neighborly.

Anyone Can Garden

Master Gardener. Who Are We Kidding?

My thumbs are clean. 

Neither is green nor any other color than my flesh color. 

I am not special. 

I have weeds and mostly grass in my front flower beds. 

There are new buds on my hydrangeas. 

The daisy plants have multiplied. 

Old dusty miller plants are budding from the ground. 

Blooming yellow jonquils just mysteriously appear on compost heaps. 

Our "homegrown" boxwoods looked golden and sad all winter, but now they are "fresh green." 

My garden chair sinks into the muddy earth as I lean over to pull the meandering grass where it does not belong. 

Garlic plants surprise me in a deserted raised veggie bed. 

The over-mature yellow turnips hide Dutch field lettuce that I seeded last October. 

Dutch endive grows heartily between the un-named weeds. 

Lemon balm creeps down the busy veggie bed and over the garden path. 

My favorite salad green the arugula grows and flowers and grows and flowers. 

Five year old asparagus plants wait patiently for sunnier days and warmer soil. 

The rich soil with a layer of decayed rice hulls is ready to grow. 

Whatever I want it to grow!

Turtle-necked Beagle

According to our vet, Flip had an infection on his neck. The doc irritated the huge bubble over a week ago, and last weekend it festered and drained naturally. Now Flip wants to scratch. And scratch. And scratch.

So now he has to wear either a turtle-neck collar or gloves. We decided on the collar. And shouting, "Don't scratch!"

Here Flip is in his latest fashion statement. 

Don't our tile floors in the kitchen look great? Our cleaning lady treated the dirt spots, then she scrubbed them, then I scrubbed them, and finally my hub sealed the brick pavers.

Happy people and happy beagle. Look at that wagging tail!

Oatmeal Waffles or Pancakes

Sunday Breakfast at Wetcreek

Oatmeal Waffles or Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cups bisquick mix

1 cup quick oats

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or 1 cup milk plus 1/2 cup Greek Yoghurt)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tblspoon sugar 

Directions:

Preheat waffle iron (or pancake griddle). Spray iron lightly unless it is conditioned to not need repeat greasing.

Stir together bisquick mix and quick oats.

Stir in buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and sugar until well blended. Let sit for a minute or two.

Pour with ladle or measuring scoop onto center of waffle iron, leaving room on the edges to spread. Do not peek until done signal. Keep warm on oven rack at 175 F.

Serve with butter and syrup of choice.

(Recipe thanks to http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2014/02/biscuit-mix-waffles-and-pancakes.html)  Mennonite Girls Can Cook