Best in Show

Sometimes beauty doesn't come in the the usual packages. Sometimes it comes in a kind neighbor who makes the best pizzelles around! This is my neighbor Loretta. She's Italian, and knows her pizzelles. She makes the best, and always makes us some when she's baking. They are light and vanilla-ey. Very delicious. They never last long. My hubby is like a kid on Christmas when she walks out her door with that box of cookies.

My daughter loves them too. In fact, she just snagged an old pizzelle maker at our church flea market last week. She had to find the electrical cord that went to it though. She looked through boxes and tables and finally found it's match! She only needed to get Mrs. Loretta's recipe!

These are Loretta's pizzelles, and they are definatley 'Best in Show'. Half the box is gone by now, and they have only been in the house for about two hours. I wasn't kidding when I said they are good! She was kind enough to share the recipe and gave a quick baking lesson to my daughter, with the offer to help when she makes her first batch. See beauty, can be found in anything, anywhere.

Part of the baking lesson / advise is in the video below. Enjoy. It's nice to have nice neighbors who are good bakers!

Dinnertime...

I'm lucky to have this behind my backyard ~ woods. It not only gives privacy to the suburbs, but is the perfect habitat for some of my favorite things ~ birds.
It might look gross to some, but this American Robin has snagged dinner for some little baby waiting back at the nest. This guy kept this worm in it's beak for some time before finally flying off into the trees.
I finally caught a Northern Flicker, high in a dead locust tree. It was late afternoon, so the lighting wasn't right from where I was, but I got it! Eventually, I'll catch one in good lighting ~ their hard buggers to photograph because they hide well and seem to feed late in the day.

Pointing my hammock towards the west!

Peace, Love, and Cookies

This is what I saw when I walked out my back door this afternoon. Peace ~ Love ~ and Cookies!
I also saw some gorgeous flowers coming to life in my backyard. I love lilies, strong, and beautiful.
Razzle me Dazzle! These are the petunias my Mom loved to grow when I was a kid. Enough said, they are very beautiful. I love how two flowers on the same plant are so different. Just like kids!
I love the feathery look of astilbe! It makes me feel carefree, the perfect feeling for relaxing in the backyard.
Blue denim petunias. I ordered these from Burpee Seeds, and simply love them.
I love this picture. I have no idea how the camera gave the glowing aura to the petunias, but it works for me!

I have lots of work in the garden this year, here at the house, and out at the farm. I'll be posting progress of some of my projects. My backyard garden is becoming a garden room ~ another place to escape and relax, and some interesting themes are taking shape in the farm garden...A 'Princess and the Pea' garden bed, a couple of Three Sister's Garden beds, and my girls are creating a Salad Bowl Garden, and an All Flower Garden. I have a feeling it's going to be a very colorful summer!

Until later ~ peace, love, and cookies!

Twinkies and Root Beer.

Happy Easter

To help celebrate the Easter season, here's more of a photographic essay of chocloate making in my house as a kid. Mom collected a huge number of the coolest candy molds ever ~ these are just a few of an awesome collection.

The classic and a nice reminder of the reason for the holiday ~ the classic cross.

And a wise old owl.

Here's one of my girls wishes for this year, solid chocolate please! It's a large mold and will hold quite a bit of chocolate! ALOT of chocolate, and she has requested a solid bunny! No hollow bunny here please!

Another classic ~ bunny sitting on a log. This one's a pretty good catch in the Easter basket too! Another pretty large mold, it could keep a kid busy for awhile, but not quite as long as the larger bunny!!

You've gotta have a silly looking monkey mold...don't you? We have two!

My explorer's favorite ~ the hiking bunny!

One of my favorites ~ the cowboy collection, I think there are six or so molds of the same cowboy in two different sizes. Really cute.

And of course, you need to have an astronaunt!

And I know that everyone has an accordian playing clown. Right?!?



This cow may be the 'best of show', at least as far as I'm concerned. My mom loved...I mean loved cows, and this one was in her collection. I don't remember it showing up in our baskets though, I don't know why she didn't use it, but I'll find out why since I'm going to try to make a real 'chocolate cow' tonight! It's a beauty!

And...Happy Easter!!!

Strawberry - Rhubarb Delicious-ness!

Ahhh, Strawberry - Rhubarb pie. Strawberry - Rhubarb crisp. Delicious? Yes! I feel bad that it gets a bad rap sometimes. I prefer the crisps in anything, well because, they are...crispy, but my brother in law is a pie guy, so for his birthday for the last few years, we've made him a pie, with Strawberry - Rhubarb being his favorite. And it's simple. Just mix the wonderful cream (sugar, eggs, just a bit of flour and vanilla all mixed together), strawberries and rhubarb in a pie shell. (I cheated and used a store bought shell. Marie Callender's makes a nice pie crust in a sturdy pan). I got my recipe from http://www.tasteofhome.com/ . Simply Delicious...and so pretty.

I really like the crumb crust, and they are much easier than the rolled crusts. This is one that the kiddos can have fun with! I don't 'cheat' on the top crust. It has to look perfect, (or like a science experiment!) since that's the part the people see and decide whether or not to try it in the first place. Crumb crusts always turn out nice. This one combines flour, sugar and old fashioned oats, and cubed butter. Yummy.

For some reason, my pies always take on an alien planet landscape appearance. I think it's kind of funny! The crust is always the best part of the pie. The cream bubbles up through the crust, the sugar infuses with the rhubarb to make the most amazing and tasty goodness imaginable. It's actually kind of hard to describe, but in my mind, it's SO clear. Think of a nice sweet chewy candy that's savored instead of devoured, and that's the taste. Mmm....chewy, but not mushy, yummy, good. The rhubarb makes this pie.

And it makes the crisp too! See how the strawberries keep their shape, color, and sweetness. The hubby walked in the door and straight to the crisp sitting on the stove. Somehow he knew it was made for him. He immediately grabbed a spoon and started to dig in, then asked, "Umm...Can I try some of this?" It was much better than giving a birthday pie minus one slice because of a hungry hubby!

Oh, and Happy Birthday to Jeff. Hope you enjoyed your pie!