A Sweet Vase

My grandmother was the world's best pickle maker.  Every summer she would work so hard canning up all types of pickles.  She would make dill, sweet, zucchini, lazy housewife, corn relish, pickled beets, and I'm quite sure there are others that are just not coming to mind at the moment.  I love my memories of her busy in her kitchen.  And of course one tool that she used over and over in her canning, as well as her baking, was a very cute measuring cup.  I now have the honor of being in possession of that particular measuring cup.  I don't use it as it is intended; but I keep it on my window sill as a sweet reminder of her.  But this time of year, I use it as a vase by filling up a small baby food jar with water, and placing it inside of the cup.  I just know she would approve.

Red Tulips

It would appear that nice weather is here at last.  The past few days have been so warm and sunny.  I have been able to begin my yearly task of getting all of the flower beds prepared for their pretty little flowers; as well as the vegetable garden for its yearly task of providing us with all sorts of goodies.  I love this time of year.  The work is tiring, and my muscles protest, but I stick with it.  The reward is tremendous!

Sisters' Sale 2010

Yesterday I attended the 2010 Sisters' Sale in Spokane.  I had a great time.  We spent about an hour and a half just roaming around looking at all of the goodies.  My sister, Kass, has attended the sale for many years.  Last year she brought me, and I had such a good time, I have marked it down as an annual event not to be missed.  Here are a few of the fun displays that they had:

Family

I was blessed growing up with many cousins, uncles, and aunts nearby.  If we didn't live in the same town, we lived in towns not too far away to warrant an occasional visit.  Family picnics and reunions were just a part of growing up together.  I have older cousins and younger cousins.  Older cousins that I didn't play with when younger, but was familiar with nonetheless; cousins near my same age that I have many, many happy memories of our time spent together; and younger cousins that I am getting to know more and more as the years go by.  Family reunions are still well attended even though they are now planned by my generation rather than by my parents, aunts, and uncles. 

Our parents instilled in all of us the importance of family gatherings.  The importance of staying in touch even though the years roll by, and even though we are separated by thousands of miles.  We were also instilled with the idea that our parents, aunts, and uncles are to be honored.  This was all very evident to me when just this past weekend, with only two weeks notice, 56 family members from 7 different states, all gathered together to honor my aunt at a party.  A party that she requested after finding out she most likely has only two months left on this earth.  And it was a happy party.  Lots of memories, lots of smiles, and lots of young kids ..... all cousins, of whom I hope carry on the traditions of family picnics, family reunions, and knowing the blessing of honoring their parents, aunts, and uncles.

Hummingbirds

I'm so happy -- my little hummingbirds have returned for another season.  My neighbor has informed me that they have already been visiting her.  So yesterday I thoroughly cleaned out my feeders and mixed up a batch of my special hummingbird food.  Now I will just wait patiently for them to grace me with their delightful presence.

Taco Salad

Sometimes when I need a quick idea for dinner, I choose taco salad.  It's relatively fast, and customizable.  By customizable, I mean that you don't have to put everything in it.  Sitting around my table at each meal are a variety of likes and dislikes.  We have the non-tomato eaters, non-avocado eaters, and even a non-cheese eater (that's me, and I know it is unthinkable to some of you).  So when I make it, I have the basic salad, and serve all of the optional toppings in separate small serving dishes for everyone to choose or not choose according to their personal likes or dislikes.


My recipe is very basic ..... lettuce,1 can of kidney beans rinsed, green onions, sliced black olives, and 1 pound ground beef that has been seasoned with my taco seasoning mix (and cooled before adding to the lettuce).  The separate items that I include on the side are grated cheese, diced tomatoes, avocadoes, and tortilla chips that have been crushed.  Of course you could just add all of that to your salad along with the basic ingredients (except for the crushed chips -- they can get a bit soggy if there is enough salad remaining for leftovers).  I serve the salad dressing on the side, which of course can be whatever your preference is; but a favorite of ours to have with this salad is Catalina.  And then of course I never forget the salsa and the taco hot sauce.

Daffodils Make Me Smile

This time of year, daffodils have an amazing effect.  The very presence of them in a room sets such a joyful tone.  I simply love daffodils.  We are blessed with their beauty for such a brief time.  Unfortunately, I don't have any growing in my yard; but I will buy them at the grocery store when they are available.  This particular batch was a gift from two of my daughters.  They purchased them with the buds tightly closed:

 This way we get the most possible enjoyment out of them.  And then when they burst into bloom:

They truly make me smile!

Recipes, Recipes, and More Recipes

I find a great deal of pleasure in sitting down and looking through a cookbook.  When I check books out at the library, typically the larger percentage of them are cookbooks.  I can hardly bear to throw a magazine away until I've clipped out the good looking recipes.  I have a nice collection of cookbooks, old and new.  In fact, I realize that there probably aren't enough hours left in my lifetime to be able to make all of the delicious recipes that I want to try. 

In my "dream" house, I think I would like to have a second kitchen.  This kitchen would always be set up and ready for me to step into it to make any pie or cake at a moment's notice.  And of course since my family wouldn't possibly be able to eat all of the decadent desserts that I would be making, I would love to just be able to give them away to anyone who would have them .... after I have been able to have a small piece first of course.

Grasshopper Pie

Many variations of this recipe exist, but of course I like my mom's the best.  And no, there aren't any grasshoppers in it.  However, once when my mom had prepared it for our dessert, my brother, and one of my cousins that happened to be visiting, decided that it would be a funny trick if they actually put a grasshopper in the pie.  So when no one was looking, they took the pie out of the refrigerator, put a grasshopper in it, and then smoothed over the top so it wouldn't be noticed (at least in their minds they had smoothed over the top well enough).  When my mom was ready to serve the pie, she noticed fingerprints in one section.  Being the intuitive mother that she was, she made certain that my brother and cousin were the recipients of that particular section of the pie.  It turned out to be a very funny trick on them, and funny memories for the rest of us.  To this day, I cannot even think of grasshopper pie without thinking of that partcular event.

Grasshopper Pie
Crust:
22 Oreo cookies, crushed
3 Tablespooons of melted butter

Combine melted butter and crushed cookies.  Press into a 9 inch pie plate

Filling:
24 large marshmallows
2/3 cups milk
2 cups of Cool Whip (or 1 cup of whipping cream, whipped)
3 tablespoons of creme de menthe.
Grasshoppers -- optional  ;o)

Melt the marshmallows and milk in a double boiler (watch closely).  Let cool slightly, and then fold in the cool whip or whipped cream, and the creme de menthe.  Pour into crust and top with additional cookie crumbs.  Refrigerate.  This recipe can be made the day before you wish to use it.

Easter Greetings

We had a great little vacation this past week.  My son is an expert surfer riding the indoor wave.  I gave it a couple of tries; but after being tossed into the air by the wave both times, I opted for body surfing instead.  It was much easier.

After returning from vacation, I had a couple of days to quickly prepare for Easter.  At this very moment, my daughter is setting the table, and everything seems to be in place.  Well, almost everything.  Upon completion of this blog post, I will put together a relish plate, and then everything will be in order.  But I just wanted to take a minute, and wish all of you a very blessed Easter Day.  This day carries so much meaning; and without it, there would be no hope in this world.  But we do have this day to celebrate Christ's glorious resurrection; and along with it, comes forgiveness and hope.  This is truly a glorious day for celebration!