Happy Birthday, Maggie

My second born turned twenty today. Is this a joyful child? Just look at her countenance.

Today we have more than the usual reasons to be happy for Maggie. For the past two weeks, Maggie has been almost painfree. This May will mark five years of chronic pain (thanks to straining her hands/arms practicing the piano too much). But praise be to God, she is on her way to complete healing. We think the improvement comes as a result of all three treatments ~ two kinds of biofeedback and accupuncture. Of course, that includes many hours of occupational therapy. PTL!
Lizzie made Maggie's birthday cake. I see my sourdough crock in the pic, so I'm sure there was starter in the cake batter. Maggie helped Lizzie.

It was yummy...especially the raspberry filling. Meemaw and Grandad came for dinner and cake. For dinner we had baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and salad. I didn't get home until 6:10 pm...so it had to be fast and simple.

After dinner and cake, we showed Meemaw how the Wii Fit works. It was the first time I had seen it too. When I took Allen and Ruthie to physical therapy, the therapist said this program was the best exercise they could do at home.

This is half of my gift to Maggie. A Dragon Tree plant. We call it the Bad Hair Day tree. The other half will be a Native American flute. Maybe a double-chambered flute. We will take some time to shop for it since we don't want Maggie to do too much with her hands now that she isn't in such pain.I was fascinated by the twists and turns in the trunk.
Since Maggie has her own bees, she got lots of gifts that were bee-themed.

Remember the catalog I showed you yesterday that contains quilting stencils and templates? Today I looked at the website...and it has many wonderful stencils! There are even wholecloth templates. If you click on "acryllic templates" you will find some very interesting templates. So have fun browsing.

Today I went to the thrift shop for about 4 minutes and found these two 1/2-yard pieces for 25 cents. Wonderful!

Now I am tired and ready to soak in a hot tub. It was a fun day and I'm feeling very blessed. I still can't believe Maggie is playing the piano again...after almost five years. And those first doctors tried to tell us it was hopeless, that she'd have to learn to live with the pain. What a testimony Maggie has. She never wavered in her love for the Lord, even when the pain was unbearable.

Enjoy your weekend. Many blessings ~ Kathie

Giveaway time!

My friend, MaryAnn, from A Joyful Chaos is giving away this book to a lucky reader. To enter this giveaway, leave a comment telling her where your favorite spot is to curl up with a good book. MaryAnn's favorite spot is on an ancient recliner/rocker in the corner of her "fun" room.

For an extra entry, post a link on your blog about this giveaway, then go back and leave another comment. The winner will be chosen on Saturday March 6th using Random Generator.

I grew up with a large weeping willow tree in the side yard. I loved to read in and under that tree!

So hop on over and leave a comment. Hope you win!

Two posts ago, I blogged about my new set of flameware skillets from Clay Coyote. Tonight when I finished posting for the day, I received a comment from Tom, of Clay Coyote, encouraging me to get those candles out of the skillet, and get the skillet onto the stove. (You can read the comment at the end of that post.) Well, I like a good challenge...even if it is 10 pm! So Tom, tonight I tested my Spanish Cazuela in the oven. Don't worry...I'm going to try it on the stovetop soon.

I chose a favorite recipe that I haven't made in years called Hot Fudge Pudding Cake. An old timey recipe. I assembled all my ingredients. I think this recipe will work well with my nondairy butter and ricemilk. Be forewarned...this recipe has lots of sugar.

For those of you who can't eat wheat, this is a great recipe to substitute the flour with 2 cups barley flour + 1 tbsp cornstarch. Because barley flour is whole grain, use 3-1/2 cups water.

Here's the recipe:

In a large bowl (or 8 cup measuring cup) mix the batter:

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

6 tbsp cocoa

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Blend in:

1 cup milk or ricemilk

10 tbsp melted butter or margarine

Mix well with mixer until smooth.

Pour the batter into your baking dish. You may use a 9x13 or larger dish.

Now for the dry part:

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

8 tbsp cocoa

Whisk really well to combine.

Pour the dry mixture evenly on top of the batter.

Then pour 2-1/2 cups hot water over the entire mixture. Do not stir...or even think about stirring!

When all of the water is in, you should have something like this. Place in a cold oven and turn on the oven to 350 degrees. Bake 45 minutes or so until the middle is almost set.

Take your dish out of the oven. Yes, mine spilled over and made two little puddles on the bottom of the oven...but that was ONLY because I cleaned my ovens yesterday. Otherwise, it never would have happened!

Here's the hardest part of the whole recipe: Let your cake rest for 15 minutes without touching it. If you are going to serve vanilla ice cream with this, now is a good time to get it softening up. I personally remember Cool Whip tasted better with this...but now we know that Cool Whip is not nondairy...so my family will be having Tofutti Vanilla ice cream with ours.When you scoop out a serving, you will see the fudgy pudding underneath. Yummy! Make sure each serving gets some of the pudding. Some folks will keep scooping out all the pudding. Especially those blond-headed folks. Gotta watch them.

At midnight, we were finally able to taste our efforts...and we like it! Definitely a successful experiment.

**This recipe also works well in a slowcooker.  Cook on HIGH for 2 hours.  Must be at least a 2-quart crockpot.**

This weekend I will go through my recipes and try to find a stovetop recipe. I'm leaning towards my Korean Chicken recipe. I'll be sure to check my ingredients before I go to town tomorrow.

Many blessings ~ Kathie

I learned the hard way that it really DOES matter what order you put the ingredients into the bread machine. Oh well...the dog, cat and chicken still loved it. This is the second loaf...done correctly. I'm not sure why Maggie thought you needed an apple to get an idea of the correct bread height. Second loaf is almost finished so I just made a whole wheat sourdough loaf. Smells heavenly!

This is tonight's dinner. There's a story behind this meal. Today I baked corned beef, potatoes and cabbage in my new Romertopf clay baker. When dinnertime was only a half-hour away, the meat was still tough and far from being done...but the cabbage and potatoes were finished. So I quickly pan-fried some tilapia (takes 3 minutes to thaw 10 fillets in warm water!) and stirred up some cocktail sauce. I was already sauteeing some celeriac.

What is celeriac? It is a kind of celery grown as a root vegetable. You eat the bulb, not the stems and leaves. Reminds me of jicama. Celeriac is good for you...and contains very little starch, unlike most root veggies. Tastes and smells like celery. Yummy!

Tonight at 9 pm, I finally took the corned beef out of the oven, and it was delicious! Tender but not falling apart. The recipe calls for 2/3 cup of red wine.

I used this burgundy wine that I buy from the Navy Exchange. I hope I don't offend anyone with this picture. Our family never drinks wine but I do use it occasionally for cooking. (Cooking wine has too much salt.) I also use this Livingston Cellars wine because most other wines use casein (dairy product) in the production of wines. LC does not.

Anyhow, the burgundy wine gave the meat a really nice flavor. Hubby loved it!
Here's a quick picture of a jello mold I made yesterday. Hubby and I loved it...but my children couldn't even swallow it! It contains lime jello, cucumber, horseradish, vinegar, onion and salt. As I read the recipe to type this, I learned that it also contains mayo! I forgot to put it in...and it was good without. Oh well.

Today we met Sarah, Abigail, and my parents for the usual thrift shop and Burger King get-together. Abigail loves to shop. Sorry, no pics. You can only take so many pictures of the same event! But I will show you our thrift shop finds this week. Of course, anything with Texas on it is a definite must-buy...especially when it is cheap!

Judging by the inkstains on the inside, this is a pen holder.

Another jar with my favorite clip-top to add to my collection for 25 cents.

I also bought this sewing basket for $3. Every time the girls do hand sewing, I get nervous with the loose needles, pins and scissors. Hopefully this basket will help.

The basket opens like this. I have been trying to find a sewing basket that stands on the floor. I will keep looking.

Couldn't resist for 75 cents. Can't be reminded enough.

Today we stopped by a favorite amish quilt store off the beaten path. I should've taken pics. Next time. Anyhow, we went in search of a quilt template for Anna. I had bought one from this store about 12 years ago that got worn out. Mary Hertzler (store owner) had many choices, but not the meandering pattern that we wanted. So she gave us her catalog from last year so we could order it for ourselves! This is a thick catalog. I can't wait for an hour to sit and browse through it!

For you local folks who sew, Mary sells gingher scissors for excellent prices. Even cheaper than Joann's Fabrics' half off sale. If you want directions, send me an email.

Walmart had apples on sale this week, so I stocked up. Don't they look delicious? They aren't...they are gala and granny smiths. :-)

The week is flying by. Today is the last cold day before a gradual warming up. I noticed the amish are tilling their fields in a big way. Won't be long til spring!

Many blessings ~ Kathie

This past Christmas, my hubby surprised me with a copy of Clay Pot Cooking.

He also gave me one each of the above Flameware skillets from Clay Coyote. I had been looking at these skillets out of pure curiosity, wondering how stoneware could withstand the heat of a direct flame. I had fun reading the cookbook...but not one recipe looks tempting to try. Also, the skillets are recommended for egg dishes...especially quiches...and I am very allergic to eggs. Ha! Until I can figure out what to cook in it, the stoneware makes a nice candleholder. Ruthie bought the blue rocks at the Dollar Store. The candles smell nice (Ocean Breeze scent). Then I found this old copy of the Clay-Pot Cookbook at the thrift shop...and now I'm sold on clay pot cooking! There are dozens of recipes in this book that I now want to try. But the cookbook says you have to use an authentic Romertopf Clay Baker for the recipes. When Maggie and I went to the thrift shop last week (outside Andrews Air Force Base), I found this Schlemmertopf Clay Baker for $8.48...and it was brand new! (These regularly sell for $49.99.) I didn't know what the difference between a Schlemmertopf and a Romertopf was until I got home. A Romertopf has no glazing whatsover. The Schlemmertopf bottom is glazed for easier cleaning. I figured it was worth a try for such a great deal.
Before baking anything in the clay bakers, you have to soak both the bottom and top in water for 15 minutes. That could be tricky for some folks. I already had food in my bottom baker when I thought to take a picture. There is just enough room in my sink for both pieces if you fill the water to within a half-inch from the top.

The first thing I made was the apple cobbler dessert. Ten green apples, peeled and sliced, a little sugar, cinnamon, cloves and butter.

Cover with a basic pie crust; poke a few holes in the top for venting, then cover with the clay top.
Then put the baker in a COLD oven. (Never make the baker be exposed to extreme temperature changes suddenly. It will probably crack and split in half.) Then turn the oven temp to 485 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes.
It was definitely the best cobbler I've ever made. Yummy!

Sunday morning I put one of Allen's free-range chicken roasters in the clay baker and set it at 300 while we were gone 5 hours for church. It was perfectly done...falling off the bone. Even though my family loved it, there were parts that were dry. The reason for that is because you are supposed to cook the chicken for 70 minutes at 480 degrees...and baste twice during the baking. Also, the chicken is supposed to be upside-down in the baker. I am sure that would prevent the top from being dried out. But still very tasty! I will definitely do this again.

So yes...I am sold on the clay bakers. I look forward to many experiments. But I am also watching the eBay sales to find a good deal on the largest baker. Allen's roaster barely fit into the baker...and the apple cobbler only made enough for everyone to have one serving. I'm not in a rush though.

While looking on eBay, I found these three clay bakers from Romertopf for corn, bananas, and apples. I think these are cute...but impractical. But it has given me the idea to experiment. I bought a bunch of bananas today with the hopes of putting them in my baker with some drizzled honey and slivered almonds. I'll let you know how that turns out.

One last thing about these bakers. Cleanup was a breeze. I let the baker cook off completely, then soaked for a while (half-hour?). I used a new scrubbie sponge and the baker cleaned right up...not even heavy scrubbing. Wonderful!

It's been fun learning about clay bakers. I can't wait to bake a loaf of sourdough in it.

Clay Coyote also makes this tagine. I thought it was called a tandoor. So I did a little research this morning at 3 am while suffering from insomnia. There are many different clay bakers used by many cultures. For more info, try this website from wise-geek.com.

Tomorrow is my day off and not a moment too soon. For some reason we have not been good at housekeeping lately and it is really affecting me. The only reason I have two clean ovens is because yesterday I turned on the self-clean feature! So I am looking forward to doing some deep cleaning...before and after we meet my parents for lunch.

Many blessings ~ Kathie