Monday, October 7, 2013

Children are like farts, yours are fine; everyone else's are unbearable.

Friday, April 27, 2012

April 27, 2012 - Cream Puffs

Cream Puffs have always been one of my weaknesses. They are light and puffy and are filled with the most exquisite cream that literally melts in your mouth. And to think that something that looks so delicious would be so easy to make! I have made them when I was younger and filled them with pudding. But I am trying to find a more mousse-like filling that is at once satisfying and also light. So to the books I went. I found a recipe in Betty Crocker’s Cookbook that I thought would be what I was looking for. For the cream puff itself, the recipe was easy to understand and also easy to make. The filling was not exactly what I wanted; it was more of a pudding filling, which in itself was delicious, but again, not what I was looking for. So off to the internet I went, I found a couple of recipes for filling that in the next couple of articles I will discuss. Listed below is the recipe from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook. Cream Puffs 1 c. water ½ c. margarine or butter (I prefer butter, not salted) 1 c. all-purpose flour* 4 eggs *Self rising flour can be used in this recipe. Heat oven to 400ยบ. Heat water and margarine to rolling boil in 2 ½ quart saucepan. Stir in flour Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute; remove from heat. Beat in eggs, all at once; continue beating until smooth. Drop dough by scant ¼ cupfuls about 3 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until puffed and golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool away from draft. Cut off tops; pull out any filaments of soft dough. Fill puffs with Cream Filling. Replace tops; sprinkle with powdered sugar. Refrigerate until serving time. Cream Filling 1/3 c. sugar 2 T. cornstarch 1/8 t. salt 2 c. milk 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten 2 T. margarine or butter, softened 2 t. vanilla Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in 2 quart saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir at least half of the hot mixture gradually into egg yolks (temper the egg yolks). Stir into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in margarine and vanilla; cool. Note: I found that the cream filling was to runny, I wanted a more lightly, airy filling. So I added 1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip® topping to the cream filling. If adding Cool Whip®, add after mixture has cooled down.

Friday, February 17, 2012

February 17, 2012

I think that it is happening! I will finally be able to sew again! I don't want to get to excited because I will still be working, but not full time. I will finally have time to clean and cook and wash and sew! Sewing is my relaxation. It is my creativity coming to fruition. I realize that I could have been sewing all along, but I am not that organized. I try to be, honestly I do, but there is so many things to do during the day and not enough time and I can't give anything up. Okay, I am wrong, I do give up things - not washing clothes when they should be washed, not putting away the dishes when they are dry (the kids are supposed to do that), folding the clothes, ironing, making cookies for the kids, trying out new foods for the kids to eat, at least once a month. Oh, and don't forget about waxing and cleaning up. As I walk somewhere in the house I should pick up anything that is on the floor. Sometimes I do and then I forget what I was going after in the first place, so I am not sure I can, what is the word, micro-manage? No that's not the right word, multi-task is the right word. I can do only a couple of things at a time, but I try to do everything. Guess what it doesn't work. When will I ever learn, or maybe I'll just keep trying.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

I'm tired. Or maybe I'm just worn out and I can't go on any longer. The holidays are coming up and I can't even deal with it. I have to think in advance for Christmas gifts for the kids. And not just from me, but I get phone calls from the grandparents. "What does Timmy like? What does Sarah want? Would they like this? Or would they like that?" Because the grandparents shop all year long, I get calls all the time. Then, there is the holiday dinners. Those I don't mind, but again, I have to think about food way before it is time. I think what I realize is that I am a, not so much last minute person, but a person who needs to think about these things when it is the right time. Two months or even throughout the year is to soon for me.

My husband comes home from work and I am wiped out from working and dealing with the children and cleaning up, that when he wants me to do some work for him that I just stare at him with this blank look on my face. So yes, I am worn out. I think it is time for me to be re-cycled, maybe I can come back as a younger, stronger me. Or just come back!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Time Flew By

Where has the time gone? Has it really been that long since I last wrote. I've been busy with the start of school, getting schedules together and trying to figure out what to do with all this "spare time". HA! What I really mean is that I can finally get back to my schedule and try to cram everything into the 6 hours that I have free until it is time to pick up the kids. Funny thing is that it never works. It always runs into the kids time.

Working at home is not easy, but it is better than working in an office. I mean on one hand, even though you are at home and the kids are screaming, or fighting and you are trying to get work done, you are there with them. On the other hand, working in the office you don't get distracted with what needs washing, or what letters you can send out, or yes, your children, so you do get more work done. But which is better? That I think is a question that each and every one of us has to decide for ourselves, and for some of us, we don't get a choice.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Summer Vacation

I wish I had pictures of our wonderful summer that is passing us by, but I don't. Maybe because we haven't gone anywhere or done anything. All I have done this summer is work at this desk trying to get out invoicing, statements, proposals and balancing checkbooks with money we don't have. Wondering where we are going to get the money to pay the mortgage or property taxes or even just food. Don't let anyone tell us that this is a recession. It is a depression, just like the one in the 20's. People are losing their jobs, their houses, their money. Look around, what do you see? I see houses all over for sale. How many are for sale because of foreclosure or because someone has lost their job and can't afford their house anymore and are trying to sell it before it goes into foreclosure?

I am trying to see the bright side of all of this. I think one good thing is that people, including our family, are learning to be more resourceful, are recycling more, re-purposing more and just trying to be more careful in what they are spending and on what they are spending it for.

I wish I did have a picture of our garden. This is the first year it grew so large. I was so excited about how large the tomato plants grew. It looked beautiful until it go so large that it made the tomato stakes fall over and I wasn't able to pick them back up. Maybe it was what I put into the soil. I didn't put any pesticides, I think the only thing I did at first was put in some liquid vitamin B. Then to keep the tomates from wilting, I put some corn meal and also some baking soda in the soil and I sprayed everything with powdered milk. I also let our chickens in the garden until they started eating the tomatoes, cucumbers and squash. Then I had to banish them.

So maybe our summer is going better than I think. I have an abundance of tomatoes, squash and of course farm fresh free range chicken eggs. To bad my kids don't eat tomatoes and squash.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Food for Thought

I heard a man talk today about marriage and divorce. It was so true. He said that today people jump into bed before finding out if they are compatible. Meaning what is their common thread. Are they the same religion, do they have the same family values, was their upbringing similar, do they want the same things out of life? He stated that jumping into bed should not be the first thing a couple does to find out if they are compatible, in fact, it should be the last thing. Get to know that person, find out what he or she was like as a child, what their likes and dislikes are, and see if you have fun together. Not all people who have the same religion are going to magically get along, or not all people who have the same family values will get along, but that is the beauty of it all. Get to know that person. Remember in the old days when they talked about courting? Try it, it works.