T Stands for another visit to The Spice Merchant

 

We are once again back at The Spice Merchant, this time with items other than mugs.

Torani is famous the world over for their syrups and sauces.  If you want to spice up your drink, these are the syrups that will do it.  How about a chocolate covered cherry hot chocolate?  I would gladly drink one of those.  Want the recipe?  Thanks to Torani, here it is:

 

Ingredients

1 tbsp (1/2 oz) Torani Cherry Syrup

2 tbsp (1 oz) Torani Dark Chocolate Puremade Sauce

Whipped cream, Chocolate Sauce and maraschino cherry for garnish

Instructions

Steam milk and Torani together. Pour heated flavored cocoa into a tall glass and stir gently.

As you can see,

The Spice Merchant carries these Torani sauces, too.

 

I tried making my own Chai once.  I remember grinding the cinnamon sticks, adding the cardamom seeds, grinding ginger and cloves, and adding freshly ground nutmeg.  It took forever to make and I didn't add enough black pepper.  If I ever decide to make it again, I'll buy a mix instead.

When I downloaded these photos, I was even more curious what was on the shelves in the background.  I saw Tabasco, but nothing else I recognized.

CJ will be happy to see

a few gadgets mixed in with glass jars.

Finally, a few jams, jellies, preserves,

 

and salsas made in Wichita and created specifically for The Spice Merchant.

Now it's time for you to include your own T Tuesday post.  It can be gifts you received, photos, a place you visited, movies, postcards, mail art, junk mail, catalogs, books, sketches, mixed media, drawings, paintings, handmade cards, tags, scrapbooking, or other art that is digital, hybrid, or traditional, a favorite mug, cup and saucer, teapot, coffee pot, or even a wine glass. You might even decide to share a syrup or recipe.  Regardless, please join us by linking below.  Bleubeard and I will gladly visit, as will other T participants.  Please link only your T post and not your blog in general.  Bleubeard would like to remind you that old photos are acceptable because they may be taken any time, not just on Tuesday and not just this year.  Please remember to visit your fellow T participants. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all in the states

 

I am so grateful you stopped by today.  I am giving thanks that you stopped by to celebrate with me.

    Happy Thanksgiving to those who live in the USA and observe the holiday.   Happy Thursday to all my international friends.

  This is the day when families gather to give thanks.

   Prayer, in the form of grace is often given before the meal.  Originally celebrated as a religious holiday for giving thanks to God for helping the Pilgrims make it through the first year at Plymouth Colony, Thanksgiving now includes such events as the Presidential pardoning of two turkeys, the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, and a gathering of family for a traditional Thanksgiving meal, making it one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Thanksgiving is also a celebration of the harvest and a day to watch a favorite football team.   That's AMERICAN football, not to be confused with what we call soccer. 

  A look back at 2022, this is what you might be fixing today if you live in the States. 

 

  As you can tell, the turkey is the star of the show.  And because the turkey has a face, I will be joining Nicole's Friday Face Off later tonight.

As some of you know, this is my favorite holiday of the year.   There is no pressure to give gifts like on Christmas or Valentine's Day.

Today before anyone in the US is awake, I'm sending special thanks to my loyal internet friends, followers, and readers.  In many ways, you have become my family.  

 

The only stuffed bird on my holiday table is the one you see above.  There will, however, be pumpkin pie and hopefully some pumpkin bread topped with pumpkin spice butter.  I have included the pumpkin spice butter recipe below.

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons ice water
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions

 

Place heavy whipping cream in a food processor or stand mixer.

Process for about 5 minutes. (It will go from liquid to whipped cream consistency and then start to look like crumbly butter.)

Remove the excess water from the solid butter.

Add the ice cold water and strain a second time.

Add the remaining ingredients and pulse or beat for a few seconds to combine.

Press onto saran wrap and roll into a log. Place in fridge for an hour to harden

 

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it and happy Thursday to my international friends.

Rain's TADD and Nicole's FFO

 

Today Bleubeard and I are joining Rain's TADD.  I am still typing with one hand, since I believe I pulled a muscle in my left shoulder and hand.  If I thought typing with one hand was hard, try peeling a banana using one hand only.  It is impossible.

   I created this journal page for a challenge at Art Journal Journey in October, 2021.

  I showed this as a second look last month on the 2nd.  BTW, there are tons of faces, so Bleubeard and I will be joining Nicole and her Friday Face Off.

  Of course, I have to include a visit to Hatman Jack's.

  Both men's and women's hats are made and sold there.

For the dinner date,

I made these scrambled eggs I call my Chili Relleno hack.  I love chili rellenoes, but I don't like making them.  They take an entire day to get them just right.

However, I have found a way to make something that tastes similar, but without all the preparation time that is required to make them.  This is my own recipe, but I will share it with you.

Ingredients

4 eggs

2 T butter

1/2 can (2.25 ozs) chopped green chilies 

3 cloves garlic, sliced thin

1 onion diced thin to medium

6 ozs Monterey jack cheese cut into small chunks

1/4 c half & half

Directions

Heat butter over medium to medium high heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook for about six minutes until onions are translucent.  

Add chilies and cook for about three minutes more.

In the meantime, whisk four eggs till blended, then add half & half.  Blend

Reduce heat to medium low, then add eggs and milk to skillet.

Using a Teflon or wooden spatula or spoon, turn eggs as they start to form on the bottom of the skillet. When eggs begin to gel, add the cheese.  

Cook another minute, then remove from the heat. Do not allow eggs to overcook.

Thanks for dropping by today.  Bleubeard and I hope to see you at Rain's TADD and tonight at Nicole's Friday Face Off.  We will be by, but be aware, I am typing slower than usual and Bleubeard doesn't know how to type because he doesn't have opposable thumbs.

 

Food Wednesday meets Rain's Thursday Art Date

 

I'm combining Kathy's Food Wednesday, where we share anything food related, with Rain's TAD.  Rain has now allowed us to choose our themes OR follow the ones she has provided.  I decided to combine the two, since a portion of Rain's posts deal with food.  Did you know she makes her own cheese?  Check out her cheese blog.  

As I'm sure many of you know, I am a vegetarian.  However, I could never, ever be a vegan.  That's fairly obvious because I am not about to give up cheese, butter, or my half and half I use in my coffee.  Of course, unlike Rain, I have to buy commercial cheeses and Colby-Jack is my favorite.

Begin by removing the outer leaves of the cauliflower.  Save these for your compost pile.  If you don't have a compost pile, either start one, or leave the greens like those in the bucket for the birds.  Right now, they might want to use them to feed their young.  Be sure to cut them finer if you are feeding them to the birds.  These went to my current compost pile (I have three and I rotate them every three years).

Next, separate the cauliflower into individual cauliflower florets.  That makes it much easier to clean. To do this, quarter the cauliflower using a sharp knife, then cut away the center stem and use the knife or your hands to break the remaining cauliflower into florets.  I only cut away as much as I will use and return the rest to the refrigerator. 

Transfer the cauliflower pieces to a colander and place them under running water to eliminate bugs and pieces of dirt.  Briefly boil the cauliflower in saltwater (blanch) to kill bacteria and parasites.  Boil the cauliflower florets for about two minutes to ensure you’ve killed any parasites.  Remove the florets from the hot water and immediately plunge them into an ice bath. The cold water will stop the cooking process and ensure your cauliflower stays crisp. Drain well and return to the microwave safe bowl.

To clean broccoli, simply submerge it in cold water for at least 15 minutes.  Swirl the florets, every few minutes, then rinse them under cold water.  Pat dry to ensure all dirt has been removed.

Combine the cauliflower and broccoli, along with a small amount of butter, then cook in a microwave safe dish uncovered for three minutes.  Be careful.  There will be lots of steam if you are taking a photo (grin).

It looks like I overcooked them, but that is really an optical illusion.

Use a cheese slicer and slice cheese over the top of these hot veggies.  Add dill or other fresh herbs, along with your favorite seasonings at this time, too.

Cook only until cheese is melted, about one to 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave.

Remove veggies and cheese to serving dish and refrigerate any uneaten portion.  Enjoy!!

 

Rain's challenge this week is Planting Seeds. 

While buying plants last week, I purchased these broccoli seeds.  I've never tried to grow broccoli from seed before, so I guess I'll find out how easy it is to grow these.  At least my pot is ready to accept them.  Now if it would just stop raining.

Thanks go to Kathy and Rain for hosting these events.  I hope by combining these two challenge blogs, I will be able to finally catch up to everyone.  That is, if blogger would just play nice. Thanks, too for stopping by today to visit both Bleubeard and me.  He really just wants to eat the cheese, but I want to thank you for your continued support of my art.  Believe me, I'm not a cook, so this is truly art to me.

 

Christmas, but not at my house

Since I have a few hours between Monday Murals and T Time, I thought I would show Christmas, but not at my house.

A couple of days before Christmas I stopped by my bank and took a photo of their tree, since all my trees are very small.

I provided my own tree, though.  Granted, I got this idea from Jan who shared it here.  Mine didn't look as good as the original, possibly because I should have only used two carrots at the bottom.  And of course, I didn't have a star to top the tree.  I also added the Craisins (dried cranberries) before I roasted it, rather than after.  However, it really WAS a show stopper.

I also made orange rosemary carrots using fresh rosemary from my plant and orange zest along with the squeezed juice of two oranges.

My friend made the pie, but it wasn't spicy enough for me and the crust came from the store.  Sorry, but pie is MY thing and I would never have made anything like that.

My old favorite is of course something I make every holiday: green bean casserole.  However, I used cream of celery soup and added fresh mushrooms.

I made scalloped potatoes which may have been my favorite of all the things I made.

I also made the glaze for the ham. 

which turned out rather good.  Yes, I tasted it.

Of course, I HAD to take ONE more shot of the tree, my favorite recipe of the day, even though I got a bit too much EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) on the pan.

As an aside, with the new year and thoughts of diets and dieting, I've been reading about all these diet plans and the best one seems to be the Mediterranean diet. It's been voted number 1 the third year in a row.  It focuses on lots of veggies, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and EVOO.  Coffee and tea are acceptable to drink, as is water, but soft drinks and fruit juices should be avoided. 

I also liked the Flexitarian, which is plant based.  Per the diet, it is  

a combination of the words flexible and vegetarian - was first coined by  registered dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner in 2009.

The diet encourages being a vegetarian most of the time, but allowing yourself to have meat when you have a craving.

Mediterranean is #1 and Flexitarian is #1 in plant based diets.  It was ranked #4 overall.  Keto was ranked #33 of 34 diets ranked, even though I know several people who swear by it.  I only say this because I looked at the meal I fixed, and it appears I am following these two above diets based on my Christmas meal.

As I've said before, this is NOT a cooking blog, but I do cook on occasion!  Thanks so much for stopping by to share my Christmas dinner I cooked.

This is NOT a cooking blog

I am not much of a cook.  I never could follow a recipe and, although it is my belief one's food experience begins with the plating and visual experience, none of that shows today.

I LOVE squash.  I love all kinds of squash.  What I DON'T LOVE is trying to cut the hard winter squashes, then cooking them.  Instead, I bake them an hour in my oven at 300 degrees F (150 C, Gas mark 2).  The upside to this is, the shells cut like butter once you do this.  The downside is, you can't save the seeds.

This was the easiest recipe of all.  I first removed the seeds from the acorn squash, then I simply added 2 T butter, 1/4 c brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp cloves, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg.  I placed the acorn squash in the oven at the same temperature as before for 15 minutes or until everything was melted and gooey.

The spaghetti squash was first cut in half, then the seeds removed.  Next, I scraped inside the squash with a fork, turning it into spaghetti strands.  I added butter, parmesan cheese, garlic, and onion.  It was baked as above for 15 minutes.

I made a spaghetti sauce, but didn't add it till I got to Scott's, where we were sharing an early Christmas dinner. 

Sauce
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes 
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 T fresh basil, chopped
1 T dried oregano
2 bay leaves

Saute onions and garlic until tender in hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat for 4 hours.  Remove bay leaves and add grated parmesan before serving.
 
I had just placed my butternut squash concoction in a container and went to get my camera when Scott scooped it up and took it to his car.  All that was left was the empty container of my favorite dish! 

While the other two squash were in the oven, I toasted about a cup of walnuts and about a cup of almonds on an ungreased baking sheet for about 10 minutes.  Once cooled, I chopped them into bite sized pieces.

To make the butternut squash, I first peeled my 3 lb. squash, then halved it.  I removed the seeds, then cut it into bite size cubes.  I peeled two sweet potatoes and cut them in bite size cubes, too.  I then cut a large red onion into fairly large pieces.  To those, I added snow peas and Brussels sprouts.  Once tossed, I melted 4 T butter, then added the mixture to the pan.  I covered the pan and cooked for about 20 minutes.

While the squash was cooking, I chopped about 1/2 cup fresh parsley.  When the squash concoction had cooked, I removed it from the pan and added the walnuts, almonds, and parsley.  I can attest, this was my favorite of all the squashes I made.

I assure you this is NOT a cooking blog and I am NOT a cook.  But it was fun sharing the various squashes I made for Christmas and I even got my Brussels sprouts in.  Thanks for joining me today in my kitchen and at my dining room table.  I really appreciate your visit.

April, 2017 complete and May waiting in the wings in my never-ending calendar

My April calendar is finished a bit early.

In case you want to read the minutia, even with a very busy month, it is still quite boring compared to others who are globe trotters (you know who you are ladies).

My reason for completing my April calendar early was so I can create a few new projects I hope to start in May.  Different for me, and will hopefully turn out favorable.  I'm also hoping I'll have time to figure out why things on my right sidebar, like the clocks and weather, are no longer showing, even though I've added their codes again and again.

Now I'd like to switch gears to get my mind off the continued meltdown blogger is doing to my blog.  Before the cost of salmon went through the roof,

I used to buy fillets about this size and smoke them at Christmas.  They made great gifts and were always appreciated by my friends. 

Everything you need to know is on this label.   It tells how to safely prepare the salmon.  It shows it is sockeye, the second most expensive breed after king (sometimes called chinook) salmon.  Sockeye is an oilier fish with deep red flesh.  It is high in omega-3s but has a strong flavor.

When buying fresh or fresh after flash frozen, be sure it's wild caught.  In the U.S., that means it was caught in Alaska where fish farms have been outlawed due to disease.

I learned I could cook the salmon in parchment paper, and since I was entertaining, I wanted to make certain clean-up would be easy.  I can't believe I actually sacrificed some of this hoarded craft supply for a cooking project!

I laid the parchment paper in the bottom of the aluminum pan, then cut onions and laid them on the parchment paper.   I cut butter and laid it on top of the onions.  Then I squeezed some lemon juice over the top of both.

Next it was time to lay the salmon, skin side down, on  top of the onions and butter.

I love dill.  In fact, I love it on just about any and everything.  I'm not sure everyone feels the same way, though.

That's why I decided to add rosemary to a portion of the fillet.

This was my feeble attempt to make the dish pretty.

Then it was time to wrap the fish tightly in the parchment paper and cook it for 25 minutes in a 300 degree F (150 degrees C, Gas Mark 2) oven.

When I removed the photos from my camera, I didn't find a single one that showed the finished salmon.  It was really lovely, though, and still had the red tint to it.  It was completely cooked and got rave reviews from some pretty picky people!

And finally, I broke down and bought another hibiscus.  Overnight the blooms drooped and are no longer upright.  Only one bloom left to stand straight and tall!  I must get it in the ground, soon, so I don't lose it.

EDIT: Yes, this is a hyacinth, not a hibiscus.  Sleep deprivation and worrying about my blog caused the faux pas (or serious lapse in proper spelling).

Thanks for joining me today.  I am thrilled you stopped by because this is the only place you will see my monthly calendar and my fishy fish tale.