cooling rack ~

I sure have been Ms Betty Crocker lately ... baking and a cooking up a storm. The cold weather brings it out of me.  I hope it warms up soon.

Last night I put together 2 pizzas for supper.  Our daughter and her hubby and 2 girls and the Grandloves boyfriend were here to help chow them down.  

For dessert I made a cake from scratch ~

I was inspired by the recipe:  Trisha Yearwood Key Lime Cake on Heidi Bakes Blogspot 

Of course, like so many times when baking I didn't have the right ingredients at hand ... and a trip to town for limes was out of the question ... so was the key lime cake.  So I improvised and used oranges and orange juice and orange jello wherever it called for lime.  

Then when the Grandloves showed up ~ Bailey wanted to add blueberries and raspberries on top and here's the final results.

It was delish!  

We managed to devour half a cake!

Well I suppose I better go do something constructive today... like shovel some snow again.

Until next time ...

So it goes in my neck of the woods.

~mel

muffins ~

What a frigid morning ~ it's -22 and with the windchill added on it's -49 ... that's below zero!!! brrr....  Even I ~ who loves the winter months is admitting that's a wee bit on the chilly.

Its a good morning to turn up the oven and use up those 3 over ripe banana sitting on the cupboard.  I did some tweaking around with a banana muffin recipe and came up with these ...  and ohhhhhhh ... they are ohhhhhhh so good.  I'm calling them:

Banana Nut Nutella Swirl Muffins ~ 1 doz.

To make ... combine:

1 egg
3 over ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Add:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full.  Top each muffin with 1 tsp. of Nutella .  Swirl with a toothpick.

BAKE 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Enjoy!


Dear Hubby ... who is not a big muffin fan ... even said these were probably the best tasting muffins I ever made him ... smile.

Other than that ... not much else going on today.  This last weekend was very busy with the JPD Warrior Project fisheree. It was cold out and the number of participants were down from previous years ... but it was still a success!  Thank you to everyone who helped again this year.

Now with the fisheree out of the way ...
Health issues seeming to be under control ...
Maybe ...
Just maybe ...
We can kick back and take a breather and try to get back to normal around here.

Stay warm!

Until next time ...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

shrike ~

CLICK HERE to HEAR

I heard a bird shriek out the window and what should I see: a Shrike!

A Northern Shrike to be more precise.

A Shrike is a predatory song bird.  Not all song birds are nice little birds ~ even though they may look like nice little birds.

Shrikes like to eat other song birds.  Yep, they're little bird killers.  When they come around the bird feeders they are looking for a meal ... and not one of seeds.  They are hunting for other birds.

They are even known to impale their captures onto thorny bushes or barbed wire fences and come back to "snack" on them at a later time.  

When this little guy flew in ... all the chickadees and finches flew off.  It kept flying up towards the window.  I'm thinking it may have seen it's reflection and was curious about it.  

Or maybe it  saw me and it REALLY had it's curiosity peaked ... LOL

Whatever.

It was interesting to watch ... and that's nature ... they have to eat too.

Notice that sharp hooked beak it has.  

The only time I've ever seen them here in my neck of the woods is in the winter months.  Here's a map from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology of their territory:

Awww... look at that face!  Who couldn't love a Shrike?

Until next time ...

So it goes in my neck of the woods.

~mel

chi ~

What is chi (pronounced chee)?  

According to Chinese medicine, chi is the life giving energy uniting the body mind and spirit.  

Used in biblical reference it is that which God breathed into the dust to produce Adam.

Chi is the life force in all living things.  It's what makes the difference between vibrant and healthy versus sluggish and tired.  It is energy beyond the physical body, it is the mental body.  Chi is your emotions, your thoughts, your feeling of well being.  

I always heard of chi; but never really gave into the concept of using the power of chi as a healing agent. 

Heal thyself ??  is that possible ??  sometimes I think we need more.

I do know something that works ~ 

The Power of Prayer!

I feel weak ~ yet the Lord restores me and lifts me.  He has been there for me and continues to give me strength to get through.

I cannot count how many times I have "turned it over to the Lord."

~~

My daughter, Sara was released from the hospital today.   She suffered with severe headaches and neck pain all of last week.  Saturday evening she had a seizure and became unconscious.  She slipped into and out of consciousness for several days.  She had a brain aneurysm.  

After a barrage of tests and procedures ... she is now fully alert but has no recollection of anything since being admitted to the hospital.  She doesn't remember any of the seizures or any of the test and procedures done on her.   

Now... all her motor skills have returned to normal and all her cognitive skills are also back.  

Praise the Lord!  

I have found my chi :)

Until next time ...

So it goes in my neck of the woods.

~mel

Pssttt ~

Pssttt ... A couple of nuts live here.

Happy New Year!  I hope it's filled with happiness and joy, health and wealth beyond measure.

Dear Hubby is off to work and I'm on the computer.  Go figure :)

We're just thankful that he is able to be working again!

  

His only residual problem yet from the fall is that he now has to take coumadin every day since all that bruising of his heart and ribs.  He needs to keep his blood thinned down from the bruising so he doesn't develop a blood clot.

Seriously, I never imagined so much could go wrong from a simple slip on the ice.  

So now, since the 'warfarin war' is on ... it also means a big change in his diet.  No more of the veggies high in vitamin K while he's taking this.  We're finding out there are quite a few things on the 'don't eat' list.  Also, being diabetic narrows it down some too.  

Ahhhhhhhhh..... we who love our sweets and love our veggies and meat ... what to make for meals is becoming a challenge - but we will succeed!  Heck, we might even end up healthier one of these days.

I usually don't go endorsing websites BUT I'm making an exception to my rule this time.  I have found this site quite helpful in determining what to eat.  

You put in your information ... any medical conditions, etc... and it gives you menu ideas OR you can just type in what kind of food you're thinking about and it tells you if it's safe to eat according to your medical conditions and meds you might be on.  

You might want to check it out Dr. Gourmet  "Just Tell Me What To Eat!"

I'm making walleye fillets for supper.  Now I just have to decide how I'm going to prepare it.  Baked, fried or maybe made like Poor Man's Lobster (one of my favorite ways to eat it).  The only thing that will be missing from the meal will be the coleslaw.  The cabbage is on the 'don't eat' list (for now).  

Until next time ...

So it goes in my neck of the woods.

~mel