My mom is coming to visit either tonight or tomorrow. Of course, my house is nowhere near ready for company. Good thing it is just my mom.
I was taking Christian to Marie's last night and passed a "free bunk beds" sign. Of course, I had to turn around. After *somehow* fitting the pieces into the van, I brought it home. After taking the 4 back seats out, and doing complex mathematical equations in my head for 45 minutes, we got it out. (Of course, the fact that I was doing the complex mathematical equations in my head could have been why it took 45 minutes.)
I had to promise Christian that I won't stop at any more "Free large wooden things that won't fit in your van" signs.
LOL... I am listening to Dave Ramsey. He ranted about FICO scores the other day, so someone wrote in and asked him to tell what his FICO score is. He tried to get it, and wasn't able to because he doesn't have one. I just found that funny. "We regret that we are unable to fulfill your Scorepower order request because your credit report does not currently contain information to meet the minimum scoring criteria required to calculate a FICO score."
So that is the exciting day that I am having. Cleaning the house, waiting for my mom and trying to figure out how to rearrange the living room.
Aren't you jealous of my exciting life?
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Up a creek without a paddle...
As I am sure you are aware, there has been flooding in New Jersey. It appears NBC News correspondent Michelle Kosinski wanted to make sure we knew how bad it was.
"In one of television's inadvertently funny moments, the NBC News correspondent was paddling in a canoe during a live report about flooding in Wayne, N.J. While she talked, two men walked between her and the camera _ making it apparent that the water where she was floating was barely ankle-deep."
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Change is good, right?
I really like this time of year. Truth be told, I like each season equally. I like the newness of it, KWIM? I am more than ready to pack away summer shorts, T-shirts and sandals to be replaced with fall/winter sweaters, hoodies and jeans.
Today I baked bread and cookies.
Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies
3 c. oatmeal
1 c. whole wheat flour (or 2 c. oatmeal and 2 c. whole wheat flour,
whatever combination you want)
1 t. soda
1/4 t. nutmeg
1 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 c. sugar (or less)
1 t. vanilla
2/3 c. raisins or dried apples or dried cranberries
Combine the first four ingredients. Mix up the next 3 ingredients and add
them to the dry ingredients. Stir in the dried fruit. Roll in small balls
and smash to 1/4 " thickness on the cookie sheet. Bake at 275 degrees for
22-25 minutes.
Makes about 50 cookies with only .3 grams of fat each.
A warning about these cookies:
They are very good, but if you are expecting the texture of regular oatmeal cookies you will be disappointed. They taste just like regular oatmeal cookies, but don't look a thing like them! You can place these pretty close together, too. They don't spread out at all. What you put in the oven is what you take out.
I'm not feeling well this afternoon. I think I am going to go watch TV and see if I can NOT get sick.
Today I baked bread and cookies.
Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies
3 c. oatmeal
1 c. whole wheat flour (or 2 c. oatmeal and 2 c. whole wheat flour,
whatever combination you want)
1 t. soda
1/4 t. nutmeg
1 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 c. sugar (or less)
1 t. vanilla
2/3 c. raisins or dried apples or dried cranberries
Combine the first four ingredients. Mix up the next 3 ingredients and add
them to the dry ingredients. Stir in the dried fruit. Roll in small balls
and smash to 1/4 " thickness on the cookie sheet. Bake at 275 degrees for
22-25 minutes.
Makes about 50 cookies with only .3 grams of fat each.
A warning about these cookies:
They are very good, but if you are expecting the texture of regular oatmeal cookies you will be disappointed. They taste just like regular oatmeal cookies, but don't look a thing like them! You can place these pretty close together, too. They don't spread out at all. What you put in the oven is what you take out.
I'm not feeling well this afternoon. I think I am going to go watch TV and see if I can NOT get sick.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Not Sure
We canned applesauce yesterday. We were done by 3pm, so I packed up mu applesauce and came home. When we got home I checked all of the jars and they were sealed, so I put them away.
Last night at 8:30 pm, we heard a very loud pop.
Last night at 8:30 pm, we heard a very loud pop.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Chunky Apple Oatmeal Pancakes
Tonight we had these for dinner. My "Do I have to eat this??" kid had seconds.
Chunky Apple Oatmeal Pancakes
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/8 cup oats
2 tbsp. oat bran
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped apple
1 cup apple juice
Combine dry ingredients. Add raisins and apple. Gently stir in juice until dry ingredients are completely moistened. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a nonstick skillet or griddle. Cook until bottom is brown and spatula slips easily underneath. Turn and brown other side. Makes eight plump pancakes.
My Notes:
*I didn't add raisins or apple chunks.
*After you mix the ingredients, let it sit for a few minutes. The oatmeal will absorb the liquid and make your pancakes fluffier.
Chunky Apple Oatmeal Pancakes
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/8 cup oats
2 tbsp. oat bran
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped apple
1 cup apple juice
Combine dry ingredients. Add raisins and apple. Gently stir in juice until dry ingredients are completely moistened. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a nonstick skillet or griddle. Cook until bottom is brown and spatula slips easily underneath. Turn and brown other side. Makes eight plump pancakes.
My Notes:
*I didn't add raisins or apple chunks.
*After you mix the ingredients, let it sit for a few minutes. The oatmeal will absorb the liquid and make your pancakes fluffier.
Wow! I just realized something...
We have been homeschooling for 6 1/2 years total. (They went back to PS for a short time, many years ago.)
For some reason, that surprised me.
Back to your regularly scheduled Sunday!
For some reason, that surprised me.
Back to your regularly scheduled Sunday!
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Fall Food
I love fall. One of the reasons is the food. Good soups, caramel corn, caramel apples, pumpkin, pumpkin and more pumpkin!
I will post some of my favorite fall recipes here, as I make them. If you try one, drop me a comment and let me know how you liked it.
I love caramel corn, and would eat it every fall day if I could. I can't have a lot of fat (health "issues") so had to stop making it a few years ago. I found this recipe last year and have had success with it. It looks (and sounds) much more complicated than it really is.
Caramel Corn
The coating for the popcorn is easy to make fatfree. If you have a method you like to pop the corn fatfree, the race is won! For the coating, all you need is:
2 cups light brown sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 t. vinegar
Combine the above in a 2-qt. saucepan, bring to boil (stirring to dissolve sugar completely). Continue boiling and stirring until syrup thickens and reaches the "hard-crack" stage -- consult the candy-making section of any comprehensive cookbook for description and candy-thermometer temperature. My method of determining readiness is when the syrup "makes threads" when dropped off the tip of a spoon OR when a drop allowed to fall into a cup of cool tap water forms a ball instantly. It takes practice -- cook too long and the coating will be granular; cook not long enough and it'll be sticky. When the syrup reaches the desired stage, take it off the burner, IMMEDIATELY stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (the soda interacts with the vinegar's acidity and makes the syrup light and sort of foamy). Pour gradually over popped corn while stirring with a long-handled spoon to distribute the coating (or have someone else do the stirring or pouring). This stuff is VERY HOT and will stick to you and inflict deep burns so be careful! Homemade caramel corn is much superior to anything you can buy in a package. Or at KarmelKorn, for that matter. Once you know how to do it, you can play around with other flavorings, like Cinnamon Oil (use sparingly!) or other extracts.
I will post some of my favorite fall recipes here, as I make them. If you try one, drop me a comment and let me know how you liked it.
I love caramel corn, and would eat it every fall day if I could. I can't have a lot of fat (health "issues") so had to stop making it a few years ago. I found this recipe last year and have had success with it. It looks (and sounds) much more complicated than it really is.
Caramel Corn
The coating for the popcorn is easy to make fatfree. If you have a method you like to pop the corn fatfree, the race is won! For the coating, all you need is:
2 cups light brown sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 t. vinegar
Combine the above in a 2-qt. saucepan, bring to boil (stirring to dissolve sugar completely). Continue boiling and stirring until syrup thickens and reaches the "hard-crack" stage -- consult the candy-making section of any comprehensive cookbook for description and candy-thermometer temperature. My method of determining readiness is when the syrup "makes threads" when dropped off the tip of a spoon OR when a drop allowed to fall into a cup of cool tap water forms a ball instantly. It takes practice -- cook too long and the coating will be granular; cook not long enough and it'll be sticky. When the syrup reaches the desired stage, take it off the burner, IMMEDIATELY stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (the soda interacts with the vinegar's acidity and makes the syrup light and sort of foamy). Pour gradually over popped corn while stirring with a long-handled spoon to distribute the coating (or have someone else do the stirring or pouring). This stuff is VERY HOT and will stick to you and inflict deep burns so be careful! Homemade caramel corn is much superior to anything you can buy in a package. Or at KarmelKorn, for that matter. Once you know how to do it, you can play around with other flavorings, like Cinnamon Oil (use sparingly!) or other extracts.
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