This and That

I like having a blog because it becomes my journal so I can look back from year to year, and it also keeps my friends and family updated on what I'm doing (and I swear they're using it to decide whether it's time to send me to The Home because I've become senile), but writing a blog post takes a lot of time. 

I thought I'd try something new and just record whatever from day to day, and then hit the "publish" button on Sunday or Monday.

Exerpts from an email to Friend Kansas Linda:

I'm still slogging along with my TV recordings, trying to make some food so I don't starve (am trying to give up Lean Cuisine, Stouffers, etc.), and it takes up lots of time, as you well know. I need to get organized. I keep starting to make a certain recipe only to find that I don't have one of the ingredients. I cleaned out the refrigerator today, and made myself a list of meals I need to prepare so things don't linger in the freezer.

I bought some frozen eggplant at Aldi's when they had German Week. I looked at the label today and it says "product of Dominican Republic." The spaetzle was a product of France. Maybe they should rename it German and Friends Week.

Jean, Katie, and I are having a Halloween die cutting party next week. Jean asked about a witch die I have, and we just decided we'd join forces, cut lots of witches, jack-o'-lanterns, ghosts, black cats, etc. so we'll be ready for Halloween 2024.

Tomorrow I'm going to the Travel Show hosted by Making Memories Tours. I've never traveled with them, but they seem really organized, and I think my Sunnyland Tours is teetering on the edge.

I don't know which Christmas trip Terri and I will take next year. They're offering San Antonio and "Around the World" in Nebraska. I do love San Antonio, but I've been there at Christmas time, and the Nebraska tour goes to Boys Town, and I've never been there.

This year we're going to Nashville, which is absolute proof of how much I love Terri, because I hate country music but she loves it. Hopefully, most of it will be Christmas music, and I do love the Opryland Hotel. I've only eaten in the atrium, but this time we're staying there for three nights. They used to go all out with Christmas lights. I hope they're not like everything else which always changes and never for the better.

I know we're just starting November, but save this link because you'll enjoy it soon. It's almost twelve hours of Christmas music, very nice easy listening music. Click Here.

I'm being spoiled this week. Friend Rita took me to Golden Corral for lunch on Wednesday (too embarrassed to show you what I ate), and Niece Terri treated me to lunch on Friday at Cedars. Their special on Friday is BBQ Farmer Ribs, and they're very generous. This is what I brought home after I'd eaten, and that's only half of the roll.

The pork is very tender.

If opening foodstuffs gets any more difficult, I'm going to have to add a jack hammer to my kitchen utensils.

Terri and I attended the Travel presentation at Relics, presented by Making Memories Tours.

They had a refreshment table.

And tables with a sign-up sheet for each tour (if you happened to be interested.)

A lot of interested people.

And a very interesting PowerPoint presentation, discussing each of the 2024 trips.

There were door prizes (one guy won an entire set of luggage), and $20 prizes for the first person who knew the answer to a question. I think they had this prize about four times.

Terri and I signed up for the Pella Tulip Festival in May. 

And our annual Christmas trip will be in San Antonio.

And I'm going to Wisconsin in June.

You can view all their tours online Click Here or if you'd like a catalog mailed to you, call 888-845-9582

I went on a Tulip Tour in Pella in 2012, but the tulips were past their prime. We were there on May 4, and this tour will be on May 3, so there's a good chance I'll be attending my third stem festival (one in Holland, Michigan). But I love the little town of Pella, and we're going to see the capitol in Des Moines (you know how I LOVE capitols), and we're having dinner at the Machine Shed (another favorite). If you're ever near Des Moines, be sure to eat there. Here's their link: Click Here. There's also a blog you can access on the website with DIY crafts and recipes. 

And while we're on the subject of trips, I recently realized that I didn't journal our Christmas trip from last year. I'll try to have it on next week's blog post. There's a museum in Kansas City at the old airport I'd never known existed. Great fun. I want to tell you about it.

I shopped for groceries this week, and I think inflation might be the answer to the USA problem of obesity. Soon we won't be able to afford food.

The baking bug hit me yesterday, so I made Breakfast Oat Bars. This new blog format is ridiculous when searching for a recipe, so I'm just repeating it here. They're so good for you. Freeze them, then a minute in the microwave and you have breakfast.

BREAKFAST OATMEAL BARS

5 eggs

3/4 cup sweetened applesauce

1 cup any fruit yogurt

1 cup whole milk

2 tsps vanilla

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbs baking soda

1 tsp salt

6 cups oatmeal (not the Quick kind)

1 cup fruit (raisins, craisins, dried apricots, fresh or frozen blueberries,  chopped peeled apple, etc) 

Heat oven to 350° and grease a 13” x 9” baking dish, or use Cake Goop

Whisk eggs in a large mixing bowl. 

Whisk in applesauce, yogurt, milk, vanilla, honey, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. 

Gently stir in the oats until all are moistened. 

Stir in fruit and pour into baking dish. Cover with foil. (Remove after 35 minutes). 

Bake 45-55 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Cool completely on a wire rack and then cut into squares. Wrap each in plastic wrap and freeze. 

Thaw and eat cold or warm in microwave or toaster oven.

Note: It makes a lot more than this (a 13" x 9" pan). These are just the ones I'm taking to a friend.

 

A cute, feisty little black lady on YouTube taught me a recipe for Cake Goop. You brush it onto your baking pan. No shortening and flour to deal with. No aerosol cans like Baker's Friend or whatever it's called, and cheaper by far.  Her YouTube channel is Cooking at Pam's Place. I love the way she always says, "Come with me. I'll show you what to do." Here's her video on how to make gravy without flour or cornstarch. Click Here 

And here's the recipe for Cake Goop. Just brush it on with a pastry brush.

CAKE GOOP

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup Crisco

Mix all together. 

Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. 

Will keep nine months.

And as it's Pumpkin Season, I made Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. This recipe is from dearcrissy.com, but she said 24 cupcakes and mine overflowed on the muffin tins. I'd give you the link to the recipe, but I couldn't find a decent way to print it, so just redid it in Word and Patsy words.

DEAR CHRISSY PUMPKIN CUPCAKES

2 cups flour
1tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2-1/2 tsps pumpkin pie spice
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 15-oz can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
 
Heat oven to 350°.
 
Line cupcake pans with 30 liners.
 
Whisk together all ingredients from flour to pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
 
With an electric mixer and a large bowl, mix the sugars, butter, and eggs.
 
Mix in the dry ingredients until the batter is smooth.
 
Mix in the pumpkin.
 
Pour muffin liners 3/4 full.
 
Bake 20-25 minutes.
 
Cool completely and frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.
 
Note to self: Next time, try using 1 Tbs pumpkin pie spice and omitting the other spices.
 
 I used this recipe for the frosting, but with only 3 cups of powdered sugar.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 8-oz cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1 lb. box powdered sugar (3-2/3 cups)
 
Soften cream cheese and butter.
 
Cream with vanilla.
 
Sift and add powdered sugar.
 
Spread on cooled cake.
 
Keep cake or cupcakes refrigerated.

If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own, if you have all the spices listed below.

PUMPKIN PIE SPICE

3 Tbs ground cinnamon
2 tsps ground ginger

2 tsps nutmeg

1-1/2 tsps allspice

1-1/2 tsps cloves

Mix together and store in an airtight container.

I learn something new every day it seems. Here are two things I learned this week.

You know the little picture that appears sometimes when you go to Google something? It's called a Google Doodle. Did you watch the one for Halloween I told you about last week? I thought it was so cute, I actually paused it in places and took photos. Be sure to click on these in the future. You never know what you're missing otherwise. Also good card-making ideas. Much cuter when animated.

This might not be new to you, but I'd never heard the term.

I was watching a program about the Monacans (a Native American tribe) on my local PBS channel. 

These poor people were not discrimated against. No - much worse. They were erased. They lived in Virginia in the wilderness in a line from Washington D.C. through Fredericksburg to Richmond.

If they went into town to find a job, they were not hired. The townspeople just ignored them. They were even told, "You don't look Indian." And like one of the presenters said, "We had 400+ years of intermarriage with whites, etc., so we don't look like the Plains and West Coast Indians who were still fighting with the whites up to 150 years ago."

Birth certificates asked for Name and Race. When the midwife filled it in as Indian, the State Registrar, W. A. Plecker, M.D., would cross out "Indian" and make an asterisk and put "claims to be Indian, but we know he/she is not."

This is called Documentary Genocide.

Eight tribes were trying to get Sovereign Nation status. Finally, the Pamunkey Tribe succeeded in 2015, but it took the others until 2018.

One of the presenters had a sign on his bookshelf which read, "Sure, you can trust the government - ask any Indian."

My question: Why aren't we up in arms about the treatment of Indians to the extent that we yell about Blacks? If any group needs reparations, it's the Native Americans.

And kudos to Tim Kaine, the Democratic Senator from Virginia, who aided the tribes in their fight for sovereignty. 

Program alert: If you live in my area, on Thursday, November 9, at 8:00 p.m.,  PBS has a program about O'Reilly General Hospital. This was a hospital for wounded servicemen during WWII. The hospital was at Glenstone and Division, where Evangel University is now located. A bit of local history.

I've blabbed enough. 

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE