• Snowy day scones…

    February 26, 2013 / 8 Comments

    It has snowed all day long…a beautiful blanket of white.  My daughter, who is accustomed to driving in this after almost 15 years in Iowa, said that it was icy and treacherous driving and admonished me to stay home!  I did.

    I put on a CD by Norah Jones and headed to the kitchen – something that I rarely do now for the purpose of “cooking for one”.  Obviously, I need to get over that and cook for myself.  I must get over it.  I’m working on it.

    There were two fresh juicy lemons in the fruit bowl, and I decided to make my favorite lemon raisin Scottish scones.  Scotland…  I’ve held on to a small account for years that I’ve called my “U.K. account”.  I haven’t used it to travel yet and hope I don’t have to use it for my “old age”.  I picture myself in England or Ireland or Wales…but, most especially, I picture myself in Scotland enjoying tea and scones in a quaint little tea shoppe.  I have a vivid imagination.

     

     

     When the scones came out of the oven, I glazed them with the juice of one-half lemon and enough powdered sugar for the right consistency.  Then I enjoyed a delicious warm scone with a cup of Constant Comment tea and watched the snow fall…

    Dianne’s Raisin Lemon Scones

    2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

    3/4 cup sugar

    4 teaspoons baking powder

    pinch of salt

    6 tablespoons butter

    1 cup raisins

    1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

    2 beaten eggs

    1 teaspoon lemon extract or lemon juice

    zest of one fresh, washed lemon

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray a cookie sheet or stoneware pan with cooking spray.

    Whisk together dry ingredients + lemon zest.  Cut the butter in gently until mixture resembles “crumbs”.  Combine the yogurt and beaten eggs and add to ingredients.  Add the raisins.  You may need to add 2 – 3 tablespoons of milk to make it a dough you can work with.  Gently work the dough adding a little flour if needed.  Form a circle and pat it down on your stoneware pan or cookie sheet.  Use a pizza cutter to score the dough.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 12 – 15 minutes (depending on oven) or until golden.  Glaze the scones while still warm.  Enjoy!

  • A promise of Spring…

    February 25, 2013 / 4 Comments

    There may be snow on the ground – and evidently more in the forecast – but there is a promise of Spring on my table, a sweet gift from my precious daughter.   These are Long Life tulips from Bloomaker.  They will be a gorgeous shade of pink and I am looking forward to seeing them bloom!

    My daughter purchased one for me and one for herself as she, too, looks forward to Spring and planting all 32 varieties of vegetables and herbs that she has ordered!  Her plans are to rent two large gardening plots in a local gardening co-op.  My beautiful, artistic, athletic daughter has turned into a homesteading, cooking-everything-from-scratch goumet cook!  She would love a farm on ten acres or more!  Maybe that will be in the not too distant future.

    In the meantime, we’ll watch our tulips grow and wait for Spring in the midst of an Iowa Winter…

  • A silly collection of words…

    February 24, 2013 / 10 Comments

    I often wonder when, where and how an expression originated.  I don’t recall EVER hearing the following idioms, phrases or collection of words when I was growing up.  Someone along the way first uttered the following phrases.   I confess I don’t like them.

    1. “don’t go there”  HUH?!  What in the world does that mean?!  Granted, I was an English major until my senior year of college when I switched to nursing (that’s a story printed in another place) and I want precise language.  Do you mean “let’s not discuss that topic”?  Did you really mean to say “that’s just too painful to talk about”?!    Who first said “don’t go there”?  Was it Clint Easwood right after he uttered “go ahead…make my day”!  (Now THAT one I like.)
    2. Let “unpack” this chapter, this information, etc.  The pastor said it in the sermon just this morning.  Who first came up with this?!  Do you mean let’s research this further…let’s seriously delve into it…let’s look at this in depth?  I’m sure a seasoned college professor has also uttered this word.  Hmmm….  Don’t like this one.
    3. “Have a good one”.  Oh, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve held my tongue.  I so want to reply, “have a good what?!”.  I don’t though.  Wouldn’t it be just as easy to substitute DAY for ONE?  Not fond of this one either.
    4. “These ones”.  Oh, please!  You may as well scratch the blackboard with an ear-piercing screech as utter these two words together!  It is “these” NOT “these ones”.  I first heard this combination of words together all over the Pacific Northwest until I finally asked someone if they had been taught that in school.  Apparently not, thank goodness.

    The above are just a few…I’m sure there are many,  many more!

    Phraseology (photo above) might be an interesting book to check out from the library…

    On a deeper note…

    Language is a tool – a potentially beautiful tool – one we can skillfully, or not so skillfully, use to communicate.  With words, we have the ability to express our deepest feelings…or superficially hide them from the world.  Words can bless.  Words can heal.  Words can wound and hurt beyond all measure.  Words can bring the deepest joy and greatest happiness.  I have uttered words that I immediately wished I could retrieve…so have you.  Words have power.  We must choose wisely…

  • Longing for Spring…

    February 20, 2013 / 20 Comments

    I long for Spring.  I long for warm sunshine and a thermometer that proudly proclaims 72 degrees.  Granted, I’m not a fan of hot, humid Summers.  I would be happy if there were just two seasons – Spring and Fall!

    Native Iowans sagely comment that “it’s been a mild Winter”.  Two snowstorms and a few other snows here and there were enough for me, thank you.  Evidently, it isn’t over.  This morning, it is cold and windy and the thermometer appears stuck at 10 degrees!  We’ve been warned that “a ‘blizzard’ is coming tomorrow about noon (they can now predict the time?!) and will last until the following day with heavy accumulation”!

    So, yesterday I reconciled myself to the fact I’d better prepare just in case.  I headed out in yesterday’s 18 degrees accompanied by a brisk wind and the bright sunshine that fooled me into thinking that it was warmer.  I went first to the wonderful library about 3 miles away and stocked up on a stack of knitting books and the new book by Earlene Fowler.  I have 8 new skeins of wonderful yarn for my next project after I finish this one.

    The large, wonderful West Des Moines library.  Designed in a Craftsman style…

    Next, it was to Walgreen’s to refill a prescription and stock up on a few toiletries.  The last stop was the grocery store.  Milk in a glass bottle, bread, a whole roasted chicken, a dozen eggs, organic mixed lettuce and a few other things.  Last night was roast chicken with my meal…today I will make chicken salad with it.  I also baked the Ozark Mountain Apple Cake last night.  If I’m going to be “snowbound”, I may as well have dessert, huh?!

    I hope wherever you are, you’re staying warm and enjoying these days before Spring eventually comes…

  • Cooking lessons…

    February 17, 2013 / 18 Comments

    On Thursday, my eight year old granddaughter came over to spend the day and enjoy her very first “sleepover” at Grandmom’s apartment.  We had such fun!  First of all, she learned to bake a chocolate chess pie – with her doing most of it!  (We enjoyed a couple of slices of it and took the remainder of it home the next day for her to share with everyone).

     

     

    She came bearing all sorts of toys for us to enjoy – especially her little Polly dolls.  We used my decorator boxes for their homes and let our imaginations create a story for them.

    It was Valentine’s Day, so she wanted to surprise my neighbors (even a few I don’t know ;-)) with special Valentines we created!  She brings joy to her world that’s for sure and the Valentines were a hit.

    We popped popcorn and watched the movie Sarah, Plain and Tall (which is actually based on a children’s book) starring Glenn Close.  When it was her bedtime, she was so tired I think she was asleep a minute after her head hit the pillow in the big guestroom bed!

     

     

    The next morning, we watched part of Anne of Green Gables and then we got ready to return her home for her morning school work!

    On Saturday, my daughter, my thirteen-year-old granddaughter and my two grandsons came over.  (My eight-year-old granddaughter and her dad had driven to Iowa City for the long day of a USA swim meet in her age group).  While my oldest grandson stayed at my apartment to study, the rest of us headed out for a couple hours of “shopping”.  First, it was to Michael’s for a few art supplies and soft, wonderful yarn for a new baby blanket.

    Then my granddaughter and I headed to the pet store a few stores down the walkway.  After enjoying a visit with the pets in the Animal Rescue League section of the store (my granddaughter wants to be a vet when she grows up), we joined my daughter and little grandson in the department store next to Michael’s.

    After lunch, my daughter and two grandsons returned home while my granddaughter stayed to spend the day with me and enjoy her cooking lesson!  With very little help from me, she made a cherry latticed pie.  We snacked on a couple of slices that afternoon then took the rest home with her to share.  It was delicious!

     

     

    She is very artistic and we enjoyed drawing together.  We used her new watercolor pencils and turned our drawings into a watercolor with just a few strokes of water…that was fun!  All too soon, it was time to return her home and I stayed for a delicious dinner of lasagna, french bread and cherry pie!

     

    I will look forward to more cooking lessons in the future.  Maybe next time, we will try some Southern homemade fried apple and peach pies…

  • The books on my bedside table…

    February 13, 2013 / 10 Comments

    If you have followed my blogs for a while, then you know that I love to read.  Granted, these days I do watch more television than I have in the past, but I still read a lot too.  My television viewing consists mostly of FBI mysteries (Criminal Minds, Cold Case Files and Law & Order:  Criminal Intent).  I’m a big fan of Vincent D’Onofrio.  At one point in my life, I looked into the FBI (seriously), only to discover that I was too old!  Stop laughing.  My daughter said just last week that I should have been a detective.  I’m really good at solving mysteries.

    My bedside table always has a stack of books.  Always.  In the past, that stack of books often included cookbooks.  (My daughter’s does now.)  Not anymore.

    In the photo above, you’ll see just a few of my favorite authors represented:  Karen White, Irene Hannon, Karen Harper, Mindy Starns Clark and Randy Singer.  Usually when I find an author that I really like, I read everything he or she has written.  I’m seldom disappointed.

    When I finish my stack of books, I check out my personal library for something I have yet to read or head to the local library.  All the libraries here are excellent and I have a card for each one!

    My living room “library”…

    Resting on the books on my bedside table in the top photo, you will see my little bluebird of happiness…an adorable McCarty pottery bluebird and a precious gift from my late sister, Gerry.  It’s one of my treasures.