Springtime

Patio, a photo by LovestoStitch on Flickr.

So glad that springtime is here! I love the flowers, the jacaranda trees, and the feeling in the air. What do you love about spring?

I haven't been stitching much in the last several months, and I miss it terribly.  I did finish one small stamped embroidery project, and hope to get to more soon.  Soon I'll take a photo and share it here.

Rum Cake

 

Yesterday we celebrated a birthday in our family, and I was called upon to bake the requisite cake. In my family, you don't buy one. You bake it, and preferably it should be something beyond just a mix and frosting. The birthday gal requested rum cake, and I couldn't wait to try and bake one. It turned out nicely, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. If you want to give it a whirl, here's the recipe:

RUM CAKE

Cake
1 Cup Toasted Pecans (to toast them, spread them on a cookie sheet that's been sprayed with a vegetable coating, like Pam. Bake at 350 degrees for about five minutes. The toasting brings out the flavor, or so I read.)
1 yellow cake mix
1 1.75 ounce instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup cold milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark rum

Glaze
1/2 cup butter (Don't use margerine!)
1/4 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dark rum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt cake pan. Sprinkle the toasted pecans into the bottom of the Bundt pan. Combine all the cake ingredients and beat on high for 2 minutes with an electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan, and bake for one hour. (Mine was done after 55 minutes, test with a toothpick.)

Towards the end of the baking (after it's baked about 50 minutes), prepare the glaze. (see below) After the cake has been removed from the oven and cooled for five minutes, pour 1/3 of the prepared glaze on top of the cake. This way the cake gets very moist and flavorful. Let the cake cool five MORE minutes, and then invert it onto your cake plate. Pour the remainder of the glaze on top of the cake. This cake gets better with each passing day. Enjoy!

Glaze Preparation


Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in water and sugar, and bring to boil while stirring. Boil five minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum. There will be a lot of steaming, so be careful to not burn yourself!

A Good Memory

 

Mexican Lasagna

Today I decided to try a new recipe, and I'm happy to say it turned out quite well. Our guests enjoyed it, as did everyone else here at the house. Even the picky eaters enjoyed it, and that's saying something. The sour cream added right at the end of baking seemed to make the dish fluffier and smoother.

Mexican Lasagna
2 pounds ground beef
1 16 oz. can of refried beans
1 4 oz. can chopped mild green chiles
1/2 envelope taco seasoning
4 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
12 ozs. lasagna noodles - cooked, cooled (and laid out on wax paper so they don't stick together)
1 jar mild salsa
1 cup water
2 cups sour cream
1 small can sliced ripe olives, drained
4 green onions, chopped

Cook ground beef in large skillet, drain fat. Stir in the beans, chiles, taco seasoning. In a greased 9 X 13 pan, layer a third of the noodles and meat mixture. Sprinkle with one cup of cheese. Repeat layers two times. Combine salsa and one cup of water, pour over the top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Top with 2 cups of sour cream, olives, onions, and the remaining cup of cheese. I put olives on only half of the dish, since some in our house don't like olives. Bake five minutes more, uncovered this time. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting.

If you want more spice, add more taco seasoning and also include a few tablespoons of hot salsa (some like Cholula brand) when you throw in the beans. I skipped that part as we are wimpy about spicy food.

I hope you enjoy this fun lasagna!

A Gorgeous Sampler

Happy Day sampler done, a photo by Gina2424 on Flickr.

I found this sampler by Gina2424 on Flickr recently. Don't you just love the colors and free form feeling of it? Fun, fun, fun!

Orange Cookies

Orange Cookies, a photo by Loves2Stitch on Flickr.

My wonderful Auntie always baked these cookies for us when we visited her home during the summer. They are among the best cookies on the planet. Enjoy, and Happy 2012 to you!

Orange Cookies

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup margerine or butter

(you may use 1/2 cup shortening with 1/2 cup butter or margerine if desired)

2 eggs

1 Tbsp orange rind

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup buttermilk (add after eggs)

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Cream the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange rind, and then add the buttermilk. 

Add the dry ingredients, mix well. Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookies sheets. (They get a lot larger, so don't make them too large or they'll be huge.)

After they are cool, ice them with this icing:

1 Tbsp orange rind

3 Tbsp butter, softened

3 Tbsp orange juice

3 cups powdered sugar

Makes about 40-45 cookies. 

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Glad To Be Back

I am sure this is the longest I have gone in not posting at all on this little blog.

Here I am again, and I wish I had stitching updates to share. The truth is that I haven't stitched in months now.  I hope to start stitching again soon, however, and I am ever hopeful of that!

We have moved to a new city, so that has been a huge undertaking.  We lived in our old home for 22 years, so it was emotional to sell it and move on to a different place. We've been here now a month, and it is beginning to feel more like home.  I loved our former home,  but we now are happy its new owners are so elated to be there. Time now to make more wonderful memories in a new space.

I am now a commuter, and for the first time in 26 years my husband has but a short drive to work. That makes me happy, as it's so much better for him.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. I'll be making chili for Christmas Eve Dinner, and homemade bread pudding for dessert. Today I prepared candied orange peels that I will use to garnish the cake for Christmas Day.  It's a Norwegian Orange Cake.  The cake includes bits of rich, dark chocolate. Delish!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, and hope to come back soon with a stitching update.

Lovely Photograph

Bora Bora Mont Otemanu, a photo by xaviermaire on Flickr.

I stumbled upon this just now and had to share it here. Wouldn't this be a beautiful sight to behold. Bora Bora--what a place!

Thanks, Xaviermaire, for a gorgeous photo.

TUSAL Update

I haven't an updated photo yet this month, but it truly isn't important as I haven't stitched at all. In fact, I haven't stitched in a few months. It is upsetting to me, but that's how it is right now.

Work is very busy, as is our family life right now. We are working on a big home project, and that takes all of my free time.  I am rather overwhelmed by it all, and sorry if that sounds whiny.

Check out Daffycat's Blog   to learn more about TUSAL updates.

I hope to stitch at some time soon and add more to my ORT jar.

Thanks for coming by today!

Longing For An Evening Like This Right Now

Deck, a photo by Loves2Stitch on Flickr.

We took this photo in July, and it really reminds me of the relaxation one finds in a summer evening. Craving this time right now!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Seeking out the Best

So I have been under the weather...again. No stitching to report for now. Just a quote that I love.

Cheers!

1983 Chick

1983 Chick, a photo by loves2stitch2 on Flickr.

The first counted cross stitch piece I did, back in 1983. This is frightfully close up, and I do see some problems with the threads.

Twenty-eight years ago...yikes! Where does time go?

Found- First Counted Crosstitch Project

Stitched in 1983, a photo by loves2stitch2 on Flickr.

I found these three projects while cleaning out a closet yesterday. The chick was the first counted crosstitch project I ever did. I stitched all three in 1983 before our daughter was born. They were the decorations on one of the walls of her little bedroom in the small apartment where we lived at the time. On Aida cloth, of course! What fun it was to find these old hidden projects.

Via Flickr:
First Counted Crosstitch Projects Ever!

Grand Hyatt, Kauai

Grand Hyatt, Kauai, a photo by loves2stitch2 on Flickr.

Can we go back right now? Tropical breezes would be so delicious!

Quotable

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

— Eleanor Roosevelt

I have always loved quotations. They inspire me, and make me think. My love of quotations goes back to childhood.  I actually preferred non-fiction reading as a child, and I still do!

Non-fiction is what was actually more available to read in our home, so maybe that explains it. On the other hand, I often start reading novels to this day and find I just don't get drawn into the book.  Do any of you have that problem? On the other hand, at times I get so drawn in that I can barely put a book down. That's an entirely different problem.

Other problems have prevented me from liking novels. One time when I was a child I tried to read Pippi Longstocking, and I couldn't get into it because I couldn't figure out how to pronounce Pippi's name. I don't know why I just didn't ask someone, but I instead put the book down.  If I had asked my mom, she would have told me to "Look it up." Perhaps that too explains my love of non-fiction books. I became a constant friend of the dictionary and encyclopedia set in our house since "Look it up" was constantly heard. I think it's okay to tell a kid to "Look it up". It encourages independence, and also great investigative skills.

One of the books on our family book shelves that I did read often was Bartlett's Famous Quotations.  I also loved reading my brother's books on travel around the world (with all those wonderful maps), as well as my mom's nursing textbooks. The latter choice probably wasn't such a good one, as it was rather scary reading about diseases at such a young age (and seeing photos of them, too).
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Later today I think I'll work on the tea towel set (Sublime Stitching) I'm embroidering as a housewarming gift. Here is the latest progress picture of one of them:


Thanks for stopping by today!

TUSAL Update

This month's update is ready, long at last!

There was a bit of a crisis this morning as I couldn't locate my ORT jar! I almost resorted to starting over with that, too, along with my blog. Thankfully it was located, and you can see the progress in the photo above. In reality, I didn't have any time to stitch since my last update. There was too much to do, plain and simple, to find any time for stitching. 

I am SURE I will find time this upcoming month, right?

Thanks for stopping by today.  

Manicotti Recipe

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     In being forced to move my blog, I've lost the collection of recipes I had on my old blog. Also due to the change, they're not organized at the old blog on the blog's main page. Sigh.
With that in mind, I'm attempting to build up my small recipe assortment over here. Here's a family favorite of mine. It's a manicotti recipe that always pleases the family.  Enjoy!




Manicotti Recipe
Makes one 9 X 13 pan of Manicotti

Ingredients:

One box of Manicotti Noodles
Sauce:
1 lb ground beef
1 jar of marinara sauce (or make your own)
one garlic clove, minced
oregano
         Cook ground beef, add the other ingredients and simmer.


Manicotti Filling:
1 egg
16 ozs ricotta cheese
6 ozs parmesan cheese
8 ozs mozzarella cheese, shredded (place some aside for the top of the dish)
garlic powder
fresh parsley flakes, a few tablespoons
sweet basil, one tablespoon


       Cook the noodles so they're not overly soft for easy stuffing. Stuff the noodles with the cheese filling.


       Place 1/2 the sauce in a greased 9 X 13 pan, place the stuffed noodles on top, and cover with remaining sauce and the remaining mozzarella cheese.


       Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.


        Enjoy!

TUSAL Update Almost Here!

This is coming a bit late. It was supposed to be posted a few days ago. I'll never forget that fateful evening. I  was relaxing with a glass of icy cool water on my sofa, when I decided  remembered it was time to post my TUSAL update.   I picked up the laptop, and tried to go to my blog. I couldn't believe my eyes when I tried to get to it.  It  had been taken over by some sort of  third party. It was extremely frustrating, to say the very least.

If you're wondering what happened, I'll tell you. Years ago, before blogger had the gadget device where we can add blog lists to our blog, there was a third party service that we could use to lists blogs we liked to read in our sidebar. From what I understand, that third party is no longer up and running, but somehow someone was able to get into it and use the blog addresses of many who used to participate in that service. I was one of them. So instead of getting my blog, one would get directed to first an advertisement, and then a dead webpage. All I could do was revert back to my original 2006 blog template, and refer to this new one here. I couldn't use the newer template at all on the 'old' blog. I'm not alone in this, of course, and have read that many people were affected by this in the past month.

My latest TUSAL update must wait. (TUSAL is sponsored by  Daffycat) Due to the blog having to move, I can't quite post photos here yet. The photo will have to wait! What a fiasco this has turned into with this big move. So sorry to keep you waiting, but I should figure it out by tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Welcome to this New Place

I had a blog for over five years at another space. It was established and in full swing, and then one day some big bad website messed it all up. When you'd go to that little old blog, this inane third party website would crop up and take you away from the my blog. So here I am, for a new and (maybe) improved place to be.

Welcome!