Catching up and a recipe

I admit it , I am a terrible blogger. I see it has been over a month since I lost posted. Yikes!!!!

For the last three weeks we have had a flu bug in this house. I have been lucky in that it didn't strike me down, but it got everybody else here. According to the Board of Health, if you have the flu, chances are it is H1N1, so I assume that is what we had. We ended up spending Thanksgiving here at home and missed out on seeing our brand new niece, but we are planning to go down to Sarnia this Sunday and meet Brianna. I am so excited, charging my camera batteries right now.

I have used this morning so far to catch up on my internet world. Went over to Two Peas and watched their weekly Video Warehouse Walk. I so want to work there, I think it would be fun if Denise, Marissa and myself had jobs in their warehouse, Dave thinks nothing would get done if we were there. I wonder why he would think that?!?!?! I also watched their Finally Friday Video with Kristian Werner. She showed how to make the cutest card using Basic Grey's Nook and Pantry paper line and stamps. Love it. You should check it out.

Today is a cloudy, cold, and rainy day so I am dressed in comfy sweatpants and sweater, sitting here in my craft room and hope to get some scrap booking done. I have to make a card for my niece to welcome her to this fabulous world and finish the mystery kit I picked up at the Scrapping Turtle for this month. Hopefully I will get around to posting pics later of those projects.

Last weekend Marissa and I held an Epicure open house here at my home. We had a fabulous turnout and everything we made was given two thumbs up. We had Spinach Dip, Crab Dip, layered Nacho Cheese Dip. Shortbread with dark chocolate for dipping, vanilla spritz cookies, chai and Christmas Tea with an amazing gingerbread syrup, baked brie with Red Pepper Jelly and Pinoit Noir Wine Jelly. We also made a fabulous gingerbread cake using the new Gingerbread Spice blend and served it with Vanilla Creme Anglaise. Here is the recipe. I would post pictures, but we ate all and it was delicious.

Enjoy!!!!!

OLD FASHIONED GINGERBREAD CAKE

3 eggs beaten

1 cup white Sugar

1 cup molasses

3/4 melted butter

1 tbsp VE Gingerbread Spices

2 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp hot water

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C)

2. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" (23 cm x 33 cm) baking pan. Lightly dust with flour, tapping out the excess. Set aside.

3. Beat eggs, sugar, molasses, butter and VE Gingerbread Spices in a mixing bowl.

4. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Stir into egg mixture.

5. Stir flour into mixture until batter is smooth.

6. Add boiling water and mix well. Pour into prepared pan.

7. Bake for 45 minutes.

Marissa and I found this cake reminds us of Koek, which is a Dutch cake we used to eat growing up. Adding some chopped apple and/or raisins would also be a nice addition to this cake.

VANILLA CREME ANGLAISE

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup milk

1/2 VE Vanilla Bean

2 large egg yolks

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1. Place whipping cream, milk, and VE Vanilla Bean in top of double boiler over medium heat. Stir frequently for approximately 3 minutes, or until mixture begins to heat and small bubbles form at edge of bowl.

2. Remove VE Vanilla Bean, split lengthwise with a small knife and scrape out seeds. Add seeds to mixture. Rinse pod and set aside to be reused.

3. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a small bowl. Slowly add heated milk mixture in a steady stream, whisking constantly.

4. Return mixture to the top of the double boiler. With heat at a slow simmer, stir with a spatula for approximately 3-4 minutes or until the mixture thickens slightly.

Serve with warm gingerbread cake. Yummy!!! Especially for a day like today.

September Quickutz Class

This past Saturday Denise and I (Marissa wasn't able to make it) went to our monthly Quickutz class at The Scrapping Turtle. And Lori did it again by designing an amazing class.

First here is the September pages to go in our calendar binder. We used alcohol inks on Quickutz self-adhesive clear plastic and then cut out leaves and the scroll frame. I loved the final look. I see some money being spent on alcohol inks now.

Next was this card. We used the silhouette of the tree from the Recycle kit. With some ribbon of course and finished off with a hat pin, the point safely tuck behind the tree and frame, so people like me don't poke their finger and draw blood.

Finally is the layout. We used some of the nesting dies to make some of the trees/flowers and with a brown distress ink, stamped script on the letters for the title. I love the blues, green and browns together.

Once again Lori, thank you sooo much for an awesome class.

First post in a long time with a kick butt recipe

I know, I know. It has been a long long long time since I lasted posted. August was a whirlwind around here. A brief summary of our August goes like this: We went to the ROM with Dave's sister Mary, her husband John and two of their offspring, Rachel and Even. We saw the Dead Sea Scrolls and excerpts of the Egyptian Book of The Dead. Fed stingrays and got mooned by an organutan at the Toronto Zoo. I turned 41 and got a brand new, absolutely fabulous Canon Rebel. Three days later the brand new camera and I came crashing down when Dalwhinnie (my normally lovable dog) tripped me up while we were doing a light jog to get some shots of a hot air balloon landing in a nearby field. I think the whole village of Ayr heard me curse and swear at the dog. The camera survived the fall with only a few minor scratches on the body. Me, I scraped up my left knee and wrist a little bit, and took a nice big chunk out of my elbow, it has been over three weeks and I am still healing. Laura turned 14 and had an amazing sleepover with some of her friends. We met family of Scott and Marissa's from England, their little guy got along so well with Daniel, it was like they were always friends. Had to say goodbye to my nieces, Angela and Heather, who flew back to B.C. to be with their mom. During their last few days in Ontario they stayed with us and we all had a blast, water gun fights and roasting hotdogs and marshmallows over the fire pit. Did some major back to school shopping and got Laura ready for her first day at high school, can't get over how much my baby girl is growing up, I am so proud of her.

And that folks, is just the tip of the iceberg of what happened in August. I haven't had a chance to do any scrapbooking during August, but I hope to start back up again now that the kids are back to school and we are starting to settle into a routine.

Now for the recipe. I am a member at Pioneer Woman's new cooking website, Tasty Kitchen, and in my list of friends is a lovely woman and amazing cook by the name of Paula Jones who also shares recipes on her blog bell' alimento. I have read a number of her recipes and oohed and ahhed over the pictures. Tonight I made her Rum Chicken and it was a big hit!!!! Even Daniel, who normally we have to fight with to eat, had two servings!!!!! Here is the recipe below and when you have a chance check out Paula's recipes. They are fabulous!!!!! Enjoy

What you’ll need:
4 large chicken thighs
3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
4 fresh sage leaves
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup Rum
large pinch of Nutmeg
s/p

What to do:
Pat your chicken thighs dry with a paper towel & season well with s/p on all sides & set aside. Place your chicken fryer/skillet over med-high heat. Once your pan is hot, add in your butter.

Once the butter is melted, add in your sage leaves & then your chicken thighs. Sprinkle thighs with your Nutmeg. Cook your thighs until they are browned on all sides. Turning as necessary.

Once the chicken is browned, add in your chicken stock and cook for approximately 5-6 minutes. Lower the heat to simmer/low & add in the rum. Cover your pan with a lid and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until your chicken is cooked through. Turning every so often.

Buon Appetito!

Lake Huron at Sunset

We have had a very busy week here at our house. Laura, Amanda, and Daniel spent the week at Dave's parent's for Camp Jenkins. While they were gone, Dave and I managed to get a lot of purging, cleaning, and sorting done. We also enjoyed sleeping in, lazy mornings, slow breakfasts, went to see a movie one night, went out for sushi another night. It was nice. Sunday, was off to Bright's Grove to celebrate my father in law's 70th birthday and my Sister in Law's 45th.

My in-law's have a wonderful house right on Lake Huron. Just walk across the street and you are at the beach. While there, all the grandkids were at the beach pretty much everyday, thank goodness the weather actually co-operated this week. Sunday we spent the afternoon hanging out on the beach, eating, laughing, drinking, and catching up with family and friends we don't get to see too often. After we were full of all kinds of yummy food including cake and pie (really good pie cousins from Michigan brought over) we sat on the porch to enjoy a beautiful sunset. After awhile some of us wandered to the beach to watch the sunset from the breakers. It was a beautiful night. The temperature was just right, the beach was pretty much empty of people except for us.



Here is the group watching the sunset. I couldn't resist taking a couple of pictures.

I think we would make this a daily ritual if we could.

Of course here is the sunset. The beautiful sunset. Some days I wished I lived here, just for the sunsets.

A perfect way to end a perfect day.

Bella Bvld is doing another give away!!!

Just got back from popping into Bella Blvd's blog and they are doing another giveaway. It is paper packs from the new lines they released at CHA along with embellishments to got with them. Fabulous. Go to Bella Blvd and check it out and enter for your chance to win!!!!

Celebrate!!!

On one of the message boards that I sometimes visit, someone posted a video link that has been making the rounds about a couple's non-traditional walk down the wedding aisle. I watched it and I found myself immediately smiling, laughing, and crying. It was fabulous. They were celebrating what is suppose to be a milestone day in a person's life. They were celebrating their love for each other and life.

Watching this video made me think back to my own wedding and my serious walk down the aisle. Dave and I have talked and we both agree if we were to do our wedding all over again, we would keep the reception, that was so much fun, but the ceremony, we would change. We wouldn't do the big serious church ceremony and all the pomp and circumstance that goes with it. Don't get me wrong, I loved my wedding day, I loved my dress and feeling like a princess for a day, but the church ceremony, that is not me anymore. If Dave and I were to get married today, I would like the ceremony to be a celebration of our love and commitment to each other and our lives together, and we would want our friends and family to celebrate and laugh with us.

Below is a link to the video. Enjoy. I hope it puts a smile and laugh into your day like it did mine.

Wedding Entrance Dance

Jessica Sprague Lesson 2- Brushes

I managed to get Jessica Sprague's Lesson 2 - Brushes done. WOW!!!! Super super easy or what and after exploring her site and being linked to all kinds of websites that offer free brushes, I am sooo excited. It has opened all new world to me.

Anyways, here is my completed assignment from Lesson 2. Not bad if I do say so myself. Need to experiment a bit more, but I think I got it. Woohoo!!!