Color My Fire

A few years ago, I found a story about salt-saturated pine cones that give off different colored flames when burned. I was so fascinated with them, I decided to make a few. Of course, I didn't have a fireplace, but my parents did and that was good enough for me!

So I set out gathering and making a couple dozen 'firedancers' as they were called. A few different types of salt alters the color rendered with each pine cone.

Equinox and Leap Year

Grau and I have had discussions in the past about the first day of Spring. He said it always falls on his father's birthday and I said that can't be because sometimes it falls on my father's birthday (both gentlemen were born in March two years apart).

Fast forward a few weeks and suddenly it's March...wow how time flies.
And I wondered yet again, how it is that I remember the first day of Spring being on my father's birthday, but it hasn't been for a few years.
So I looked up Vernal Equinox.

And a friend posted about the equinox (which, for those of you wanting to know, actually means "equal night") and how it snuck up on her this year. And I posed the question to her- how could the equinox be on the 21st every four years but not have been on the 21st for the past five?

Little Tubs of Joy

I have found the promised land! Ok, maybe not land, but at least butter. Two things I love, garlic and bread, need butter. And when you are tired of slathering butter and garlic powder onto bread, come back to this post. Seriously. You'll be amazed at what I am about to tell you.

But, it's a secret....shush!

You see, a while back I realized there was literally a gold mine of garlic butter just begging to be eaten. 
Once a month, Grau's work provides a minuscule pizza dinner for employees (two pieces, no more!) as a 'thanks for not maiming yourselves' gesture. (I don't know about you, but I would prefer better working conditions, better pay or better hours. Just sayin')

Anyway- they always use Papa John's Pizza. And you know PJ's  *always* serves garlic butter with their pizza. And when you order 20 pizza's at a time, you get a boatload of little garlic butter cups.

Tubs of pure golden , garlic-y joy!

A Little Quiche in the Morning

A few months ago, a friend of mine wanted to know about quiche. She didn't know what it was, what could be put in it, how it was done, etc. So I helped her out because, well, I used to make quiche all the time. After all, quiche is a good, economical way to stretch the last of your ingredients. A few of eggs, a dash of milk and whatever else is lying around in the fridge.

So, my friend has been on a quiche kick lately. And posting pics of them.

And now I want quiche. Again.

Except, I couldn't figure out what kind I wanted to make, let alone eat.

I had a couple ideas in my head, and thought, why not? I'll make them both. So I did.

I give you:
Turkey Broccoli Blue Cheese and
Chicken Bacon Broccoli Cheddar

Wonderous Wands

This is a first try- so now I know what to do differently, and better.

I really really want to make one that looks really cool. So I figured I would have to make around five or so before I get all the kinks out of the design process. In the meantime, here's the players:

Wooden Dowels
Sand paper
Sander (I used orbital, but if you own a belt sander, use that!)
Paint
String
Paint brushes
Glue
Scrap fabric
Hot glue
Glue gun

The process is pretty simple. Take your dowel:

Fabric Softener

I am not the kind of person to sit around, drinking a soda/pop/cola/coke and watch tv, sleep or play on the computer for hours on end. I have NEVER been that person.
No, I must be doing something. Anything. Read, watch *a* movie, laundry, dust, vacuum, dishes, craft, ANYTHING. I hate to be idle for too long.

Most often, I am researching something I want to know about, looking up more craft items to do or actually doing homework. So while it appears I may live my life in front of a computer (and trust me, there are days it feels like it, too!), I simply do not.

Anywho- where was this post going- Oh yeah (ohh, look! A shiny object!)-
I don't like to sit around and do nothing. Today is no exception. And my morning class was canceled an hour before it started, so I found myself with all this morning energy and no where to go.

So I started searching the interwebs. Looking for something homemade, I didn't care what, that I could do.
And I found homemade fabric softener.

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

I love Amish Friendship bread but usually only for about two months. After that, I am sick of it. You see, you make two loaves every 10 days. And if you don't give away your starters like you're supposed to, you're making three times that. Which is great if you want to freeze the bread, or give as gifts.

But I had to find a way to make less.

The basic is this- I'll give you the full starter recipe, and you can decide to make it all, or quarter it so you only have to worry about yourself right off the bat. Of course, you'll still have to deal with the Amish Math in 10 days, but I've already posted on that!

Syrup 101

I love making syrup. Of course, I tend to only make a couple different varieties, but who's counting? Really. I make what I like. LOL. And I *love* vanilla!

I should really make cranberry syrup....now that I think about it....that would be awesome!

People have asked me how to make homemade syrup. And it really is simple. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool.
The ratio is pretty much the same for all syrups. And if you know how to make simple syrup, you've got this thing beat. Seriously you do.

Taco Pie- Not for the faint at heart

Tonight I decided to make Taco Pie. I used to make this for my kids when they were younger. It's been so long since I've made one, I forgot if I was to cook crust then fill or fill then cook?
Either way, it turned out beautifully.

It's not on the 'diet friendly' food list, unless you want 400 calories immediately. Seriously. I calculated it at 405 calories per slice, 8 slices per pie.

Here's the cast of characters (Oh, and I'm not going to give you amounts, because with this, I cook by feel. Use as much or as little as you want of each ingredient):

The players

Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli

Holy Moly! It's not hard to make homemade tomato paste, but it is definitely time consuming!
You see, Grau wants to make homemade spaghetti sauce, from scratch. Which means SCRATCH. After all, he started making his own mozzarella and he's branching out into other cheeses....why not go all out Italian?

Nope. There's not a lick of Italian in either of us. So just chalk this up to one of the top 10 crazy things we've decided to do. I mean, really. I think it ranks right up there with....okay, so maybe there's nothing higher than deciding to make tomato paste from scratch.

Freezer Cooking

I ran across some recipes I have just GOT to try. And if you have never tried freezer cooking, it's easy. You buy a bunch of stuff, divide it up into your recipes, chop veggies (and chop some more), then p ut everything in gallon baggies and freeze. When you're ready to use them, thaw and put in a crock pot in the morning and by dinnertime, voila!

I found this recipe over at 5 On the Drive, otherwise known as Journey of a Home-Schooling, Transracial Foster Family.

Honey & Spice Glazed Pork Chops

8 (4-oz) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 C honey

4 TBSP Dijon mustard

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Thaw.  Transfer the contents into a crockpot, cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 3-5 hours.  Even better if you will take the liquid from the crockpot and cook in a skillet to thicken into a glaze.  Serve atop mushroom & garlic rice pilaf.

Check out her blog for more recipes!