I got an email from one of my kids today that had come to them in a roundabout way. It was a cute email, one of those forwarded time after time... on it, was my friend's email address. I should figure out some way to get over not having her in my life but damn, it eludes me how. I miss her.

24 yrs of having one intimate friend, 5 yrs of no letters being returned, no acknowledgement of emails, no calls, no IM's...nothing. No reason given. Just a hint of decisions made for convenience and money and me knowing her so well she couldn't face me... I know it wasn't about me in the slightest. It was about her being tired of the struggle and protecting her kids.

Tonight I'm really missing her. Somedays I wonder if the longing for US will ever end. I don't see it happening.

We had a good day today. Steve and I had lunch out. Kitties got fresh litter, Geoffie's enjoying his fouton and reading a book. I've been reading gardening books. Steve's asleep. The bad weather is passing us by and Steve's check was waiting like it was supposed to be. Taryn's red velvet cake turned out wonderfully - she botched the frosting. I told her cooked frosting is an art. She didn't even care because the cake was so good. I told her if she made it right, they'd poop red for a week.

RED VELVET CAKE
preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup unsalted butter and 1 1/2 cup cane sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add 2 eggs, on at a time.
In a separate small glass bowl, stir together 2 TB cocoa, 1/4 cup red food coloring, and 1 ts vanilla, to form a paste. Beat it into the batter.
Stir 1 ts salt into 1 cup of buttermilk. Add, in 3 parts, alternating with 2 1/4 cups flour.
In small cup, held over the batter,stir 1 ts baking soda into 1 ts applecider vinegar...QUICKLY...and add it to the batter.
Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 9" round cake pans. Bake until cake tests done-about 30 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.
When cool, cut layers in half to form 4 layers. Frost.

Now for the FROSTING
Slowly whisk 3 TB flour into 1 cup of milk, in a saucepan till smooth. Cook over med heat until thick...about 5 minutes. Let cool.
Beat 1 cup softened, unsalted butter, and 1 cup of cane sugar till light and fluffy. Beat in 1 ts vanilla. Slowly beat in the cooled milk mixture. Continue beating until totally mixed. Spread the icing over the tops of three layers, then place one on top of the other, and frost the rest of the cake.

You all help me find peace of mind. Even if you don't run out and make the cake, try the frosting. lol

peace

I wish you all could come for dinner...

I've taken chicken breast and thigh meat, quick cooked it in olive oil. Stirred in salt, fresh coarse ground pepper, chopped onion, a can of miled green chopped chilies, 1/4 cup chopped mild jalepenos with a small amount of the juice, a 12 oz carton of chicken broth, a can of Campbell's Cream of chicken soup - now don't laugh, we had to have a real vege and Geoffie picked frozen peas. So 2 cups of those - and it's simmering in the dutch oven while the water boils for spinach fettucini noodles. I stired 1 cup sour cream into the chicken mixture after 20 minutes. I had my doubts, but the taste I snuck was wonderful. Honestly, it's a bit too green for most dinners LOL but what the heck. (it'll serve 6 easy) I'm a total fan of spinach noodles. This could have been made with tuna and even cheese - ooh cheese- Since we end up with leftovers, tomorrow i'm going to crush everything matzas for the top and melt white cheddar cheese on it. Umm good idea... We should have had this yesterday for green - lol but we don't celebrate SPDay and I didn't get home till 8:30. We kinda just scrounged.

So...110 emails today about bored me silly - but I had lots of company. Snowball just couldn't leave me alone and neither could Tommy or Patches. patches is in heat, she can't help herself...and my guy kitties just love me to death - what can I say? I learn so much from cats. Every day they say "Me, Me - no ME...I'm your guide, ditch that bear..." lol poor babies, if they only know how bad I abuse my spirit guide. Poor mama bear toddles around my mind all slanted to the right because I lean so heavily on her. The cats could never take that kind of abuse. mama bear doesn't mind them though and sometimes lets the cats catch a ride. Can't you see it? My sweet lady walking with her staff in front of us? 

I hope you all have a great night - good dreams, and strong Internet connections. House at 9...

love and hugs to all. ~A

are the best. Tonight I took half a loaf of 'english toasting bread' that needed using lol cut it into squares for large croutons. In a hot skillet - melt 1/2 a stick of butter and a good pour of olive oil - 3 TB chopped sun dried tomatoes, salt, fresh ground pepper, 2 TB minced garlic - stir in bread chunks, toss repeatedly until toasted... cut the heat back a bit to keep the garlic from burning.  These are incredible.

I had fresh basil set aside to chop and add but Steve put them on the compost thinking it was leaves off Kaiha's Valentines bouquet! lmbo...

we dropped the croutons into whole milk buttermilk. YUM.  I was thinking next time I might chop, wilt and season fresh spinach and sprinkle that on top too...

You would think I'd know better than to forget to copy my blog before trying to post it. Just GRRRRRR.

So everything is gone except for the carrot cake recipe and the monster feet I was gonna show Lynette. The other stuff was just my yapping anyway. Geoffie's birthday is Monday. :)

So I'm not quite wiccan - but I want to know if I have the gist of Imbolc... We are celebrating the midway point of winter - birth and new life - and it's a good excuse for a festive meal. Yes? BarBQue Porkloin, creamed peas and potatoes, stewed tomatoes, corn bread - and cake. Ground Hog's Shadow in the morning and smiling faces... that works, doesn't it? I'll also clean the alter of simplify it. A simple white candle, and a small round green one - in the middle of the dinner table.

Best Carrot Sheet Cake
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrots (about 3 large carrots)
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (3 1/2-ounce) can sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Buttermilk Glaze, Cream Cheese Frosting (recipes to follow)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Stir together first 4 ingredients.
Beat eggs and next 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in carrots and next 3 ingredients. Pour batter into a greased and floured 13- x 9-inch pan.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes; cover pan loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning, and bake 13 more minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Drizzle Buttermilk Glaze evenly over cake; cool completely in pan. Spread Cream Cheese Frosting evenly over cake.
YIELD: Makes 10 to 12 servings
PREPARATION TIME: 25 min.
COOKING TIME: Bake: 43 min.


Buttermilk Glaze
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS:
Bring sugar, baking soda, butter, buttermilk, and corn syrup to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring often, 4 minutes or until mixture is golden brown. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla extract.
Note: You can serve this recipe with Best Carrot Sheet Cake.
YIELD: Makes 1 1/2 cups
PREPARATION TIME: 5 min.
COOKING TIME: 10 min.


Cream Cheese Frosting
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS:
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract; beat at high speed 10 seconds or until smooth.
Note: serve this recipe with Best Carrot Sheet Cake.
YIELD: Makes 4 cups
PREPARATION TIME: 5 min.

Well loves, I did the emotional junk behind the blog this morning...aren't you glad? Everybody here is happy. I made french toast for breakfast and the sun shines in everyone's hearts and tummies. lol Who cares what it's doing outside? lol

Steve was late getting home last night and everyone wanted dinner - I asked him what he wanted me to make since he'd brought chicken breasts. He didn't know, and smarted off that he wanted marinara and pasta. I get no intentional help - lol

Kaiha said how about chicken parmesan? She trucked off to find a recipe online and I got busy. Do you know what a fast easy meal that is? She got all stressed over the recipe and I told her she just needed to see it to get an idea what was used to build the dish...not convinced. lol We made rum and coke and got started...

Chicken Parmesan ala laughing cooks.

4 boneless chicken breasts...a piece of plastic wrap on the counter. We placed the breast on the wrap, folded the plastic wrap over it, used the edge of a saucer to pound each flatter. We let each breast sit in italian salad dressing for 10 minutes (while I chopped veges for the side dish).  Preheat oven to 400. Mix 1C flour and a bit of salt - lightly coat the chicken in it. Dip the chicken in egg and milk - then dredge it in crushed stuffing mix (or bread crumbs) with salt, pepper, italian seasonings - coat well. In an olive oiled baking dish, pour half a jar of Barilla Tomato Basil Sauce. Lay the chicken breasts on it, pour the rest of the sauce over the top and cover generously with parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

While we were waiting, we cooked vegetable rice flour noodles - any tri color will do. Season with olive iol, salt and pepper. The veges we had cut were squash, leeks, baby bellas, roasted red peppers from a jar, and black olives. Cooked in olive oil and butter - Salt, fresh ground pepper, and basil.

To serve - pick pretty plates, pile pasta in the middle, vege mix on top, parmesan if desired, and the chicken breast (all saucy and cheesy) on the side. I sliced a pear because I had a ripe one - and put 2 slices on each plate.

Forget the recipe... Rachel Ray - move over!