Merry Christmas Cake

I certainly have not been in the holiday spirit this year.  My husband agrees he is not either.  Which I guess is good??  I did very little shopping, ordered a couple of things online.  And very little baking.
Our mothers send us a box of homemade goodies each year, that we really look forward to!. Those did arrive.  Which of course adds to the holiday pounds!  But, I did decide I would make a date cake.
This is the 3rd year I have made one for Christmas.  It is wheat free.  I tried a different recipe this year and it turned out GREAT!  I would like to share it and is is pretty easy too!

For what ever reason when you look for a recipe for this, you find it NOT under date CAKE, but date PUDDING??

1c.  (8 oz) chopped pitted dates
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tablespoon butter
1 c. hot water
1c. chopped pecans

Mix this and let stand until cool.

Meanwhile in another bowl , sift together:

1/4 tsp salt
1 c. sugar  ( I used half sugar and half agave syrup)
1 1/2 c. flour  ( I used all oat flour)
2 tsp baking powder

In the bottom of an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 baking pan:

1 c. brown sugar
1 c. hot water
3 tablespoons butter

Combine your date mixture and your flour mixture together(mix well)
then pour over the brown sugar water.

This looks a little scary, I had never made anything this way before- but IT IS OK!

Bake at 350  for approimately 35 min. (start checking at 30- don't over bake- should be soft to touch)
The brown sugar mixture makes it gooey around the edges, the cake is very soft-Yummy!

Serve with whipped cream.

We have already eaten part of it!  hard to stay away.

Enjoy!!
This recipe is from my Bethel Mennonite Cookbook

The Holidays

This year I feel like the holidays have crept up on me.  How can that be? You know for 11 mos it is coming?  I feel less in the holiday spirit than I did last year, with my dad's passing so soon before.
I really don't know what my problem is this year, or maybe TOO many problems!

Sometimes life just gets you down, I seem to be in one of those time periods.  Too much to do,(that I don't feel like doing), not feeling well health wise (allergies) too many bills ( and not enough money)
It seems like stress coming from every front.  I am lucky I have good support in my husband, he will always listen to me. 

I did get the Christmas tree up, new spot for the first time in 22 years, decorated it totally different.
SO far, the cats have been non interested! Hurrah.  No favorite ornaments, no childhood ornaments, but still very pretty.

My daughter got back from London/Italy on Monday and by Wednesday was sick.  She has been sleeping A LOT, which is the best medicine.  Sick people at work, too.  So I am guessing about Friday I will be coming down sick too!  Trying to take preventative measures with airborne, etc.

I did get a couple of new things made for my shop.  I had my "creative juices flowing" as my husband calls it!

 

Of course, there was dyeing involved, which I really enjoy making colors!

I am going to be off from work for 5 days starting next Friday and have several ideas I want to try and make.  We shall see!

 

Happy Sunday!!

 

Marietta

London

My daughter was off to London on Sunday Evening,  Her audition at the Royal college of music was today.  There were 2 parts and she was called back to audition for the second part.  I have not talked to her yet because of the time difference and she was traveling to another city, Gatwick, to fly out tomorrow morning to Italy!  She is meeting her professors from USF there, 

A lot of mixed emotions.  Of course I wanted her to do REALLY well!  But, how do I feel about her moving to London??  I think I pretty much have been in denial about it.  Last year, I think I was prepared to see her move to Boston.  But, that did not work out.  She moved home instead.  Since she has been living at home, I think it will be harder to see her leave again.  The first time she moved out her Dad and I felt like our hearts had been ripped out of us.  But, we did adjust.  BUT, London  "the other side of the pond." ????  We shall see what God has for her!

I have not mentioned Kittyville in a while.  That is of course the blending of the 3 cats together.  Amanda's 2- brother and sister and our calico.  I was trying to let them work things out, but Gemma got her nose scratched and that made me upset and over protective again!  It is no wonder my kitty is a little neurotic, with me as her Mamma!  Amanda's cats seem to be happy and well adjusted.  Gemma has licked a large portion of her belly hair off.  So that is the life with the cats.

I am doing pretty well eating wheat free again.  I went to the health food store over the week end.  Spent a fortune on wheat free, bread, bagels, pizza, bread sticks.  But if you do not have it on hand you are TOO tempted to eat the wheat items.  I had made myself spelt rolls for Thanksgiving.  They DID NOT turn out well.  I think I had the water too hot and killed the yeast.  I will try again soon.  You need to have about 3 hours available to you in order to make homemade bread. 

Off to make dinner-    Marietta

Wheat free-Annie's

I wanted to do a quick post about a gluten/wheat free product that I recently came across, and really LOVE!  Little bunny shaped cookies, and macaroni & cheese.  These products taste So good, you would never know they are wheat free!

 

The macaroni comes as a family size or these single serving packets!

 

Made from rice and corn.

 

Target and local health food stores carry them.

 

So thankful that there are people out there trying to make things taste wonderful for everyone!

 

AND.....

New items in my Etsy shop for your holiday shopping! :-)

 

 

 

Marietta

 

 

table centerpiece

I got a new table for my birthday in October  I wanted to do a new holiday centerpiece for the table.  I decided to go with non-traditional colors after i saw this beautiful pink poinsettia!

The stem had five flowers on it.  I simply bent the end up so that it would fit into the paint can that I use for my flower arrangements.  The paint can came from Lowe's (never used) they are less than $5 and in the paint supply section.  They do make a smaller size also. 

The pink poinsettia came from Jo-ann.  I found the green one at Michael's, a single stem but large, so I decided to incorporate them together.  I had left over pink tulle trim that I simply circled around the bottom.  I had a small gap on one side that I filled in with a pink cloth napkin and a white lace hanky.
one of my favorite hankerchieves has a red and green poinsettia that I hung over the handle of the paint can. 

It makes me happy to look at it, as should everything in our homes!!


A couple of years ago I made this bulb ornament wreath.  My husband proclaims that this is the prettiest thing I have ever made!

 

It is work, but not as hard as one might think!

 

Buy the ornaments ON SALE, because you do need a lot!

 

Now on to other holiday decorating!

 

Marietta

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hurrah for a long weekend! I took today off from work, since my husband had all this week off.
My daughter has been a vegetarian for the past 2 years, so deciding on a Thanksgiving menu can be interesting!  She said she wanted lots of veggies( of course, right?)

Today I made the pumpkin pie, with a from scratch crust made from spelt flour*.( we shall see about the taste), coconut bars and a broccoli salad.  I decided I would make myself rolls from the spelt flour, making bread is not a quick undertaking.  I do not make bread often.  I apparently got the liquid too hot.  They did not raise well.  They taste fine, but no light, fluffy texture. We are also having green bean casserole, sweet corn, stuffing, butternut squash, brussel sprouts and of course my favorite mashed potatoes. A lot of food for 3 people!

On Friday I will work on putting up the Christmas decorations.  On Saturday we will be visiting friends in Bradenton.  It always goes by so fast!!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

Marietta

*spelt is an anciet grain, mentioned in the bible.  It is the closest thing to wheat.  It does contain gluten. 

Saturday and No Energy

Why is is when you have a to-do list  a mile long that you don't feel good and have no energy to do it?  And it is Saturday when you actually have time to do it! 

I have been feeling under the weather for the past week.  Not really sick, but not feeling normal either.  I have also has a cold sore on my lip.  Last night I had a bad coughing fit, then wheezing and today feeling "crummier."  I believe I have posted before about having food allergies-wheat specifically.  I was diagnosed in 1991.  2 years ago I was retested and was no longer allergic to wheat.  I let wheat creep back into my diet.  I let wheat then take over my diet.  And now I am noticing the same symptoms of chest congestion and wheezing come back.  I never thought I would get so attached again.  My husband says it is the convenience I am attached too.  And yes that is a BIG part of it. 

I didn't have to think about what to make for dinner, he and I could have the same thing.  We could eat out anywhere.  I could have pizza and sandwiches!  But, the wheat (gluten) free world has come a long way since 1991 when bread tasted like a piece of cardboard.  I learned to bake without wheat.  Most regular grocery stores carry several wheat free items.  When I was allergic before a cracker would make me wheeze within 5 minutes.  I also had over whelming tiredness from it.  So far I have not had the tiredness, which is probably why I continue to eat it!

I will start taking it one day at a time and eliminating wheat again.  I must have wheat free choice on hand!  And of course there is the cost of eating wheat free- the items are expensive compared to wheat laden items.

Well, push on today and try to get at least a couple of things done on the list! And go to the health food store and get my wheat free bread!

Happy Saturday!

Marietta

Latest items in my etsy shop:

 

 

Sausage & Cabbage Skillet

This is one of my Mom's recipes.  I really enjoy it when the weather gets cooler here in Florida.

 

Sausage & Cabbage Skillet

 

2 Tbsp margarine

1 medium potato, peeled and chopped

2 c. chopped cabbage

3/4 c. milk

1 Tbsp flour

1/2 lb smoked sausage, sliced

1 c. shredded muenster cheese

1 tsp. prepared mustard

 

Melt the margarine in a 10 in skillet

Add potato

cover and cook over low heat until tender, stir occasionally

Add cabbage, cook over medium heat until cabbage is crisp-tender

Blend in flour

 

Gradually add milk, cook sirring constantly

until thickened

Add sausage, cheeese & mustard

continue cooking until sausage is heated through

stirring occasionally.

 

Yields: 2 servings

 

 

 

I always double the recipe so there are left overs!

Be sure to let the potatoes cook long enough.

I used an entire head of  cabbage

 

chopped, does not have to be fine

I used my dutch oven since I used an entire head of cabbage

 

It cooks down

 

I  added in the cheese.  The mustard dijon, I was out of regular mustard.

Add more or less to your taste

 

cheese melting

 

Sausage of your choice.  Smoky links taste great.

I used chorizo, which is popular here in Tampa and that is what I had on hand.

 

 

 

Looks Yummy!

Ready to eat!

 

Marietta

 

 

 

 

 

 



Birthday Table

Last Wednesday was my birthday.  I am a Halloween baby.  I decided that I wanted  a  new  dining table as my birthday gift.  I wanted shabby chic, round, drop leaf, and smaller than my current table.
We very seldom sit at the table anymore, and I was using it as a "catch-all". I did some searching on craigslist, but did not really see anything that spoke to me.  Then I found it on the Target website!
It was on SALE!  Free shipping! It came the next day!

The piece of furniture in the background is called a dry sink.  It was made by my father and husband for our daughter's changing table.  I wanted a piece of furniture that could be used for something else after she outgrew it.  It had been out in the garage for about 18 years.  I brought it into the house and painted it cashmere white. 

  

 

Our old table owed us nothing!  I bought it used.  A friend refinished it for me.  This was at least 20 years ago and I paid $40 for it.  It is oak with a pull out leaf inside.  I am having trouble parting with it though, so it has moved outdoors, wrapped in plastic.  It will make a good spot for those projects that are better done outdoors! (like glitter)

Next thing to do was paint the chairs. I got white spray paint from Lowe's at 99 cents a can.  After they dried I used some left over cashmere white paint and brushed it on!  Just the look I wanted!
(And isn't it lucky that I never throw anything out- I still had the cashmere white paint!)  

I discovered a few months ago they make a simple plastic piece to fit on the spray can, it is SO much easier on the fingers and hand! 

I made the chair cushions 2 or 3 years ago.  Abby is enjoying them while I paint the chairs!

 

 

So fresh and lovely now!

AND my husband likes it too!

If you look at the cushions, there is an extra piece of fabric on them.

These are my "kitty cloths".

Since the cats like to sit on the cushions, the cat hair is on the cloth.

We simply pull them off when we want to sit down!

 

Monday, Monday again

Why does the weekend have to go so fast??  And this weekend I was crabby and tired and did not feel well.  My poor family.  I went to bed at 8:15 on Sat even though I had a nap.  Sunday I napped at 12:15!

 On a good note, I did leave the bedroom door open most of Saturday.  Yoshi went in and out and he and Gemma seemed to do okay.  (There was A LOT of careful observation from me!!)
Somehow on Saturday night Gemma got of the bedroom and was shut out for about 2 hours with Yoshi & Abby.  My husband asked when we woke up on Sunday morning if I heard the cats fighting?  I opened the bedroom door and there was Gemma, running in!  The lesson of this?  All three cats are still alive!! -   and Gemma must have WANTED to come out!    I will be trying daily to leave the bedroom door open.  When we are not home, I won't let them all be together yet.  But I am hoping eventually that can happen. 

I am asking myself was I this bad with my daughter?  Somehow I don't think I was this (over) protective of her!  Perhaps I am just more neurotic than I was 20 + years ago!  I think somehow the neurosis will get worse not better. 

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of losing my Dad.  I was thinking about the fact that he was critically ill in 1985 and almost died then.  I was 25.  What a blessing that he lived 26 more years.  My daughter is 25 now.  She would not have known her Grandpa.  I have a lot of sweet pictures of the two of them when she was little. He retired when she was 3 and they came to Florida for a few winters.  Dad would pick her up from school.  He would receive instructions that Amanda was not to have treats on the way home.(Picky eater-do not spoil the appetite thing)  But, of course there was soda (pop) and candy anyway.  Amanda says that is one of her favorite memories.

Time goes on and does not stand still for the loss of the ones we love.  The pain is easier to bear, but still remains.

Marietta

Ideas, ideas

Thanks to my friend Julie, I have gotten interested in pinterest.  There are so many lovelies on there!
It inspires me to make things!  Ideas, too many ideas can be overwhelming.  Where do you start? What do you want to do first?  Do you have what you need on hand, etc., etc., etc!

I had brought quite a bit of my mom's craft supplies back with me.  Buttons, doillies, ribbon roses, that sort of thing.  She does not craft that much any more and I like to have choices when I am making something.  Today I unloaded the items from the box  and put everything where it is supposed to go in the craft room.

I had also done some thrift store shopping while in Michigan.  Prices there, MUCH cheaper than here in Tampa.  I got a couple of cute slip dresses and short crocheted sweaters, to make a couple of outfits for my etsy shop.  In the shabby, boho, cowgirl style.  I started the dyeing process yesterday.  I love dyeing things.  I have used rit dye since I was a teenager, with great results.  Yesterday was NOT my day.
                                                                                                                                                              The color guide on the rit website steered me wrong.  Well I guess it can be the computer and my eyes, too!.  Was trying for olive green.  Used a combo of kelly green, lemon yellow and sunshine orange.  The color was NOT olive and the little underslip came out ORANGE!  If this had been my first dyeing project I probably would never have attempted it again!  The color did not take evenly either.  So, I started over.  Bleached the dress back to white.  Slip remained orange even after bleach.
So I cut the slip out.  I decided to go with a smoky lavender color instead.  And today it came out beautifully! 

So, I will make a list of what I want to make and start there!   My boss will be back in the office this week, so back to a normal routine- and being TIRED!  The list will probably be as far as the creating gets! :-)

Marietta

Kitty cats

When I was in Michigan I got cat advice from my friend Julie and her family.  She has always had cats, and actually thought that I did not like cats!  Me, who now has 3 in my home??
Her advice is that I have to let the three kitties work things out for themselves and not over protect Gemma.  VERY hard for me.  On Monday I let Yoshi go in to the bedroom, he and Gemma touched noses, she hissed and turned to walk away and he chased her!  That makes me SO mad!  My family said, " I needed to get over it!"

                                                   Abby- a sweetie

Abby affectionately known as "little girl"

but NOT so little! :-)

Yoshi loves being a baby on Amanda's lap

A face only a Mamma can love!

But you can't stay mad at him!

 

So we will see how it all goes in

Kittyville!

 

Marietta

 

 

Back Home

I got home last eve from Michigan.  There were a few days with sunshine, and several with cloudy, cold, drizzly.  It is those latter days that make me glad I now live in Florida.  I was chilly there! But the fall colors were beautiful!

My Mom was doing okay.  For the first time in my life she seemed old to me.  Losing my Dad is devastating to all of us.  When my brother and sister in law came over we discussed different memories of my Dad and that was nice, things I had not heard.  My brothers were 17, 12 and 8 when I was born.  I grew up from the time I was 8 without my brothers in the house. Our Dad had mellowed a lot by the time I came along.  There is a void there that can never be filled, but I dealt with being there a lot better than I thought I would.

I got to spend time with my sweet,dear friend Julie.  We have known each other since we were 3 or so.
She got me through the painful teen years!  Last year she gave me strength through my Dad's loss.  It is nice to have a friend who loves you no matter what, and she is that kind of friend!

The trees were all orange and yellow.  The beans in the fields were combined and the fields disked afterward.  The corn was still standing waiting for its turn.  One morning I walked out to get the paper and all you could hear was the sound of the birds. So serene.I decided after 32 years in the city I do miss the country and my small town roots- if only it was NOT cold there!

 

Frost in the front yard

 

This tree is always lovely!

 

 

Even though there was frost, my Mom's flowers

stayed nice!

 

Marietta

 

 

 

 

 

October

October is here and will fly by.  I am leaving tomorrow morning to Michigan to visit my Mom.  Looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time.  It will be one year on October 30 since my Dad passed away.  Somehow I think this visit will be harder than the one in March.

Our daughter went to London and Amsterdam in September and is traveling again next week, too.
She is a bridesmaid in her best friend Jen's wedding next week and is very excited. Her dress should be back in our hands tomorrow after alterations!

My husband will have cat duty while we are both gone.  We had made some slight forward progress, but last weekend took a couple steps back in them getting along.  Maybe I am too protective of Gemma(my kitty), but that is my nature in all things that I love, so . . .

 

This is the mad hatter costume I made.

It is for sale in my Etsy shop.

 

 

                                                        Gemma, helping with the blog!

                                                            Yoshi & Abby

Recipe-Banana Bars

This recipe is  my mother-in-law's.  These banana bars were a staple in my husband's home when he was growing up.  They are quick and easy.  There are always too ripe bananas around and these bars are yummy!

 

Banana Bars

 

1/2 c. butter or margarine

1 1/2 c. sugar

2-3 ripe mashed bananas

2 eggs

3/4 c. sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 c. flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

 

 

Cream buter and sugar, add eggs and sour cream.

Add mashed bananas.

Add vanilla, flour, salt and baking soda.

 

Lightly grease a cookie sheet( with sides).

Pour batter into pan.

 

Bake at 350 degress

approximately 30 min.

ovens vary.  I start checking at 20 mins.

 

You may eat them plain or frost them,

Cut into bars when cooled.

 

 

 

I used agave and white granulated sugar

 

 

Add in the eggs and mix until creamy

 

 

 

Mash the ripe bananas in a separate bowl.

try not to leave big chunks.

 

 

Add in sour cream (I used light) and mashed bananas.

 

 

 

Next the dry ingredients.

 

But sure you are using baking SODA not baking powder.

The soda comes with the orange label.

 

Spread evenly onto a cookie sheet.  A 9 x 13 pan would be okay too.

You would need to bake a little longer.

 

 

Bake until golden brown.

 

Ready to eat!

 

Enjoy!