It's My 1-Year Blog-Aversary

A little confetti...

A few balloons...

A brass band...

And a cake!

 





I can't believe I have written 270 posts since I started this blog. Thanks to all of you that have supported me with your kind words and comments during this past year. I am looking forward to seeing another year of our life, documented in words, pictures and recipes.

Simple Pleasures

Sometimes it is the simplest things that can bring a smile. I would have to confess, every time I walk into my kitchen and see little Miss Cow sitting on my island, I just have to smile.

The view of her best side

The view of her back side 

 

 

(please don't tell her I published this picture of her derriere)

I am so happy to see my one-year old grandson, Ivan, smiling again. He was a very sick little boy for about 10 days. He had a very bad case of the flu and ended up extremely dehydrated. He wouldn't eat or drink. He was sent to the hospital for an IV, but they couldn't get the IV in because his veins were collapsed. They called in a trauma team that tried numerous places and finally found a vein that was viable. He went from that to walking pneumonia. I am so thankful that he is back to his cute little self again, and was able to spend some one-on-one time at gramma's house this week.

As soon as we walked in the door of our house, he said, "Pancakes." So gramma made him pancakes. 

Simple pleasures.

Blog Surfing

From Home Based Mom: Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad

From Two Peas and Their Pod: Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

From Tasty Kitchen: Red Quinoa and Black Bean Salad, Garlic Chicken with Orzo Pasta, Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Honey Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, Crunchy Homemade Granola, The Freshest 9 Layer Dip,

From A Recipe a Day: Loaded Italian Bread

From Lottie + Doof: Arugula Bacon Gruyere Bread Pudding

From Food Blogga: How to Keep Your New Year's Resolution to Loose Weight: Eat Breakfast Plus: Skinny Mexican Breakfast Scramble.

From Simple Bites: Two Simple Salads for Winter

From Joy of Baking: Lemon Sponge Pudding

From One Ordinary Day: Italian Sausage Soup

From For the Love of Cooking: Tuscan White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup

From Meet Me in the Kitchen: Winter Jeweled Fruit Salad

From Cooking Light Done Right: Savory Baked Eggs with Spinach Mushrooms and Sun Dried Tomatoes

From Relish Magazine: Stacey's Black Beans

From Taste of Home: Cookie Sticks

From Dinners and Dreams: How to Make Preserved Garlic

From Culinate: How to Make Your Own Dog Food

Peanut Butter Granola

It has been months since I made fresh baked granola, and I have missed it! I have bought a couple different granola's, but they just don't compare to homemade. The store-bought granola is usually quite spendy, and I have not found one that really enjoy. 

When I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter Granola, from Baking with Boys, it sounded good, looked quick and easy and I couldn't resist making it. I used a combination of unsalted dry roasted peanuts and unsalted dry roasted almond slivers for the nuts. I used dried cherries in place of the raisins and omitted the chocolate. The smell in the house was amazing as it baked. I baked my batch for 10 minutes, turned the oven off and set the timer for 12 minutes. I like my oats toasted a little darker and they turned out just the way I like it. This isn't a "crunchy" granola, but it's really good on yogurt!

If you decide to make this granola,

Enjoy!

Saying Goodbye...for now

It is hard to say good-bye to a life-long friend

We shared many years of good times

Helping each other through hard times

Although there is sadness in this good-bye

So happy that you have been set free

Surrounded now with perfect love

No more tears

No more pain

Just perfect peace

1953-2011

Forever young

 

 

Good-bye sweet Arlene

Until we meet again

Going "Broody"

Happy February! It is hard to believe that it is already here. I have not posted as often as I expected, and the reason is, I'm nesting!

Yes, nesting is a big job! In most animals, including human animals, nesting is done in preparation for a new baby! Well, we aren't expecting a baby, but my nesting instinct has been so strong, you would think that we were! I find myself just wanting to be home, organizing and making our new home as comfy and cozy as possible for us. I seem to put off leaving the house until it is absolutely necessary, which isn't normal for me. In the bird world, the term used to describe this insistence on staying in the nest as much as possible, is "Going Broody."

If you have ever watched birds build a nest, you know that it is a lot of work. We watched finches built a nest in our eaves in SoCal. They were in almost constant motion bringing scraps and twigs to their nest from sun up until dusk. They were constantly chattering and making their little bird sounds, and it sounded like they were having the best time "nesting." They came back to that nest for several years, and they always gave it a face lift before they settled in with the big job of keeping their eggs warm. I can really identify with those birds!


As I'm sitting here writing this, I'm watching the birds flying back and forth from the trees to the bird feeders.

 

 

The grey squirrels have been very busy gathering food. There are four that are regular visitors in our yard. They come around first thing in the morning, again around mid-day. They arrive just before dusk for their last meal of the day. After eating, it is really cute to watch them play, jumping from branch, and making their cute little squirrel noises together as they scamper up to their nest.

The squirrels are very aware when I am watching them

You can see how well Squirrely blends into the trees. His tail looks like a bottle brush in the middle of the picture, with his body facing down the branch. He stayed in the position without moving for over 5 minutes, waiting for me to leave so he could go into his nest.

Squirrely is very near his nest, but won't go in when he knows I am watching. We were having a stare down!

I caught the little puff ball just before it went into it's nest

I am feeling the urge to go fluff my nest some more, maybe unload another box or two, or five!

Birthday Brunch

To celebrate our daughter's birthday, we had a birthday brunch, which was actually more like a lunch, with breakfast food. Our menu included a make-ahead breakfast casserole, a hash brown casserole, fresh fruit platters, orange juice and sticky rolls.

Family

Mommy getting a birthday kiss

Ivan Sandwich

Breakfast Casserole

Fruit Plate

Hash Brown Casserole

Sticky Rolls

Moving in for a kiss

Ivan loves Buddy

I was given the following recipe over 25 years ago. I have made this dish with many different variations through the years, using the egg, milk and bread ratio as my base. The sky is the limit. It also doubles very easily.

Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole

Hash Brown Casserole

I found the following recipe a few years back. I have made this dish with the hash browns defrosted, but this time I used them frozen. In my opinion, it takes longer to cook the potatoes thoroughly when they are used frozen. If you do use them frozen, I would suggest using a small thermometer to make sure they are up to temperature before serving, just to make sure they are heated throughout.

I don't have a recipe to share for the sticky rolls today. I was trying to re-create a "cinnamon" type roll that we enjoyed at Merchant's Delicatessen and French Bakery in Walla Walla, Washington when we lived there. They have been out of business for several years and we have not found anything quite like it since. These were very close, but need a few tweaks.

Enjoy!