My Latest Creation....

Apple Fritters!!!

Well here lately I have enjoyed attempting to recreate recipes. While shopping at Henry's the other day I saw ....

It appeared to me like a sign from Heaven with my name on it....

Sorry I had to do it

So I decide that I would try my own egg rolls. I read the instuctions on the package... gleaned some ideas and then made my own with crumbled italian sausage, carrots, shallots, garlic cloves, zucchini and ginger.... yum..!!! They turned out som well that I served them to Tom without telling him that they were home made. He ate one and didn't make a comment. He thought they were store bought... They tasted so good.... I felt rather proud when he realized I made them.... He was delightfully surprised....

Then another idea popped into my head for the leftover eggroll dough ( can't stand waisting food). I made apple fritters with apples, flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon...... OH MY!!!! Delish....

I Like Cooking.... But I love making up my own version of recipes.... or shall we say altering recipes....





It is fun.... Usually the first time I read a recipe I can tell whether I am going to like it or not. This usually results in me either nixing it or altering it. Like this... I got a new cookbook for Christmas ( thanks Cynthia I love it). Here is my version of some yummy pears cooked in cabernet wine sauce with cinnamon and cloves. I added some chocolate chips and got....

Kettle Corn from Popcorn, Indiana

A new friend of mine introduced me to the most wonderful kettle corn that comes out of Popcorn, Indiana. Yes there is such a place and I bet you can't guess what it is famous for.....

Wow!!! It is very addicting. I did not believe popcorn could get its claws on me but it did.

It is the perfect mixture of sweet and salty. Believe me I have tried a lot of kettle corn. This one tops them all. Go ahead and try some but I am warning you if you open the bag it will not be long before you find yourself scratching the bottom hoping for more. It leaves you wondering how you ate the whole bag and still wanting more.

Take Me Back Blackberry Jam

I grew up on a farm. In the back and side fields we had huge blackberry patches. We loved to pick berries and eat them right off the vine. Usually we ate more than we put in our buckets. But we combined all our buckets we always had enough for blackberry cobbler and some blackberry jam.
Mom was rather good at making both. I loved her jam as much as the blackberries.

Julian, CA they are famous for their gold mining and for apples and other produce. I found some Julian jams that are amazing. In particular the blackberry jam is the one that takes me back to my mom's kitchen watching her boil the blackberries and pouring the ingredients in a jelly jar. Then she would put the canning lid on just right. They would last a while. It was nice to have biscuits or peanut butter and jam sandwiches. Yum!! Yum!!


Where did I find it? Henrys Farmers Market

Simple Joy

This life is full of so many things that disappoint. Searching for the simple joys in everyday life is one of the ways in which I find the courage to grace my face with a smile. Some of my favorite joys are :

• watching Tom put away leftovers of a dinner he really likes
• Lilliana's big tooth grin as she prances across the room
• Luke's gummy smile
• Maylee's art work
• Aiden's gentlemen like qualities
• Cooking a yummy treat
• eating warm cookies
• watching the sunset (especially with the backdrop of God's nature)
• Looking at minerals and gemstones with Tom
  
• witty conversation
• roses