FALLing

Man, it’s beautiful out there! New England in her Sunday best – Even in the rain – we’re getting some of that big weather much of the country is getting apparently. I’ve been walking a lot with my favorite hiking/walking buddy – he’s been so good for this weary soul.

My son and fiance had their engagement photo session here on the farm recently – here are just a few of my favorites…

Their wedding will take place next June along the CT River in an old factory with gorgeous windows and wood floors, an old fashioned train will bring guests to the venue – stay tuned!

The Mr. and I took a quick ( like eight hours start to finish) trip to Vermont last weekend and I got my apple and cider fix –

Some art projects I’ve been working on… beaded horse shoes (old mule shoes found here on the property… and a new painting on the easel. The shoe I “sold” for a donation to a farm animal rescue here in CT called Shut the Door Farm – and the painting might just serve the same purpose once it’s done. I love making things, but when they actually serve a worthy cause, it’s that much more rewarding.

With this season comes a desire to dig out more recipes, comfort foods, holiday fare, and I love every minute of it except for the cleanup. Every rose has it’s thorns 🙂 And speaking of roses….

Check out this recipe – made it for company yesterday and it was AWESOME! and fun to make – not complicated, I promise!

Apple Rose Pastry

And here’s another fantastic easy fall recipe…

Creamy Roasted garlic Butternut Squash Pasta

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods – wishing you all good things in this season of thanks giving. ❤

Catching up…

I miss my blog friends! Go grab a coffee or a tea or water, which is better for you anyway – we’ve got ground to cover! I finally have a little time to sit down and read some of your blogs, that’s next, and I sure hope I find you are all well and staying sane. I stay away from the news more often than not in recent months, just hate to see all the division that continues, all the fake news that flourishes, makes one long for simpler times. And so I’m trying to make my times… well, simpler.

The kids living nearby on the outskirts of this farm in their own homes is truly a blessing. We all stay out of each other’s way enough so that we’re not tripping over one another or wishing to move elsewhere, and yet we chip in together to keep this place running and enjoyable for all. The farm animals are always a source of joy, and also a source of work!

We all benefit from the chicken coop and the gardens – this year the raspberries and blueberries were more than abundant, we’ve got a freezer full. Potatoes and onions are also stored in crates downstairs – (the purple potatoes are DIVINE!) and we discovered this year all the produce loves to live and grow on the hill behind the house, better than the two garden plots we have down AT the house. So.. that’s where we will garden from now on, up on the sunny hillside.

Kai, our newest rescue dog, is doing super! He went from two years of feral living to completely well behaved house dog in a matter of months, smart as a whip, and just a joy to be around. We take many walks together, kai and I… and sometimes my kids with their dogs too. Speaking of which – my son’s rottie, Leo, has grown into a bull, a big mush, a little bit of a bully, a LOT of dog to be sure, but a love just the same. At just a year old, he’s still growing, too.

Stella by the Sea – Welp, as much as we said we were going to spend a lot more time down there, like maybe even LIVE there a few weekends at least this summer, it just didn’t happen. The farm and work demands keep us busy throughout the year, but my mom does get to live down there for short spirts of time and we all congregate for dinners, swims, kayaking, the occasional lounging around. Soon it will be time to pack it all in and close up Stella till next year. I dread the emptying of the refrigerator – just sayin.

The Mr. and I did manage to get away in the first week of August, to one of our most favorite places, Martha’s Vineyard. We rented a cottage on South Water Street in Edgartown, an older home with loads of Vineyard Charm. It was just the two of us, which is unusual, but the slowed pace and not having any particular agenda was nice. We both came back feeling rested, a much needed reprieve.

With this season comes a renewed interest in fall recipes… this one I haven’t tried yet but I think I’ll give it a go for the Thanksgiving table instead of the traditional Pumpkin Pie, which some of us don’t even like. (I do!)

Pumpkin Tiramisu from Taste of Home

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1 cup strong brewed coffee, room temperature
2 packages (3 ounces each) ladyfingers, split
1 carton (16 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
Additional pumpkin pie spice

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form; set aside. In another bowl, beat the cream cheese, pumpkin, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon pie spice and 1 teaspoon vanilla until blended. Fold in whipped cream.
2. In a small bowl, combine coffee and remaining pie spice and vanilla; brush over ladyfingers. In a 3-qt. trifle dish, layer a fourth of the ladyfingers, angling some up the sides of the dish if desired. Top with a fourth of the pumpkin mixture and whipped topping. Repeat layers three times. Sprinkle with additional pie spice.
3. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 4 hours.

Wishing you all good things this fall, Lord knows we all deserve it! – Till soon, my dear blog friends –

Don’t send your son out for chicks

… because he’ll come back with more than he was supposed to, just like his mama. And I have no one to blame but myself for that nonsense.

Every year I say – that’s it, this is a pain in the ass, I’m not raising chicks anymore, I’ll just buy a few pullets.

Welp.

Meanwhile over at the EggPlant…

Says Daenerys …… “And what fresh hell do we have over on the porch, KAREN? …. as if we can’t see that telltale amber glow of the heat lamp from over here. ”

I’ve got a yummy St. Patrick’s Day recipe for my Reuben loving friends…

Reuben Dutch Baby

by Diane Morrisey – Follow her on instagram or facebook for awesome recipes with equally awesome photographs.

4 large eggs
½ cup milk
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
4 ounces coarsely grated Swiss cheese, divided
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more
2 tbls unsalted butter
8 ounces thinly sliced pastrami or corn beef, divided
Sauerkraut (for serving)

Preheat oven to 425F and Place a 10″ cast iron skillet in there to heat up.
Whisk eggs, milk and mustard in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisking constantly, gradually add flour, whisking until smooth; season with salt.
Stir in half of cheese and black pepper.

Carefully remove preheated skillet from oven and add butter; swirl skillet to coat.
Drape half of pastrami into skillet (it’s okay if it bends and folds over itself); season with salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over. Return skillet to oven and bake until Dutch baby is puffed and golden brown, 12–15 minutes.

Remove skillet from oven and heat broiler. Drape remaining pastrami over Dutch baby; top with remaining 2 oz. cheese. Broil until cheese is melted, about 3 minutes.

Top with sauerkraut and grainy mustard before serving.

I’ve completed another painting, and I’m amazed at how prolific my painting has been during the pandemic because often I put down the brushes for years and years. (speaking of pandemic.. my mom and his mom are now fully vaccinated, yay! I still have anxiety about getting the vaccine but we are registered and hopefully will get appointments to do so soon. But still… ugh. Not a fan with the unknowns, long term affects, blah blah blah. )

Anyway.. this painting is of Wasque on Chappequidick, Martha’s Vineyard in Autumn… a still-wild beach my husband and I like to visit. You get the feel that it could be 200 years ago when out there, untouched by tourism, at least not very much.

A few funnies and then on with the farm chores of the day…

Seriously, though…

Till soon, friends –

Dear September…

….you’d better come in here acting like you’ve got some sense.

Boy, could the headlines be any more of a sh*t show? Actually I shouldn’t even tempt it. This post was originally (like 20 minutes ago) a political post. But I’m so tired of my own damned outrage at the insanity I deleted the whole thing. So here you go… a little lightness I need as much as anyone.

The goatgirlz!! Oh, the joy they bring. Star and Bella are like two toddlers we’ve adopted – they talk to us whenever we’re outside, even if we’re off in the distance. If we’re sitting among them they climb all over us, and they love to chase my son around the paddock. Goats love stuff to climb on – so our girlies got a picnic table we had up at the firepit that was getting a little dodgy, and they love their new perch.

Have you picked up any new hobbies or nurtured old ones during the pandemic? I’ve picked up painting again and have found it to be very therapeutic . I’m not a schooled artist and my paintings are a bit primitive, but I have learned a few tricks as I go along and while practice will never make me perfect, it has helped me get a better result when I paint. These two I am very happy with – they were so much fun. The first is a fall scene in Woodstock, Vermont – Sleepy Hollow Farm. I added my son’s cat to it after this picture was taken, as this is a gift for his new home, soon to be completed… and I call it Lily in the leaves. I really should go upstairs and snap a new picture but I’m lazy today, so you get the leaves without lily.

I just completed this one below- using a photo I took of a wave on South Beach , Martha’s Vineyard. Oh, how I have missed my favorite island this summer. Hopefully by next year travel will be a safe option again.

My vegetable garden is pretty much spent …. and for the 10th year in a row, our apple orchard produced zero apples – we’ve definitely done something wrong up there on the hill with the planting of those trees… but the raspberry and blueberry bushes provided bags and bags of frozen berries in my freezer for all kinds of baking and smoothies and cereal, etc. as the year rolls on. I also have sauce in the freezer from the tomatoes we harvested. It was just a -meh type garden year.

Down at the shore cottage things are looking a little brown after a freak storm battered the community, flipping boats on their moorings, tumbling trees, battering foliage and turning it a scorched brown. I’ve done some kayaking, mom has spent a few lovely weeks there and we all have frequented it for meals on occasion, but we did not get as much use out of it as previous years, mainly because of high heat and humidity and poor weather in general.

Here’s an awesome recipe I’ll share late in the season, but it is one of my favorites and because nowadays you can get just about anything any time of the year, you can probably make this all year long. Whoever thought of throwing blueberries and corn into a salad together and then that honey lime dressing? I thank them profusely for the gift of it.

My son’s house is coming along, tentative move in date is October 15th – his soon to be fiance’s birthday! (yes, that’s happening soon! shhhh…. )

I am so happy for my son, for our whole family… because this lovely young woman has become a much loved member of our family in the six years they have dated. Seeing them build the future together is such a joy. They guide each other through thick and thin, have aided each other in building their careers, and they are strength to each other’s weaknesses, bringing out the best in each other. It’s a beautiful thing.

Mom with her favorite grandson, on his side porch

As for me, I have started a new diet plan – day five and I’m down four pounds. I’m finding it totally do-able. I’m not hungry, I’m eating healthy, and the weight is slowly coming off. The weight loss will slow, for that was probably mostly water weight – but I am finding this plan is excellent – doable, healthy eating. I shop for the groceries and cook the meals, the meal plan and grocery listed are provided by the founder of the program. He’s traveled nationwide with his program and his clients span the globe, but he happens to live right here in town and has helped many of my neighbors, how cool is that!? Here’s my before picture – 27 pounds to lose at day 1, down 4 already. Believe me, this picture does not really show -all the fat -. I’ll keep you posted on this, but if you’re looking for a program yourself and others have failed you (like me!) …. this..is working.

myslimnation.com – Robert Nevins

BEFORE……….

Stay tuned for the progress…..

And here are a few funnies for this strange, strange year….

Ah… that’s much better than the miserable political post I had intended. Stay safe and sane, all –

Till soon –

How Y’all doing out there

Dear Georgia – Shout out to the brave ones as your Governor has opened your doors again, with the high praise of Tr*mp and P*nce. Let us know how y’all make out, we’ll be paying attention. Of course.. you won’t be seeing Tr*mp & P*nce out there among you, because they do still care about their own asses, just not yours so much as the all mighty dollar as it pertains to their re election prospects. Of course, with all the MAGA stupidity going on, those rallies to be set free again with our own POTUS calling for civil unrest – set yourself free!!…. and don’t leave out the can’t-make-me-wear-a-mask bullshit… sad but true – there might be fewer MAGA voters come November.

Mask wearing no longer feels weird in a grocery store, hell, everyone’s doing it. If I could only master the damned arrows in the aisles!… sheesh, such a simple thing and yet so many of us are getting it wrong. (hand raised high here). I don’t wear gloves except at the gas pump, where they are thrown out as soon as the handle is back in it’s holder. Hand washing is so frequent my hands are sandpaper, but MOM to the rescue – have you tried Cetaphil ultra healing with ceramides? It’s not cheap but it’s magic on rough try hands. Thanks, Mom – it works!

I’m eating more than I should because I’m cooking and baking more than usual because I’m home and there’s the damned refrigerator every time I turn around and you know I have to open it and take something out and shove it in my mouth. Right now I’ve got a blueberry buckle baking in the oven, and Maple BBQ Ribs and green beans are on tonight’s dinner menu. Tomorrow night I’ll make the New York Times recipe Caramelized Shallot Pasta. All are delish recipes, easy to put together if you have the ingredients.

Farm news! – the baby goats, Star and Bella will be moving in this weekend. YAY!!… It’s been 40 years since I’ve had a goat – that’s an actual fact.. and I am so excited to welcome them home. My first goat was one I had adopted at the Staten Island Zoo while I worked there at the pony ride track. The baby goat had eye ulcers and they were going to put her down. I begged them to let me take her, and got her to the vet immediately. We healed her ulcers and she lived on our little plot on Staten Island until she became much bigger and a neighbor’s daughter who had a farm took her to live a bigger farm life. Her name was Casey – She was a black goat with a white star on her forehead just like our Star. We’ve got the goat house ready and their goat yard properly fenced in for their safety, now to create a little bit of a playscape for them. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, Stella is open and ready for the season… we just need some warm weather…. Some scenes from “down island” after yesterday’s rainstorm…

I hope you’re well and staying sane. We’re all good here, working from home and out on job sites with caution of course. Our business has definitely been affected, as several tenants have notified us they will be abandoning their lease (hair dresses among them). Time will tell how it all pans out.

Closing out this post with a little quarantine humor…

A New Season

Who in their right mind would have ever guessed we’d be in the middle of a pandemic come Spring? How are you all coping, I hope this post finds you well and sane, if nothing else. We are all (crossed fingers) healthy here and practicing as much safe social distancing as is possible. My hands are sand paper from all the washing. I have now begun wearing a face mask in the grocery store, as are most other people. I also see others wearing them when walking outdoors – I think that’s a bit of an overkill in areas like ours, perhaps not in the big cities and in stores, etc. When will it all end? Well, when will we feel comfortable sauntering around a store or sitting in a crowded restaurant when someone coughs? *sigh. When there’s a vaccine, I suppose? …. we can only wait and see.

We opened the cottage for the season last week – water turned back on, lawn is mowed, garden beds raked out, the beds newly made with fresh-washed linen, floors and furniture wiped down, outdoor furniture back in it’s place. There is fresh dirt in all the pots and I’ll plant annuals once the threat of frost is gone – Mother’s Day is a good rule of thumb but this year I’m a little impatient.

I bought two new candy and dog bone glass jars for the counter – they look like Fire King jadeite type glass but I’m not sure they actually are. The Pioneer Woman’s line in walmart.

We moved our Miss Leah home because I do believe the show season is official deceased. I could be wrong about that but I don’t feel comfortable putting myself and my daughter out there while they find out. She has adjusted very well to home life and we continue to give her exercise as she would normally get at the show barn. My daughter and I have actually ridden together again for the first time in a long time! In the photo below I’m riding her old boy, Max. He has glaucoma in one eye now but we are managing it with meds.

The farm has been such a blessing as we wade through this time of quarantine, social distancing, etc. The fruit trees in the orchard are blooming, the berry bushes we planted last year are greening up, and most of the christmas trees we planted for the third time the wrong way are actually alive. They might just live to see Christmas in a tree stand some day.

My kitchen junk drawer got cleaned out and organized – holy crap, I found christmas ornament hooks I didn’t know I had, baby aspirin that expired five years ago, four pairs of dog nail clippers, at least five collars, 5,000 hair elastics, and I could build a bathroom with the tools in there, I’m almost not exaggerating. Below is the “after”.

I’ve been exercising more, which is a good thing, and I finished the painting of Opie, which I started last year after he passed on. It was just too sad to sit there reminded of him, so I left it unfinished for a long time. I’m no professional, my work is primitive for sure.. but I’m happy with the result and finishing it was therapeutic. And maybe that was because I was watching episodes of Outlander ( watching Jamie Fraser if I’m being totally honest) as I went along. The painting is of Opie standing under our ancient pear tree on a misty fall morning.

A few funnies for you below and an old recipe a friend shared – wishing us all good health and peace of mind as we carry on through and past these weird days –

Till soon, friends…

Strange Times Indeed

So how are you all faring in these strange and scary times? I go back and forth between OMGOMGOMG ventilators, deaths, hospitals without supplies, WTF! … and figuring out how to go to the grocery store without hyperventilating. The husband and I have had our typical Spring allergy symptoms and of course that leads to thoughts of… is this really allergies or the other dreaded “C” word? Do I have a fever? (no) Dry cough, trouble breathing? (no) So I’ve stopped watching so much of the updates on the news and I’m certainly not watching the blithering idiot in Chief as he blunders and blusters his way through his press conferences.

I’ve been walking the dogs, exercising some, disinfecting the house, fretting over whether I will have a job when this is all done. As editor of our small town publication, some ads have been pulling due to businesses already shuttering for good (that’s really sad) and events having been cancelled. If this goes on for a while, and I suspect it might, there will be no publication with not enough ads to sustain it. There are so many people who are suffering economically because of the damned virus. And there are so many people on the front lines taking care of us all – Doctors, nurses, grocery store clerks, truckers, postal workers, feed store owners, liquor store owners and dog groomers (because in the state of CT, apparently they are absolutely essential).

In our construction business, we’ve closed down the office where tenants come to pay rent or rent facilities, apartments, storage units. All work is being done online, e-mail, phone. If this drags on, our business will be hurt as well, as tenants who have not been able to work or draw a paycheck will not be able to pay rent, etc. I think this is going to have an effect on all people in ways we haven’t even thought of yet in the long run.

Strange times.

The good news? People are being forced to get back in touch with and tend their relationships, their home life, their cooking skills, fitness, reading, the great outdoors, crafts, art, quality time with children, the list does go on, and it’s a good list, at least.

Thank GOD for Netflix, AmIRight? I’m watching Outlander for the second time because I just can’t get enough of it. Even being deaf, I’ve started walking around the house practicing a wee bit uv a Scottish Brogue, do ye ken, because closed caption reflects the brogue and before I was deaf I had a keen ear for these things. It’s just fun. 😂

These two people have such crazy good chemistry I am very surprised they did not become a couple in real life, but alas, they did not.

I’ve been doing some cooking with simple ingredients I keep in the pantry… two recipes from the New York Times I’ll share with you here – They are super easy, delicious and you might have the stuff you need without venturing out to get them. They were both a hit with my family.

Pasta e Ceci – recipe HERE. I didn’t have escarole or Kale on hand so I used spinach and it was fine.

No-Knead Bread – recipe HERE. (this one is not my image) Absolutely delish and SO easy to make. You just need a little patience as it does require rise time.

A simple tip – wash those plastic grocery reusable totes in hot water in the washing machine and then toss in the dryer for a few minutes. They’re germ catchers, and this really works.

Some humor in these trying times…

Welp. That’s all I’ve got for today… wishing us all good health and good riddance to all the coronavirus madness in the near future, praying and begging pretty please to all the powers of the universe. And seriously, praying for all the people on the front lines who are taking care of business so that we all can still function through this test of all we hold dear.

karen

Should I Stay Or Should I Go

Due to business and farm obligations and a husband who is a very capable person who gets a lot accomplished but has an aversion to stepping out of his comfort zone which means going anywhere that he is not familiar with, which means no further than our state lines or the next state over more often than not, we don’t travel much. On occasion, I have managed to talk him into a nice trip somewhere outside “the zone”. Much goes into the actual taking of that trip, ’tis no easy feat, let me tell ya. I make sure all travel plans are laid out well in advance, the destination is mutually agreed upon well in advance, the accommodations are not complicated or iffy in any way, shape or form so that all hopefully runs relatively smoothly and the Mr. can actually relax.

That doesn’t mean the panic doesn’t set in on occasion, regardless. Case in point – Last time we went on a family vacation to St. John, USVI (ten or so years ago now) all was going well, we arrived on St. Thomas after a loong car ride to the insanely congested JFK airport, then an uneventful plane ride, non stop!… then landed on a tiny island airport runway that JEEzus CHRIST really didn’t look possible but hey, we made it, obviously … And the Mr. was still sane. You’d think the scary part was over, right?

We grabbed a van taxi that took us to the ferry dock to board the ferry that would bring us to the island of St. John. The Redhook ferry is not a huge boat – We’re not talking the Staten Island Ferry here – if memory serves me correctly there are two decks, upper and lower – and you could throw a ball in a game of catch from the front to the back if you wanted to. We had a pile of luggage and there were seven of us – we boarded the boat as the luggage was handed to the employees of the ferry – and somehow the Mr. lost sight of us for about 35 seconds. There was only one boat, we were all on it, and you could get a good scope of everyone on board in about 2 minute’s time. You’d have thought we left him on a deserted tropical island with Wilson the volleyball as his only companion for a month.

Then!… after the scorn was laid upon us thick and we reached our destination island, we walked up the street to pick up our rental Jeep. The Mr. suddenly became aware that everyone was driving on the wrong side of the road – and it was determined right in that same moment that I would be the designated driver for the week. Upon arrival at our rented villa, it was also determined that holy-mother’a God the driveway was so steep with no guardrail going down a cliff that said Mr. did not want to trust his wife to navigate, however, the fear of the driving on the wrong side of anything was just too much… and SO… he was indeed stuck with me driving Miss Daisy for the week.

And here we are… preparing to go on another family vacation to the same destination… and I saw the warning signs a few weeks back.

“Ugh, I’ve got so much work piling up, I don’t know. ”

” Jeez, this really isn’t the best time to be going on a vacation, you know? SO MUCH WORK. ”

” This is ridiculous, the stuff just keeps piling up! How can I go away and get anything done?”

Then (when he’s truly already made up his mind and there isn’t going to be any negotiations here at all) … “ I just don’t think I can go with you”.

The corona virus was all he needed to put a big exclamation point on the ordeal, feet dug into the mud of it. “I’M NOT GOING”.

And he’s not. And maybe that’s OK, less stress for me. I’ve done it before without him because the above scenario is not a new one. And.. he can watch the house and look after the animals. But also.. .maybe we shouldn’t go either? I’m on the fence. I’ve asked a few people who travel often, I’ve asked the local Pharmacist, too. They have said – just use the standard precautions – and WASH YOUR HANDS A LOT.

If we don’t go, we will lose all of the money we paid for this trip. And as I’ve said already, we don’t vacation often, we’re really looking forward to it. Anyone have any opinions or advice you care to share? In the meantime, I’ll be keeping an eye on the travel recommendations on the CDC website. So far, travel to the USVI’s is still green lighted.

Also in the meantime, here’s an awesome dessert being shared online that would be perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration…

Bailey’s Chocolate Cheesecake Pots

Ingredients

8 (+-140g / 0.59cups) double chocolate Digestive biscuits (in the US Graham crackers are a good equivalent)
360g / 1.5 cups full fat cream cheese, chilled
60ml / 2 fl oz double cream
60ml / 2 fl oz Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur
100g / 0.42 cups caster sugar
30g / 0.12 cups cocoa powder

To serve

125ml / 4.2 fl oz double cream
½ tsp caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate sprinkles

Method

Roughly chop the biscuits with a sharp knife. Tip: We prefer doing this so that you don’t end up with fine crumbs and powder as you get when you crush them.

Spoon the crumbs into 4x 250ml preserve jars. Set aside. Tip: If you don’t have preserve jars, you could also just use small bowls or drinking glasses.

Place the remaining cheesecake ingredients into a medium-sized bowl. Using an electric mixer beat on low speed just until dry ingredients are combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then beat again on high speed until the color is uniform and mixture is smooth and has thickened slightly for 1-2 minutes.

Spoon the cheesecake mixture into the preserve jars on top of the biscuit crumbs, close the lids onto each jar, then refrigerate until serving time. Tip: The quickest and neatest way of filling your cheesecake pots is to use a piping bag. Fill a large piping bag with the cheesecake mixture, cut the end of the piping bag off, and then squeeze the mixture into your preserve jars.

Spoon generous dollops of the whipped cream on top of each cheesecake pot, then decorate with chocolate sprinkles.

Cheesecake pots can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, but the biscuit crumb base will lose its crunch after the first day. Still tasty, though!

If Cake could fix it…

… this would be the one, I’m tellin ya – yes it’s from scratch, and there’s more work involved than throwing the mix in the bowl with a few eggs and water and mixing it up, bake, open the tub of fake frosting and pile it on. But…. the extra elbow grease for this one is soooo worth the effort. Delish! and so fresh tasting. This is not my recipe or photo, found it on the web somewhere…. I made it less complicated with just two layers, no one complained and it was almost inhaled, it was that good.

STRAWBERRY MOSCATO CAKE with CREAM CHEESE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients:

- 4 large eggs,
- 1 1/2 C strawberry puree
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp strawberry extract
- 1/2 cup Moscato (that’s a sweet white wine in case, like me, you are clueless)
- 2 to 3 drops Pink gel food coloring
- 3 C cake flour
- 1 3/4 C sugar
- 1 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 C canola oil
- 1/2 C unsalted sweet cream butter
- 10 large strawberries sliced thinly to go in-between the cake layers
- 1/2 cup moscato reserved- saved for after its baked ( I didn’t do this, forgot! )

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting ingredients

3 – 8 oz box, cream cheese, softened
3/4 C unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
6 C powdered sugar
4 tsp vanilla extract
5-7 TBSP heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Strawberry Moscato Cake directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray the cake pans with pam baking spray, set aside
2. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, strawberry puree, moscato, vanilla, strawberry extract, pink food coloring, whisk until combined
3. Using a standing mixer, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined
4. Slowly beat in the butter and canola oil until combined
5. Once the mixture looks like coarse sand, gradually beat in the egg mixture until combined. The batter will be very thick and fluffy but so good!
6. Evenly divide the cake batter in the prepared pans
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pans 10 min. then turn out.
8. drizzle the remaining 1/2 cup of moscato over each cake evenly (more if desired or forget this step altogether like I did)

Frosting Directions:

1. Using a standing mixer, cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream until combined and creamy and stiff with peaks

Directions to prepare the cake:

Once cake rounds have cooled, remove from cake pans and place onto a cutting board
Using the cake leveler, remove the domes of the cakes
Place one cake round onto the cake board
Scoop 1 C of the frosting onto the middle of the cake
Using the angled spatula, smooth the frosting out
Layer some thinly sliced strawberries onto the frosting
Place the second cake layer onto the first layer
Repeat steps with the frosting and remaining cake layer
Scoop 1 C of frosting into the piping bag and set aside
Once you have built your cake, scoop the remaining frosting onto the top of the cake and use the angled spatula to smooth it out
Frost the entire cake until smooth
Using the piping bag, pipe dollops of frosting around the edge of the top of the cake
Place sliced strawberries onto the dollops
Enjoy!

I’m trying to untangle myself from the anger and disbelief and yes, grief I feel every time I pass by the big screen in the mancave and see the news blaring at my significant other. I’m also trying to avoid glancing, however briefly, at the headlines on CNN and the like when on my computer .. BUT.. what I won’t do is bury my head in the sand all together. So I am still proactive in doing whatever my tiny little self can do, me, this drop in the proverbial ocean – I’m donating where I can, I’m volunteering where I can, I’m looking for the good anywhere and everywhere, and I’m trying to ignore the fact that some of my friends and family are supporting something I feel is absolutely intolerably unsupportable in any decent frame of mind, because I don’t want to hate people I used to care about, I don’t want to be disappointed continuously, it’s no way to live.

Have you ever heard of The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire? No?… me either.. until I saw this picture – and wanted to know more.

I ordered her memoir on Amazon, titled Wait For Me! It looks like just the tonic needed for my weary brain. That’s her up there …. this is me…

Uncanny resemblance, AmIright? … lol..

Sharing one more thing with you before I head up to the barn for dinner feeding and eye med administration to our old boy, Max. Are you a tea drinker? I’m not so much, however I love this tea – Harney & Sons Dragon Pearl Jasmine… the best way I can describe the unusual taste…it’s like a walk through the local nursery greenhouses when everything is in full bloom even though just outside the glass doors exists that thick New England winter-grey curtain, yet to be lifted by the greening tendrils of Spring.

Till soon –

My kingdom for a Cookie

I cannot express without sounding a tad ridiculous how very difficult it is for me to “diet”. With the exception of the trauma and recovery of one of my children from a horrific accident years ago, this is the most difficult thing I have ever tried to do. To sound even more ridiculous… it bothers me so much, that if I could wave a magic wand and lose the 25 lbs I need to lose and that weight would stay off for the rest of my life and be able to eat whatever I want regardless… or.. have my hearing restored, I would chose the weight loss. Not even blink an eye, the decision would be easy. Oh yes I know it, that’s undeniably, certifiably….. nuts. But it would absolutely be my choice, given the option.

I started Noom at the beginning of January, and I can tell you it’s a great program for calorie counters, for those who love setting a goal and get excited about meeting that goal each day. It’s similar to WW if you’ve done that too. Been there, done that ! There’s also a great online presence of fellow users of Noom on facebook. Except there are a lot of whiners on that forum, (yep I know I’m currently whining, shush. )

What ultimately happens and in fairly short order for me is… I become resentful of the restriction and then I cheat just a little. And just a little more. And then I don’t log every single thing I eat because it’s just one hershey kiss and it’s just an apple and it’s just a handful of nuts and it’s just a scoop of chocolate ice cream – blah blah blah blah blah. All that adds up, of course, and then the cheating feels awful, and the app become ineffective because I’m not really following the rules and off we go to the races.

I’ve tried the talking to myself approach – Every time I pick up something to east I say to myself… Is this FIGHTING disease or AIDING it? Is this HELPING me lose weight or HELPING ME FAIL ? I’ve looked in the mirror before helping myself to a snack. I’ve gone dairy free for a while, I’ve gone sugar free for a while, I’ve gone processed food free for a while, and reduced meat consumption by a lot. It all helps a little, but ultimately I cave somewhat. Menopause makes it all that much harder.

It’s not about what I’m doing exercise wise – I’m pretty active. As my General practitioner has said to me often, it’s what I’m putting in my mouth. And Jezus H. Christmas, it is soooo hard for me to reduce significantly what I’m putting in my mouth. Such a simple thing, really… and yet.

Food is comfort for me, I love to cook it, bake it, I love to serve it to my family etc., I love growing it, I even love shopping for it. Oh, I am fully aware one can do all those things in moderation and be successful at weight loss…. I just haven’t figured out the combination to that lock yet. I keep spinning the dial hoping to get the numbers to line up just right.

******SIGH…..

Just keeping it real here. And if you are like minded but found what works, please… any tips appreciated.

Here’s a Healthy recipe that looks delish – I’m going to give it a try this weekend.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili

By EATINGWELL TEST KITCHEN

Directions

Step 1

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sweet potato and onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle and salt and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the sweet potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
Step 2

Add beans, tomatoes and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

Tips

Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Note: Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers. Ground chipotle chile pepper can be found in the spice section of most supermarkets or online at penzeys.com.

Karen