SNICKERDOODLE MUFFINS, AND I'M OUT....

Well, it's official.

I've lost that loving feeling.

I've lost my bloggin mojo, after over 2 years and 10 trillion posts.

So I'm out...at least until I get my mojo back, or get re-inspired, or something like that.

Wink and I are trying to make some pretty big life changes, so who knows--maybe I'll be back someday with inspiring photos of our dream farmhouse in the country, complete with some chickens and acres and acres of pumpkins, zinnias and sunflowers.

But for now...we're still in our little house (still unsold) in the Adirondacks. Life is still good...kiddo is thriving in college, getting ready to graduate, and Wink still loves his job more than most things. He plans to retire there...that's how much he loves it.

My health is not great...I'm not gonna lie. Being evaluated by a new neurologist for Multiple Sclerosis now...the thinking is that I've been misdiagnosed, after all this time.

Whatever.

But we are lucky. We are blessed. We know that.

I'm just in need of some new scenery and energy--that's all.

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 You know me....I can't leave you all high and dry......check out this amazing Snickerdoodle Muffin recipe I found, and prepared recently, on Pinterest....it comes from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, and you can find the recipe, HERE.

I made them for some dear, dear friends who own our local movie theatre, The Strand...

Bob Card and Helen Zyma are just some of the best people you'd ever want to know;  they employed our teenage daughter throughout high school (all the popcorn she could eat!), so they must be SAINTS, right?

Anyways, I'm always telling Bob that he's too skinny, so I whipped up a batch of Snickerdoodle Muffins and delivered them to him, still warm, to fatten him up.

If you love Snickerdoodles, you'll adore these muffins, I swear on a stack of.....muffins!.................

Enjoy!

(In case you missed the recipe link above, you can also find it, HERE)

Take care, dear loyal bloggie friends....and you never know where I might pop up again someday!

Love,

Leslie

XXX000

PEACH UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE, AND A LITTLE LIVING IN THE MOMENT....



Summertime is just whizzing by, so very fast this year...in a little over two weeks these beauties (above, Allison on the left and my girl, Abbie, on the right) will be back at school, finishing up their senior years of kollidge...didn't they just graduate from HIGH SCHOOL?

Next week the girls hit Montreal, for four days of sightseeing and concert going (Snoop Dawg, amongst others I've never heard of).......a much needed break for them during their hectic summer of multiple jobs....

I'll be flying back to California with Abbie this year, both to help get her settled into her new housing and to throw a little 50th anniversary party for her grandparents.

I'll be sure to take you all along with me!

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Our summers are VERRRRY short here in upstate New York...Please don't think I'm crazy when I say that I can already feel a bit of Fall in the air...especially in the mornings.

Pretty soon, we'll be eating stews and lighting candles and building fires, once again...........

But for now....just trying my hardest to keep those pesky deer from gobbling up all of our perennials.........

And just trying to enjoy every single day of this glorious summer...........

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SPEAKING of Fall, y'all, I've been busy busy busy whipping up some new offerings for my Etsy store AND a few little sweet things for my friend Marianne's shop in Cazenovia, NY, called Old and Everlasting.........check out my latest, hand embroidered burlap feed-sack pillows.........

And a few spooky Halloween kitties.......

Words cannot express how much fun I'm having up in my sewing room these days....my whole life, I've lived to create things, and for once I'm really letting myself take the time to actually go nuts with fabric and color and design!

'Bout time, right?

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Don't know if you remember my post last summer, Fourth of July and a Georgia Peach Pie? Well, it was my #1 most viewed post, EVER....I think most people like summertime desserts made with sweet peaches!

Yesterday, for Sunday dessert, I made Southern Living's Peach Upside-Down Cake.

I know I've said this before, but you seriously can never, ever go wrong with any dessert (or recipe, for that matter) from Southern Living magazine...it is by far my favorite source for great, fool-proof recipes.....

You make this upside-down cake in a cast iron skillet...and this is what you see once you've inverted the baked cake, still warm from the oven..........just look at those peaches!............

Probably the most moist cake we've ever eaten.

And THIS is what you get when you slice the cake, and serve it with homemade whipped cream, dusted with a little cinnamon....MMMMMM........



You can find the recipe, HERE.

Till next time,

Leslie

XXX000

WINK'S BANANAS FOSTER CREPES, AND A LITTLE PEEK OF WHAT'S NEW!

Been busy as a little bee up in my loft workshop, whipping up a fresh batch of my Farmer's Market pillows....soon to grace my Etsy store........



Even spent some time this week cleaning up and organizing my work space...so cathartic!...........

(Note the EXTREMELY large television that sits right next to my head whilst I sew ....ridiculous, I know! But I am such a BRAVO addict these days (especially anything and everything having to do with any Housewives series...New Jersey, DC, Altanta...bring them all on!), and listening to mindless conversation is very calming to me, for some strange reason. Don't know why....)

I'm having "sew" much fun stocking my little Etsy shop, I almost can't stand it. In fact, I plan on shopping for some Autumn hued fabrics this upcoming weekend...it'll be Fall before we all know it--sheesh!

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In my last post, I promised you Wink's Bananas Foster Crepe recipe, and I'm here to deliver.

We fell head over heels in love with any and all things crepe during our Paris vacation this spring. Especially the Nutella crepes.

In fact, Wink was so inspired that he requested a nice crepe pan from Little Miss Thing for Father's Day this year, and she did not disappoint....

Just LOOK at how perfect and golden brown this one came out.........

Helpful Hint: Wink recommends, if you are making more than just a few crepes, to stack them between layers of parchment paper, to keep them from sticking...works like a charm!

His crepe recipe is from Creperie Chez Suzette...you can find it below....

I love cooking with my husband, even if he IS a bit intense and kinda scary in the kitchen....

Here's what the caramelized banana filling looked like, right before the whole thing was flambed (due to the large amount of rum in this recipe...the filling  is from Paula Deen, and you KNOW she has a few things to learn about moderation!).......

Here's something right pitiful....I don't even have a photo of the finished product, because we all were so eager to eat our desserts that I forgot to take any!

I scare M'self sometimes, I swear.

Anyways, you just place a good sized ladle-full of filling inside of each crepe, roll up and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. And maybe a dusting of powdered sugar, if you're feeling fanciful.

These are so good, you may just weep.

You can find the crepe recipe, HERE.

And you can find Paula's Bananas Foster recipe, HERE.

You're welcome.

See you back soon!

Leslie

XXX000

BI-RITE CREAMERY'S SMOOTH AND MELLOW CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM, AND HOW WE SPENT OUR SUNDAY.....

A few snippets from a very peaceful Sunday afternoon (quite rainy and cool here in the Northeast)............

I just love the way a cloudy day makes the lime green color of my potato vines just POP!.......

Impatiens love it when it's cool...........

So do our ferns..........

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Rainy days make me want to light a candle and bake and be creative and cozy inside our home....I know that my daughter feels the same way........

I don't know if she was channeling the Waltons or Laura Ingalls Wilder yesterday, but she stayed busy, doing a lot of this:...........

And making a little bit o' this: (homemade blueberry jam---maybe one of these days she'll give her ol' Ma her secret recipe!)........

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I've been spending a lot of time up in my sewing loft lately.....I have acquired QUITE a stash of fabric, and just love seeing where going nuts on my Singer will take me.....just finished these pillows for the little sitting area up there.....

This is where ALL the magic happens.....

I just finished stitching up (some by hand, some by machine) some sweet little black and red decorative pillows....kinda into the whole penny rug design lately....

I'm thinking about starting my own Etsy shop, online. Have you ever heard of Etsy? It's an AMAZING resource for handcrafted gifts and just about everything else in the universe that's made by hand....you can check it out, HERE.......so what do you think? Should I go into business? Or just keep sewing for kicks and giggles?......

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So recently my awesome Berkeley-living Uncle Joe sent me a link to a blog that has NOTHING but ice cream recipes....oh, he knows me so well!

If you desire to acquire diabetes just by LOOKING at a website, you should go HERE.

One of the recipes featured was by Bi-Rite Creamery, out of San Francisco. They are famous, FAMOUS I tell you, for their amazing ice cream.

 Abbie and I just HAD to whip up a batch for a Sunday evening dessert.....This recipe was a little more involved than my standard ice cream creations, but oh my goodness was it ever worth the extra effort (and really, it wasn't THAT much extra effort...just a little bit of egg tempering and straining was all)....hard to believe that THIS:

Would in a few hours turn into THIS:

But it did! Creamy, rich and homemade chocolate ice cream. If you'd like to whip up a batch for your family this summer, you can check out the recipe, HERE.

Thank you, Uncle Joe!!!

TODAY I'M SO THANKFUL THAT:

***Abbie's best friend Allison is coming home from Amsterdam/Paris tomorrow! Can't wait to hear all about your travels darling girl, and have you over for some BBQ!!

***I'm taking off for a two day wine tasting trip with Wink tomorrow morning, bright and early. We're hitting the Southern Tier of New York state and meeting up with our Club Managers of Central New York Association friends for some much needed wining and dining...can't wait to see the whole gang...

***Grad parties are starting up next weekend--I think we are going to at least 4! So much fun....

SOUTHERN LIVING'S HUMMINGBIRD BUNDT CAKE, AND A VERY HAPPY DAY!!



Picked up our kiddo at the airport in Syracuse the other night, and because Abbie's my daughter, she's used to being totally embarrassed on a regular basis.

This time was no exception.

Heck, I wanted her arrival to be celebrated in grande style! She's back in the United States for the first time in almost 6 months....

Balloons and a big, obnoxious sign waving at the arrival gate...she wouldn't expect anything less....

Funny thing was, since we live so close to the Army base at Ft. Drum, I think everyone  waiting to pick up somebody else at the airport thought that my child must be coming home from Afghanistan or Iraq or somewhere dangerous like that, what with the red, white and blue/Patriotic thing going on in my sign.

She was in peaceful Paris, France...hey, their colors are red, white and blue, also!

Anyways, you will all be happy to know that Abbie made it home safely, is already unpacked and ready to get to work with her mama, planting flowers and scooping up movie theatre popcorn.

SO very happy to have her here in New York, for the time being, at least!

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The other day I had a hankerin' to make a special celebratory cake, and the first cake that came to mind was a Hummingbird Cake. Specifically, Southern Living's Hummingbird Cake. I think this is probably my mom's and my favorite cake of ALL time to make.

Why? And what IS a Hummingbird Cake, you might ask?

Here's a photo of the three-layered fabulosity.........

(photo compliments of Southern Living)

The consistency of a Hummingbird Cake is similar to a carrot cake, complete with a decadent cream cheese frosting. Except it's different--just as moist, but you include canned, crushed pineapple and mashed banana and toasted pecans.

I am here to tell you that this is one of the best pieces of cake you will ever have. AND, the traditional Hummingbird Cake recipe (you can find that, HERE) makes a HUGE, HUGE cake--enough to feed a very large crowd.

Well, it's only the three of us Willards around here right now (most of Abbie's friends are still away at school or off traveling), so I didn't want a huge ol' cake hanging around my kitchen for days, going to waste and tempting my sorry self.

Good thing I opened up my latest Southern Living Magazine and found their latest creation...a Hummingbird BUNDT Cake. Same incredible recipe, but much smaller, with a lot less cream cheese frosting.

Oh my.......

Here's my finished product, freshly drizzled with frosting and sprinkled with toasted pecans.....

You can find the recipe for Southern Living's Hummingbird Bundt Cake, HERE.

I hope you love this cake as much as we do.

It's excellent for breakfast, BTW.

Till later,

Leslie

XXX000

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TODAY I'M SO GRATEFUL THAT..........

***I have a subscription to Southern Living Magazine. Which may seem strange, living as close to Canada as we do, but I tell you what.....they have the best, best, best recipes in the whole wide world. My girlfriend Lisa will attest to that!

***My daughter is so eager to learn about gardening this summer....someone else to help pull weeds...yippee!!!

***it's almost the weekend, and we are so very excited to go to our favorite nursery and go nuts, and the decks are finally getting stained! Thank you, Mother Nature, for providing us with a sunny, dry weekend.

DEBBIE'S LEMON BROWNIES AND THE TOP 10 REASONS WHY I ADORE MY HUSBAND!....

Before I get all into the business of THESE...........

(I mean really, can you even STAND it? Check out that lemon zest!)

......I would like to take just a brief moment of your time to chat about why I love my Wink!...........

TOP 10 REASONS WHY I ADORE MY HUSBAND....

(Halloween, 2008--gotta love a man who's not afraid to wear black lipstick!)

1. He's a better father than I could have ever dreamed up for our daughter--his support of her is "unwavering", in Abbie's sweet words.

2. He's put up with ME and my crazy schemes for 25 (come August) married years now--he's the Ricky to my Lucy!

3. He's my biggest cheerleader, and never lets me forget my hopes and dreams.

4. He is kind to all animals and children.

5. He loves his chosen career, and has created a very comfortable life for his family, because he's just so GOOD at what he does.

6. He cares about his health more than most men I know, and has even recently started (yikes--can you say KNEE REPLACEMENT?!) running!

7. He keeps me on my toes--who else would encourage me to get out of bed with him at 5 a.m. on a freezing winter morning to go and "kill" myself at the gym? Because he CARES about my butt not getting too huge!

8. He's funny! Wink does funny "jigs" around our home when he's feeling giddy, and he mixes up commonly used expressions all the time: just the other night, he told a friend of ours that he heard a "BONE curdling scream"! (Not laughing AT you, Wink--laughing WITH you!). Do bones even curdle?

9. He's FUN--never afraid to dress up for Halloween (see above), and is the world's BEST travel companion, always up for a wild adventure!

10. He tells me how pretty I am and how thin (did I mention he has terrible eyesight?) I am just about every single day--SHOOT--I think I might just keep him for another 25!

 I LOVE MY WINKIE WILLARD!!

(crappy I-phone photo)

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Well, with a husband like that, you'd better believe I try to be nice to him, as often as I can! Last night, I knew Wink would be tired after 3 days of meetings, plus driving home from Rochester, so I planned to have his favorite dinner waiting for him (he begs me to make this Italian Sausage and Lentil Soup for him, all the time--you can find the recipe, HERE) when he got home. Plus a special, surprise dessert.

(I think that's one of the reasons we have such a happy marriage--we like to do nice things for each other! Wink cooks for me often when he knows that I'm tired, and never grumbles about it. Hey, maybe I should make that number 11 on my list....)

I've mentioned my friend Debbie's blog here before--it's called Mountain Breaths. Debbie lives in nearby Utica, and often features tempting recipes. WELL, when I saw her recent post on Lemon Brownies, I just knew I had to try them out, because there is nothing Wink loves more than a lemon dessert!

But wait--don't brownies need to be BROWN, and include chocolate, you ask? Well, I thought so too, but then my darling Aunt Jan reminded me of "Blondies", which I do believe are white chocolate brownies. Anyways, I think the name "brownie" is apropos here, because the texture is the same as a moist chocolate brownie...and if you love lemon and butter, then these are just for you!.............

(I used salted butter, because the recipe didn't say NOT to, and they came out just fine, FYI)

First thing to do: line the bottom of a baking dish with Parchment, then spray with Pam. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar and salt.....add butter..............

(I used my mixer, because Debbie didn't say NOT to!)

Stir together eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest; stir into batter.........

Spread batter in prepared pan............

Bake as directed...when cool, mix up glaze ingredients (powdered sugar and lemon juice); drizzle over brownies and sprinkle with additoinal lemon zest..........

Mmmm-hmmmmm..........

Oh SISTAHMAMAFRIEND--these are just glorious!

You can find this amazing recipe and Debbie's amazing blog, HERE.

Thank you so much Debbie for sharing this with my loyal readers--you are such an inspiration!

TODAY I'M SO GRATEFUL  FOR.....

***the fact that I have 10 reasons to love my husband, plus many more that I won't bore you with!

***that it is supposed to warm up again here soon--it was 12 degrees here yesterday morning!

***My kitchen--since our mini-remodel last year, I just love cooking in it now! I plan on giving you a tour of what we had done, very soon!


 



EASY MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM, AND GETTING READY TO ROCK OUR SHAMROCKS OFF!........

Well, hello there cupcake.........

Been baking up a storm here today for The Ladies Who Like To Partaaaay Their Little Shamrock Arses Off each and every year, St. Patty's Day style......they need sustenance to go along with their jello shots and green beers, no?..........

LOVING the new Martha Stewart cupcake decor collection I discovered at Michael's....the only limitations are your imagination and your budget. OFFICIALLY blew mine last weekend, but so what! It's only $$$$, right?...........

Willie Nelson Willard wants to be in the parade, too--he done told me so! Too bad he's scared of loud noises, like fire trucks and drums and such.........but a boy can dream......

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Even though I told myself this would be a short post this week, I DO have an easier than easy homemade Mint Chip Ice Cream recipe to share with you......

I tell you what...once you get hooked on making your own ice cream, there is NO going back to the grocery store for a half gallon here, a half gallon there! You get to totally control the ingredients, so there's nothing artificial, and the ice cream keeps very well in the freezer. For weeks, probably, but like THAT'S ever going to happen. At least not in our house.....

(little handmade sheep like ice cream too!)

This recipe is for Mint Chip ice cream, but can also be altered any way you like; Wink has requested that I try Peppermint ice cream next, and I cannot wait until fresh strawberries are in season to try real Strawberry ice cream...yum! Anyways, you can be as creative as you want to be, or just stick with plain old vanilla, by eliminating the food coloring and peppermint extract and chocolate chips. What's most important here is the correct ratio of heavy cream to 2 % regular milk....your ice cream comes out JUST creamy enough, but not too heavy.

Here's the recipe....

HOMEMADE MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM

Serves 8

2 cups 2 % milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. peppermint extract (I used 2, and it came out perfectly)

green food coloring ( I used 3 drops)

1 cup miniature chocolate chips

In a large bowl, stir together the milk, cream, sugar, salt, vanilla and peppermint extracts, until sugar has dissolved. Color to your liking with food coloring (optional). Pour mixture into ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. After about 10 minutes into freezing process, add chocolate chips. After the ice cream has properly thickened (my machine makes weird noises when it's ready), about 30 minutes, spoon into airtight container and freezer for 3-4 hours.

TODAY I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR.....

****The super fun weekend ahead...in town parade tomorrow (photos coming, soon, hopefully!), then taking in the famed Utica St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday from the Fort Schyler Club in downtown Utica (complete with an extravagant brunch!) with good friends. All this Irish festive-ness, and I'm not even 1 % Irish...

****I'm starting self-injections (yikes!) of Methotrexate, my life-saver drug, next week with my doctor's help. Hopefully, this will put an end to many of the stomach issues I've been experiencing over the past few (looonng!) months.

****The corned beef that is in my freezer, just waiting for me to cook on Sunday...nothing better than the smell of a good corned beef to me!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY TO YOU!!!