Choice Morsels

Today's Mama Kat blog writing prompt is about 5 of those recipe ideas I've most recently pinned on my Pinterest board and why I'm interested in them: (I've included links to each recipes blog location so you can save it, print it, pin it or write it down.) Banana Cake from the Craving Comfort blog I'm always in the market for a new recipe that uses old bananas. Plus I'd also like to find a banana cake recipe that might actually taste FABULOUS. (Haven't found one yet.) This one calls for buttermilk, though I could sub sour cream perhaps. (I say that because I have more use for leftover sour cream then leftover buttermilk!) Sometime, when I have bananas around and feel like experimenting, I'll give it a try. Butter Dip Biscuits from The Country Cook blog Now here's a new spin on baking powder biscuits I'd like to try. (I love baking powder biscuits.) It looks easy, though it also calls for buttermilk, but does have substi...

It's gray and misty outside today. Not the best day for photography--still I went out to see what could be seen and came back with a couple pictures: I have some purple Lantana next to a Gardenia bush out front.  Lantana by nature is a wide, low shrub with a sprawling habit. This one has poked it's branches up into the Gardenia next to it, creating an interesting look.  Though frost has turned the Lantana's leaves a rich burgundy, the flowers are still fine. It makes an attractive corner in a winter landscape. Fresh Winter Broccoli! Several broccoli heads in my garden bed have reached harvest stage! I cut one last night and we had it for dinner. This one photographed will soon be next! Fresh broccoli from the garden is so tender! Even the stem. I planted all the plants at the same time, but not all the heads are coming on at once--which is a good thing! The 5 plants closest to the block wall grew faster---I'm wondering if it that wall didn't colle...

Or, as I like to call it, "Cheater Schnitzel." What Schnitzel is traditionally is just a pan-fried veal or pork cutlet.  In the 19th century, when the recipe first appeared, Wiener Schnitzel was exclusively veal, but gradually, over time & economics, the term has evolved to include both veal or pork. Proper Schnitzel a cutlet pounded out thin (or thinner), dipped in flour seasoned with salt & pepper, then beaten egg & bread crumbs and finally pan-fried to a crispy brown, usually served with lemon wedges. What I make is entirely non-traditional--by it's super fast and--best of all--doesn't involve any pounding! I read one lady's blog where she was pounding her regular pork cutlets with a pan and bash her fingers. Forget that. I never pound meat.  Instead---I buy a tray or pork scallopini, which comes perfectly thin-cut.  (In this case, it's  a cut-of-meat, though Scallopini with a big "S"  can also be a term for method of servin...

The Mama Kat challenge today is to, "Describe what snow days were like when you were a child. What made them memorable?" My school years were from 1963 to 1975 and back then, school was rarely canceled for weather.  For one thing, I lived in central Indiana and, while it did snow, it seldom snowed enough to warrant school closures.  Certainly, we'd see flakes falling and be hoping a snow day might get called, but that was exceedingly rare.  Mostly because we wouldn't get more then two to six inches at any one time-- if any fell at all and it didn't always. Getting a snow day really was a matter of timing: snow had to fall heavy enough, like eight inches or more, and build up on the roads fast enough or over-night, so snowplows that snowplows couldn't get all roads cleared adequately for buses to be able to pick up students. You have to picture that this was a large, spread-out farming community and most people lived on winding back roads or on gra...

Today, I actually went out and mowed half the back yard. Leaves & pine needles mostly.  I have a window right next to me. I can see my potted blueberries and I noticed this morning they're preparing to bloom.   Uh-oh. It's a little early. We're not done with freezing temps yet. I'll have to watch the extended weather, so I can cover them as needed. Today's Garden Pic is some of my Red Salvia on the back patio. This shot is from December before Christmas sometime. It recently took a slight hit from Jack Frost, turning some leaves dark, but he didn't kill it. I carefully left old buds on this one and below this plant in the pot dirt are numerous happy baby Red Salvia I'll be able to plant places come spring! I've also already seen scads of Zinnia & Marigold seedlings popping up all sorts of places. I wonder if they know something I don't? Stop back tomorrow for Mama Kat Thursday!

My back did get better. While I was laying on the sofa last Wednesday, one thing Hubby and I did do was watch all three original Collector Edition Star Wars episodes from A NEW HOPE to RETURN OF THE JEDI on VHS. One after another. The originals--no CGI extras added. (I never did like that.) Then, on Saturday, we went to see the newest Star Wars at the theater for a 2nd time. I paid close attention to the details on this viewing. I agree with other fan consensus: Rey is most likely Luke's daughter. There are a number of strong indicators threaded throughout the film if you are paying close attention. I also learned that Adam Driver, who portrays Kylo Ren, is Semper Fi. He was a U.S. Marine before he was an actor. For that reason, he now holds my respect. There's not many young modern American actors who can say they are prior military service. He joined the Marine's after 911, was in for a little more then 2 years, then broke his sternum in a mountain bike a...

Today's Mama Kat Thursday is a selection of my favorite posts from 2015; one from each day's category! Now's your chance to go back and re-read any you missed! Best of Good Eating Monday recipes: Italian Cream Cake By far, the best, easiest, most delicious cake for serving a crowd I've made this year! Best of Garden Pic Wednesday: Amazing 4 O'Clocks Also called the "Marvel of Peru," I was amazed to discover that, here in the Deep South, this heirloom flower that's normally an annual, is perennial and has been coming back every spring from thick, bulbous roots.  Best of Mama Kat Thursday: Dream Jobs The various "dream" careers I considered as a kid. Best of Friday Finds: Things To Do With Old Christmas Cards Several crafty ideas for putting them to use or an address to mail front covers to St. Jude's Children's Ranch for them to be re-purposed for you for charity! ...

I'm little better today. Sitting is a bit more comfortable, but still I can't stay here all that long. Today's Garden Pic is a December photo from just before Christmas of my front bed where I have some "garden art" pots filled with either Hens & Chicks or Chinese Stonecrop: All that clover-looking stuff is Shamrocks. How they came to be here I don't know. They just moved in here one spring many years ago and here they remain. They are a most charming grown cover and I try to spread clumps of them around to other shady beds. The pink flowers are Vinca's. I like those because the reseed themselves abundantly. And the wispy, grass like leaves among the Shamrocks to the left are Dutch Iris leaves. All  the spring bulbs have their greenery up at this time of year.

The holidays are over. Back to real life. I'll be working on putting away Christmas decorations this week. Today I'm washing bed sheets & other laundry and also decided this window to do a thorough clean-up around the guest bedroom window. Winter water condensation creates mold on the caulk at the edge and being the window I see least, I think I missed cleaning it this past spring, so it's in serious need of attention. Today's Good Eating recipe is for White Bean & Meat Stew that's based on a Turkish recipe.   I have a little Turkish cookbook written by Gulseren Ramazanoglu that I bought years ago in the late 70's at the Air Force Base bookstore when I was stationed in Turkey that serves as the inspiration point for a recipe that has become by own.   What makes this recipe  deliciously different from plain o' American ham & beans is the tomatoes, Bell Pepper & Paprika that give it a rich, smoky flavor! You can use any meat. Though,...