Another Dog for Us?

In October our Golden Retriever, Shiloh, died.  I don't know if I ever wrote about it but will need to because his burial was quite memorable.  

He was a big, old goofy dog who dearly loved children.  We rescued him from a family who could no longer take care of him and we gave him a good home. . . . but in his heart of hearts he was a family dog who needed a bigger family, one with kids! 

He was so very, very good-natured and would let toddlers and children pull on him and fall on him and he loved every minute of it.  I NEVER saw him bare his teeth or heard him growl.  Because he was so good-natured, he made a lousy watchdog.  One time the FedEx man  opened the screen-door, came inside and set the heavy packages in the living room and Shiloh didn't even lift his head!  A LOUSY watchdog indeed!

In the last 7 months we've never discussed getting another dog.  No, not even one time.  

Then this happened!

This morning this face was waiting for me on the porch. 

 A stray.  Right here.  On my porch.  We've had lots of strays show up at this place since we moved  here almost 2 1/2 years ago.   We live in an isolated rural area, and it's a regular thing for people (bad people) to dump dogs near us.  

And as I've written before, I sure do wish there was at least one day a year where the DOGS drove the trucks and they got to dump people out in the road.  No explanation.  No food.  No nothing . . . . just dump the people in the middle of nowhere!  

Anyway - please don't get mad at me - but since we are regular victims of other folks' bad behavior - we chase away strays dogs as we CANNOT keep all that show up.  So we throw firecrackers toward them (not on them) to chase them away.  We don't shoot them with BB guns. . . . 

we just set off some firecrackers.  

And they run away.  Every time.  

But not this time. . . . he's still here.  He wags his tail when he sees me.  He made himself comfortable at the work site in the yard and he hasn't done any digging.  He does, however, jump on me when I go out.  I guess it would too much to expect a stray to show up with good manners!


However, he did run off with one of my Sloggers, but when I yelled at him he dropped it.  That's good, right?


And get this - he even made it up the STEEP backdoor steps when he heard me in the kitchen.  And brought an old yellow and green dog toy with him!  Doesn't it sound like something from a movie?  


Best of all, he BARKED at my husband when he came home for lunch!  Yay!  He wasn't at all aggressive - just loud.  Just the way I like it!  I don't want an attack dog - just one that will let me know when there's someone here.

So, I've taken photos of him. 

 I've now blogged about him.  

And hubby and I call him Buster.

What are the odds we've got ourselves another dog?????

I'll keep you updated,

Vera

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friends

While it's true I enjoy costume jewelry, I am not a big fan of fine jewelry.  Diamonds are not my favorite, although I am fond of emeralds and really do like turquoise.  The jewelry my children give and make for me are the ones I wear...not the few fancy pieces I do own.

There have been years where my husband has given me a truckload of compost.  Or manure.  Or gravel.  

This year I got gravel and sand.  

You must realize I'm a HUGE fan of gravel paths and wrote about them 2 years ago when my husband put down a path in the side yard.  So many of ancient gardens have gravel paths. . . they last almost forever.  

What do they say about diamonds?  Oh yeah - they're a girl's best friend.  And a diamond is forever.

Well let me tell you -this year my honey gave me the kind of diamonds this girl likes!  This path is perfect!  Just perfect!  

Gravel + sand + manual labor = the perfect gift for me!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all my blogging friends 

who embrace all the different aspects of motherhood. 

And Happy Mother's Day to all my blogging friends, 

who may not have children, 

but they too embrace motherhood 

and have a mother's heart.

Happy Mother's Day to those who embrace children 

with great love and dedication.

May you be blessed.  

And continue being a blessing.

50 Years Ago

2012 is the 50th anniversary of the movie, To Kill a Mockingbird.  I was 12 years old then and the movie made a huge impression on me.  When desegregation came to my Texas high-school in 1964, I was ready to accept the goodness of people who merely appeared to be different from myself and I was not disappointed.  Calvin Grant, Regina Grant and their cousins were the kindest, most honorable folks.  Calvin and I were in the same grade and we rode the same bus home from school and we struck up a friendship that most likely never would have developed if not for integration.

When my husband was stationed  at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, we lived in apartments that had mostly African American families.  In fact, we were the only White couple!  And guess what - we were invited to join the apartment's bowling league; which we did.  And we had fun.  And we continued to learn that the amount of pigment in a person's skin does not make them different in the areas that really count: honesty, integrity, faithfulness, truthfulness - in other words: Character.

The amount of pigment has nothing at all to do with one's character.

Back to To Kill a Mockingbird.  Supposedly the final courtroom speech by Gregory Peck was done in one take.  In one take.  I find that amazing, considering we have politicians who can't speak a single sentence without a teleprompter!

Gregory Peck will always be Atticus Finch to me.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TgqenWW0I
The final courtroom scene.  Filmed in one take!

Another literary work that impressed me as a 12 year old was Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

According Wikipedia, "The book documented detrimental effects of pesticides on the environment, particularly on birds. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation, and public officials of accepting industry claims uncritically."  Hmmm - some things haven't changed so very much in the last 50 years, huh?


My parents came from relatively poor farming families and did things in the old ways, which means I grew up eating organic food from our gardens, and ate beef we bought from their friends who raised their own meat in rural central Texas.  Mama baked bread, pies & cookies and we seldom ate out or ate any processed foods.  There is only one I can remember: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the blue box!  I'll have to ask my 90 year old mom why that is the one thing she didn't make from scratch!


Because of my upbringing and Silent Spring, I've had an interest in doing things "natural".  Of course not always - but a lot of my decisions as an adult were grounded in those childhood influences.  


So, there you have them - two things from my twelfth year of life that made a huge impact on me.


Which childhood books and movies have affected your life?  I'd really like to know. . . there may be important works I'm not familiar with.  And there's always room to grow.  Even when 62!


Have a great weekend.


Vera

Simplicity in the Kitchen

My most resent post was about finding a great, SIMPLE  custard recipe, via the internet.  The one before that was a post about a SIMPLE, albeit rustic apple pie recipe.

Today's post is in that same vein. . . SIMPLE!  

Sorry there is no pic of the easily peeled yellow squash!  

What you see here are two of my favorite kitchen gadgets!  The first is a Swiss made vegetable peeler.  While at the local fair last year, there was a man selling them and since my daughter has one and loves it, I bought one, too.  The peeler works like a charm - peeling is so very, very simple and it's like the proverbial hot knife cutting through soft butter!  And did you see the price?  Less than $8. . . a real bargain for a real simple utensil!

My cousin, a real foodie (she's been a personal chef), recommended this type of cutting mat.  As you can tell, it's really thin and it rolls up so it's easy to get the food off the mat and into the skillet or plate, etc. You wet the bottom of it to keep it from sliding around the counter top.  They come three to a pack - and have different food symbols on them so there is no concern about cross contaminating: fish/seafood; beef/chicken; fruit/veggies. I bought mine from Amazon for a fair price, but these pretty pastel ones are only $3.15 for a pack of three at azurestandard.com, who are great folks to deal with!

A simple cutting mat that takes up no cabinet space - which is perfect for Cozy Little Cabin's cozy little kitchen!  ;)

So there you have it - one day a simple apples pie recipe, the next a simple custard dessert.  And day three my favorite SIMPLE kitchen gadgets.  

What are some of your favorite SIMPLE recipes, gadgets, etc.?

Until next time

Vera

Strawberries & Custard

I love a bargain. . . so when strawberries were $1.75 a pint, I bought THREE of them.  Remember, it's just my hubby and me, so I was going to have to either freeze some of the berries, or find some recipes to use them up before they spoiled.  

Actually, freezing was never a real option because we recently received FREE  venison and the freezer is pretty full.  I'm not complaining - the venison is the very BEST I've ever eaten - I just needed to find a way to use up the bargain strawberries before they went bad.

I used some in smoothies and added a few to salads, but was still looking around the internet for some recipes.   I found a lot for pies and cobblers, but since I'd just recently baked a little apple pie, I wanted something lighter and fresher.

That's when I found the perfect recipe from Rhonda over at "Down to Earth, a Blog About Simple Living".  Rhonda lives in Australia with her husband of 30 years and as the title of her blog says, writes about the simple life.  I was THRILLED when she recently posted a recipe for homemade custard.  That's exactly what I wanted - layers of custard and strawberries - light and fresh!

The recipe calls for cornstarch and after I made the custard someone commented on her blog that US cornstarch is different from what she uses and it was suggested to use arrowroot instead.  I have to say Murray and I thought it was just fine with the cornstarch, but next time will make the substitution and make our comparisons.  

We don't use much dairy as I have a real aversion to conventional milk (at least in the US)  and instead use Almond or Coconut Milk.  But since I had an opened carton of Mimic Creme, I used that instead.  It's a wonderful substitute made with almonds and cashews.  The addition of a farm fresh egg, sugar and Mexican vanilla resulted in a wonderful custard. 

Just what I was hungry for - a light & refreshing dessert!

Don't you love it when you finally figure out what you're REALLY hungry for?  Hop on over to Rhonda's blog for some more yummy recipes and inspiration about living a simpler life

Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, or Do Without

Having been raised by Depression Era parents, I grew up not wasting food!  Mama always had a way to use leftovers, etc.  She could get several good meals from one good-sized chicken!  And so can I!

Anyway - since I'm getting 3# of organic Fuji apples tomorrow (and only 83 cents per pound!) I knew I better do something with the 2 1/2 apples I had in the refrigerator.   I found this very quick and easy Rustic Apple Pie recipe from Sprinkle Bakes.  

Quick and easy - don't you just love those kinds of recipes?  

There were no measurements given . . . just general instructions to toss cut and peeled  apples with some cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Put into pie-crust lined cast iron skillet, fold over extra dough, dot with a bit of butter and bake in 350 degree oven until done.  I don't think it could get any quicker or easier!  From the time I started cutting and peeling apples to putting it into the oven, was just less than 15 minutes!

Anyway - the author used 2 little mini skillets, but since I have only one, I used an 8 inch skillet instead.  Below is what it looked like with 2 1/2 fairly large apples.  Yes, it would have made a nicer pie with another apple - but we use what we have and make it work!  And my husband, who gets to come for lunch, was thrilled and had no complaints at all!

And I admit hers looka prettier with the course sugar sprinkled on top. . . . but I forgot and we enjoyed it without!   

You can use store-bought pie dough or use Sprinkle Bakes recipe.  Below is a favorite recipe I've used for years.  You make up a big batch of it and keep it in the freezer and it's ready when you want to bake a pie, saving yourself the time it takes to measure the ingredients and mix with the shortening.  It comes from the Make-A-Mix cookbook by Karine Eliason, which is filled with tons of homemade mixes.  Hmmmm - maybe I should started posting about some of our favorite recipes from it - one being Chicken Enchiladas.  

Below is the link to the book at Amazon.  Click on "look inside" and do a search for page 51 or Freezer Pie Crust recipe to see how versatile it is. . . . 

http://www.amazon.com/Make-A-Mix-Karine-Eliason/dp/0762426020/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335284087&sr=8-1

These apples are not burned - they are just coated with a lot of cinnamon and a little bit nutmeg.

Until next time - BON APPETIT!