Friday, November 26, 2010

thanksgiving 2010

was spent with my husband and kids at westmoreland state park in montross, va. it was fun. i would do it again. it could quickly become a family tradition. come take a stroll with the family and allow me to narrate, so follow the sultry sound of my voice....

common sense says that i should have taken a pic of the park entrance, but, well, what can i say? i didn't, so let us begin at our cabin for the holidays, #16. it was quaint, circa 1950's with screened in porch and rockers, updated with corian countertops and lovely thrift store finds, quite the mix.

the living area with the country blue action. please the note the extremely sturdy, yet utterly uncomfortable "this end up" furniture.


the master bedroom with its color coordinated husband, not included, but could be arranged.


bedroom number two, with the two standard mental hospital issued twin beds for my crazy children, very fitting indeed.


travis loved the bathroom and was fascinated that there were two faucets, rather than just one. it has a shower, no bath, no biggie.

the gourmet galley...it worked for me, mostly, but i will gripe about that later.

there is a nice deck with a picnic table, built in bench and grill off one side of the cabin.

 i know i am being very sarcastic, well that is just me, overall i have to the say the cabin was good, not fantastic, but state park budget good. it was immaculate, but there were things i just didn't like, such as having an oven knob with all hint of temperatures completely gone. i mean completely, so your biscuits end up looking like this....


i was not happy, thank goodness my turkey breast had a pop up timer, so i just covered it good with foil and let her rip! it was fine, but i can not say the same for the crescent rolls. also, there was no potholders!!! what? all linens were provided, so there were a coupla dish towels to use, but not the same people. hello, vdcr, ya need some potholders not to mention a good potato peeler, a hook on the back of the bathroom door, some platters, a non-cremated spatula and a few sharp knives, but overall, you did a great job, so let's continue on our stroll of this wonderful park....

the kids loved the beach on the potomac river with its shells and views of maryland, so cool.

the boat house, closed for the season.

the olympic size swimming pool and snack shack, closed for the season. i loved this time of year, no people, just a lone fisherman and two lone kayaks.


a cool picnic shelter with a rock fireplace all facing the potomac. i would have my birthday there.


some serious steps, straight up. no thank you.


starting our stroll to fossil beach....


okay, jamie was way up there and all i could think was that if he fell, i was drinking his coffee. i regret not catching his bear grylls descent, too funny and not to mention scary.


almost to fossil beach where....


we found no fossils only....


beautiful views and one annoyingly yappy dog.


we took a shortcut to rock spring pond by heading down the ravine behind our cabin. i was a little slower than the others. those leaves are like walking on ball bearings people. i was nervous.

we made it, walked back the long way and made a stopover at the playground.


where i gave the zip line a go. ow, painful. then jamie had a go, but with much more flair.

we ended our day with a yummy thanksgiving feast chock full of tryptophan, carbs and a token vegetable. oh, and a beautiful homemade leaf runner compliments of mother nature and my kids, just perfect.

happy thanksgiving and now where to visit for christmas? enjoy.

ps-i wanted to add that bird dog's country store, right outside the park's entrance, has the best hot chocolate on tap!

Friday, November 19, 2010

i didn't bake a thing this week, so....


i will reach deep into the bowels of my blog to give you a few suggestions. i have been such a slacker this week, well some what one. i have been inundated with school projects with my 7th grader. heaven help me and her, too. anyway, here are my top three picks....enjoy.

1. hands down our family favorite.....soft and spicy molasses cookies

2. crazy and ultra decadent....monkey bars

3. and one i need to revisit....sugar crinkles




Week 8 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:




This is week eight, isn't it?

meet ruby


ruby is my new little black copper marans hen. i acquired her through a lovely woman, who due to health reasons, has decided to end her organic egg business and part with all her sweet little birds. ruby is getting accustomed to her new home and roommates. she is eating, drinking and gave me this beautiful huge, dark, brown egg.....


it is a masterpiece! i am sorry ruby that i could not bring more of your friends home or can i?

Friday, November 12, 2010

lemon chess pie


well, once again, i didn't make cookies. i made pie, a crappy one at that. i made food network's lemon chess pie. see, doesn't it look good?


well, it is not. it is sooooo sweet it is inedible. i threw it in the trash can. well, not really, i hovered for a few seconds, then threw it back into the fridge instead. who wants it? remember the scene in coal miner's daughter where doolittle lynn tried to eat loretta's pie? it was like that, except it wasn't salty, it was sickeningly sweet. if you wanna check out the recipe anyway, you can find it here.

okay, i did make some gingerbread last weekend with the kids and have one pic of a gingerbread apple. the kids really enjoyed the recipe, but i didn't think it was so good, not enough spice for me. i like mine to bite.


it would have been a lot cuter if i had remember to put the green sprinkles on the leaf! oh well...

enjoy.

 Week 7 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:


Friday, November 5, 2010

gingerbread snack cake


okay, so this is not a cookie, but it could be a cupcake, little loaf or even a small bundt cake for gift giving. i was in the mood this week for some gingerbread and guess what? i can not find my copy of martha stewart's gingerbread cake anywhere, not even the net. guess what, again? you may think i am joking, but her recipe is actually dang tasty. why the sarcasm? well, i tend to find that ms. stewart's recipes quite frankly, stink. i love her, but her recipes not so much. instead, i found a quick and easy gingerbread on the food network website. i made it. it is okay, but not as good as the queen's. it is moist, but not enough bite for me. honestly, i doubt i would make it again, but if you prefer an easy listening gingerbread as oppose to an heavy metal one, this is it. you can enjoy yours in the elevator and i will mine in the mosh pit.


you can find the recipe right here. enjoy

ps-a lemon sauce, caramel sauce, buttermilk syrup or even some vanilla whipped cream would have added a nice touch, but i didn't do it. my bad.


Week 6 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:


Thursday, November 4, 2010

hang in there with me

my blog is going through an ugly phase right now. i am working on updating the look.

Monday, November 1, 2010

crazy moist pumpkin bread

i was not planning on posting this recipe, but it was such a big hit last night, i though why not. this is a crazy moist pumpkin bread with great flavor thanks to a secret ingredient, instant coconut pudding. if you love quick breads, this is for you. enjoy


pumpkin bread

preheat oven to 325 and grease a loaf pan or 9x9 square

mix in one bowl 2/3 cup oil, two eggs and one cup pumpkin

in another  bowl mix one cup flour, one cup sugar, 1 regular sized box of instant coconut pudding, 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t baking soda and 1/2 t of cinnamon

add dry to wet, stir to combine. bake for one hour  or so. check with a toothpick, you might need to go a bit longer depending on your oven and or pan size. i cover mine loosely with foil after an hour, so it doesn't brown too much while the inside it getting done. cool. slice. chow.