Strawberry Muffin Tops

Thanks to my wonderful son who sent me the pan I was looking for that I could not find in our area, I was able to make these. My orginal idea was to bake blueberry muffin tops, which I still plan to do but I was given some strawberries and I wanted to use them up.

I found this recipe on The Country Cook Blog. She has lots of recipes and this one looked good. I did make a very small loaf of the bread which I want to give to our mailman today.

The only thing I changed in the recipe -I used vanilla yogurt in place of sour cream and it worked out well. I did add a tad of vanilla also.

An idea I had with the strawberry tops- this would be a great base for a strawberry shortcake! Add your berries and some whipped cream and you have a tasty treat.

1/2 C unsalted butter
3/4 C white sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 C AP flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp.baking soda
1/4 tsp.salt
1 tsp.ground cinnamon
1/2 C sour cream (or plain yogurt)
1/2 C walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)
1 1/2 C chopped fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pan on middle rack. Since I didn't make a loaf and had my new muffin top pan, I greased the bottom of it with butter.Didn't flour bottom.

1-Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time ( Hint- I always have the eggs come to room temp before using them) beating well after each one is added.Add vanilla extract. Scrape down sides if needed.

2- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon ( I prefer Saigon cinnamon).

3- Mix on low, add flour mixture ( in 3 additions) and sour cream ( I used the vanilla yogurt-2 additions) alternately,starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined.

4- Gently fold in chopped strawberries and walnuts.

5- I baked them about 18-20 min. Please note- each oven is different. If I make this in Florida the oven is hotter and will bake these faster

 

Blueberry Streusel Bars with Lemon-cream Filling

Sunday was the perfect day to bake. Divingabe was out on the boat and I was waiting for the subbers to finish my latest shows.

Blueberries were on sale in King Kullen-2 for 3.00 and saw this recipe and wanted to make it. This one is from Nobel Pig and there's another one from cookiemadness which also looks wonderful, which I will try soon.

I decided to try the Nobel Pigs recipe which is the following


1 cup unsalted butter, make sure it's room temp. 
3 cups ( 13 1/2 oz) all - purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old fashion oats ( not quick oats)
1 1/3 cups brown sugar, light
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg, separated
14 ounce cab sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2  teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 1/2 cups ( 14 ounces) blueberries, room temp.


1- Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.

2- Blend the butter completely in with your fingers into the flour mixture. Transfer 2 cups of the crumb mixture to another bowl and reserve for the topping.

3- Mix the egg whites into the remaining crumbs

4- Line a 9 x 13 inch metal baking pan with foil and leave about an inch to hang over the ends. Lightly butter the side and bottom of the foil.

5- Press the egg white/crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a level crust. Put it in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

6- While the crust is baking, in another bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, fresh lemon juice, 2 tsp. lemon zest and the egg yolk. Let this mixture for 5  minutes, it will thicken.

7- Sprinkle the blueberries over the hot crust and spoon lemon mixture over the blueberries. Be careful, you don't want to crush the berries. Put back in the oven and bake another 8 minutes.

8- Remove from the oven & sprinkle topping over the lemon- blueberry layer. Make sure you get the lumps out of the topping before you spread it. Bake until the edges are bubbling and the topping is browned about 30 minutes.

9- Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack for about an hour. Be careful when you lift them out of the pan and put them back on the rack until they are completely cooled.

10- Remove  foil and cut into 24 bars.

Ant Juice

How I hate those little red ants in florida! I can't forget next time DO not wear sandals in the yard. They seem to know when I'm there. I bet there's a trumpet call- she's here!
Home we have the huge carpenter ants and the normal little ants that are just a royal little pain.
I've used ant traps and saw this homemade recipe that is sure worth a try!
Another source to check out.

here something else Mix two tablespoons of borax with jam, jelly, honey or syrup until there is a paste. Smear some on some paper or a plate and put it where the ants are at. They should flock to it and eat it and take it back to the nest and it will act as a natural ant killer.

Lonqueuil,Quebec

Divingabe's parents recently moved into a retirement complex. It has a nurse on staff, a dining hall which serves lunch and dinner, two pool tables, small pool and workout room and a few computers. They are on the second floor and their apartment has a washer and dryer and a small balcony.

They are on the left hand side of this picture. We stayed on the sixth floor in a two bedroom apartment which was on the rounded side of the building. The hospital is across the street from this complex.

This was where we stayed. We weren't allowed to cook and our balcony didn't have any chairs so I moved one out from the living room and enjoyed the breeze.

On our way to Tim Horton's for coffee

Divingabe's Mom and Dad,Aunt and cousin and her husband

Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken BBQ

Again my go to crockpotguys.com has another winner! No wonder it's my go to site for crockpot recipes.

This is SO easy and good. 

Will definitely make this again.

6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (12 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the BBQ sauce,Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken. Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low

Used Kraft BBQ sauce, Maple grove vidalia dressing and some wasabi dressing instead of the Italian. I wanted to use up the dressing we had in the fridge since we are leaving soon.
Cooked on low for about 5 hours and did a taste test, just wasn't right. Sauce needed to be thicken so added some water/cornstarch mix to the sauce to thicken it. Also added some Sylvia's hot sauce, few drops and tiny amount of chili powder.
Also took chicken off of the bones( used thighs) made it a pulled chicken . YUM-O!                  

Father's Day

My Dad

( little history on that haircut- my uncle was getting married

and my paternal grandmother decided I needed a haircut

without telling anyone that she was taking me to get it cut.)

A Little Girl Needs Daddy A little girl needs Daddy

For many, many things:
Like holding her high off the ground
Where the sunlight sings!
Like being the deep music
That tells her all is right
When she awakens frantic with
The terrors of the night

Like being the great mountain
That rises in her heart
And shows her how she might get home
When all else falls apart.

Like giving her the love
That is her sea and air,
So diving deep or soaring high
She'll always find him there
- Author Unknown

 

Strawberry Muffins

  I wanted to try something different and found this recipe in Allrecipes. I made changes to the recipe which are noted in blue. If you want to see the orginal recipe it's under Florida Strawberry Muffins.

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries ( I used 2 cups-)                             
 1/2 cup white sugar   ( see note below regarding sugar)

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened ( used 1/2 cup butter)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

I also added 1/2 tsp baking powder

                      1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a small bowl, combine the strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar. Set aside for 1 hour. Drain, reserving liquid and berries separately. ( I pulsed the strawberries in the cuisinart 3 short pulses)

                   Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin tin, or line with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and 1/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the juice from the berries. Gently stir in the berries. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups. ( I creamed 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup 
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. ( I sprinkled with sugar)
I also added chocolate to the recipe, added about 1/2 cup chips.)
Good recipe will make again.

Aigoo -Three More!

I was hooked on two Korean dramas this winter

Rooftop prince

and

King 2 Hearts

I was so addicted to these shows that I would watch

them raw, which meant no subtitles just to see what

was going on and THEN re-watch when  subbed.

Now I have another three! They air on Korean tv and I have to

wait for the subbers to do their magic.

My big three this time are

Big- a take off on the Tom Hanks movies

Dr. Jin- renowned modern-day neurosurgeon is transported back 150 years to the Chosum years and forced to practice medicine during a much more primitive era.

A Gentleman's Dignity- A Sex and City Korean style.

Sites to watch

www.dramafever.com

www.Viki.com

WWI Tribute

The Memorial is in horrible shape and surprised the village

still allows people to walk around on it.

Accidents  waiting to happen.

The Oregon

Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day . Divingabe went out with Neil to the Oregon. The Oregon is 15 miles offshore from Patchogue. The Oregon was a passenger ship that sunk over a hundred years ago. It's a 130 foot dive. Here's some information on The Oregon
Divingabe picks the mussels up on the wreck. They don't sit on sand and thus have no grit and don't need to be soaked.
I steam them in water. No white wine and garlic. Been there done that. The mussels that he pickes up from wrecks are sweet and plump.
I love mussels! Would rather have mussels than a lobster anyday.

This was the first of ten bowls of mussels I cleaned.

I'll have dinner for a few nights, first plate of steamed mussels. 

Defending Jacob

Another download from the library . It did bring up questions to ponder- what is the effect of social media on our society? Younger and now older people "tweet" or use facebook to communicate. Your ID is now your personal computer. Always assume that anything you have ever looked up or searched will be archived/recorded for all eternity.
Is there such a thing as a murder gene? Are people born bad?
Twists and lots of things to think about.

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Jalapeno Relish

This is my favorite relish! 



6 jalapeno peppers, coarsely chopped and seeds removed.( I leave some seeds and add a few habanero peppers)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/3 apple cider vinegar
4 small yellow onions, chopped
1/4 cup carrot, chopped finely ( use organic carrots)
1 teaspoon dill seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed
Directions:

In a large saucepan add the apple cider vinegar and sugar over low heat. Mix until sugar is dissolved.

Add jalapenos, onion and carrots

Bring mixture to a boil.

Add mustard and dill

Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes

Ladle into jars and water bath 10 minutes

Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Please read note below and click on the link if you have not canned.

Note: If you have never canned before  Canning for beginners  has lots of good information

Pretty In Pink

Beautiful Peonies.

All of the above are from a friends garden

Take A Walk

While in Florida I walked outside everyday and used the treadmill usually in the evening. Now that we are home Divingabe does about three miles outside and also uses the treadmill.
We both love our treadmills both in Florida and home, walking is wonderful for both of us.

I found an article on the benefits on walking and wanted to share the eight astonishing facts.

I'll add a few and you can read the rest from Mother Nature Network

One of the facts---New research links brisk walking to a significant risk reduction for developing type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance is a predictor of this disease, even in people with normal glucose levels. But a recent British study found that people with a family history of the disease who walked briskly, or performed some other type of moderate to vigorous activity on a routine basis, improved insulin sensitivity.

It can save your mind- the article will go more into it but I get my best ideas when I'm on the treadmill. I usually listen to books but my mind likes to multitask and I think of things that I need to do and usually remember to do.

                                         Divingabe waiting for me to join him on our local tour.

Buffalo Chix Wings Wonton

This was VERY good! It's also a economical meal. I used meat from an  leftover oven roaster. Added the chicken to the food processor and added the fat free cream cheese to the ground chicken. I did not use the full 1/4 cup of Franks. I added some, tasted it and thought it had the zap I liked and had Divingabe try it. He said to add more, which I added about a tablespoon. I also did not add the cheddar since I didn't have it in the house. Adding the meat mixture to the wontons was time consuming otherwise easy recipe.

4 oz chicken, cooked, diced small.
1/4 cup Franks Hot Sauce (depends on how hot you like it)
1 oz Fat Free cream cheese
1 oz Lite Cheddar Cheese
20 Won Ton Wrappers

Spray Butter

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut your chicken into tiny pieces, as small as you can get it.
3. In a medium bowl add chicken, cream cheese,cheddar cheese and hot sauce. Mix together until well combined.
4. In a tiny bowl, add some water. This is for sealing the edges of your wontons.
5. Place 11/2 tsp. of chicken mixture in wonton wrapper, take your finger and dip in water and place along the edges of the wrapper (this will be the glue to seal the wrappers together). Fold wrapper over into triangle place on baking sheet. Do the same for the rest of the wrappers. Spray each wonton with about two sprays of butter.
6. Bake in over for 15 minutes, until lightly brown.
7. Serve with Light Blue Cheese or Ranch Dressing on the side.
8. Makes 20 chicken wontons

 recipe from :
http://www.peanutbutterandpeppers.com/2012/01/30/buffalo-chicken-wing-wontons/