RIP::Owen

Yesterday we had to put our Nubian goat Owen down. We've not lost any of our "pets" since moving here. Owen had a very sweet disposition and was my husband's favorite. He had been acting funny for a couple of days and after consulting with a friend who knows alot about such things, we put in a farm call to the vet. It was kidney problems. Even with the expensive operation the prognosis was only a 25% chance of recovery without a lifetime of problems. I held his head while the vet injected the meds into him that would make him sleep. Funny he seemed to know something was going to happen. Dear friends let us bury him on their farm. My poor husband couldn't get out of work until nighttime so we loaded Owen up and drove to their farm where my friends husband dug the hole with his tractor and we set Owen to peace.

I hope this doesn't happen again for a very long time.

Weird stuff you didn't know about me

{remember to turn off my playlist on the bottom to hear the video}

NO, I haven't lost my mind! I was visiting this blog--I love her soap! Anyway, she had mentioned Tom Jones. I went out with this guy who was an Elvis impersonator and could sing Tom Jones songs like the master himself. This was all when I was bartending at a 1950's club called Sh' Booms to put myself through school while being a single parent and taking care of two youngsters--another story, okay. Anyway, I love the song "What's New Pussycat" and the DJ always played this song whenever we worked together. I admit it gave me chills--scary, huh? My mother would tell me how ladies in the 1960's would swoon over Tom , as you can see if you watch some of his videos on YouTube. Every now and then Tom shows up at the Casino the next state over and I tell my older girls I think I may go see him. They look at me like I have lost my mind and go yuck, yuck , yuck. But, I will drag them along or maybe I can get my mother to go. I am thinking this could be a hoot!

My husband thinks I am weird when I ask him to sing a Tom Jones song.

He never obliges me.

Okay, enough personal baggage shared for one day.

Peace out.

Old-Fashioned Lemonade.....

......with a new twist!

I guarantee your friends will be quite impressed with your culinary expertise with this simple little lemonade. Do let me know if you try it.

Tangy citrus salt elevates lemonade to new heights in this refreshing drink. A mild honey such as orange blossom would be a good choice to complement the lemon juice

Ingredients
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup honey

6 cups sparkling or still cold

water Zest of 1 lemon

Coarse finishing salt of your choice

Lemon or lime wedges
Method
Combine lemon juice and honey in a saucepan. Heat until honey is completely blended with the juice. Chill until cold, then stir and pour into a large pitcher. Add cold water and stir to combine completely. Mix lemon zest with finishing salt in a small dish. Rub the rim of serving glasses with a wedge of lemon or lime. Invert glass into dish of salt and turn to coat rim. Add ice and lemonade. Serve immediately.

Official Announcement:: Its Summer

Just in case those on the east coast didn't think it was summer, I thought I would let you know that it is now officially summer. How do I know that? Because when I make the first grilled chicken ceasar salad of the season, then it is officially summer around here. We had friends over for dinner and some hang time yesterday and we enjoyed the salad with fresh bread and the kids had to have burgers and dogs....yes, company food for sure. Dessert was awesome! My friend made homemade cherry ice cream and I (all about blueberries , remember?) made the Berry Buttermilk Cake from Apples for Jam. Tasty. The only thing I added was maple syrup. For some reason I always add maple syrup to anything blueberryish, go figure. There is some cake leftover, thank goodness--'cause I only had one piece!

Tasha Tudor::Remembering a Kindred Spirit

It's hard to believe that a year has already passed since Tasha Tudor's death. Yesterday at tea I fondly remembered the influence she has had on my life and the many new and old-fashioned things we shared.
:: Love of gardens, roses and vegetables

::Love of baking all sorts of culinary delights

::Love of open hearth cooking in the old tin kitchen

::Love of hosting our large families at holidays and throughout the year

::Love of shawls, fiber and knitting

::Love of corgis most of all!

What did you love about Tasha Tudor?

The Blueberry Cottage Bakery a la Tasha Tudor

I love raisin bran muffins. They are pretty healthy for you and this receipt is quick and you can store the extra batter from this rather large receipt for 3 weeks in the fridge in an airtight container. If anyone was baking in the 80's you might remember this muffin receipt. I have adapted the muffins from Tasha Tudor's receipt found in her cookbook with one I have used from Uprisings.

The Date Nut bread is from Tasha's cookbook. In her description Tasha says, "This bread is delicious sliced very thin and spread with cream cheese. Serve these sandwiches for tea". As you can see we rather like it sliced thick with a fairly liberal layer of cream cheese. Either way it is quite delicious , just as Tasha promised!

Rasin Bran Muffins

1 (15 oz.) Kellogg's Raisin Bran Cereal

1.5 cups sugar or molasses

5 Cups unbleached flour (you may use 1/2 wheat + 1/2 white)

5 tsp. soda

2 tsp sea salt

4 eggs

1 cup canola oil

1 Quart buttermilk

1 Cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients in a very large bowl or mixer and incorporate well. Grease your muffin tins or line them with unbleached papers (my personal preference). Bake for 10-15 minutes. Bake as many as needed and store the rest in an airtight container for three weeks. Enjoy!

What?

{turn off the playlist at the bottom to hear the video}

Okay, I will fully admit that I enjoyed the yip, yip aliens on Sesame Street when my older girls were young. They, for some strange reason cracked me up! Now that I am older I get it! There are just some days you don't know if your coming or going or gone! Yesterday was one of those days where I was so busy word retrieval was beyond me on occasion.

Please let me know someone out there knows what I am talking about...LOL! Does anyone else have days where they just feel like an alien and look around you and think "What"?