SPAMoff

Yep, that's steam wafting off the succotash.

Still, it was not a huge success. There were only three entries. Not many daring people out there when it comes to SPAM.

Anastasia's was actually good. She hid her SPAM inside a coconut rice. It really was yummy. Mine wasn't bad but I wouldn't say it was good either.

I even bought the low sodium Spam but .... there's only so much you can do to hide that taste.

I tried to cook my entry in blocks. I had hash browns, my version of succotash (without the corn and benas) yeah, I know, that's succotash but I use tomatoes and zucchini, garlic and a few other ingredients to make my version, and then the SPAM.

So, my meal was to be multi-layered, you start on the bottom with the crispy hashbrowns, then you add the succotash and top it off with a few tidbits of SPAM.

Everyone thought I should have tried to hide the SPAM inside something.

But, I guess I've been watching too much CHOPPED - I was thinking that wouldn't be embracing the ingredient ;D

Oh well, you can't win 'em all.

DIY Sock Buns

Here's what you need to create great big buns:

1) Scissors,
2) one sock,
3) a hair tie
(and (maybe) a couple bobby pins)

 Cut the toe off your sock and start to roll it up into a thick hair tie.
 

Then pull your ponytail through the sock hair tie and start working it in and around

 Keep working the sock hair tie down to your scalp

 

 

 Smooth out your hair and if desire put another hair tie over the entire bun to hold everything in place

If there are any loose strands tuck them in with bobby pins.

WAH-LAH!!!

Back to School Blues

I remember getting ready to go back to school. I was never blue about it though. I liked the idea of wearing a new outfit to school and seeing all the friends I hadn't seen over the summer.

Of course, I didn't really like the idea of getting up early or not getting to watch my favorite shows because I wouldn't get home until fifteen minutes after Barnabus Collins hit the big screen. Yep, my favorite show back then was . . .

DARK SHADOWS...

I know, Johnny Depp played the wonderful part of my first fanpire experience: Barnabus. But that show didn't do the old series justice.

It was a spoof instead of scary. It was campy rather than creepy, it was shallow rather than...well you get my point.

I hate to put down a movie with JD in it...but oh man they could have done Barnabus so much better.

So, what does Barnabus and Dark Shadows have to do with going back to school...

Well, really not much, except for the fact that if the writers/directors and editors had put a little more thought into the remake, it might have done much better at the box office. And parents need to put a little thought into getting their kids off to a good start if they want them to "perform" well.

You might want to start now. Having the kids go to bed fifteen minutes earlier each night. I know, it's nice to stay up into the wee hours of the night, but kids won't be able to adjust in one evening...especially when you consider the excitement, nerves and anticipation keeping them up that first week.

If you think ahead and work a plan, your kids won't have to be solving for:
ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Berry" Sweet

That's Frost on the jars

 I love jam and blackberries so, in my mind, nothing goes together better than blackberry freezer jam and well, me. I could literally eat it all...and that's saying something because I make a lot of it in the summer but it never seems to last into winter.  It's so simple to make. Here's how I do it.

5 cups of blackberries
5 cups of sugar
1 package of freezer jam pectin
1/2 cup of water

Mix blackberries and sugar together and stir until VERY well blended.
Boil the water and pectin then pour over the blackberries - blend the mixture for ten minutes then pour into jars, tupperware, or anything that can go into the freezer.

WAH-LAH!!! Homemade jam in minutes. And nothing tastes this good.

The jam will stay fresh in your fridge for two weeks or up to one year in the freezer - of course mine rarely makes it past the two week mark. ;D

What the Shuck

Or maybe it should be "How to Shuck..." Oysters Rockefeller

Growing up in a family with nine kids and grandma living in the back bedroom, we didn't have much spare room in our house and we really didn't have any spare food. I grew up on some seriously cheap food. I remember having ketchup sandwiches for lunch and more than my share of SPAM . . . and that was a real treat.

Dad caught a lot of our food. I don't mean in the city. No. He went fishing...a LOT. And he hunted for deer, elk and other poor wild animals. Maybe that's why I was a vegetarian for six or seven years of my life.

Anyway, we ate things that Dad was able to dig for, fish for or hunt for. In other words, we ate lots of salmon, trout, and yes...smelt. Plus, we ate what people today think of as expensive food: crab, oysters and clams.

My Dad didn't cook very often but there are a couple things I can remember him making: oyster stew, clam chowder and hamburgers...or maybe they were elk burgers...

But we kids learned how to clean fish at a very young age. But nowadays, I have my hubby help me in the kitchen when it comes to shucking corn...or oysters.

Here's how my husband does it. First he put on some gloves (but even one would do the trick)...just in case he slipped. Then he pulled out a long screwdriver and went to work. We had the oysters sitting in a cold bath...just to wash away some sand and grit.



He slipped the screwdriver into the opening end of the shell and slowly twisted it until it opened. Then he used a butter knife to scrape the oyster out of the shell.

We rinsed the oysters off and chose the best half of the oyster shell to display.

Then we put the oyster back on the half-shell

And then I poured my prepared mixture over the top of the oysters.

I sprinkled some breadcrumbs over the top and baked them at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes. If you cook them too long, they become rubbery.

 Here's how they turned out.

And we had some corn on the cob for a few carbs. Plus we had smelt on the side and of course some wine to wash it all down.


RECIPE FOR OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER:

4 T butter (melted)
1/4 c onions sauteed on the stove until carmelized
2 cloves of fresh garlic (minced)
1 cup of cooked spinach
2 T parsley (chopped)
1/4 cup red wine

I poured this mixture over the oysters then I sprinkled breadcrumbs over the top and baked on a foil-lined cookie sheet at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Beading

"Sew" I'm not an organized beader. I simply lay my beads out on an old cookie sheet that has a lip around the edge to keep all my beads contained.

They don't look so pretty inside an old stained pan . . . but it works.

And then I take a strand of fire wire and just start stringing them up.

It's sew simple and I always end up with something useful. This is my version of a croakie and I can even wear it to work.

Plus, I never lose my glasses with this strand of beads keeping them hanging around ;D

Passionflower

Passionflower has been used as a calming herb for anxiety, insomnia, seizures, and hysteria. 

My husband and I were on a walk this weekend when we saw this vine that had exploded all over the chain link fence. We had to stop and look at it. It was sooooo beautiful. I snapped a few photos and when we stopped at Portland Nursery, I asked what flower it was.

"Passionflower," the clerk said pointing to his shirt.

Yep, a passionflower was printed on the front of his jersey.

Serendipitous.