A Little Different Post

I haven't posted a few days, we've been following the government shut down...as there have been 16 others before this one, we didn't think much was going to happen.  However, this time its a bit different, evidently the current President will not sit down and compromise or let anyone pass bills help the American people cope. The House has sent many bills to help fund treatment for children with cancer, to help the military, etc. All rejected. Harry Reid actually said when asked if he would help one child with cancer "Why would we do that?"
 The park service even has tried to close down monuments funded by private donations which is ridiculous and also have closed down state parks which are funded by the individual states, not federal funds. One park official is quoted as saying ""We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”

Somehow, I don't think this will end well.
I don't know about you, but I'm disgusted.

Find A Grave Adventures

We've been doing volunteer work for Find A Grave and this is the Perris Valley Cemetery. We're on a mission to record all the graves into the database with photos of the gravestones. The weather is getting cooler so its easier to walk around for some time, finding all the gravestones that haven't yet been taken. Its  a nice  hobby and get exercise too!  The grass is rather thick and walking in it is like walking in sand.
 Alan has really been diligent, far more than me in getting pics done..I tend to lag after taking 10 -15 pics but he can go the distance and has already done about 400 memorials already, although we've only been members about 4 months!

A few things I've learned in the last few months..wear comfortable shoes! You'll do alot of walking. I made the mistake of wearing sandals the first time and got bit up with ant bites so always remember to wear tennis shoes and socks with long pants. Those ant bites hurt! Carry water as you will get thirsty and a hat is a good idea. We take scissors with us to trim around the stones, a wisk brush, and a spray bottle of water. Some stones are hard to read, and occasionally getting the stone wet brings out the details.
Another thing, if you go on the weekend, forget asking for help as no one will be in the office. Week days are better, as there is usually someone around to help. The office personnel have always been very nice  after you trudge around for half an hour, several times we've found out there is no stone to photograph. Which is rather sad. I always think everyone should be remembered.
We've also seen stones that are cracked, and/or unreadable. If it was my family member, I think I'd replace the stone but that's just me.
You may also see pennies on veterans stones, this came about some time ago, after the Vietnam War.
According to some, leaving coins on a headstone has very specific meaning for military burials. Leaving a penny indicates that you knew the deceased, a nickel meant you trained in boot camp together, a dime signified serving in the same company, a quarter told the family that you were with them when they died. I like to leave pennies when I can.
Is it creepy being in a cemetery? Not really, I always get a sense of peace, if there are spirits around, they would know we mean them no harm, and just want to remember them.
Anyway, that's what we did this last weekend and again twice this week.

Glad everyone liked the craft project...the sipper tops on the mason jars is a winner!

A Little Crafting!

Alan got a little crafty yesterday and made us four of these lids to go on canning jars. With the popularity of Duck Dynasty, many people are using them for casual drinking and so are we.  You can find the directions for these here. I was thinking of finding some of the new blue pint jars that Ball now has, and also some blue gingham printed lids, wouldn't that be pretty? but in the mean time, these will do.
Right now, I'm sipping iced coffee out of one of these and thought I'd also share a great  recipe for your own vanilla creamer. It gets expensive so this recipe makes almost a quart and is so easy. Just open a can of condensed milk (14 oz.) with 14 oz of regular milk (or 2%) and mix well. Add two or 3 t. of vanilla, to taste. If you use a quart canning jar to store this in, just shake well before using and keep it refrigerated. It lasts a couple of weeks but I guarantee you won't have it that long as its really good in coffee.I used it in my iced coffee this morning and its yum!

Pet Rescue Boutique

Nancy has opened a special selling blog totally devoted to pet items, such as dog and cat beds, toys and more. All proceeds go to pet rescue. She's busy filling it, the kitty above is a rescue named Lucky. She looks like she's posing, huh?  Pet Rescue Boutique 
I use food and water mats under our cats bowls, we have 3 rescued cats and two dogs. The dogs usually eat outside but the cats are indoor so I like to keep the kitchen floor as clean as possible. The mats do the trick.

She has dog food mats also so hope you'll take a look, she's running a few specials for her grand opening too.

Deviled Egg Macaroni Salad

I thought maybe it was time for a recipe!

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. sugar

8 oz. small elbow macaroni

12 hard-cooked eggs

1/2 c. mayonnaise

3 T. Dijon mustard, country style

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup sliced sweet pickle

1 1/2 c. very thinly sliced celery

In a small saucepan, combine onion, vinegar, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat: set aside.
Meanwhile, cook macaroni, according to package directions. Drain and rinse well with cold water; set aside.
Coarsely chop one egg; set aside. Half remaining eggs, separate yolks from whites. Coarsely chop egg whites and set aside.
For dressing: place yolks in a medium bowl, mash with a fork. Add mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar mixture; mix well.
Gradually stir in 2 T. water, salt, paprika and pepper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the egg whites, pickles, celery, macaroni, and dressing. Toss to combine. Top with reserved chopped egg and sprinkle lightly with additional smoked paprika and pepper. Serve at once or cover and chill for two hours. Makes 10 servings.

This is one of the best  macaroni salad recipes!

This would be great for Monday if you're having a barbecue, a selection of salads is always a good thing.

Rescued Cats and Good People

My dear friend, Nancy has rescued animals and supported rescues for years. She and her daughter published a celebrity cookbook some time ago, the proceeds have gone to animal rescues and then last year she updated it with some new celebrities added recipes. I love the cookbook and have used them for gifts also.
But I wanted to mention her husband, Billy. He's the wind beneath her wings and has worked along side her with the rescues. These people are the salt of the earth and  what makes our country great.
He's been mostly a dog person but has fallen in love with the cats also. This little one has found a special place in Billy's heart as only a kitty can do.

 

These are the kittens that they found in their new place, sleeping in one of the out buildings. Thankfully, new homes have been found for all of them, through Nancy and Billy's help.  Before they moved, the mother cat and kittens had a rough life. Mom cat was left behind and had to fend for herself, and raise the kittens. She was seldom fed for the neighbor who was of the school that if you feed  cats, they won't be good mousers which is an old wives tale. Our cats are death to mice in the house and they are fed well. Cats are natural predators.The kittens were healthy and well fed, but Mama cat was very thin as she gave her all for the kittens.  The first time Nancy fed her, she immediately went out and brought all the kittens in so they could eat too. 

Nancy and Billy are keeping two of them, the Mama Cat and the one kitten that bonded with Billy.

Nancy still has a few of the wonderful cookbooks left, so if you would like to help them, in their rescues and help pay for the vet costs, for shots and neutering. She has them for sale in her selling blog at Huggins Haven 

Chicken with Mushrooms and Pink Rice, Yummy

I fixed this recipe yesterday and its very yummy. Thought I'd share it with you. I listed this 1991 cookbook called " The Joy of Eating" twice and it didn't sell. Leafing through it, realized it had wonderful recipes, easy to read and also most of them used ingredients found in most kitchens, including mine!
This recipe is called

Chicken with Mushrooms and Pink Rice

1 onion, finely chopped

4 shallots, minced (I omitted this as we seldom use shallots, although they're good)

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 t. oil

1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced (I used a can of sliced mushrooms)

1 cup raw rice, long grain

2 c. chicken broth

1/4 c. tomato sauce (I used home canned from our garden)

1 t. tumeric, 1/2 t. cumin and pepper to taste (Alan hates cumin so that was a no go)

1 package frozen green peas  (10 oz. size)

3 c. diced cooked chicken

In a Dutch oven casserole, saute onion, shallots, and garlic in oil until they're transparent. Add mushrooms and continue cooking until mushrooms are tender and liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes,.(no need to do that if you use canned mushrooms, just drain them well) Add the next group of ingredients except peas and chicken. Stir to mix well. Cover pan and simmer mixture over low-heat until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed (about 20 minutes) . Stir in the peas and chicken and heat through. Serves 4-5 people.

Mine was a bit dry after the 20 minutes so I added a little more tomato sauce to it when I put in the peas and chicken.

We get our chicken from Costco, chicken thighs. I cooked them earlier and took the meat off the bones, saving the broth. 

Here is the front of the book, its by Renny Darling. She's published others and I do have one more called the Joy of Eating French Food which is equally tasty. I think I'll keep both of these as they're just so good!

Think Big!

 

I was going through the bin of books, (so many!) and found this one. As a child, I loved Speedy, the Alka-Seltzer kid, and didn't realize the man  behind it. His name is Dick Beals and his story is very interesting and inspirational. He was born with a grandular problem and never really grew up..rather like Peter Pan. As an adult, he was only 4 ' 6" tall and weighted about 85 lbs.  Although he was handicapped by his size, his heart was big and he went on to do many things even full sized adults only dream of. He became a professional movie star at seven years old, a high school cheerleader at eight and a hotel page boy at 16. He went to college at Michigan state, and performed on network radio shows during his senior year. Came to Hollywood with nothing and no job to within 4 weeks he was a busy actor.

He passed away in 2012 at the age of 85

I have listed this book on Ebay so if you'd like to read more about this amazing man and get some encouragement. This book has also been personally autographed by Mr. Beals which makes it special.

Here is the link to my auctions....I've reached my limit for the month so won't be listing until September now....China Lake Auctions

Fig Conserve, Strawberries and my auctions

 

This photo is of some fig conserve I made yesterday. Its a different recipe from the other one I've posted. 

Fig-Citrus Conserve

5 lbs. fresh figs

Water

10 c. sugar (!!)

2 lemons, coarsely ground

4 oranges, coarsely ground

2 t. ground ginger

Cover figs with a small quantity of water and boil until the liquid is brown. Drain and reserve 2 c. liquid. Mix with sugar to make a heavy syrup.

Combine figs, sugar syrup, lemon and orange pulp. Simmer gently about 1 1/2 hrs. stirring frequently. (I used a stick blender to blend everything together which worked well)

Skim off foam from time to time if needed.

Add ginger, mixing well, pour into hot jars and seal. Makes about 5 pints.

The fig tree is really producing. I've made the sugar free variety twice and now this sugar full recipe.

When I made this, it came out to  7 pints not 5 and we have a small bowl of conserve in the fridge to use too. Its very sweet and I think when I make it again, I'll use less sugar but wanted to try it first before I change it.

I got this recipe from an old cookbook "Freezing and Canning Cookbook, prized recipes from the Farmers of America" published in 1964.

A conserve is a bit  different from jam as it contains a variety of ingredients and often includes nuts.

The strawberry bed is overflowing with plants. Alan is going to make another bed on the other side of the garden identical to this one and we'll transplant some of these plants into it.Yesterday he moved one of the raised beds to make room for it. Taking each log apart and moving them separately. Then he put it back together again.We're getting ready to do a fall/winter garden planting soon. Probably squash, beans, and whatever else we can think of. It stays warm here well into the end of the year. It doesn't get very cold until December or so usually.

I'm still listing books on Ebay..I have 35 listings of some great books..here is the link for it if you'd like to take a look   China Lake Auctions  we're trying to get funds together for our grandson's birthday which is coming up. I can't believe he'll be two!

Books!

I listed just a few of the many books on Ebay today. This is one of them..Its called the Land of Sweet Surprises and is a reproduction of a antique book.

There are wheels on each page which when gently pulled by the ribbon on the left bottom, change the photo entirely

 

Beautifully illustrated with vintage graphics, its a lovely book in new condition.My photos don't do this book justice, the color isn't true as the pages are much prettier.

This would make a nice gift for a favorite person.

I'll be adding more books throughout the week, I did list several dog and cat books, a biography of James Dean, and others so hope you will take a look. There are many more to come. Everything I list is in new condition. If there is a certain venue or book you're looking for, let me know in the comment section and I may just have it.

Chinalake Auctions