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April 2011
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Patti Mays: Posted on Saturday, April 30, 2011 11:09 AM
BUTTERSCOTCH RUM CAKE YAHOO! WOOT WOOT! I just found ANOTHER fabulous cake recipe that meets
all my stringent requirements... - EASY - COMMON INGREDIENTS - AFFORDABLE Got this from a favorite website (I'm a member there, actually), called JUST A PINCH RECIPE CLUB. Check them out! They have the greatest "hometown" recipes, good ideas & coupons, plus their website has terrific old-fashioned graphics and even some sound effects! Love those guys! So here's the recipe. When I made it I made a few changes (see notes) Ingredients. . .
CAKE: 1 pkg Duncan Hines* yellow cake mix
* Betty Crocker worked fine for me 1 pkg butterscotch pudding* *I used instant pudding - the small box 3 lge eggs 1/3 C cooking oil 1/2 C cold water 1/2 C spiced rum* * I used regular rum. Not sure what spiced rum is...
it still tasted delicious. So did the cake! (HA HA HA!!) RUM GLAZE. . . 1 stk real butter 1/4 c water 1 C sugar 1/4 C rum (spiced rum)* *again - I used regular ol' rum. Again - tasted great :> 1 1/4 C walnut pieces (chopped) Directions... 1 - Pre-Heat oven 325* Lightly grease and flour Bundt Pan 2 - In mixing bowl mix Cake Mix, Butterscotch Pudding Mix,
Eggs, Cooking oil, Cold Water, 1/2 Cup Rum
Blend till light and fluffy 3 - Sprinkle chopped Walnuts in to bottom of pan, now pour batter around equally into pan. Bake for 1 hour
Let cool approx 5 minutes, then turn on to platter and tap bottom of pan all around to release... 4 - Prepare Glaze: In sauce pan, melt Butter, add water, add sugar.
Bring to boil and boil 5 minutes stirring constantly. Remove
from heat and add Rum. Note: I cooked the glaze a little longer
and it added a beautiful sheen to the cake... 5 - Poke holes into top of cake, I use toothpicks, then spoon glaze
over cake. It {the glaze} will not be real thick, will be slightly
runny. Cover and put in cool place. Let set then go back in a few
hours and spoon more glaze onto it. The more it is soaked with
the glaze the better it is...... Notes from "Just a Pinch" about this.... 2 Blue Ribbons go to JoSele Swopes of DELTA, CO (pop. 12,021)
JoSele Wrote ...
"This is a melt in yer mouth cake. This recipe is a no brainer, it was given to my mom
from a very good friend years ago. It still works, I made it for work this past year
and it went over great. Had people wanting me to make one for them to take home."
Comments from the Test Kitchen: What an easy way to make a tasty splash! This
oh-so-moist cake would be a great addition to any special luncheon, holiday spread
or bake sale.  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Comment on this post IMMEDIATELY BELOW |
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Patti Mays: Posted on Sunday, April 17, 2011 8:48 PM
NOT MY DAY! HAIRCUT DISASTER! OH Boy. Why ME. . . So it was FINALLY time for my hair appt. I really needed to get my hair done (old-fashioned term, huh? "Got my hair done") b/c the roots were long, gray, and - well.... disgusting. So I made the appt for roots and a few foils, plus trim. I love my stylist b/c she's great with color & cuts. But styling - - uh... not so much.
Hairdressers are always bugging me to let them "do" my hair curly since it's naturally curly. I hate curly hair but yesterday I conceded and let her have her way with it. HAVE HER WAY INDEED! I mean, OMG AND GREAT BALLS OF FIRE it turned out butt U G L Y!! Ghastly ringlets all over, and of course finished off with 2 gallons of cement-like GOO so I couldn't comb it out or anything. I mean, you should have
seen this! I looked like a mentally-challenged poodle. She made my bangs straight and the top FLAT, and then over-the-moon CURLY everywhere else. If you can imagine that... we're talking straight-as-a-board bangs that hung down to the middle of my eyebrows, Morticia-style, from Addams Family. Then about a thousand little cutesy ringlets ala' Shirley Temple, all over everywhere EXCEPT THE TOP which was so flat you could have ironed a shirt up there. Looked like that dork Dragnet guy - - Jack Webb? Jack Friday??
To add insult to injury, when she was finished (I'm always too "NICE" to complain or make them do it over. I wish I wasn't such a doormat! Musn't hurt anybody's feelings, dontchaknow, so I go off looking like Betty Boop for the rest of the day. And I even gave her a TIP FOR CHRISSAKE! What is the matter with me!?)
Anyway..... when I walked from her work station up to the front to pay, several women were standing around the front desk yacking up a storm. When I walked up all of a sudden everybody got STONE SILENT. I mean - awkward, cut-it-with-a-knife SILENCE where you know for a fact everybody's thinking "You've got to be kidding me. Oh my. THAT poor woman. What was SHE thinking?" I tried to smile but I was real nervous so my mouth was dry and when I smiled, my lips got hung up on my solid-metal BRACES - (easily mistaken for coathangers). I HATE THESE DANG BRACES! CAN'T WAIT 'TIL THEY'RE OFF! Anyway, smiling and showing my braces just made matters worse, of course, and if I didn't look and feel like UGLY BETTY I don't know what.
Remember the old days when we'd come home from the hairdresser (which we could only afford once every 2 years) and CRY for 2 days straight?? This totally reminded me of that time in my life. I didn't cry but I sure swore a lot.
Well - today it's better since I took a fire hose to it and then shampooed for 45 minutes, put GIANT rollers in and sat under the scalding hot hairdryer for hours. NO MORE CURLS!!!
OK I have to sign off now because John just called with an emergency: "HURRY! Go into Netflix right NOW and put "The Sopranos First Season" at the top of our queue! We got the 2nd season yesterday but we've never seen first season!"
So I must rush on and get that done. THIS IS IMPORTANT! Love you all! - P  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ |
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Patti Mays: Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2011 12:23 PM
Top fresh, crisp salad greens with black beans, sweet corn, and grape tomatoes - then bring it all together with this fresh avocado-lime dressing. It has a Mexican-y flair. Very good! Wish I could take credit for this because it is just fabulous, but I actually got the recipe from the Eating Well Cookbook. Don't be put off by the amount of ingredients - you blend most of them together so it isn't nearly as complicated as it looks. Man oh man, this is DELICIOUS! It's just different enough to be a nice change, with-out being weird. We LOVE this - especially on a hot day. One of our very favorites.... healthy, too! :> Ingredients... - 1/2 ripe avocado
- 3/4 cup packed fresh cilantro
- 1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, quartered
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cup mixed greens
- 1/2 cup black beans, canned (rinsed) or cooked
- 1/2 cup corn kernels, fresh or (thawed)
- 1/2 cup grape tomatoes
Directions... 1. Place avocado, cilantro, yogurt, scallions, garlic, lime juice,
sugar, and salt in a blender; blend until smooth. 2. Place greens in an individual bowl; toss with 2 tablespoons of
the dressing. (Refrigerate the remaining dressing.) Top the
greens with black beans, corn, and tomatoes.  VOY-OLA!! Fabulous, beautiful, delicious salad! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Comment on this post IMMEDIATELY BELOW |
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Patti Mays: Posted on Monday, April 11, 2011 10:42 AM
Oh mannn.... now this is EMBARASSING! Saturday night we had our good friend Todd over. He brought his new girlfriend Melody for us to meet, so I'm wanting to make a
good impression, dontchaknow. For dinner I had my favorite - Corned Beef & cabbage
which I'm comfortable with because it ALWAYS turns out great, it looks gorgeous, and people ALWAYS rave about it. I was right - it turned out fabulous and Todd & Melody RAVED about it (as did John. He's crazy mad for the stuff and always says so! What a
sweetheart he is). Anyway, the last time we had Todd over (he was alone, thank God) I made brownies
FROM A MIX which you'd think would be pretty hard to mess up. But... some way I
added too much liquid, (no clue how) and the batter was way runny - like thick chocolate milk. But being a NEVER SAY DIE kind of person, I figured out how to fix it! Add
flour! Which I did. The brownies turned out like tiny cardboard boxes (except they
didn't taste that good)... Todd said he liked them but that's just because he's so nice and didn't want to hurt
my feelings. But John and I couldn't eat more than 1/2 bite (and I think John spit
his into his napkin). It wasn't pretty. SO THIS TIME by golly I'm going to make a BLOW-YOU-AWAY dessert so I can
show Todd I really DO know how to cook and can also impress Melody with my vast
culinary skills.
So I make this cake that I haven't actually made before - I've only TASTED it,
and it is out of this world delicious (No-Flour Chocolate Cake. There's a great
video on it; I'll give you the link at the end of this post, along with the recipe.)
Evidently the video didn't do ME much good, but those details are still to come. OK. I followed the directions to the letter, except for just a couple of things.
The recipe called for SEMI-SWEET chocolate squares and I only had UN-
SWEETENED chocolate squares but what the hay, that's a no-brainer - - I'll
just add an additional cup of sugar. Which I did. This changed the texture of
the batter a bit but.... no big deal. Also, the recipe says very clearly DO NOT OVERBAKE but I didn't hear the
timer go off, dontchasee - so it cooked an additional 15 minutes. No biggie though-
our oven is a little out of whack temperature-wise anyway, and what's 15 minutes. The cake looked mahhhvelous. So I took it out of the springform pan and placed it neatly on this swell antique
plate I got in Atlanta. Then I carefully dusted it with powdered sugar, as per the recipe/video. Mmmm! Looked like something out of Bon Appetit Magazine. HA!
Our guests were going to be ever-so-impressed at how gifted I am in the cooking department.... So - - dinner's over (a big hit!) - we've sipped our wine in the living room for an
hour or so, and I decide it's time to bring out the dessert. Todd says "I hope it's
better than last time!" hahaha! We we all laughed.
Oops. Laughed too soon. This "super moist" cake was worse than ghastly. Not only
did it LOOK horrible once it was cut into, but OMG it tasted like something from last year's shoe festival. I mean this cake is SO incredibly dry that when you cut into
it w/ your fork it splintered and flew everywhere - like what would happen if you cut
into a cracker. It hurt my teeth to chew on it - and it crunched REAL LOUD! Furthermore, it tasted funny. Well.... OK, it tasted HORRIBLE. Very bitter - no
flavor - and it left an aftertaste of ... I'm not sure. Cod Liver Oil?? Horehound Candy?? So then the room got real quiet. Finally, Todd says: "Hmmm. Interesting flavor".
Melody says: "Yes. Um... very different." John says: "THIS TASTES LIKE SH_ _ !
What on earth did you DO to this thing anyway?" I say "Uh... gosh, it DOESN'T
taste very good, does it? Here, let's have some more wine!" I hustled around and gathered up everybody's cake plates, then scooped it all
into the garbage disposal and turned it on. When I did that it sounded like I
was grinding up marbles. WAY LOUD! At least the SILENCE was gone though. Because now - everybody was laughing hysterically. Of course John and Todd HAD to bring up the gorey details of the
LAST time I'd served dessert and how it, too had been a train wreck, and then
Todd (not exactly mincing his words...) says: "You know Patti you're one FABULOUS
cook when it comes to dinners. But your desserts SUCK!" And I can't deny it!
A full 100% of the desserts I've made for Todd had been INEDIBLE. If that's not bad enough, John has to tell the story about the time when we were
living in Seattle and I made these ghastly muffins that tasted like Crisco with baking powder. The worst! So bad we took ONE BITE and promptly gave them to the
squirrels. But GET THIS: The squirrels would take one bite and then run off,
BRUSHING OFF THEIR FACES with their tiny front feet! Oh mannn..... insult
of all insults. Even the squirrels wouldn't eat 'em. So the end of all this is that I ate a big helping of CROW and Todd & Melody
were totally gracious and even kindly agreed to give me ONE MORE CHANCE
at dinner with dessert. Next time I'm serving ICE CREAM. PURCHASED!!
Or better yet - maybe we'll go out to dinner! :> Here are links to the video and/or recipe, if you're still interested.
FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!!! :> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Comment on this post IMMEDIATELY BELOW |
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Patti Mays: Posted on Friday, April 08, 2011 12:52 PM
As you guys know, I really like Chef Todd Mohr. He's down-to-earth, non pretentious, and his cooking classes are easy and fun. I've learned a ton from him! This is a recipe he just sent me that I really like because it's quick 'n easy, it's healthy, and it's sooooo good! Sort
of has a Mexican flair to it, and I'm sure when you watch this you'll see how versatile this recipe can be. (I put a little chopped cabbage in ours and it was DE-lish!) VOY-OLA!
A super-yummy, ultra-healthy meal in 2.5 minutes.
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Patti Mays: Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2011 3:16 PM
This is called "Artichokes Gratin" I love artichokes and this recipe is so special. It's different without being weird, and man is it ever good!
(I've been served this on two different occasions but haven't had a chance to make it myself yet. I can't wait to make it - and John wants me to hurry up and make it too! Definitely a winner! :>) "HOW TO" Video follows. Also gives ideas for variations and good suggestions for serving. INGREDIENTS: (Makes 12 halves)
6 artichoke hearts, drained
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoon plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
lemon Watch the video! Easy to understand directions, great pictures! |
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Patti Mays: Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2011 8:40 AM
My friend Ron Douglas is the author of the "Cooking Secrets" cookbook series. He's a master at getting recipes of the most popular menu items from top restaurants across the US. This particular recipe is from the "Harvest Restaurant" in Cambridge, MA. I've never been there but now that I've tasted these brownies,that place is on my Bucket List! :> I mean these are absolutely FABULOUS - wonderful rich flavor with a hint of espresso. Mmmm! Not your Betty Crocker Brownies from a mix!
Harvest Restaurant Molasses Brownies
Makes 16 Oven - 350
Butter (for the pan)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee granules mixed with 1
tablespoon water (or 1 tablespoon strong brewed coffee)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Confectioners' sugar (for sprinkling)
1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, egg,
molasses, butter, coffee, and vanilla.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder,
and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until
completely blended.
4. Transfer the batter to the pan. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or
until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean and the
brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool on a
wire rack.
5. Make 3 cuts in one direction, and 3 cuts in the other direction
to make 16 brownies. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.
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Patti Mays: Posted on Wednesday, April 06, 2011 10:39 PM
DID YOU KNOW? Grocery cart handles really ARE germy! In fact - - they're actually dirtier (have a higher concentration of germs, viruses, and bacteria) than public bathrooms! And GET THIS: HALF of all grocery carts (mostly handles) carry E. COLI, according to a new University of Arizona study.
I always thought those "sanitary wipes" at Wal-Mart, Costco,
Fred Meyer, etc. were kinda gimmicky. Turns out, those carts are LOADED with germs. And they're dangerous germs to boot! E. Coli is nothing to scoff at! You can bet I'm using those corny tissues from now on. You just DON'T know where those carts have been! . . . (I don't want to know...) |
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Patti Mays: Posted on Monday, April 04, 2011 12:21 PM
Ahhh. . . Easter. My memories of Easter as a child drum up happy visions of spring, lilacs, colored eggs (real, not plastic), a fluffy pastel dress and white patent leather shoes for church, and of course - the magic of the Easter Bunny (who brought candy not knowing Mom didn't like us to have it. :> ) We repeated the same customs with our own daughter Natalie, and do you know that even today (she's 26 now) the Easter Bunny still remembers her! As with other holidays, the fun times together as a family, repeating traditions and establishing some of our own, created memories that we all cherish today. I look forward to repeating them yet again with our grandchildren someday in hopes that family traditions will be carried on for countless generations to come. Before we get to the fun and games, I've always done as my parents did, and that's to explain the day and why it's special. Being Christ-ians, Easter has a very significant meaning and, just as with Christ-mas, the celebrating can overtake the meaning if we don't make an effort to teach what it's all about. When children know the meaning of Easter (or any holiday), the traditions have much more meaning as well.  FUN IDEAS for EASTER . . . * Take the time to dye REAL Easter eggs. Eggs are always on sale at Easter and the experience of coloring eggs together as a family will delight your children and remain in their fondest memories. As with any cooked eggs, they should be stored in the 'fridge and put out just temporarily for a centerpiece or decoration.
A couple of days after Easter, use the colored eggs to make a big batch of egg or potato salad. In our family that in itself has become a tradition - the "after Easter egg salad" is something we all look forward to.  * EASTER EGG HUNTS. . .
In this case it really does work better if you use plastic eggs.
For one thing they don't break, pet dogs don't eat them (a big problem when our daughter was little), and they can be washed & reused year after year. Don't throw them away and buy new ones each year; it's such a needless waste, and you'll find that certain "favorite" eggs become cherished traditions in themselves, much like favorite Christmas ornaments. Fun! - Put treats inside some or all of the eggs to make them extra
fun. Any wrapped candies, colorful jelly beans, ball gum
(if age appropriate), small-sized candybars, candy stretch
bracelets, M&Ms, or specialty Easter candies like chocolate
bunnies. Try the Dollar Store! They have a huge assortment. - For non-candy fillers, use stickers (kids love 'em! Check
out the scrapbook store), stretch bracelets, wash-off tattoo
decals, whimsical socks, small stuffed animals, (remember
those tiny toy baby chicks with the wire feet?); fun-shaped
bath fizzies or soaps, magnets, small "transformers" -
monster figures, tiny baby dolls, hero and princess figures.
- It's really fun to have one or more special eggs for the
"big prize". Get the larger-sized eggs, fill with quarters
or a couple dollar bills, movie tickets, bag of marbles or
jacks, jumprope, disposable camera. Wrap the "special egg/s" in gold foil (or spray paint well in
advance) and add an extra-special touch by winding a
gold-star garland around the egg to make it a super duper
prize. It looks so enchanting and kids LOVE this! What a
thrill to discover the "golden egg" and it adds extra
excitement to the easter egg hunt.
 * EASTER BASKETS. . .
The Easter Bunny is a magical tradition that kids absolutely cherish, just like Santa and the Tooth Fairy. Again, it's the effort you make more than the cost or amount of things inside the basket. When Natalie was little we put jelly beans and a few plastic eggs leading a path from her bedroom to wherever the Easter Bunny had left an Easter basket. It was the THRILL OF ALL THRILLS!
We used the cheapo woven baskets until she was about 10 and then we switched to "baskets" that were more useable, like a new lunch box, sand pail, bike helmet, cosmetic bag, baseball cap, terra cotta pot, etc.
* BASKET IDEAS FOR YOUNGER KIDS:
Make a "filling" of cellophane grass, or shred paper bags, colorful construction paper, or old road maps (use your shredder!). Fill with candy, chocolate bunnies, plastic eggs - - the usual things kids love.
But it's such fun to be creative and add more useable treats too, like a variety of paintbrushes in bright colors, tubes of paint, rubber stamps & ink pads, markers, stuffed animals, bubbles with a giant wand, sunglasses, bath products & toys, squirt guns, kites, hand-held electronic games, books, tapes, CDs, puzzle books, sidewalk chalk.
Our daughter LOVED those "dehydrated wash cloths". They're about the size of a quarter until you put them in water and then they grow to regular-sized washcloths. MAGIC! * FOR OLDER KIDS: Think of what they can really use. Movie tickets, sunglasses & suntan products, beach towel, nail polish/cosmetics/aftershave, special shampoo, CDs & DVDs, jewelry, garden gloves & seed packets, gift cards (wrap in colorful cellophane!); favorite magazine w/ a subscription, cocoa & instant coffee mixes, baseball glove, stick-on fingernails, energy drinks, athletic socks, wallet or coin purse, neat water bottle, deck of cards, flashlight, key chain, flip-flops, t-shirts.
Have fun! Be involved! Take the time and the happy memories you create will remain with you and your children for years - maybe generations - to come. -P |
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