Tasty Tuesday ~ In the Kitchen

   I heard it said that if someone has a passion, that passion brings a smile to his or her face and gives them a purpose in life. Well, baking is my passion and never am I happier than when I'm in the kitchen blowing clouds of flour everywhere and singing and jabbering away to myself in french whilst concocting something new.

  This past week I have been baking more than I can ever remember baking before, I have dirtied pretty much every dish in our kitchen cupboards at one point, and my poor little recipe box is now bursting with an influx of new tasty recipes. To be honest, all the mountains of dirty dishes I've created haven't been fun to scrub, but the food made with their help made it all worth it, at least in my books.

  Today I am going to share with you a few pictures of the foods I have been making.

 Here is  a picture of the homemade cookie crisp cereal I made, needless to say it was a long night forming each of those, but apparently Diane seems to think it was worth it.

  Then I was feeling summery one particularly sunny and cheery day, so I made two different kinds of galettes  and a tray full of berry and cream tarts. You might have guessed it, but I made a terrific mess in the kitchen that day.

    I was very much in the summer mood lately so I made a strawberry and cream cake, the recipe was from Rachel Khoo, I love all of her recipes and  she is my favorite culinary personality.

  Making my own cereal has really been one of my favorite things to do lately, and so when I found a recipe for chocolate and peanut butter cereal I jumped at it because I dearly love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter.

  And lastly but not at all the least, I made cupcakes, I had such a splendid time making them, and if truth be told I walked through the kitchen as many times as possible after I had made them because I loved gazing at them and envisioning them gracing a little shop window or boulangerie in Paris.

Of Books and Bugs

  There are certain times in my life when I am a mighty warrior, one that is so strong and fierce that nothing can stand in my way. I had just such a time a few days ago.

  It all started out quite innocently. There I was, sitting unsuspectingly on my bed, snuggled under my covers reading a terrific Louis L'Amour book. I have never told you before, but I love the Louis L'Amour books and so my leisurely time spent reading those books in the evenings is  quite normal and nothing seemed amiss.

  It was dark out and I was savoring the softness of my favorite blanket and the terrific tale being told in my book. Now my super warrior instincts were quite alert and my eye twitched. I thought nothing of it till I felt this great big black shadow hovering over me. Slowly I lowered my book and looked to see what it might be.

  My heart was ridden with terror when that great black shadow turned out be a most hideous brown scaled, large, bow legged bug perched primly on the tip of my big toe! Diane (she had been reading a book on the bed too) shrieked and flew out of bed. As she trembled by the door I bravely yanked my toe out from under that armored beast.

  My eagle like eyes scanned the room in seconds and with the aid of my dear comrade in battle I attained a most fearsome trap for the beast. The trap of which we are speaking was a lovely flowery stationary box. With lithe feet I approached the beast and with all my strength I fought a gag as I approached it. My breathing was labored and my heart was beating frantically, but nevertheless my nimble fingers scooped up that abomination into it's trap. Diane is not by any means a strong-hearted warrior so she fled the room as I delicately perched that box containing the monster on the top of my little waste basket and with a magnificent leap I flew under my covers feeling courageous and worthy of every medal that could possibly be bestowed upon me.

  My night was fitful because since I had not actually, dare I say it, squished, that bug it was still very much alive and all throughout the night I tossed and turned to the sound of the great bow legged behemoth clacking it's scaly shell against the sides of it's trap, trying as it might to escape.

  Now when morning arrived, rest assured I found a warrior reputed to be one with a strong heart, to put that monster to sleep. (Thanks Dad if you're reading this.) And that concludes the tale of my awesomeness.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What's the last thing you did that someone else thought was super? 

  Hmm, it was probably some dessert that I created and everyone loved, if you all haven't noticed yet, I love to bake.

2. The last thing you ate that tasted superb? 

  The last thing that I ate that tasted superb was a tiny batch of peanut butter and raisin oatmeal cookies that I made last night on a whim. Lately I have been loving to invent random recipes. I always make sure that they are single serving size that way I don't have to worry that it won't get eaten if no one likes it!

3. Supersensitive, superstitious, superwoman, superambitious, supercilious, supervisor, superficial...pick a super word from the list and tell us how it relates to your life in some way recently or currently. 

  Sighs, I definitely fall under the super-ambitious list. If anyone has seen my to-do list, they can easily tell you just how busy I am. I love busyness though, it makes me feel happy.

4. Do you love easily? If you're comfortable doing so, explain why you think that is. 

  Sure, I love easily.  I am comfortable in doing so and the reason behind it is most likely because I've always been surrounded with love from my youngest days onward.

5. Valentine's Day lands on a Tuesday this year. Will you mark the day in some way? If you're celebrating with a dinner out somewhere will it be on Tuesday or will you celebrate over the weekend? 

  I LOVE Valentine's Day and this year I planned a special day. I'll probably share more on that later but I can't now since it's supposed to be a surprise and my family reads my posts. This Friday my home school group is celebrating Valentine's Day and I can hardly wait, they are not only handing out Valentines, but they are having a wide array of sweet treats too, and really, who cares about getting a Valentine when you can eat dessert?!

6. What's something you are loving right now? 

   I love my recipe box, and my favorite black pen, I was busily copying down a bunch of recipes I want to try soon.

7. Write a three word (or less) phrase you'd like to see on a Valentine candy heart.  

  ~Always

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

  Yesterday I was in charge of tending to our furnace since Eldon was going to be painting at the shop with Dad. Now I have always been terrified of letting the fire burn out. So, I diligently took care of the fire. I opened the draft, I kept the draft open, I poked at the furnace, I shook the grate, I heaped bountiful shovels full of coal onto the fire, I clomped around down in our basement wearing my Dad's boots because I didn't have any shoes down there (I consequentially felt quite petite), I scrubbed coal dust off my hands multiple times, and by the time my Dad came home that evening it was almost eighty degrees inside and we were all unbelievably hot. On the bright side, I didn't let the fire burn out!

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today..... Monday, February 6, 2017

Looking out my window.....  I see wet clumps of snow hugging the ground on various spots as it tries its very best to resist the melt-inducing warm breeze that is wafting across the ground.

I am thinking.....  That banana chips are very delicious.

I am thankful.....  For my warm home and charm bracelets.

One of my favorite things..... That feeling of satisfaction I get once my school for the day is completed.

I am wearing.....  A white knit skirt sprigged with blue and purple flowers, a purple cap-sleeved t-shirt, and a bronze charm bracelet with birds and flowers.

I am creating.....  A cup of tea.

I am reading..... As strange as it may seem, I haven't yet found a book to read for today.

I am hoping.....  That I don't catch the cold that my siblings are suffering through.

I am learning.....  How to play the piano, I am part of Hoffman Academy online and I love all the lessons and how easy everything is taught.

In the kitchen.....  Supplies await me, I am wanting to make ground flax seed after I am done blogging here.

Picture thought..... Diane had a heap of fun out in the snow the past few weeks.