Today's Flowers

Please visit TODAY'S FLOWERS for more beautiful flowers from beautiful people. These are all from the farmers market, they have the most beautiful fresh flowers there. I am not a good gardener so I really enjoy seeing them so fresh. <

Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men or animals. Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident; others again are plain, honest and upright, like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock. ~Henry Ward Beecher, Star Papers: A Discourse of Flowers

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Have a great day. Anne

More bounty from the local farmers market

I have been visiting our local Farmers Market quite a bit lately. I love the fall harvest. The colors are so beautiful. I usually go with my husband and sometimes my daughter. My daughter and I have sort of a contest every year to pick the gourd with the most bumps and is well ,ugly lol.

When we got home we start cooking, homemade soup and fresh tomato sauce are among the treats we make.

It always turns out to be such a nice family day. I love to cook and I can't think of any place I would rather be than in the kitchen with my daughter cooking something delicious.

Look at those portabella mushrooms and the color in the eggplant. I love fall.

Have a great week and God bless you Anne

Farmers Market Challange!

Please visit Judy at http://squirrelqueen2.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-farmers-market-challenge-is.html for more wonderful visits to Farmers Markets in many places. Thanks Judy for hosting this challenge. I love going to the Farmers Market but especially in the fall. The colors are amazing. Here are some homemade wares.

The flowers are incredible.

These pies looked so delicious, they inspired me to go home and bake.

The colors in these peppers!

The homemade breads, need I say more?
I bought quite a bit from this stand, very nice people. They had garlic and shallots that I have only seen on Food Network. The corn was so delicious.

Raspberries, my favorite!

Lots of hard work here.

Thanks again Judy for hosting this . I am so glad I was finally able to join in.

Have a nice weekend Anne

Fall=Pie Baking Time!!

Last Sunday was a beautiful fall day here in Michigan. My daughter and I decided to spend the afternoon baking pie. We started with a tart cherry pie. My daughter thought it would be fun to paint on the crust with food coloring. I think it turned out really nice. It was delicious. The recipe follows at the end of the pictures. Next we decided on a fresh peach pie. I was at the farmers market to get ready for Judy's Farmers Market Challenge http://squirrelqueen2.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-farmers-market-challenge.html#comments this weekend and I picked up some fresh peaches there. We made a fresh raspberry sauce to go on it. My daughter did the crust and again I think she made it look pretty.

Cherry Pie:

2 (16-ounce) cans tart cherries

1 cup sugar, divided use

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Pie crust for double

Line a pie plate with 1/2 crust rolled out or use already made pie crust.

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Drain cherries, reserving 3/4 cup of liquid; set cherries aside.
In a saucepan combine reserved cherry juice, 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt. Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Add remaining 3/4 cup sugar and cook until glossy.
Remove from heat and stir in butter, lemon juice and almond extract. Gently fold in cherries; allow to cool.
Spoon mixture into unbaked pie crust. Cut remaining pie crust into strips and form a lattice on top of pie. Seal and flute edges; cover edges with aluminum foil. Brush lattice top with milk and sprinkle with sugar. You can also just leave a full top as above and decorate it.
Bake 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 350°F. Remove aluminum foil and bake 25 minutes or until golden brown and cherries are nice and bubbly. Cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy with ice cream or just by itself.

Peach Pie:

7 cups peaches, peeled, cored and sliced( I mixed white peaches and nectarines with regular peaches for variety)

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter

1 large egg, beaten
Crust for a double pie

Line pie plate with 1/2 rolled out crust.

Mix peaches, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt together until well combined. Pour into pie shell and dot with butter.
Make a lattice top or full crust whichever you prefer. Brush with beaten egg and if you use the full crust be sure to make some slits in center for venting.
Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until crust is golden and bubbly. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack before.
Enjoy.

Have a nice week everyone and bake some pie!! Anne

The Brenda Photo Challenge

I am trying out a new challenge The Brenda Photo Challenge. http://brendaphotochallenge.blogspot.com/ Please go and visit for more beautiful photos.
"DATE: Saturday, September 19th
THEME: "Julia, Julia"...FOOD
Any kind of shot concerning food...Your favorite maybe? Vegetables...Desserts...Complete Meals...Making dinner with the kids....Grilling...Baking...Get it? But it HAS to be edible...Hahahaa....well...you get the point!"
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I finally made it to our local farmers market for the challenge next week at http://squirrelqueen2.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-farmers-market-challenge.html#comments Thanks to Judy for that challenge and for her beautiful blog. Here are just of few of the pictures I took today:






One of my families favorites "Seven Layer Taco Salad"

My own creation "Jalapeno Popper Twice Baked Potato". The recipe is on my blog.
v<>Have a nice weekend everyone.Anne

Wordless Wednesday

http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/

On Wisconsin!! Tailgate recipe for the weekend

Another football weekend is almost upon us. Wisconsin won last week and for the harmony in our household, I hope they win again. I have a recipe that is slightly similar to last weeks "Jalapeno Popper Dip". Another variation that is easy to prepare and does work for a tailgate party or just a football party at home.

Jalapeno Popper Twice Baked Potatoes.

Serves 4

2 baking potatoes

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 cup cheddar cheese, divided use

1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapeno peppers

1 fresh jalapeno chopped up(optional)

1 TBSP olive oil

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

Bake the potatoes in the microwave according to your settings. With oven mitts on, cut them in half the long way. Let them cool. When cooled enough to handle, scoop out potato, leaving skin intact. Do this carefully as you will need the skin to put the potato back in to. Take the olive oil and brush the outside of the potato skins, this will help them crisp up a little while baking. Mix together cream cheese, mayo, cheddar cheese, pickled jalapenos. Divide this mixture and scoop into the potato skin halves. Take the potato you scooped out and mix with milk and sour cream, mash it until it is nice a smooth. Spread this potato mixture over the cream cheese mixture in the skin, making sure to completely cover the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese over and add fresh jalapeno peppers. These can be put in a foil dish and reheated right on the grill or in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and they are nice and bubbly. I love to make these and surprise my guests with the creamy center of the potato. I hope you have enjoy them.

This is before

This is after when its all mangled and ready to eat.

On Wisconsin! Anne

Another Edition of Recipe Substitutions

There always seems to be a time when I want to make something and what I need is not in the house. I have had 2 other posts with common substitutions, I want to do another one with spices and herbs. I hope it helps you sometime when you don't feel like going out to the store.

Spices:

Aniseed~~~Fennel seed or a few drops anise extract
Cardamom~~~Ginger
Chili Powder~~~dash bottled hot pepper sauce plus a combination of oregano and cumin

Cinnamon~~~Nutmeg or allspice(use only 1/4 of the amount)
Cloves~~~Allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg
Cumin~~~chili powder
Ginger~~~allspice, cinnamon, mace or nutmeg
Nutmeg~~~cinnamon, ginger or mace
Saffron~~~dash turmeric(for color)

Herbs:

Basil~~~Oregano or Thyme

Chervil~~~Tarragon or Parsley

Chive~~~green onion, onion or leek

Cilantro~~~Parsley

Marjoram~~~Basil, Thyme or Savory

Oregano~~~Thyme or Basil

Rosemary~~~Thyme, Taragon or Savory

Tarragon~~~Chervil, dash fennilseed or dash aniseseed

Thyme~~~Basil, Oregano, Marjoram or Savory

Have a great week. Anne

On Wisconsin!! Tailgate recipe for the weekend and Small Talk Six

Happy Labor Day to all of you. I hope you all have a great weekend. The college football season is here. My husband is a sports fanatic, but college football is his absolute favorite. We used to have a cartoon on the refrigerator that said"Kiss Daddy goodbye, college football season is starting". I love it also, we used to have some great tailgate parties back in Wisconsin and still do here in Michigan. I am going to share new recipes each week. I hope you like them and join me if you want and we can have a big blogger tailgate party!

Jalapeno Popper Dip

1-8 oz. cream cheese softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated cheddar cheese(divided use)
1/4 cup chopped( bottled )jalapeno peppers
1 fresh jalapeno pepper chopped
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup bottled chopped jalapeno peppers well. Spread into a foil pan or any dish that could be put on a grill. Put the rest of the cheddar cheese over the top and then the fresh jalapeno peppers and last spread the panko bread crumbs over it. Heat it in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes, until it gets nice and bubbly looking. I then wrap foil around it to keep it warm and take it to the tailgate party. It stays warm for quite a while if you wrap it tightly. If it needs to be reheated just put it on the grill. Serve with crackers or spread it on bread. It is delicious. If you don't like it so spicy, try omitting the fresh jalapenos on the top.

Enjoy and On Wisconsin!! Anne

Please visit http://www.momdot.com/blog/small-talk-six-take-this-job-and-shove-love-it/for more Small Talk Six on Saturdays posts, play along, its fun!

This weeks topic is: Take this job and (shove) love it!!

Today’s topic is “6 jobs you think would be a blast to have.” You can answer this with a list of 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, 6 photos, 6 videos, etc .

1. Food taste tester ( I know it might get sickening, but it could be fun for a while)

2. Kindergarten Teacher( I know it would be hard, but I just love that age)

3. Those guys who bring the results of the Academy Awards handcuffed to their wrists. ( How cool would that be?)

4. Party Planner( I love planning parties of all kinds)

5. Pet Daycare( I have a lot of allergies, but I would love to be surrounded by pets all day along with Sasha of course)

6. Computer Expert( I wish)

Happy Labor Day Anne

Small Talk Six on Saturday

It's Saturday!! Welcome to another edition of Small Talk Six hosted by http://www.momdot.com/blog/category/memes/small-talk-six/

Please go and visit for more great posts.

This weeks topic is “6 things you loved or hated about school.”

You can answer this with a list of 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, 6 photos, 6 videos, etc . .

I am going to focus on my high school years, aka "The worst four years of my life"

1. I loved my little group of friends

2. I hated taking 2 buses to get to the school

3. I hated studying of any kind.

4. I hated the pressure to get good grades

5. I HATED my gym teacher(my Mom went to the same school, she was 40 when I was born and I had the same gym teacher she did(honestly). She was so old and mean, I used to feel sick the night before and try to think of ways to get out of it.)

6 I loved graduating and I loved college

This isn't "Coach Burdick" but it is close enough. This is how I remember her anyway lol.

Have a great weekend Anne