Gramma Crist's Maple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gramma Crist's Maple Chocolate Chip Cookies:
1 cup maple syrup (only the real kind!)
1 large egg (or 2 small eggs)
1/2 cup butter
Mix well; Add
2 cups sifted flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 bag chocolate chips
Bake at 324 for 15 minutes. Makes 2 doz cookies.

Little kids running around waiting for the soap box race to begin.

The trunk and branches of a weeping cherry tree at the end of our driveway. So pretty.

These little star-shaped blue flowers pop up every spring. I first saw them on the front lawn of the lawschool, never the less, I still like them! These are in an empty lot on Magnolia Street.

The vicious aftermath of shower cakery...

... and a bunch of fruits, just like the attendees. :)

Mm.. melted chocolate for...

... CUPCAKE BITES!

Oh heck yes. Kind of a cake/candy/truffle hybrid.

For instructions and much better pics, go to: http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2008/01/chocolate-cupcake-lollipops.html

Pot roast

Pot Roast (courtesy of my resident chef: John) with onion, garlic, fresh basil, potatoes, carrots, and dogwood blossoms from our back yard.
The Roast: on a gorgeous platter that John's mom gave us, made by a potter near Carrabelle, Florida.

Making Maple Syrup

The Maple Syrup Process. My mom's cousin makes maple syrup in Home, Pa. It's delicious, and amazing to watch! (Andy's Own Pure Maple Syrup: http://maplesyrup.cas.psu.edu/producers/indiana.htm. Andy is my second cousin)


The syrup house.

Notice the Maple leaves on the doors.

That is my mom's cousin, Allan, and the voracious wood furnace they use to heat the sap.

That photo is not blurry, it's the steam in the room. It makes you smell like syrup :-) It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, so most of it goes up in steam.

Sunset near the Blue Ridge Parkway, on the way home from Home.

Pea Sprout Stir-fry and Salad

Pea Sprouts: I planted too many peas and sugar peas and needed to thin them out. Here are my resulting experiments.



Fresh Pea Sprout Salad: pea sprouts, feta, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes and fresh ground pepper.


Pea Sprout Stir-fry. Brown some garlic, fresh basil, and onions in olive oil. Add pea sprouts and a little bit of soy sauce, cook until they wilt (this happens almost immediately and they reduce A LOT, so you need more sprouts than you'd think). remove the pea sprouts and fry two eggs in the remaining onions and soy sauce.

YUM!

Maple Syrup Collecting

Maple Syrup Buckets

Home, PA.

Panorama from Musser's Hill in Home, PA.

Colt's Foot

Random flower in Home, Pennsylvania.

Ina Garten's Italian wedding soup. Sort of.

Bad kitty toesies.

Craig enjoying big band music on the back porch.

Migas with a quickie homemade salsa. (moment of blissful silence)

full moon rising before the sun went down

Tandoori Chicken and Chicken Masala

Tandoori Chicken and Chicken Masala, one from a mix and one from spices that I bought at the Indian Grocery.

Yummmmmmy vegetable lo mein.. a huge portion for under 150 calories.

Stupid Bradford pear trees blossoming outside our house. Not pretty enough to redeem themselves for making me itchy and miserable from March until the beginning of June. (stink eye at Bradford pear trees)

Garlic Basil Shrimp

Garlic Basil Shrimp and fresh spring greens with feta, balsamic vinegar strawberries and tomatoes. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/garlic-basil-shrimp-recipe/index.html

Dinner last night: mini pierogies with onions and mushrooms.

Salmon Marinades: Balsamic, Bourbon, Balsamic Strawberries

Salmon: marinated in 4 tablespoons brown sugar, 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 2 tbsp good bourbon, 1 clove garlic minced.

2nd marinade: 3 tbsp. olive oil, 2 tablespoons EACH soy sauce, balsalmic vinegar, sugar and 1 tbsp chopped onion, 1 clove minced garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon ginger.

Marinate it for up to eight hours (or 30 minutes, whichever) and broil skin-side down for about 8 minutes or until fish flakes a bit with a fork.

Strawberries with balsamic vinegar, fresh ground pepper, and white sugar, steamed asparagus with butter and Parmesan cheese.

Mmmm, birfaday cake.

Baby triple chocolate cakes in my grandmother's brioche molds (I think they're brioche molds anyway); leftover cake batter from a birthday cake for tomorrow...


... and a really long-suffering cat.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes: recipe from http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/car-bomb-cupcakes/

My peas have sprouted, in spite of the snow!

Egg White Omelet

Egg white omelet (I can never remember how to spell that) with hydroponic basil and mozzarella cheese.
www.poladroid.net

Key Lime Cake

Key Lime Cake and pac-man