Superbowl: Food or Football?
We always get together with friends for the Superbowl. I’m not really that big on football, especially the NFL (personally I think it’s all rigged). For me it’s all about the food and friends. We usually plan out a special menu, last year we had a wild game theme with buffalo and venison mini burgers and other delicious sides. This year we’re doing fun snack food, like potato skins, chips, and these pretzel dogs.
I also made some of these chewy oatmeal cookies for Mr Chiots, he’s a big oatmeal cookie fan and I haven’t made them in a long long time! They were really great, perfectly chewy and full of nuts and raisins.
Of course there always ends up being too much food, but that’s what the Superbowl is all about. Food and Friends!
Did you watch the Superbowl? Is is about the football or the food for you, or something else?
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Snowed In
I’m sure many of you got the same winter storm we got hit with on Friday/Saturday. It started snowing around noon on Friday and didn’t stop until about noon on Saturday. We don’t generally get this much snow at once here in these parts of Ohio. It was a heavy wet sticky snow, so everything was covered in snow. The side of our garage was plastered, as was the house and all the trees.
Since we had a meeting in Cleveland yesterday evening, we had to dig ourselves out. So we bundled up and headed out to shovel the driveway.
This is what we saw, we had to start shoveling from inside (and we have a step up into our house).
We still like to shovel our driveway, instead of a snow blower. It’s like raking leaves, a great reason to get out on a beautiful day and a great workout (keeps those gardening muscles in shape)! We only have one snow shovel, so I had to use my gardening shovel. We ended up with 14-18 inches of snow, we measured here between our house and garage which is a bit sheltered. My mom who lives an hour northwest of us, got around 8 inches. In Pittsburgh, about an hour and half east of us, they had almost two feet of snow.
We’re loving this snow! The sun came out yesterday afternoon and it was just beautiful. I was hoping to head out and take some photos, but after two and a half hours shoveling I was a bit tired.
Did you get hit with the winter storm?
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Make Your Own: Baking Powder
Baking powder and baking soda are both leavening agents used in baking. Some recipes call for baking powder, baking soda or a combination of both. When both are used in a recipe, the baking powder does most of the leavening and the baking soda is used to neutralize the acids and add tenderness. Baking powder does lose it’s potency after a while, so I mix up small batches whenever I need them.
I started mixing my own baking powder quite a while ago. I ran out once and didn’t want to run to the store. I knew you could mix it up at home, but had never done it. So I looked up a recipe on-line. It’s so quick and easy, I’ve been mixing it up fresh ever since. I also like homemade baking powder because I can make it aluminum free. Homemade baking powder is not double acting like most of what you buy in the store, so it’s important to bake the item right away. (Jennifer brings up a good question in the comments about cookies that call for chilling – I chill the dough, sometimes overnight and have never had issue with cookies not rising, so I guess baking right away isn’t necessary).
Homemade Baking Powder
1 teaspoon baking soda (I use aluminum free)
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon corn starch *optional
Mix all ingredients in a small jar. If you are using right away, there is no need to add corn starch, *add if you’re planning on storing baking powder for future use.
It costs a little less than 18 cents for each batch you make following this recipe, if I didn’t add corn starch it would cost only 14 cents per batch. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t buy organic aluminum free baking powder for this price and it certainly wouldn’t be as fresh. I’ve always had great results with this homemade baking powder. So next time you’re in a pinch and need baking powder, mix some up at home. You’ll be surprised by how quick and easy it is.
Have you ever mixed up your own baking powder?
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Laura and Mary Had Never Seen a Town
The nearest town was far away. Laura and Mary had never seen at town. They had never seen a store. They had never seen even two houses standing together. But they knew that in a town there were many houses, and a store full of candy and calico and other wonderful things – powder, and shot, and salt and store sugar.
Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House in the Big Woods)
It hit me when I read this quote from the book, can you imagine never having seen a store? Can you imagine what they would think if they walked into this Whole Foods?
It’s just amazing how our lives are so different than they were 150 years ago. We don’t head out to the store that often, especially now that we buy a lot of food locally. But with cars and the interstate system, Mr Chiots and I can drive 50 miles to Cleveland to visit a Whole Foods or 25 miles to our local small health food store and be home within a few hours. To me the big grocery is full of plantains and mangoes and things I can’t get here at the Farmer’s Market.
Can you imagine having never seen a town, a store, or even two houses sitting close together?
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Forcing Spring
Earlier this week I cut a few forsythia branches and brought them in. I put them in an old canning jar filled with water and put them on the old dresser that serves as a sideboard in my dining room.
Forcing forsythia is actually quite easy. You need to wait till Feb so that they’ve fulfilled their chill time. Cut branches less than 3 feet long on a day that is above freezing. Place them in warm water and put them in a bright warm place. If they get sun they’ll open quicker than if they don’t. Change water occasionally to keep it fresh.
Next time I got to my mom’s I’m planning on cutting some pussy willows to force as well, and I’ll probably cut a few more forsythia for other places around the house. I can’t wait for the yellow sprays to brighten my dining room.
Do you ever force blooms or bulbs?
