Happy Leap Day!

 HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL THE LEAP YEAR BABIES!!!!  

To read about local four year old twins celebrating their birthday today click here!

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO THOSE WHO TIED THE KNOT ON FEBRUARY 29TH!

 

Walt Disney World  CELEBRATES LEAP YEAR

Joining us February 29, 2012 for 24-hours of Magic Kingdom fun during One More Disney Day? The Walt Disney World Facebook Patrol will be on the lookout for our most colorful fans – be sure to say hi for your chance to be featured on our page!

If you can’t be here in person, we’ll be updating our page throughout the day, so check back often to see what’s happening in the Park!

  

Meatless Monday~Fresh Raspberry Breakfast Custard ~ Bourré Rouge Poivre ~

Breakfast

Fresh Raspberry Breakfast Custard

Butter Four Custard Ramekins

Wash 1 Pint of Fresh Raspberries*(sing Happy Birthday twice while rinsing)  Place in bowl add 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Using mixer mix 4 eggs, 3/4 c sugar, 2c milk, 1/2 stick melted butter, 1 teas.vanilla, and 1/2 c Bisquick or Jiffy Biscuit Mix. Pour mixture into buttered ramekins Bake 375 degrees 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes clean and custard is golden on top.  

You can eat them warm or chilled,  spoon fresh raspberries on top.

Drink: Coffee and Orange Julep

Orange Julep

1 qt. orange juice

1 c sugar

juice squeezed from 6 limes

1/2 c minced mint

1 pint of club soda

Mix first four ingredients, place on ice 1 hour.  Half fill glasses with ice, add club soda and prepared juice, and sprigs of mint.

Lunch

Rustic Bread Pull-A-Parts

 1 rustic loaf of bread, unsliced, either Italian or French

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice the bread almost all the way through (not all the way) in a cross hatch pattern, spacing an inch between the slices.

Place the bread on a large sheet of aluminum foil (large enough to wrap the bread) on a baking sheet.

Caramelize 1/2 medium chopped Vidalia Onion, 1/2 chopped shallots, 2 cloves of garlic in 3 tbsps olive oil until tender and slightly brown, add add 1/2 C chopped roasted red pepper, and 1/2 stick of melted butter, Spoon into cuts of bread.

Sprinkle into the cuts of bread 1- 7 Oz bag of shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese Wrap with the aluminum foil, bake in oven for 15 minutes, uncover for another 10 minutes.

Place on a serving board or plate to serve. Pull apart to eat.

Peach Tea Recipe

• 4 cups cold fresh water
• 4 tea bags or 4 tsp loose tea leaves
• 1 can peaches in light syrup
• 1 lemon sliced
• dash of cinnamon or cinnamon sticks - optional

Bring water to a boil in a kettle or pot, not aluminum. Steep your tea as you would normally do. You can either use just the peach syrup or for more flavor use the fruit as well. Place the peaches and syrup in a blender and puree for 1-2 minutes. Once tea is steeped, add peach puree and lemon juice. Place the peach tea in a large pitcher and chill.
When ready to serve, the pulp from the fruit will have settled to the bottom of the picture, do not re stir unless you want the fruit in the tea.
Poor over ice cubes in a tall glass and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon or cinnamon stick if you like. Peppermint leaves also make a nice garnish!
To serve hot, just reheat the tea without boiling, and serve immediately.
A very nice, refreshing tea, whether you drink it hot or cold.

Dinner

Bourré Rouge Poivre  Stuffed Red Peppers

2 large red peppers

1 large green pepper

1large yellow pepper

1 large Vidalia onion

2 cloved garlic

2 bags of Success Rice

1 pint of grape tomatoes

1/4 cup olive oil

Halve and clean the red peppers, brush with olive oil, bake on parchment lined cookie sheet for 7 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove from oven.

Prepare rice as per directions on the box.  Remove cooked bags of rice and allow to drain and cool.

Sautee in olive oil chopped onion, garlic cloves, and chopped yellow and green peppers until caramelized.  Season with mixture of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.  Remove from heat add halved grape tomatoes lightly stir. 

Fold the above mixture into the the rice and stuff the four halved roasted red peppers, return to 400 degree oven of 5 minutes.  Serves four.

Southern Style Cornbread

 

·         2 cups yellow or white cornmeal , preferably stone ground

·         3/4 cup all-purpose flour

·         2 tablespoons sugar

·         2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1/2 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         2 cups buttermilk

·         2 large eggs , beaten

·         1/4 cup vegetable oil , preferably sunflower, plus additional for the pan

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Generously oil a 9- to 10-inch cast-iron skillet (or a 9-inch cake pan) and place it on the rack. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl to combine. Make a well in the center. Whisk the buttermilk, eggs, and oil in another bowl until the eggs are well combined. Pour into the well and stir just until the batter is moistened — do not over beat.

Remove the hot skillet from the oven and pour in the batter. Bake until the bread springs back when pressed in the center, 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, then turn out onto a plate or serve directly from the skillet.

Apricot and Coconut Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 2/3 Cup TIANA coconut cream
30-55 dried apricots, chopped
handful of ice
1 tbsp honey

Method:
1. Place all the ingredients into a food processor then blend until combined and smooth.
2. Pour into a tall serving glass and serve at once.

Blue Berry Drizzled Pound Cake Dessert

1 Sarah Lee Frozen All Butter Pound Cake

1 quart of Neapolitan Ice Cream

1 jar of blueberry pie filling

Allow pound cake to defrost at room temperature as directed on box. Slice 1 1/2 inch pieces of pound cake.

Heat in microwave or stove top blueberry pie filling for approx. 1 minute.  

Place 2 scoops of ice cream on top of pound cake slices and spoon on the heated blueberry pie filling just before serving.  You may add a dollop of whipped cream if you prefer.

*Thoroughly wash fruit with running water just before eating or cooking.

One Thrilled Little Granddaughter, Nat and Alex Wolff Concert

The Venue

Abby inside The Note before the concert

Abby and her sign before the concert

Abby received Backstage Pass from Tour Manager

Abby with autographed sign, and autographed backstage pass

Abby and I attended the Nat and Alex Wolff Black Sheep Tour Concert at The Note in West Chester, Pennsylvania last night.  What a treasure it was for me to see Abby so thrilled to see these amazingly talented brothers perform live in concert.


The first time she told me about The Naked Bros Band a Nickelodeon Show, I of course asked her if they were naked!  To which she adamantly replied "No, silly Grammy!"  Abby was just a little over four years old at the time, but knew all the words to their song Crazy Car. So I got out my camera and recorded her singing Crazy Car and posted it on YouTube.   It got a ton of hits, and she was so proud of her singing debut.  At the request of her parents I took the video down because of the fear of a stalker.


When Abby and cousin Lilyanna come to sleep over night with me they have a Playlist that I created just for them and every Naked Bros. Band/Nat and Alex Woolf song is on it.  They play them, and play them loud, while dancing around my living room.  Sometimes when Abby is here alone she watches their videos and seems to be mesmerized when she watches her favorite brother Nat sing.


And as I told them during a Meet and Greet last night I have seen all of their Naked Bros. Band TV Series shows when Abby sleeps over.  Abby was so thrilled to have her picture taken with them as they each had an arm around her shoulders.  Nat looked right into her face and told her how much he loved her poster and that it was "Beautiful!"


On the way home she kept saying, "Am I dreaming?"  Her little sister Maggie would reply, "You must be dreaming!"

I took a few photos before the concert and just as Nat and Alex came onto the stage my camera batteries died.  The mother of one of the amazing warm up acts * TheyCallMePiano  took my email address and is going to email me photos.  Another fan took the picture of Abby with Nat and Alex on her phone and is emailing it to me.  I am so grateful to these generous fans of Nat and Alex Woolf the former Naked Bros. Band!


Last night the fans, mostly girls screamed at the top of their lungs when they sang "Crazy Car"!  It so reminded me of the Ricky Nelson lyrics to A Garden Party; "But if memories were all I sang, I rather drive a truck."  It seemed as though fans can get stuck in the past of an entertainer that starts out when they are very young and wish to progress into adulthood.

I have seen these two talented boys turn into two extremely talented young men.  From the"Bubble Gum" sound of their childhood television show music they have  blossomed into full fledged recording artists. I wish them luck with the Black Sheep Tour and that the fans allow them to break out with much success in this new endeavor at creating a new mature sound. 

Abby now has a Blog of her own:  http://leaderofthewolffpack.blogspot.com/


Nat and Alex Wolff Official Website

* Check out this video of TheyCallMePiano on my Blue Mountain Road Blog today. This young lady is AMAZING!!!!

My Lenten Sacrifice

A Lenten Sacrifice

Today is the first day of Lent.  I am giving up negative thinking.  The great inspirational speaker and pastor Robert Schuller created an acronym for LENT: Let's Eliminate Negative Thoughts.  So that is my Lenten sacrifice, Negative Thinking. This is a hard task, given that we live in such a negative thinking society with many daily trials,  dealing with others who enjoy creating havoc.  I will be diligent in prayer, and HE who came to save the world will see me through. 

The Way Home by Mattie Stepanek

“Sometimes the way home is love.
Sometimes the way home is together.
And sometimes the way home is
Not just love,
But loving each other.
And sometimes the way home is
Not just together,
But together with other people . . .
People you love a lot,
People you like a lot, and
People you are friends with.
But all of the times, the way home is
Every good thing that God told us to do.” 

The Word Of The Lord: "Whoever wishes to be my follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in my steps."                                   – Luke 9:23

Kutztown University Radio Interview With Jill Stein Green Party Presidential Candidate for 2012!

 Kutztown University Radio Interview With Jill Stein Green Party Presidential Candidate for 2012! Today February 21, 2012...

At 2:00 PM EST , a special edition of "Kutztown Live" with  my son-in-law Michael Regensburger, this week sitting down at around 2:05 with Green Party candidate for President Jill Stein. 

A fantastic interview! I am so proud of my son-in-law Mike.  He asked all the right questions! I think he got all the right answers too!


To download and listen to your own copy of the interview, click Here Kutztown University Radio and follow the prompts to download the interview through iTunes. (You will need to have iTunes on your computer for this to work. iTunes is free to download if you don't have it). The Dr. Jill Stein interview is listed under the "Interview" tab. Scroll all the way down and download.

Former Walp's Restaurant & PA Dutch Recipe Fastnacht Doughnuts

The following recipe comes from the Walp's Family Restaurant Commemorative Cookbook: 

Fastnacht Doughnuts

A Shrove Tuesday Tradition

Cook 3 pounds peeled potatoes for each large batch of Sweet Dough.  Mash the cooked potatoes and add to Sweet Dough recipe.  Use the potato water instead of tap water for water in the Sweet Dough recipe. DO NOT USE INSTANT POTATOES.  Follow Sweet Dough recipe and doughnut making instructions.

*Obviously this recipe is for a restaurant or perhaps a church that sells them as a fund raiser. My church St. John's Evangelical Lutheran in Hamburg sell them.

PA Dutch Cookbook Recipe

2 cups scaled milk

 ½ cup lard
1 cup mashed potatoes 2 teaspoons salt
¾ cup sugar 2 well beaten eggs
1 package yeast
7 cups flour, approximately

Scald milk and add mashed potatoes, sugar, salt, and lard. Cool until lukewarm. Add eggs. Add yeast and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead well and place in a greased bowl. Cover with a cloth and let rise about 1½ hours. Roll ¼ inch thick on a
floured board. Place on a cloth and let rise until doubled in size and fry in hot fat.

Shrove Tuesday Tradition
Update: February 12, 2013 Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday is the preceding day to Ash Wednesday and the tradition of eating fatty sweet foods on Shrove Tuesday is a sort of last fling with consuming foods that are to be sacrificed during the Lenten Season, February 22 through April 5, 2012(Holy Thurs.).   Lent is a special time of prayer, penance, sacrifice and good works in preparation of the celebration of Easter.

Marvelous Meatless Mondays

*Posting on Sunday to give you time to acquire the ingredients.

Breakfast: French Toast Stuffed With Apples, Godiva chocolate truffle coffee, Get Up And Mango Juice
Recipe:




French Toast Stuffed With Apples


Ingredients



•1 cup packed brown sugar


•1/2 cup butter, cubed


•2 tablespoons light corn syrup


•1 cup chopped pecans


•12 slices Italian bread (1/2 inch thick)


•2 large tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced


•6 eggs


•1-1/2 cups milk


•1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


•1 teaspoon vanilla extract


•1/4 teaspoon salt


•1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg


•CARAMEL SAUCE:

•1/2 cup packed brown sugar


•1/4 cup butter, cubed


•1 tablespoon light corn syrup


Directions


•In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup; cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish; top with half of the pecans, a single layer of bread and remaining pecans. Arrange apples and remaining bread over the top.


•In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and nutmeg. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.


•Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned.


•In a small saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Serve with French toast. Yield: 6 servings.


Get Up And Mango Juice

Start with 8 oz peach juice. Then add 2 scoops of frozen yogurt. Next add 2 scoop of frozen mangoes. Then two scoops of frozen peaches. Then add 2 scoops of crushed ice. Blend until desired consistency.

Lunch:   Vegetarian BLT  

Recipe:

Toast your favorite bread depending on how many you wish to serve and how many layers you wish to have the sandwich.
sautee several slices of vegetarian bacon until crisp.
break off several leaves of your favorite lettuce(I prefer romaine)
Spread toast with you favorite brand of mayonaisse, and assemble sandwich.  You may add avacado slices or replace vegetarian bacon with a smokey flavored cheese.


Aunt Ree's Lemonade
Recipe:

5 lemons


5 limes


5 oranges


3 quart water


1 1/2 - 2 cups sugar


Squeeze the juice from 4 of the lemons, limes and oranges; pour into a gallon container. Thinly slice the remaining fruit and set aside for garnish. Add water and sugar to juices; mix well. Store in the refrigerator. Serve on ice with fruit slices.

Dinner:  Hearty Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe:

Ingredients



1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles


1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced


3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper


3/4 cup chopped onion


3 cloves garlic, minced


2 tablespoons vegetable oil


2 (26 ounce) jars pasta sauce


1 teaspoon dried basil


1 (15 ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese


4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese


2 eggs


1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Directions


1.Cook the lasagna noodles in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes, or until al dente. Rinse with cold water, and drain.


2.In a large saucepan, cook and stir mushrooms, green peppers, onion, and garlic in oil. Stir in pasta sauce and basil; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.


3.Mix together ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, and eggs.


4.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread 1 cup tomato sauce into the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer 1/2 each, lasagna noodles, ricotta mix, sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Repeat layering, and top with remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese.


5.Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.




Garlic Bread

Caeser Salad No Anchovies:  Recipe:         Two heads of Romaine Lettuce chopped into 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces, your favorite croutons, fresh grated parmesan cheese (refridgerator section of grocery store)

Recipe for dressing with no anchovies:

Combine and process in food processor until thoroughly blended:


- 3 garlic cloves


- 3/4 - 1 cup mayonnaise


- 1+ tsp dijon mustard


- 1/2 tsp English mustard (dry powder)


- 2 1/2 - 3 tbs red wine vinegar


- 2 tsp worcestershire sauce


- 1/2 - 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese


- salt and pepper to taste
Then add to the mixture in a thin stream while continuing to process:


1/4 cup light olive oil


Process until mixture is emulsified.


Drink: Non-Alcohol Aperol Spritz

The Spritz cocktail(alcohol version) is drunk all day in Italy in their caffe shops, ostari, and in bakeries. Because this drink is low in alcohol, it is a great way to start your meal, as it is a digestive drink that whets the appetite. In the Venice, it is simply called a “spreetz.” 

Recipe:
Combine:



  George Washington Pie

Dessert: In honor of President George Washington on President's Day  George Washington Pie: Recipe: 


1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust
1-8ox. pkg cream cheese
1 -12 Oz Tub Cool Whip
1/2 C Sugar
1 jar of cherry pie filling


Beat cream cheese and cool whip with sugar until smooth and creamy.  Spoon into the pie crust.  Top with Cherry Pie Filling allow to set in fridge for half hour. 

A Wonderful Valentine's Tea Party and Brunch

Notice off to the left my Hibiscus bloomed for the day.

 The Valentine's Tea Party and Brunch was a huge hit!  The grandkids arrived dressed in their finest outfits and Princess dresses.  They were so thrilled to see the decorations and treats.  All were hungry and so willing to eat their picnic brunch of comfort food, crock pot of chili, and oven baked macaroni and cheese, and then on to the delightful desserts.  I baked cupcakes, and Linzer Tarts.  I made homemade heart shaped sugar cubes for the tea.  We had tea, cocoa, and root beer to drink. Jamiann made mini marshmallows dipped in white chocolate and then heart shaped sprinkles for the cocoa.

After dinner they danced to the sounds of Nat and Alex former Naked Brothers Band, Katy Perry's Fireworks, Lady Gaga, Owl City's Fireflies,  and Hot Chele Rae-Tonight. 

All my hard work and preparation didn't go unnoticed either, besides the ooos and aaaas, I received some nice Valentine's Day gifts.  My husband Roger gave me the lovely pink roses in the pictures and a Russell Stover Heart Box of chocolates, Jennifer and family gave me the top and scarf, and Jamiann and family gave me a pink scented candle.  What a wonderful day today was for my family and me.  I am blessed!

For the recipe for the Linzer Tarts click here: Linzer Tarts
To learn how to make the basket cupcakes or heart shaped sugar cubes click here:  Cupcakes & Sugar Cubes
To learn how to make extraordinary marshmallows to top off a nice cup of hot chocolate click here Mallows With Pizzazz

A Remarkable Young Man and My Hero-Andy Weaver

This is one of my Facebook Friends, the unbelievably remarkable and inspiring Andy Weaver who has been confined to a wheel chair and has been rigorously working with physical therapists to get out of the chair and walk. He does everything with so much enthusiasm, he is my hero! Just look at that crowd cheering him on...Andy you are so loved and admired! Keep up the spirit!

Groundhog Day-Don't Want To Burst Your Bubble But....

For the most part groundhogs hibernate from October and all the way up until April sometimes.  No Groundhog with a lick of sense would come out on February the second.    Most of them build a separate borrow that is dug below the frost line and remains at a stable temp well above freezing during these months. 


I have a groundhog who lives under my shed.  He has been living there for several years.  My neighbor wants him dead as he eats his garden in the summer.  I feel sorry for him, and actually have prayed for him.  I know that is silly.  I really don't mind killing stink bugs though!


Now there you go...the stink bug.  How about Stink Bug Day.  That would definitely be a better choice of predicting the coming of warmer weather.  Whenever we have a warmer day like we had on Sunday the Stink Bug appears.   

Today there is quite an overcast here in Berks County, PA yet they say that Phil saw his shadow in Punxsutawney, PA.  Most likely the result of a barrage of camera flashes!


Happy Groundhog Day!

Re-Post: The Window from which we look

I got the following in an e-mail, and just had to pass it on...

The Window from which we look

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood.
The next morning while they are eating breakfast,
The young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
"That laundry is not very clean", she said.
"She doesn't know how to wash correctly.
Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry,
The young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a
Nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:

"Look, she has learned how to wash correctly.
I wonder who taught her this."

The husband said, "I got up early this morning and
Cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others
Depends on the purity of the window through which we look