Unbelievably Awesome!

It's been a good day.  Unbelievably awesome...and I'll tell you why.

I've driven 10 hours (I mentioned this trip yesterday) anticipating rain all day but the trip was unremarkable...just a few drizzles and light rain and no unpleasant traffic situations...my kind of drive. I usually stop at the rest stops every 90 minutes or so, just to give myself a break, and came across a lovely field of these unpretentious blooms at one of the FL stops...

...they brightened the area with a blanket of yellow speckles!  None of this is awesomely unbelievable, but it was the beginning of my day.

This begins what is awesomely unbelievable...As I drove, I spent time thinking about the fact that my youngest daughter Jessica has a son (my much beloved grandson Liam...am I old enough to have a daughter old enough???...) who is graduating from pre-Kindergarten (how times have changed...when I was a child, we didn't go to pre-K or Kindergarten, first grade was our first undertaking of official schooling), and here we are celebrating Liam's first unquestionable step into "big-boydom".  In a way, I am unsettled about it (he is growing so fast), but at the same time, I am upbeat, because this is a really big step and exciting for him (and Jessi too). This is Liam waving goodbye to his Papa Mark when he dropped him off at school for a field trip...uber cute!

I also thought about how absolutely awesome it is going to be to have them visiting us at the cabin for the first time...we have so many plans...fishing, rafting, going to see the bears, picking strawberries, riding our ATV, hiking the mountain, hunting for mushrooms, going to collect fresh eggs, eating wild edibles...I can't wait!!!  I hope this is a trip that will unequal any other for them!  Not really unbelievable, but awesome!

And finally, I must share some unexpected but exciting news (at least to me, this is the most awesomely unbelievable).  I am not one to sign up for many giveaways...I often feel that it is unrealistic to expect to win. One of the blogs I follow, Christina Katz ~ The Prosperous Writer had an offer to win all of her works (click on the link to find out more about her, but in short, she writes about being a prosperous writer, which is what I am working my career/profession toward), so I decided to go ahead and make a comment on that particular post because I like her work.  Well guess what, I got an email from her saying I WON!!!  Awesomely unbelievable!!!

The best part about winning (besides being the lucky recipient of her books) is that it reignited my excitement for moving my writing career forward, and reminded me that what might seem to be impossible IS possible!  To dream...the impossible dream...(Don Quixote).  I am moving forward with my dream!!!  Thanks to all of you for being a part of it!!!

Visit ABCWednesday for more blogs highlighting the letter U.  Many thanks to the founder, Mrs. Denise Nesbitt, and to Roger for taking over from her.

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Road Trip!

Tomorrow I am waking up with the stars (which I prefer...somehow driving at night seems to make the time pass faster for me once the sun rises) and am heading south to our river place, and then eventually further south for my grandson Liam's Pre K (pre kindergarten) graduation.  It's hard to believe he will be heading to big boy school in August...how time flies!  I'm so proud of him, and of course you will be hearing all about it!  When I return, I'll be bringing my daughter Jessi and Liam back with me for a visit here at our cabin...I am really looking forward that!  So...today's been filled with taking care of a few odds & ends and packing while Johny went into town to get himself some provisions (which consists of foods I don't like to eat like canned chili and peas) .      

While walking to the garden, I came across this beautiful Spiderwort...

Funny thing happened while taking that Spiderwort picture...I had a few pole bean seeds soaking in a glass bowl so I could plant them into a few spaces where nothing came up, and while maneuvering the bowl to take the picture, I looked down...

...ha ha ha, made me laugh out loud!  I wasn't in a hurry, but just wasn't paying attention...one of each work shoe (yes, I know, there's a hole in one, that seems to happen to most of my shoes!). 

This interesting Tulip-Tree Moth has taken residence on the wall of our cabin, it's quite large as moths go about 4 inches from wing tip to leg tip... 

...look at those antenna!

This creature was sitting on our porch railing, I have no idea what it is, but I wouldn't want to be bitten by one!

I leave you now to finish packing (and making a breakfast/lunch sandwich which will keep in a cooler on the front seat so I can graze during my 10 hour drive), and just a little quite time.  Early to bed for this early riser!

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Mountain Laurel is Blooming...My Photographic Study

The Mountain Laurel around our cabin is beginning to bloom.  And while a fully bloomed bush is dramatic, I'm finding the buds as interestingly spectacular!  Today's post is my photographic tribute to and exploration of the newly budding 'Mountain Ivy' as the locals call it...

A blooms amongst the buds...

This is the same photo as the one below, this one focused on the buds...

...this one on the bloom.

The little hairs are intriguing to me...

...so fine, delicate and sparkly!

A bud just beginning to open...

Deep inside a single bloom...

A few more photos just because I am enjoying them so much!

I am completely grateful for the many joys nature brings to us...life is good!

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Sow Thistle - A Wonderful Wild Edible

Do you ever dine on wild edibles?  We enjoy researching all with wild goodies nature has to offer...I've mentioned one of our favorite wild edibles is dandelion.  Yesterday we tried sow thistle, and it was quite good!  The best part was Mountain Man harvested, cleaned and cooked it!

This is a young sow thistle, they grow wild all over the open areas around our woods and cabin. The blooms look very much like a dandelion flower...it's not time for the blooms yet and we were so anxious to try it that this one will never have flowers, it served as our greens for dinner!

You can eat the stems and leaves, and even the flower buds.  One of the good things about living far from town is we can be sure these sow thistles (weeds to most people) have not been sprayed with any kind of pesticide.

After harvesting, you wash and cut (we kept the stems long for this picture so yo could see how it looks, but cut them into smaller pieces for cooking).

Boil them in water for 5 minutes.  The next time, we are going to try eating them without boiling...I'm not a lover of boiled veggies of any kind...and maybe grill or pan fry them.

Look at the lovely deep green color!  Johny added a little extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon, and salt.  They were quite good...mild with just a hint of bitterness, the stems were a little crunchy, and the leaves had the texture of spinach or chard.  It was a perfect accompaniment to our pork chops, which I grilled and then served with the fresh pineapple sage chopped into apple sauce as a condiment...YUM!

If you've never tried eating any wild edibles, I highly recommend it.  Nature provides so many interesting things to supplement our diets.  If you do decide to try it, make sure you research what is edible and how to harvest/clean/cook it.

You know what they say, one persons yard weed is another persons nutrition, LOL!

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Amish Friendship Bread

A week ago, my friend Bertie gifted me with her much loved hand written recipe for Amish Cinnamon Bread and a starter (more about that in a minute). She also sent me home with some of the loaf she made so we could try it before I made my own, and it was so good I decided to go for it (my first time making this bread)...today was day 10 (the day you bake the bread) and as soon as it came out of the oven, I took some over to Bertie so she could try it and let me know what she thought.  To might delight, she said it was delicious!

This is the recipe Bertie gave me...you can tell it's been a family favorite!

And this is my starter.  The starter is passed along to friends, and is the basis for the bread.  Click here to learn more about Amish Friendship Bread.

The recipe isn't really difficult, but it takes 10 days from the time you begin with your starter.  This recipe is a little different from the one you will find on the link above. 

Amish Friendship Bread

Ingredients:

Bread starter (you will either receive this from a friend or you can purchase it)
For each of day 6 and day 10:
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup self rising flour

Also For Day 10:

1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding
Raw sugar
I added a pinch of nutmeg and a tiny splash of almond extract as well (they both work well with cinnamon and walnuts)

Directions:

Leave the starter on the counter, do not refrigerate
Use self-rising flour
Use wooden or plastic spoons, no metal

Day 1 - put starter in a bowl with loose lid
Day 2, 3, 4 & 5 - stir the starter each day, keeping the lid loose
Day 6 - put the starter into a large bowl and add in 1 cup milk, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup flour, mixing well

It looks the same as the starter you began with, only there's more of it.

Day 7, 8, & 9 - stir the batter once each day, keeping the lid loose
Day 10 - add 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, 1 cup sugar and mix well (same as day 6)

I combined the flour and sugar first (to mix evenly)...

...added the milk to the starter to combine...

...then the dry ingredients.

Looks like the starter, only thicker and more of it!

Now using 3 separate containers, pour 1 cup of the batter into each container (this is your starter to share or freeze).

I like using the plastic freezer bags because they store easily, and it makes it easy to share with friends!

Set the remaining batter aside (this is your starter, the batch you use to make your bread).

Beat 3 eggs, then add 1 cup oil, 1/2 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla and a splash of pure almond extract...

...combining well.

Add to the starter above mixture.

In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 3 tbsp cinnamon, pinch nutmeg, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 cup chopped nuts and 2 boxes of instant pudding.

Now combine with wet and dry ingredients.

Your batter will be very thick, a little sticky (gloppy is a fitting descriptive, but not very appetizing, lol).

Grease 2 bread pans and sprinkle the raw sugar and cinnamon to cover the bottom of the pans (I made sure it went up the side enough to cover the curve of the bottom of the pan).

Pour in the batter and sprinkle raw sugar and cinnamon on the top of the batter.

Put the pans in a preheated 325 F oven for an hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  As the recipe indicates, I put my oven on 300 F, and after 50 minutes the bread was still quite wet, so I increased the temperature to 325.  My smaller loaf was finished 15 minutes after I increased the oven temp (total of 65 minutes), the larger one took a total of 75 minutes.

It is delicious, with just the right amount of chew in the crust and a smooth cinnamony bread with the crunch of walnuts here and there...worth the 10 days to make!  And I can't wait to share the starter:)

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Visit Flour Me With Love: Mix It up Monday! for more interesting recipes.