GORGEOUS WINTER MORNING!

The high-bush cranberries looked like sugared candy this morning! Iowa is so beautiful in every season! There is a deep fog hanging over the river today, so during my walk up on one of the bluffs it was simply magical. The fog was hanging in the trees, about two-thirds of the way down into the woods, and every branch, every twig, every strand of barbed wire was gently touched with the frost. The air was completely still and the woods were quiet, just starting wake up for the day - but waking very slowly.

Every branch and thorn, covered in gorgeous frost.

Hoar frost on everything this morning around our home! Beautiful!

Go take a walk before the magic is burned off!

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA!

Just finished watching the inauguration ceremonies for
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
I cried, I smiled, I reflected, and then I cried some more.
This is a great day, the beginning of something better,
a renewed America.
Roll your sleeves up everyone, there's rebuilding to be done.

GREAT DAY!

MADRIGAL DINNER!

Here are the promised photos of the recent Madrigal Dinner that our local high school students performed. Myself and two other moms took on the charge of 'sprucing up' the old costumes. By the time it was all done, I'd made over 20 new hats for the cast. You can spot them in the photos here. Once you start making them, it becomes addictive! Try it! Maybe I should wear one to the local Inaugural Ball tomorrow night!! Hmmmmmmmmmmm

I've Been Tagged, Here are 6 Random Things About Me

Happy to be from Iowa tagged me to blog about 6 random things about myself. Here goes:

1) Whenever I was home alone when I was young, I would pretend all the sinks, toilets, and bathtubs in our home were actually trout hatchery tanks. I would walk around the house as the DNR officer in charge of the hatchery and give tours to groups. (Maybe I missed my calling a long time ago.) I miss those lovely people in the group tours! :)

2) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all the Die Hard, Kill Bill, and Bourne movies. I'm really a softy at heart, very peace-loving actually, but I LOVE THESE MOVIES!

3) I keep a bowl of maraschino cherries in the frig just for me. MnMom calls them "squirrel bait". Which is actually random item #3a; my nickname in high school, only from older sister's friends, was "Squirrel Bait".

4) I have webbed little toes, just like He Had No Identifying Characteristics!

5) There are wonderful artistic talents within my soul, I just can't seem to find a way to make a living off of them! Just finished over 18 Madrigal hats with some of that energy. (Photos to come later.)

There. More than you needed to know, but there you have it.

New Favorite Granola Bars!

I also made up this recipe yesterday. I was craving granola bars and found a few online that looked good, then combined elements from a few of them. These are a great snack bar to boost energy while out in this wintry weather! The kids LOVE them! You can improvise with whatever ingredients you might have around the house such as wheat germ, dried apple pieces, white chocolate chips, dates, pecans, etc. YUM! YUM!

4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup quick oats
1/4 cup flax seed - ground
1 c sunflower seeds
1 c raw Spanish peanuts (crush these a bit first)
1 c sliced or slivered almonds

Place all of the above in a jellyroll pan and roast @ 400 for about 12 minutes - stir often! Watch closely, you just want to slightly roast them, do not burn them! When you remove from oven, stir in about 1/3 cup soy flour. Cool.

Now, line another jellyroll pan with waxed paper and then spray it with spray oil or just lightly butter it. Set aside.

In heavy saucepan on medium, mix together and simmer:
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1 c honey
8 T butter
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 t salt

While this cooks, transfer oats mixture to large bowl and then stir in about 1 cup raisins and 1 cup craisins (or any dried fruit bits) into the oat mixture. You can also add chocolate chips, but they do melt when you add the peanut butter mixture, it is just for chocolate flavor anyway.)

Pour hot peanut butter mixture over the oats mixture and stir to combine. Pour into the waxed paper lined jellyroll pan and spread it out with a greased spatula. Cover with more waxed paper and really press it in there to flatten all over.

Let cool for at least 4 hours. Cut into whatever size bar you want, wrap in plastic or waxed paper and store for snacks in frig or freezer.

Another Hot Soup Day! Spicy Chicken Soup!

I found this recipe also in the latest Penzey Spices catalog, but adjusted it for our taste. Hope you like it too! My additions are in bold.

4 boneless/skinless chicken breast (about 2-2.5 lbs) cubed
2 T vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 - 1 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 t powdered ginger
1 T freshly grated ginger
slices of ginger root, about 4
1-2 kefir lime leaves (Thanks, David C.!)
8 cups water
3 T chicken soup base (I use Organic Better than Bouillon chicken base)
3/4 lb extra wide egg noodles (I used Harrington's Amish Style Hand Made Egg Noodles*)
2 scallions

(You could also add coconut milk and gangala root to this recipe and it'd be even better!!)

Brown chicken pieces in very hot oil in large kettle, 4-5 minutes. Add minced onions and minced garlic and brown a bit more. Now add everything else (except the noodles and scallions!) and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer for about half hour. Before serving, boil the noodles separately in chicken stock. Put hot noodles in bowl, top with chicken soup, garnish with green onions. Oh yeah, remove the lime leaves and the slices of ginger before serving! ENJOY!!! We had this with a good crunchy crust sour dough and a green salad with dried cranberries, goat cheese, almonds, and maple syrup dressing. It really hit the spot, especially for the kids who had been ice skating in below freezing temps for a few hours!

*Next time I make it, I'll use rice noodles instead. The egg noodles seemed a bit heavy for this light soup.

Hot Soup Days This Week!

This is the chili I'm making today. It is COLD, COLD, COLD outside and supposed to get colder all week. We'll be wanting a good chili on the stove when we come in from it the next few days. I know most people are sick of the snow already, but I still love a good snowfall!!

Found this recipe in the Penzey's latest catalog and made some adjustments. I used venison instead of the beef short ribs. The house smells absolutely wonderful! Here's the recipe with my edits:

1 - 1.5 lbs cubed venison steak meat, about 1/2 inch each (The recipe called for beef short ribs, bone-in, baked for 1 hour before being placed in chili. Then, remove meat from ribs after the 2 hour simmer and put meat back into the chili.)
1 tsp EACH: ancho chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, black pepper, cocoa powder, turmeric, cinnamon, coriander, ginger and sugar. (The recipe called for Penzey's CHILI 9000 seasoning, but I did not have any, so I improvised a bit and guessed how much of each spice might be in it.)
1/2 tsp EACH: cloves, nutmeg, salt
2 lbs chorizo sausage
1 large onion - minced
2 - 14 oz cans crushed tomatoes
2 - 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 - 14 oz cans pureed tomatoes
1 tsp sugar (whenever I cook with tomatoes, I ALWAYS add a bit of sugar to mellow the tomato a bit.)
4 cups water
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish & flavor

Brown venison in a little oil. Add chorizo to venison and cook fully. Add all spices and heat through. Add onions, tomatoes, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally. Spoon off any fat that rises to the top. Toss with freshly chopped cilantro just before serving. Top with your favorite chili toppings (sour cream, grated cheese, green onions, etc.) ENJOY!! As my Uncle Sam always says, "Anyone who knows BEANS about chili, knows there ain't BEANS in chili!" I'll share that story with you next time!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM IOWA!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I've Been Tagged, Here's My Crappy Gift!

MnMom has tagged me - I must choose a crappy gift. Here's mine . . . thank heavens I never recieved one!
If I opened this little gem on Christmas morning, I'd know my husband really didn't know me at all after nearly 24 years of marriage! Don't get me wrong, I know other women just love them, but the last thing I personally want to wear locked around my neck are stick figures of colored glass children! The only thing that might be worse is this . . .

. . . the dreaded Mother's Birthstone Heart necklace. Yes, I would know that my hubby had totally depended on my daughter's advice on what to buy mommy for xmas.

I remember one year, our mom got a set of very fragile glass fish sculptures for her birthday, dad had taken us girls shopping with him. It was a mommy fish to which was literally "chained" three little baby fish. She was supposed to set it on the edge of the bath tub, her only retreat from all of us in our small house. I can just see her now, taking that long bath, behind that locked bathroom door, one of us on the other side of the door saying, "Mooooooooom, mooooooom, when will you be out?" "Moooooooom, moooooooom, can I get a new toy telephone system for my room?" "Moooooooooom, moooooooom, when are you going to be out?" At which point, she "accidentally" knocked that little chained-mother fish sculpture right off the tub edge to a very brutal hard landing on the cold linoleum. To this day, (I live in the old family home), there are little fingernail marks in the pine wood trim around the bathroom upstairs where us girls used to dig our fingernails into the soft wood in rows while waiting for mom to come out of the bathroom after a long bath. I wish I could find a photo of that little fish family for you, it was hysterical and the same 70's green of the tub and toilet! Mom was a trooper though, they lasted about two weeks or so before they "broke", that's longer than I could've made it.

SNOW DAY! YIPPEE!!!!!

Okay, here's the view from my kitchen window this early morning! Definitely a snow day in Iowa! And the best part is that there is another big storm coming right behind this one! It took us all, five of us, about two hours to dig out this morning. The kids are now all out snowboarding and sledding, spouse is out in a deer stand, and I've got the kitchen for the day, preparing goodies for our annual HOLIDAY BASH this Saturday night. About 100 friends and family join us for a night of merriment and jocularity. Everyone has been charged with bringing their best gourmet appetizer to wow and amaze all. My friend Nancy and I provide the sweet treats -- mini-cheesecakes, chocolate pillows of heaven, Santa's Nipples, Cranberry-White Chocolate Blondies, Mint Truffles, and a good supply of ice-cold Akvavit for a cheerful round of shots and a toast to Christmas. Everyone may have to snowshoe or sled to the party, but the party must go on!

Here's a pic of Lil Sis and I at last year's soiree. Hope she and Happy to be From Iowa can make it this year! You too, MG!

FIRST BIG SNOW OF THE YEAR!

This is what we'll wake up to tomorrow, but even MORE! (This was taken last winter after a good snowstorm.) I'll take pics tomorrow when the sun comes up, but suffice it to say, this was a BIG ONE! WE LOVE SNOW!!! So far there's about 10 inches out there and the radar shows bright blue across the entire state yet! YIPPEE!!!! School is already called two hours late, but I'll bet it will be a full snow day by 8am tomorrow morning. It is just a beautiful, heavy, pouring, lovely white winter wonderland out there, just waiting for tomorrow's snow angels, sledding, fort building, snowboarding, skiing, jump building, hot cocoa drinking, etc. WE LOVE SNOW DAYS!!!!!!!

YES WE DID!!!!!

Not only did Obama win HUGELY in my little corner of the world, so did the rest of my picks here! GREAT NIGHT FOR DEMOCRATS!!!! YAHOO!!!!

Trails, Trails EVERYWHERE! I LOVE FALL!

Brilliant Maples and Blue Sky, you can smell the air! I LOVE FALL! I LOVE FALL!!! I've been trying to get out at least once, if not twice a day lately for a good hike. The weather has been spectacular here; the leaves are falling, the colors on the bluffs are gorgeous, the air is dry and crisp and clean, the skies are brilliant blue, the squirrels are busy, and my dog is smilin' every minute of it!

There are literally dozens of hiking trails in the parks around this little town, and all of them have their own beauty. One of my favorite hikes takes me high above a fresh, spring-fed trout stream, through a hardwood forest up into a gathering of some of the tallest white pines you'll ever see. There's a picnic table way up at that top most point where I can lay down and look straight up into those majestic pines gently moving with the wind. It seems each of them has their own personality. It is up there where I feel the closest to my parents, if I listen quietly enough to the wind, they are often in it.
Another of my favorite trails first goes through a wildflower filled field, along another spring-fed creek, over two wooden walking bridges and up into a dense forest. The pathway up into the forest is an old access road for the farm that used to be up there and is covered with limestone rocks, many of which are fossils. This path eventually leads to a grassy meadow lined by brilliant red and orange sumac trees. Every year I'm awed at how intense the red of a sumac can get. Through the meadow and into another one of the area's white pine forests, the trail now a soft bed of fallen brown pine needles. I can see shallows here and there where the deer had bedded down just the night before, or perhaps they very quietly got up just as I was approaching, the scent on the wind giving away my human presence. This huge stretch of bluff land full of trails was given to the city several years ago by a local family. What a great way to share their good fortune with their community.


The trout stream, rich green scents combined with the crispy smell of fallen leaves.

One of the ravines I pass on a trail, always makes me think of the feminine in nature. Someday, you'll see another photo of this same ravine with additions, but you'll just have to stay tuned to my blog to see what I'm talking about doing someday.
One morning, there were literally hundreds of these newly spun webs along each side of the trail, and every single one of them was strung with pearls of dew. It was a magical morning!
Each year I go through the same emotions about Fall, the strongest feeling being, "couldn't it last just a month longer?" That's not to say I don't love the white beauty that winter brings with her, but Fall needs to be appreciated longer; maybe that's why we love it so much, we know how fleeting it can be! So, before the brilliance of the sumac is dulled by the cold and the bright yellow of the sugar maple turns to brown, GO OUT AND TAKE A HIKE!!! (Don't forget the dog and kids!)
Morning mist over the river. The sun is just beginning to burn it off for the day.

A FRUITCAKE YOU'LL ACTUALLY LOVE!

Okay, MnMom, you'd actually LOVE this fruitcake! No dates, not nuts, no raisins, and it wasn't baked in a tin can! Ymmmm, ymmmmm. MG, next time you're in town, you'll have to stop by for another slice!

Palin Schmalin' and McCrusty

I'm sick of the whining, the "thanks but no thanks" lies, the glasses, the scary religious zealots, the anti-choice/anti-women stance, . . . everything about this ticket just simply stinks. People in other countries favor Obama 4 to 1 over McCain!!! This should tell us something folks! Please make this nightmare end, ELECT OBAMA!