Green Tomato... PIE????

There's something that is rather exciting about venturing into the unknown baking world and turning something average, or what sounds like it should be disgusting, and have it turn into the most delicious treat! So it was with the green tomato pie that I baked the other night.

I followed Chef, Paula Deen's recipe that I'd found online last year (I've been wanting to make it for a long time!).

It turned out to incredibly! It's not like traditional apple or pumpkin pie, but it has it's own unique character. My mom said it tasted like mincemeat. I didn't think so.... I thought it tasted like Christmas! The orange and raisin flavors... mmmm. It was fantastic, and makes me sad to think that green tomato season is over already.

Musings

In the winter we put on layers according to how cold the temperature may be. The colder it gets the more layers we wear. Sometimes people have layers. It makes them hard to figure out, be around, relate to and work with. Perhaps because they grew up in a very cold world and those layers were necessary for survival? It makes you want to invite them into your warm, cozy environment and tell them to take their coat off and stay a while. Just maybe they need a little warmth and patients...

As for politics, it seems that there is a rising tide of apathetic citizens. I've talked to a lot of people who either don't like the presidential candidates and say it's more of voting for the "lesser of two evils" or who won't vote at all for numerous reasons; some sensible and others silly. 
Some of us will vote anyways but what it boils down to is a serious disregard on the governments part for the wants and needs of the people. Therefore I officially coin this year's Presidential race (and all pointless elections to come), "The nEgLECTION."

Have you ever wondered where helping someone becomes hurting someone?  The answer must lie somewhere between "See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil" and "Go tell it on the mountain!"  It's a fine line for sure. If you should ever happen across it do let me know.

Water Colors

This is an older painting.... it was completed about a month ago. Water colors are always exciting because you can't exactly smear colors to blend them, but rather it's more a process of manipulating the water/paint. ....if that makes any sense. =)

But here it is..... the Ship At Sea:

Permanent Ink

Last night I took my calligraphy pen to create a permanent sketch. No erasing. No fixing mistakes. No shading, no blending... and lines. Everything was made up of lots of lines working together to form one whole image. That was until I accidentally smudged some ink and discovered that I could cheat a little by smearing here and there. What fun! I always find myself giggling gleefully with delight as I get messy and start to see a picture form under my hands. I can't imagine what great pleasure and contentment Jesus must have felt as he created the earth!!
 Proportions and perspectives are all askew. I really need to work on that aspect of things. *sigh* 
An exciting exercise nevertheless!

~ Madam ~

A Frivolous Fop

I was browsing through an old dictionary and stumbled upon the word "dude." Curious to see what the definition was back before it meant you were cool I read in confusion, "a fop." What in the world is a fop?! I wondered. A fop turned out to be an "over dressed man." or according to The Free Dictionary, "A man who is preoccupied with and often vain about his clothes and manners; a dandy."
I imagined a  very sharp fellow from the 1920's dressed in an expensive suit, hat, shined leather shoes, a cane in one hand and a pocket watch in the other. Perhaps he had a good reason to be dressed up on any other given day... but this day he does not (because I say so) and is therefore rather frivolous. 

"A frivolous fop."

The phrase was stuck in my head. Mulling it around, trying it with other words, twisting it into a rhyme.... until one night Sally's Dandy was brought forth!

A Mr. Wickham sort of chap, with more care for fun at the expense of others than what harm his selfish pleasures and ill will might bring upon those whom he chooses to toy with.

Of course my ink and pen, feeling somewhat neglected, called my name. With a style inspired by a phrase carved onto a barn in 1863 it was terrifically exciting to write the swirling letters onto a blank, lined page.

(For an easier read this poem may also be found here: Sally's Dandy)

 

Give me a cup, I want to wake up!

Today, I read an article by Doctor Mercola about the newly discovered benefits of drinking coffee. I seem to remember posting a while back about this very thing, and come to think of it, National Coffee Day is the 29th of September!
It is only appropriate that I relay this great information to you at such a time!

Here is the Article so that you may read it for yourself:
Mounting Evidence Suggests That Coffee May Actually Have Therapeutic Benefits

If you happen to be the sort of person who fears clicking on a link and the amount of time it may take to venture to another site, well I have just the thing for you!

Doctor Mercola sums it all up in his "Story-at-a-glace" which is also found on the site/link above.

• Many studies have recently been published suggesting coffee is not the health-damaging beverage it’s been portrayed to be; research now suggests coffee can lower your risk for type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, stroke, and cancers of the liver, kidney and prostate
• Coffee lowers your blood glucose level and may even increase the metabolic activity and/or numbers of Bifidobacteria in your gastrointestinal tract, which are beneficial
• Fresh coffee from organic, whole beans that are pesticide-free can help keep your brain and muscle tissue young. Adding commercial milk or creamer, and worse yet sugar, will tend to diminish the value you receive from coffee
• You should consume coffee in moderation prior to exercising, without sugar, cream or flavorings in order to maximize health benefits; dark roast coffee beans are richer in beneficial compounds and lower in caffeine than lighter roasts
• If you are caffeine sensitive or have an adverse reaction to coffee, you might not have the same reaction to a different brand of coffee, a different type of bean, or a different brewing method
  

My mom excitedly shared this with me.... and I am excitedly sharing it with you! She said to me after we read all of this (and without realizing her own wit),
"Give me a cup! I want to wake up!"

I wish I was in advertising because that would make an awesome coffee slogan!

And so, in conclusion, do go make yourself a good, dark brew!

9. 11. 2001

I still remember September 11th, 2001 like it was yesterday. To be honest, I was excited that we got out of having to do school as the whole family sat around the TV all day watching the horror unfold. I was too young to fully understand the gravity our nation was facing, but I knew that it was a day to be remember....