Fall is here! Pumpkin Thumbprint Cookies are the perfect fall treat. Gather-up the following ingredients and let’s start baking…
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl: mix flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, salt, and baking powder.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in pumpkin.
Add dry ingredients to wet and fold to combine. Drop by rounded tablespoons 2″ apart onto baking sheet.
Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and push thumb gently into cookie to make indention. Pop back in the oven and continue baking until edges are golden, about 7 minutes.
Let cookies cool slightly. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Fill the thumbprint indention with frosting of choice. I chose to make a vanilla frosting.
The Crawleys are back! This time the Crawleys are bigger than ever as they return to the big screen. Downton Abbey the Movie has made it’s way to movie theaters this September.
If a fan of the Downton Abbey series, head to the local movie theater for a treat by seeing the Crawley family on the big screen. It will not disappoint. The original cast, plus or minus a few, are back as if they have never left. The film takes place in 1927 England. We are drawn in by a steam engine and the following of an important letter that finally makes it’s way via vintage mail truck and then pedaled by bicycle to Downton. Once there, it is delivered and placed on a serving tray and carried by Mr. Barrow to The Earl of Grantham. This important letter announcing the upcoming stay of King George V and Queen Mary at none other than Downton Abbey sets the theme for the movie.
The period piece is full of fascinating old cars including a vintage mail truck that I thought wonderful. The women have bobbed their hair and put on long necklaces over gorgeous dresses. The staff are as feisty as ever and as always full of their own schemes. Of course the interior of Downton Abbey is as splendid as ever. All the scenery and costumes take one back to the twenties and able to imagine life as it was at the time. Even a movie goer who has not seen the series is sure to enjoy the movie.
Will there be another movie? Let’s hope so. But if there is still a desire for more Downton Abbey, maybe a trip to the real Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle is in order. Highclere Castle in Hampshire, England has been the setting for the series and movie. While the castle is still lived in by the Count and Countess of Carnarvon, tours are given of Highclere Castle on certain dates throughout the year. ( https://www.highclerecastle.co.uk ) The Countess of Carnarvon’s new book, Christmas at Highclere Recipes and traditions from The Real Downton Abbey, might be a perfect holiday gift for a Downton fan.
So whether a fan of the series, a fan of period pieces, or just a loving spouse taking their beloved (who is a fan of the series) on a date night (THANKS HONEY!), head on out to see Downton Abbey and escape to another time for just one night. Enjoy the show!
I saw a photo for an apple rose tart and was blown away. It looked so pretty! I decided to make one for my family.
Looking at the photo I must say I was intimidated. Swirling sliced apples into roses could not be easy. This would surely be a show stopper if I could pull it off.
The graham cracker crust was super easy. The cinnamon custard for the apple rose tart was also super easy to make. The apple roses were a little challenging but not impossible. The main advice I would give for making the roses is to be sure the apples are sliced super thin. Also, I poured off all the lemon water from the soaking apples and made two batches of 1 cup each to heat instead of just one cup. In this way, I split the apples in two batches so they could be fully covered in the liquid and soften faster.
If choosing to make this dessert, the roses will look their freshest if made not too far in advance of serving. The crust and custard can be made, assembled, and chilled in advance. A topping of whipped cream might also be a nice touch. As always, Bon Appetit!
Knitting a blanket may seem overwhelming but it does not have to be. Knitting a blanket can actually be a great project for the beginning knitter. Just take it one square at a time.
I found a wonderful pattern to knit a blanket and learn new patterns at the same time. The blanket is made up of twelve squares of different stitch patterns. The idea being to complete one a month. It only takes a day or two (depending on your commitment) to make a block, so this can be done much faster. All patterns only use the basic knit and pearl stitches. No adding or dropping stitches. No fancy stuff at all. However, the squares are beautiful. If this pattern can not be found there is no need to despair. Any knit patterns can be used to make uniform blocks for a blanket.
I chose to make my blanket larger than the one in the pattern by adding duplicate squares. I enjoyed making this blanket because it was satisfying to finish a square in such a short amount of time and is great to work on a little at a time. I am actually in the process of making a second one. This one will be larger yet and I am making it in one color instead of the multi-colored blanket that I made the first time around.
Assortment of squares for my next blanket
The squares are then sized using a steam iron and crocheted together. Crochet! Do not panic! I do not crochet. However, I found easy instructions to crochet the squares together. Believe me, if I can do it, it can not be that difficult. Give it a try. Happy Knitting!
This may seem weird but sometimes I only want to eat half a banana. The problem is what to do with the other half. It can be stored in the fridge for a little while, but the very end usually turns brown. It can be frozen and added to a breakfast shake or made into banana bread. Why not make it into a little after dinner treat?
I left my banana half in the peel while making my treat. The peel served the purpose of keeping my hands clean. I then dipped the banana half into melted chocolate chips and spread the chocolate around evenly with a knife. I thought I would add a bit of color and shake some sprinkles on top. Then I popped it out of the peel and onto waxed paper, poked a stick in the bottom and set it in the freezer.
Of course the topping options are endless. Coconut, nuts, Rice Krispies, graham crackers, etc. would all be good toppings. This would be a semi-healthy after school treat as well. The banana is not wasted and can be enjoyed at a later time in the day. Oh Yum!
Hair can get weighed down from shampoo and hair products. As the face benefits from a mask every now and then, the hair can benefit from a rinse. Take a few minutes to make a vinegar rinse to clean away the residue and leave the hair beautifully soft.
Things needed for the rinse:
Raw Apple Cider Vinegar with “mother” (Raw vinegar has the naturally occurring bacteria, nutrients, and living enzymes that are naturally beneficial. It will look cloudy.)
8 ounces of room temperature water
Tablespoon
Squeeze Bottle (I made my own using a plastic water bottle. Hammer a nail in the lid to make a hole or two. Remove nail.)
Towel
With a tablespoon, measure 1/2 – 4 tablespoons of Raw Apple Cider Vinegar and add to bottle. (Experimentation may be needed for exact vinegar needed for each individual. Dry hair types tend to use less vinegar than oily hair types. Start at 1/2 – 1 Tablespoon. Can use up to 4 tablespoons.) I found that 1 tablespoon worked fine for my hair type.
Next, add 8 ounces room temperature water. Shake gently to mix. Over a wash tub, bend head over and squirt the vinegar rinse over hair while rubbing and massaging it into hair. Use the whole bottle. Rinse head with water and shampoo and dry hair as normal.
This rinse really made my hair feel soft and clean. Totally loved the feel. Would recommend using this rinse maybe once a week or once every other week.
Let’s face it, accidents do happen. Someone spills something on the carpet and now there is a stain. The carpet has lost it’s fresh, clean look. Don’t fear, with a few simple products it will be as good as new.
No need to buy fancy carpet products. Head to the pantry or grocery store isles for the best, non-chemical approach. Here’s how:
With an old sock or cloth, dab/pat the stain with club soda until as much of the stain is lifted as possible. Next, sprinkle common table salt over the damp area. Let the salt sit on the carpet for 24 hours. Vacuum this with a vacuum cleaner. The stain should be gone. If not, try the process again.
Believe it or not, this has worked on my daughter’s carpet removing black nail polish and many more mysterious stains. This method has removed stains that the carpet cleaning solution did not lift. The cost is minimal and no chemicals were added.
As Charlie Brown would say, “Aaugh!” I did it again. You would think I would have learned by now, however, that never seems to be the case.
I decided to make dinner rolls. Yum! However, I did not really want all sixteen rolls that the recipe would yield. Easy enough. I proceeded to cut the recipe in half.
Everything was going great and then I added the flour. “Why is this dough so gooey?” I wondered. Then it dawned on me. While I cut all the ingredients in the list portion of the recipe in half, I did not cut the water (which was listed in the instructions) in half. Rats!
So in I throw in the rest of the ingredients to make it a full recipe. Now I am hoping I have not ruined everything as the ingredients are mixed in all out of order. We will be having those sixteen rolls, good or bad, after all.
Well, I have done this sort of thing before. I will be sailing along just fine and then I mess up on one of the ingredients. Some times it is not a big deal. Other times, it is a huge problem. Am I the only one who ever does this?
Learning from my mistakes, I would like to offer home cooks a bit of advice. Write down the altered ingredient amounts on a sticky note and place over the top of the original amounts on the recipe. In this way, the old noggin does not have to think to hard. If a distraction occurs one will not forget to cut the ingredients.
Speaking of sticky notes, I also like to use the sticky note page flags to mark my spot in recipe books. When I am going through a book and making out my shopping list, I stick a flag on the page so that when I am ready to make the recipe that week I do not have to search for it again. The flags can be reused many times before they lose their stick.
By the way, in case anyone was wondering, the sixteen rolls turned out beautifully. A bit more than we needed but they are almost gone.
Let’s face it, clothes stains are the pits! This is especially true of arm pit stains. Grass stains, mud, oils, they are all trouble. But there is no need to stand for this. They can be treated. Lets get started!
First off, never, and I repeat, never put a stained piece of clothing in the dryer. The dryer will further set the stain. If the stain is treated and it doesn’t come out the first time, air dry it and then start over. Once it is put in the dryer, the stain will be much more difficult to get out.
Second, do not just throw the stained clothing into the wash and expect it to come out clean. In my experience this is not going to happen. Pre-treating stains is the key.
Lastly, stop buying all those pre-treating products that come in spray bottles that promise to get rid of stains. They are not needed and in my experience do not work. Waste of money for sure.
To get out those nasty pit stains, grab the following items and lets get started…
A small wash bin or tub, laundry detergent, baking soda, and distilled white vinegar.
Turn the shirt inside out and place in the wash tub. Spread the underarm portion of the shirt out so that the stain is visible. Sprinkle a generous helping of baking soda over the stained area.
On top of the baking soda drizzle a little bit of laundry detergent.
Now the fun part! Pour vinegar over the baking soda/laundry detergent. Just enough to cover and fizz, not to drown the whole shirt. When the fizz settles it will look kind of pasty.
Let this sit for as long as possible. Overnight is good. Then toss it into the laundry and launder as normal. The garment should come out clean. If not all the way clean, repeat and re-launder.
I have not had a problem with this concoction harming any of my fabrics. As always, I suppose it is best to test fabrics if uncertain.
Vinegar, in general seems to be a great laundry booster. I like to add it to my towels if I think they need freshening. I also like to add to the sheets to get out any oils that may have collected on the pillow cases. Just a cup or so will do.
Fels-Naptha Soap is also a great product to pre-treat stains. It comes in a bar soap form. Lather it on collars to get rid of ring-around-the-collar. Then toss in the wash. It is also AMAZING at getting out of grass stains. When my son played baseball, he would come home with his white baseball pants covered in grass stains and mud stains. Yuck! Why teams insist on having white uniforms in the first place is beyond me. Alas, those stains had to come out before the next game. Luckily, I came across Fels-Naptha Soap. I tried all sorts of sprays and sticks and nothing got them out. Scrub them with the soap, rinse, scrub again and so on until those tough stains are gone or almost gone, toss them in the wash and the result is amazing.
Gravy has a reputation similar to that of macarons…difficult. Home chefs are always complaining of lumpy gravy. But is gravy really that difficult to make?
I do not normally make gravy, as I think it tends to be strong and overbearing. However, I was making a roast in the Crock Pot last night and had the urge to top it with gravy. Was I ever glad I did! Yum!
I chose to make my gravy with the juices from the roast in the Crock Pot. Gravy does not take long to make…about five minutes was all I needed. I gathered my ingredients…a tablespoon of margarine (or butter), two tablespoons of flour, and I ladled out one cup of broth, which had made with beef bouillon cubes and water, that had been cooking all day with the roast and seasoned with sage, thyme, and rosemary. I then got a small pot, a sieve, and a whisk and it was time to get started.
First, I strained the broth through a sieve to get rid of any fat or herbs that could cause lumps and set it aside. Next, I melted the margarine over medium heat and whisked in the flour until incorporated completely. Consistency of a light cookie dough. Then I poured in the broth and whisked constantly until smooth and creamy. Voila! It was as easy as that. This recipe was not strong and overbearing as those I have scraped off my food in restaurants. I was in love!
Put aside the canned version of gravy and give it a go. It takes little time and is not hard at all. Mine did not have a single lump. Bon Appetit!
Another Day with Julie 