My Culinary Adventures – How NOT to Chop an Onion

Cooking

I was chopping onions for pasties when I felt the pain. I had sliced a chunk out of my thumb. There was blood, lots of blood. I called my husband to assist in bandaging me up.

It was quite obvious that the bleeding would not stop on its own. My husband used some woundseal powder which did a good job of clotting the wound, however, we decided a trip to urgent care was in order. My son was handed over the job of making dinner (a dinner that he had requested on his weekend home from university). So glad he is a true masterchef and could take over the task. I truely felt bad that he had to step up, as I had wanted to make it for him.

My husband questioned the knife I chose to use for the onion chopping. I told him that the knife I normally use was waiting to be washed so I chose the now dreaded knife to use instead. So, when chopping onions, be sure to use the proper knife and keep your fingers tucked under.

Luckily, urgent care was practicly empty and we didn’t wait but five minutes to be called back. This never happens! My day was making a turn upward. The nurse and doctor were very nice and fixed me up. I was rather disappointed that they did not even want to examine the severed part of my thumb. The boys had managed to find this piece of skin amongst the onion slices and put it in a baggy for me to take along. The doctor had no desire to reattach this piece of skin and just as well because truthfully, none of us were positively sure if this was indeed part of my thumb or part of the onion.

As always Happy SAFE Cooking!

Two and a Half Pies for Four People

life

No matter how large or small the Thanksgiving gathering, it is truely about who you share the holiday with. Oh, and the food. And what is Thanksgiving without pie.

There were four of us this Thanksgiving and we did not need a full size turkey. My first time cooking just a turkey breast for the holiday. Should have tried this one sooner! How easy and quick it was. It came out nice and moist and we still had some leftovers for dinner and lunch tomorrow as well.

But the one thing we did not cut down on was the pie. Oh, I tried…but honestly it was very difficult. Which one would get the boot? We just could not compromise. So, I tried to be good and made half a recipe for the chocolate pie, making them into single serving mini pies. I almost cut the recipe in half for the pumpkin as well, however, they somehow seemed too small. So I made two 6 inch pies that are essentially the same as one regular pie. And then there was the apple-cranberry, new to the repertoire this year. Oh well…none will go to waste.

Maybe next year we will have more restraint or have more people around the table. In any case, we were thankful for the food on the table and the people around it.

Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving!

Palm Springs California

Travel

Late fall through winter is the perfect time for a desert getaway. Summer in the desert is too hot to be enjoyable, unless planning to spend the whole time in the pool. However, Palm Springs is warm enough to use the pool year round.

Palm Springs offers a variety of things to see and do. Downtown offers shopping and dining galore. We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Thai House. Enough food to share and that is what we did. Speaking of food, dates are a regional delight. We picked-up some of the sweet fruit in the form of dates rolled in almonds and the ever-famous date milkshake.

Like Hollywood, Palm Springs has its own walk of fame with stars lining the sidewalks. It is fun to stop and see whose names are engraved. Of course, Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy have stars in Palm Springs.

Hiking is abundant in Palm Springs. The scenery is beautiful. Trails vary in difficulty. Be sure to bring plenty of water, a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen. Unlike hiking in the mountains, there is little shade on these trails and, even in the fall, it doesn’t take long to work-up a thirst.

The Palm Springs Museum of Art is a wonderful museum. The architecture of the museum itself is very interesting. It has multiple stories that look down upon each other. There is also the Palm Springs Architecture and Design Center. Something for everyone.

I was lucky enough to see a roadrunner crossing the road while we were driving. I found out that according to early Native Americans, having a roadrunner cross your path is good-luck. Oh boy!

As always, Happy Traveling!

Sunshine Blogger Award

life

A HUGE thank-you to Derrick at https://healthcheck.health.blog/author/ogaraderrick/ for nominating me for my second Sunshine Blogger Award. I am thrilled! I am especially happy that Derrick nominated me because I was thinking just the other day that he really did deserve this award. He is a young man, but I find that we share many of the same views on topics that he posts in his blog. He is wise beyond his years. In any case, blogging can connect people who share common interests. A great way to grow as a person and learn from others.

So, “What is this Sunshine Blogger Award?” you might ask. Read on and find out…

What is the Sunshine Blogger award? The award is a peer recognition of the inspiring, creative and motivational work done by bloggers. It is given by bloggers to bloggers who inspire positivity and creativity in the blogging community. By accepting the award nomination, there are certain rules to be followed:

Rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog. 2. Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you. 3. Nominate 11 bloggers to receive the award and write them 11 new questions. 4. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or your blog.

Derrick’s Questions For Me and My Answers…

  1. Who do you look up to? Iris Apfel for living a full life (She turned 100 this year!), and not letting others dictate her style. Goldie Hawn for being such a free spirit and energetic and her support to helping children through meditation.
  2. How do you want your blog to be like 5 years from now? Another Day With Julie is about things I do, am interested in. So in another 5 years, I hope I will continue to learn new things and share them with you.
  3. How did you come up with your domain & site title? I did not want to have a blog dedicated to just one thing. That’s not who I am. I have many interests and did not want to limit myself.
  4. Which would you prefer: poems or fiction tales all day? Fiction! I love books!
  5. What do you love most about the wordpress community? I love getting comments from readers. I really like it when the “regulars” stop by and like my site and give me a comment. It feels like making friends.
  6. Likes or comments? Both, but I love a good comment.
  7. What’s that one thing you knew about blogging earlier? I didn’t know much about blogging when I started. I learned along the way.
  8. What’s your greatest life lesson? You’re never too old to follow your dreams. Take good care of yourself so you can.
  9. What’s you dream destination for a vacation? Greece
  10. Are you a cat person or a dog person? Dog
  11. What’s your favourite food? I love food…let me see…lasagna, pizza, baked potatoes, I can’t decide…it depends on my mood.

Now for my nominees...

  1. https://creatologyblog.com/ (This is my 2nd nomination to this blog and they are still going strong.)
  2. https://twotrailsoneroad.com/ (This is my 2nd nomination to this blog and they are still going strong.)
  3. https://maisonbentleystyle.com/ (This is my 2nd nomination to this blog and they are still going strong.)
  4. https://adventuresofsweetmonday.wordpress.com/
  5. https://denisebushphoto.wordpress.com/
  6. https://marisasitaliankitchen.com/
  7. https://northerndesertphotography.com/
  8. https://harleyte.wordpress.com/
  9. https://christophermartinphotography.com/
  10. https://lovetravellingblog.com/
  11. https://sketchaway.wordpress.com/

My Questions for you…

  1. What is your favorite time of year?
  2. What have you learned from blogging?
  3. What do you enjoy most about the blog you have created?
  4. If you could invite 5 well known people (dead or alive) to dinner, who would you invite?
  5. Are you an indoor or outdoor person?
  6. What is your favorite post on your blog? (include the link please)
  7. Why is this your favorite post?
  8. What is your favorite movie?
  9. What is your favorite thing about the WordPress community?
  10. Do you prefer cats, dogs, or another animal?
  11. What is the last good book you read?

I can not wait to read your answers. Congratulations to all of you and thanks for filling my in-box with your wonderful posts.

As always, Happy Blogging!

Sewing Bags for my Linen Closet

household, Projects

I had been storing my bedding/linens in large plastic bins with lids. These were all stacked-up doing a balancing act in a reset in the hall. All was fine until I actually needed something from one of these bins. As luck would have it, the something needed was usually in the bottom bin. So, all the bins had to be taken down from the stack. What a back breaking task! I’d had enough!

This is where it helps to have a handy husband. My husband made shelves and really good shelves at that. Built-ins fit for a queen. (I’m the queen in this fairy tale.) Next came my part. I was through with the bins. I decided to sew lined bags made of linen. These I custom made to the size of the shelves and to the size of the linens going inside them. Some have zippers and some have draw-strings. Some are rectangular, some are barrel shaped which fit large comforters well. All are labeled with the contents with hand embroidery.

A drawstring ‘barrel’ shaped bag for a comforter.

Ah, it feels good for the linen closet to be organized at last! And, if we have an earthquake, I don’t have to worry about the bins toppling down.

As always, Happy Organizing!

DIY Pan Protectors Review

Projects

Tired of bowls banging together? Want to stack your pans but don’t want them scratched? DIY Pan Protectors to the rescue!

I found a Pattern for pan protectors and got to work. This is a fast and easy DIY project. I used scrap material and batting so the project did not cost me any extra money. Gotta love that!

First, I got the pattern template online at: https://sewverycrafty.com/how-to-make-fabric-pot-protectors/ . I cut out the material and batting, piled them together (material pieces with right sides together and batting on top) and stitched all three pieces together being sure to leave an opening for turning. After sewing and turning, I top-stitched the piece and stitched a circle in the center. It was ready to place inside the bowl. I am happy to say that the bowls no longer clanged together. Ah…silence.

I highly recommend these pan protectors. They definetly do the job and look nice as well. I am sure they can be resized (enlarged or reduced) if needing larger or smaller versions.

As always, Happy Sewing!

Peach Drop Cookie – Review / Revision

Cooking

I had ripe peaches and I wanted to try making peach cookies. I found a recipe for Peach Drop Cookies at: https://bakeorbreak.com/2013/08/peach-drop-cookies/ . They were peachy keen.

First off, I made the recipe exactly EXCEPT (and there’s always an except with me) I cut the recipe in half and left out the peach preserves. The recipe was cut in half because I only had one peach and two people didn’t need more cookies anyway. I left out the peach preserves because I felt they would add way too many carbohydrates to the recipe and probably were not needed since the peach should give it flavor. I was correct! The cookies were moist and flavorful and the preserves were not needed. The sprinkling of cinnamon sugar on top also gave them additional flavor.

I might be heading back to Bake or Break to find some more baking ideas. She has a bunch of yummy treats to choose from.

As always, Happy Baking!

Finally Getting the Hang of Gardening (After All These Years!)

gardening

This is the first year I can actually say that my garden was under control. Weeding, check. Watering, check. Harvesting, check. Uprooting, check.

Normally, I have to admit, the garden controls us. More weeds than wanted. Zucchini too large for a giant to eat. Plants past their prime still in residence. But this year things have changed. The garden looks great! So what was the big secret to a well kept, beautiful garden? I got my lazy self into a daily gardening rountine, that’s what.

Instead of checking on the garden when the thought came to mind, I made it a daily task. In this way, I could tackle a few weeds daily, in mere seconds, instead of a load of weeds that would take forever. I knew how my produce was coming along and when to expect being able to pick them. Instead of letting my plants, that were past prime, hang around rent free, I evicted them. All of this daily upkeep was far less work than checking on things less frequently. It also led to far less waste in the garden.

So, gardening really takes commitment and dedication. Sure, anyone can plant a garden, but the upkeep is the secret to the garden and the gardeners success.

As always, Happy Gardening!

300 Reasons to Celebrate!

life

Another Day With Julie just reached another milestone, 300 followers. That’s reason to celebrate if I do say so myself. And what’s a celebration without a cake.

With the kids off to college, we really did not need a regular size cake. No need to fear, the 6 inch cake pan was just what we needed. As a matter of fact, this would give us two nights of celebrating. I found a recipe for a Funfetti Cake (The name sounded perfect for a celebration!) at: https://www.dessertfortwo.com/mini-funfetti-cake/ . The Funfetti Cake was easy to put together and was indeed festive and delicious. I must confess that I used my own frosting recipe, but I can atest that the cake was worth making again.

Speaking of again….I asked my husband what the next milestone should be. He said, “301”. I guess he does not want to wait too long for the next cake.

Thanks again to all who have chosen to follow Another Day With Julie!

As always, Have a Great Day!