Texas Skies

The skies have been taunting us for days in the hopes of rain. Rain has been falling  around the area but not right here at home. Friends have been posting their pictures and updates of the beloved wet falling from the sky.

Today was the day we thankfully had a nice short downpour.

Rain makes everything better.

Fig turnovers

Mom asked for figs and dark chocolate. I found both at Whole Foods and took her treats to her, we had a lovely visit. I got home and couldn't decide what to do with the rest of the figs; Whole Foods wouldn't sell me just one or two. I searched the internet and my cookbooks and settled on fig turnovers using the flavors and ingredients that jumped out at me from the recipes I did find. Puff pastry, fresh fruit, walnuts, honey, and a bit of chocolate. I made a variety including fig and cherry with chocolate, fig and apple with nutmeg and mace, fig and grape with balsamic, and some non fig turnovers for the boys who had no interest in figs. Served them with some mascarpone and candied walnuts.

Sunday in the yard

Now that the temperatures are going to hit 100 all this week, I finally found some time to plant some seeds; we'll see how that works out for me. I received a number of seed packages as a gift, had a huge bag of potting soil calling my name and a variety of containers to choose from. I chose the old wheelbarrow with very little in it, a BBQ grill with rust in the bottom, and a cracked pot hanging out next to the air conditioning unit.



The hydrangeas were beginning to fade so I trimmed all but one bloom a week ago and had them laying on the counter enjoying them and watching them collect dust. My husband suggested a put them in a covered cake plate on a shelf in the kitchen. I left the last bloom on the plant so the lizard can still have his favorite hangout.

Cactus in a glass

I could spend a small fortune on flowers and plants, I love going to the nursery and walking around to window shop.  I can look  at flowers and plants online for hours. I pull pages out of magazines and catalogs and plan. Then reality sets in and I look at my budget and I think, what do I already have in the yard and how can I make it work? I also keep an eye on Wal Mart and Lowe's. Some of my best buys have been Lowe's clearance plants, often while visiting relatives. We pack up everything we took with us and then add in all the sale plants from Lowe's for the trip home.

I've been looking at succulents online and seeing all the cute little gardens. I decided to use some crystal tumblers for an interesting twist. My initial plan didn't work out quite as I hoped but I played around and found the right combination. I finally used my favorite bar glasses my parents had while I was growing up and a lovely tray also handed down. I planted the cacti in clear plastic cups with some rocks at the bottom for drainage and slipped the cups into the glasses. This would keep the glasses usuable  in the future. My little cactus garden is  happy on the bar in the kitchen and I get to enjoy pretty family items that otherwise were lurking on shelves waiting for a special occasion.

Candy Bar Cookies

I was in search of a recipe for snickers cookies, a twist on a favorite for a camp care package. Found a few recipes that intrigued me, one with a chocolate chip cookie base, one with a peanut butter base. I decided to stick with what I know and what I had on hand and ended up with candy bar cookies.
I used leftover candy stashed in the pantry and combined it with my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe from The Blue Moon Cookbook.



Peanut Butter Cookies
1 stick butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
1 cup flour

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, then beat in peanut butter. Stir in egg and vanilla. Mix well. Combine salt, soda, and flour. Stir in slowly.
I then added the 2 1/2 cups of chopped candy (Mr. Goodbar, Kisses, Rolos, and Reeses) in addition to 1/2 cup chopped peanuts.
Use a small cookie scoop and bake on parchment lined cookie sheets about 10 minutes at 350.

Peanut Cakes

I asked Mom to tell me a story about the Bule Moon, she talked a bit about the cadets they used to take there but didn't go into too much detail. I asked what her favorite treat was and she told me the peanut cakes. Of course, there is no recipe in the cookbook for peanut cakes but the mocha cakes are coated in peanuts. I made them this morning, we'll see if they are anything close to what she remembers. Angel food cake, mocha icing, and peanuts.

First camp

Our 8 year old son who has never spent the night anywhere without one of us decided to attend a week long church summer camp. We packed him up and dropped him off happily in the bottom bunk of three with two boys he knows in the upper bunks. We have read blogs and seen photos and know he is safe. The house is incredibly quiet and the week seems longer then it should. Closing services are tomorrow morning and we are anxious to pick him up and hear all his marvelous adventures.