Crunchy Chickpeas

2 cans (15oz. each) chickpeas, rinsed and dried
5 slices uncooked bacon chopped into little pieces
2 bay leaves
Sprinkling of Lawry’s Seasoning salt and black pepper
1-2 teaspoons of Old Bay Seasoning

Toss the chickpeas with the bacon, bay leaves and salt and pepper.  Roast in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes until chickpeas are crunchy.  Toss with old Bay seasoning (start with one teaspoon and add more to taste),  Cool and serve with something cool to drink….crunchy, salty…perfect!

Don’t you just love things you can make ahead of time and with only a couple of slight ingredient variations have 4 very different tasty meals?   This is a wonderfully simple salad that you can make in minutes or make ahead and keep for up to 24 hours and serve when you’re ready.  The ingredients for the basic salad are shrimp, rice, celery and onion, mayonnaise and dijon mustard.  The variations are these:

Curry Powder

                                       Sesame Oil                                                                         Tamari Soy Sauce

Tabasco Chipotle Sauce

Basic (and delicious) Shrimp Rice Salad

Variation #1

1 lb. wild caught shrimp*, shelled and deveined
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup chopped celery (including leaves)
1/2 red onion chopped
juice of 1 lemon or lime
1/2 cup mayo (preferably Best Foods/Hellmans)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh or dried dill weed
olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 avocados

Drizzle shrimp with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.  Spread in a single layer on a sheet pan.  Roast for 8-10 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  Cool and then add in rice, celery and onion.  In a bowl combine mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper.  Pour mayo mixture over shrimp and rice and mix well.  If the salad seems too dry, add a bit more mayo and  more lemon juice.  Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate overnight if making ahead.  If you allow salad to sit overnight the rice may absorb the dressing so you may want to add a bit more mayo and lemon juice.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Cut avocados in half, seed and peel.  Place 2 halves on each plate.  Serve salad in avocado halves.

Variation #2 – Curry Powder

Follow the basic recipe but omit mustard and dill and add 1 Tablespoon of curry powder to mayonnaise mixture.  Mix well with shrimp and rice.  Taste and adjust seasoning adding more curry powder if you like a stronger curry taste.

Variation # 3 – Sesame Oil and And Tamari Soy Sauce

Follow the basic recipe but omit mustard and dill and add 1 teaspoon of salt and add 1 Tablespoon sesame oil to shrimp when you roast it.  Also add 1 Tablespoon sesame oil and 2 Tablespoons Tamari soy sauce to mayonnaise mixture.  Mix well with shrimp and rice.  Taste and adjust seasoning

Variation  #4 – Tabasco Chipotle Sauce

Follow the basic recipe but omit mustard and dill and add 1 Tablespoon of chipotle sauce to mayonnaise mixture.  Mix well with shrimp and rice. Taste and add more chipotle sauce as needed.

And there you have it…one basic recipe that you can make and enjoy 4 ways.  More love, more joy, and lots more abundant living

“What did we do before cell ‘phones?” is the question!  It is hard now to imagine life without them – they are involved in so much of what we do.

Certainly, it seems that everyone has a cell phone.  Choosing the type you want is the first question that has to be answered and then the next, and also very important, question is, “What type of cover shall I get?”

Recently, I was looking to change my cell phone cover and found this wonderful website where one can build one’s own!

First, you choose the pattern that you might like, then the color of that pattern.  Next you choose an accent color and the shape of a box in which to put your monogram, name or initials.

Be sure, when choosing the type of cover, to choose the “tough” one.  That is the one that is almost “rubbery” in feel and therefore the most protective one.

The website I referred to is www.happynotesandmore.net.  Have fun with it and give your cell phone a new look – it will bring more joy to your already abundant lives.

Tea time in England, where I grew up, was not something that was reserved for a “special occasion” or getting together with friends but was a meal that was enjoyed EVERY day!

In fact, young children grow up in England having “tea” and quickly realizing that it is a part of their every day schedule.  ”Why not here in America?”, you might ask.  ”Why didn’t they bring that tradition over with them when they sailed the “ocean blue” and found America?”  Well, tea time did not become a part of the English way of life until the mid-1800′s when, apparently, Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford found that she became a little hungry in the afternoon and could not wait until dinner.  Traditionally, dinner was not served until 8:30 or 9:00 in the evening and the Duchess often became hungry, especially in the summer when dinner was served even later.   It was just not fashionable to eat early!  Well, the Duchess’ tummy got the better of her and she ordered a small meal of bread, butter, and other niceties, such as cakes, tarts, and biscuits, to be brought secretly to her boudoir.   This was all done very quietly as she was a little embarrassed by it but when she was found out, everyone embraced the idea and afternoon tea became the “thing” to do!   Certainly, the fashion took a while to catch on throughout the classes but catch on it did and, over time, it became part of the British lifestyle.

When I was at boarding school in England, every day at 4:oo pm the gong would go for tea.  We would all go to the dining room, grace would be said, and we would sit down and have our “tea”.  It was not a huge meal but bread, butter, jam, and a sweet of some kind – maybe a sweet roll or cake – and, of course, tea!

Tea, as a drink, had been enjoyed by the English for two or three centuries before the “afternoon tea” became popular. See more about the introduction of the actual drink to England here.  As mentioned in that previous Post, the remedy for everything in England is a cuppa tea.  It is also used to celebrate!  Tea is just enjoyed for everything!

Back to the actual “tea time” as a meal.  Oftentimes, tea will consist of merely a cup of tea, or a cup of tea and a “biscuit” as they are called in England.  (Here is the United States, they would be called “cookies”.)  If you are invited over to your girlfriend’s for a cup of tea, you might be served more than that – there might be small tomato sandwiches and cucumber sandwiches and a jelly roll of some sort.  There might be crumpets or scones with jam. A while ago we shared the recipes for some of our favorite tea sandwiches and tea time sweets.

I had a wonderful time just the other day when I went over to my Chum, Robin’s house.  Three of her darling grand daughters were there and when they heard that JJ (that is what they call me) was coming over, they wanted to have a “tea party”.  Lolli (as they call Robin) and the girls, Savannah, Evangeline and Ashton, got busy making shortbread biscuits and, when I arrived, the table was all set for the five of us and I was greeted by three wonderful little voices saying, “Let’s have tea!”

Oh, such a joyous time.  Try it.  It does not have to be elaborate.  I know it will add to the love, joy and abundance in your lives.

1.  Book Page Placeholders

To make one, cut a bottom corner from an ungusseted paper bag (the kind card shops use) or a colorful envelope. Ours is about 2 inches long from corner to cut. Create several to track your best-loved recipes or when planning the menu for a special dinner.

2.  Softening Secret
When you’re ready to bake, waiting for cold butter to soften can seem to take forever. Here’s how to hurry the process along: Over a mixing bowl, shred the amount of butter you need on a grater. The little pieces will soften faster than a solid stick. In no time, the butter will be bake-worthy.

3.  Cutting Tears
Don’t weep over chopped onions. If you cut them near an open flame, the gaseous sulfur compounds they release into the air will burn off before they can irritate your eyes. A gas burner works best, but if your stove is electric, try lighting a votive candle near your chopping board instead.

4. Peeling Ginger
The next time you have a recipe that calls for fresh ginger, reach for a spoon. It removes the thin skin easily, even from the knotty areas. Hold the spoon, concave side facing you, and draw it toward you. Maneuver the spoon and ginger as necessary to get into all the crevices.

5. Opening Stubborn Jars

Try this trick for opening stubborn jar lids: Place one rubber band around the lid, and another around the jar. With one hand, grip the jar where the rubber band encircles it; use the other hand to twist off the lid. The rubber bands provide friction, so your hands won’t slip off the jar or lid.

6. Grinder Care

Freshly ground seeds of cumin, coriander, and fennel don’t just spice up your cooking, they also cling to the grinder. For a quick cleaning, run soft, fresh white bread through the grinder to pick up lingering spices and absorb the oil they leave behind.

7. Bowl Holder

Whipping up vinaigrette can make you wish you had three hands — one to whisk, one to pour the oil, and one to hold the bowl steady. A damp kitchen towel can do the trick. Just twist the towel securely around the base of the bowl to keep it in place.

8. Quick Peel Kiwi

Here’s the easiest way to skin a kiwi: Trim both ends of the fruit; ease a tablespoon between the flesh and the peel. Turn the kiwi, pressing the back of the spoon against the peel as you go. The whole fruit should slide right out — ready for slicing.

9. Easy Grating

Fresh mozzarella is delicious on pasta, gratins, and pizza. But it’s difficult to grate — unless you freeze it first. Wrap a block of mozzarella in plastic wrap, and freeze for at least 20 minutes; then grate. Store the grated cheese in a resealable plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to five days.

10. No-Stick Trick

For brownies and bar cookies that don’t crumble or stick when you remove them from the pan, try this: Butter the baking dish, then place a sheet of parchment, also buttered, inside, allowing about 2 inches to extend beyond two opposite sides. Bake according to the recipe’s instructions, and let cool. Pull up on the parchment to lift the dessert from the pan before cutting.

Many of these great ideas came, over the years, from that icon of homemaking, Martha Stewart. We always want to give credit where credit is due.  We would love to hear from you to know which of these Savvy Secrets is most helpful to you, or of any others you can share with all of us. As we tell you often, we are here to help bring you more love, joy and certainly ways to experience more abundant living:)

Mother’s Day
Menu #1

Classic Quiche
Cinnamon Rolls
Fresh Fruit
Coffee or Tea
Champagne

Mother’s Day
Menu #2

Chile Relleno Casserole
Fresh Fruit
Blueberry Muffins
Coffee or Tea
Fruity Sangria

Mother’s Day
Menu #3

Omelette
Roasted Potatoes
Watermelon Slices
Coffee or Tea
Agua Fresca
Strawberry Shortcake

Mother’s Day
Menu #4

Scrambled Eggs
Biscuits and Gravy
Fresh Fruit
Coffee or Tea
Mint Julep
Hummingbird Cake

Mother’s Day
Menu #5

Cheese Blintzes
with Raspberry Jam
Sausage Patties
Coffee or Tea
Peach Cobbler

Of course these are just suggested menu combinations.  Feel free to “mix and match” these dishes or come up with your own ideas to create the perfect menu for your mother or your wife.  What is most important is the message of love you will be sending.  No matter what you do for her, a rose bush in her mother’s honor, breakfast you made for her, or a photo declaring your love, it is guaranteed that your mother will love it because it came from you and she loves you more than you will ever know.  You, after all, are the reason she is a mother.

I want to take this opportunity to wish the woman who first made me a mother, my daughter Sara Joy, a very “Happy Birthday”.  I love you, honey.  The day you were born brought me great love, joy and so much abundant living!

Here’s wishing many happy returns of the day to Sara and to all our chums who are mothers and mothers-to-be, a very sweet and Happy Mother’s Day

Flowers are hardly a new or unique idea, right?  But this year why not give your mother a rose bush to be planted in her garden in honor or memory of her mother, your grandmother.  Every time it blooms it will be a lovely reminder of her own mother and her fond memories of times shared with her. Write your mother a card or letter explaining why you appreciate her so much and the woman who taught her to be the wonderful mother she has been to you.  Tell your mother that in your grandmother’s honor or memory, you want her to have a lasting reminder of the love her mother gave to her and that she gave to you.

There are so many exquisite roses to choose from.  Choose one that is perhaps your mother’s favorite kind or color, or one with a fragrance you think she would be partial to…there are so many wonderful ones to choose from.  You can buy one at your local nursery or order it from Jackson & Perkins or Heirloom Roses.  If you decide to order your rose bush, simply print out a photo from the website of the rose you have chosen and include it in your card.  Here are just few of our favorite roses:

Welcome Home Light Yellow Hybrid Tea Rose

Sweet Intoxication Magenta Floribunda Rose

Rose Moondance Floribunda

Our Lady of Guadalupe™ Pink Floribunda Rose

Cherry Parfait™ White-Red Grandiflora Rose

Charity

Claire Rose

Ellen

Lavender Lassie

William Shakespeare

Aren’t they lovely?!!!  What mother wouldn’t love to have one of these?  If your mother doesn’t have a garden in which to plant a rose bush, plant it for her in a decorative pot so she can place it on a porch or patio or balcony.  Your mother is bound to love the beauty of the rose and the thoughtful meaning of your gift. If your mother is already gone, perhaps this Mother’s Day you can buy one yourself in memory of your mother.  Or maybe you want to ask your son or daughter to pick out a rose for you to plant in your garden to honor your mother’s memory.  The sweet memories of your mother that the blossoms will remind you of from year to year, can only bring you love, joy and abundant living

In this 1960 photograph, it seemed such a far way off that Charles would take over as Monarch from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

And certainly, we are not suggesting that Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and the first in line to the throne, is going to ascend the throne any time soon but, on the other hand, it does seem that Queen Elizabeth is giving Charles more and more responsibility.

When Queen Elizabeth took the throne at the age of 25, she dedicated herself to her people and assured them that she would be their Queen for her entire life.  Having made that commitment, it seems to us that Prince Charles will not be given the chance to ascend the throne until Queen Elizabeth passes on.  Just this past year, whilst her Silver Jubilee was being celebrated, the queen expressed her gratitude in a written message to the UK. “I am writing to thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you have given to me and Prince Philip over these years,” she wrote.

“In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope that we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighborliness, examples of which I have been fortunate to see throughout my reign.”

Last week, the world saw Queen Beatrix abdicate the Dutch throne  to her son, Crown-Prince Willem-Alexander.  Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of York, were guests at the celebration and, of course, everyone was speculating about what was going through Prince Charles’ head as he witnessed the proceedings.

His situation is quite different and, it seems to us, he will be waiting until his dear mother departs this earth.

BUT, as we mentioned, the Queen is handing over a lot of the responsibility of the throne….Prince Charles is representing the throne in ways that he never has done before and so that begs the question, “Elizabethan or Charlesian?”

Oh, such joy!

Vodka is known as one of the world’s most popular spirits. But did you know that vodka also has a long history of use as medicine? Over the years it has been sold to cure everything from infertility to colic and the plague. While not all of its touted uses over the years are viable, it is true that vodka has a wide range of potential uses beyond just being served as a social beverage.  Thanks to the website, TheDailyGreen.com, we have some great uses for that vodka in your cupboard that may surprise you

Freshen Laundry

You can keep your clothes smelling fresher with vodka — really! Simply spritz your clothes with vodka, then hang to dry in a well-ventilated area. (Do a spot-test first to be safe.)  Vodka kills odor-causing bacteria, but doesn’t leave a scent when dry.

Shine Your Fixtures

It’s easy to get your chrome, glass and porcelain fixtures shining like the top of the Chrysler Building.  Just moisten a soft, clean cloth with vodka, then apply a little elbow grease.

Preserve Flowers

Add a few drops of vodka and a teaspoon of sugar to the water in your flower vase. It should help keep your flowers fresh longer. Change out the mixture with fresh ingredients daily.

Treat Poison Ivy

Even though Cinco de Mayo is the time that the most avocados are sold, we love them all year long!  There is NO time during the year that we do not love these wonderful yummies!  So, just because Cinco de Mayo has come and gone, be sure to have a good stock of avocados in your pantry or refrigerator.  They are so good for you as well as tasting great!

Living in California, as your Two Chums do, we are fortunate enough to have lots of avocados.  Ninety percent of the commercial domestic crop in the United States comes from the  coastal region of California from San Luis Obispo down to San Diego.  A small crop of avocados is grown in Hawaii but the Hawaian people know that they cannot let them leave the islands!  They save them for themselves!   Florida grows some avocados but their crop is much smaller.

In the 1930′s, a tree was discovered in the back garden of a mailman who lived in La Habra Heights, California.  This gentleman’s name was Rudolph Hass.  Realizing that he had “struck gold” so to speak, he patented his “Hass” tree in 1935.  He had to wait about thrity-five years to the 1970′s until the Hass avocado became popular, but now, Hass is the most popular type of avocado grown around the world and all Hass trees can be traced back to that tree in La Habre Heights, California!

Avocados can seem a little costly but each one is picked by hand.  Because of the labor and the amount of water that is needed, the production costs are high.  Avocados mature on the tree but ripen once they are picked.  They can stay on their tree for up to eighteen months before you have to pick them.   If you live in an area where there is a Mexican market, go there to buy your avocados.  They will probably be a lot less expensive there, though this week, in California at least, avocados are very inexpensive in grocery stores everywhere for Cinco de Mayo celebrations.

Certainly, avocados are one of the things one thinks of when one thinks of Cinco de Mayo – mounds of delicious guacamole -

but it is not only in Mexican food that avocados are enjoyed!   In fact check out epicurious.com for wonderful ways to enjoy avocados.  Avocados are great in all sorts of ways.  Of course, guacamole is what always comes to mind (and certainly, at our houses, it does not stay in the bowl very long!),  but you can eat an avocado simply cut in half with the pit taken out with a little salt and pepper or vinaigrette dressing in the center.  Shrimps with cocktail sauce brimming out over the top of half an avocado is a yummy lunch or tuna or chicken salad is a delicious filling for these wonderful tasties!  Of course, in our opinion, what would a salad be without lots of avocado cut up in it?  Especially this salad made with tortilla chips and a creamy cilantro dressing.

Thanks, Mr. Hass for adding to our joy and abundant living!  We love your avocados!  And apparently a lot of other people do as well… in 2012, 1.6 billion avocados were consumed in the United States alone!  If you don’t have any on hand, what are you waiting for?

A few months ago I asked our wonderful housekeeper, Maria, to make dinner for us one Monday night and she came prepared to make us enchiladas, rice, beans and tortillas.  When I saw she had a tortilla press I ran to the drawer and to her amazement, pulled mine out.  All these years and she never knew I had one!  When she showed us just how easy it is to do, my grandchildren couldn’t wait to join in, and have been helping her make tortillas on Monday evenings at our family dinners ever since.

You can be a “fly on the wall” and see just how simple tortilla making is in this little video I shot while Maria, Savannah (5 years old) and Evangeline (2 1/2 years old) made tortillas the other day:

You can buy masa (corn flour) at most markets.  Below, you can see that making the dough for your totillas couldn’t be easier. If you live in California, you can buy a tortilla press like mine, at any Mexican market or at most Walmart stores.  Or you can order one on line at Amazon.

It will be worth every penny you spend on it.  If you can’t find one you could always try using a rolling pin.  Just be sure to make your tortillas uniform in thickness and roll them out between two pieces of plastic to get them nice and thin.  It is great fun to make your own tortillas at home and nothing beats the flavor of a fresh, hot, homemade tortilla.  Now that’s abundant living…Olé!!!

Homemade Tortillas

There are only 3 ingredients necessary to make delicious homemade tortillas….masa, water and salt….oh yes and LOVE

For every 2 cups of masa add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups of cool water.  Work the dough kneading it with your hands until it is soft and smooth.  Pinch off pieces about the size of a golf ball and roll into a ball after moistening your hands with a little oil.  Place the ball of dough between two sheets of plastic and press (until thin and flat) with a tortilla press or with a rolling pin.  Cook on a hot griddle for about 1-1 1/2 minutes per side.  Keep warm in a tortilla warmer.

Now add butter or salsa or cheese or just enjoy them plain…they are delicious no matter how you eat them!

]]> http://www.twochums.com/homemade-tortillas-ole/feed/ 9 http://www.twochums.com/the-sport-of-queens/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-sport-of-queens http://www.twochums.com/the-sport-of-queens/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 10:00:38 +0000 Two Chums http://www.twochums.com/?p=8713
Saturday will mark the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby, the race always run on the first Saturday in May.  Horse racing has long been referred to as ‘the sport of kings”.  That may be true, but at this horse race anyway, “hat watching” could be called “the sport of queens”.  Whether you are a sports fan or a horse racing fan, if you enjoy a beautiful hat this is one sporting event you don’t want to miss.  This Southern tradition has turned “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” into a true spectacle, and  makes it one of the greatest people-watching events in the world!  You will see everything from outrageous to gorgeous, from the fantastic to the outlandish, because when it comes to the Derby, there are no rules or limits about choosing your hat!

We thought you might enjoy a preview of the hat-watching.  Here are some of the highlights of hats worn in years past.

You can see here that nothing is off limits, so if you’ve got a fabulous or crazy hat you haven’t had the nerve to wear, don your chapeau this Saturday and watch the Derby in style…now that will definitely create some abundant living!!

In yesterday’s post, April Showers,  we talked about this being the season for bridal showers and showed you some of the lovely details from a shower we had recently been guests at.  The cake pictured above was from another bridal shower this past weekend for the daughter of a close friend of Jackie’s and mine.  I was asked to make the cake.

They left the kind of cake we would have at the shower up to me.  Bavarian Cream Cake is one of our families’ very favorite cakes and though I love to bake, neither I nor my youngest daughter, Amanda, who makes wonderful cakes, had ever been able to replicate the Bavarian Cream Cake that all three of my daughters had at their weddings.

But I am always up for a challenge, and not one who likes to admit defeat (as you may recall if you read the story of The Perfect Chocolate Cake ), so I kept trying until last week I experienced success at long last!  I photographed the steps when making the cake that came to be my successful endeavor.   So the steps you see in the how-to photos are exactly what I did for the bridal shower cake in the opening photo, but the finished product was slightly more pink in that first cake, than the one I made for the shower .

Bavarian Cream Cake is basically a two layer almond scented white cake with a layer of  Bavarian Cream filling between the two cake layers.  Then the cake is covered with Buttercream Frosting.

The trick is to make a white cake that is moist without being heavy and has a lovely fine texture.  I found the perfect recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks, Cooks illustrated, The Best Recipe.

This delicious cake and sweet cream filling covered in delectable buttercream frosting is the perfect cake for any celebration.  it is bound to add to your family’s love, joy and abundant living…Enjoy!  

Classic White Cake

2 1/4
cups cake flour, plus more for dusting the pans
1
cup whole milk, at room temperature
6
large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
2
teaspoons almond extract
1
teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4
cups granulated sugar
4
teaspoons baking powder
1
teaspoon of salt
12
tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)

1. For the Cake: Set oven rack in middle position. (If oven is too small to cook both layers on a single rack, set racks in upper-middle and lower-middle positions.) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour.
2. Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.
3. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.
   
4. Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.
5. Divide batter evenly between two prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops.
   
   Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.
6. Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.
   

Bavarian Cream Filling

4 cups heavy whipping cream, chilled well
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 package unflavored gelatin

Slightly warm about 1/4 cup of the cream and sprinkle gelatin into cream and stir.  When gelatin is dissolved add this mixture to the rest of the cream along with the sugar and extracts.  Beat until soft peaks form.  Spread whipped cream mixture into a 9 ” cake pan that has been lightly coated with oil. (I prefer to use the coconut oil in a spray can that you can purchase from Trader Joes, but any light cooking oil will work).  Chill for at least 8 hours but preferably overnight.  To unmold, place the cake pan in about 1/2″ of hot water for a few seconds to loosen the cream.  Carefully invert pan on top of first layer of cake.  Add second layer.

Butter Frosting  

16
tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool
8
cups ( 2 lbs.) confectioners’ sugar
1
tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
2-4
tablespoon heavy cream
pinch of salt

Beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, almond extract, 2 tablespoons of cream, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed until sugar is moistened. Add more cream 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to achieve a consistency that is stiff enough to hold it’s shape but soft enough to pipe on to the cake.  Increase speed to medium-high (high if using handheld mixer); beat, stopping twice to scrape down bowl, until creamy and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Avoid overbeating, or frosting will be too soft to pipe.  If that happens, refrigerate frosting for 20 minutes before using.  If it is still too soft mix in more powdered sugar adding about 1/2 cup at a time until you reach the right consistency.

Cover cake in a thin layer of frosting and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes until frosting is firm and feels set.  This is called the “crumb coat” and is exactly as it’s name indicates….a base coating of icing to cover and hold all the crumbs so they do not come loose into the frosting as you are icing the cake.  This crumb coat also helps to hold the moisture in the cake, especially of you are making and frosting it the day before you want to serve it.
Place remaining frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip or one that will create a textured look as you pipe the roses.  Experiment with whichever piping tips you have to see what looks best to you.  To cover the cake with frosting roses start at the bottom of the cake and work upward.  Start at the center of the circle you want to create and loop frosting around 2 times to form the center of the rose.  Then continue looping around the center you have created to form what looks like the open rose.

You can vary the size and stagger the placement of the roses to create a more realistic look.  You could even have two bags of icing with one being just slightly darker than the other to create roses in two shades of the same color.  Experiment to see what looks good to you.  Because you have a crumb coat on the cake, you can, if necessary, remove any roses that don’t look right and redo them.  Work in a cool place as the frosting can become too soft if the room is too hot or if your hands are too warm as you are holding the pastry bag.  Run your hands under cold water before you begin if it is a warm day or if the room you are working in seems quite warm.  Continue to make roses until the entire cake is covered.

If you are not going to serve the cake immediately, refrigerate it until you are ready to slice it.  The cake can be made and frosted and can be refrigerated for up to one full day ahead of when you want to serve it.  Now….cut a slice and you can enjoy the fruits of your labor…everyone else will too!

We wanted to share photos of this lovely shower with you in the hopes that you might get some ideas for any party you might be having whether it is a bridal shower, baby shower, Mother’s Day luncheon, birthday party or tea for some of your chums.

Using even some of these special details will tell any guest of honor that she is truly loved, fill her heart with joy and make all feel that life is sweet and oh so abundant!

The drink buffet was filled with beautiful flower buckets and containers and Dana used “chalkboard” signs to write on.  All the wonderful colors of the flowers and pastel colored beverages worked together to make it a very pleasing and inviting visual.  And the floral banner above the table said it all…”Love Is In Bloom – Megan and Jeremy”.

The bride-to-be, Megan, celebrated with both her grandmothers, our good chums, Janna and Libby and her mother, our chum, Lori and Jeremy’s mother and grandmother.

Besides the love that was in bloom, there were beautiful miniature roses in colorful pots with a chalkboard sign with the name of each guest that doubled both as a part if the table decoration and the place cards for each guest.  We were also thrilled to learn that these were being given to us as one of our party favors.  These beautiful potted roses surrounded the center piece flowers which were in glass and iron containers…beautiful!

The luncheon was delicious….a wonderful green salad followed by chicken crepes.  And then there was pastry and dessert….and more pastry and dessert…. and MORE pastry and dessert….so yummy and oooh la la…so French!

Almond Raspberry Petit Fours

Macaroons inspired by those from the famous and amazing Parisienne patisserie, Ladurée.
(If you are not familiar with Ladurée, or even if you are, do yourself a favor and click on this link to their website.  Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the English…”Visit Our Website”.  You are in for an amazing treat!!!)

Mont Blanc au Chocolat

Cream puffs and chocolate eclairs

It just wouldn’t be a proper French party without palmiers and madeleines

Beautiful cookies featured “framed”art.  Dana used edible paper with images that looked like hand painted porcelain that were applied to cookies and then framed with icing that was finished with edible gold dust…exquisite!

The party favors were perfect for this wonderful French themed bridal shower.  Dana printed photos on fabric that they had taken on their Paris holiday.  She used these to make lavender sachets she sewed herself.  Additionally, each guest received a lovely floral fabric and terry washcloth that surrounded a scented soap….and as we showed you above, there were also those wonderful miniature roses.

The best gift of all was the warm hospitality that each of us felt at this very special celebration of love.  We couldn’t help but be very happy for Megan and to be your absolutely joyful, Two Chums!

And by that, we do not mean have you “labored” lately, as depicted in this wonderful piece of fabric, but have you used toile fabric to decorate lately?

The word “toile” entered the  English language in the 1100′s and meant, purely and simply, “linen cloth”.  The printed fabric that we now think of when hearing the word “toile” was originally produced in Ireland  in or around the 1750′s and the people of Britain and France began producing and enjoying it soon thereafter.   The French called this printed fabric “Toile de Jouy” (the full name for what we call “toile”) which literally means “cloth from Jouy-en-Josas, the name of a town in north-central France.

Now, many, many years after,  there are three meanings to the word “toile”.  The first is the fabric itself.  Toile means “linen cloth” or “canvas’.  The second meaning of the word “toile” (in England and Australia) is a sample garment made to test a pattern.  These patterns are commonly called “muslins” in the United States.  And the third meaning is what most of us think of when we hear the word “toile” and that is a fabric that has a white or an off-white background with a pattern repeating a scene that tells a story – perhaps a pastoral scene with a little boy playing a flute and a lady carrying a pitcher of water,  people sitting by a lake, or several different arrangements of flowers.  The pattern portion consists, most often, of a single color such as this in black:

or this in red:

or this in blue:

There are so, so many toiles produced now.  Some have more than two colors and sway from the white or off-white background, such as this one:

They are so traditional and so classical…. so peaceful and at the same time, so elegant.  Toile was very much in vogue in the colonial era in the United States and is associated with historical towns such as Colonial Williamsburg, and has been used and enjoyed right down through the years.

For the most part, toile is associated with fabrics and is used for draperies, bed linens, upholstery, etc. but it can also be found on wallpapers, giving you a totally toile room,

or teapots, aprons and even wellies (short for Wellington boots, the English term for rain boots):

Here a toile, there a toile, everywhere a toile, toile!  Oh, what abundant living!

Kugel is a type of custard or pudding usually made with egg noodles, cheese, eggs and sometimes made with raisins.  Think of it as a sort of Jewish version of bread pudding. It is classically served as a side dish on Shabbat or at the Jewish holidays. Shabbat (or the sabbath) in Jewish life is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night.

Just a few days ago my 7 year old granddaughter Sadie, who also loves kugel, and my 2 year old granddaughter Ashton were here and we decided kugel would be a welcomed addition to our supper.  So Sadie, who  happens to be quite handy in the kitchen, made us noodle kugel with some help from Ashton and only a little help from Lolli (that’s me).  It also helped to be wearing the cute aprons Aunt Wendy made for them  Though it originally came from the very good Jewish cook Dave Lieberman, I am now referring to this recipe as Sadie’s Noodle Kugel.

Trust me, you don’t have to be observing the sabbath or even be Jewish to enjoy this truly delicious dish.  If you want more love, joy and abundant living, try it for yourself and let us know how you like it!

Sadie’s Noodle Kugel

(Adapted from the recipe of Dave Lieberman)

Serves: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

1/2 pound wide egg noodles

1/2 stick butter, melted

1 pound whole milk cottage cheese

2 cups sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

6 eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Boil the noodles in salted water for about 4 minutes. Strain noodles from water. In a large mixing bowl, combine noodles with remaining ingredients and pour into a greased, approximately 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

(Look at those satisfied little faces!)

Bake until custard is set and top is golden brown, about 30 to 45 minutes.

You are in for a treat!…Enjoy and Mazel tov...you’ve made a kugel

This is quite an enlightening video.  As a woman, I know I am often very critical of little things (to me they can seem like big things) that I view as “flaws” in my appearance.  We live in a youth oriented culture and everything says to us, no matter how old or beautiful we are, we should be younger, thinner ….just better all around.  Watch this video and think about how you might describe yourself.

Maybe the real key to beauty ….both outward and inward…starts with being grateful for who and what we are.  Is there room for improvement?  Yes always….but until we start accepting ourselves….loving ourselves, how can we ever truly love anyone else.  I think there is a reason that God told us to “love our neighbor as ourselves”.  It wasn’t after all, a suggestion, it was a commandment, that we love ourselves and love those around us as much.

Try making a list of all the things physical, mental, emotional, relational and spiritual that you like about yourself.  I can almost guarantee you’ll feel better…and more beautiful, after you do.  And think how that will impact the way you see and treat those around you, especially those you love.

Accepting ourselves and loving ourselves leads to more abundant living for us and everyone we meet.  Remember chums, you are beautiful.  As my mother-in-law used to say “God didn’t make any junk!”

Well, we all know the value of keeping a box of baking soda in our refrigerators to take care of horrid smells but ….. here are lots more uses for that same baking soda!

1.     If hard water in your home causes spots and stains on glassware that has been washed in the dishwasher, add a spoonful of baking soda to your next load.  No more spots!

2.     Dirty grout in your bathroom or kitchen?  Make a paste of three parts baking soda and one part water and use an old toothbrush to brush the dirt away.

3.     About once every couple of months, soak your hair brushes and combs in a mixture of one quart hot water and two tablespoons baking soda for about one hour.  Rinse off and let dry and you will have spanking clean hair tools!

4.     Ready to travel and your suitcase smalls a bit musty?  Pour a cup of baking soda in it, close and shake.  Leave overnight.  In the morning, vacuum up the baking soda and your suitcase will smell fresh again.

5.     Oh golly!  Some crayon, pencil or ink has been put on one of your painted surfaces!  Don’t be concerned.  Just sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge, rub clean and rinse off.

6.     Don’t just throw away the baking soda that has been in your refrigerator doing its work.  Put it down the garbage disposal with running water.  It will keep it fresh.

7.     Combine a quarter of a cup of baking soda with one quart of water and run it through your coffee maker as if you were making a cup of coffee.  The baking soda will clean the inside of the coffee maker.  After you have done the baking soda cycle, do a plain water cycle.  Ready for the coffee cycle now!

8.     Keep a package of baking soda handy to throw on a small stove fire.  The soda will prevent oxygen from feeding the flames.

9.     If your carpet is smelling not too fresh, combine a mixture of equal parts baking soda and cornstarch and sprinkle it onto the carpet.  Sprinkle it on at night and in the morning, vacuum it up.

10.    Use baking soda to get rid of oil spots in your garage or on your driveway.  Sprinkle baking soda on stains and then scrub with a wet brush and hot water.  Baking soda breaks apart oil particles.  Use a little elbow grease and the spots will be gone!

We always love to share these Savvy Secrets and add to the abundance in your lives!

If one is good, one in every color is so much better!

We could say that about a lot of things but today we are talking about “pashminas”.  A pashmina is a type of fine cashmere shawl or scarf that became very popular several years ago and the trend has stuck!  I think because they are so very useful, people just do not want to let go of them.  That is certainly why your Two Chums still have them in their wardrobes.

Pashminas are wonderfully versatile and, for instance, worn this way, can dress up an outfit in a moment:

Or, worn this way, it will not only keep the cold from your neck but it will add a great touch to your outfit:

This way, your pashmina is acting like more of a necklace:

Certainly, pashminas can dress up, bring color to or add a touch of drama to an outfit in a jiff,  or just plain keep you warm!

There are a lot of synthetic pashminas on the market and they can be bought very inexpensively.  They are great if you are just needing to add some pop or a little drama, and certainly, if you do want to have them in many colors, this is the way to go.  There is a website for stores you may have seen in the airport called Bijoux Terner that carries synthetic pashminas in every color for $10 each.  You really can’t go wrong.

But a basic black or brown or navy, for example, in the real thing is well worth the money spent.  Not only will it complete your outfit but, being a fine cashmere wool, it will keep you warm and cozy on an otherwise cool evening.

We have shown pictures of a few ways to wear these wonderful pashminas but here’s a webpage that shows you many, many more ways to tie your loyal (and royal) pashmina.  We can guarantee that wearing a pashmina will bring you much joy!  Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge certainly loves wearing pashminas!

I love making dressings for salad.  It isn’t that I don’t like bottled dressing, it is just so easy to make, that I never think of buying dressing.  And as I have become more and more aware of the food additives and the chemicals that are present in prepared foods, to me it is worth the few seconds it takes to make a fresh dressing to go on my fresh salad, and it is less expensive too.

Just the other day my youngest daughter, Amanda, suggested that we do a post, or a series of posts, about salad dressings….so here we are!   Today we are going to start by giving you the recipes for a classic dressing…Simple Vinaigrette, and then two tasty variations on it….Lemon Vinaigrette and Raspberry Vinaigrette.

Fresh salad and easy, delicious, fresh dressing….now that’s abundant living

Classic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
Kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup good olive oil  + a bit extra

Mix all the ingredients except oil in a blender or a jar with a tight fitting lid.  Blend or shake well for 30 seconds then add the cup of oil and blend until all ingredients are emulsified and mixture is smooth.  It may separate after sitting for a while so shake the jar well or blend again in the blender.  Extra dressing that you don’t use will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

When you are ready to use it on your salad, drizzle a couple tablespoons of oil on your salad first and sprinkle the greens generously with salt and pepper.  This is the secret to having really flavorful salad.  Drizzle on dressing using less than you would think you need at first, as it is easy to add more but you can’t take it off and nothing is worse than a perfectly good salad that is drowning in dressing and quickly becomes soggy.  Both the salt and the sugar draw moisture out of the greens so don’t add dressing until just before you are ready to serve the salad.  This is true for any salad.

Lemon Vinaigrette

This is really a misnomer as there is no vinegar in this recipe at all.  Instead the necessary acid for the dressing all comes from lemon juice.  This is honestly the simplest of all dressings.

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup olive or grapeseed oil*
salt and pepper

Mix all 4 ingredients together until thoroughly blended.  Salt and pepper your salad greens and drizzle with dressing.  Toss lightly and taste.  Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Raspberry Vinaigrette 

1 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup grapeseed oil*
1 cup raspberry jam (any good quality raspberry jam will work)
1 teaspoon salt

Blend  together and pour on salad immediately before serving.  This is obviously a sweet vinaigrette and is really nice on spinach salad with fruit and candied nuts or on a salad made with hearty greens like romaine, iceberg lettuce or kale.

* Grapeseed oil is a wonderful addition to any pantry.  It is light, inexpensive and virtually flavorless so it doesn’t change the taste of your salad or fight ingredients that may have a lot of flavor on their own.  It has the added benefit of being good for you.  Most grocery stores carry it and you can always find it at Trader Joes.

Did you know that April is Grilled Cheese month?  It would appear that the favorite of all sandwiches…the grilled  cheese….has come a long way baby!

The grilled cheese is such an iconic part of our culture and wrapped up for many of us with so many happy childhood memories.  Now it  seems it is all grown up with whole restaurants devoted to variations on this delightful pleasure:)  There is even a website where you can find ideas for an endless number of grilled cheese sandwiches called  The Grilled Cheese Academy.  If you happen to have a favorite grilled cheese sandwich recipe you can enter it in their 2013 contest to find the best grilled cheese sandwich.  But please, let us your chums know about it first, so we can share it with all our chums.  

Our favorite (at least for now) seems to be the one we shared with you a while back which is actually a toasted cheese sandwich.  Eaten with a bowl of tomato bisque soup it is hard to beat!  

Still, the weekend is here and and there are almost 2 weeks left in Grilled Cheese Month.  You could have time to try out a lot of different grilled sandwiches before Monday rolls around or April ends.  What a grand time that would be….testing grilled cheese sandwiches to find your very favorite.  Sounds like a lot of love, joy, and abundant living to me!

It’s that time of year again and your home is just waiting for that annual domestic ritual….Spring cleaning.  Here are some great savvy secrets to make your work easier and things sparkle

Here are some wonderful ideas for cleaning from Martha Stewart Living and Real Simple….

If you don’t have a self-cleaning oven (which burns off residue at very high temperatures), try a paste of baking soda and water. Coat the oven surfaces with the paste (avoiding bare metal and heating elements), let stand overnight, and, while wearing gloves, use a plastic spatula to remove it.

To whiten cloth napkins and linens fill a large pot with water, and drop in several slices of lemon. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Add the linens, and let them soak for about an hour. Then launder as usual.

The next time you polish a fork, dip a length of cotton twine into silver polish, and rub it between the tines. This will help remove every trace of tarnish from those hard-to-reach crevices.

This treatment for cleaning copper amazes everyone who tries it. A pleasing bonus: It’s chemical-free. All you need are a lemon and coarse salt. Sprinkle the cut side of a lemon half with the salt, then rub it over the copper, which will soon gleam.

To keep tiny bugs out of your pantry, try taping whole dried bay leaves to the sides and bottoms of your shelves.

Mix 10 drops of lavender or lemongrass oil in 2 ounces of water in a spray bottle to wipe grime off windows—and to make the house smell divine. Bonus: May repel flies!

Sprinkle cornstarch on greasy stains on carpets or upholstery. Let it sit for 15 to 30 minutes to absorb the oil, then vacuum up.

Vinegar inhibits the growth of mold, mildew, and some bacteria, so go nuts with it in the kitchen and bathroom, cleaning cutting boards and wiping soap residue from shower doors. But don’t stop there. Spray it on the underarms of clothing and let soak for 30 minutes to deodorize! Mix it with an equal amount of warm water for a streak-free window cleaner! Remove rings left by wet glasses on wood by rubbing the rings with an equal mix of vinegar and melted beeswax! Pour it in the washer to rescue a forgotten load from funky despair—or sans clothes to refresh the machine!

Mix 1 tablespoon peroxide with ¼ cup water, then spray it on fruits and vegetables to kill bacteria and then rinse. Use it to disinfect cutting boards (they’ve never gotten so much love). Mix it with a little liquid dish soap to deodorize the cat box and trash cans.

Add Borax to a bit of liquid dish soap and tackle the refrigerator shelves. Pour it down a clogged drain along with boiling water. Sprinkle it around the house exterior to deter insects. Dilute and spray it to kill mildew in the bathroom. Pour it in the toilet and let sit overnight; the next day, swish with a brush and flush to get rid of rust stains. Clean countertops and walls by dissolving ½ cup in 1 gallon of hot water, pouring it into a spray bottle, spritzing it hither and yon, then wiping with a damp cloth. Oh, Borax, is there anything you cannot do?

For polishing anything from silver to jewelry to vehicles, cloth diapers can’t be outdone. And they won’t leave lint on mirrors or windows.

Sinks, showers, tubs, and ceramic tile: Create a homemade soft scrubber by combining 1 tablespoon liquid Castile soap and 1/3 cup baking soda.

Oh a sparkling clean home certainly leads to abundant living….and a bit of joy too

If we had to pick five people in the world who had left their mark on fashion, certainly Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy would be one of those five!

Jackie Kennedy, who became known as “Jackie O” after her marriage to Aristotle Onassis, left her mark on the world, to say the least.  When her husband, John F. Kennedy, became President and they moved into the White House, she completely re-did that Presidential home and made it a place that everyone wanted to see.  Apparently, it was rather drab when they took up residence there but she quickly changed that!

And, her amazing sense of style was reflected in the way she dressed.

As soon as Jackie arrived in Washington, all lights were on her!  Ladies were imitating her style from the moment she set foot on the public’s stage – much like the “Catherine Middleton” effect of today!  The first thing that was markedly “hers” was the pillbox hat and EVERYONE had to have one!

Jackie Kennedy had a great way of making a casual outfit look very chic with the addition of a silk scarf or a strand or two of pearls.  In fact, she made a three-stranded pearl necklace a “must have” for all ladies – and, come to find out, Jackie’s was faux!  She very often completed an outfit with a beautiful silk scarf – perhaps around her head or neck or tied to her handbag.  Jackie certainly was a person who believed that “less is more” and demonstrated the meaning of those few words elegantly and with much grace!

Jackie sported black or white or a combination of black and white with great flare.  She was often seen donning a black turtleneck.  In fact, one of her “go to” outfits was white jeans with a black turtleneck (not tucked in).

For the First Lady to go “sleeveless” was quite a bold move but make the move she did and, of course, every other lady followed suit.  Her wardrobe was full of sleeveless, A-line dresses.

And, oh, we could not talk of Jackie Kennedy Onassis without mentioning quite loudly, the large sunglasses that she made popular in the 1960′s and which are now again seen adorning ladies’ faces.  Jackie said that being behind those large sunglasses gave her a chance to look at people without being noticed.

What a lady!  Full of grace and sophistication.  Yes, a style icon she was and continues to be.  We have her to thank for a lot!

In crisis situations such as this we are not divided.  We do not go to our respective corners of political viewpoints or opinions as to what to do or how to handle the fallout or argue about who is to blame. On the contrary, in these times we are not Democrats or Republicans, not north or south nor east or west, we are not red states nor blue states.  We are the United States of America and we stand together in support of each other.

At Two Chums, we never take lightly our words regarding seeking to bring more “love, joy and abundant living.”  So now we would encourage you to show love to those who might least expect it from you, the smile or greeting you give to the stranger in an elevator, the nod of acknowledgement to the person you don’t know getting into the car next to yours in a parking lot, the “Hi there” to the neighbor you’ve never spoken to before the next time he/she passes your home, the “Good morning” to the person who makes your latte tomorrow morning.  All these little acts of kindness promote a more loving world.  These awful crisis situations are opportunities for us to be reminded to show such kindness and support to each other everyday.  We can each of us pray for the victims and for the families of those who lost their loved ones yesterday, that they would find peace and support as they begin to recover.

And we have another opportunity…. to give the greatest of all love by praying for those responsible for the bombing.  May God give us love beyond ourselves that our world will be better in spite of the intent of those who have brought these attacks.  May God bless and keep you, each and every one.

Teddy Bears’ Picnic

If you go down to the woods today,
You’re sure of a big surprise.
If you go down to the woods today,
You’d better go in disguise.
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain because
Today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic.

Picnic time for teddy bears;
The little teddy bears are having a lovely time today.
Watch us catch them unawares,
And see them picnic on their holiday.
See them gaily gad about.
They love to play and shout,
They never have any cares.
At six o’clock their mummies and daddies
Will take them home to bed
Because they’re tired little teddy bears.

But….do you know how the “teddy bear” got its name?  

White it was not when the teddy bears were having their picnic in the woods, they did get their name from an incident in the woods!  Yes, the story goes that in 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt was invited by the Mississippi Governor to go bear hunting with his friends in the woods.  There were several people on this hunting trip and most of the other hunters had managed to get a bear.  President Roosevelt had not yet caught one so some of the men with him decided that they would catch a bear and tie him to a tree.  They did this and then invited Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt to shoot it.  Upon hearing about this, Teddy Roosevelt said that he could not possibly do that as it would be unsportsmanlike but he asked one of his men to shoot the bear to put it out of its misery.

When a cartoonist heard about this incident, he quickly created a cartoon depicting the event which got many laughs.

Cartoon of Teddy Roosevelt with the bear

Not only did the cartoon create many laughs.

The cartoon was seen by a toymaker, Morris Michtom, who, after asking President Teddy Roosevelt’s permission, created a soft cuddly toy bear and put it in his shop window with a sign reading, “Teddy’s bear”.  The craze took off – ladies carried teddy bears with them, children were photographed with them and Teddy Roosevelt used one as a mascot in his bid for re-election.

American educator Seymour Eaton wrote the children’s book series, “The Roosevelt Bears” and composer John Bratton wrote “The Teddy Bear Two Step” which, with the addition of Jimmy Kennedy’s lyrics, became “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic”.

The Teddy Bear has become unquestionably one of the most beloved and cherished toys, if not companions, of children.

Teddy Roosevelt could not have realized what he started!  He added to the joy and love of every child’s life!

There is nothing like the timeless “sailor suit” made popular by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales in 1846.  A the age of four, he was given a miniature copy of the of the uniform worn by the crew on the Royal Yacht. 

His wearing of the “sailor suit” delighted his mother, Queen Victoria, and the public alike, and so it did not take long for this outfit to become “the thing” to be worn by all children.  Obviously, little girls wore a version of this in a dress as females would never have worn a pair of trousers!

This fashion reminds me of John Masefield’s poem, Sea Fever…..

Just as the sea goes on and on and on, this fashion has lasted and been enjoyed by all since Prince Edward (later to become Edward VII) made it popular.  The Victorian age gave us so much – some things we have left behind as they are rather old fashioned and some, like this darling sailor outfit, we continue to enjoy.

Somehow, when I see a child dressed in a sailor type outfit I feel that “all is well with the world” – the tradition lives on and looks just as exquisite today as it did in the mid-nineteenth century.   There is something very crisp and sharp and timeless about it – something rather wonderful!

Our family was fortunate enough to have a joyous gathering a few weeks ago at which we took many, many photographs.  We set the stage for one such photograph session by asking the little girls to wear a “nautical type” dress and the rest of us to wear navy, khaki, cream or white ……

….what we came away with is, to us, a photograph that will transcend time in the years to come – so full of love and joy!

It seems appropriate to close out this week in celebration of Scotland and all things Scottish with an authentic recipe for Scottish Shortbread.  Our chum Wendy (who is also my cousin) got this wonderful recipe from her mother-in-law, Mae Reynolds.  Reynolds was her married name, she was born a McGrath, that being her maiden name.   Mae was the first of her family born here…number 7 of 8 children.  The others were all born in Glasgow, Scotland, so I can only imagine that this great shortbread recipe is one her mother brought with her from Scotland when she came to America and handed it down to her daughter, Mae, who gave it to her daughter-in-law, Wendy, who has now shared it with us.  Isn’t it great to have “chums”?   They always bring love, joy and abundance to our lives.  And in this case, the added bonus of a recipe for the best shortbread you’ll ever eat!

Mae’s Scottish Shortbread

2 cps. flour (all-purpose)

1/2 lb. butter, softened

1/2 cp. confectioner’s sugar

This shortbread is simple to make.  As you can plainly see even a child can do it

Mix all ingredients well.  You can use a mixer but Mae used her hands.  The warmth of your hands actually helps to incorporate the butter into the flour/sugar mixture.  After you have thoroughly mixed the butter with the flour and sugar, turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead the dough.  When you have finished kneading, divide the dough into 2 balls.

Flatten the balls with the palm of your hand.  This will make two 6.5″ x 1″ round cookies.  Use a fork to score the edges as you would with a pie crust, then pierce the rounds with a fork to mark wedges that can be broken or cut into pieces after baking.

These are known as Petticoat Tails.  The rounds take about an hour to bake in a 300 degree oven. Watch them closely as they brown easily, especially in about the last 10 minutes of cooking, and you do NOT want them to brown.

Now make a pot of tea, and as Mae wrote on the recipe card she shared …”Enjoy”!

Continuing on with our “Scottish” week, we found some interesting and fun facts about Scotland that we thought you all might enjoy.

1.     Scotland is well known all over the  world for its whisky.  It is important to distinguish “whisky” from “whiskey” which is what is made in the United States and Ireland.

2.    Sir Thomas Sean Connery, also known as James Bond, started his working life as a milkman, factory worker and lorry (truck) driver.

3.     “Auld Lang Syne”, originally written by famous Scot Robert Burns, is the second most popular song in the world after “Happy Birthday”.

4.     Scotland was the country in which golf was first played and that was in the fifteenth century.

5.     Gerard Butler trained to be a lawyer at Glasgow University before becoming a famous actor.

6.     Edinburgh was built on seven hills, just like Rome.

7.     Edinburgh was the first city in the world to have a fire brigade.

8.     According to the census conducted in 1909, the Scots were the tallest race in Europe.

9.     Scotland includes 787 islands.

10.   Scotland has the highest proportion of red heads in the world.  Thirteen percent of its population is redheads.

More joy, more laughter equals more abundant living!

“A Victorian fantasy in the Scottish Highlands”, Balmoral Castle is the place the Queen calls “home” during the summer of any given year.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought this property in 1852 and, upon owning it, completely demolished the structure that was standing and designed and built their own.  Queen Victoria felt that the original building was “too small”.  As Prince Albert did with a lot of their properties, he set about in helping with the design and ended up with their beloved Balmoral Castle.   The word “Balmoral”  is the anglicization of the gaelic words “baile mhoireil” meaning “majestic dwelling”.

It was to here that, upon Albert’s death, Victoria came.  Her heart was very heavy, she had lost the love of her life and she settled into a long time of mourning.

It was here that she met John Brown, Albert’s former keeper of the horses and the man who would help Victoria come out of her depression.  There is a wonderful film about John Brown and Victoria called Mrs. Brown.  If you have not seen it, we highly recommend it.

It was here that Queen Elizabeth and  Prince Phillip learned that Diana had died in a car crash.

It was here that Prince Charles had to tell his sons that their mother had been killed.

It was here that the Queen stayed “to be a grandmother to her grandsons”, while her country mourned the death of “The People’s Princess”.   Finally, after many days, she left for London and requested that the Standard, the flag that flies when the Queen is in residence at Buckingham Palace, be flown at half mast.  What dramatic days those were with everyone spellbound and waiting to see how the Royal Family was going to handle this very sad, poignant situation.  The movie “The Queen” depicts this time in history with great feeling.

It is here that the Queen and her family go in August and September to enjoy the Scottish countryside and the serenity it has to offer.  There are acres and acres of rolling hills, trickling rivers, amazing vistas, and majestic wildlife.  The Queen owns this property herself – it is not owned by the Crown.

It is here that photos of the Queen’s family can be found in mismatched frames sitting on the piano and where the Queen relaxes comfortably in her tartan kilt by the fire.

Tartans abound!  They are all over the Castle!

Certainly, it is here at Balmoral Castle that love and joy can be found.

We heard yesterday of the passing of one of the world’s most renowned women, Margaret Thatcher – otherwise known as “The Iron Lady” – the lady who, virtually single handedly, re-routed a falling nation and put it back on its feet with her tireless dedication.

Margaret Thatcher who became the first woman Prime Minister in the United Kingdom rose to that place of power from very humble beginnings.  Her father was a grocer – he owned two grocery stores and the family lived in a “flat” (an apartment) above one of them.  As a child, she realized that she could do anything she set her mind to do and, that she did!

Margaret Roberts, as she was then named, was very bright academically and earned a place at Oxford University where she, when she took time away from her studies, was the President of the Conservative Association.  Her father had taught her a lot about politics, he himself being a member of the local town council and, at one point, the Mayor.  She graduated from Oxford with a degree in Chemistry and went on to become a research chemist.

Being very interested in politics, Margaret  ran as the conservative candidate in Dartford, where she was then living.  Knowing that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to defeat the incumbent liberal candidate, she lost the race.  Undaunted, she ran again and lost again.  Two months after this loss, she married Denis Thatcher.

Putting politics aside for a while, Mrs. Thatcher decided to study law and became a barrister.  Shortly thereafter, she had twins, Carol and Mark.  She was then ready to embark again on the political waves which she did, taking on various tasks and being appointed to different committees and jobs, climbing up the political ladder, and finding herself as Leader of the Opposition.

The top of the ladder came when Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister on 4 May 1979, the first woman Prime Minister the UK had seen and the first leader to win three General Elections in a row.  Arriving at 10 Downing Street, she said, in a paraphrase of the Prayer of Saint Francis:

“Where there is discord, may we bring harmony.  Where there is error, may we bring truth.  Where there is doubt, may we bring faith.  And where there is despair, may we bring hope”.

Margaret Thatcher reflected on her upbringing when she said, “I just owe almost everything to my father and it’s passionately interesting for me that the things that I learned in a small town, in a very modest home, are just the things that I believe have won the election”.

Mrs. Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were great “chums”.  They tackled things the same way, being both very conservative in their thinking.  They supported each other and confided in one another.  They shared a distrust of communism.

Being a woman in a man’s world, she had to be tough!

She accepted the title of “The Iron Lady”  by saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you tonight in my Red Star chiffon evening gown. My face softly made up and my fair hair gently waved. The Iron Lady of the Western world. A cold war warrior, an amazon philistine, even a Peking plotter. Well, am I any of these things? … Yes I am an iron lady, after all it wasn’t a bad thing to be an iron duke. Yes, if that’s how they wish to interpret my defence of values and freedoms fundamental to our way of life”.  She did her best to blunt the power of the trade unions and to privatize companies, thus taking away even the scent of socialism.  There were rumors that she and the Queen did not get along well but these were quoshed very rapidly by Buckingham Palace.  She did manage to split the country in two with her strong held beliefs and, in 1990 felt it best for the nation to resign.  After her resignation, she was made Baroness Thatcher, a lifetime title.

One wonderful quote that is attributed to Mrs. Thatcher is, “Being powerful is like being a lady.  If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t”!

Thank you, Baroness Thatcher for all that you did for the world.  Adieu!  Farewell!  God Bless!

This being “Scotland Week”, Americans and Canadians alike are celebrating their Scottish heritage in all sorts of ways.   Last Saturday, in New York, there was the Tartan Parade where people in all sorts of tartans and bands of bagpipes and drums walked the streets.Your Two Chums thought it would be fun to do a few Posts this week on things Scottish and we start, today, with talking about tartans and what they mean.

What is a tartan?  In many countries today, the pattern of interlocking stripes called a tartan is often mistakenly known as “plaid.”  Plaide actually comes from the Gaelic word for a blanket, and the correct use of the word refers to a large length of fabric, as is used in Highland dress.  More often than not, these plaids were made from a cloth with a tartan pattern and so the confusion began!

Tartan has an ancient history.  It dates back to  3000 BC but in Scotland, the earliest known tartan dates back to the third and fourth century AD.  Although it could be found all over the world, only in Scotland did tartan take on a cultural role.

By the end of the eighteenth century, tartan had become very much part of the Scottish culture and large scale commercial weavers had taken up the production of tartan.  One very well known firm, William Wilson & Sons of Bannockburn, was begun around 1765 and became quite successful, being the sole supplier of tartan cloth to the Highland Regiments.  Because they were producing cloth in such large quantities, they developed standard colors and patterns early on.  At first they assigned numbers to identify the patterns, but soon began to give them names.  These not only included names of Highland clans, but also town names, and some fancy names as well!  Originally, these names did not represent anything in particular.   The names were just very helpful in the organizing and selling of them.   As time went on, people felt that these names represented actual connections to these clans and that is really how the naming of tartans started!

Now, not only do clans have tartans but towns, companies, etc.  In fact, if you are interested, go to The Scottish Registry of Tartans.  You can find out here if your family has a tartan already, what it is and, if you do not find a tartan that is attached to your family name, you no doubt can create one!  What fun!

Last week, the Duchess of Cambridge was in Scotland with her husband, William, and each time she was seen, she was wearing some type of tartan.  Whether she wore more, or less, tartan, she incorporated a bit of tartan into whatever she was wearing which added a wonderful “pop”!

So rich with history – just adding to the abundance in our lives!

We will give you the basic and easy recipe for Classic Hummus and then a way to turn that into a Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and a Pesto Hummus.  It is simple to do, looks beautiful when served together and and most importantly tastes delicious!  And did we mention these are guilt free because they are, by all accounts, really healthy…what could be better!  Make some this weekend and you’ll see what we mean.

Serve them with the pita chips we gave you yesterday or some carrots and cucumber slices and you’ll be a “snack hero” in your house in no time

Classic Hummus

2 cans of garbanzo beans
1/3 cup tahini paste
3-4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons salt
juice of 2 lemons
1/4- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine everything but olive oil in a food processor or blender.  Slowly add in olive oil until hummus is a smooth consistency but not runny.  Scoop into serving bowl and drizzle the top with a bit more olive oil.

Red Pepper Hummus

1/2 recipe of classic hummus
1/4 cup roasted red peppers (either jar or can drained of liquid)
1/2-1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or several drops of hot pepper sauce

Add these ingredients to the basic recipe BEFORE you add the olive oil.  Mix in olive oil to desired consistency.

Pesto Hummus *

1/2  recipe of basic hummus
1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Add these ingredients to the basic recipe BEFORE you add the olive oil.  Mix in olive oil to desired consistency.
*Alternatively you can add 1/4 cup prepared pesto sauce.  Trader Joes has one that works well.

In the world of crackers and chips, the up and coming favorite seems to be the pita chip.Everyone we know loves these pita chips.  They are crunchy, well seasoned, baked not fried, and the perfect size and shape to hold any dip.  And unlike the ones you can buy in the store for about $5 for an average sized bag, one package of pita bread at under $2 will make about twice as many chips as any package you could pick up.  Try these soon.  We are sure you’ll be glad you did

P.S.  Stay tuned tomorrow we will give you something to dip these delicious chips into.

Homemade Pita Chips

1 package pita bread
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon cumin
light sprinkling of cayenne pepper (optional)

Cut the pita bread into large squares.  Place in a deep bowl and drizzle with olive oil.  Using your hands, toss until all the pieces of bread are coated with oil.  Sprinkle salt, pepper, thyme, cumin, and cayenne (if using) and toss again to spread spices and coat pieces of bread.  Spread bread on baking sheets making sure they are only in a single layer so that they have the chance to crisp while cooking.  Bake in a 375 degree oven until they are lightly browned and beginning to crisp about 12-15 minutes.  Remove from the oven.  Chips will continue to crisp up as they cool.  Eat as is, or enjoy with your favorite dip

You guessed it!  More Savvy Secrets ….. this time to keep you beautiful!

1.     Looking for a fabulous age-defying skin treatment?  Milk is the greatest thing!  It is good for the inside of you and the outside! Lactic acid works as an exfoliant, and milk’s armino acids and proteins have a calming effect on red skin.  Grab a clean cloth or a cotton ball, put milk on it and dab it on your skin.

2.     After the whole winter of wearing sweaters over your elbows, they tend to be forgotten about and get very rough.  Here’s a great treatment.  Cut a lemon or lime in half and sprinkle it with brown sugar.  Bend your elbow and put it right into the cut fruit and twist the fruit back and forth.  The acid in the fruit will take away the dead skin with the help of the sugar!

3.     Are your feet achy after a long day?  Fill a bucket or footbath with warm water and add several rosemary sprigs.  Put your feet in and they will thank you!

4.     Make your own scented bath oil by adding a few drops of your favorite perfume to some baby oil and mix it up well.  Add to your bath and enjoy!

5.     As we have mentioned before, vinegar has many uses.  One of these uses which we have not told you about is as a degreaser for oily hair!  Shampoo your hair as usual, rinse, then pour 1/4 cup of vinegar over it and rinse again.

6.     And, for a deep-conditioning hair mask, mash the meat of an avocado with 1 cup of mayonnaise.  Rub it into your hair and cover your head with Saran wrap or any plastic wrap – a shower cap would be great.   Leave on for 20 minutes and then wash it out with shampoo.

7.    Rather than wearing a bra for a few days in a row, rotate them.  This gives the elastic time to “re-group” and it will last longer this way!

8.     When doing your make-up in the morning, it is best to do it by a window so that you have natural light.   Doing it by a lightbulb could send you out with a different look than you want!

9.     Your perfume does not last long?  Before applying it, put a bit of petroleum jelly in the spot where you apply your perfume.  Then, spray your perfume on.  The petroleum jelly will make your fragrance more lasting.

10.    Baby shampoo is an inexpensive way to remove your make-up, including mascara, eye liner and shadow.  It contains many of the same ingredients as make-up remover.  Use on a cotton ball  and then rinse with water….. or baby wipes will do the trick as well.

You know it!  More love, more joy and more abundant living!

The great thing about this yummy treat is that you can even make it up to 4 days before you want to serve it (though once it is made who in their right mind would wait that long to cut into it?), it has only 3 ingredients, as the title of this post says, it tastes like “A slice of chocolate heaven” and even people with wheat or gluten allergies can enjoy this.  Sounds like a win/win deal to me!

Ultimate Flourless Chocolate Cake

1 lb. semisweet chocolate (use a good quality chocolate, one that has at least a 72% cacao content)
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
8 eggs
1/4 cup strong coffee or liqueur (optional)

1.  Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line bottom of 8-inch springform pan with parchment and grease pan sides. Cover pan underneath and along sides with sheet of heavy-duty foil and set in large roasting pan. Bring kettle of water to boil.
2. Beat eggs with hand-held mixer at high speed until volume doubles to approximately 1 quart, about 5 minutes. Alternately, beat in bowl of electric mixer fitted with wire whip attachment at medium speed (speed 6 on a KitchenAid) to achieve same result, about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt chocolate and butter (adding coffee or liqueur, if using) in large heat-proof bowl set over pan of almost simmering water, until smooth and very warm (about 115 degrees on an instant-read thermometer), stirring once or twice. (For the microwave, melt chocolate and butter together at 50 percent power until smooth and warm, 4 to 6 minutes, stirring once or twice.) Fold 1/3 of egg foam into chocolate mixture using large rubber spatula until only a few streaks of egg are visible; fold in half of remaining foam, then last of remaining foam, until mixture is totally homogenous.
4. Scrape batter into prepared springform pan and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Set roasting pan on oven rack and pour enough boiling water to come about halfway up side of springform pan. Bake until cake has risen slightly, edges are just beginning to set, a thin glazed crust (like a brownie) has formed on surface, 22 to 25 minutes. Remove cake pan from water bath and set on wire rack; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight to mellow (can be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days).
5. About 30 minutes before serving, remove springform pan sides, invert cake on sheet of waxed paper, peel off parchment pan liner, and turn cake right side up on serving platter. Sieve light sprinkling of Confectioners’ sugar or unsweetened cocoa powder over cake to decorate, if desired.  Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

Have you read in the news about the fact that  they have now discovered that the world is, in fact, flat?

Haha, April Fools!  I am sure we did not “get” too many of you as really, how could that be, but just thought we would try!

Although the earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (1392), it is felt that the April Fool’s Day or All Fool’s Day, as it is sometimes called, that we now celebrate, started when the Gregorian Calendar was introduced in 1582 in France.  New Year’s Day was moved from March 25-April (new year’s week) to January 1.  As news travelled very slowly in those days, it was sometimes a couple of years before people heard about the change and so they were labelled “fools” and were called “April fish” as a young naive fish is easily caught.  People started putting a paper fish on the back of other people as a  joke on this day.  Today, in Italy, France and Belgium, this is still done.

This joke-playing tradition spread to different places and in the 1700′s was brought to the American colonies by the French and the British.  Today, each country enjoys this fun and celebrates it in its own way.  For example, in England, a joke can only be played before noon.  It is considered bad luck to play a joke on someone after noon.

Chaucer was way ahead of his time – what can we say?

Be sure to share the joy and laughter this April Fool’s Day!  And we are wanting to be sure to wish Hilary the best birthday from her “Second Mum” (that would be Jackie!).

Have you ever noticed that just like fashion, or music, or the genre of TV shows, even food is subject to trends?  Lavender seems to be one of those culinary trends that is popular right now.  As Easter approaches these shortbread cookies scented with lavender could just be the crowning treat at your Easter gathering If you happen to be one of our “chums” who visits our site regularly, you may remember that only a few days ago we had a post on Lavender Scented Honey Lemon Ice Cream.  I mentioned there that for years I had avoided floral flavored or infused foods.  But I have had a turn around, at least as far as lavender is concerned.  So when one of our ‘chums’, Wendy, (who also happens to be my cousin and the clever person who gave us that wonderful tip on how to care for cashmere), sent me a recipe for Lavender Shortbread I just had to make it and try it out to see if I would want to use it as one of the treats for our Easter lunch.

The recipe comes from the cookbook of a wonderful southern bakery.  It is called The Back In The Day Bakery Cookbook after the bakery of the same name, in Savannah, Georgia.  I had the pleasure of checking out the bakery’s delicious offerings this past Fall while on a trip to visit Wendy for her birthday.  After reading our post about lavender ice cream she quickly made a copy of the Lavender Shortbread recipe from her cookbook and sent it off to me.   Now I’m sharing it with you along with a fun option I decided to try in lieu of the cookie press the recipe suggests you use.

I have mentioned before in posts that traditions, especially food traditions that relate to holidays, are really important to me.  They anchor the memories I am creating for my family and are sometimes symbols of meanings for the holiday we are celebrating. Because of this, I rarely vary the menu at our family holiday celebrations year to year.  You can see from last year’s Easter post what some of those food traditions are in my family.

Now in addition to all this, we do also love our Deviled Eggs and Spinach Dip!

Having said I don’t usually change or vary the menu at Easter, I have decided to make an addition this year.   These wonderful cookies are little treasures that everyone will enjoy.  They are easy to make, and as you see here below, you can be really creative by using some of your favorite ordinary rubber stamps to imprint your cookies with festive Easter designs.  Try these and I would be willing to bet they might just become a favorite tradition at your Easter celebration.  If you do, we would love to know about it.  I am pretty confident that they will be a hit at mine:)

Happy Easter dear chums!

Lavender Shortbread  (from The Back In The Day Cookbook)

Sublime, with floral notes

Makes 24 cookies

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel

1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons dried lavender

About 1/4 cup granulated sugar for dusting

Special Equipment: Cookie stamp (optional)

Line two cookie sheets with parchment.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer), beat the butter, vanilla, and fleur de sel on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Turn the speed down to low, add the confectioners’ sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the flour in thirds, beating until just incorporated. Sprinkle in the lavender and mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix.

Transfer the dough to another bowl and finish mixing by hand to make sure no bits of flour or butter are hiding on the bottom of the bowl and the dough is thoroughly mixed. The lavender should be evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Use a small ice cream scoop to form the cookies, about 1 rounded tablespoon each, and place on the prepared cookie sheets, leaving 1 inch between the cookies to allow for spreading.

Flatten each cookie with a cookie stamp dusted with granulated sugar, or gently flatten each cookie with the palm of your hand and then dust the tops with sugar. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3 hours, before baking.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until the edges are lightly golden. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.

Certainly, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge shows us how to wear all types, all shapes and sizes, of hats and with such grace!  Your Two Chums, even though we are not Duchesses, love, absolutely LOVE, to wear hats and do so whenever we can.  Somehow, when one wears a hat, one feels rather regal as it tends to make one stand up straight.   Come to think of it, when we do don a hat, we more often than not, get compliments on that hat.

As we have mentioned,The Duchess of Cambridge can, and does, wear all sorts of hats.  She wears smaller hats….

The Duchess of Cambridge

and larger hats….

The Duchess of Cambridge

She wears velvet hats…

and COWBOY hats! …

She wears VERY large hats…

and teeny hats…

Catherine can wear a themed hat (the Canadian Maple Leaf)…

or a “loopdy-loop” hat…

Why not watch Easter Parade and get a feel for what you should be wearing this Easter?  A hat will always make your outfit and add to your joy  and abundant living!

Good times, family, friends, memories …all things that add to a life full of love, joy and that sense of abundant living:)

About a month ago, when our grandchildren were spending the night and my cousin Sandy was visiting, we decided spontaneously one night, to make pizzas and milkshakes and watch a movie.  It was such fun and such a hit with everyone that our 9 year old grandson, Jeremy, wanted to know if I thought we could “maybe do this once a month!”  Now just the idea that he would want to do this with Randy and me regularly brought great joy to us.  All too soon there will be ball games, dances, friends, and girls that will demand his attention, so while he still enjoys a Saturday night with Lolli and Cisco (that is what our grandchildren call us) you can bet there will be a lot of pizza and milkshakes made around our house

To make your pizzas you can use the method and recipe for dough and making pizza that we posted about a month ago.  For the milkshakes you will need a good blender, either the traditional kind or an immersion blender that will allow you to make your milkshakes right in the glass.  They look like this:

Now pick some of your favorite ingredients like Oreo cookies, M&M’s, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, strawberries or bananas, chocolate or caramel sauce for example, and combine them with some good quality ice cream (I would recommend Haagen Daaz Vanilla) and a little milk.  You can give your milkshake combos fun names that mimic the names of some classic movies or those that are your family favorites.  We had a printed menu that listed the possibilities for milkshake combos and all the options for toppings on the pizzas.

Experiment with the different kinds of pizza.  Maybe you would want to make two small pizzas for each person, so they can try different kinds and different combinations of sauce and toppings.  You could make all cheese with a pesto sauce and 5 different kinds of cheese, or a barbeque chicken pizza with bacon, red onion and cilantro.  You could even make a pizza with taco ingredients and use salsa as your sauce…the possibilities are endless.

Whatever kind of pizza or milkshake you make, be sure that you remember the most important thing you are making is the memories of good times together.

When I think of eggs, the first thing that comes to my mind are those wonderful, absolutely exquisite, Fabergé eggs!

The Fabergé egg is synonymous with luxury, the first one having been given as as Easter gift in 1885 by Tsar Alexander III of Russia to his wife, the Empress Maria Fedorovna.   This egg is known as the Hen Egg and is crafted from gold.   Its opaque white enameled ‘shell’ opens to reveal its first surprise, a matte yellow gold yolk. This in turn opens to reveal a multi-coloured gold hen that also opens. It contained a minute diamond replica of the Imperial Crown from which a small ruby pendant was suspended. Unfortunately, these last two surprises have been lost.

As a result of the crafting of the Hen Egg and the delight with which Empress Maria Fedorovna received it, Alexander appointed Fabergé ‘goldsmith by special appointment to the Imperial Crown’.  The next year another egg was commissioned and after that, Alexander allowed Fabergé to design and craft the eggs with only one specification from Alexander: the specification being that each one should contain a surprise.  When, in 1894, Alexander III passed on, his son commissioned two  Fabergé eggs to be crafted – one for his wife and one for his mother, Empress Fedorovna, now the Dowager Empress.

The authentic Fabergé egg typically refers to any made before the 1917 Revolution in Russia which numbered less than one hundred.  These absolutely beautiful eggs were crafted with precious metals stones and were, each and every one, a work of art.  As the years went on, each one depicted something of the goings-on of the time.

The Fabergé family left Russia in 1917 and the trademark has been sold several times and so there are other companies who have sold egg-related merchandise using the wonderful Fabergé name.

There are many jewelers who have re-created these tremendously enameled and bejeweled eggs and have made them affordable.  There is something rather charming about a beautiful egg adorning a lady’s neckline!

Joy, pure joy!

Growing up in a very Hassidic Jewish neighborhood as I did, I was privileged to see and learn firsthand about just how important the foods eaten and used at the Seder are to retelling the story of Passover. Fundamental to the Seder table is the Seder plate.

Every seder plate includes the following items:

Zeroah- a lamb’s shankbone symbolizing the ancient Passover sacrifice

Beitzah- a roasted egg symbolizing the temple sacrifice and the continuing cycle of life

Charoseth- a paste of fruit and nuts symbolizing the mortar used to build the pyramid of the pharaohs

Mar’or- a bitter herb (like horseradish) to represent the bitterness of slavery

Karpas- a green vegetable (usually parsley) representing spring

A bowl of salt water to dip the karpas symbolizing the slaves’ tears.

Also necessary are three matzos (unleavened bread, symbolizing the haste of the flight from Egypt — there was no time for the bread to rise), wrapped in a cloth, and broken and eaten at set points throughout the evening.

And of course there is the wine used for the blessings.

The egg has its place in telling the story. Every Seder plate reserves a place to display each of the elements, one of them being a roasted egg. As you have read, it is there to serve as a reminder of the burnt offerings, the daily roasted sacrifices in the Temple. These sacrifices can no longer be offered there because the Temple was destroyed centuries ago.  So when the egg is served it is first dipped in salted water.  The salty water represents the tears of those slaves and those who mourn the loss of the Temple.  Like I said, every element of the Seder has rich meaning and an important significance.  You can read more about the Passover meal and recipes from our post last year at Passover.

What is interesting to me as a non-Jew, is that I never actually saw a “roasted egg” as is described in the instructions for the preparations and service of the Passover seder.  One can read about Passover, both the story and the meanings behind the rituals on a host of websites.  They almost all talk about a “roasted” egg, yet all the eggs I’ve ever seen on any Seder plate containing the elements were hard boiled, not roasted.

The same is true for eggs used in celebration of Easter.  For many, Easter is only about colored eggs and the Easter Bunny, but for the practicing Christian, it is the highest of holy days.  Though I know of no spiritual or religious significance to eggs at Easter, they seem to be a part of every celebration whether by those who are practicing Christians or not.  But they are always hard boiled never roasted.

So when I came across an entry on Facebook the other day about roasting eggs instead of boiling them, my interest was naturally peeked.  The entry was merely about the best way to cook eggs so that they can be easily peeled.  If you have ever boiled eggs you know that there are always some that just refuse to be released from the shell or rather the skin just inside the shell.  Invariably there are eggs that aren’t especially “pretty” once peeled because they have fallen apart or been broken up as they were peeled.

I was curious as to how this egg “roasting” technique might work, so I tried it and to my pleasant surprise it worked really well!  The eggs were perfectly done and came out of the shells with no problem at all.

The technique for roasting is this:

Place each of the eggs sideways on the opening of a muffins pan designed for making small muffins.  This way the egg is stabilized and the yolk will remain in the center of the egg as it cooks.  Place the eggs in a 325 degree oven for exactly 30 minutes.  When the time is up remove the eggs and immediately place them in a bowl of ice water to cool them off.  Once they have cooled, peel them and use them however you have intended, or refrigerate them until you are ready to use them.

In looking this up and reading more about “roasted eggs” for Passover, I came across another interesting idea.  It seems that Sephardic Jews, (Jews who have originated from Spain or the area of the Iberian peninsula) have a special way of roasting their Passover eggs called Huevos Haminados, or oven eggs.

The technique for making these goes like this:

Equipment:
A 4-quart ovenproof pot that you don’t care about, as it may get stained, or a deep ovenproof glass casserole of equal size.

Ingredients:

4 cups of tightly packed onion skins
12 eggs at room temperature
2 tablespoons coffee grinds
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2. Place half of the onion skins at the bottom of the pot or casserole. Nestle the eggs between the skins. Don’t crowd them. Sprinkle coffee grinds over eggs. Add oil, vinegar and salt. Cover with remaining onion skins.  Slowly pour enough water inside to submerge the mixture, about 3 quarts.

3. If using a pot, cover it with the lid. If using a casserole without a lid, cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Place eggs in the oven for 6-8 hours.

4. Remove pot carefully. Lift out eggs using a long-handled slotted spoon and place them temporarily on paper towels to drain off excess water. Eggs can be served hot or refrigerated for later.

I decided to try this method using red onion skins to see if this would intensify and enhance the color.  This is what resulted:

What I found interesting about these eggs, besides the intense color on the outside of the shell,  was the color that the eggs themselves turned in the roasting, a sort of caramel color.

And even more interesting was the taste of the eggs.  When lightly salted they actually tasted a bit like roasted chicken!

Passover begins at sundown tonight and lasts for 8 days.  Easter is next Sunday, March 31^st.  As both of these important holy days approachs, I hope you will take time, amidst the preparations and hustle and bustle that is always present at holiday times, to ponder the meaning and the significance of these days.  Passover and Easter are so much more than just nice stories to make us feel good.  They are remembrances of God’s immense love and care for us, and the extremes He will go to because of that love.

What we celebrate both at Passover and Easter is the real meaning of love, joy and abundant living!

One of the best benefits of this season leading up to Passover is that there is matzo available almost everywhere in every market.  Delicious by itself spread with butter, my favorite matzo dish is matzo brei…a sort of Jewish twist on French toast….yummy!If you have never heard of, much less tasted or made, matzo brei, it is about time you enjoyed this wonderful iconically Jewish treat this weekend.  There are probably as many ways to make this as there are people who eat it but this recipe is pretty basic and really delicious.  People sometimes use shmaltz (chicken fat) instead of butter and add onions and make this a savory dish but I prefer it the way I first had it at the rabbi’s house in my Jewish neighborhood.

Make this for breakfast for your family or just for yourself tomorrow.  I promise, you won’t be sorry and for years to come you’ll be looking forward to seeing those boxes of matzo in the market come Spring:)

Matzo Brei

4 pieces of matzo
4 eggs
1 cup of milk
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
2-3 tablespoons butter

Break up the matzo and pour the milk over it.  While it sits and softens a bit, beat the eggs with the salt and sugar.  Melt the butter in a frying pan until really hot and bubbly.  Remove the matzo from the milk and add it to the eggs and pour into the hot buttered pan.  Stir until eggs are just set.  Dust with powdered sugar and serve with fresh raspberry or strawberry jam or orange marmalade or maple syrup.  This is truly a treat you’ll look forward to again and again!

The tradition of using bacon grease, or bacon butter as it is sometimes referred to, in cooking, goes back for generations… particularly in southern cooking.  Southern cooks knew the value of the “liquid gold” that came off that lovely smoky bacon that they were frying up for other purposes.

In my family as possibly in yours,we always referred to what was left in the pan after cooking bacon as “bacon grease” and never thought anything about it.  But now, we have become very sensitive to “fat”…bacon grease or otherwise, and concerned about how it may effect our health.  My grandparents and their extended family all ate bacon and used the bacon grease in cooking every day of their lives and all lived to be well into their 90′s and 100′s!!!   So though it doesn’t change anything, I understand that referring to bacon fat as “drippings” makes it easier to consider for some people who are put off by the word “grease”.

I have kept my bacon drippings on the back of my stove for all my married life, not in a can but in a ceramic crock I picked up just after I got married.  I use it all the time, especially when frying eggs…I have all those wonderful fresh eggs you may remember from my darling chickens, so we eat a lot of eggs at my house.

I began to wonder why so many people keep their bacon drippings in an old soup or coffee can as my grandmother did, so I did a little research on the subject. What I learned was that collecting the residual drippings in a can became popular during WWII when American cooks were asked to collect the left over fat from meat to be used in making ammunition.    Walt Disney made a short film to encourage cooks to do just that.  And this is where I got the answer as to why people collect their drippings in a can.  Have a look at this vintage Disney short film made during WWII:

I spoke to someone the other day who said she has always collected bacon drippings in a can but she wasn’t sure why she did this other than it was something her mother did.  But when the can was full she tossed it out….this would be a sacrilege to any southern cook!  Southern women know the value of drippings.  I found a list of uses for bacon drippings on a site called Southern Plate and have modified it a bit to help you understand (if you don’t already know) how you can use these drippings in your kitchen as well.

Interesting facts about Bacon Drippings

*Bacon drippings are one of the most flavorful oils.
*Bacon drippings are used as an all purpose flavoring as well as a base for many recipes.
*One teaspoon has 38 calories.
*It’s Green! By reusing Bacon Drippings, you save money, avoid waste by not using store bought oil when you don’t need it, and have more flavorful results than by using other cooking oils.

How To Use Bacon Drippings

Substitution For Oils In Recipes And In Frying – Bacon fat can be used in place of oils in recipes and in frying or sauteing.

Greasing Muffin Tins or Cast Iron Skillets for breads - Before you put your cornbread or hoe cake batter in that skillet, grease it with a little solidified bacon fat. To make this mess free, fold a paper towel in fourths and cover your index and middle finger with it. Dip your covered fingers into the bacon drippings and wipe the inside of your skillet. Toss paper towel away when done.

Make Milk Gravy - Milk gravy begins with a base of two tablespoons bacon drippings. Heat them in a large skillet, add two or three tablespoons of flour and cook until flour is browned. Slowly add milk while stirring constantly and continue cooking until gravy is thickened over medium heat.

Cornbread - Many cornbread recipes call for a tablespoon or so of melted bacon fat added to the batter for extra flavor. This makes such a big difference that it’s worth it to save your bacon fat for cornbread alone!

Seasoning Dried Beans - Traditional beans are seasoned with a ham bone or bits of ham to add flavor. If you find yourself without any of these, just add two or three tablespoons of bacon fat to the cooking water and they’ll taste just as good.

Fried Corn- Fried corn is often called Creamed Corn. No matter what you call it, adding a tablespoon of bacon drippings makes it better than ever!

Green Beans - Whether they’re from the can, garden, or freezer, green beans taste just like Grandma’s when you add a tablespoon of bacon drippings!

Any Other Vegetable You Can Think Of! -  Just about any type of vegetable can be made better with 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of bacon fat added while cooking. Try it with cabbage, greens, I’ve even seen folks fry green tomatoes in it!

Wilted Greens - Fry up some bacon and set it aside. Pour a little bit of the hot drippings over fresh dark greens and then top with crumbled bacon for a wilted lettuce salad like we had in the old days.

Frying Eggs – I really and truly will not make fried eggs without bacon fat. I place a tablespoon or so in my skillet and let it melt, then fry my eggs in it.

Delicious oven fries - Spread some bacon fat into the bottom of a jelly roll pan. Cut potatoes into long wedges with the skin still on them and sprinkle with kosher salt. Place on top of the bacon drippings and put in a 400 degree oven until browned, about 45 minutes to an hour. Turn every fifteen minutes to get evenly browned and allow the bottoms to oven fry in that delicious fat.

So now you know:)  You may have some ways of your own to use all those tasty bacon drippings.  We would love to hear them and in turn share them with our other “chums”.  Sharing good ideas makes everyone’s life just that much more abundant and you know that is what your Two Chums are here for…to spread love, joy and abundant living!

A few years ago I had my first fondness for a “floral food” when I tasted rose scented lemonade and fell in love with it.  (More about that at a later time.)  Then a couple of weeks ago our darling friend, Leah Bergman, had a post on her blog, Freutcake, about lavender truffles.  Like me, Leah said she had never cared for a floral taste in her food, specially that of lavender, but found that something had changed recently for her as well.  When I read her post I made a mental note that I would have to give lavender a try in something I cooked soon.

Then just a few days later, two of my grandchildren, Sadie and Savannah, went out to collect the eggs from the chicken’s hutch and decided to pick a bunch of lavender from my garden to bring me as part of a surprise bouquet.

“You could put these in your kitchen to look pretty.  Or, maybe you could even cook with them,” they giggled.  ”Well, just maybe I could,” I said.  And that got my creative culinary juices flowing.  Since I had read Leah’s post and was already in the mood to try something with lavender, I began looking through my cookbooks and clipped recipes to see if anything looked interesting that included lavender as an ingredient.  Nothing did, but I remembered that one of the things Leah had mentioned in her post was a honey lavender ice cream at one of my favorite ice cream shops, Carmela.

I already had all the ingredients and had planned to make ice cream, actually lemon ice cream, that I wanted to sweeten with some local honey I had just bought at the farmers’ market.  I decided that I could make a honey lemon ice cream that would incorporate the flavor of lavender too.  So that is exactly what I did and now you can try it too.  Lavender Scented Honey Lemon Ice Cream might just change your mind about flowers in your food…give it a try….make tweaks of your own if you want and let us know what you think.

Above all feel and taste the joy of Spring!

Lavender Scented Honey Lemon Ice Cream 

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup half and half
3/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons grated fresh lemon zest
Lavender heads, about a handful
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a saucepan, pour in cream, half and half, and salt.

Add honey …

Cut the heads off the lavender stalks and add lavender to the cream mixture

and then add lemon zest.  Bring all this to a simmer.

Cool and allow to sit for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight in the refrigerator to infuse the taste of lavender into the cream.  Pour cream mixture through a sieve to strain out lavender flowers.

Beat the egg yolks until they are pale yellow and thick. This should take 2-3 minutes.  Reheat the strained cream.  Add a little of the warm cream mixture to the egg yolks and then add yolks back to the pan.  Cook until custard is thickened.  Remove from heat.  Juice some fresh lemons.

Add lemon juice and vanilla to custard mixture and pour into a bowl to cool completely.

 Refrigerate until cold and then freeze according to your ice cream freezer’s instructions.  Place finished ice cream in a container and allow to harden completely in your freezer for 2-3 hours.  Scoop and serve up a bowl of Spring

Years ago when Robin and Randy took a trip to London they came home with so many wonderful goodies.  They had gone just before Christmas and so had done a lot of Christmas shopping whilst there.  

One of the many fun things they came home with was a gift for their first grand child, Jeremy, who had made his amazing entrance into the world just months prior to their going.  This gift was a book that they had found at the renowned toy store, Hamleys, on Regent Street.  This was not just any common or garden (an English phrase for “ordinary”) book;  this book had been totally tailored for Jeremy Preston Vann – made especially for him!  Throughout the book there were references to Jeremy and his parents and his grand parents, all by name, and all enjoying wonderful adventures together.

This book seemed like a fabulous idea to me and such a very lovely gift for a child.

I had not thought about this book for a long time until a couple of months ago when I was at a street fair near where I live.  As I was walking up and down the aisles, I saw this rather fun looking booth.  There were all sorts of childrens’ books and CD’s sitting on the counter of the booth and as I sauntered up and got closer, I realized that these books were just like the ones that Robin and Randy had found in London.  I was so excited and promptly ordered a book for each of my two youngest grandchildren.  I was not disappointed when they arrived – they are just the greatest and I did not have to travel to London to find them (although a little trip to London would never hurt!)

Not only do they have books but they also have musical CD’s that have whatever child’s name you choose scattered throughout.

This website (wwwkjbcalifornia.com)  is where you can order them.   They have many a book and lots of CD’s from which you can choose.  I think you will find them reasonable and worth every penny when you see the smile on the child’s face!  They would make a very fun addition to an Easter basket  or a surprise gift for the child who finds the afikomen at a Passover seder.

The little ones in your lives are sure to love these fun, individual gifts.  You will definitely touch their hearts and make them feel very loved!

We have become accustomed to those who enjoy celebrity of any kind, even a Pope, to be somewhat extravagant in their lifestyle and perhaps even at times indulged.  So it is very refreshing to see that the choice made for the man who heads the Catholic church, and is in many ways the symbol of Christendom at large, is a person of great humility.  Upon his first public appearance as he emerged on the balcony at the Vatican as the new Pope, he surprised many with his request.  He did not first bless the people looking on and pray for them as most would have expected the new pontiff to do.  Instead, there came a humble request.  ”I ask a favor of you … pray for me,” he urged the cheering crowds.  What a simple but strong message to send.  He knows his job is immense, he knows despite his new title he is still but a man.  The task before him is enormous…he needs the prayers of the people and he is humble enough to ask for them.

When he also refused to use a platform that would have elevated him above the cardinals surrounding him when he spoke for the first time on that Vatican balcony he sent that message that he did not need to be above his fellow priests, rather he sought to be one of them.

This place of humility was not new to Pope Francis, the motto for his archdiocese in Argentina having been “Miserando Atque Eligendo,” or “Lowly but Chosen.”  As the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he reportedly rode the bus to work, and did his own cooking.  Rather than living in an archbishop’s palace, as would have been expected, he chose to live in a small room in a downtown Buenos Aires home.  He regularly was among the common people and often visited the poor in the Argentine slums.

“It is true that going out onto the street implies the risk of accidents happening, as they would to any ordinary man or woman. But if the Church stays wrapped up in itself, it will age. And if I had to choose between a wounded Church that goes out onto the streets and a sick withdrawn Church, I would definitely choose the first one.”

In the same way that Diana brought the monarchy to the common people, and became known as ‘the people’s Princess’, now Pope Francis seems to seek to bring the church and a living faith to the common man and woman.  Diane was, and still is, beloved for her caring heart and touch on peoples’ lives, people who would never have expected someone of her position to take the time for them.  Likewise prior to his election, Pope Francis has been one to do just that.  He was known for taking time as Archbishop to visit with those with HIV and AIDS and to wash their feet, as well as caring for and defending single mothers.
In September of 2012, he disciplined priests who were denying baptism to the children of single mothers, calling them “the hypocrites who have clericalized the Church; who have alienated the People of God from salvation.” He has also been regarded as a “courageous and zealous pastor with a particular sensibility for the Jewish people and the Christians of the Middle East”.

You needn’t be a Catholic, or a Christian of any denomination, or even a person of any kind of faith at all to identify and recognize goodness, kindness and humility.  Nor do you need to be a Princess or a Pope to show goodness, kindness and humility towards others.  Regardless of who we are or what position in life we have assumed, we are never too high, or too low, to have a caring heart towards other people, especially those who are overlooked in our society or who have been cast aside.  We love these qualities in Diana, and now in Pope Francis, precisely because they are unexpected, because they are genuine…we love them because they give us hope.  And when we choose to be good, kind, humble, loving people ourselves we have the opportunity to share the gift of hope with someone else.

A smile, a touch, a kind word costs any one of us very little, but it can be an enormous gift that  brings love, joy and a feeling of abundance to someone who may be in great need.  Today and everyday, you have the chance to share that gift….don’t waste that chance!

Obviously the Irish are not the only culture that enjoys these starchy delights.  It is estimated that amongst the global population in the last decade, each of us consumed approximately 73 pounds of potatoes per year.  That’s a lot of spuds!  But who could blame us.  Potatoes are easy to come by, very inexpensive and are so versatile in the ways they can be prepared and enjoyed.

In the last year your Two Chums have brought you numerous ways to enjoy these popular vegetables.  Here are just few of them:

The Baked Potato

Shepherd’s Pie

Potato Latkes

Potato Salad

Potato Gnocchi

Roasted Potatoes

Potato Soup

Potatoes Au Gratin

Today in honor of St. Patrick’s Day and all our Irish friends and family we will share one more potato dish….Hasselback Potatoes.  These are not particularly Irish…they are actually just dressed up roasted potatoes…..but they are also quite delicious

For each person you will need 1 potato, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a couple sprigs of fresh thyme, 1/2 clove of minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.

Wash and dry each potato.  Hold the potato between the handles of two wooden spoons and make thin slices.  The spoon handles are there to keep you from cutting all the way through the potato.  Melt butter with olive oil and garlic and fresh thyme.  Pour over the potato being deliberate about making sure the butter mixture drizzles down between the slices.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until potato (or potatoes) are browned.  Pour the butter in the bottom of the baking pan over each potato and serve.

One bite of this and you’ll be sure you have the “luck of the Irish” on your side

 Happy St. Patrick’s Day dear chums!

“What”, you may well ask, “is Rigaud?”

Years ago, when Robin and I had our “little shop called Chums ….. where you could find all you need for giving”, we found ourselves in a wonderful wallpaper and fabric house, Country Life, ordering some fabric.  As we walked toward its front desk, we were greeted by a scrumptuous aroma.   It was so very delightful that we could not help but ask, “What is that wonderful smell?”  We were told that it was the Rigaud candle that was burning.  Specifically, it was their royal blue one and its scent was breathtaking!

That Christmas, Robin and Randy gave me my very first Rigaud candle and, oh, I have not looked back!

In 1852, Jean-Baptiste Rigaud started a perfumery in Paris with which he enjoyed much success both in France and in England.   International fame came rapidly thereafter, and Jean-Baptiste Rigaud opened warehouses and offices around the world, as for example in New York in 1868.  Down through the years, his family carried on the family business creating wonderful scents for the ladies of their times.

In the 1960′s, Mario Rigaud, the great grandson of Jean-Baptiste Rigaud, along with his wife, Viviane, created the first scented candle.  They developed and patented an innovative wax formula. This was an original formula for a soft wax whose main characteristic was that it perfectly revealed the natural ingredients that make up the Rigaud perfumes and allowed them to be faithfully transmitted.   I think this is where Rigaud candles differ from a lot of other scented candles.  The scent is so true, so lasting.  They are priced on the high side but they are so worth it….at least your Two Chums think they are!

Jackie Kennedy is said to have discovered these candles and loved them.  Very quickly, they were part of the White House experience.

Rigaud makes many different scents….our two favorites are the royal blue one and the bright yellow one.  If you find yourself in a store that sells them, see for yourself.  I think you will all appreciate what we see in them!  They surely have added to the joy, and abundance in our lives!

p.s. Rigaud Candles are available  at Gumps in San Francisco, a variety of on-line vendors including Amazon.com and at Candle Delirium in Los Angeles.  Some scents are discounted at Los Angeles Beauty Supply

All of you who have visited London, whether you actually used it or not, knows of the wonderful London Tube!  London’s underground train system, commonly called “The Tube” celebrated its 150th birthday in January of this year.

When the idea to put a train underground, moving along in a type of “tube”, was first floated in the mid-1800′s, as is usually the case with something new and innovative, there were many who poo-poo’d the idea.  An editorial in The Times of London at the time found the concept repulsive: “A subterranean railway under London was awfully suggestive of dank, noisome tunnels buried many fathoms deep beyond the reach of light or life; passages inhabited by rats, soaked with sewer drippings, and poisoned by the escape of gas mains,” the newspaper declared.  Now, of course, 150 years after it first started in 1863, we wonder how on earth London would run without it!

The Tube was the first underground system in the world to be engineered and the system is now huge.  It boasts many “lines” going all sorts of ways.

This system is printed on a little map and is very simple to follow making getting around London very easy and quick, despite the magnitude of traffic going on above!  The Tube is the fourth largest subway system in the world – Seoul’s being first, Shanghai second and Beijing third.  Interesting that the top three are in the Far East!

During the Blitz in World War II, the Underground was used by one and all as shelter from the shattering bombs.  Initially, the “higher-ups” tried to discourage it feeling that it would not be sanitary but, in the end, they realized that it was a safe place for Londoners to be during this terrible time.  They set up bunks and latrines down there and so brought people to safety who may otherwise have perished.

The good old Tube!  To Londoners it is very commonplace  - a way of life – it is the way most people get around.  It is not the ONLY way to get around but certainly is the quickest and, in most cases, the most convenient.  London also has a wonderful bus system but, of course, with buses, one has to put up with the traffic on the streets so your journey will probably take you a lot longer.

As a child living in London, when I was home for the weekend from boarding school, my father would love to take me all over to show me the sites and enable me to get to know London.  For the most part, we walked as he felt (and of course he was right – as ALWAYS!) that one saw much more and learned much more whilst “on foot”.   But on the odd occasion, after much pleading from me, we would take The Tube and, oh, how wonderful that was!

Wonderful because I could sit down and rest my feet!

“The Tube” is as English as a cuppa tea!

Knowing that not everyone loves the traditional St Paddy’s Day meal, I started thinking about what would make a good, tasty, hearty substitute for those who aren’t fans of corned beef.  Last year at St. Patrick’s Day we gave you some suggestions for having a St. Patrick’s Day brunch.  (Since March 17th falls on a Sunday this year, that might be just the ticket for you and your family).

While I was in the process of thinking through what this alternative St. Patrick’s meal might be, I needed to start dinner for my husband Randy and me.  I knew he would be home in about an hour and he had said in an earlier conversation that he was really in the mood for some soup.  So I stopped what I was doing, went to the cupboard and pulled out a bag of dried split peas, a couple of carrots and some bacon from the fridge, an onion from the pantry and a some chicken stock, and started making our dinner.  All the while I was still thinking about what I could write about that would make a good alternative St. Paddy’s Day celebration meal.

As I stood at the stove, about 45 minutes later, stirring the soup, I looked down at the pan, saw this thick delicious “green” soup and suddenly wondered “Is pea soup something that is a part of the Irish culture too?”  I went straight to the bookcase filled with cookbooks and pulled out a fairly new one I picked up to learn more about Irish cooking, entitled The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook.

Leafing through the pages I came to the section with soups and ‘sure and bedads and the saints be praised’, there it was in black and white being offered as Irish pub food was a recipe and photos of pea soup.

I must confess, this recipe I have for you here isn’t the one in the book.  It is the one I’ve been making for all of my married life…it’s our favorite so I don’t need to change it now.  As my Irish/German mother-in-law was fond of saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

There are lots of recipes in that book I will be trying and I will be sharing some of them along the way with you, our Chums.  But if you think pub food sounds comforting and interesting you might want to pick up a copy of this book for yourself.

In any case, whether it is St. Patrick’s Day or not, this soup is always a hit.  How do I know?  See for yourself

Serve it with a “green” salad, some of that Irish soda bread we spoke of earlier and you’ve got a hearty, satisfying, delicious, comforting meal that any Irish (or non-Irish) person could be proud to serve for supper….soup’s on!

Favorite Split Pea Soup

1 lb. dried split peas
3 carrots
1/2 onion
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves (or 1-2 teaspoons crushed dried thyme)
6 slices thick cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 cups chicken stock (I prefer Better Than Bouillon)
2-3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Cook the bacon until crispy.  Drain the bacon on some paper towels and reserve the drippings.  In a soup pan, place 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat that you’ve reserved.  Place peeled and roughly chopped carrots and the onion in a food processor. Grind carrots and onion until they are in fairly small pieces.  Do not let this mixture go to the point of looking like baby food.  You want the carrot and onion pieces to be small but still be recognizable.

Saute carrot onion mixture with the thyme in the the bacon fat until vegetables are limp.  Add in the split peas and chicken stock and cook for about 15 minutes on a medium flame.  Begin adding water along with the Lawry’s salt and some black pepper.  Cook until peas are soft, about 30 minutes.  Puree the pea, carrot, onion mixture in your blender or food processor just until soup is nearly, but not completely, smooth.  Add everything back to the pan along with crumbled bacon.  Keep warm until ready to serve.  If the soup is too thick at this point, add more water and adjust the seasoning.  If  it is too thin, allow it to cook down a bit more until it thickens up.  Once the consistency is as you like it, taste it and adjust the seasoning.  Don’t add more salt until it is cooked down to the texture you like.  As the water cooks out and the soup thickens, the flavors will be stronger and more intense so adding salt too soon can cause you to end up with soup that is too salty.

If you should get the soup (this soup or any soup) too salty, simply cut a potato into quarters, add these to the soup and allow it to cook for about 10 minutes, then pull out the pieces of potato and throw them away.  The potato will absorb some of the excess salt and save you and your soup:)

Serve with Irish soda bread and lots of Irish butter

….you’ll feel like you’ve got some of that the ‘luck of the Irish’!

According to one source, Kate has chosen a line of furniture from a Beverly Hills baby shop called Petit Tresor.   The particular line she likes is Notte Fatata and why not?  This is truly lovely and most definitely fit for a future king or queen.

Now this info about Kate’s choice may or may not be reliable, but it is beautiful and certainly could be what she has chosen.  In researching what is out there right now for moms-to-be to pick from, one thing became quite clear.  Much like this Notte Fatata look, a very clean mono-chromatic style is very much the current trend in nursery design.  It appears that many mommys-to-be are also choosing colors that are neutral and not specific to a baby girl or boy.  The other big trend as you’ll see from these nursery examples is that chandliers are a favorite lighting choice.  Here are just a few of the nurseries that demonstrate these looks:

For those who happen to be having twins, these are a couple of the nurseries we found that just might fill the bill:

For those who prefer more color, or at least a punch of color, these are some great examples of popular looks:

All of these are pretty and fun examples of rooms that would feel special for any baby to come home to.  But for me, the bar was set in the classic 1995 film Father of the Bride 2.  It is just plain hard to beat the nursery that Franc created for George and Nina Banks’ little bundle of joy.

Ideally every parent should have the joy of seeing the room prepared especially for their little one who is about to arrive, and feeling like George Banks did when he first saw his baby’s new nursery.

Whether they are in line to inherit a crown or not, all parents feels the new life that is coming into their lives is special and deserving to feel like a little prince or princess.  Not everyone can afford help from an interior designer to create their baby’s nursery, or expensive nursery furniture like that we are being told Kate has chosen from Petit Tresor. But now, most anyone can afford a line of bedding and accessories for the nursery that Petit Tresor has created for Target.  Here is an example of one of the choices they offer:

With these neutral colors and the sweet little bumble bees, this could work for any baby’s room, boy or girl, and is not only affordable but nice design too.

With a little creativity and not necessarily a lot of money, it is very possible to come up with a nursery with style and substance.   It is always fun to dream about what you would do if money were no object and then figure out how to get close to that look on the budget you have .  More ideas on that topic will be coming at a later date.

Just remember, that as important as your Chums feel that surroundings are for any of us, what really matters are the things money can’t buy… love, joy and a sense of abundant living that you will provide for that precious little one:)

Reading the title of this post you might have been expecting something people could ride on in a March 17th celebration parade in Boston.  We have other tastier sorts of floats in mind:)You don’t need to be Irish to guess that the #1 St. Patrick’s Day celebration and parade in this country takes place annually in Boston.  But I’ll bet you’ll never guess where the 2nd largest St. Paddy’s Day parade and celebration is.  If you said Chicago or New York your guess is wrong.

No matter where you live or where you will be when you raise a glass to Ole St. Patrick this year we have a fun drink for you to put in that glass.  Well really  2 fun drinks!  So no matter how old the person who is doing the celebrating is they can have a good time and celebrate in style.

For the kids or those who are kids at heart, we have a Green Homemade Root Beer Float.  It is fun to drink of course, but really fun to make as well for all ages.  And for those more mature party goers (or givers) we have a Guinness Ice Cream Float.  Both are delicious and guaranteed to put a smile on the face of the person enjoying them.  Anyone having either of these special drinks will be sure they have fallen into some of that “luck of the Irish”

When you raise your glass in celebration, here is a sampling of good Irish toasts and blessings:

May your mornings bring joy
and your evenings bring peace…
May your troubles grow less
as your blessings increase!

May your pockets be heavy—
Your heart be light,
And may good luck pursue you
Each morning and night.

May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been,
The foresight to know where you are going,
And the insight to know when you have gone too far.

Always remember to forget
The troubles that passed away.
But never forget to remember
The blessings that come each day.

May the roof above you never fall in,
And those gathered beneath it never fall out.

And here is one for all of you, our dear “chums”:

 May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.

Whatever toast or blessing you offer up, always be sure to toast to more love, more joy and much, much more abundant living!

P.S.  BTW – that 2nd largest St. Patrick’s Day  parade and celebration takes place in none other than Savannah, Georgia!  Who knew?

Green Homemade Root Beer Float

1 gallon carbonated water
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons root beer concentrate (I found it at Walmart)
1 lb. dry ice
Green food coloring
Vanilla ice cream

Stir the sugar and water together until sugar is dissolved.  Add root beer concentrate.  Add in 6-8 drops of food coloring until the green is the color you want.  Mix well.

Add in dry ice being careful not to touch it with your bare hands.  Break up the dry ice into chunks and allow it to sit for about 15 minutes.  This will be really fun for the children in your group to watch the mixture bubble away with all that “Irish mist” coming off of it as the dry ice dissolves.

Scoop the ice cream into a glass…

and ladle the green root beer over it….

When you taste this, you won’t need a four- leaf clover to feel lucky!…Enjoy:)

Guinness Ice Cream Float

Enhanced ice cream:
1 pint good vanilla ice cream (I recommend Haagen Daz)
1 ounce Baileys Irish Cream
1 ounce Irish whiskey

Fold Baileys Irish Cream and whiskey into softened vanilla ice cream and re-freeze until firm.

To make  the float:

Dash of chocolate bitters
2 ounces Guinness stout
Enhanced Ice  cream

For each float, put a scoop of the ice cream in a glass. Add the chocolate bitters and top with the Guinness.

Now let this be the excuse to offer a good Irish toast or blessing to all your friends and family:)

As most of you know, more love, more joy and therefore more abundant living is what we at Two Chums are all about.  We feel compelled to share with you what we have learned about another company that feels exactly the same way and that…….. is Zappos!

If you have never used this website, all we can say is, “try it”!  It is an amazing company that feels that its one mission in life is to give the best customer service possible.  They call it the WOW philosophy and they do, from the top down and from the bottom up, everything possible to accomplish this.

Zappos was started in 1999 by a young man called Nick Swinmurn.  Shortly thereafter, he enlisted Tony Hsieh and Tony eventually became the CEO.  Tony is an amazingly bright person and, at the time that he joined Zappos, he had just sold his company, LinkExchange (which he had started 2-1/2 years previously) for $265 million to Microsoft.  So, clearly, Tony did not join Zappos because he was in need of money – he joined Zappos to prove that life is about “Delivering Happiness” to use the title of Tony’s latest book.  The Company went from no sales in 1999 to $1 billion gross merchandise sales in 2008.

The culture of Zappos is a most important factor and from this culture, only happiness is delivered.  They want you to be who you are and be happy………share this happiness with everyone around you.  Talk on the telephone with customers for as long as the customer wants to talk (that could be hours, I am told), and do not stay at the Company if you do not feel it is the right place for you.  The employees of Zappos are encouraged to read books from the Company library to help them grow, both personally and professionally.

Believing that word of mouth is the best advertising, Zappos spends very little on what one thinks of as “conventional” advertising.  At Zappos, they spend a lot of time (and therefore money) on making sure their customers are happy.  This is how they create their branding…..in fact, really it is their customers who create their branding.

Each day, when arriving at work, everyone at Zappos walks in through the same door and instead of just putting their name and password into their computer when they sit down at their desks, they play what they call the “Face Game”.   The face of a employee comes up on the screen and then there is a multiple choice answer as to who this person is.  Once you have nailed who this person is, a bio comes up on him/her so as to make all of their employees better acquainted.

Your Two Chums love using Zappos and have certainly experienced the amazing service that they talk about.  Shipping is free, absolutely free, both ways (and it is often sent “Overnight”) so the next time you want to buy a pair of shoes, try Zappos.  Order 4 pairs so you have choices and send back what you do not want.  This is all part of Zappos’ wonderful customer service and adds to the joy, love and abundance we see in our lives.

PS  Zappos started as an online shoe company but now sells all sorts of things.  Jump on and see what might interest you.

When I was in high school, my parents owned a restaurant.  For a period of time we had chef who it seemed to me could work magic in the kitchen.  He made some delicious things, that I had never tasted before.  And I had tasted a lot of things because my family loved to cook and loved to eat.  We cooked and ate great food at home and we ate out about three nights a week in every fine restaurant in Los Angeles.  Still, with all those food experiences, I had never tasted cream of celery soup, until one cold evening in my parents restaurant.

It seemed that a mistake had been made in an order from the supplier that delivered fresh produce to the restaurant several times a week.  They had delivered two cases of celery instead of a case each of celery and one of peppers.  So when the cooks opened the case and realized that we had an over abundance of celery, the chef didn’t hesitate to come up with a way to use it.  The weather had turned quite cool and a great bowl of soup seemed like just the thing to put on the menu as a special item.  In what seemed like a flash that “leftover” case of celery was transformed into a creamy, delicious, steaming soup.  With a dollop of sour cream and some fresh croutons on top, it hit the spot on that cold evening and quickly became a favorite with customers.

When my husband and I both independently bought a couple of stalks of celery at the market a couple of weeks ago,  I was faced with the same dilemma as had been the case in my parents restaurant (on a much smaller scale of course).  So rather than let all that celery get limp and go bad in the refrigerator, I decided to recreate that celery soup I had enjoyed so much years before.

I had nearly forgotten how satisfying and yummy this creamy soup could be.  Randy loved it, so it is safe to say celery soup will be making regular appearances on our table at least during the cool weather season.  With only a few common ingredients you probably have at home right  now,  it is so simple and quick to make and served with a Caesar salad and some warm French bread it is a perfect weeknight meal….enjoy:)

Cream of Celery Soup

1 stalk of celery
1/2 onion
several springs of fresh thyme
3 tablespoons butter
2-3 cups chicken stock
1 cup cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream
Croutons 

Chop the celery being sure to use the whole stalk, leaves and all (The leaves are where the most intense flavor comes from).

Chop the onion and saute it along with the celery and thyme leaves in butter just until soft.  (To get the leaves off the stems of thyme, hold the stem at the top and with your other hand strip the leaves from the top of the stem down, pulling the leaves between your fingers the opposite way the leaves grow.)

When the vegetables are soft add the chicken stock and bring it to the boil.  Continue cooking at a simmer for about 5-10 minutes.

Puree the stock and vegetables in the blender or a food processor in batches.  Be careful as blending or processing hot food can cause the liquid to expand and create steam.  Return the pureed soup to the pan and then pour in the cream.  Taste and adjust seasoning adding salt and pepper as needed.

Heat through and serve topped with a dollop of sour cream and croutons.

As you can plainly see this soup is quite green so if corned beef isn’t something you enjoy, this soup and a loaf of Irish Soda Bread could make a perfect St. Patrick’s Day meal.  Just a thought…a simple bowl of soup, soda bread and a touch of blarney….what could be more Irish?  :)

We all uses terms and phrases everyday and never know where they came from or what the origin of them is.  From time to time we like to shed some light on some of these sayings and share what their origins are.Here is a list of 10 common phrases that we thought you might enjoy having the info on:

Jaywalker
Jay Birds who ventured out of their rural forests and into the urban areas often got confused. They often endangered their lives walking anywhere they wanted, including into traffic.  Sophisticated city people laughed at their erratic behavior. So, now anyone who crosses the street in a reckless or illegal way is called a Jay Walker (and sometimes fined).

No Spring Chicken

New England chicken farmers discovered that chickens born in the Spring brought better prices, rather than old birds that had gone through the winter etc.  Sometimes farmers tried to sell the old birds as a new spring born chicken.  Smart buyers often complained that a tough fowl was “no spring chicken” and so the term now is used to represent people past their plump and tender years.

Break the Ice

All cities that grew as a result of being on rivers (for trade) suffered during bitter cold times when the river froze.  Even large ships got stuck, making them icebound for weeks.  Small sturdy ships known as “icebreakers” were developed to precede the ships, breaking the ice and making a path.  This was important for the ships to get the goods to market.  And so, every boatman knew that in order to get down to business, you first had to break the ice.  Today it represents any sort of start to a project.

Lock, Stock and Barrel

In old days, a rifle (or musket) had 3 major parts: A lock, a stock of wood and a metal barrel.  Each part was totally useless without the other one.  They had to all work together or, well, you got nothing.  But when they were all in sync, what a BLAST!  Thus, when a person chose to put everything 100% into an decision, action or commitment and not just half-heartedly, he is said to be doing it “lock, stock and barrel”.

Beat Around the Bush
This comes from boar hunting in which the noblemen hired workers to walk through the woods beating the branches and making noises to get the animals to run towards the hunters.  Boars were dangerous animals with razor-sharp teeth (you really did not want to meet one-to-one, especially with no weapon).  So the unarmed workers avoided the dense undergrowth where the boars might be and beat around it, rather than going into it.  Thus, this evasive technique was termed “beating around the bush” and today it represents anyone who avoids approaching anything directly.

Know Beans
This phrase comes from an old riddle often told in rural country stores.  The question:  How many blue beans does it take to make 7 white beans? Do you know?  If you don’t then you are said to “not know beans.”  The answer is: 7 blue make 7 white. Why?  When you peel 7 blue you get 7 white.  The term today about “you don’t know beans ” refers to anyone who doesn’t know anything that should be common sense or general knowledge.

Nip it in the Bud

Horticulturist learnt years ago that in order to produce good fruit, a plant had to have a lot of buds snipped off.  This improved garden produce, but was disastrous to individual buds.  It became proverbial that when a bud was nipped off, it would definitely no longer produce any fruit.  Today the word is used to refer to a sudden halt in any plans or project in which no further progress will result.

Shindig

Maggie Valley, North Carolina is the Square Dance capital of the world.  And the term comes from the fact that many rookies who try to square dance end up swinging their foot wildly, often digging into the shins of their partners or other dancers.  So naturally any dancing event where there were marks on its participants became known as a shindig.

Over a barrel

Punishment in the old days often meant that a person deserved more than just tar and feathers, and deserved a public whipping.  In order to prevent him from escaping during this whip lashing, he was tied to an over-turned barrel (top body bent to the curve of the barrel while feet remained on the ground.)  Thus there was no way this person could escape his punishment. Today the term “to have over a barrel” means that someone is in a position in which there is just no way for them to escape their punishment or whatever other dreadful outcome is coming to them.

The Handwriting on the Wall

We know it today as a sign of some upcoming doom. But the origin goes back to the bible when Belshazzar, the successor to King Nebuchadnezzar got drunk one night and drank from  sacred vessels from the temple of Jerusalem. Afterwards, it is said that a mysterious hand appeared and wrote 4 strange words on the banquet room wall.  Only Daniel (the prophet) could interpret this writing, which he said was ominous. So, any warning today is referred to as “the handwriting on the wall.”

And now you know “why we say that”

Meet Mr. Chin.  He is my latest “find” and, oh how we are welcoming him into our home!

There is a wonderful consignment shop near where I live in the desert.  It is called Private Collection and whenever one might pop in, one is sure to find some treasure that catches the eye.  At least I do….EVERY  time!  The owners of this wonderful spot are very picky about what they accept into their store and it is displayed so beautifully, just waiting to be taken home.

I have learned, through the years, that if I see something that catches my fancy and keeps “speaking” to me after I have left the store, it is probably wisdom to go back and check it out another time.  I might do that a few times before deciding that I should have it or not, and usually, if I have spent that much time on it, I come home with it and thoroughly enjoy it.

Look for pieces that will make a statement; that will make your room sparkle just with that one piece.  A little bit of drama added here or there never hurts.  It will tend to light your room up – give your room life.  Now, this is not only true with furnishings and ornaments for the home, but also with things for yourself!

Usually, you know right off the bat that you have found a “treasure” as it will speak to your heart.  It will want to go home with you.

Add to the joy, love and abundance of your life – look for a treasure!

People are often unreasonable and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.  If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you.  Be honest anyway.  If you find happiness, people may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.  The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.  Do good anyway.  Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.  Give your best anyway.  For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway.

― Mother Teresa

Not only is it important for “celebrities” to know who they are, we feel it is equally important for all of us to know who we are.  When something comes along to try to tell you you are something you know you are not, you simply have to pay no attention to it and not allow it to effect your day to day goings on.  Don’t let someone else’s idea of who you are or who you should be, set you off kilter.  If you gauge who you are, or how you are, by other people’s ideas of who you should be, you will always be tossed by the winds of opinion and never feel confident and steady.  You’ll never be really sure of yourself.  Just know who you are and be yourself.  As the saying goes…”Always be yourself, everyone else is already taken!”

So, go for it – get to know yourself – inside out and upside down!  It will be a great journey!

People are often afraid to make candy because they assume there must be some “trick” to it.  Of all the candies a person can make, caramels may be the easiest.  The only “trick” is not to cook the candy past 250 degrees, or what is referred to as the ‘hardball stage”.

Some recipes for making caramel desserts call for caramelizing the sugar by itself, before adding butter or liquid.  When you do this, it is important to get the sugar to just the right color.  Too light and what you are making with the caramelized sugar will just taste overly sweet.  Too dark and it will taste very burnt.

This recipe doesn’t require melting or caramelizing the sugar on it’s own.  So as long as you don’t cook it past the 250 degree point, you will have yummy and delicious caramel candies in no time

A little something sweet and homemade can only add to an abundant life full of love …enjoy!

Homemade Salted Caramels

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup corn syrup
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt or fleur de sel

Before you begin butter a 9″ square pan and line with parchment paper.  Make sure it is parchment paper and NOT waxed paper as waxed paper will stick to the candy as it cools and it is VERY difficult to remove once it is stuck to the candy.

Combine the sugars, butter,corn syrup, cream and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a heavy bottomed pan.

Cook until everything is liquified and the temperature on a candy thermometer reaches between 246 and 250 degrees.

This will take several minutes but stay with it and stir it regularly so that the candy doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.  DO NOT allow it to go above 250 degrees because if it does, the candy will be very hard when it sets up.  Keep in mind that the candy will continue cooking even after you have turned off the heat, so you may want to take it off the heat before it reaches 250 degrees.  Stir in the vanilla.

It  will foam up a bit when you do this.  Pour it into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle with the remaining 3/4 teaspoon of salt. (You can find some really nice fleur de sel at Trader Joes or Whole Foods)

Allow it to sit until it is cooled and completely set up, about 3 hours.  Using a very sharp knife, cut the candy into 1″ strips.  At this point you can either use the knife to cut the candy strips into chunks or use a good pair of kitchen shears to cut the strips into bite sized pieces.  Wrap each piece of candy with waxed paper that you have cut into squares.  Place in a candy dish and try not to eat them all at once

Your Two Chums thoroughly enjoy a really great movie and we LOVE a great dress!  There were several of them tonight at the 85th annual Academy Awards.  The Red Carpet saw some lovely women in beautiful gowns.

It is hard to compete with the celebrity and glamour that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and his wife Catherine, create where ever they go, but on this one night of the year there is “royalty” in Hollywood.  And just like with the “real” royals, we love to see all the beautiful clothes that our Hollywood “princesses” wear. But our fascination is more than that…more than pretty dresses.  We love to hear from those people who have acted out the stories that reflect, or sometimes even shape, our lives.  Films and the stories they tell, can be powerful influences on us and we can feel that we almost know those actors who portray characters that we love and admire.

So when they give an interview on the Red Carpet before the show, or give an acceptance speech when they win that coveted Oscar, we want to hear their genuine feelings expressed.  We love to hear what they have to say to their spouses or parents, or costars and peers. It makes them somehow so much more just like us.  We want to hear them talk about the people in their lives who really matter to them, not the laundry list of obligatory names they are compelled to thank so as not to offend someone.

But it is in their anticipation of hearing their names called after the presenter opens the envelop and says, “And the Oscar goes to…”, or their raw emotions after they win and make their way on to the stage, that we get a glimpse of the vulnerable side of those people who make us laugh and make us cry.  Their speeches tell us other stories.  In the good speeches, we hear the real stories of the lives of men and women who we don’t actually know but who make their way into our heads and hearts and stir our emotions.   And we feel closer to them somehow.  And when we talk about the movies, what they mean to us…how we feel about the stories they tell, we feel maybe a little closer to each other too.

Congratulations to the winners, to those who went home with Oscar  and even to those who didn’t.  We wish them all love, joy and abundant living!

Chris Evans and his mother Lisa Evans

P.S. It turns out Chris Evans whom we referenced earlier in our video chat, played Captain America in the #1 box office hit 0f 2012, The Avengers.  He obviously could have had a date at the Academy Awards if he had wanted, so it makes it even more special that he chose to take his mother who was so thrilled to be there.

Oh, what a kind face this gentleman has.  George Washington – a household name in our world – was the first President of the United States of America and he took his job very seriously!

Born on the 22nd day of February in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, he learned the morals, manners, and body of knowledge requisite for an 18th century Virginian gentleman.  Although early on in his experience,  he served with the British in the ongoing skirmishes with France over the Northwest Territory, (Ohio, etc.), George Washington later commanded the fledgling American army to establish the independence of the thirteen colonies – independence from the British.

Once this independence was established, George Washington was elected, unanimously, and became the first President of the United States.    A natural born leader, he embodied honesty and integrity and served this country for two terms.

On leaving the office of the President in 1797, he advised his countrymen to avoid becoming entangled in European wars which laid the groundwork for the Monroe Doctrine.

George Washington died in 1799 to the universal acclaim of his countrymen and is perennially included among the top Presidents in US history.

Some fun and interesting facts about George Washington:

• George Washington was 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighed 200 pounds. He wore shoes of size 13. He had red hair when young.
• His father and elder brother taught George. He did not attend any college. His elder half brother home-schooled him.
• There’s a well-known story about his childhood that says, George Washington had once cut down his father’s cherry tree. When asked about it, he had admitted his mistake saying that he wouldn’t be able to tell a lie.
• His favorite dishes included cream of peanut soup and string beans with mushrooms. He loved ice cream. He had ice cream coolers installed in his house.
• He helped plan the new capital city, which was given his name. But he never lived in that city. He used to commute by a boat from Mount Vernon to Washington D.C.
• Fox hunting and fishing were Washington’s favorite sports.
• Before dying George Washington said to his doctor and friend, “Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go. I believed, from my first attack, that I should not survive it. My breath cannot last long.” His last words were, “Tis well.”
• Washington left no direct descendant. He did not have any children of his own. His stepdaughter Pasty Custis died of epilepsy in 1773. His stepson Jackie Custis died of meningitis. Washington personally witnessed both these deaths.
• Looking at the sequence of events in his life, Washington seems to have had a strange connection with ‘Friday’! He was born on a Friday. He was commissioned lieutenant colonel in the military on a Friday. It was on a Friday that he laid the foundation stone of White House. He was elected President of the Constitutional convention on a Friday and completed his Presidential term too, on a Friday!
• Today Washington’s image is a National symbol for the United States. His picture appears on a dollar note. He was the first President to come on a postage stamp. His bust has been carved in Mount Rushmore. The state of Washington, which has his name, is the only state to be named after an American.
• He preferred being called Mr. President over any of the glamorous names that he was offered. He wanted to be a public servant. He refused to accept the salary he was eligible for, as a President.

• 1. George Washington
• 2. John Adams
• 3. Thomas Jefferson
• 4. James Madison
• 5. James Monroe
• 6. John Quincy Adams
• 7. Andrew Jackson
• 8. Martin Van Buren
• 9. William Henry Harrison
• 10. John Tyler
• 11. James K. Polk
• 12. Zachary Taylor
• 13. Millard Fillmore
• 14. Franklin Pierce
• 15. James Buchanan
• 16. Abraham Lincoln
• 17. Andrew Johnson
• 18. Ulysses S. Grant
• 19. Rutherford B. Hayes
• 20. James Garfield
• 21. Chester A. Arthur
• 22. Grover Cleveland
• 23. Benjamin Harrison
• 24. Grover Cleveland
• 25. William McKinley
• 26. Theodore Roosevelt
• 27. William Howard Taft
• 28. Woodrow Wilson
• 29. Warren G. Harding
• 30. Calvin Coolidge
• 31. Herbert Hoover
• 32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
• 33. Harry S. Truman
• 34. Dwight D. Eisenhower
• 35. John F. Kennedy
• 36. Lyndon B. Johnson
• 37. Richard M. Nixon
• 38. Gerald R. Ford
• 39. James Carter
• 40. Ronald Reagan
• 41. George H. W. Bush
• 42. William J. Clinton
• 43. George W. Bush
• 44. Barack Obama

However you celebrate Hollywood’s big night, enjoy yourself, and check back with us next week as we banter about those wonderful gowns, and all the great fashion Oscar brings out

This recipe comes from one of our favorite cooks, Ina Garten…The Barefoot Contessa.

Jalapeño Cheddar Crackers

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¹⁄8 teaspoon baking powder
14 tablespoons (13/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, 1/2-inch-diced
5 ounces extra-sharp white cheddar, grated
1 tablespoon minced seeded jalapeño pepper
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
3 tablespoons ice water
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash
Fleur de sel or sea salt

For those of you who don’t like anchovy, it may interest you to know that the original recipe did not include anchovies.  So the next time a waiter asks if you want anchovies on your salad you can tell him “No, I prefer the original recipe.”    If you’ve never made one before, now is your chance.  You can make the dressing at the table too, as Cardini did, if you enjoy a bit of drama.  Or you can make the dressing in the blender and serve the salad already “dressed”.  Of course, you can always add some roasted chicken or shrimp if you want to make it an entree salad.  And it is the perfect accompaniment to spaghetti

or pizza.

Either would make a lovely dinner for your Oscar party this weekend.  Caesar Salad is an American classic that has been enjoyed for nearly 90 years and we think will no doubt be enjoyed for many more years to come:)

Classic Caesar Salad

2 flat anchovy fillets,(optional)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons Sherry vinegar
juice from a lemon
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
pinch of salt
1 egg , (coddled if you don’t want to use a raw egg)
1/2 cup olive oil
4 romaine hearts, torn into pieces
2 handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese
Croutons 

To coddle the egg for the dressing, bring a pot of water to boil, add egg and cook for exactly 1 minute….NO MORE. This will coddle the egg. Remove the egg from the water and let it cool off. You can also run the egg under cold water to stop it from continuing to cook.

Meanwhile, if you are making the dressing table-side, you will need to mix the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic, salt & pepper, anchovy, and vinegar in a bowl. Crack the egg and add to these ingredients. Whisk until smooth.

Now for the tricky part. Slowly add the oil in a steady stream while constantly whisking again until smooth.  If you add the oil too quickly, the dressing will be separated and not emulsify, so be sure to add it slowly  and keep whisking.

If you are making the dressing in the blender, put the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic, salt & pepper, anchovy, vinegar and egg in the blender and mix for a minute.  While the blender is running on a slow speed slowly add the oil.

Toss the dressing with the torn pieces of romaine.  Add the Parmesan cheese and croutons and you are ready to enjoy!

What IS The Main Ingredient of WD-40?
  Before you read to the end, does anybody know what the main ingredient of WD-40 is?  
No Cheating…..

“Water Displacement #40″.
The product began from a search for a rust preventative solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts.  WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company.  Its name comes from the project that was to find a ‘Water Displacement’ Compound.  They were finally successful for a formulation, with their fortieth attempt, thus WD-40.  The ‘Convair Company’ bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts.  Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you.  It’s the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door.  If yours is plastic, it works just as well as on glass.  It’s a miracle!  Then try it on your stovetop.  It’s now shinier than it’s ever been.  You’ll be amazed.

Other WD-40 Uses:

1. Protects silver from tarnishing.

2. Removes road tar and grime from cars.

3. Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.

4. Gives floor that ‘just-waxed’ sheen without making them slippery.

5. Keeps the flies off of cows, horses, and other farm critters, as well.

6. Restores and cleans chalkboards.

7. Removes lipstick stains.

8. Loosens stubborn zippers.

9. Untangles jewelry chains.

10. Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.

11. Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.

12. Keeps ceramic/terracotta garden pots from oxidizing.

13. Removes tomato stains from clothing.

14. Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.

15. Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.

16. Keeps scissors working smoothly.

17. Lubricates noisy door hinges on both home and vehicles doors.

18. It removes that nasty tar and scuff marks from the kitchen flooring.  It doesn’t seem to harm the finish and you won’t have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off.  Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.

19. Remove those nasty bug guts that will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly!

20. Gives a children’s playground gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.

21. Lubricates gearshift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers.

22. Rids kids rocking chair and swings of squeaky noises.

23. Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.

24. Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.

25. Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.

26. Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.

27. Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.

28. Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.

29. Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.

30. Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.

31. Removes grease splatters from stovetops.

32. Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.

33. Lubricates prosthetic limbs.

34. Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).

35. Removes all traces of duct tape.

36. Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.

37. Florida’s favorite use is: ‘cleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers.’

38. The favorite use in the state of New York, it protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.

39. WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a little on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time. Also, it’s a lot cheaper than the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose.  Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some states.

40. Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.

41. It is great for removing crayon from walls.  Spray it on the marks and wipe with a clean rag.

42. Also, if you’ve discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and rewash. Presto!   The lipstick is gone!

43. If you spray it inside a wet distributor cap, it will displace the moisture, allowing the engine to start.

P.S.
  And by the way, as for that basic, main ingredient…….
well…. it’s FISH OIL….
who knew? ? ?

The answer:   58 million pounds, which is around $345 million worth of chocolate.  You no doubt did your part, as we did.  But guess what?  You don’t have to feel too guilty about it.  According to Yahoo News, Women’s Health, California Academy of Sciences, and the Mayo Clinic, here some interesting facts about Valentines Day’s favorite indulgence :

1. Chocolate was once used as a cure-all.  Doctors used it to reduce fevers, aid digestion and relieve pain.

2. Dr. Henry Stubbe, a 17th century physician, recommended drinking chocolate twice a day to cure the fatigue associated with hard work.  He claimed that  chocolate benefited the heart and increased milk production in nursing mothers.

3. Chocolate contains powerful antioxidants shown to lower your LDL or “bad” cholesterol.

4. Chocolate contains flavonoids that offer antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cell-protective benefits.  Stick to dark chocolate however, for maximum benefits as it contains more flavonoids and may also help to lower blood pressure.

5. Phenylethylamine, a chemical found in chocolate, works with sugar, fat and caffeine to help release serotonin and endorphins or “love chemicals” into the body.

6. Chocolate milk is as effective a post- workout recovery drink as sports drinks and protein shakes.  It aids athletes in relieving muscle soreness.

7. Statistics show that men who eat chocolate live one year longer than those who don’t.

To get the most benefit from chocolate you should eat no more than 3 oz. per day of dark chocolate that has at least  65% cocoa content.  More than that and you might just gain weight.

To help you insure you get that 3 oz. of chocolate a day, your Two Chums have put together a retrospective list from this past year of some of our favorite “chocolate” posts:

Perfect Chocolate Cake

Hot Fudge Sauce

Minny’s Chocolate Pie
(from the movie The Help)

Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake

Simple Chocolate Souffle

“Surprise” Chocolate Chip Cookie

Three Minute “Cup” Cake

Our Favorite English Toffee

Chocolate Cheesecake

Double Chocolate Cookies

Mississippi Mud Cake

Perhaps we should have called today’s post Two Chums Do Chocolate   We do love this!  Something else we learned that you should know about is that there aren’t enough current cocoa plants to keep up with production demand.  Demand increases by 2.5-3% per year, which means there are roughly 4 million more tons of cocoa needed each year to meet demands!  By the year 2020 the demand for chocolate will have increased by 25% as more and more people in developing third world countries are able to afford it.  As the demand increases the supply will shrink, meaning there will be less chocolate for all of us to enjoy.  So, we say eat up now….have your chocolate and don’t feel guilty.  After all it just adds to the richmess of our lives bringing more love, more joy and certainly more abundant living

We use some phrases commonly and most of us never stop to think about what they really mean or where it is they came from.  Here are some clues as to why we say what we say.1.  High on the hog – The source of this phrase is often said to be the fact that the best cuts of meat on a pig come from the back and upper leg and that the wealthy ate cuts from ‘high on the hog’.

2.  A feather in one’s cap – A symbol of honour and achievement.  This saying came from the Native American tradition of adding a feather to the head-dress of any warrior who performed a brave act.

3.  Caught red handed – To be caught in the act of committing a misdemeanour, with the evidence there for all to see. Red-handed is a straightforward allusion to having blood on one’s hands after the execution of a murder or a poaching session.

4.  The acid test – In the California Gold Rush in the second half of the 19th century, prospectors and dealers needed to be able to distinguish gold from base metal. Gold doesn’t react to most acids as other metals do.  To confirm that, and to find out if it was gold, it was given ‘the acid test’.

5.  Throw in the towel – in old boxing days many bruised fighters couldn’t get to their feet when the bell rang for the new round to begin.  Their managers knew they could do nothing but give up since they were too weak to continue.   As a signal, one of them would toss in an article used to soak up blood – usually a towel.

6.  Spill the beans – In ancient Greece, voting for membership into some organizations was done via beans.  White beans were dropped into a container if you favored the candidate and brown or black beans if you didn’t.  Apparently the jar was not clear and when you went to vote you kept your hands folded so no one knew if you dropped a white or black bean.  Only the officials knew the actual vote results of black vs. white beans.  However….on a few occasions a clumsy voter would knock over the jar and reveal all the beans!   This is how the phrase got to refer to someone who reveals the truth or hidden secrets.

7.  Black balled – Along the lines of voting by dropping beans into a jar, many exclusive clubs voted on their new members by dropping white or black balls into a hat or box.  A white ball was a Yes and a black ball was a No.   After all the votes were cast, if a candidate had so much as one more black ball than white, he wasn’t accepted into the club and the term “he got black balled” came into being.

8.  Laid an egg – The term goes back to the game of Cricket in which one was given “a duck’s egg”  if you had no runs, because a ZERO looked like an egg.  So rather than saying a team had no score, they would say, “They laid an egg”.   Today, any type of failure in any adventure (sports or not) means to “lay an egg”.

9.  Red Letter Day – Back in the old days, calendars were only made by monks and made by hand in monasteries or convents.  Scribes often emphasized days of Saints or other important events by using a reddish ink made from ocher (a mineral of oxide of iron).  A quick look at the calendar instantly showed all the red marks from the black, so that preparation or anticipation of those important days could be acted upon.  Today, we consider a “red letter day” as any important day in our lives such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries or the beginning of vacations or ending of school years.

10.  Wrong side of the bed – We live in a right-handed world.  In the ancient world, the left-side of the body or anything “left” was considered sinister, mysterious, dangerous or evil.   So, innkeepers pushed the left sides of the bed against the walls so that a guest HAD to get up on the right side.  Today, with queen and king size beds, most people get up on either side and don’t bother to think about it.  But the term today of “getting up on the wrong side of the bed” refers to someone when they are irritable or grumpy.

And now you know “why we say that”…

The heart is a symbol synonymous with love.  And as The Beatles so rightly proclaimed in 1967, “All You Need Is Love”.

As the heart is to the body, so love is to the spirit.  Love is the very essence of life.  Whether we know it or not we all have it.  It is right here, all the time, within us.

If you are waiting for love to come to you from “out there somewhere” or from someone, you may wait a long time and never be satisfied.  Love is yours to give and the more you give the more you have.

So, on this Valentine’s Day, no matter where you are or who you are with, use that amazing quality – love.  Give a stranger a smile as you are walking along, compliment someone on their beautiful eyes, give a helping hand with the dishes – oh, yes, love is demonstrated in countless, absolutely countless, ways!   Wait and see, you will get it back!
 Yes, love is in the air.  Claim it, feel it, share it.  We dare you!

Use more love, offer more joy and you are sure to experience a more abundant life!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Post Script

Did you know:

…where the term “sweet heart” comes from?
“Swete-hert” was the meaning of a fast-beating heart.  Since love often makes us giddy and our heart starts beating more quickly, this term morphed into “Sweetheart”.

…how the term “Wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve” came into being?

In the early 1800′s young men, American and British alike, wore slips of paper pinned to their sleeves with their girlfriend’s name written on it.  Thus came the expression, “wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve”, being transparent about one’s emotions.

And now you know

This pizza is truly simple to make, inexpensive and really delicious.  Now that is a combination that is hard to resist…full of love, joy and abundant living

Homemade Pizza

The dough for this pizza uses the recipe for French Bread we gave you this time last year.  This will make enough dough for 2 large or 3 medium pizzas.  If you want to make just one pizza, the rest of the dough will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.  Or you can use it to make baguettes for your dinner in a day or two….maybe even a heart shaped loaf   Either way it surely won’t go to waste.
Preheat your oven to 500 degrees while you make the dough.  Reduce heat to 425 degrees before putting pizza in the oven.

1 recipe for dough 
(DO NOT use ice cubes when making pizza.  After mixing dough together, allow dough to rest and rise for 15-20 minutes before shaping. )
Tomato sauce – I like Trader Joes organic sauce
Olive oil
Dried oregano and rosemary
Cheeses – grated whole milk mozzarella, grated sharp white cheddar, crumbled goat cheese and grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Lightly coat a baking sheet with oil.  Using your fingers push dough into a heart shape.

Spread a very thin layer of tomato sauce to within about 1/2 inch of the edge, then drizzle a bit of olive oil on top.

Sprinkle the sauce with some dried oregano and rosemary, or Italian seasoning.

Add cheeses, beginning and ending with parmesan.

Reduce oven heat to 425 degrees and place pizza on baking sheet on middle rack.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is browned and bubbling and crust is also lightly browned.  The amount of cooking time will depend on the size of the pizza.  Cut with a pizza cutter.  Serve up a slice of love

Abraham Lincoln was one of the great demonstrators of the term “the American Dream”.  Being born to illiterate farmers who lived, at the time, in a one-room log cabin, Honest Abe, as he was known, rose to be one of America’s greats, ending slavery and, against all odds,  keeping the country united.

It seems to us that Abraham Lincoln was a “gentle giant”.  A very tall man of great strength, Lincoln enjoyed reading – so much so that neighbors thought he read to avoid doing manual labor.  He was actually very skilled with an axe and was a good wrestler.  No, not a lazy bone in him!

Abraham Lincoln had very little formal education and taught himself law.   In 1837, he was admitted to the Illinois Bar.

As the 16th President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln was first a man of integrity (thus the nickname “Honest Abe”), a man of conviction, a man of great depth, a man with a heart for doing the right thing.  He is famous for asking the question, “Why are we here?”.  We cannot help but think that he believed that we are here, each and every one of us, to do good, just by the way he conducted himself.

In Stephen Speilberg’s latest film, “Lincoln”, Daniel Day-Lewis, who plays President Lincoln, brings out Lincoln’s penchant for using a story or an anecdotal experience to bring a point home or to diffuse passions of the moment.  By the way, Daniel Day-Lewis has been nominated for a “Best Actor” Oscar, which, if he wins, will be his third Oscar win.  Having seen the movie, we concur that the nomination is well-deserved as Mr. Day-Lewis appears to embody not only the physical stature of Lincoln, but his character as well.

President Lincoln was actually a minority president in the sense that, in the four-way race for the 1860 election, he won only a plurality of the votes rather than an absolute majority.  Even as he headed to Washington to assume the duties of the Presidency in early 1861, he was derided by many critics not only for his gangly stature and homely appearance but also for the fact that he was a “rail splitter” from the west who lacked the necessary political acumen.   These critics, obviously, underestimated Lincoln’s character, intelligence and political shrewdness as well as his compassionate heart.  Over the course of his Presidency, Abraham Lincoln grew, in the eyes of his countrymen, from a country bumpkin to a man for the ages.

So, today, we celebrate you, President Abraham Lincoln.  We celebrate all of the wonderful qualities you shared with this country.

Of historical note, the country used to celebrate President Lincoln’s birthday on his actual birthday, today, February 12.  However, in recent times, it has been subsumed in the Presidents’ Day holiday which is usually on a Monday in order to give the populace a three-day weekend.

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras…Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday when the season of Lent begins.  If you happen to live in the south east especially in Louisiana, it is also the season for King Cake.  Unless you are from this region or know someone who is, you may never have heard or known of King Cake.  You will now, and you are in for a real treat!Mardi Gras dates back thousands of years, as a Christian holiday and cultural phenomenon.  In some regions and countries it is known as Carnival.   It is celebrated in many countries around the world – mainly those with large Roman Catholic populations – on the day before Lent begins.  The New Orleans Carnival season, or Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) starts after Twelfth Night (January 5), or Epiphany (January 6). It is a season of parades, balls and king cake parties.

The “king cake” takes its name from the biblical three kings refered to in the Christmas story. In Catholic liturgical tradition, Epiphany - celebrated on January 6th – celebrates the visit of the wise men to the Baby Jesus. The Eve of Epiphany, the night of January 5th, is known as Twelfth Night (the Twelve Days of Christmas are counted from Christmas Eve until this night). The season for king cake consists of the period between the Twelve Days of Christmas (Twelfth Night and Epiphany Day), and Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday”.

I must confess here that until two of our three daughters attended college in Mississippi, I knew very little, if anything at all, about Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday, much less King Cake.  But living in the south and having roommates and many friends from New Orleans, proved to be an education not only for them but for me as well, about things I had previously only heard about but really didn’t understand.  One of the “tastiest” benefits of our daughters southern college education, was my subsequent culinary education about King Cake.  I came to understand and truly appreciate this lovely tradition.

King Cake is more of a rich sweet bread than an actual cake.  Some have a rich frangipane, or almond filling somewhat like that of a bear claw pastry, and some don’t have any filling but are spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon rind.  It is always decorated with icing and colored sugar in green, gold and purple, the colors of Mardi Gras.  It is shaped to be round or oval to simulate a king’s crown and always has a tiny ceramic “baby”,  or a bean, that represents the baby Jesus, planted inside the cake.  The person who gets the piece of cake with the bean is declared to be the “king” or “queen” of that party or celebration.

Whether you are celebrating Mardi Gras or not, there is no reason not to enjoy this very delicious treat. It isn’t hard to make and enjoying it with your family and explaining the history behind it, can help you create your own family celebration and traditions.  All this leads to more love, more joy and certainly more abundant living

Spread the frangipane cream filling down the center of the dough.
Place the bean in the filling.  

 Roll the sides of the dough over the filling

Let it rise until it doubles in size, about 30 minutes.

Part 1 – Comfort

When I was young, anytime anyone in our family was sick or under the weather for any reason, my grandmother would treat the problem, not with the proverbial chicken soup, but with potato soup.  She would peel and cut up a potato into 1/2-3/4″ cubes and then chop an onion.  These would be placed into a pot with some salt and pepper and enough whole milk to cover them.  The milk would then be heated and simmered until the potatoes were cooked and the onions were tender.  A couple of pats of butter were added and once they had melted the soup was served.   To me this was, and is, a definition of comfort.  I couldn’t imagine ever having any potato soup as satisfying as this version was.  That is until a couple of years ago when I happened to have a very delicious and very, very satisfying bowl of potato soup in a little bistro in Charleston, South Carolina.

The server seems to have been related somehow to the chef and when I expressed how much I was enjoying the soup she beamed and happily explained exactly how it was made.  It turns out it is a version of the technique my grandmother used.  The potatoes and onions are simmered in chicken stock instead of milk.  Then when they are tender, everything is poured into a food processor or blender with some heavy cream in place of the butter my grandmother used.  It is all then pureed until it is smooth.

It is then served up in a bowl and drizzled with white truffle oil.  It is like eating creamy liquid mashed potatoes that are perfectly seasoned and just plain scrumptious!   Try it….you’ll no doubt agree and hopefully feel some comfort too.

Potato Bisque

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 onion, diced
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 -3/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
white truffle oil
 Cook potatoes and onion in chicken stock until soft.  Puree in a food processor or blender with cream.  Adjust seasoning.  Serve with a drizzle of white truffle oil.

Part 2 -Love, Joy and Abundant Living

This week it has been one year since we embarked on this adventure called Two Chums.  We couldn’t let this week end without “marking the moment” and acknowledging what a year it has been.  We have enjoyed sharing with you each day some of the things that we have learned about love, joy and abundant living.  We are still learning.  We love to hear from you and to share with all our other chums the things you share with us.  Most of our Savvy Secrets come from you.  And your comments and questions have provided inspiration for many of the posts we’ve done.  You are the reason we’re here and that we show up each day.  Having this website takes more time and demands more work than we could have imagined starting out on this adventure, but we love doing it.  You, our chums, are the joy in all of it.  You make all the time and work so very worth it.  And together we have had a wonderful first year, full to the brim with abundant living…who could ask for more?  Thank you, thank you, thank you for being our chums, for allowing us into your lives and for enriching ours each and every day

This is a simple project that once you’ve tried it, you will no doubt make again and again.  In fact, on a rainy day, or anytime you need a fairly quick, not too messy activity that children of all ages will love to participate in, this will be the project you’ll pull out of your “bag of tricks”.  Enjoy all the love, joy and abundant living you’re bound to gain creating fun with those precious little people in your life.

Homemade Heart Shaped Crayons

To make these  you will need crayons with paper wrappers removed and a heart shaped muffin pan.  Both silicone or metal pans will work.  The red silicone heart muffin pan pictured here came from the $1 section at Target a few years ago.

Target has some version of this pan every year so, if you don’t own a heart shaped muffin pan, now would be a good time to head to Target and get one.  If you already have a metal heart muffin pan or would prefer to use one, you can order it (or the silicone one) from Amazon here .

This project is a great way to use up all those little bits of crayons, those broken ones nobody seems to like using to color.  The other option is to buy boxes of new crayons from the 99 Cent store.  Removing the paper from new crayons can be a challenge sometimes, so to make this easier, place the new crayons in a glass of warm water and let them sit for about 1 minute.

The papers come off much more easily once they have been loosened in the warm water.

Next break the crayons into 1 inch pieces and sort them by color or similar colors.  For example put the pinks and reds together, the oranges and yellows, and put the blues, greens and purples together.

You can put them in the muffin pan keeping like colors together like this

or you can mix them up to make “rainbow” crayons that have some of every color.

Once you’ve filled the muffin pans, bake them in the oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes.  When you take them out of the oven they will be runny and look like the ones here below.

Allow them to cool until firm, about 15-20 minutes.  If you are using a silicone pan you can just pop the heart shaped crayons out of the pan.  If you have used a metal pan, once the crayons are cooled and solid, run some hot water on the back of the metal pan for 10 seconds just to help loosen the crayons.  Then use a sharp knife and run it along the edge of each heart and pop it loose and out of the pan.

Now sit back and watch your little ones at work creating with their new heart crayons.

Or if you are making them for a Valentine’s Day surprise, drop some hearts into cello bags and tie them with a fun ribbon.  They would make a great gift not only for you to give your child or grandchild, but a really great Valentine for your child to give a friend.  Have fun with these and all the many possibilities they create:)

Oh golly, we have some wonderful Savvy Secrets for you today. No one subject – just a potpourri of helpful hints.  We hope you enjoy them as much as we love putting them together for you!

1.     Don’t throw out the next empty egg carton you have!  Keep it and use it to sort small items like nails, screws, etc.  It can even keep your earrings sorted!

2.     Glue one side of a sturdy clothespin to the inside of cabinet doors. Those clothespins are a great way to store old shopping bags that you need to re-use all the time.

3.     A dish rack makes a super place to store your pan lids.

4.     A great way to keep two earrings together is to thread the posts through two holes (one post through one hole and the other post through another hole) in a button and put the backs on.

5.     Do you find that your home made cookies become hard too quickly?  Put apple slices in with the cookies and they will keep the cookies chewy.

6.     Great way to make deviled eggs.  Once you have cut the hard boiled egg in half, put the yolk in a zip lock bag.  Mash the yolk in the bag and then add your other ingredients (mayo, mustard, salt and pepper, maybe a dash of curry powder, etc.) and mash some more.  Now, cut a small corner off the bag and use it like a pastry bag.  Voila!  Beautiful deviled eggs, as well as tasty, we are sure!

7.     Hard to brush through your sweet dog’s fur?  Rub your pet with baby powder prior to brushing.  It will be much easier to remove the tangles.

8.     Mount a magnet inside your medicine cabinet and you’ll be able to place nail clippers, tweezers, safety pins and all sorts of necessities on it.  You will always know exactly where those smaller items are!

9.     If your car has leaked oil on your garage or driveway floor, just apply some cat litter to the area (preferably the non-scoopable kind).  Its super-absorbing properties will help to clean up the stain in a day!

10.   Those 3-tiered baskets that you usually find holding fruit in the kitchen are also perfect for bathrooms.  Store your brushes, hair gel, band-aids, etc.

Your Two Chums find that these Savvy Secrets make for more abundant lives, filled with joy.   We hope that you do too!

And don’t forget that you can surprise everyone and make breakfast for dinner.  Just add some crispy strips of bacon or some sausage links and there you have it….dinner is served!

Surprising your family or friends with a yummy hot breakfast can only add to your love, joy and abundant living

Baked French Toast Casserole

About ¾ loaf of good bread cut into cubes – (we used part of a loaf of our Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Bread but sourdough would be good or left over bagels or even dinner rolls)
4 eggs
2 cups ½ and ½
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 Tablespoons butter
grated rind of 1 orange (optional)
Good quality maple syrup

Cut bread into cubes.

Using a wire whisk, mix together ½ and ½ , eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, vanilla, and orange peel.

Pour over cubed bread and toss well.  Pour bread into a buttered casserole dish.

Dot with butter.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  When you are ready to bake, remove plastic wrap and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes or until the bread is puffed and golden brown.  Spoon unto plates and serve with butter and warmed real maple syrup.  YUMMY!!!!

Have fun this Sunday, no matter how you celebrate and as they say in New Orleans, “Laissez les bon temps rouler!”  English translation: Let the good times roll!  Here ‘s to celebrations full of love, joy and abundant living:)

French Quarter Cheese

10 Servings

8  ounces cream cheese
1  clove garlic, minced
1  tablespoon onion, grated
4  tablespoons butter
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1  teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon prepared mustard
1  cup pecans, finely chopped

Combine cream cheese, garlic and onion in a bowl.  Mix well and shape ito a 6-inch disk, 1 inch thick.  Place on a serving plate and chill in refrigerator.

Melt butter, then combine sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and pecans in a small saucepan with butter. Blend well.

Pour pecan mixture over cheese disk and return to refrigerator until 1 hour before serving.  Remove from refrigerator and let stand until room temperature is reached.   Serve with slices of a baguette or your favorite crackers.

Works well to make this a day ahead and refrigerate overnight.

And don’t forget to make some of our other favorite party foods.
Hot Artichoke Dip

Pimento Cheese 

Deviled Eggs 

Fresh Chips and Guacamole

What a darling little girl Elizabeth, or Lillibet as she was called by her family, was!  Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as “a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant”.   Little did she know, at this young age, that she would one day become Queen of England.  Not only that, but she would prove to be one of the longest reigning monarchs, if not the longest, ever!

But, she was obviously ready for it!  Through the years of her reign, Queen Elizabeth has seen so many, so, so many, changes in life – culturally and morally.  Shortly after she first stepped onto the throne in 1952, she had to tell her sister, Princess Margaret, that she could not marry the “love of her life”, Group Captain Peter Townsend, as he was a commoner and also a divorcé!  Oh golly, imagine that!  Princess Margaret was heartbroken and went onto marry Tony Armstrong-Jones, a photographer, who the Queen made the Earl of Snowden after their marriage.  (That marriage ended in divorce.)   Such was the moral temperature of the times.  After all, the royal family were supposed to hold up the standard and that they tried to do!

Suffice it to say, everything has changed!  Three of Elizabeth’s four children are divorced, and two have remarried commoners.   When it was decided that Prince Charles needed to get married, “the Firm” as they call themselves, were on the lookout for an aristocratic virgin which they found in the beautiful Lady Diana Spencer.  Many years later when William (Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s first-born) announced to the world that he was engaged to be married, it was to a commoner whom he then went on to live with before they were married!

Yes, things have changed – oh yes!

And of course, there has been SUCH a change with the way we do things and the instancy of how we do these things!

Through all of these massive changes, the Queen has kept her promise to serve her country and the Commonwealth.  She has “kept calm and carried on….carried on regardless” – or at least that is the face she has shown to us, the public.

A chum of ours sent this wonderful short video of the changing faces of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth which we felt sure you would enjoy!

May the “royal” in each one of us add to the joy of our abundant lives!

Just a week ago, some dear friends from Mississippi were in town and we  had a wonderful Sunday afternoon eating, talking, eating, singing, eating, laughing and oh yes, eating.

It just seemed fitting that we would finish off our meal with Mississippi Mud Cake.  I had so many requests for the recipe, I decided to share  it here with you our Chums…a sweet gooey delicious southern treat.

Here’s to so much love, joy and sweet abundant living y’all!

I doubled this when I made it and used a 1/2 sheet jelly roll/ cookie sheet pan, because there was a big crowd.  If you are making this for a big party you can do the same.  Otherwise, these amounts should do nicely for a family gathering….but don’t expect to have any  left over

Mississippi Mud Cake

1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup butter
4 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
2 cups sugar
11/2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon salt
1 (10.5 oz) bag miniature marshmallows

Chocolate Frosting

Toast the pecans in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.

Melt butter and chocolate chips over low heat (or in microwave) and stir until smooth.

Whisk in sugar, flour, cocoa, eggs, vanilla and salt into butter and chocolate.  Mix together and spread batter into a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes until sides begin to pull away from pan and center is cooked through.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with marshmallows.

Return to oven for 3-5 minutes until marshmallows are soft and puffy.

Remove from oven and drizzle warm cake with frosting and then sprinkle with toasted pecans.

Chocolate Frosting

½ cup butter
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar

Melt butter with cocoa and milk.  Stir and cook over low heat until smooth.  Stir in vanilla and powdered sugar.  Pour over cake while icing is still warm and pourable.

Allow to cool then cut into squares and serve.  And most importantly…enjoy!!!!

How many times, when you are excited to make something, do you go to the larder and find that you do not have one of the main ingredients?  Here is a list of a few things that you can substitute out that you might find helpful for the next time that happens.

1.  ARROWROOT.  If your recipe calls for arrowroot and you do not have any, use 2 tablespoons of flour for every 4 teaspoons of arrowroot

2.  BAKING POWDER.  For every 1 teaspoon of double-acting baking powder, use 5/8 teaspoon cream of tartar plus 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda OR 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/4 cup sour milk or buttermilk (lessen other liquid in recipe if you chose this substitute)

3.  BAY LEAF.  Use thyme in place of a bay leaf

4.  CAPERS.  Chopped green olives will do the trick

5.  CLOVES (GROUND).  Use allspice, OR nutmeg, OR mace

6.  CLUB SODA.  Use sparkling mineral water or seltzer

7.  POLENTA.  Cornmeal will work just as well

8.  CORNSTARCH.  Flour, as thickener

9.  EGG – one.  Use 1 tablespoon cornstarch plus 3 tablespoons water OR 3 tablespoons mayonnaise OR 1/2 mashed banana plus 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.

10.  EVAPORATED MILK.  Use half-and-half or cream  to reach a good result

Simply adding to the joy of cooking!

How many times, when you are excited to make something, do you go to the larder and find that you do not have one of the main ingredients?  Here is a list of a few things that you can substitute out that you might find helpful for the next time that happens.

1.  ARROWROOT.  If your recipe calls for arrowroot and you do not have any, use 2 tablespoons of flour for every 4 teaspoons of arrowroot

2.  BAKING POWDER.  For every 1 teaspoon of double-acting baking powder, use 5/8 teaspoon cream of tartar plus 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda OR 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/4 cup sour milk or buttermilk (lessen other liquid in recipe if you chose this substitute)

3.  BAY LEAF.  Use thyme in place of a bay leaf

4.  CAPERS.  Chopped green olives will do the trick

5.  CLOVES (GROUND).  Use allspice, OR nutmeg, OR mace

6.  CLUB SODA.  Use sparkling mineral water or seltzer

7.  POLENTA.  Cornmeal will work just as well

8.  CORNSTARCH.  Flour, as thickener

9.  EGG – one.  Use 1 tablespoon cornstarch plus 3 tablespoons water OR 3 tablespoons mayonnaise OR 1/2 mashed banana plus 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.

10.  EVAPORATED MILK.  Use half-and-half or cream  to reach a good result

Simply adding to the joy of cooking!

It is comforting to know that in this electronic and digital age, the joy of playing with play dough is as intriguing to children today as it always has been.

One improvement is that now, not only can our children play with their play dough, they can also help to make it.  Making play dough could hardly be any easier and the great thing is, you can make as much as you want for just pennies using ingredients you no doubt already have in your cupboard.   And  you can make it in as many colors as you wish and add clean nice fragrance using essential oils like lavender, orange, or peppermint.   Let your kids play with a lavender scented play dough before bed and it just may sooth and calm them so they sleep better…it’s worth a try.

I buy small plastic containers at the 99 Cent Store that come in a package of 12 small containers for $1.  They are  perfect for keeping your play dough fresh and separated by colors.

If you can’t find these little containers you can, of course, keep your play dough fresh in ziplock bags.  It will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about 6 months.  Why not make some today with your kids or grandkids, or surprise them and make some for them.  You are bound to put smiles on everyones faces

Homemade Play Dough

1/2 cup salt
1 cup flour
2 Tablespoons cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon oil
Food Coloring
A couple drops of essential oil like peppermint, orange, lavender (optional but really nice)

Mix all ingredients together in  medium sized saucepan.

Stir over medium heat until the runny, somewhat liquidy dough, comes together in a ball.  Turn it out unto a board and allow it to sit until it is cool enough to handle.  As soon as you can handle the dough without burning your hands, knead it until it is soft and smooth.

Allow it to cool completely and store in a well sealed plastic bag or container.  If you keep it in the refrigerator it will last for up to 6 months.

Then give it to those special little ones in your life and let the fun begin

“And they ate blueberry muffins and lived happily ever after.”  If this could be the ending to a fairy tale that you would enjoy being  part of, then this is your happy day!

Of all the muffins in “Muffinland” blueberry seems to be everyone’s favorite.  I have long been trying one recipe after another in search of that seemingly elusive “perfect” blueberry muffin.  I think I’ve found it!  My daughter, Amanda, turned up the other day with these yummy muffins based on a recipe she found in Taste of Home.   They were consumed and loved by all of us and the comments were nothing short of glowing.  This is as close to a perfect blueberry muffin as any I have ever found.  Though she found the recipe from another source, they will ever after be known in our home as Amanda’s Blueberry Muffins.

Whip some up for breakfast or tea this weekend and you can say for yourself  ”And we ate blueberry muffins and lived happily ever after.”

Amanda’s Blueberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened blueberries
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add
eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in milk and
vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed
mixture just until moistened.

Fold in blueberries by hand. (If you are using frozen
berries DO NOT thaw them first as they will discolor the batter if you do.)

Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.

Combine nutmeg and remaining sugar; sprinkle over the top.

Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

If you have ever been to La Scala in Beverly Hills you know just how perfect a salad can be.  If you haven’t been fortunate enough to visit there yet, we have good news.  We have the recipe for the best chopped salad ever made! Now I will admit that I am partial because I have so many fond memories of good times at La Scala…regular lunches with my former boss and dear work friends, lunch to celebrate after each of my daughters (and their then fiances) registered for wedding gifts, lunch for my mother’s birthday…many sweet memories.

But don’t just take my word.  Their chopped salad is arguably one of the best salads anywhere.  You could ask any of their loyal customers who have been enjoying meals there since they opened their doors in 1956.

Those who have enjoyed the food and no doubt one of their famous salads include the likes of Leonardo Di Caprio, Julia Roberts, Val Kilmer, Elizabeth Taylor and many others of the Hollywood old guard.  The big, cushy, red leather booths just make you feel like you are a part of old Hollywood.  But comfortable, nostalgic booths don’t keep restaurants in business for well over a half a century….great food does.   There is nothing complicated or sophisticated about this salad.  It is just a fresh, clean, straight forward salad….and that’s why people love it.  I am sure that is why you will love it as well

The restaurant gives diners the option of adding tomatoes, cucumbers, turkey or chicken, so you can feel free to make these additions as well. This is the basic recipe that was first given many years ago in the Los Angeles Times SOS column.  It is just as good now as it was way back then….enjoy

Leon Chopped Salad from La Scala’s Beverly Hills
2 Heads of lettuce, finely chopped….Romaine and Iceberg
1/4 Pound Salami julienne
1/4 pound Mozzarella shredded
1 15oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
Kalamata pitted olives (1 for the top of  each salad)

Dressing:
1/4 cup oil
2 Tablespoons Wine Vinegar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt and fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Toss all together…. Serves 6

Ever wonder what to do with that lump of oatmeal after breakfast that no one ate?  Here is one delicious and simple answer…Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin Bread!Oatmeal has long been one of my family’s favorite breakfasts.  Since my children were little, in the mornings, they have asked for, and enjoyed, having oatmeal …or porridge, as they sometimes called it (I think they liked the Goldilocks reference).  Now my grandchildren frequently ask me to make it for them…even for dinner sometimes.  If you are anything like me it always seems that I end up with extra oatmeal.  After years of tossing out that last little bit I started thinking about what I might to with it.

I was in the bread aisle of the market one day and when I saw some Oatmeal Bread on the shelf it hit me….why not use that leftover oatmeal and make some bread?  So the next time I made oatmeal for breakfast, I decided to try my hand at making some bread with it.  Since it just so happened that I had a bit of raisins left from breakfast too, I decided to make my bread an Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin Bread.  It sounds difficult and complicated but that just isn’t the case.  This is really an easy loaf to make …or rather I should say loaves, since it makes two.   If you don’t think you’ll eat two loaves of bread before they go stale you can either use one to make French Toast Casserole (that recipe will be offered next week) or freeze the loaf until you are ready to use it.  Or maybe there is someone who did something nice for you recently and you could drop off a loaf of yummy homemade bread as a way to say “thank you”….who wouldn’t feel appreciated with that gift?  :)

Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin Bread

½ – 1 cup  leftover oatmeal
½ cup warm water
2 pkg. yeast
½ cup honey
1 cup warm milk
½ cup butter
5 cups all purpose flour
2- 21/2 cup bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins

Place yeast in warm water with a couple of tablespoons of the honey.  Allow yeast to ripen.  It will be bubbly.

Add this to the oatmeal, in a mixer with a dough hook, along with the warm milk and the butter cut up into chunks, and the rest of the honey.  Mix all this together for a minute then add in the first 5 cups of flour, the salt and the cinnamon.  Add in the raisins and then mix in the rest of the flour. (You can also use all bread flour or all all-purpose flour or even use some whole wheat flour if you prefer.) If you don’t have an electric mixer this can all be done by hand it will just take a bit longer to get everything thoroughly mixed together

Allow the dough to knead for about 5-6 minutes.  Then allow the dough to rise until it is doubled in size about 1-11/2 hours.  Once it has risen punch it down and then divide it in half.

Place each half in a loaf pan which has been buttered and lined with parchment paper.

When loaves are doubled in size place them in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from oven and allow the loaves to sit for 5 minutes then remove from loaf pans and place loaves on a rack to cool completely.   Slice, butter and enjoy.

When you bite into freshly made bread you will know that this is when life starts to feel abundant:)

Besides being a wonderfully sweet and tastey “nosh”,  the pineapple has served as a symbol of hospitality and warm welcome through the history of the Americas.

Oh gosh, we have Christopher Columbus to thank for so many things and yes, we have him to thank for finding the first pineapple.  On his second voyage across the Atlantic, he and his men landed on the island of Guadalupe in the Caribbean.  It was here that he had his first taste of this sweet, succulent fruit.

Thus, in 1493, Columbus brought the pineapple back to Europe where it was received with joy!   The pineapple’s exotic nature and sweetness soon made it an item that was very popular.   European horticulturists tried (and took two hundred years to find success!), to cultivate pineapples in Europe and in the 1600s, King Charles posed for an official portrait while receiving a pineapple as a gift.  What a trend the pineapple was setting!  It was desired by royalty and therefore desired by all!

In colonial America, the pineapple became the greatest symbol of hospitality.   A visitor would feel most welcomed when she saw a fresh pineapple adorning the dining table of her hostess.

Hostesses would set a fresh pineapple in the center of their dining table when visitors joined their families in their homes.  If their budget could not extend to buying a fresh pineapple, they would be able to “rent” pineapples which they would then return to the grocer who would sell it to someone who could afford to buy and eat it.  If the visitors spent the night, they might be given a bedroom with a bed in which pineapples had been carved on either the bedposts or the headboard.

Although pineapples can be purchased easily by one and all these days, the pineapple continues to be a very welcoming presence in homes…..it speaks of warmth and hospitality  and brings a smile to any guest’s face.

Pineapple, as we know, is yummy all by itself but if you are wanting to incorporate pineapple into a dessert, why not do pineapple and maraschino cherries (cut in half) in the whipped cream, instead of the strawberries, with this meringue dessert?  Your friends will love the taste as well as the hospitable heart with which it is served!

I happen to love, not only eating pineapples, but, more importantly, the hospitable message they send, and have them, in many forms, all over our home.  Pineapple pillows adorn our bed, pineapple Limoges boxes are atop tables, cement pineapples grace our garden and I have a gold pineapple that I wear around my neck!  Yes, hospitable I wish to be and I can only hope that our guests feel it!

Rejoicing in the love, joy and abundance this wonderful fruit symbolizes!

It was January 1, 1863, some 150 years ago when Lincoln issued the proclamation, during the Civil War, declaring all slaves in states rebelling against the Union to be “forever free.”  And it was 45 years ago that Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered one of the most famous American speeches of modern times.  His “I Have A Dream” speech is one we have all become familiar with:

“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.”

Both Lincoln and Dr. King might be astonished to witness, as we will today, the inauguration of a black man as Commander in Chief….President of these Untied States.

President Obama has said that Martin Luther King Jr. is one of two people he admires “more than anybody in American history.” Abraham Lincoln is the other. In a nod to his admiration of them both, Mr. Obama will take his ceremonial oath of office today using Bibles owned by both men. Lincoln’s Bible, which President Obama also used in 2009, will rest on top of Dr. King’s Bible, which is larger.

The day will be filled with festivities of all kinds in Washington D.C.   In addition to a parade later in the afternoon, as well as the many Inaugural balls that will take place tonight, immediately following the swearing in, there will be a luncheon at which about 200 guests will be in attendance.  The guests will include of course President Obama, Vice President Biden and their families, members of the Supreme Court, Cabinet members and members of Congressional leadership. The event, which has been a tradition for more than a century, will be hosted by members of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

Wonder what might be served at such an affair?  Here is the menu for today’s Inauguration luncheon:

First Course: Steamed lobster with New England clam chowder sauce, served on sauteed spinach with sweet potato hay.

Pie Dough

6 ounces butter, soft
1 1/2 ounces sugar
1/2 pound flour, all purpose
2 teaspoons water
1 pinch salt
1/2 each egg

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until mixed well and then fold in the egg. Combine the flour and salt and then fold into the butter mixture.  Add the water 1 teaspoon at a time until dough pulls together.  Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and allow to rest in refrigerator for at least 1 hour (can be made up to 2 days in advance).  Portion dough into 10 equal parts and roll out thin, approximately ¼ inch thick and place in individual metal ring mold or aluminum pie shells.

Cinnamon Crumble

1/2 cup flour, all purpose
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
3 tablespoons butter, unsalted, chilled, cut in to 1/2 inch cubes

Blend first 5 ingredients in a food processor.  Add chilled butter cubes; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles wet sand.

Apples

1 pound apples, peeled, cored, sliced thin
3 ounces sugar
1/4 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoon corn starch
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Layer the apples tightly into pie dough until full, this will be piled higher then the sides of the shell.  The apples will drop as it is baked.  Top each pie with cinnamon crumble and bake at 350º F for 25-30 minutes.

Sour Cream Ice Cream

2 cups half and half
1 cup sugar
1 each vanilla bean
8 each egg yolks, large
4 cups sour cream

In heavy saucepan combine half-and-half, ¾ cup sugar, and vanilla bean and bring just to a boil.  Remove pan from heat.  In a bowl whisk together egg yolks and remaining ¼ cup sugar and hot half-and-half mixture in a steady slow stream, whisking until incorporated.  Return mixture to pan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until 170º F on a candy thermometer. Remove pan from heat. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into mixture until combined well and discard pod.  Stir sour cream into custard until combined well and strain through a fine sieve into a bowl.  Stir sour cream into custard until combined well and strain through a fine sieve into a bowl.  Chill custard until cold and freeze in an ice-cream maker.

Notes
You may substitute your favorite store bought ice cream.

Maple Caramel Sauce

4 ounces butter
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup maple syrup, dark amber

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add sugar and salt.  Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is completely dissolved, then adjust heat to medium and boil 2 minutes longer.  Add maple syrup and boil, stirring frequently, until sauce is thick, smooth, and coats a spoon, 2 to 4 minutes longer. Remove from heat and hold warm for serving.

Garnish
1/4 cup honey
2 ounces honeycomb

Artisan Cheeses
4 each toma celena, 1/2 ounce, cut thin
4 each jersey girl colby, 1/2 ounce, cut thin

Who doesn’t love to sit down with a bowl of steaming hot, fragrant soup?  But for one reason or another, people are often intimidated to make this classic soup from scratch.  If you happen to fall into that group of cooks, perhaps there is fear that any attempt you make won’t live up to your high expectation of making soup that falls into the “best chicken soup I ever ate” category.

Or maybe you just don’t know how easy it is to make really good chicken soup.  There is no mystery, but there is a secret and the secret is good broth.  And good broth has a secret of its own.  The secret is simple.  The simple secret to making good broth is…..wait for it….salt.  Yep, that’s right, it is just salt.  Most people way underestimate the amount of salt to use and consequently end up with soup that tastes like dishwater.  If that has happened to you, you are in luck because now you too know the secret.  Of course your other ingredients have to be fresh and good as well, or all you’ll end up with is well seasoned, not so good soup.  But assuming you buy good basic ingredients, there is no reason you can’t make a beautiful bowl of “the best chicken soup I ever ate!”

The Best Chicken Soup I Ever Ate

2 large chicken breasts bone-in and skin on
2 cups minced carrots
1 onion chopped
2 cups diced celery with leaves
1 rounded Tablespoon kosher salt
12 cups water
1/2 cup minced flat leaf parsley or cilantro
Lime juice
Rice, or quinoa or alphabet pasta (optional) Add approximately 1/2 cup uncooked
Noodles

Fill a soup pan with the 12 cups of water and add salt.  Place the chicken breasts in the salted water and bring to a boil then reduce  heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.  You can certainly use a whole chicken or any pieces of chicken that you may prefer.  While I personally have no problem with dark meat and really like it for some things, in a classic chicken soup, I prefer chunks of white breast meat.   Whatever pieces of chicken you use, it is really important that you use chicken with bones and skin.  The bones add a richness to the taste of your broth and the skin adds just the right amount of fat. Fat, albeit a really small amount in this case, is important because it is the fat that holds the flavors and ultimately makes your soup more satisfying.

While your chicken is cooking, chop the carrots, onion and celery.

Remove chicken from broth and allow to cool.  Add carrots, onion and celery to broth and cook for about 15 minutes while the chicken cools.  When chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove skin and bones and dice chicken into chunks.

Add chicken to broth and allow soup to cook for 5 minutes.  Add parsley or cilantro and cook 1-2 minutes more until everything is thoroughly heated and flavors are combined.  (Parsley is the more classic choice here but, if you are a fan of cilantro, it is a great addition to the flavor.  If you are uncertain as to whether or not you will like it in your soup, simply sprinkle a few chopped leaves into your individual serving instead of putting it in the whole pot.)

This is the basic chicken soup.  At this point you can serve your soup as is, with a squeeze of lime juice in each serving (the lime juice surprisingly doesn’t taste like lime in the finished soup, it merely brightens all the other flavors).  Or, if you prefer, this is the point at which you can add any extras of your choice, for example rice, noodles, alphabet pasta, quinoa or even potatoes make a tasty addition.

A note about quinoa in case you are unfamiliar with it.  Quinoa is actually a seed but is considered a type of whole grain.  Quinoa has the highest protein content of any grain, and so is perfect for vegetarians and vegans. Quinoa provides all 9 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. Quinoa is a gluten-free and cholesterol-free whole grain, and is almost always organic.  All these reasons make quinoa a wonderful choice as an addition to this or any other soup where you would usually add rice or noodles of some kind.

Whether you choose to make additions to your soup or not, come to the table hungry and ready to feel happy and satisfied by the time you leave it  Bon Appétit !

What you don’t know actually CAN hurt you…and especially can hurt those little people and pets you love!As a general rule we don’t use this space, or our time with you each day, to discuss things that could seem to be of a negative nature.  Today we going to make an exception because we think it is important for your safety and that of those you love.

The other day, in a casual conversation, it came to our attention that there was some reason for concern regarding the CFL bulbs we are regularly being encouraged to buy and use in our homes.   Now to give you full disclosure, your Two Chums don’t like these bulbs, but not for the reasons we learned of in this conversation.   We just don’t care for the light they give off and find them harsh and unpleasant.  But it turns out that is really the least of the concerns regarding this “new and better bulb”.

It seems these bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, but since mercury has been identified as a dangerous neurotoxin (another name for poison) that is reason for concern.  Add to that the “small amount” of mercury is about on average 5 milligrams of mercury, enough to contaminate 6,000 gallons of water, and well, you can see why this got our attention!

Not wanting to overreact we did some research.  Some of the facts we found came straight from the website of the EPA concerning disposal of these bulbs and procedures for clean-up in the event of a light bulb breaking.

Now right there, there’s a problem….if you need a list of instructions about how to clean up after breakage and/or dispose of a light bulb, something is very wrong.  It’s a common household light bulb for goodness sake, and now we can’t just throw it away when it is old or broken?  We have to consult a list of instructions for our protection and especially for the protection of our children, pets and the elderly, not to mention ourselves.

If you break one of these bulbs you need to (and we quote from the EPA website):

a. Have people and pets leave the room.
b. Air out the room for 5‐10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor  environment.
c. Shut off the central forced air heating/air‐conditioning  system, if you have one.
d. Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb:

     stiff paper or cardboard;
     sticky tape;
     damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces); and
     a glass jar with a metal lid or a sealable plastic bag.

DO NOT VACUUM

This is just the beginning of the 3 pages document that the EPA gives as their basic instructions.  Whether or not you are using these light bulbs we strongly encourage you to read through the EPA’s document, but it is imperative that you know what it says if you are using CFL bulbs,  and you should encourage everyone you know to read them as well.

We have been warned repeatedly about the dangers of eating too much tuna or any other fish containing mercury, but now we are being encouraged strongly to bring these everyday household items, that require 3 pages of instructions for disposal, into our homes.  What is really troubling is that everyone we’ve talked to has had no idea that they weren’t supposed to throw these bulbs away in their trash cans, much less that they need to know how to clean up should one break.  What happens years from now with landfills full of all those light bulbs that have been thrown out in the trash before we knew we weren’t supposed to do that and have no doubt been broken in the process?  Or what about the ones that get thrown out by people who think their few light bulbs won’t matter in the grand scheme of things and they throw them in the trash anyway?  We wonder how our world will look then.

Even if you happen to believe the benefits outweigh the risks of these CFL bulbs, we encourage you to tell others to look over the list of how to dispose of them.  Everyone needs to have that important info.  Because, as we began this post today by saying, “What you don’t know CAN hurt you.”

To your good health and your abundant living,

Homemade Croutons

Approximately 8 cups bread, cubed into 1″ chunks
1 stick melted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Cube your leftover bread into about 1″ cubes.

You will need approximately 3/4 cup of an oil and butter mixture.  These proportions are suggestions.  You can use all butter or all olive oil if you prefer, or any combination in between.  This just happens to be my preference but play with it until it tastes right to you.  I find that the softer breads, like sandwich bread for instance, does better with at least some butter.  But a more dense French or sourdough bread can work with all olive oil. It will be fun to experiment and find what you prefer.

Place the oil/butter mixture in a pan and add garlic, salt and pepper.  Cook until hot and, if using butter, it begins to brown.  Pour this mixture over the bread.

Stir for a couple of minutes to let the bread absorb the flavors.

Pour onto a baking sheet.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until bread is browned and voila!

….you have toasty, crispy, garlicky, yummy bites of bread that are quite simply the most delicious croutons….it is that easy:)

Some fabulous easy-to-follow tips for your work in the kitchen!

We feel that everyone can use all the tips they can get for work in the kitchen.  We are thrilled to share these with you.

1.  Do you find that your utensil slips when you lay it up against the side of a bowl or pot?  Just put rubber bands on the handles and there you have it – no more slipping.  The utensil will only slip as far as the rubber band!

2.  When you are using sugary or tomato-based barbecue sauce on the barby, the sauce should be added only at the end of the grilling process.  These two ingredients will burn easily, so better put them on at the end and not have a “fritter”!

3. Keep pots of pasta or rice from boiling over by adding a tablespoon of butter to the water when you add the pasta or rice.

4.  Have a bottle of mouthwash, yes mouthwash, ready when you are cutting garlic, onions, fish or anything else that might leave a smell on your hands.  Just pour a little bit into your hands after you have worked with these foods, rub your hands together, and the smell will disappear.

5.  Leave your grapes in the colander after washing them and pop them into the refrigerator in the colander.  Grapes are actually helped by lots of cool air.  The air will circulate beautifully through the holes in the colander.

6. Rinse your bacon in cold water before frying it.  It will reduce the amount the bacon shrinks when you cook it.

7. It is so lovely to always have honey in your larder but, alas, it gets thick and full of crystals very quickly!   To get it back to its former, luscious consistency, simply place the open container in the micro and heat on high for 10 seconds and then stir.  Continue doing this in 10 second increments until it is back to its wonderful self!

8.  The quickest way to “mash” nuts or graham crackers is to put them in a plastic bag and roll over them, back and forth, with the rolling pin.

9.  Find it hard to peel a garlic?  Simply separate each clove and put in micro, on high, for 5-10 seconds.  They should easily slip out of their skins.

10. Every time you open the door on your oven to check on that sumptuous meal, you lower the temperature by 50 degrees.  So, only open the oven door when you have to!  Otherwise use the oven light.

Oh these wonderful Savvy Secrets are so helpful!  We do hope that you find them so as well, thus adding to the love, joy and abundance in your lives!

If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.

This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this: It’s a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage.

If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the perpetrator won’t stick around. After a few seconds, all the neighbors will be looking out of their windows to see who is out there and, sure enough, the criminal won’t want that. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or stop a sexual abuse crime.

Your Chums got this tip from a Facebook friend and felt it was worth passing on.  We would always welcome any good tips you come across so we can share them with everyone…after all, isn’t that what “Chums” do?

Beautiful plump luscious blueberries seem to be everywhere I turn this past week… in the grocery store,  at the local farmers market, and in my refrigerator.  So making a pie just seems the thing to do with so many beautiful berries everywhere.  And of course I always love any excuse to cook with those precious little ones in my life.  They are the only things  sweeter than pie

I love pie….all kinds.  In fact I don’t think I’ve ever met a pie I didn’t like, though I must admit some are extra special.  Blueberry pie is one on my family’s favorites.  And it has always been a favorite of Jackie’s family too.  Especially her son Trevor and daughter-in-law, Anouska, who happens to be celebrating a birthday today.  Many happy returns of the day Anouska…sending you happy birthday wishes for a day as sweet as pie

So whether you are celebrating a birthday, or just celebrating the fact that it’s the weekend, perhaps a blueberry pie should be in your plans.  As you can see this one is easy enough for a child (well OK 3 children) to make.  Don’t worry about making it look perfect…especially if you have little ones who are helping you.  Just remember to make it with plenty of love and it will always be perfect enough….Enjoy!

“Perfect” Blueberry Pie

One recipe for a pie dough
6 – 8 cups blueberries, rinsed
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
Zest from 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 Tablespoons butter

Egg wash glaze:
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons of heavy cream

3 Tablespoons of sugar

Prepare pie dough as directed.  Roll out bottom crust and and place in a 9 inch pie dish (you can use an 8 inch pie dish if it is especially deep).

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees while you assemble the pie.

Mix berries with sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and cinnamon and stir gently just to mix.  Pour into crust and dot with small pats of butter.

Roll out the second pie crust.  Cut into strips.  Starting in the middle of the pie alternate adding strips going up and down or side to side creating a lattice of pie crust until the pie is covered.  Roll the edges of the bottom crust up to include the edges of the lattice top crust and crimp the edges or use the tines of a fork and press to create a decorative edge all around.

Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 30-40 minutes more until the crust is browned and the filling is bubbling.  The filling will thicken a bit as the pie cools.  Serve warm or at room temperature and by all means include a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.  Happy, happy!!!

“Downton Abbey or Highclere Castle?” you ask.  ”Well,” you think to yourself, “it definitely looks like Downton Abbey but what is this other Castle that is mentioned?

Either answer would be correct but the most correct answer would be Highclere Castle.

Highclere Castle is the name of this amazing structure but its “stage name”, if you like, is Downton Abbey.  It is the location of the very popular TV series that has been running for the past couple of years, the third season of  the series having just started on PBS.

The series starts out just after the sinking of the Titanic and before the “Great War” or World War I, as it is now known.  The second season goes through the war and takes us to this side of the war which is where the third season picks up.

It is the gripping story of a family, Lord and Lady Grantham (played by Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern) and their three girls, and the goings on of their daily lives.   Lord Grantham is forced into marrying his now wife at a very early age as the coffers at the stately home are getting low and an infusion of cash is needed.  His now wife, Cora, is the daughter of wealthy Americans and her money comes with the marriage.  A short while after marrying Cora, Lord Grantham realizes that he has fallen in love with her.  They go on to have three girls, who are brought up in the world of privilege.  And we, as the viewing public, get to see all the ins and outs both from the “upstairs” (the aristocrats) vantage point and that of the “downstairs” (the servants).

It is a spell binding series and well worth tuning into as, along with the fictional tale, comes a lot of historical (as well as hysterical!) value, and certainly a footprint of the lifestyle of those times.

The real Highclere Castle has been a homestead since the 8th century and home to the Carnarvon family, since 1679.  The current Lord Carnarvon lives at the Castle with his wife, Lady Carnarvon.

Interestingly enough, the real Castle went through a lot of what the fictional Downton Abbey experienced.  In 1895, when the Castle was in great need of funds, the Fifth Earl of Carnarvon married Almina Wombwell and with this union came her wealth!  History suggests that this was his only motive for wanting her hand in marriage.  He needed the money and she wanted the title!  During World War I, Almina turned the Castle into a hospital, just as Downton Abbey became in the television series.  The Fifth Earl of Carnarvon is the person who funded (albeit his wife’s money) the trek, with Howard Carter, to Egypt and subsequent finding of King Turankhamun’s tomb.  He died shortly after the tomb was found from a mosquito bite he got whilst on this trek.  To read more about the real Highclere Castle, you might like to purchase this book.

Getting back to the PBS series, Downton Abbey, Maggie Smith, as always, does a magnificent job in playing the role of Lord Grantham’s mother and Shirley MacLaine has just appeared from the United States for the first time as Lady Grantham’s  wealthy mother.

Downton Abbey – well worth a “look see”.

Joyously,

I came across this wonderful book, A Year In The Life of a Duchess, Catherine HRH*, The Duchess of Cambridge, and how on earth could I resist?!

What little girl hasn’t dreamed of being a princess?  All those pretty party dresses and tiaras?  All those pretty high heels and diamond rings?   And, of course, the handsome Prince and “happily ever after”?

For one little girl, in the middle of England, the dream came true.  Catherine Elizabeth Middleton became Catherine, HRH, The Duchess of Cambridge when she married Prince William in April of 2011.

Although born a commoner, Catherine has proven herself to be just as regal as The Royals. True, training she has had since her marriage, but there seems to be an innate graciousness and elegance about her that not everyone, royal, or otherwise, exudes.  William chose well.

Yes, it has been quite a year and Catherine has not put foot wrong….in fact, she has set the bar very high, even though, at times, we feel sure it was very difficult.  It has to be absolutely smothering to think that every little step you take will be photographed and scrutinized.   In fact, the only reason the world heard of Catherine’s pregnancy as early as it did was because Catherine and William felt that it would be very difficult to keep “under the radar” with her having to be hospitalized.

We now await the arrival of the next generation of The Royals.  How very fortunate this little one is to look forward to having Catherine and William as his or her Mummy and Daddy.

Today, we celebrate England’s future Queen Catherine on her birthday.  Apparently, it will be spent “very quietly”, perhaps at her parents’ home in Bucklebury.

Along with the rest of her admirers we say “HappyBirthday, Catherine!  Many happy returns!  We wish you much love, great joy and truly abundant living!”

*Her Royal Highness

This happens to be made in a square vase but you could use a round one and have a beautiful arrangement in that as well.

Step 1 – Press 1 long leaf around the inside of the vase.  (This is to disguise the oasis or floral foam that will hold your flowers.)  If you don’t have a long leaf to wrap around the inside of the vase use several bunches of smaller leaves.  Rub the front of the leaves with a paper towel with a small amount of vegetable oil on it.  The oil well help the leaves to stick to the glass vase.  If your vase is ceramic and not see through, you can skip this step.

Step 2 – Trim the oasis or florist foam to fit your container.  (NOTE: Floral foam is NOT the same thing as styrofoam).  You can buy florist foam (oasis) from Michaels or any floral supply store.  It is very light and porous and has many tiny holes to help it absorb water.  Soak the oasis in your kitchen sink or a bucket of water until it is saturated. Next, press it into the vase, being careful to keep the leaf or leaves pressed against the sides of the vase, so that the oasis is camouflaged.

Step 3 – Trim the stems of the roses to about 3″ in length.  Pull off any broken or discolored petals from the rose heads so that they look clean and tight.

Step 4 – Leaving approximately 1″ around the edge of the vase, add your first row of 4 roses.  Add a second row and continue until you have used all 16 roses and created a square with the roses.  If your finished “square” isn’t as square as you would like it to be, simply take some of the roses out and adjust their position to create a visually pleasing square.  You can only do this adjusting once or maybe twice because the oasis will begin to break up if you remove and reposition the roses too many times.

Step 5 – Using mums which have had their stems trimmed to a length of approximately 3″, create a border around the roses.  Try to use mums that are similar in size.  You will need about 20 -24 small mums or similar type flower for your border.  Mini carnations would be another good choice. You will probably need between 5-6 flowers for the border on each side.  Be sure you use the same number of flowers in the border on each side of the arrangement.

Step 6 – Insert lemon leaves or other hardy “waxy” looking leaves around the edges of the vase.  Make this row of leaves very full and packed.  It is OK if they are spilling out over the edge of the vase a bit.

Step 7 – Using a pitcher, add more water to your arrangement, as your leaves and flowers will be very thirsty.  Add the water carefully so as not to get water on the rose heads as this will cause the petals to become brown or discolored.

Step 8 – Tie a ribbon or some raffia around the vase.  Use ribbon that is the same, or close in color to the roses you have chosen, or you could use a green ribbon as this will work well with the greenery in the arrangement.  Otherwise, a natural colored raffia is always a good choice.

Step 9 – Deliver your arrangement to the person you are celebrating or cheering up OR place it on your own mantel or dining room table.

Step 10 – Feel that sense of love, joy and abundant living that comes from creating something so beautiful

As we start this first full week of the new year, it is exciting to think about what memories we will each create and collect this coming year.  Take time to record those special moments that come your way.  Whether you snap a photo at a celebration or take time to jot down something funny your child or grandchild says, or re-tell an old favorite story of a memory at a family gathering, keeping a record of these lovely moments in life is like storing up and collecting precious treasures.

Just a couple of weeks ago we had the pleasure of being a part of a surprise birthday celebration for one of our chums, “Auntie Helen” who is 89 years young.  Our very dear chum, Connie, threw a birthday party for Helen who is her aunt…her mother’s youngest sister.

Helen still plays the accordion several times each week to entertain and inspire “old people” who need some joy in their lives. Helen says they enjoy so much “remembering” special times in their lives when they hear a familiar tune.  What a gift it is to give people the joy of remembering….of looking in their own treasure chest of memories.  We tend to think we will never forget the sweet comment a child makes or the funny story that made us laugh until we could hardly breathe, but unless we write these things down or take a photo that marks the moment, these precious times sometimes fade from memory and that special comment or celebration or happy moment is gone.

Another friend recently gave us yet one more reason for documenting and cherishing life’s special times.   She recently wrote in an e-mail, “I read a saying not too long ago – ‘Cherish each moment;  for they make a fine cushion in old age’.  My cushion is becoming very big and fluffy!”

Here’s to a year of each of us building “big and fluffy cushions” full of many lovely memories and lots of love, joy and abundant living

Your Two Chums want to help you get out of your dinner rut and have some fun doing it  A couple of weeks ago on the way home from running some errands, my two oldest grandchildren, Jeremy, who is 9 years old and his sister, Sadie who is 7, asked if we could have gnocchi for dinner.  And they wondered if  we could make it ourselves.

If you aren’t familiar with gnocchi (pronounced no-key), it is an Italian pasta much like little dumblings.  I had never made them from scratch but since we had some time before we needed to have dinner ready, and Jeremy and Sadie love to help out in the kitchen, I decided we would have a “culinary adventure” and make our own gnocchi for dinner.  Jeremy and Sadie know me well and know that I am usually up for any sort of kitchen adventure.  We read several of my Italian cookbooks and then googled “making gnocchi” to see some You Tube videos of people who had made gnocchi and could offer some instruction.  Taking all the advice we had either read or seen on line and compiling it, we set out to see what we could come up with ourselves.

In the desire for honesty and candor I need to tell you we didn’t love our first attempt.  The ratio of flour to potato was off.  Jeremy thought it was  just”OK” but Sadie said, the gnocchi tasted like pasty mashed potatoes with sauce on it. (Sadie is always very honest in her assessments, a quality I really appreciate.)  So we tried again, and this time we got it right.  Both attempts though, were fun and easy enough for a 9 and 7 year old to do themselves.  If you are in need of a win/win activity for a rainy day day or a vacation day that gives your children something productive to do and results in dinner for your family, this is a great idea!  I talked them through the steps of what they needed to do and they followed my lead and I think felt very satisfied with themselves and proud of their accomplishment when we were done.

Their “Lolli” was certainly proud of them….but then I am always proud of them no matter what

Homemade Gnocchi
(4 servings as a main course or 6 servings as a side dish)

2 medium potatoes
1 1/2 cups semolina flour  (or all purpose flour)
1 egg

Wash potatoes. Chop potatoes into quarters.  Boil in salted water.  Allow to cool until they are easy to handle and remove skin.     

Put potatoes through a ricer if you have one or just mash with a potato masher.  Add egg.  Then add semolina* or all purpose flour.

Mix in mixer until flour and egg are well incorporated into potato.   Turn out dough onto a floured surface and form into a ball.  Cut ball into quarters.  Then roll each quarter into long strips like “snakes”.  Any child who has ever played with play dough will be an expert at this step.  Cut the strips into 1″ chunks.

Using a gnocchi board (you can buy these at Williams- Sonoma for very little) or the back side of a fork, roll the chunks of dough to form ridges.  You can also skip this step if you want to, as the ridges are there primarily to help catch and hold the sauce on each piece of pasta.

You can place the pasta pieces on floured waxed paper on a cookie sheet and freeze the pasta at this point.  When they are frozen, simply place them into a freezer bag.  That way they won’t clump together and you can take out as much as you want when you are ready to cook it.

If you are cooking the gnocchi right away, simply slip it into some salted boiling water in batches and cook until the dumplings rise to the top of the water.  Then remove from water and drain. Cook the next batch.

Add sauce and serve.  We used a simple browned butter sauce for Sadie’s pasta.  Jeremy’s had an Alfredo sauce of melted butter, parmesan cheese and enough half and half to make it a creamy consistency with a dash of nutmeg added.  Both were topped with more parmesan cheese.  You, of course, can use any pasta sauce that suits you. They are delicious with marinara sauce or with a pesto sauce.  Gnocchi can be served with a salad and bread as a main course or it is a wonderful side dish as an alternative to potatoes or rice.

*Semolina is the coarse, purified wheat middlings of durum wheat used in making pasta, breakfast cereals, puddings, and couscous. (Wikipedia)

Semolina flour can be found at many chain grocery stores in the baking aisle along with the other flours or sometimes in a section with pasta if there is a designated Italian section of the market.  It can also be found at any Italian market or specialty store.

Some Savvy Secrets to start off 2013!

Throughout the holidays, there is little time to think about cleaning and little desire to be concerned about it!  Here are a few Savvy Secrets to help you have “clean beginnings” for 2013!

1.    If, through the holidays, someone inadvertently put a glass down on your wood topped table and left a ring, do not fear.  Use a little petroleum jelly to remove the white stains.  Just rub the area with the jelly and then let it sit for a few hours (or even over night).  In the morning, rub with a soft cloth and watch the stain disappear.

2.   Haven’t cleaned your plants’ leaves throughout the holiday season?  Try this – rub the inside of a banana peel on each leaf. It will remove the dust and leave the leaf looking shiny and healthy.  You can also use mayonnaise to get the same result but a banana peel seems less messy.

3.   Garbage disposal seeming a bit dirty?  Throw a few ice cubes down there and put the garbage disposal on until the grinding stops.  The cold cubes will congeal any grease in the drain, allowing your disposal to break it up.  Add a peel from any citrus fruit to give it a fresh scent!

4.  Pledge it out!  Yes, we know you use Pledge on your furniture but how about using it to keep your stainless steel sink clean?  After you have washed out your sink, wipe the wood cleaner over it.  If you do this once a month, the cleaner will keep your sink shiny by preventing water and food stains from taking hold.

5.  ”How on earth am I going to get my chandelier clean?”, you might be asking yourself.  First, make sure the switch is off.  Next, put an old, washable blanket underneath the chandelier to catch liquid and also any piece that might fall.  Now, mix 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol with 1-1/2 cups of water in a jar.  Now, just raise the jar up to each crystal and let soak for a  moment.  Let them then air dry.  You can also put the solution into a spray bottle and spray it onto the crystals.  Voila!  Sparkling clean!

6.   Are some of your dishes, plastic containers or bottles starting to smell a bit?  Add a teaspoon of mustard to hot water and let the item soak in it for five minutes.  The mustard will get rid of the smell, and you can wash as usual.

7.   To remove baked on stains from a glass casserole dish, or water stains from the bottom of a vase, fill the item with warm water and add two tablets of Alka-Seltzer.  Leave for an hour and the stains should be gone.

8.   Instead of using Drano to unclog your pipes, use a gel dishwasher detergent like Cascade.  Pour the detergent into the drain and then pour in boiling water.  It is much better for your pipes than Drano.

9.   If your sponges are dirty and still have life left in them, simply wring them out and then microwave on high for 30-60 seconds.  Or, pop them in the utensil compartment of the dishwasher and wash them with the dishes.

10.  Keep that brass classy and not brassy!  Apply white, non-gel toothpaste on a soft, clean cloth and then rub firmly on brass.  Use a fresh cloth to wipe clean.

Hope these are helpful and will add to the joy in your abundant lives!