Tag Archives: Fun

Bonbon Jovi

Food, Fun,

It all started with a banana.  A banana very much like this one.  Emily usually gets bananas to eat on her cheerios.  She is very particular though and will only eat them if they are green or perfectly yellow.  I am quite the opposite.  I prefer mine yellow to 50% brown.  Anyhow, the bananas had crossed the line and I could not eat half a dozen bananas in a single day so Emily decided to make banana pudding…you know, the old standby banana pudding that can raise the dead and heal the lame.  

 

So she pulls out the ingredients and starts to work…vanilla wafers, sugar, vanilla sweetened condensed milk, etc…except the can of sweetened condensed milk was actually evaporated milk.  Rats…first we are trying to do something with the bananas so we don’t waste them, and now we introduce something else we don’t need into the mix.  I couldn’t see wasting the evaporated milk while trying not to waste bananas.

I pulled out my old friend the glorious world wide web (thanks Al Gore!) and searched for a recipe for something sweet and gooey that uses evaporated milk….and I came upon Bonbon Jovis!

Bonbon Jovis

Prep Time: 15 minutes  Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup evaporated low-fat (2 percent) milk
  • 1/2 cup margarine (be sure it’s non-hydrogenated)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
  • 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa , evaporated milk , and margarine. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla . Add rolled oats , and coconut and mix well. Drop by tablespoons onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

To me, these looked a lot like no-bake cookies (no bake fudgies we call them).  They are pretty close in taste to no bake cookies but are excellent at using up extra evaporated milk if you find yourself in such a predicament.  I give them a thumbs up with an additional half-thumb if you get to lick the pan and spoon!

Maple sugar time!

Food, History, Nature, ,


We were in PA this weekend at my childhood home to visit my parents and celebrate my grandpa’s 95th birthday.  We got into all sorts of things with cousins and aunts and uncles, but one of my favorite things we did was help my dad make maple syrup.  Sometime a long time ago, when my brother and I were kids, we decided to make homemade maple syrup.  We lived in the woods and had ample maple trees all around and Dad had made syrup as a kid with his dad so we were set to start tapping our trees.

Sap begins to really flow in the late winter when the days are above freezing but the nights are still cold.  We usually tap trees in early to mid February and pull the taps when the trees begin to bloom (about now this year in PA).  Of course, sap will flow after that but one risks taking too much from the trees I suppose.  Maybe we just got too tired to go on at that point.  Anyhow,  to tap our trees, we would blunt the end of 1/2 inch pvc pipe, drill a hole slightly upward 1.5 or so inches into the tree and pound the tap (aka the pipe) into the hole in the tree.  It sounds pretty ugly I guess, pounding a pipe into a tree, but I promise it isn’t that bad or hard on the tree.

Sap will begin to drip from the pipe almost instantly.  Now when my brother and I were collecting the sap, we had 25 gallon barrels strapped to the side of the tree to collect it.  Well, maybe they weren’t that big but I truly believe some were 5 gallon pails.  I guess it makes sense when one has child labor to do the work.  My brother and I finally unionized.  It got pretty ugly there for awhile…you may have heard of the maple wars of 1983…yeah, that was us.  But we won and now my dad uses 1 gallon milk jugs that he ties to the trees.

We used to save the sap (it was always cool there…like a giant refrigerator) until the weekends.  Every Saturday, we would build an enormous and very hot fire and start the sap cooking.  Dad had a 55 gallon drum that we set on its side.  The lengthwise edge was cut off so we had a large trough in which to boil the sap.  I don’t remember how much we had in a typical week but we always had the barrel very nearly full and we added more as the sap cooked down.  If I recall correctly, 50-60 gallons of sap will cook down into about 1 gallon of syrup.  Wood cooked syrup has a definite maple, but somewhat smokey taste that is pretty awesome.  We saved it in mason jars and it typically lasted all year.

My Dad still taps a few trees each year though, now that the child labor is gone, they are closer to the house and far fewer in number.  He also cooks his sap in a turkey frier over a propane flame.  They used to heat the house with wood too…my brother and I chopped a powerful lot of wood growing up…funny how that changed too.  Anyhow, propane fired syrup has a much more mellow taste and the maple flavor is very pleasant (and wholly unlike the artificial stuff you buy in the stores).


It was such a thrill to once again go maple sugaring and this time, to take the kids along with me.  We tasted the sap, we ate some syrup, and we loved walking in the woods.

We aim to catch one

Fun


We made a leprechaun trap to leave out for our Irish sprites last night.  You know…we have all sorts of gold laying around here and Abigail was concerned that our loot might get ransacked if we don’t protect it!  It was either the gold or else the fact that the best bait for a leprechaun is shamrock sugar cookies with extra green icing.

Abigail knows that leprechauns are quick and smart and tiny.  They also like shiny stuff and are pretty wary of people.  Apparently they are often full of whiskey too (I might have added that part…sorry to my Irish friends).  We worked hard to keep our construction secret and whispered our plans,  and I finished off all of the Irish whiskey we had laying around as we made her trap.

So, we baked around 25 dozen of the leprechaun bait cookies and set our trap.  I might have eaten a few of the cookies but there were at least 3 cookies left for inside the trap.  We placed it carefully in her room hoping to nab one of the leprechauns.  We know they live around here as they seem to steal socks and Emily’s car keys on a fairly regular basis.  They also nab her sanity now and then too…but that’s another story.

Anyhow, I’ll be darned if that little rascal didn’t take a bite from one of the cookies as if to snub his nose at us.  He made a real mess of Abigail’s bedroom, apparently looking for the gold.  She was so surprised at the mess in her room this morning and ran right away to check her trap.  Apparently we weren’t crafty enough though as there were no leprechauns in our trap!

Thanks!

Fun


My new friend over at Such Lovely Freckles gave me an award.  Part of the award is to list 7 things that I love.  For me, that part is easy!

1.  I love caramel cream candies…you know, the white sugar in the middle surrounded by caramel.  My aunt and uncle used to keep those around and my brother and I would eat every last one they had out.  As an adult, I am only slightly more restrained around caramel creams

2.  I love daffodils.  Spring finally feels like it is “here” when I see the first daffodil blooms.  I hate winter with a passion so spring is such a delight!  It means bees and garden and being outside all day.

3.  I love staying up too late doing nothing.  I get sort of dreamy at night.  I stop analyzing my day and just think of life as it should be or could be.

4.  I love big mouthed women…explanation here .  I love all sorts of music and variety is a must! 

5.  I love keeping bees – I sort of got into beekeeping by accident but I am absolutely hooked on it now.  It is primitive and simple and old fashioned and appeals to me for all of those reasons and more.

6.  I love the ocean.  We go to the beach for vacation.  “If it ain’t the beach, it ain’t vacation”  We go as often as we can and have been to several beaches but our favorites are in NC and GA (where we go is a secret since they are still uncrowded)

7.  I love meeting new friends in blogspace.  I have met a lot of great and fun people and have enjoyed…truly enjoyed…getting to know several much better.  I never dreamed how important blog reading and writing has become to my getting through the dreaded winter blahs!

Over at Such Lovely Freckles:, she mentioned that she gave me the award, “because he’s a guy, and I never gave an award to a guy. Plus I like his tomato picture. I love tomatoes.” Just for you…here is a tomato picture! Thanks for the award!

Behold...the tomato!

Fat Tuesday

Fun

Abigail came home from school yesterday and Emily asked her what she learned. “We learned about Mardi Gras mom”. Interesting..very interesting. My only real knowledge of Mardi Gras comes from the “oops moments” on the internet and from watching late night tv. Surely they don’t teach that in kindergarten.

So, I did a little research and here’s what I found…Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday and is the culmination of the celebration between the Twelfth Night Feast of the Epiphany (which begins January 6, when the three kings are supposed to have visited Jesus), and Ash Wednesday. Fat Tuesday occurs 47 days before Easter and the day before Ash Wednesday.

So Ash Wednesday is the first day of lent and got its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of believers as a sign of repentance in preparation for Easter.  Funny story here…we lived in Bowling Green, KY about 14 years ago. Bowling Green is just north of Nashville, the epicenter of Southern Baptist-dom. There were few folks in the area who were not Southern Baptist. Anyhow, we were in Wal Mart on Ash Wednesday and the person in front of us had ashes on his forehead. After checking him out, the cashier asked if we knew what that was all about. We tried to explain but we knew we were doomed after we told her it was a practice common in Catholicism. “What’s that?”, she said. “Some sort of new cult?”


So anyhow, Abigail talked about how folks usually give something up for lent. She asked what Emily was going to give up, to which Emily replied, “Chocolate”. “Ohh, that’s a good one Mom”. Emily asked her if she was going to give up anything. “I want to give up something extremely important to me…your sparkly eye shadow.” Emily replied, “But you hardly ever get to wear my sparkly eye shadow.” “But I love it so much…it will be very hard to give up!”  She decided to have one last hurrah before she abandons sparkly eye make-up for lent – what a trooper!

I think Isaac plans to give up farting on the cat. That seems more up his alley.  We don’t typically go too overboard for Mardi Gras, but I do have beads here…just sayin’

Yes and No

Fun, Thoughts,

I was thinking about stuff I like and stuff I don’t like…I thought I’d let you in on some stuff I dig and some stuff I don’t…


The beach – I like the heat.  I like the water.  I like the wind, the food, the sun, even the sand up in every part I got.  I like body sufing and staying up too late…Yes


A suit – I rarely wear a suit…in fact, only to weddings and funerals.  As a spectator in either, they feel surprisingly similar (oops, did I let that slip out?)  Occasionally something else will get me into a suit but it has to be something special…generally No


Gardening – I can’t think of much I’d rather do on a summer day.  I like having dirt in my hands, free chemical-free food all around, and my bees buzzing…Yes


Managing our money – I am capable of managing a check book.  I am detail oriented and analytical but, for some reason, I absolutely hate messing with money.  I think Emily hates it too but I can out arm-wrestle her…No


Working on the house – I take pride in working on the house for some strange reason…this project just feels like money in the bank…Yes


Housework – I don’t mind most housework but I do a lot of it wrong.  I actually do sweep and handle dishes and toilets, but I am absolutely not allowed to touch laundry/ironing… No

I am not sure why any of you would care about any of these things…but humor me – it’s  Friday!

Do you have things that are pretty much a clear yes or no?

So long old friend…hello new!

Fun, Thoughts,

I have been addicted to caffeine for at least 20 years.  Typically, I use Mt Dew as the delivery mechanism and it has long been my best friend (yeah, yeah, aside from my wife).  All through college, I drank Mt Dew for all 3 meals and for all snacks in between.

When my kids were born, I celebrated with a 2 liter of Mt Dew (and Krispy Kreme donuts which was across the road from Bapist Hospital in Nashville).  I had my will drafted such that they were to embalm me with Mt Dew (which I had partly completed already) and bury me in a Mt Dew uniform sitting in the driver’s seat of a Mt Dew truck.  Mt Dew is, clearly, a sickness!

Five or seven years ago, I had some sort of affliction which ER doctors initially thought was a heart attack.  I never got a concrete diagnosis, but they determined it was not a heart attack.  They suggested, however, that it was probably a result of stress and too much caffeine.  Since I considered this incredibly important, I decided this weekend to bite the bullet and get off of caffeine.  I have played at this off and on several times.  As any of you fellow addicts out there know, the headaches from detoxing from caffeine are terrible and insatiable.  I just had to tough it out.  On Tuesday, I was feeling all weird and moody which I think was directly related to caffeine withdrawal. I am pleased to report that today,  I am caffeine free!

But there is a void in my life…what is to take the place of my old, former-friend Mt Dew?  I just discovered that Mt Dew has a lesser known red-headed step-brother named “Caffeine-Free Mt Dew”!  Caffeine-Free Mt Dew and I have been striking up quite a friendship lately…


We watch tv together


We  catch naps together


We go fishing together


I even had a new family picture made with C-F-M-D

It seems that things are looking up on our hilltop!  I have  a new best friend!

Back before color was invented

Family, Fun,

My mom scanned this picture of my Grandpa (back row, left, ca. 1935) and his family. I love old pictures like this where everyone looks so happy to be together. The funny thing is, my Grandpa is full of joy! He’s is all about hilarious…

Every time he sees strawberries, he gets a smile on his face. 70+ years ago, my aunt was made in a strawberry patch.  I didn’t know that color was invented back then let alone “time in the strawberry patch”.  Way to go Grandpa (and Grandma)!  From the story…I think they liked strawberries quite a bit!

 

Much later (I saw this in real life), one of his neighbors had a rooster which annoyed everyone nearby.  The neighbor eventually moved on but Grandpa didn’t want to let it end…he had a recording of the rooster and continued to play it each morning for folks nearby.  The funny thing is, one of them was a taxidermist so returned the favor…he stuffed a groundhog and set him upright in my Grandpa’s garden.  Grandpa shot it over and over before he finally walked over to check on the obviously deaf groundhog that didn’t hear his misses.

I knew several of the original family and they were all wild, to say the least.  I don’ t know why they all looked so sour as I have never known a more smiley bunch.  All I can figure is that this picture was made before they invented color…or maybe it was right before they invented strawberries.

Anyhow, in related news, I have an order in for 50 strawberry plants for this spring…I’m just sayin’

Six

Fun

I was tagged over at No Whining Allowed fro the sixth picture meme.  I sort of dig these as it is a good look at radnomness in people’s lives.  The idea is to post the 6th picture  from the 6th directory.  I took it  a bit further and did it for the last 6 years…


Bee hives in 2004 – There were 10 hives in this general area in our yard in Nashville


Swarm of bees in 2005 – I later climbed the tree to get these bees…check out the freaky dude in the bottom corner!


Working on Abigail’s closet in 2006 – when we bought our place, we had no idea what we were getting in to…we’re still not entirely sure!


Abigail’s birthday party in 2007


Abigail’s birthday party in 2008


Bean dip for Superbowl party in 2009

Now, if you’d like to play, then “tag, you’re it!”.  Holler back if you play…I’d love to check out the randomness in your pictures!

Recycling you can take to the bank

Fun, Tinkering,

We recycle and reuse about everything we can.  It’s amazing how much packaging gets put around the stuff we buy.  Many packages are feats in engineering…I mean, has anyone ever been able to get all the stuff back into the original box from where it came?  I thought not.  The shape and structure of many packages are pretty amazing.People think a lot about how to maximize strength with minimal material and how to fit more stuff in a smaller space in the refrigerator…amazing!

Anyhow, lots of the things in my recycle bin can be reused for other stuff.  I am almost certain I stole this idea from somewhere, though I can’t remember where.  More importantly though, I found a way to draw attention to the lowly nipple fruit.  This bank looks a lot like the nipple fruit – a non-edible fruit apparently in the eggplant family.  I’d sort of like to grow some of these, just to say I have done it, but I don’t know what I would do with the fruit…I suppose it would just get me in trouble.

So, I found 4 old pop bottles we had left over from watching the Super Bowl .  I cut the tops off, right at the top of the label.  I had to monkey around a little bit, but 4 of those tops can be crammed together and super-glued in place to make a nipple-fruit-like bank (though watch out, super glue will haze plastic).   Take any lid off and drop coins in (or pull coins out) and you’re in business.  It won’t take all sizes of coins, but it you want, you can use 3 liter bottles for bigger sizes!  Abigail also suggested putting some rice in it so it could be used as a rattle/rhythm maker!


Now here’s the funny part…it is really hard to type with a nipple fruit bank stuck to your hand.  I got it stuck to my hand as I was trying to pry it off of the work bench…er…dining room table where it was stuck before I got it on my hand.  I think there must be a better way of hooking all of this together…


Anyhow, this thing looks pretty cool and is recycling you can really take to the bank!

In other news, I wrote a little program to change the header image of the blog every 15 minutes.  I took each of the pictures you’ll see somewhere in WV.  You may have to refresh your browser to see the update.  Is it cool or distracting?