It's Time to get A Bakin'

I'm a team leader for the next round of Operation Baking Gals and this round I'll be sponsoring David King, the husband of my friend Mary Kay. This is second tour in Afghanistan and I want to inundate him with goodies. If you are out there and ready to bake, please check out the Baking Gals website and consider "Giving A Little Support".

Oh! I Wish...

I wish I were a gifted photographer or painter. I wish I were a writer of great talent. I wish these so that I could convey the incredible beauty of middle Tennessee on a clear November morn.

My commute this week has been exceptional; from the drive downhill on a street lined with maples in red and gold adding glory to pastel Victorians to point on the hill where I see the courthouse dome rising over the deep red oaks that surround it. Out the highway past the little white Missionary Baptist church nestled at the foot of the rolling green hills, past the 60's brick ranch sitting atop the rise, with it's bright red barn and freshly painted white fence. To the left there are two old white columned houses built in the day of functional beauty, farmhouses shaded by more golden maples set apart from the more modern brick homes build a century later.

And now the antebellums, resplendent in the morning sun, one guarded by the old slave built stone fence and tall, century old hickories and oaks; the other in sturdy brick, with tall hollies standing sentry in the drive.

Then past the old, faded red barn with it's once white silo and peeling white fence in the foreground as the hills rise behind in various muted shades of autumn.

All this beauty and rural charm and in my head I hear the great George Beverly Shea singing...Oh Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all thy hands have made...

Oh! I wish I had a better vocabulary with which to describe this, but let it suffice to say, I arrive at work mellow with a smile on my face.

Sunday Gravy

My Italian friends int he NY/NJ area refer to this quite often. A slow-cooked tomato sauce that is thick and rich. I've made it myself twice, the second being this past Sunday (how timely!)

I made meatballs of ground beef and pork, oregano, salt, pepper, Italian bread crumbs, Parmesan, and an egg and browned them. I took them out and browned a couple of country ribs. I placed the meatballs and ribs in the fridge for later.

Then I sauteed chopped onions, green pepper, and porcini mushrooms in the pan before adding garlic. Then I added tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and seasonings and turned the temp down to low. I would stir occasionally, but not often. Around 4I added the meats back into the sauce and let them finish cooking.

I spooned the sauce over whole wheat penne with fresh grated Parmesan. I'm still eating it and I have frozen left-over sauce for another day.

Thanks to the ladies who helped me in the instructions (no real recipe). Excellent!

How To Dress

While other parts of the country have clearly defined seasons and know exactly when to pull out the sweaters, and other parts of the country have almost no seasonal change at all, I seem to live in the amorphous part of the states.

It was 32 degrees this morning with hard frost on my windshield. The predicted high for today of 66 degrees. How to dress? Well, I wound up with a 3/4 sleeve light weight cotton blouse, jeans (because it is casual day), a cardigan, and a denim trench coat. The office was 69 degrees when I arrived. It will reach 82 by 2 p.m. when the air conditioning will be turned on.

So here is the way my day will go. Take off trench coat upon arrival. Take off cardigan around 9 a.m. Turn on desk fan around 11 a.m. Turn off desk fan around 2 p.m. Put on cardigan around 3 p.m. Take off cardigan for drive home.

Each day, I try to calculate what to wear to work and predict the comfort level in the office. It has become a challenge. I love beautiful fall sweaters but do not see them in my immediate future.

On the other hand, a beautiful 66 degree autumn day is a thing to be treasured. I'm thinking of heading to the Amish community south of here tomorrow, the drive there will be so spectacular!

Halloween Recap and Stuff...

I won the Spooky Foods contest with my Finger Sandwiches.



The competition was tough. We had Mummy Dogs



and Barbecue Worms



Strawberry Ghosts



There was more, but these were the contenders.

Then Saturday, I went to party at a friend's. Can you guess who I was?



And Sunday I made Easy Brunswick Stew in my crock-pot. It was a Southern Living recipe and those are always good, but it made way too much! I am really tired of Brunswick stew. I see Chinese in my immediate future.

I've been reading lots of supernatural/werewolves/vampire stuff lately and it's all been really good. I loved Soulless by Gail Carriger. It is a Victorian romance with werewolves and vampires and ghosts. Too cute by far.

And finally...

I was shopping for life's little necessities the other day. Standing in the deodarant aisle at Target, I was struck by the realization that I've been using Secret for over 30 years. My mom bought my my first stick when I was in high school!
Is that brand loyalty, or what?

I Just Had This Conversation

I was trying to find the roof for an SUV that seems to have gone on walk-about and no one seems to know where it is. So I made a rather snarky remark about the fact that the transport company had lost a 10' x 5' 35 lb box.

The woman responded with, "It's not lost, we just don't know where it is!"

I've got her name and address to send her a copy of the dictionary.

Halloween Finger Food

We are having a Spooky foods contest at work on the 30th, and I've been diligently working on prototypes for my entry. I adapted a favorite George Stella recipe to make Smoky Fingers.


You'll need this.

Deli sliced smoked turkey
3 oz softened cream cheese
1/4 mayo (light is fine)
2 T chopped dill
pickled green beans
cocktail onions
red food coloring

Mix the cream cheese, mayo, and dill. Halve some cocktail onions and place in a bowl with brine and food coloring (not too much).




Spread with cream cheese mixture and place a green bean in center.



Roll it up and tuck under one end.

Pull off one layer of cocktail onion and trim to resemble fingernail. Place on folded end of "finger".



I'm looking for the right bread to place these on for "finger sandwiches".