My Otterbein sisters came for lunch~

 



What a glorious afternoon we had with eleven of my sorority sisters and dorm mates from college. The day was perfect, but to be sure I had the table set in the dining room for lunch and then we had coffee and Glenda's (my sister-in-law's cake recipe which is now called a poke cake) outside on this wonderful autumn day. It is always with trepidation that I see people from long ago because I like to remember them as they were in college.  It made no difference, however, because these women were just so kind and happy. We had never had a disagreement and they were so accepting.  I adore them still.

                                             ☾ °☆ 　. * ¸.　　　★　
Laughter is timeless,
Imagination has no age,
And dreams are forever☾ °☆ 　. * ¸.　　　★　
~Tinkerbell

(These picture won't mean much to some of you but I need them here for my 3rd blog book.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wish I had known about this recipe from David Lebovitz before our luncheon.  I would have made the iced tea with this recipe.  I actually used crystallized ginger in the tea I served, but this would have been better and a good thing to have on hand.  I am making this right away for the week end guests that we are anticipating, with pleasure.

 

 

"Fresh Ginger Syrup (I just made this and it is wonderful!)
About 2 cups (.5l)

I don’t automatically peel ginger; if you choose not to, it will give the syrup a slightly darker color, which I don’t mind. If you wish to peel it, you can. The leftover ginger can be added to a batch of marmalade, or patted dry and chopped further, then added to just-churned ice cream or gingersnap cookie dough. If you plan to reuse it, you should peel it before making the syrup with it.

This syrup is quite spicy and if you find it a bit too zippy and want to tone it down, the next time you make it (or the first time) you can blanch the chopped ginger first in boiling water, let it simmer for a couple of minutes, then drain it and proceed with the recipe.

• 8 ounces (225g) fresh ginger, unpeeled
• 4 cups (1l) water
• 2 cups (400g) sugar
• pinch salt

1. Cut the ginger into thin slices. Run a knife over it to chop it into rough, smaller pieces. (As shown in the post.)

2. Place the ginger along with the water, sugar, and salt in a nonreactive saucepan. Heat to a boil, then reduce the heat to a steady simmer, and cook for 45 minutes to one hour.

3. Let cool, then strain the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer. Store the strained syrup the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use. The syrup should keep for at least two weeks under refrigeration.

To make ginger soda: Fill glasses 1/3rd full with syrup and add a generous squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice. Fill the glasses with ice then top with sparkling water or tonic water (or a not-too-sweet citrus soda). Stir gently to mix the ingredients and garnish with a round of citrus or fresh mint.

Other Uses: You could also make a terrific cocktail with this as a base, using bourbon, whiskey, or rum."
Picture and recipe by David Lebovitz.

My friend, Celina, sent me this recipe.

Hot Caramel Apple cider for Grown-ups

4 mugs worth of apple cider
1 mug worth of Caramel Vodka
1 T. cinnamon
1/4 C. brown sugar

Mix all ingredients above in a large pot
Heat over med-low heat, stirring occasionally
until liquid just begins to steam
(don't over heat or else the alcohol will burn off)

While cider is warming up, take your mugs or glasses
and rim them with brown sugar

Pour cider into glass and enjoy

Whole Foods may mean whole paychecks. 

 

I have a love hate relationship with these stores.  Most of their food is outstanding but so are the prices. I was spoiled by the good prices and excellent choices when a new store opened on Sawmill. Now I see red.  However, my former cooking teacher, Betty Rosbottom, author of several well know cookbooks, wrote that there are bargains to be had there. She listed maybe five or six and that still is not enough to warrant the blood pressure issue when I view the prices of other things.  The $1.99 baguette does not take the edge off the other items in my book.  It's good, but not special. (We enjoyed a very tasty baguette from Trader Joe's for less.) I remember when a Whole Food Danish was 89 cents (each) and the next time I looked the same item was $1.89 each.  I don't know how much they are now, I have not been in the store in two years. I lust after them, but won't give in. For the savings according to Betty check out her blog: http://bettyrosbottom.com/2013/09/25/whole-foods-isnt-always-whole-paycheck/