It’s been a while since I have pulled out the acrylics and put brush to canvas. However, my friend, Carol, had a birthday recently and I had no idea what to get her as a gift.
She’s purchasing a home nearby and she enjoys original art, so I decided to paint a painting for her. Carol is a spiritual person, and her spirit animal is the Bear.
Here is Carol’s Bear:
Ideals Nice & Easy Desserts Cookbook by Cyndee Kannenberg (1979, Paperback)
I found the following recipe in my Ideals “Nice & Easy Desserts Cookbook” by Cyndee Kannenberg, published in 1979. I had to make some modifications to the recipe because my local grocery store does not carry packages of dry frosting mix.
So, I am going to include both Cyndee’s original recipe and my variation. I can’t post any photos of the completed Easy Cheesy Lemon Squares dessert right now because I took it to a get-together (of 9 people) and came home with an empty 9×13 pan. It was that popular!
The original recipe book titles them “Easy Cheesy Squares”, but I think it is worth noting that they actually are very “lemony”. So, I have added that to my blog title.
Easy Cheesy Lemon Squares
(As pictured: Created using the “modified” recipe below)
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Original “Easy Cheesy Squares”
1 pkg lemon cake mix
1/2 cup melted butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 pkg lemon frosting mix
1 8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
Combine cake, butter and 1 egg. Mix with a fork until moist. Pat into the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch pan, greased only on the bottom. Blend package of frosting mix into cream cheese. Set aside 1/2 cup of this mixture, and add 2 eggs to the remaining cheese batter. Beat 3 to 5 minutes. Spread over cake mixture in the pan. Bake in a 350 °F oven 30 to 40 minutes. When cool, spread with reserved frosting. Cut into squares. Serves 24.
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Ingredients – Click on any of the photos to view a larger version.
1 pkg lemon cake mix (I used Betty Crocker® SuperMoist®, Lemon cake mix)
1/2 cup melted butter (I used Tillamook® unsalted sweet cream butter)
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh squeezed is preferable)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
A drop to 1/8 teaspoon imitation butter flavor (Probably optional – I used Durkee®)
3 cups of confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
1 8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease only the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass dish. Combine cake mix, butter and 1 egg in a medium sized bowl. Mix with a fork until moist.
Crust Batter
Press into the bottom of the bottom-greased 9 x 13-inch pan.
Crust pressed into a greased (bottom only) 9 x 13 inch baking pan
In stand mixer bowl (I used my wire whisk), on a low speed setting blend cream cheese until softened, then slowly add the 3 cups of confectioners’ sugar, the lemon juice, the vanilla extract and the imitation butter flavoring. When mixture is combined, mix on medium-high to high speed until mixture is very smooth – 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside 1/2 cup of this mixture as “icing” for later, then add 2 eggs to the remaining cheese batter.
To the right, in the mixing bowl, is the cheesy batter with eggs (before mixing). On the left is 1/2 cup of batter (before eggs were added) set aside for later use as icing.
Beat 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high to high. Spread cheesy batter over cake mixture in the pan.
Cheesy batter spread on top of the pressed crust.
Bake in a 350 °F oven 30 to 40 minutes (I baked it for 30 minutes using my convection oven setting. The top was golden brown and firm when I removed it from the oven).
Just pulled out of the oven and placed on a cooling rack.
When cool, spread with reserved icing.
The reserved icing has been spread on top of the cooled dessert.
Cut into squares. Serves 24.
I recently ordered and received a refurbished KitchenAid® Professional 600™ 6-qt. “Bowl Lift” style mixer. It’s a manufacturer refurbished machine that could have been used for up to a year before being returned. The company representative told me that it might have a scratch or two on it. However, upon careful inspection, I could not find a single blemish on the machine, and no obvious spots of “touch-up” paint. It’s flawless! It came with a 6 quart stainless steel bowl (with handle), a PowerKnead™ spiral dough hook, a flat beater and a stainless steel wire whip.
I chose this model because I wanted the more powerful 575 watt motor and the larger bowl capacity (as compared to the Classic and Artisan series mixers). Mine is “Gloss Cinnamon” and that color fits beautifully into my kitchen.
Its new home is on my counter top, where it slides perfectly under one of my cupboards when not in use.
I chose the KitchenAid® Professional 600™ for my stand mixer because I like the idea of the drive transmission, all-steel gears and all metal construction. Even refurbished these mixers aren’t inexpensive, but they are constructed to last for years.
It seems to work flawlessly. I have already used the ice cream maker attachment to make homemade ice cream, and the two of the pasta maker attachments to make fettuccine.
I can’t wait to try out my other attachments and accessories!
My husband’s step-father is Czech, so Michael spent a number of years of his childhood in the what was then Czecholslovakia (now the Czech Republic). One of his favorite dishes growing up there was Czech potato dumplings. They are denser than the bread dumplings with which many westerners are familiar.
Years ago, Michael’s sister, Alice, taught me how to make them. The method we use today is roughly based on the recipe found at:
http://czechmatediary.com/2010/05/07/recipe-czech-potato-dumplings/
Ingredients:
One egg, plus one egg yolk, added to the boiled. peeled and mashed-up potatoes.
Method:
Clicking on any of the photos will bring up a larger image in another window, if you would like a better view.
Adding the flours to the potatoes and eggs
Above I added the Wondra flour and the semolina flour. Then I began kneading the mixture. It’s gooey, messy and requires some upper body strength, but it’s fun.
Adding More All-Purpose Flour
I had extra moisture in my dough because of my large eggs and just-cooked potatoes, so I added some all-purpose flour to the mixture. I continued to knead the added flour into the dough ball.
Adding a little more Semolina flour
The dough was still just a little on the sticky side, so I added a bit more Semolina flour. More kneading was necessary to incorporate the last bit of added flour.
Czech Potato Dumpling Dough Ball
It’s difficult to describe how the dough should feel when it’s ready. It should easily form a dense dough ball that doesn’t stick to a lightly floured wooden cutting board, but does have a very slightly sticky feel to the kneading fingers. Too much flour will produce dumplings that are overly dry in taste and texture.
Potato Dumpling Loaves – Before Boiling
Above I formed my potato dumpling dough into three loaves, each of which fit into my boiling pot. I was not able to fit all three in at once, but I was able to boil the first two smaller loaves together.
Two Potato Dumpling Loaves – Boiling
I added the two shorter loaves to a pot of water that I had at a rapid boil on the stove. Once the loaves were added, I made sure the water returned to a boil and used a slotted spoon to keep the dumplings from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once the pot had returned to a boil, I turned the heat down to maintain the boil while preventing the water from boiling over. I stirred the dumplings every few minutes for about fifteen minutes, until they were slightly “floaty”. I then removed them from the pot and drained off the excess water. I repeated the process with the last, larger loaf.
Potato Dumpling Loaves – After Boiling
The two outside loaves have been cooing a while. The inside loaf just came out of the boiling pot.
Shown above are the potato dumpling loaves after boiling. The two outside loaves were boiled first and have been cooling a while. The larger inside loaf just came out of the pot.
Bone-In Chicken Thighs and Pork Chops – Before Cooking
Cooked Chicken Thighs and Pork Chops With Caraway Seeds
Czech potato dumplings are traditionally served with roast duck, roast goose or smoked meat and cabbage. However, Alice taught me to serve it with pork and chicken. I just use what is readily available in my local grocery store, because neither Michael nor I really care much for the meat anyway. What we are after are the flavorful juices produced by the meat and caraway seed combination. We drip the juices over the finished dumplings and the result is a delicious, filling meal in itself. The photos here show how I placed chicken thighs and pork chops sprinkled with salt and caraway seeds into an 8×8 inch pan. I added a little bit of water then covered it with aluminum foil. Meat prepared like this needs to bake in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees F for about an hour to an hour-and-a-half, until the meat is cooked through. In my experience, thin pork chops over-cook when getting the chicken cooked to a safe temperature, but Michael and I are basically only concerned about the juices anyway and we prefer the chicken meat with our dumplings. If having your pork meat cooked perfectly is important to you, you will want to adjust your pork cut selection and thickness to accommodate the required extra cooking time for the chicken.
Cutting the Potato Dumpling Loaf with Thread
Shown above I am slicing the potato dumplings with a piece of thread.
Czech Potato Dumplings Served with Chicken and Pork
Above is the finished product. I did drizzle more of the meat pan juices over the dumplings before eating these dumplings. Delicious!
Owl – created by Vesper Stevens
Last night, Vesper mentioned to me that she would like to make ear cuff jewelry. She explained that she likes the wire wraps and Steampunk styles. She emailed me a link to some ear cuff jewelry samples so I could get an idea of what she meant. Here is the link: http://sodacrush.deviantart.com/art/Ice-Princess-Wired-Ear-Cuff-192659247
After dinner, I pulled out some of my jewelry making supplies and told her that I’d be happy to give her some jewelry making lessons if she wanted to wait until another time. However, the Blazers game was about to start, and I wanted to watch it. She assured me that she would be fine without my help.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Vesper came down the stairs wearing her creation. I have to admit, I was stunned by what she had made. This is the first time she has ever worked with wire and beads. It’s the first time she has ever attempted to make jewelry of any sort. She made this by herself, without any assistance, in about an hour and a half:
Vesper’s first ear cuff design
Whoa! Nice job, Vesper!
I love my smartphone. I rarely use it for actual voice-to-voice communication, but it sure comes in handy for all kinds of other things.
I have an application on my phone called MyTracks. When I walk, I can record my route and all kinds of other information about my trek. When I finish up, I can send myself (or friends) the details of the journey. Below is the walk route that my friend, Robin, and I took today:
Created by Google My Tracks on Android.
Name: Walk 3 – Feb 18
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 5.56 km (3.5 mi)
Total time: 58:58
Moving time: 58:52
Average speed: 5.66 km/h (3.5 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 5.67 km/h (3.5 mi/h)
Max speed: 7.65 km/h (4.8 mi/h)
Average pace: 10.61 min/km (17.1 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 10.59 min/km (17.0 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 7.84 min/km (12.6 min/mi)
Max elevation: 74 m (244 ft)
Min elevation: 45 m (146 ft)
Elevation gain: 154 m (505 ft)
Max grade: 0 %
Min grade: -12 %
Recorded: 2/18/2013 8:22am
Pretty cool, huh?
For Valentine’s Day, Vesper made her sweetheart a Sculpey Clay Hershey’s Kiss.
She bought a bag of Hershey’s Kisses and unwrapped all of them, removing the regular paper tags. She had typed, printed up and cut out what she called “cheesy pick-up lines”. These she used to replace the tags that she had removed.
She did make sure to tell her Valentine to watch for the “special” Sculpey Clay one. She wouldn’t want him to break a tooth on it.
It was a really fun idea!
Last night I was climbing into bed and realized I hadn’t finished filling out my Valentine’s Day card for Michael due to the hectic pace of the day.
Me: “Oh no! I forgot to finish writing in your Valentine’s Day card!”
Michael: “That’s okay. You can just give it to me tomorrow. I am chronologically challenged. I won’t even notice that it’s late.”
Me: “Oh, good! I’ll just tell you that it’s early.”
Michael: “Oh no. Don’t do that because then I will be stressed out that I didn’t get you one too.”
Michael got me red roses, black Nike socks, Moonstruck chocolates, a nice card and tickets to a Portland Trail Blazers’ Game!
Then, as we were unwinding in bed before going to sleep -
Michael: “Did you eat your little Moonstruck chocolate bunny?”
Me: “Yes. I bit off its head, and then I felt kind of bad about that.”
Michael: “Aw.”
Me: “I should have eaten its butt first.”
Female Anna’s Hummingbird at the feeder
A female Anna’s Hummingbird has built a nest over our driveway. This is the second year in a row that I have had an opportunity to watch her steal cattail tufts from the cattails at the edge of the koi pond to use for lining the nest.
