Not much of a post...

walking past the garden again and Poppy asks, didn't you just take a picture yesterday...

well, I did and will probably take another one tomorrow.  :)

Hey friends. I am starting a post with absolutely nothing interesting to talk about except maybe the weather. According to our weatherman, we have just been through the hottest June, and hottest July on record.

Then August, normally out hottest most humid month, comes in followed by a cold front and we have enjoyed almost a week of wonderful cooler weather with temps in the 60s and 70s. 

Smokey has been stretched out on our raggedy old back steps...

Gosh, I didn't realize how badly these steps and screen door need painting. Another job added to my list...the list that keeps growing with very little getting checked off. When I think of all the work, I used to get done around here...

Anyhow, a few weeks ago Poppy said, wonder if there is a recipe for "raspberry pie"?? Well, I found a recipe, tried it...

and we have eaten a raspberry pie a week ever since. It is absolutely delicious, (got to have whipped cream), and wouldn't you think, good for you?? Best of all, easy to make. Here's the recipe...

1 c. sugar, 3 T. cornstarch, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 c. water, 4 c. raspberries, 1 T. butter

Over medium heat stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Add butter. Cool then pour into baked pie crust. Refrigerate.

I am ashamed to say that I cannot make my own piecrusts. and at my age!! The one in the picture was a little Pillsbury frozen crust. My favorite though is this one...

to unroll and place in my glass pie dish. Looks much better, kind of like a homemade. :(  One more thing, Food Lion puts their store brand frozen raspberries on sale 2 for $6.00. One bag makes this pie. 

Poppy came in the other day saying I brought you a flower...

awww, well actually, it was stuck to my boot, he said. Have you ever seen such a tiny flower?

Hope you will visit again, if you've made it this far. I do appreciate you all.  

I will end this mess with little Miss Violet, trying on a new dress...

Love, Henny

Special note to Darlene...I am so sorry for not seeing your comment sooner. Please see my reply. :)

Fruit cake and a little video

There were several things I wanted to post this morning but maybe I'll just do a couple and save some for another time...

I made a fruit cake! Not a baked fruit cake, but an icebox fruit cake. This is the one mama used to make and it is unbelievably delicious. Tastes more like candy than cake.

Seems like I posted the recipe once before. Anyhow, you start with a new box of graham crackers.

A box of graham crackers used to be bigger, 16 ounces if I'm not mistaken. The recipe calls for a pound each of most the ingredients...

All the ingredients listed come in smaller packages now so it all works out.

Started by crushing the crackers and then cutting the marshmallows.

after switching to a larger pan, I added the other ingredients and mixed and mixed and mixed!

Poppy kept saying, "I'm telling you, all that is not going to fit back in that box!"  "But it will", I said. Guess who won. Poppy, of course. I packed and packed, even taped the corners of the box to keep them from splitting, but no good. Believe me, the leftover is not going to waste.

Here's the recipe...

Icebox Fruitcake

1 Box Graham Crackers (crushed)

1 lb. Box Marshmallows (cut)

1 lb. Pecans (cut)

1 lb. Walnuts (cut)

1 lb. Candied Cherries (cut)

1 Fresh Coconut (grated)

1 Box Dark Raisins

1 can Eagle Brand Milk

Mix, pack in cracker box lined with wax paper, enough to fold over cake. Tie box with string and place in refrigerator.

Wanted to show you too, how the property across the path is looking...

just getting started

getting brighter

and brighter. 

So if any good at all comes from cutting all these trees, maybe the two pear trees in our front yard will get enough light to grow a pear. Wouldn't that be something!

and I do hope the little video works...

It sure is cold and rainy today. Downright gloomy. Here's a glance out the living room window, after our walk in the rain...

Appreciate your stopping by.

Love,

Henny

Little bit of everything...Pickles to spiders

Looks like I am getting worse and worse at replying to comments. We simply need more hours in the day, don't we?

All of sudden we are bringing in enough cucumbers from the teeny tiny garden to make pickles, and I'm not much of a pickle maker. Going through some old recipes I found one that mama used years ago:

Kosher Dill Pickles

To each quart jar add 1 or 2 heads fresh dill

2 or 3 cloves garlic

1 green hot pepper

wash and leave cucumbers whole

pack in jars

Bring to rolling boil:

2 qts. water

1 qt. vinegar

1 cup salt (non-iodized)

Pour this over and seal

Back then folks made pickles like these without processing them. Guess the boiling brine causes the jars to seal. I just may try a jar...or call the real pickler in the family, my sister Shelby, and asks for her advice.

I did make this one jar of cucumber delight pickles that will keep in the refrigerator for three weeks. 

Oh, about the recipe for that delicious eggplant parmesan. The recipe is on line at www.allrecipes.com under Baked Eggplant Parmesan. It's wonderful, and simple! But you know what...the picture I posted of my eggplant parmesan...

looks better than the picture shown on the recipe, well, I think so.  Check it out and see if you agree. :)

Good gosh! I don't even like being in the kitchen and here this has turned into a recipe post.

Let me get out of the kitchen...

Dumperoo was curious. Why is this pan in the living room, he asked.

Mama's fixing to give you a bath, he told Dumper. Poppy likes to worry Dumper that way.

and this sweetie pie! Couldn't you pick him up and squeeze him? This is one cuddly kitty cat.

and here's the opposite of cuddly...

Poppy was way up high on the ladder when this huge scary spider crawled down the side of the house to meet him. Poppy said it was probably 4 inches wide with it's legs spread out. When Poppy backed down the ladder, the spider backed off too, but as Poppy went up the ladder, the spider crawled down. Makes me shiver!!!

Poppy decided to leave filling in bee holes and go fishing.

Then along about supper time, I found him vacuuming the shop. We have really cleaned out and hauled away a ton of stuff lately. I'm almost afraid to go in Goodwill or the Safespace thrift store...afraid I will buy back something we donated.

It's getting on near 9:30 and I need to sew some tonight. Shelby and I will be vendors at the Duke Homestead "Pork, Pickles, and Peanuts" event on Saturday. Been a long time since we did a big craft show together.

Goodness, I didn't mean to go on and on. Guess I've scared you all away. Hope not. :)

Love,

Henny 

Here on Henny Penny Lane

 Just wondering if it's as hard for you to find time to post as it is for me. Seems there is always something more important waiting to be done! 

About three days ago I started a post using this picture, taken early morning after getting an inch of rain. The sun was peeping through a dark cloudy sky.

The high winds yesterday dried things out quickly, but left the yard strewn with sticks and limbs. We spent a good part of this morning cleaning up.

Speaking of sticks and limbs, my scrawny little vase of blooms. I pruned the peach tree and could not bear to throw away the pieces with pink buds. 

and here too.

I've been meaning to show you Bun Bun and Penny's baby...how big he has grown...

Isn't he a cutie pie? and he stood right up to have his picture taken.  A funny bunny too. He told me he wants to be an Indian chief. 

I mean, being born with a natural Indian headdress and all. He says he wants a real Indian name. I'm just stumped! Any suggestions, please? This boy needs a name.

And, here's the recipe for the peanut brittle, that turned out right!

Doc's Peanut Brittle

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. white corn syrup

1/4 c. water

2 c. raw peanuts

1 tsp. soda

Cook sugar, water, and corn syrup together in a 2 1/2 quart saucepan until it forms a thread. Add raw peanuts, stirring continuously, until mixture turns light brown. Remove from heat; add soda and stir well. Spread on buttered cookie sheet. Let cool, then break.

Well finally, a finished post, "such as it is", as mama used to say.

Hope to be back soon!

Love,

Henny

Doll and two Recipes,

It almost feels like Santa brought me a doll for Christmas.

I will never ever forget the excitement of picking out a doll from the Sears Christmas Wish Book. It took days of looking and dreaming, to decide on the perfect doll, and Santa always brought the right one,

but this doll did not come from Santa...

Isn't she adorable?

Only once, did Santa fail to bring me the doll I had circled in the Sears Wish Book, and that was the year of the Tiny Tears doll. Every little girl must have asked for one and Santa simply ran out. That's when my daddy stepped in. He had a business trip to New York City. Not only did he bring me the perfect Tiny Tears doll, but also brought me one of the new 22" walking, "Saucy Walker" dolls.

Back to my new doll...   

she has the sweetest face, and just look at that baby fine, wispy hair

she is the size, and has the feel of a real baby

perfect to hold in my arms. I gave her the hat and booties. 

Nope, Santa didn't bring this doll. Shelby and I were in the Goodwill store in Wake Forest a few days before Christmas, and there she was, this beautiful baby doll, thrown in a plastic bin with the stuffed animals. Lucky me to have spotted her there.

and here is a very special picture...Daddy, showing me the right way to hold my doll's arms to help her walk...

and in this next picture, a birthday party for my doll...

that's me holding my baby brother Randall, and Becky, the little girl who lived next door. 

That sure is a raggedy old card table and the room we're in doesn't look much better. That room was the den, where we played and watched TV. At that age, I was torn between playing with my dolls, watching The Mickey Mouse Club, or American Bandstand, that came on every day at 4:00.  Most of the time the dolls came first.

Now to the recipe...those darn crock pot chocolate covered peanut clusters!! I could not rest until the last one was gone!! and that eight pounds I had lost, well, it's back!! 

These are absolutely delicious!! Salty nuts covered in chocolate...

(Donna, hope you try these)

CHOCOLATE PEANUT CLUSTERS

(2) 16 oz jar dry roasted peanuts

(2) 12 oz bags milk chocolate chips

(8) blocks white chocolate

Pour peanuts into crock pot

Add chocolate chips (not to touch sides of pot. chocolate will burn)

Add white chocolate on top

Heat on low for 1 1/4 hours

Stir until mixed well

Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper lined pans.

The clusters harden quicker is you sit the pans in the refrigerator for a while.

and...

BROWN SUGAR CHEW BREAD

(1) stick butter

(1) box light brown sugar

(1) tsp. vanilla (pure)

(3) eggs

(2) cups self-rising flour (sifted)

(1) cup chopped pecans

(1) cup Angel Flake coconut

Mix in order given. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9 x 13 pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes (til toothpick comes out clean) Do not over cook!

Goodness, what a post. Thank you for putting up with me!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Love,

Henny 

FROG Jam and cats on the freezer

You know, I could start every post with the question, where do the days go? 

Shelby and Jimmy at the market in 2015

Shelby is sharing her recipe for "F.R.O.G. Jam"...

6 cups peeled, crushed figs

3 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

5 cups sugar

2 tbsp finely grated gingeroot

1 cup orange juice (1 lg. orange)

1/2 tsp butter (I don't use)

Mix figs, raspberries, sugar, gingeroot, and peel together in large pot

Cook, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 30-45 min.

Ladle into sterilized jars and cover with sterilized lids

Process in boiling water bath for 10 min.

Cool and store in cool, dark place for up to 6 months

Note: To test for doneness of jam, place a small plate in the freezer as you prepare the ingredients. When ready to test, remove dish and pour  a tablespoon of jam onto it. Return to freezer for 1 minute. Then draw your finger through the middle of the jam. If it separates, it's done. Will thicken as it cools.

At that last craft show Shelby and I did, the one at the church; the preacher pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Shelby's display of jams and jellies. Shelby puts out a small opened jar of each flavor, along with a pretty little dish of cream cheese, and a dish of wheat thins, for sampling the jellies, kind of like here at the market...

Anyhow, the preacher, a very tall, big, friendly, down to earth type man, proceeded to sample each of the jellies. After sampling the Frog jam, he stood up and said, "rriiivvit, rriiivvit", what's in the frog jam?" It was funny. We really liked both the preacher and his wife. Very nice friendly folks.

To Diane in Wisconsin; you asked if Shelby ever ships her jams and jellies. She does occasionally, but the cost of shipping is high. She shipped a few jars to a lady in New York, and the shipping cost was as much as what she paid for the jelly. The lady wanted them anyway, and paid the shipping cost. All I can say is, that must be some delicious jelly! :) and it really is.

As far as the baking, Shelby mostly sells cakes, but she does make banana nut bread and pumpkin bread, and in the summer time, strawberry bread.

Listen to this! Here's what Shelby had baking this morning when I called her...eight cakes, (the last of an order for twenty). Chocolate pound cake, coconut pound cake, fresh apple cake, carrot cake, and million dollar pound cake, there were eight different ones and I've already forgotten the other two. Plus, six loaves of banana nut bread. No way could I do all that. As mama used to say, "I'd rather dig stumps".

Better get busy, but first a few kitty cat pictures. We may have to invest in a bigger freezer...

and here! See why it's hard to get any sewing done at night...

Thank you for visiting

Love,
Henny

Christmas Jam and Shelby

Sorry about the Christmas Jam recipe that was supposed to be posted here yesterday...Hopefully, today is not too late...

Shelby in her warm, inviting, and always busy kitchen, and below is the recipe.

Christmas Jam

1 (12-ounce) pkg. fresh Cranberries

2 (10-ounce) pkg. frozen Strawberries, thawed

4 cups sugar

1 (3-ounce) pkg. liquid pectin

Position knife blade in food processor bowl; add cranberries. Cover; process until cranberries are coarsely chopped. 

Combine cranberries, strawberries, and sugar in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil and cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat; add pectin. Return to a full rolling boil; boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and skim off foam with metal spoon.

Quickly pour jam into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4" head space; wipe jar rims, cover at once with metal lids and screw-on bands, process in boiling water bath 5 minutes.

Yield; 7 half pints

Now why didn't I take pictures of her jams and jellies?? 

These are the jams she makes...
Apricot, Blackberry, Blueberry, Blueberry peach, Christmas, Frog, Peach, Ginger peach, Jalapeno peach, Hot jalapeno peach, Plum, Raspberry, Strawberry, Strawberry Rhubarb, Tripleberry, and Spiced tomato.

and the jellies...
Cherry, Ghost pepper, and Grape. 

and the butters...
Apple, Honey apple, Honey blackberry, Honey blueberry peach, Honey strawberry, Honey blueberry.

and these...
Fig preserves, Orange marmalade, Mango relish, Tomato relish, and Chow-chow.

Good gosh! I had no idea! No wonder she never has any free time.

Looking out the back door of Shelby's and Jimmy's house, I love the old barn and out buildings.

on craigslist today for $150.00

Wonder if there could be an old rusted cast iron pot-bellied stove tucked away in their barn somewhere? I really need one for the playhouse...

with a bit of rearranging, the little stove could go inside the fence panels...

Recently, Poppy said to me,"Henny, you can't  put a cast iron stove in the playhouse. The rain and damp weather will make it rust". So, I had about given up on the idea until this thought hit me, "there are covers for everything else, why not make a cover from an old brown tarp". It's not like the stove will be used every day. 

So, once again I am in the market for a pot-bellied stove, a small table with two chairs (Bistro set would be perfect), and a tea kettle.  Oh, then we will need a small shelf and a few thrift store teacups and saucers. :)

Guess I had better get busy. It's time for Poppy to get home. I've had a little vacation, even though it was Poppy doing the traveling. He has been gone since Friday morning early, and I've been home alone! He went down home (Moore County) to deer hunt with his nephew. As of last night, they had not even seen a deer.  Yay!!  I pull for the deer.

Sorry for such a long post. Thank you for visiting.

Love,
Henny

A Christmas Apron and a Recipe

It's a little late to be sewing Christmas aprons for the shop, but since this one is done...

might as well show you...

I had planned to do the ties and pockets in red but found this beige fabric hiding in the closet.  

There will be another Christmas apron too. I'm hoping to finish it today. Last Tuesday in Henderson, I wandered through Walmart's fabric department. Most of their Christmas fabrics were gone, but rolled up there in the remnants basket was the cutest piece of "Christmas Pigs" fabric. Two yards. 

Anyhow, I was thinking this morning about those chocolate covered peanuts made in a crock pot. Oh gosh, can I make them without eating the whole crock pot full myself? Probably not!

It was just before Christmas of 2009 when I saw this recipe...so you all probably already have it. 

"CHOCOLATE PEANUT CLUSTERS"

(2) 16 oz. jars dry roasted peanuts
(1) 12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
(1) 12 oz. bag milk chocolate chips
(8) blocks white chocolate

Pour peanuts into the crock pot
Add chocolate chips (not to touch sides of 
                                              pot)
Add white chocolate on top

Heat on low for 1 1/4 hours
Stir until mixed well
Drop by tsp. onto wax paper lined pan

These are the best chocolate covered peanuts ever!! I prefer using all milk chocolate chips. 

Better get busy.  Here's my kitty cat pictures for the day...

 somebody was sleeping really good!

Love,
Henny

A little add-on note here...two new followers! Thank you Bob Bushell and Jeri Landers I appreciate your friendship so much!