Cool Video

I was visiting jennyap's blog (and extremly talented pea from Two Peas In A Bucket - wish I could scrap like that) and she had this cool video posted. I have never seen it before or even heard of the artist. To me, this is the kind of video that should be winning VMA awards !!
Very creative (and time consuming to make I am sure). It is called "Her Morning Elegance" by Oren Levie. ~ Enjoy ~

Crochet or Knit - You Decide

Thanks go to my pals over at Raverly for directing me to this photo over at the Harriet Carter Website. They provided me with my laugh of the day. So, what is so funny? Well, if you are a knitter or a crocheter, it is obvious. This woman appears to be making a crochet afghan - that is a CROCHET afghan in her lap. But, she is holding knitting needles.

Not only that, she is holding the needles like chopsticks and in one hand facing the same direction. So it isn't clear if she is actually knitting a crochet afghan or if she is planning on eating it for lunch. Perhaps both?

Oh and on top of that - notice all the pretty yarn coming out of the bin (which is the product for sale). Not only is she using 6 strands of yarn for a 4 color afghan, one of the colors clearly missing in her strands-o-yarn is white! I don't know about you, but to me, that afghan seems to have a bit of white in it.

Another funny thing I noticed is the suggested product (you know those, if you like this, you might like that kind of thing). They suggested this shirt:

I am very glad it is not the same model in both ads because obviously the one in the first ad does NOT know how to handle knitting needles. I know it isn't the model's fault. She is just doing as she is being told but geez, you think they would at least make sure they use a crochet hook on a crocheted afghan and if they HAD to use knitting needles, they could have used a knitted afghan. I mean. . . come on ! :-)

Ravioli with Balsamic Brown Butter

I like having the Food Network on in the background when I clean house - sometimes I poke my head in there to see what they are cooking and stick around for a bit. There are some shows I will actually sit down and watch (like Next Food Network Star or those incredible Cake Challenges) but mostly catch shows just here and there.

My favorite Food Network stars are Paula Deen (of course - love that southern cooking and made many of her recipes), Sandra Lee (she is just so fun and her recipes are easy and good) , Rachael Ray (who could make a plain slice of bread look yum-o) and of course Giada De Laurentiis (whose tasty Italian dishes are usually budget and time friendly).

I have made several of Giada's dishes but one of my favorites that is super-duper easy and tastes oh-so-good is her Ravioli with Balsamic Brown Butter

Giada's Ravioli with Balsamic Brown Butter

• 18 to 20 ounces store-bought ravioli (cheese, mushroom, or squash)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup toasted, chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the ravioli and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally. Drain ravioli onto a large serving platter.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan cook the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the foam subsides, and the butter begins to turn a golden brown, about 3 minutes, turn off the heat. Let cool for about 1 minute. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Transfer the ravioli to the pan saucepan with the balsamic brown butter. Sprinkle walnuts and Parmesan over the top. Serve immediately.

I can't even tell you how easy and good this is. I prefer it with Butternut Squash but that can be hard to find in the stores and if I make it, it takes an easy recipe to a more complicated one and I don't want that. So if I can't find the frozen butternut squash ravioli (which I seldom ever can), then my 2nd choices is Mushroom ravioli. Depending on the store that can even be hard to find but most the time I can find that one - but if not, the cheese is very, very good too. I don't recommend using a meat ravioli for this sauce - I haven't tried it but I don't think it would be as good as a more "vegetarian" choice.

Thanks for the delicious and easy pasta dish Giada !!

Casper - The Friendly Ghost

I have this picture of Casper the Friendly Ghost on my bulletin board at work. Why? I can't explain it really but I just love Casper, he makes me happy. Maybe because he IS the friendly ghost. I mean, if you have to be a ghost, why not be a friendly one, right?

I'm not really sure why Casper is a ghost. I have always assumed and it seems that he is a little boy (I'm guessing around 10-12 years old). The 1995 live action movie indicated he died of pneumonia at age 12 and his last name was McFadden, but I'm not a big fan of the live action movie because you eventually see Casper in his "human form" as he once was. I like not knowing what he looked like when he was alive. I also don't want to know what he died from, that is just a bit morbid. I mean he IS a cartoon after all.

I don't think I would ever get a tattoo but if I did, it would probably be Casper (or the "One Fish" from Dr. Suess' book). He is just so a comforting little guy and I smile everytime I see him (which is why he is on my bulletin board).

The first Halloween costume I remember having was Casper and I was either in 5 or 6 at the time. I remember getting so excited when I was at the school carnival and saw another Casper and we shyly waved at each other as if we had some sort of Casper bond.

I never could understand why his uncles (The Ghostly trio) were so mean to him. I always hated that ! I mean he is their nephew for crying out loud and they are ALL dead, right? I guess they don't like Casper because they think ghost should be scary and not friendly.

I assume his parents are too dead too - where are they anyway? Are his parents not ghosts? Poor Casper with no parents around to protect him from his mean uncles. At least he had his little witchy girlfriend, Wendy, to be his pal.

Charleston, SC

Charleston is a very lovely town. This is the famous pinapple fountian located in Waterfront park. It represents hospitality, welcome and goodwill.

It is quite an interesting design.

We enjoyed our first full day in Charleston - started out driving around rainbow row and the battery. Ate lunch at Bubba Gump's Shrimp (which was very, very good) and basically wore ourselves out.

We ended the day by enjoying a nice cold water ice from Rita's!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday baby. I love you.

Only God knows how much I miss you.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

I have mentioned before, how much I adore the Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes at Belly General Store. There are only 3 problems with their cupcakes:

1) They are extremely delicious and therefore extremely popular
2) They are made in a limited number each day
3) By the time I get to Belly (usually near closing time), they are gone

What is a girl to do when she has been craving these? Why make her own of course. Well, since I have found these little cupcakes from heaven, I have tried to find a way to make my own. I've searched the internet. I found chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate frosting but NO peanut butter & jelly cupcakes.

Until. . . one of my friends over at Two Peas In A Bucket, posted a link to their favorite food blog, Mommy's Kitchen and while poking around in there I found. . . Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting and thought this one will do the trick. Apparently the recipe comes MeMa's Manna Cookbook (a cookbook that looks right up my alley). The original recipe I found didn't state the oven temp. or how many cupcakes it made. I set the oven on the normal baking temp of 350 and it was perfect. It made 22 cupcakes but I probably could have stretched it out to 24 if I made them a wee bit smaller.

Here is my slightly revised version turned into PB&J Cupcakes.

Cupcakes:

2/3 - cup shortening
1 1/2 - cups granulated sugar
3 - eggs
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 - cup milk
1 tsp - vanilla extract
2 tsp - baking powder (yes, I know the pic has baking soda, but I did use baking powder)
1 3/4 - cups all purpose flour
Grape jam (I used jam because it is a thicker consistency than jelly and thought it would bake better)

Preheat oven to 350. Set out a stick of butter (to use for the frosting), so it can be softening.

Cream shortening and sugar together. Add eggs and beat well. Add peanut butter and beat well. Add milk, vanilla extract, baking powder and flour. Using a ice cream scooper fill the muffing liners about 1/2 full with batter. Add about 1 tsp of grape jam to center of each and cover with another layer of batter (filling about 3/4 full).

Bake at 350 for 20 -25 minutes or until golden brown. (22 minutes was perfect for me). Cool cupcakes completely and frost with peanut butter frosting .

Peanut Butter Frosting:

1 - 16oz box (1lb) powdered sugar
1 - stick butter, softened (1/2 cup)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 - tsp vanilla extract
milk (about 3 - 4 tablespoons)

Cream powdered sugar and butter together, add peanut butter. Mix well, add vanilla extract and enough milk to make it easy enough to spread. Beat mixture together until you have the consistency you want. Frost cupcakes when completely cooled. (I used a piping bag and star tip)

I wish I sort of had some purple sprinkles to put on the top to give it more of a PB&J look on the outside - maybe next time.

The result: very good - very close to Belly's. I am glad I used the jam - I think jelly would have been too thin after cooking, the jam was perfect. I also think I could have put a little bit more jam into the center - maybe 1 1/2 - 2 tsp but I was afraid it would bake out so I was a bit careful this time. I really liked them and definetly will make again when I am needing a PB&J cupcake fix.