I heard this song today ...

The sky has been dancing lately, between snow and sunshine, the wind is as cold as the sky is bright.

I never know when a moment will hit me and take my breath away ,today it was with a song.

My grandmother is responsible for many of my best memories in life,and music is part of every memory in some way, because of her I was introduced to whom I think of as the greatest musicians in music and because of her, I had a unique taste in music at a very young age. When other kids were listening to the latest radio hit, I had a Bob Dylan record playing over and over while I roller skated in her yard.

Memories such as these come as intense moments and I can feel them with my entire soul, like today as I was driving, shuffling through songs in the car all while noticing how the sky seemed to dance between the snow and sunshine,just then Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow is a long time" began and just as the sky, I danced, between smiles and tears.

http://youtu.be/9HJPRO7KU4I

Spring !!!

It is Spring !!!

I adore the snow,more than most in my city but I am happy to see it take a sleep for awhile.
I am planning a very cool,sustainable garden and I need it to be Spring for a few months anyway.

I am a seasons kinda girl,not sure I could live somewhere that the seasons didn't change as they do here in Rochester NY.Every season brings its own magic and I am embracing Spring and the promise of newness.

I hope all of you embrace Spring and add something new to your bucket lists,dont just add it though,add it,do it and cross it off because life is too short to keep a long bucket list.

First listing I am crossing off mine this Spring is ,Start seedlings early and nurture them until its time to plant them in the ground.

"In April, we cannot see sunflowers in France, so we might say the sunflowers do not exist. But the local farmers have already planted thousands of seeds, and when they look at the bare hills, they may be able to see the sunflowers already. The sunflowers are there. They lack only the conditions of sun, heat, rain and July. Just because we cannot see them does not mean that they do not exist."
-  Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Snow Soup and Peanut Butter Cookies !!

My window pane is crinkled with snowflakes,the ground is twinkling and the sky is bright with snow ,perfect day for soup and peanut butter cookies !!

I love making soup in the crock pot, slowly the air becomes scented in herbal aromas and coziness sets in,ahhh...Today I decided to make a favorite in my house Italian Wedding Soup,I found this recipe some months ago and have made it several times since,its easy and super good.

The recipe can be found on this blog ;

http://www.bakedbyrachel.com/2010/10/slow-cooker-italian-wedding-soup/
Please send all of your Thank You's to Rachel as she is the genius behind this recipe,her blog is full of other great recipes too !

How did I decide on Peanut Butter Cookies you ask?
I was watching the movie "Meet Joe Black" the other night and I had this intense craving for anything peanut butter,I have watched this movie over and over and one of my favorite parts is when Brad Pitt's character has an adorable childlike fascination with Peanut Butter. So here I am a few days later making Peanut Butter Cookies on a blustery day.Baking and Snow just seem to make everything more magical !

Here is my favorite Peanut Butter Cookie recipe and the one that's filling my house with sweet scents as I type..Enjoy !!
http://www.marthastewart.com/892348/easy-peanut-butter-cookies

Currently listening to :

http://youtu.be/Is3YkX_HJ-8

Country Pie

Happy 2013 !!!

I welcomed the new year quietly at home with snow fluttering outside my window,the snow arrived here in Upstate NY right before Christmas and restored the magic of winter.
Last year we had what many called a "green" winter and to me it was depressing,what is winter and especially Christmas without snow ? !!

Speaking of Christmas I received a Cupcake Maker from my cousin ,I wouldn't have purchased one for myself,it seemed like one of those gadgets I just didn't need even if I secretly wanted it.
 I Love it !! It has been so much fun creating mini cupcake recipes that I had a little too much fun the first few days and ran out of room in my kitchen.Whats even better about this new gadget of mine is that it makes little pies,tiny little pies,too cute to eat (almost) !

I decided to share the recipe I used for mini pies that can be made in a cupcake maker if you have one or a muffin tin.
When you are making your pies I suggest playing the song "Country Pie" by Bob Dylan in the background because its Bob Dylan and he is singing about Pie !!

All credit and thank yous from this recipe go out to the blog "What you give away you keep" (I love that blog name) !!

These pies are sweet,delicious and meant to be shared.

http://www.adventuressheart.com/2011/08/mini-cherry-pies.html

Lyrics to Country Pie

http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/country-pie


 

Fall in Love with Pecan Pies

I had to share this recipe and blog because I love love love pecan pie and I am going to try this recipe for Thanksgiving this year but also and most importantly because the author's description of her grandmother,her pies and all they meant to her and her family are beautiful !

Visit the blog,make pecan pie and send love to grandmothers everywhere ....

http://www.bakerella.com/mamas-pecan-pies/

Native American Pumpkin Pie

Oh how I adore Pumpkin Pie ...

 “What kind of Thanksgiving dinner is this? Where’s the turkey, Chuck? Don’t you know anything about Thanksgiving dinners? Where’s the mashed potatoes? Where’s the cranberry sauce? Where’s the pumpkin pie?” ~ Peppermint Patty

Fresh pumpkin roasting in the oven in preparation for a scrumptious pie just screams Autumn to me

Here is my favorite recipe :

 

Native American Pumpkin Pie

Bake a three-pound seeded pumpkin in a preheated 325° oven for 1 ½ hours. Scoop out pumpkin and puree in a blender.

 

Pumpkin Filling

 

1 ¾ cups pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk   

This is my favorite pie crust recipe :

 

Vodka Pie Crust

Author: Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients

• 2½ cups (12.5 oz) all purpose flour
• 1 tsp table salt
• 2 Tb sugar
• 12 Tb (1½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• ½ cup cold shortening, cut into ¼” slices
• ¼ cup vodka, cold
• ¼ cup water, cold

Instructions

1. Process 1½ cups flour, salt, sugar in food processer until combined, about two 1 second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just startes to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around food processor blade.
2. Add remaining cup of flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
3. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4″ disc. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

 

Assemble your pie :

In a large bowl, stir the pumpkin puree, eggs, salt,
granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and
evaporated milk. Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until set.


Top your pie with roasted walnuts,pecans or chestnuts !!
Serve cold with fresh whipped cream

“Come join Love the Pie with TidyMom sponsored by Whirlpool and enter to win a new Whirlpool Range”

 

 

Its almost Thanksgiving ..right about this time in the month of November,I would be telling my Ma "Why don't we just order dinner this year,it will be easier,you wont have to cook" and she would always say "I am not an old lady ,I can still cook" and every year she still cooked and insisted on being the one to do the cooking.

I know now that her spirit,is what keeps me feeling alive.She lived every moment until the last with that same stubborn enthusiasm,she cooked until the end.

I will always cook on Thanksgiving because of her,taking the easy way out seems well too easy.It is the struggles that keep us strong.

Currently listening to Willie Nelson,Angel flying too close to the ground  :

http://youtu.be/2vi__gd84XI