Indian Pudding

An old fashioned Thanksgiving Day dessert from my New England childhood. I'm pretty certain this is a regional dish. History, legend or folklore say it celebrates the Indian's gift of corn to the early settlers ~ works for me! One caution ... it is not pretty to look at really but what counts is that wonderfully, spicy burst of flavor on the tongue. Best served IMHO with at least one huge scoop of French Vanilla ice cream aaaaaaaaaaaaand much as I like it as a dessert, I also enjoy for breakfast too. :>)

4 cups whole milk ~ keep 2 cups aside
1/2 cup yellow corn meal
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter (yes real butter!)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat 2 cups milk until very hot and pour it slowly over the cornmeal in a double boiler and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring constantly until the mixture is thickened and creamy. Add all but the other 2 cups of milk and mix well. Spoon into a well buttered 1 1/2 quart baking dish , top with the remaining milk and bake at 275 F for 2 1/2 - 3 hours or until set.

NOTE ~ some people put the dish into a pan of hot water to bake. Others just cook it as it. Either way works fine. Ideally it's baked very slowly in an old fashioned bean pot. I used to do it that way but in one my many moves I lost my maternal grandmother's bean pot but Billo's (Den's late mom) 1 1/2 qt Corning ware casserole dish works just fine and is really lots easier to clean than the bean pot was.

I will make this for Thanksgiving and again at Christmas. Good gracious I hope my jeans still fit me in the New Year!

Tis Comfort Food Season

"All things in moderation" is a good thing to keep in mind as I begin the seasonal food chaos that is certain to raise hell with any discipline I managed to maintain the rest of the year. Ah well, the only truly wise advice I have about this is share, share, share! Now let's get on with it and cook something really, really good.

Yesterday I did a trial run of Anadama Bread, a mouth-watering tasty treat I've not made in a very long time. Thanks go to Janny-Fanny for the reminder. This bread is far easier than a lot of others you might attempt. Why? It's a batter dough which means no kneading whatsoever ~ joy!

In a large bowl pour 2 1/2 cups boiling water over 1/2 cup corn meal, 1 tablespoon butter (I used light margarine and it's fine), 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup molasses ... any kind will do tho' full flavor yields a darker bread. Stir until smooth (ie., no clumps of corn meal) and leave for about 30 minutes. Stir in 1 cup flour that you've added 1 envelope of Rapid Rise yeast to and stir well. Add 3 1/2 cups more flour, a cup or so at a time, stirring to make a smooth, sticky batter.

Spray 2 bread pans with non stick, plop dough into, smooth the best you can and cover with plastic wrap (also sprayed with non stick) and let rise in a warmish, draft-free spot until it's more or less doubled and bake at 350 F for 45 - 50 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on rack, cut into and enjoy with margarine or butter. It's also yummy toasted which is how I had it for my supper last night and my breakfast this morning. :>)

A word on yeast ... just buy Rapid Rise. It's so simple ... no proofing! Add it to the dry ingredients and it's fool-proof every time.

Note to my ME friends, The Brothers in Alfred have a most wonderful bakery. When I was there in September they had Anadama bread for sale. I'm sure it's a finer loaf than my recipe but then again, your kitchen won't have that wonderful freshly made bread smell. Ha!

Next up ... Indian Pudding as promised to my FB friends.

As always, thanks for stopping by and do plan a warm and wonderful, full of family fun, stress-free holiday season this year. I plan to. ~ Amber aka Mz Chiclets

Sister Time in ME September 22, 2010

Maggie, Missy, Debbie and moi taken by cousin Maureen at Aunt P's 80th birthday gathering. It was wonderful to be home and to spend time with family.

After the Storm

We had a wonderful thunder-boomer yesterday that left the desert cloaked in amazing clouds. I am not a camera buff at all but took a few shots as I was walking to the mailbox last evening. The colors were beautiful!

Poppies

Wow two posts in one day! Despite an overcast, cold and moist day Den and I headed out to the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. The poppies were 'asleep' (they like calm sunshine) but still the color was brilliant ...not as good a showing as other years but certainly enough to ponder on the contrast of a usual high desert vista. Den snapped this picture for my mom. Hi Mom! Love you! ~ Amber

Sunday Musing from the Desert

It's chilly and a storm is moving in though the sun is out of bed and smiling. The birds are singing too, some gathering nesting materials, others already feeding little peeping miniatures of themselves. Most evident are the two mockers who continue to terrorize my poor indoor-outdoor cat. They also are dive bombing us a little too. They always make me laugh and then I think what good role models they are for parents.

Life is good ... busy and interesting as always. About the only thing that might improve it a bit, is for me to find a job ... not that I really want to punch a time-clock or be accountable to a boss type but still, it would help and besides it might be healthy for me to interact with others in real time.

Now these photos are for my mom. What a surprise to answer the phone early yesterday AM and hear your voice Mom. I miss you, I love you and wish I could just drive across town to visit for real! Lastly, tomorrow is my youngest sister's birthday so Happy Birthday Missy ... eat some cake!

As always peace to any who pause here for awhile. ~ Amber

When the Cat's Away

Love this picture of Den, taken out in the desert on Sunday 2/28/10, pausing after an apparently muddy run, somewhere out by California City. Riding is an interest we do not share but I'm glad he has his quad and gets to go now and then. Geeze though ... what's up with that raggedy chin fringe? :>) While he was out riding I was enjoying a car trip from Las Vegas to Phoenix (yikes going over the Hoover Dam at a snail's pace though) where I spent a few days with a friend and fellow artist. Life is good when we can enjoy things we love.

As always thanks for wandering by. Peace to any who visit here. ~ Amber

Catching a Needed Break In My Art

Yeah, so I was stuck and could not move past it ...what to do, what to do? Continue to moan to my friends, mope around and keep chasing myself in over analyzing and self criticism or find a way to break through this? Being me, I eventually headed off into uncharted territory to tackle some techniques and realism. Akkkkkkkkkkkk! I have resisted that idea for so long I'd talked myself into thinking I could not paint realistically or with what I call fussy precision. (I know my friend Cindi is laughing if she's reading this).

I like chunky paint and slap-happy brush strokes for the most part but I'd signed up for the Refined Blending class taught by Sue Pruett, MDA at http://artapprenticeonline.com quite a while back and a deadline was looming to get going on it. Sooooooooooooo off I went cause sheesh, who willingly throws money away in this economy?

Actually I won the class but that's another story and if I'd not begun, I would have faced buying it some other time. Still I didn't hold out any great hope to be able to actually do the painting above. Ha! Sometimes I think I am crazy 'cause apparently I do have the skills to do it just fine. I am my own worst enemy. Can ya relate? There are times when I just need to knuckle down and explore. Good things happen when I do that so I need to remember that lesson. My latest painting is my newest very good thing and I couldn't be more pleased with my result. So now I am blessedly unstuck and moving forward once again. Life is good and I am happy.

As always, if you drop by to see if I've also been here, thank you. Psssstttt I love you Mom cause I know you do drop by. ~ Amber