Infinity scarf and other stash busters

I kicked off January with some stash busting projects....Total stash busted:  3,442 grams!

I am finally done with the Christmas blanket.  It is heavy and soooo warm.  It sure came in handy with our 16 degree weather we had this week!  

Matt's girlfriend wanted an off white infinity scarf.  I had some yarn in my stash so I surprised her with one last week.  I used the pattern I found here and modified it a bit.   Kaela was happy to model it for me...see that smile....she was on the way to get her braces and was super happy.

Then I made two little scarves for two little boys....they are so cute! 

I'm glad I got so much done because I'll be watching the Saints game later today with a glass of wine in my hand instead of a crochet hook.    Maybe next week I'll start a new project.

Toasted Coconut Haystacks

When we lived in Fort Worth we would take the kids and head in to town once a month.  We'd go to the museums and lunch and then walk around Main Street.   We would ALWAYS, without fail, go to Schakolad, a wonderful chocolate boutique.   It was Matthew's favorite treat.  (Kaela always wanted ice cream!)

We moved here and after almost 7 years of living here, we still haven't found a chocolate shop we like as much.  In fact, we haven't been able to find a shop that is consistently open.  So weird.  You go into town and the hours are posted and no one is there....or they only do weddings or promotional stuff.

Anyway, once or twice a year, we all get a hankering for chocolate haystacks like we used to buy there so I started making them at home.  I thought I'd share the process.  They aren't made with artisan chocolates but they are REALLY good!

Here is what you need:

A double boiler
1 small bag (7 oz) of flake coconut
12 oz of semi sweet chips
1 Tbls of canola oil (optional)

First, turn your oven on to 300 degrees and spread the coconut out  onto some parchment.   



Toast until light golden brown.   It will take forever to start toasting but WATCH it because once it starts to toast, it burns fast.  If it burns, you have to throw it out and start over.   

Stir it every couple of minutes to get everything toasted evenly.  Here is what it looks like when it is perfectly browned.

Meanwhile, melt your chocolate chips and oil (if using) in the top of a double boiler over very hot water.  Stir constantly and turn the heat off.  Don't let water get into the chocolate or it will seize up.  

Once the coconut is browned, let it cool just a little bit.  Then toss it into the chocolate and stir well.
Use a *cookie scoop and make little mounds on parchment or wax paper.   

I used a middle sized scoop and got 18 haystacks. You can use a small cookie scoop to get more but we find that those little haystacks don't satisfy our craving so I make bigger ones.

 I let them cool in the freezer because no one can wait to eat them.  It only takes about 5-10 minutes. 

And here is one, a toasty coconut haystack, all wrapped up chocolately goodness!

In the south, chocolate melts super fast so I keep them in the refrigerator to be safe.  Some days, they don't make it to the fridge though....they go that FAST!

 Just bring them out for a minute or two before enjoying!

a little garden....

The little lettuce garden we planted in the fall has proven to be just what we needed....

Just look at this lovely salad.  Everything green came from our little garden!

Topped with some grilled chicken and we had dinner!

 We had some basil cheese bread on the side using some of my basil butter....delicious.  A garden is the gift that keeps on giving!

Gunter in the kitchen!

I baked all sorts of goodies over the holidays but when I said the word "pfeffernusse," Gunter jumped up and exclaimed that he wanted to help since pfeffernusse are German cookies and he is a German gnome from the Black Forest (ya know...)

The recipe is a new one to us as my regular recipe went missing.  I was devastated!  How do you lose a recipe?  He didn't let me hear the END of it...and I'm still wondering WHERE it went!

Notice the flour on his face, he was a little eager with the flour...

he helped stirring and scraping the bowl...

And then, into the refrigerator the dough went....he was so sad to see it go.  Here he is trying to reach the top shelf...no legs, no luck!

The next day, we pulled out the dough and rolled it into LOTS of snakes and cut it into lots of tiny little cookies!

After 3 hours of rolling, cutting and baking, we ended up with hundreds of tiny cookies....

of which Gunter dove HEAD FIRST into!  Ya gotta do extreme things when you have no hands!

The recipe isn't quite as good as the original I had, but I can tweak it over the year to get it where it needs to be.  As for Gunter, he had plenty of fun this holiday season and declared the best time of all was when he got to BAKE!

Black eyed peas

In the south, Black eyed peas are pretty common....and a must have for New Year's Day.  Gotta have'em for prosperity y'all!

Everyone has a way to make them but I thought I'd share my way.  You don't need much.

1 lb bag of dried black eyed peas
water
ham bone or salt pork or smoked turkey wing
*1 tsp salt (see below)
*1/2 tsp cayenne (see below)
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced

First, take your beans and soak them overnight.  Before preparing, rinse them in fresh water and set aside while doing the next step.

Heat up a couple tablespoons of oil and add the veggies and seasonings.  Stir til soft.  Add the meat you are seasoning it with.  
BTW, Dean doesn't eat pork...his grandmother was raised on a pig farm and ruined him to pork.  *sigh*
Okay, so since he doesn't eat pork, I always add a smoked turkey wing instead of pork.
*When Dean isn't looking, add a few tablespoons of bacon fat, don't tell him.

Add the beans and cover with water.  I cover the beans with a good 2 inches of water.  Okay, so the turkey wing looks like some alien claw...just ignore it and get back to cooking....

Cover and bring everything to a boil, then turn it down to medium low and let everything simmer for about an hour and a half, stirring every now and then.  Check the water level every 30 minutes or so...you don't want them to dry out.  Also, Black eyed peas don't take as long to cook as other types of beans.  

After about an hour to an hour and a half, remove the lid and check for tenderness.  If they are tender, remove the bone and discard.  (Some people shred the meat and put it back in, but we eat our peas with corned beef so I just pitch it.)    

At this point, remove the lid and let them simmer about 10 minutes to evaporate some of the water.  These are a little bit TOO soupy, see?

During this time, taste them and adjust for seasonings.  I usually add another teaspoon of salt and another 1/2 teaspoon of  cayenne.    

This is how we like them.  A little bit soupy so when they thicken, they don't dry out but not so soupy as to run all over your plate....

We serve these with corn bread too....super good.  Some people will drizzle with vinegar, me?  I use a little ketchup....something I started as a kid and it just stayed with me.  

flora and fauna

Here are a few photos from the Botanical Gardens we saw Christmas night during our Celebration in the Oaks walk.  

and some exotic flowers....

The next morning, we headed back into New Orleans and went to the zoo.   It was another cold day but we bundled up and headed in.   We arrived right at opening time and most of the animals were very active.

  
This peacock was drinking from a large sugar cane pot.

The gorillas were all facing the sun.

All the rhinos were up and moving around.  They are usually WAY out in the field but had fresh hay in closer so they were munching away....

We spent three hours at the zoo, just walking and enjoying the day.   Matt and his girlfriend ...

It was so nice seeing all the activity.  By the time we left, the animals were all starting to relax and take naps so going in the morning was a great idea.

Happy New Year!

        May this NEW YEAR bring much joy to you and your family!