I love Fall/Autumn! The sights, sounds, smells, flavors. The crispness in the air and yet sunshine. Those are the perfect days. Then at night to read or watch tv with my pups by my side and covered in a blanket. This year the blanket is from TJ Maxx as it usually is. However, this one rather than featuring a holiday or season I have sloths. Yep, you read that right. Sloths! I have a unique personality and sense of humor, to say the least.
Since it has been over a month since I created a post I have saved up a multitude of tips and recipes. My challenge is in picking out which ones to share this time. I’m always reading, gathering tidbits, or trying new recipes with an eye out for something new to share.
Just as an aside, I have a little story to tell. My son wash doing a load of wash and having a hard time keeping the dryer door open to load it. I told him what I did to keep it open. He said, and I quote, “That’s your “hacking this life” brain working again!” It struck me as humorous and let me know he was at least reading some of what I write.
Well, here we go…………..I hope you find something useful and/or new!
Clear nail polish or top coat is usually hanging around anyone’s home. It has many uses. 1. If costume jewelry is turning your skin green just add a light coat to the part touching your skin. The problem is solved. 2. Ever have the screws in your eyeglasses come loose? Put a thin layer on top of the screws and they won’t loosen again. 3. If you are labeling something that will be exposed to the elements just put a thin coat of clear polish on top of the writing and no more smudging! 4. If you struggle threading a needle as I sometimes do there’s solution. Just dip the end of the thread into the clear polish. Allow it to dry. It is now stiff and easy to thread. 5. You can also keep a button in place by putting a light coat of clear polish on the thread which will keep it from fraying. I bet some of you have even more uses. Please leave a comment and let us know about your trick!
Thanksgiving will be here before we know it and I have been looking for ways to make it the best it can be for me and the family.
One of the ideas I stumbled upon was instead of making a roux for the gravy, which always holds the possibility of lumps, you can add sour cream to the pan drippings. I am definitely trying that this year. I will have to let you know how it goes!
Another tip to get ahead of the game is to put the carcass and giblets in a large pan of water and cook them while everyone is eating. You can then strain the solids out and you have a great turkey broth for soup.
My family really likes white meat. There are a couple of us that like dark meat but hands down the white is the winner! This year I am going to get a slightly smaller bird and a turkey breast to supply that needed white meat. Again, I will let you know how that works out. My guess is that it will be great!
I want to share a recipe with you but first I need to tell you a little story. My son bought a house that was built in the late 1800’s. There were several things he found hidden in little out of the way spots. Knowing I love vintage things he saved a couple for me. One was a wooden recipe box. It was obviously old with dovetail corners and a rusty metal hinge. Inside was really a glimpse at someone’s life. I would estimate the recipes were mainly from the 30’s and 40’s. Many of them had a lady’s name at the top. I could only imagine ladies at a church group or together for coffee and exchanging recipes. Or maybe they had been to a neighbor’s house and loved a certain food and asked for the recipe. Many of them had old fashioned references that we wouldn’t see today in a recipe. Mixed in with the recipes were other odds and ends such as a receipt to a fuel company. Believe it or not, I found a home for that. A person I knew with the same last name as the company’s said it was his uncle’s business and was delighted to have the souvenir.
Now, finally to the recipe. There was a recipe for molasses cookies that had a last name on it that I recognized as the married last name of a high school classmate of mine. I messaged her on Facebook and asked if she knew this person. It turned out to be her husband’s grandmother. She always made the cookies when the grandkids visited and no one had been able to find the recipe since she passed. Her husband was delighted and shared many stories with her of visiting grandma.
Molasses Cookies
1 cup shortening 1 and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 and 1/2 cup of light brown sugar 2 teaspoons of ginger
1 and 1/2 cup of molasses 1 and 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter
3/4 cup sweet milk flour enough to form a soft dough
3 teaspoons of soda dissolved in the milk.
Cream the shortening and brown sugar. Then add the molasses and eggs. Dissolve the soda in the milk (note sweet milk is milk before it is homogenized with the cream still in it). I used regular milk. Add the milk mixture to the previous ingredients. I then mixed all the dry ingredients except the flour and blended them into the shortening and sugar mixture. Lastly, I added flour a little at a time until the mixture formed a soft dough. I used a scoop to achieve uniform size and placed them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. The cookies baked for 13 to 16 minutes in a 325 degree oven. They were soft and delicious! If you try them please let me know. The picture does not do them justice.
See you again in a month with more tidbits! I hope you found something that interested you in this post. Enjoy your Fall!
