I love Artichokes! Don't You?

Isn't this a beauty? Straight off my Artichoke plant!
Bigger and tastier than any you'll find in a store!
Here is the plant in my yard. With another "just" about ready to be eaten!
Maybe tonight!
And look... another still growing right next to it!
See here, a "wee" baby artichoke on it's way to culinary heaven!
The weight of the plant gets really heavy while growing,
so I have to tether it to the fence to keep it from breaking.
After I steam my artichoke, I like to make a dip of mayo, fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt and cracked pepper. The one on the top of the post was devoured by both Dyllan and I...after I told him that it taste just like asparagus (a favorite of his)!
Sometimes after steaming, I'll make a mixture of bread crumbs, butter, salt, pepper, fresh pressed garlic a little mozzarella cheese and newly grated Parmesan cheese.
I then stuff that mixture into every cavity of the artichoke and broil till it's golden brown and gooey. Oh so yum!

~ So...what do you do with your steamed artichokes?

Aprils Fools is right around the corner....

I was reminded by Amy of Mod Podge Rocks that April 1st is almost here!
So I revisited a post that I did on peas and carrots last year.
It was my first try on fake candy food and if you want to the know how I made the above peas and carrots...please go here!

I have browsed the web in search of new idea's and have found
this perfect site....hmmm...what shall I make?
What will you make?
I know I'll for sure try this trick on Dyllan in the morning before school... :)

Magic Milk Bowl:
To set up the trick, squeeze several drops of liquid food coloring over the bottom of a bowl, then pour in dry cereal to conceal the droplets. When a family member sits down to his cereal and adds some milk, he'll think he's entered a Technicolor twilight zone.

Orange Muffins

This has got to be the coolest idea yet!
Check it out here.

Tasty Toffee Recipe

Here is a recipe that never fails to please!
It's easy and delicious for any occasion!

Tasty Toffee

1 stack saltines (must be salted)

1 cup sugar

2 sticks butter

2 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup nuts (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 400*

Line a cookie sheet with foil.

Lay crackers out neatly on the foil.

Melt sugar and butter in microwave, stir and pour over crackers.

Bake for 8 minutes (it will bubble). and will be Hot!

Take out of oven and pour choc. chips evenly over crackers.

Smooth chocolate over crackers with a spatula.

Sprinkle with nuts if desired and cool.

Break apart and enjoy!

The melted butter in the crackers makes them almost like a shortbread and topped off with the chocolate...ooh la la!

Aprils Fool - Peas & Carrots

My Aprils fools joke on my family had good intentions but was a last minute idea and I really had no time to go from store to store looking for the right hue in candy.
I used jolly rancher green apple, and starburst orange.
You will want to heat up your candy for a few seconds in the microwave, a couple at a time.
Work with those, cutting up and shaping them before heating up the next.
Other wise they harden up pretty quick and constant re-heating will only toughen up the candy.

I could have made my peas smaller, and I'll keep a look out for darker orange candy, needs to be the soft chews.
Here are my finished peas and carrots.
Was very hard not to snack on them in the making!

And here they are on Dyllan's plate, next to the real deal.
Funny to watch him try to stab a carrot with his fork.
He liked them well enough and asked for them repeatedly during the meal!
I'm looking forward till next year and already have some new idea's on to what I'll create!

Thanks for visiting!

Penny Pinchin'

Hope you enjoy this penny pinchin' Spa recipe!

Strip it Off!
~ Pore Cleaning Strips
This recipe makes a pore cleaning "strip" which works just like those sold in popular drugstores.

1 T. Knox unflavored gelatin
1-1/2 T. milk
Mix two ingredients and microwave for 10 seconds to slightly warm.
Using a clean cosmetic brush or small spatula ,
apply to nose and chin area.
Avoid delicate eye area.
Rinse brush immediately.
Allow mixture on nose and chin to dry for 10-15 minutes.
Mixture will dry quite stiff and form a "stiff film."
Peel off the film and stare at all the little porcupine quills that used to be in your nose pores
(one of the chief entertainment factors with B'Strips!).

**********************
Also don't forget about my Captured Faerie RAK here!

July 11th, Random Thoughts

Every waking moment I have random thoughts that flit here and there. Some of them are quite good, only, I never write them down. On this morning I did.

8:45am

I really LOVE my Artichoke bush! I picked one a few days ago because I did not want it to fully bloom. I left the other on the bush to eat another day.(see photo)

8:50am
The things they do.

Dyllan woke up with one pant leg up and the other leg down. I asked him to "fix" his leg, so he pulled"up" the other one!

9:00am

I spent all of yesterday working on organizing the garage. Sorting, re-arranging,pitching.I used those bags you suck the air out with your vacuum for my fabric and yarn. What a space saver! It may not look like I did much but I did fill up our trash can. In sorting through my art supplies, I found art mediums that took me back to the days of art classes at my local junior college. Things I found to which I can't wait to use again soon;

1. Art box full of pottery tools

2. Giant art bin full of watercolor and acrylic tubes

3. A nice collection of chalks,pastels,charcoals and blending tools.

4. I even found a bag of beach pit charcoal that I have been known to collect and use when money was tight.

So here I am in the kitchen really jotting down old memories on a notepad while my artichoke is steaming and Dyllan is singing along with the Wonder Pets.

9:30am

I stuffed my steamed Artichoke. I figured that if I have the ingredients, then use them. When I don't then I make a dip out of mayo,lemon juice and cracked pepper. But in my case, I never really follow a recipe. =I just do what feels right. Dried parsley,lots of pressed garlic,melted butter,virgin olive oil,salt, bread crumbs and freshly shaved parm.cheese.

After fully steaming the artichoke, I drain it well and put it in a tin pie pan. I open it up really well, like a flower and stuff the leaves with my mixture, drizzle a little more oil on top and put it in the broiler until the cheese has melted and it is toasty brown on top!

Yum!

It's huge!

10:45am-ish

Fooling around with Dyllan and he head butted my face the way toddlers do with their extra hard noggin,I hurt, I bled. The inside of my lip is cut but at least my tooth is ok. Still hurts, I'll survive.

11:30am

Everyday, every moment, (even during melt downs), Dyllan amazes us.

Today he hung his trains from their magnetic front from a vintage child's chair I've have since I was a little girl. The mere fact that he did this on his own, amazes me.

They look like ornaments hanging there!

I wonder if it helps that I've set the music to a "soundscapes"-a soothing blend as opposed to his usual "chitty-chitty bang bang" blend.

Whoops! They all fell down!