Happy Birthday to Missouri

Just one day late....

Garden Zinnias

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Week ~ August 9th to August 15th

Love This Tree

This Was My Childhood, Really?

I saw this on line and thought it was rather quaint.

 So I made my own version!

Clearly, one is superior to the other.

Random Quote #205

Country Cut Pork with Peaches

 First assembled the ingredients:

- package of country cut pork marinated in Hunt's BBQ sauce
- two large carrots sliced into diagonal medallions
- two large peaches peeled and sliced
- 3 tblsp butter (unsalted)
- fresh black pepper
- 4 large scallions sliced into diagonal medallions
- generous portion of fresh ginger root cut into slivers
- maple syrup
- brandy
- fresh thyme

When making something for the first time, I always get all the ingredients ready first to help me better gage the timing.

 First, I melted the butter on medium heat and added the carrots and ginger (and then a little more butter). I covered the skillet and let it simmer for about 2 minutes.

 Next, I ground some fresh black pepper onto the carrots and added the scallions.

 Followed by most of the peaches.

The peaches I chose were well colored and firm. You don't want to cook with ripe peaches or hard green ones. To peel the skin I placed them in boiling water for just over a minute. Let them cool for another couple of minutes and then just peeled the skin off like nothing.

 Lastly, I arranged the meat on top, added the remaining slices of peach and the fresh thyme. The final act was to combine 2 tblsps of brandy and 1/3 cup of maple syrup and pour all around the meat on the peaches to join the butter in flavoring and steaming the ingredients. I baked it in an oven preheated to 425˚ F. 20 minutes covered with a glass lib and 30 more uncovered.

Served with cous cous. Completely delicious!

The Yellow Brick Road To The First Debate...

The chick, the gays (closeted), one of the two demon obsessed Christians are out.  No one currently indicted was invited.  But they kept the token doctor.

Happy Birthday Colorado!

Home Improvement Throwback: Screen Porch to Sunroom!

 When I first bought my home back in 1994, it was a typical Takoma Park, Maryland home.  Classic-Federalist style with a sort of symmetrical design.  Garage/driveway on one side, covered porch on the other.  It was also built in 1942 and would need serious care sooner than later...  By 2007, the porch was in serious need.

 So I began re-imagining it and even made this façade illustration in my process of securing a contractor to effect the necessary repairs and change.

 The process began in May of 2007 and lasted through early August.  It went from a porch enclosed with aluminum screen doors attached to 2x4's to a fully enclosed, year around room with electrical and heat.

 It's not a wide space by any means, and so I determined early on to make it's center piece of furnishing a suspended bench swing.  I bought the one pictured above from Crate & Barrel.

So now I can lay upon it and read away a lazy summer afternoon only to gaze over my shoulder to the gardens beyond.  Best investment ever!

Cecil Angst

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Week ~ August 2nd to August 8th

Random Quote #204

Happy Birthday New York

Presidential Visits to Foreign Nations

To celebrate President Obama's historic visit as president to his ancestral paternal homeland, I updated from March 2014 my graphic of all presidential visits to foreign nations and am re-posting it here.

Click on the image to see it in its entirety.

An Appealing Photo of a Sycamore?

Cauliflower Florentine Casserole

I had a head of cauliflower and I wanted to make something different with it for dinner. This is what I came up with: Cauliflower Florentine casserole. Not only can I make up good tasting food, I can give it a fancy name! (I served it with some homemade coleslaw on the right side of the plate.)

This is how I made it:

I mixed up: 

1 can condensed Cream of Onion Soup
1 8 oz container Sour Cream
1 pkg frozen Creamed Spinach (thawed but not reheated)

Added in this order: 

Some grated Colby Jack Cheese--I dunno maybe 3 oz? (I only buy block cheese, btw because companies add cellulose to pre-grated cheese to keep it from clumping in the bags and then charge you 50% more for the sawdust...)
Half a little box of Orzo pasta (cooked)
1 Ham Steak cubed
1 lrg head of Cauliflower cut into bite sizes and blanched

All mixed into a covered casserole dish, topped with those Cheddar Cheese Fried Onions and baked for 45 minutes at 325˚.

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Week ~ July 26th to August 1st

Where Does Our Food Come From?

Not where is it grown, but where did evolve.  I made this poster to record my findings.  Summer project.

He's Like A Snotty Nosed Little Child

The Boy Clown on the Clown Car speaks.