photo credit: AlishaV

Electrical fires are not a rare thing, and can happen to anyone, at any time.

Actually, I experienced it a couple of times as well.

My first experience was with my oven, as all of a sudden, the heating element started to smolder, and my whole oven lit up with flames. I turned the oven off, but the fire did not stop.  Finally I ran to the main fuse box, and flipped off the oven fuse, at which point the smoldering slowly subsided, and my oven started to cool off.

If you do not know where your fuse box is located, or which fuse switch is for which part of the house, you should learn it right now, and hopefully will never need to use this knowledge.  I was lucky enough to be familiar with our fuse box.

Another time was just as scary, since while I was away from home, my toaster oven “miraculously” turned itself on.  I was not even using my toaster oven that day.  It must have been heating at full blast long enough for the handle to fall off, the electrical socket, walls and counter top to get  too hot to touch.  Fortunately it did not cause a more serious fire, and to this day I still do not know what caused it.

I learned my lesson, so now before leaving the house I always unplug the toaster oven, the coffee pot, my curling iron, and any other small appliances I have plugged in…just in case.  I encourage you to do the same, because not only it will save energy (anything plugged in, even if not in use, draws energy), it will give you a peace of mind, while you are away.

Here are additional tips on preventing electrical fires in your home:

• Cover all unused wall sockets with plastic safety covers, if you have small children in your house (they love to stick their curious little fingers in there, or anything else they might be holding).
• Avoid running extension cords across walkways, doorways, and under carpets.
• Follow manufacturer’s instructions for plugging appliances into electrical outlets.
• Avoid overloading outlets, by not plugging more than one high-wattage appliance into each receptacle at one time.
• Install smoke alarms on every floor, and near all sleeping areas.
• Change smoke alarm batteries regularly. As a rule of thumb, change every time you adjust your clocks for daylight savings time.
• Replace, or repair any loose or frayed cords on all electrical devices (that includes your laptop).

If you have any other ideas on preventive measures for house fires, please share them with us.

It has been a while since I posted some  energy saving tips, which I usually find on one of the sites I often visit.

Today’s tip is about saving money on your heating and cooling, by having the right kind of windows in your home.

Today’s tip:  Multiply Your Pane

What?
Save money – and reduce global warming – by replacing inefficient windows.

How?
Clear, single-pane windows let as much as 84% of the heat out of a room. Get rid of them. In their place, install efficient windows, such as multiple-pane windows with low-E coating.

Why?

The average homeowner spends nearly 50% of yearly energy costs on heating and cooling. Window replacement can reduce that to just 20%.

Did You Know?

Cooling generally costs you about three times as much as heating. So if you live in a warm climate, you have even more incentive.

Check out your windows, and do the right thing to save energy, and money.

Those of you who love gardening, will agree that this hobby needs careful planning, requires its share of physical labor, and definitely lots of cooperation from Mother Nature, thus favorable weather.

Whenever someone asks me what my plans are for the weekend, often time I am unable to answer that question precisely, because it all depends on the weather.

Since Saturday is my only free day to catch up on my gardening, especially in the Spring and Fall season, and if the weather is great, I am out there during early morning hours, digging in the dirt.

Sunday, on the other hand, is a “Day of Rest”, so I attend church services, spend time with family and friends, have fun and relax.

This year’s Autumn season has been wonderful on several Saturdays, so I had a chance to clean up my flower beds, and my veggie and herb garden, to prepare them for Winter.

My Zinnias are still blooming, thus the gorgeous picture of my favorite Hot Pink Zinnia flower (top picture).

Zinnias are very resilient plants, thus easy to grow successfully.  However, some varieties  grow very tall and require a sturdy steak to support them.  Please keep this in mind when planning to include these beauties in your flower garden.

Roses are another great plant to include in a flower garden, since they continuously produce gorgeous blooms.  Even during their tougher day, when aphids try to “eat them up alive”, they lose many of their leaves, but still manage to produce new flowers.  Just amazing!

This is a display of my Golden Autumn Harvest of remaining veggies and herbs.

About two weeks ago, I completed the harvest of beans, potatoes, tomatoes, and lettuce.  I also, seeded another round of dill, which should still provide a nice crop before the first frost appears.

Flat Leaf Italian Parsley is my preferred parley, over the curly leaf parsley.  I pulled up some of these plants with its roots, since these add a great flavor to soups, and roasting meats ( the roots should be cleared of the stringy small roots, and the outer skin layer needs to be scraped off, before cooking).

These are my Onion Chives, and Garlic Chives.

Garlic Chives turned up coincidentally in my herb garden, as a result of trying to grow garlic from small cloves, which never matured to real garlic heads.  Garlic Chives have a mild garlic flavor, so I use them in salads, and other dishes, along side of Onion Chives, and Dill Weed.

Red Beets are a must in my garden.  I cook many Eastern European foods, so these are a main ingredient in my Traditional Ukrainian Borscht, Botvinka, Red Beet Vinaigrette, and my favorite Exotic Red Beet Salad.

Here are my Basil leaves, and Sorrel leaves.

I picked the Basil leaves off of the stems, rinsed them with cold water, patted them dry, spread them on a paper towel, microwaved them for one minute, then left them out to dry.  Once fully dried up, I crushed them in a food processor, and stored them in an air tight spice container.  Their aroma is much stronger, and fresher, than the manufactured one (and a real money saver).

The Sorrel leaves may be preserved for later use as well. Here again, they need to be rinsed under cold water, patted dry, chopped, placed in a zip lock freezer bag, and may stay frozen for few months.

I usually freeze enough in each bag (2 tightly packed cups), to be used in my Sorrel Borscht (Shchav) recipe.

I had to leave the best for last.

These Green Peppers are the best, because they are totally FREE!

I planted these from the seeds I scooped out from Green Peppers I bought at a farmer’s market for our dinner.  The seeds sprouted nicely, and the plants grew to maturity without much TLC.  Now we can enjoy them stuffed with Bulgur and Turkey, or a Vegetarian recipe.

My garden is almost ready for its winter snooze, but there are still a few more things that will need to be done before then.

Hopefully you enjoyed my gardening pictures, stories, and might even try the linked recipes.

Please share your gardening experience with all our readers.

Our grandson turned ONE, and of course a wonderful, and lots of fun, Birthday Party was prepared by his parents.

With careful planning, they rented a beach house in Ocean City, NJ for a family vacation, which included the whole family from both their sides, thus total of 17 people.

What could be a better theme for a birthday party celebrated by the beach, than  Pirates?  Totally awesome!

My daughter-in-law, a teacher by profession, was very creative with the whole pirate theme, and decorations, which I will share with you in this post.

This is the beach house where the family vacation took place, including  and very special birthday party.  Special Pirate Flag was flowing in the air during the party (it also came in handy for the grandparents to recognize the right house, while returning from a morning walk on the beach.  As you can imagine how tricky it can be to spot the right house,  since most of them look very similar from the beach side, plus, there are no visible house numbers to go by).

Special balloon arrangements with a Pirate Ship balloon, lots of flags, treasure chests, and fishing nets with fun sea creatures, were part of the birthday decor.

Everyone had lots of fun watching these expandable,  spongy, sea creatures expand, while submerged in a pan of water, over a 24 hour period.  They increased in size at least 200%, and turned into super fun decorations.

These were some of the games the children played at the party.  The inflated baby pool was filled with plastic balls, so the little ones could jump in, and roll around.

Each parent was given a supply of several pieces of fabric, ribbons, sashes, etc. to create a saw free pirate outfit for their child (two variations shown above).

Also, some stick on Pirate Tattoos were available, and special name tags, for children and adults.

The outdoor games included a water balloon toss, during which the children would smash the water balloons on rubber duckies and plastic boats, scattered all over the play area.

The “Walk the Plank” piece was leaned against the edge of the ball pool, and the little pirates (with parent’s assistance) walked up the plank,  and plopped into the ball pool.

Everyone really enjoyed these outdoor activities, and the pirate outfits turned out adorable.

This was the Birthday “Thank You” Favorites corner.

There were “Thank You” favorites for adults – Pirate Trunk full of gold chocolate coins, Pirate Popcorn, and a sample bottle of White Rum.

The “Thank You” favorites for children consisted of a large bag (see above), filled with an inflated Pirate Sword, Pirate Hat, Pirate Eye Patch, Tattoo stickers, small games, and Kraft Materials for the Pirate Outfits.

Since I dedicated this post to decorations and games, my follow up post will be about, the cake and the fun foods, all in Pirate  Theme of course.

Lots of interesting stuff, I promise, so please stay tuned.

Aunt Elisabeth is a great cook, and she is always willing to share her German recipes with all of us.

I already posted her recipe for Beef Roulade, which is my husband’s favorite beef dish.

Today I will post her recipe for Zwiebel Kuchen, which her daughter absolutely loves, and it’s a must on her birthday menu.  It is also a great dish to be included in a brunch menu, light lunch, or dinner, as well as for parties.  Great for Octoberfest parties!!

The crust may be made from scratch, but for a quicker version, she uses crescent roll ready made dough, as in this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 container of Crescent ready made dough ( see TIP below)
• 1/4 lb. bacon (6-8 slices)
• 6 large onions
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream, or buttermilk (I used 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup plain yogurt)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 Tbs Caraway Seeds
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped chives (optional, but I added it in)

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, fry the bacon, until fairly crispy.
2. Remove, and set aside to cool.
3. Once cooled, crumble it up, and set aside.
4. Leave about 2 Tbs of bacon fat in the pan, and add the chopped onions.

5.  Fry onions to a golden color.

6.  Remove from stove, and set aside to cool.

7.  Remove the ready made crescent dough from a container.

8.  Spread on a lightly floured work area, and roll it out to form a circle,

about 1 inch larger than the pie dish to be used for baking.

9.  Place the dough in an ungreased, 10 inch glass pie dish, and press it

down to  cover the bottom and sides of the pan.

10.  Set aside.

11.  In a medium mixing bowl, add 3 eggs, and beat for a couple of

minutes.

12.  Mix in sour cream (yogurt), chives, salt, pepper, caraway seeds, and half of the bacon crumbs.

13.  Add flour and baking powder, and mix to create a smooth pasty filling.

14.  Fold in fried onions.

15.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell, and smooth the top with

the back of a spoon.

16.  Sprinkle the bacon crumbs over the top of the mixture.

17.  Place in a preheated oven to 350 degrees.

18.  Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, or test it with a toothpick, by inserting it in the middle of the tart, and if it comes out dry, the tart is done.

19.  Remove from the oven, and let it cool in the baking dish, on a wire

cooling rack.

This onion cake/quiche/tart tastes great warm, as well as at room temperature.

It’s light creamy texture, in addition to the sweetness of the sauteed onions with bacon flavor, makes this a delicious dish for any occasion. Yum!

TIP: You may also make your own pie crust, use a ready made pie crust, Phillo Pastry, or make it crustless.  For crustless tart, you will need to grease lightly the pie pan and sprinkle generously, the bottom and sides, with flavored bread crumbs.  Also, you will need to cut down on the baking time by about 10 minutes.  For best results, do the toothpick test.

If you need a quick snack, or a simple dessert, all you need to do is to reach out for a box of Cocoa Krispies Cereal, and whip up some tasty treats.

I usually make the traditional Rice Krispies treats, with melted marshmallows and butter, but when I noticed this recipe (on the cereal box), I really wanted to try it.

I liked the finished product, since as simple as it was to make, it tasted rich and delicious.

The addition of chocolate and peanut butter to the cereal, really kicks it up a few notches, and turns it into a nutritious, and a very tasty treat.

It makes a great school lunch snack, or a prefect after school treat, for your children, or grandchildren.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup sugar (I used light brown sugar)
• 1 cup peanut butter (I used organic)
• 6 cups Cocoa Krispies cereal
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels (I used dark chocolate)
• 1 cup butterscotch chips (you can also use peanut  butter chips)

Directions:

1. Add sugar and corn syrup into a 3-quart saucepan.
2. Cook over medium  heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves, and mixture begins to boil.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in peanut butter.
5. Mix well.
6. Gradually fold in Kellogg’s Cocoa Krispies cereal, until all well coated.
7. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 x 2  cake pan, with butter, Crisco, or cooking spray (I used butter).
8. Spoon in the Cocoa Krispies mixture, and press down firmly, and evenly.
9. Set aside.
10. Add chocolate and butterscotch chips into a 1-quart saucepan.
11. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly, until all chips are melted, and blended together.
12. Spread melted chocolate/butterscotch mixture over the cereal mixture, smoothing it evenly with the back of a spoon.
13. Let it cool off, and firm up.
14. Cut into serving pieces.

Enjoy.

Chicken Pot Pie may be a great new dish, or another creative way to use up leftover chicken meat.

In my case, it was  the latter, since I had some leftover chicken meat from our Roasted Chicken dinner.

I am a very frugal person, and do not throw away food I already paid for, plus spent time preparing, so I create new meals out of leftovers.

Poultry is one of my favorite meats to cook with, so you will be seeing many more of my favorite chicken recipes.

I made my own pie crust for this recipe, but you may also use a ready made pie crust ( one  15 oz. package of the refrigerated pie crust).

Ingredients for Pie Crust:

• 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup Crisco vegetable shortening
• 1/3 cup butter, cold, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1/4 tsp.  salt
• 6 Tbs. cold water ( 1/3 cup)

Directions for Pie Crust:

1. Place the flour on a work surface.
2. Add shortening, butter, and salt.
3. Using a pastry blender (cutter), cut in the cold butter and shortening into the flour, until it resembles peas size pebble mixture.
4. Gradually add cold water, and continue cutting it in with the pastry blender (or you can pulse it in a food processor, until ball of dough forms).  I also kneaded it for a minute, to get a ball of dough.
5. Do not overwork the dough, or it will get tough.
6. Divide dough into two balls (2/3 – for the bottom crust,  and 1/3 – for the topping)
7. Place in a zip-lock plastic bag, and place it in the freezer for about 15 minutes, while you are preparing the filling.

Ingredients for Filling:

• 2 -3 cups of cooked chicken meat, cubed
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 clove garlic, chopped (click here to check out my favorite garlic chopper)
• 3 Tbs. all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 1/2 cup chicken broth ( fresh, canned, or made 0ut of chicken bullion and water)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, or milk
• 16 oz of frozen peas and carrots ( I also used 1/2 cup of frozen corn)
• 1/2 tsp.  salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
• 1 egg yolk (for egg wash)
• 1 Tbs. water (f0r egg wash)

Directions for Filling:

1. Saute the chopped onions  in butter, for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Add the chopped garlic, and saute for 1 minute longer.
3. Mix in the flour and thyme.
4. Cook for 1 minute.
5. Whisk in the cream/milk, and cook for 2 minutes, continuously stirring to make a smooth paste, as it will thicken.
6. Remove from heat, and mix in the chicken, frozen vegetables, salt and pepper.
7. Remove the pie crust dough from the freezer.
8. Lightly sprinkle work surface with flour, and roll out the larger piece of dough, to form a circle, at least 1 inch larger than the pie dish (11 inches in diameter).
9. Place the pie crust dough into an ungreased pie pan and press it down lightly to fit.
10. Trim off any dough hanging over the pie pan.
11. Pour in the filling.
12. Set aside.
13. Take the smaller dough ball,  roll it out on a lightly floured work surface to 1/8 inch thickness.
14. Cut into 1/2 inch wide strips, using a pizza cutter.
15. Lift gently each strip, twist it and lay it, one by one, on top of the filling.



16. Repeat the process again, by laying these twists across the top of the previous layer, and shown above, forming  a lattice design.  Use any remaining pieces, twisting, and laying them around the rim of the pie pan.



17. Prepare egg wash by beating the egg yolk and water.  Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the pastry twists.
18. Preheat oven to 400 degrees  Fahrenheit.
19. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet (to catch any run off sauce), and bake for  about45 minutes, until the crust is golden, and the filling is bubbly.  If the crust is browning too fast, you may lay a piece of foil paper over it.
20. Remove from the oven.
21. Cool for at least 15 minutes, before serving, to let the filling settle, and firm up.
22. Cool completely, if storing in the refrigerator for later use.

Enjoy!

It’s my Goddaughter’s Birthday, so I am making a special cake to celebrate this occasion.

I was searching for a new recipe to make it a very special project, and decided on an Orange Torte.

I was very excited about making this cake, because it is different from other ones, since it is layered with tangy custard like filling, rather than cake icing.  The cake, the filling, and the icing, all have a common ingredient, which is orange juice and orange rind.

The whole cake has a refreshing, slightly tangy taste, which makes it stand out from the usual everyday cakes.

Since I made this cake with three layers of filling, plus icing on top and sides, it is quite fitting to call it a torte.

Torte Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 4 egg whites (set egg yolks aside)
• 1/2 cup butter, unsalted, softened
• 2-1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbs. orange zest (grate the peel of one whole orange, set aside)
• 1/4 cup orange juice

Torte Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar.
2. Add orange zest.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Set aside.
5. Add the orange juice to the water.
6. Set aside.
7. Gradually add the flour mixture alternating with the water/juice mixture, to the creamed eggs and sugar.
8. Keep on mixing until all is well incorporated.
9. Beat the eggs whites to a stiff peaks.
10. Fold egg whites to the mixture.
11. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
12. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans, and dust lightly with flour.
13. Divide batter in half, and fill both cake pans.
14. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake, comes out clean.
15. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.
16. Remove from cake pans, and cool completely on wire racks.
17. Split horizontally each cake round to form 4 cake discs.
18. Set aside until ready to layer the torte.

Filling Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbs. cornstarch
• 1-1/2 tsp. orange zest
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten (use the ones set aside)
• 2 Tbs. butter

Filling Directions:

1. In medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, orange zest and salt.
2. Mix the water with orange juice and egg yolks.
3. Gradually blend in orange juice/water/egg yolk mixture.
4. Cook over medium heat, stiffing constantly, to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot, and forming lumps.
5. The mixture will turn out thick and bubbly (resembling pudding).
6. Remove from the heat.
7. Add butter, and mix until melted.
8. Cover, and keep in the fridge until ready to use.

Frosting Ingredients:

• 6 Tbs. unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
• 1 Tbs. orange zest
• Dash of salt
• 4-6 Tbs. orange juice

Frosting Directions:

1. In a medium size mixing bowl, cream the butter.
2. Add the confectioner’s sugar, salt, orange zest and 4 Tbs. orange juice.
3. Mix well.
4. Add more orange juice as needed, so the frosting has a good spreading consistency.

Torte Assembly:

1. Place one of the bottom cake discs on a cake platter.
2. Spread 2-1/2 Tbs. of filling over it, leaving about 1/4 inch of the cake edge, free of filling,
3. Cover with a second cake disc.
4. Repeat the process, with remaining cake discs and filling.
5. Spread the cake frosting all over the top and sides of the cake.
6. Decorate to your own style.  I chose orange slices, mint leaves, and the remaining orange zest, for the finishing touches on my Orange Torte.
7. Keep it refrigerated until ready to serve.
8. Once the frosting sets, it is best to cover the cake with foil, to keep the frosting from drying out too much.

Enjoy.

TIP: This torte holds up very well for several days, so you can make it ahead of time, and keep it refrigerated.

Summer is almost over, but this does not mean that we considerably cut down  on driving.

Some of us prefer to get on the road once the “summer rush” is over, to avoid all the traffic, congestion, and actually enjoy the trip.

Autumn season can be a breathtaking experience for travelers who enjoy the beauty of nature, especially once the leaves begin to change colors, which is my favorite part of that season.

Here are some tips from ecomii.com, on getting the most out of your auto fuel, and help the environment.

Today’s Tip: Relax Your Driving

What?

Improve your gas mileage – and reduce emission – by slowing your roll.

Why?

Aggressive driving can reduce gas mileage by up to 33%, costing you an extra $1.31 per gallon.

Did you Know?

The 1912 Ford Model T got 28.5 miles per gallon, making it more fuel-efficient than many of today’s wheels.

Poppy seeds are used in many food preparations, in cooking and baking.   Dried poppy seeds are not exactly something one would like to snack on, but once used in breads, cakes, salad dressing, etc, it enhances the texture and flavor of the dish.

I personally like onion rolls sprinkled with poppy seeds, Poppy Seed Cake, and Poppy  Seed Roll (Zavyvanets – in Ukrainian).

Today I will share a recipe for a Poppy Seed Cake.

This recipe is quite easy, since it calls for a can of ready made Poppy Seed filling, unlike when my mom was baking with poppy seed, she had to prepare her own filling from scratch, which was a long process.

She cooked the poppy seeds, then she drained it well, then grind it twice on a fine blade.  After that she would flavor it, and finally it was ready to be used for baking.

Aren’t you glad Solo does all this hard work for us?  I sure am!

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil (or any vegetable oil)
• 1 cup lukewarm milk
• 1 can (12.5 oz) Poppy Seed Filling (by Solo)
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose white flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda

Directions:

1. Separate egg yolks from egg whites.
2. Set the egg whites aside.
   
3. In a large bowl, add 3 egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar.
4. Beat well until light and fluffy (it will resemble vanilla pudding).
5. Add in oil, and mix well.
6. Mix in the Poppy Seed filling.
7. Add milk and Vanilla extract, and mix one minute longer.
8. In a separate bowl, combine the flour with the baking soda and baking powder.
9. Gradually mix it into the batter.
10. Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form.
11. Fold into the batter, evenly.
12. Preheat the over to 325 degrees F.
13. Grease well a 9 x 13 x 2 sheet cake pan, and dust it lightly with flour.
14. Pour the batter into the pan.
15. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
16. Remove from the oven, and cool in the pan, for 10 minutes.
17. Invert it from the pan onto a wire cooling rack, to cool completely.
18. Cut into serving pieces, and dust the tops with powdered sugar, before serving.

Enjoy!