KAF "Baby Bagels"...

Lots of work, texture is good, taste is ok, but if looks count - these poor things are very strange looking... The bottoms took on the look of the steamer rack. David loves them!

In search of a great bagel recipe...

Last week while in Westchester, I was on a quest for some good NY style bagels. I found a few stores listed on the internet close to my route back to MA (didn't print them figuring that I'd find the one in Pleasantville with no problem). I couldn't find the store in Pleasantville, so I stopped to find the bagel place in Chappaqua but the road construction put be back onto the highway, then I saw a sign for Katonah and exited, stopped in a knitting store to look around and asked them about local bagel shops. I was told that the really good bagels were 5 miles back in Bedford Hills but there was a local place nearby. I unfortunately opted for the closer place. I purchased one dozen and was awarded with 3 more for free. Back on the highway I tore into a sesame bagel and took two bites vs one, because I couldn't believe how tasteless and texture-less the first bite was - I immediately tossed it back into the bag. I then broke a piece off of the cinnamon raisin bagel which wasn't much better than the sesame bagel. I proceeded down the highway and stopped at a CT rest area. I was so disgusted with my bagel purchase that I took the 15 bagels and threw them into the trash barrel...

Having just watched the movie "Julie and Julia" I decided to try and make my own bagels. NY bagels are shiny and crisp on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside. I did some recipe research and they all called for a "bread flour". I googled and found that King Arthur Flour (I use their unbleached white flour all the time) has a fabulous website. I decided to purchase some of their high-gluten flour along with some non diastatic malt powder and am looking forward to making Baby Bagels

As soon as my flour arrives, I'll test this recipe and report back. I'm still looking forward to having a good NY bagel - oh well, I know I'll find one during my next, not too distant future visit to Westchester (but hopefully will make a decent bagel before that).

Germs are so much fun!

I've been working on my felt sculptures and have had the best time playing with germs today. I'm now up to five and counting... They bring a smile to my face, and hopefully yours too!

Clams

Debbie and Dan came over last night for an impromptu dinner. I made my famous roasted brined chicken, rice pilaf, fresh from the garden green beans, tomatoes, sliced cukes and french bread.

We received the most fabulous gift too - freshly dug clams... here's a picture of them after I steamed them open - can't wait to make linguine tonight with clam sauce -YUMMY!!! I bought a shellfish license to use on vacation but due to the unbearably hot weather, didn't attempt clamming. The license is good until March 2010, and I'm now anxious to try my luck at clamming - they are so delicious straight from the ocean - thanks again Dan!

Wild Turkeys, Garden Wonders and Pretty Views

I had a fabulous time golfing at TPC Boston yesterday.

Not only did our team win 2nd Low Net, we also got to watch the construction of the staging and preparation for the upcoming Labor Day weekend Deutsche Bank Championship.

As an added bonus we also spotted some wild turkeys feasting in the fescue behind a sandtrap.




This morning while trying to get a little weeding done, I decided to dig up some potato plants that sprouted from last years potato plant area of the garden. I was so excited to see that potatoes can survive through the winter in the ground and regrow the following year... I fried them up for dinner - they were very yummy!



Today's golf adventure at Shaker Hills in Harvard, MA proved to be very enjoyable, at least for the first 14 holes. We teed off as a twosome an hour and a half after the prior groups and had the course to ourselves until we caught up to the foursome in front of us. We played the first 14 holes in less than 3 hours then our round came to a sudden halt. It took over an hour to finish the last four holes. One of my least favorite things in golf is having to wait - totally throws of the rhythm and raises blood pressure. Fortunately it was only for the last four holes. At least I got to snap a shot of a very pretty view.

Tomorrow's another day on the links - Wedgewood Pines in Stow - I hope to play better than today.

You might lose some bottoms...

if you triple the amount of blueberries in the scone recipe! I wanted to bake up some batches of scones to freeze for vacation and wanted to load them up with blueberries, so I put in 3x's what the recipe calls for and ooooops - some of the scones lost their bottoms! They aren't as pretty as they could be but they sure are yummy! (I typically use 2-2.5 x's the berry amount with no problem, but I guess I now know the blueberry max.)

I just took the 2nd batch out of the oven (this one was made with soy milk since I ran out of 1% moo juice). I'm going to have David do a taste test and see if he notices a difference.

and I wonder if they'll lose any of their bottoms!

Blueberries, TJ's shopping and Pedi Day...

This mornings tweet was for me to pick blueberries, shop at TJs (Trader Joe's) and then get a well deserved pedicure... Well, all of this DID happen plus running other misc errands.

I picked 4 quarts of blueberries in 40 minutes when the humidity got the best of me so I decided that was enough picking. I brought the blueberries home so that they wouldn't bake in the trunk then ventured out again.

While heading to TJ's I remembered that a wine I liked was on sale so took a small detour to buy a case of Tohu's, Sauvignon Blanc at a great price. I followed a wave of people getting their last liquor purchases done before the new MA alcohol sales tax starts on Saturday. While at the liquor store, I noticed that Leinenkugel beer was also at a great price. Knowing that this is one of David's favorites, I called and asked if he wanted me to get some -he asked me to buy as much as I could fit in the car.... so I bought 6 cases of the Classic Amber and was still able to squeeze my single case of wine in the trunk in between my two pair of golf shoes, umbrella and misc golf attire that's typically in my trunk.

Trader Joe's was my next stop and as usual, bought more than planned and stuffed the bags in the back seats and headed home.

Next on my "list" pedicure. It's been quite a while since I've had a pedicure and a longer while since I've had a pedicure locally (last summer I had my pedi in Beacon Hill while visiting the kids). I started looking at reviews online of local spa's, nail salons and wasn't feeling great about going to any of them. I emailed and called a few friends for advice and by the time I was off of the phone it was 4pm and I really didn't want to venture out and possibly deal with rush hour traffic.

It's now 6:30pm and I'm happy to report that I did indeed get a pedicure and discovered a way to make a good pedicure great by pouring myself a nice glass of wine while giving myself a good pedicure... The money saved with my do it yourself pedi paid for 1/2 case of the wine that I got today.

Ahhhhh - another great day - CHEERS!!!

Sunday - stayed cool indoors

Since I'm so sun sensitive and dealing with heat rash on my back , I primarily stayed indoors and worked on my elephant sculpture (see louiegirl fiberarts blog).


I did take time to cut some of my "guaranteed to stay pink" hydrangea - yes they are purple (which I love).


I also made some yummy eggplant parmesan (oven grilled unbreaded eggplant) for dinner, and snapped some interesting cloud formations above the house.

...another great day!

Rainy Day...

Time to work on the little man that rides the elephant!


The elephant guide is on the left - the rider is on the right. See my Fiberarts blog for details of this project.

More Berry Picking...

Jose and I went berry picking yesterday and I picked 4 quarts of blueberries and a pint of raspberries. I froze 2 quarts of the blues (now have 3 bags and need 8 more to get me through the year) and made a batch of Chef Jason Bentley scones and a raspberry/blueberry tart. I wanted to share these with the family so drove to Moxie Wellesley to deliver my basket of goodies. Hopefully AJ will try the scones - I'm sure that Alex, Gianni and Karen will enjoy them!

Debating on picking more berries today. Still have to make another batch of scones for the freezer too!

Bastille Day

We went Chloe's Bistro in Hudson, MA to celebrate Bastille Day with Dan and Debbie. We had a great meal (although the service could have been better).



Our appetizers were fantastic -



ooops - no pix of our entree

The dessert was yummy too!

Imagine my surprise...

As I was walking back from the mailbox, I glanced at the water logged peonies and was startled by the following...











I guess that they were water logged too and heard that the sun was going to shine today!!!

Great Vermont Views...

We played at Okemo Golf in Ludlow VT on Friday. I had a lousy round but captured some neat pix

Fiery Sunrise in the Horizon

While walking by the front door I saw the beautiful sunrise and had to rush for the camera... I could feel the heat starting up for the day - today we're supposed to hit 85. I'm not quite ready for the heatwaves. Tomorrow cool then Tuesday another scorcher!!! Crazy weather in New England - so what's new!

Full moon

The beautiful full moon sets in the west at 5:10am...

(I've been awake since 3:26am)

Go Red for Women!!

In recognition of "National Heart Health Awareness Day", I will be wearing red today (in fact, I've been wearing a red robe since 3:16am).

The needle felt mini hands and heart titled "I give my heart to you - A Grandmother's love for her Grandchild" was created for the “Art from the Heart of Bolton" display at the Nashoba Valley Winery. Members of the Bolton Artisans Guild created "heart" pieces for this special wine and chocolate reception on Feb 8, 2009 from 3:30 - 5:00pm

2:17am and all is well??

Well it looks like the Prednisone side effects are winning... INSOMNIA is a common side effect of the medication, and I'm one of the lucky ones whose asthma responds to the prednisone at the cost of sleep. One of the advantages of not sleeping is that I get to read about the possible other side effects.

• "My brain won't shut up" I can relate to this when I wake after 3-4 hours sleep
  
• Mood swings (my moods are always swinging, with or without the drug)
• Moon face (my greatest nightmare) so far it's just a little puffy
• Weight gain (I have a temporary excuse for my added pounds)
• Hungry horrors (loved the 1/2 package of sugar wafers at 10pm last night)
• Blurry vision (as long as it's temporary and doesn't hurt my laser vision)

A couple of weeks to go before I finish my dose. Good news is that while I'm in Vegas, I'll have something to do in the wee hours when the Moxie girls are sleeping - cha ching, cha ching!


On a happier note! Today's fiber adventure, a "felted stone rug" made of felted wool balls sewn together. I'm going to attempt to make one so I'll be making wool balls for a while (it takes >200 of them) or I might just make a mini rug for Doodle's dolls.

Another 4am wake up

This is becoming old really fast - I woke up at 4am again today. I started thinking about blogging - how crazy is that. So here I am at my pc wondering what creative work I can accomplish today. I can continue with the restaurant rendering or start another project. Knowing me, I'll be starting one or two different projects today - it's hard for me to stick to one thing - I'd rather work on several for variety.

I also want to work on my scarf and finish the color patterns piece so that I can work on the solid cabling and bubble stitches. This is the scarf in progress...

Do I want to blog?

Blogging takes time and commitment, neither of which I have much of these days.... It's a great way to share information and photos with friends and family, so I will "try my best" (that's Frances' background voice).