Traveling...

We're finally off... first stop Indiana... second stop MO.... third stop Oklahoma!

I will hopefully check in ... I'll miss reading all your blogs!

Erin

Rhubarb Recipe!!!

Ok sorry it's taken me so long to post again! So much for being on top of things for posting :) Today is going to be a busy day for me! I'm planning on getting some painting accomlished in my Scrapbooking/Sewing room! I'm super excited and a little nervious that the color will be too bright! We'll just have to see. I'm paint the walls, honey tea and the trim Brilliant Oak. :) It just sounds nice doesn't it? I'll try to take pictures and post them when it's finished. It's going to be a little sad working a lone.. but I'll manage :)

Here's the Rhubarb Coffee cake recipe. I'm going to start by warning you there is a LOT of sugar in it :-/ I couldn't believe as I kept adding sugar to each part, as I made it, how much there was in it! I would also suggest you make it for a crowd becuase it doesn't taste as good after a couple days. I was actually going to ask my mom if you could cut it in half... but I forgot. So if you feel like experimenting go for it!!!

Start with making the Rhubarb filling:

-Cook on med. heat 3 cups rhubarb and 16 oz of sweetened strawberries covered for 5 minutes (I was worried about it burning but it was fine if you make sure it's not on high)

Add to mixture after 5 minutes:

2 TBS lemon juice

1 Cup Sugar

1/3 Cup Corn Starch

Cook and stir for 5 minutes until mixture is thick and bubbling. Then set it in the fridge to cool while continuing with the rest of the Cake.

Mix and cut 1 cup of Margarine or butter into :

3 Cups Flour

1 Cup Sugar

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Baking Powder.

Beat together Wet ingredients :

1 Cup buttermilk

2 Slightly Beaten eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and spread 1/2 the mix in a 9X13 pan. Spread cooled rhubarb mix over and put remaining batter in clumps over the top of the rhubarb. Sprinkle top with crumb mixture:

3/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Flour

1/4 Cup Margerine or Butter

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes!

Then enjoy!!! I made mine the night before we were going to eat it and it tasted AMAZING the next day!!!

Another great rhubarb recipe is to make Rhubarb sauce! It has been an easy favorite of Asa and mine this spring. It's a great way to use up Rhubarb fast. All you do is you cut up the rhubarb into inch sized pieces (I liked mine a little longer). Then you put them in a pot with a LITTLE water and boil covered for a little bit and then uncover and boil it into a sauce.

Add the amount of sugar you want and cool. Or eat it warm over icecream. Once cool cut up oranges in it and enjoy!

It's really easy and tasty. I like it really sweet but Asa liked it sour :) I've also tried freezing it like you would Apple Sauce. I'm not sure how it turned out yet, I'll have to send it in Asa's lunch tomorrow and ask him what he thinks of it :)

Well everyone, have a great week! What are some cooking projects you've been making? Any exciting Summer plans? We're planning a trip to MO for my brother-in-law's wedding. We'll be gone for about 2 weeks!!! :-o

Hope you're enjoying the cooler weather! :)

I have it's given me a break from my even pressing job:

Erin

PS I want to post some gardening pictures soon! Our veggies are all up and look amazing! It's been fun watching them grow soooo fast!

Hello Everyone! Time for a new update....

This weekend was mothers day and we had a very relaxing day with our family, the Waltons, and out new very great friends the Easleys. Saturday though we went to a wedding and had a great time with all the people I use to work with at Garf's! It was nice being all together again!

I made this amazing Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee cake! It was soooo yummy! I started making it after 10 and it took a while to make! I was finally finished with it around 12 am. I kept telling myself that my mom would do something like this for me... SO I kept working at it ;) And it was appreciated by almost everyone! Here's a picture of it!

I thought I'd share my lilac tree picture with all of you! It's soo beautiful this year! I'm so happy with it!

Here's a picture of the black walnut trees we chopped down!

I hope you all have a good week!

Lazy blogger

I think everyone must have the same blogging illness. It seems like everyone who blogs is saying the same thing, "we just don't feel like blogging". I really haven't been in the mood to blog either. I think that most of my illness is due to lack of comments :D I'm not going to threaten to shut down my blog, and I'm not saying this to get a flood of comments. I merely want to let everyone who comments know how much they are appreciated! NOW for those of you who don't know how or simply don't comment you should realize how much I don't like stalkers ;) I do acknowledge that my blog is not as exciting as others. I'm trying to spice it up... that's why I post some interactive question at the end... but that hasn't even helped you guys come out of your shells! I will try to be a more exciting and frequent blogger!!!

Tonight i am sitting on my porch and enjoy the cool breeze blow over my sun kissed arms! I was mowing all day so it's nice for the little break! THe lawn has just been cut and there's a lilac bush just around the corner. Close your eyes and imagine the smell... it's amazing! I have been realizing more and more how thankful I am that winter is now behind us! The spring has been a very welcomed season and it makes me feel alive!

Asa and I are starting to get our garden planted. we were all ready to plant when we found out that black walnut trees are not helpful in growing gardens. In fact they kill most of the plants we are planting! So Dad took care of our problem but cutting down three trees tonight during dinner! I think he was feeling distructive!

The other weekend we went to NYC... here are some of the random pictures we took! We had such a great time... I love that city! <3

The other weekend we went to NYC...

Some kittens we found...

and then this weekend we were attacked by ants.... that's the pretty quick version of what's happening!

Goodnight all... I'll try to be better at blogging!

Erin

Long time not blogging

Hey Everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I have last updated. My computer is totally crashed and even though I'm working on fixing it it seems to be taking a while. I have been using Asa's for everything but I'm having problems getting pictures on his computer. It's strange!SOOOO my wonderful sister is home for the week and while she's at work she left her computer with me!!! <3>

Our weather in upstate NY has simply been amazing for this time of year... this pictures speaks of a relaxing afternoon in the sun!

These are my toes Em painted :D She's great!!

The sunset on Easter

My little baby sister and I

Saturday was our 6 month anniversary!!! We celebrated by going to this musical that the highschool was putting on. The students did an amazing job! I was thrilled as this is something i was raised listening to ! :)

Here's my dear husband working hard in the garden! I tend to have a very very short attention span!

Here's the yummy food pictures!

Two weeks ago I made shoofly pie! This one turned out ok. However, I made another one this week and the consistancy and flavor was much better

I got hungry for tabouleh the other week!

I decided that this looks like a pretty healthy dinner :) (might have a repeat tonight)

Ok so I have been having fun looking at healthy eating blogs and being inspired. Frog Pond is opened again so YAY for fresh fruits and veggies! My food budget likes the fact that we can get so many delicious things for sooo cheap! Another thing Asa and I have been focusing on is making everyday special and new. I found " the newly-wed project " . This couple is doing something new every day for the first year of their marriage! I was so impressed and wished I had thought of the idea!!! :) I admire them for finding time to do something new every single day. Sometimes we find it hard to even take a few moments to just sit and talk. We aren't taking up their challenge and doing something new every day but it does make us stop and think about things to do together that can be special.

What's something that has causes you all to stop and enjoy the little moments in life?

OKKKK I hope that my computer is fixed soon!

<3>

Challenging contest

Hey Everyone!
The other day as I sorted the mail at my post office job I realized how very few people write personal letters anymore. I remember the days when running to the mailbox was an exciting part of the day. You'd get news from friends and family. However, now we simply hop on facebook, stalk their statuses and move on with our day. Something has been lost in the process of us moving on with technology. I would even go as far to say that writing letters is, in a sense, is a lost art.
About a year ago my uncle found letters that my great, great, uncle, who fought in many wars, had written. These were letters that he had written to my Grandpa and his siblings, what treasures these letters are! When I read them I smiled as I noticed his reactions to the letters the family had sent him overseas. He spoke of the war, inquired of things back home, and gave his advice to the children. Thinking back to these letters makes me wonder, "What are we leaving behind for later generations?" With e-mails and facebook there will be no old letters in the barn for them to discover.
So here's my challenge to all you: Start writing letters once again! From April 12th to May 12th I want to have a letter writing contest. The person who sends the most letters by May 12th will receive a prize, which is still to be disclosed. The honor system will be used to keep track of how many letters are written. Whoever decides to take part will keep track and let me know how many personal letters they have sent over this time period. BILLS DO NOT COUNT! :) Encourage the people you write to write you back and to write others. Letters have a personal touch and it's a great way to let people know you care and help them keep up to date with your life. Please feel free to let me know of any interesting places you decide to write! It'll be fun to see where all the letters go!

I'd like to leave you with something to ponder; is 44¢ too much to let someone know you care?

Let me know if you're interested!

Erin

Sweet Cravings

Tonight after our walk with Mom and Dad I was craving something sweet. I asked my facebook friends to give me ideas of what I could make but no one came up with anything that really hit the spot. After looking at my newest, favorite blog, http://foodologie.com/, I decided to come up with some little "pies".

I started with instant pudding and a Graham Cracker crust made of crushed Grahams, Agave Nectar, and butter. I cooked that for 4 minutes in my convection toaster oven at 375 degrees! :)

After that I decided to put a little layer of peanut butter. WELL after the squirls got into our first HUGE container of Natural Peanut butter Asa decided to put this bucket in the freezer.

SO when I went to get it it was FROZEN rock solid! So I made shavings of peanut butter and sprinkled them over the crust!

Then I cut up Bananas and put them as the next layer.

Then I drizzled a little bit of chocolate and then put pudding down.

I then added some pudding, little spot of whipped topping, a drizzle of chocolate and some more peanut butter shavings :)

And THIS is my husband waiting for the treat, and doing taxes. WE've been doing taxes for the past two days... NOT too much fun! I think he deserved this! His favorite... bananas and peanut butter! <3

What's some of everyones favorite quick sweet snacks to make?