Hydrangea Photo Shoot

The inspiration from Jane Newdick's The Five-Minute Centerpiece:

Raspberries

We've grown black raspberries for years but have lately been trying some new varieties - the red ones taste like gummy candy and the golden ones, apricots!



(Photos by Eli)

Vintage Recipe: Peanut Butter Pancakes

On Sunday morning I tried a recipe from my recent find of vintage recipes - Peanut Butter Pancakes. It comes from a little cut-out booklet called The Collector's Cookbook from August, 1964. Apparently Woman's Day magazine would include these little booklets in their magazines each month for homemakers which focused on different themes. This one focused on recipes for peanut butter.

Anyway, 3 out of 4 boys liked the pancakes - they especially liked them when a handful of mini chocolate chips were thrown in for good measure.

Peanut Butter Pancakes

Combine 1 C. of pancake mix (I used Bisquick), 1 C. milk, 1 egg and 3 tabl. peanut butter. Beat until smooth. Bake on heated, lightly greased skillet or griddle.

Sunday Drivin'

Barn murals and Amish wheat shocks . . .

A Stash of Vintage Recipes

One of my favorite yard-sale finds this summer so far has been this stash of vintage recipes. An elderly man was selling gallon bags stuffed full of recipes - he told me to take two for $1. Upon rooting through them at home, I realized that the little recipe books, clipped recipes and handwritten notecards were probably his late wife's collection. Going through them makes me feel as if I'm looking through the contents of a 1950's housewife's kitchen drawer of recipes. So far, I've found a carbon, typed copy of Lillian's pickle recipe; a food advertisement from a 1939 issue of Good Housekeeping; a faded, scrawled copy of a chocolate chip recipe with "happy eating" written at the bottom; a booklet from 1954 called Casual Cooking with recipes to make on your Reynolds Wrap Sportsmans Grill; a soft ginger cookie recipe clipped from a newspaper the year I graduated from highschool; and a 1964 booklet entitled Cooking with Coffee. As I go I'm keeping a list of recipes to try: Maritime Macaroni, Cheese 'N Frank Bean Bake, Peanut Butter Pancakes and Hot Cheese-Onion Bread. I can't wait to see what else I discover!

Herbs in the Windowboxes

I haven't had much success growing herbs in my flowerbeds - they only get the morning sun there and, in most cases, that's not enough. I've grown chives, mint, lemon balm and oregano but that's about it. A few months ago I read an article from my herb magazine stash about growing herbs in windowboxes. My windowboxes definitely get more sun than the beds, so instead of my usual geraniums I popped a variety of herbs in. They are doing so well! Besides the sing-song line-up of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (lemon thyme) that is, I've got basil, French tarragon, stevia and lavendar. Eli enjoys chewing on a tarragon leaf from time to time (to release the licorice flavor), Ben is going to try putting some stevia in with his meadow tea, and I've tried fresh basil on our pizza. But my favorite thing to do with the herbs is simply stand on the porch, brush my hands over them and inhale their marvelous fragrances.

A Post to Read and Rejoice

Sarah Clarkson does it again. She beautifully articulates with her writing a truth I've known in my heart but could not express with words. Pop over to Thoroughly Alive and read Beauty Never Lies.

The Annual Garden Luncheon

Below are the photos from this year's annual garden luncheon that my pastry chef/gardener friend gives each summer. It's such a relaxing afternoon - filled with great food, conversation and company - amidst a lovely garden and quaint cottage.

This year's menu included:

* Sweetened Pineapple Mint Iced Tea
* Fruit Parfaits with Vanilla Yogurt Over Fresh Cherries, Blueberries & Strawberries
* Blueberry and Dried Cherry Scones with Butter & Lemon Curd
* Chicken Salad
* Lemon Poppyseed Zucchini Bread
* Fresh Greens with Grape Tomatoes, Strawberries & Olive Garden's House Dressing
* A Dessert Tray of Homemade Brownies with Mini Chocolate Chips, Lemon Tarts & Strawberry Jam Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting
* A Plate of Lavendar Cookies

A Flow-Through Tea Bag

I sometimes think of myself as a flow-through teabag, soaking in the warmth of sons and daughters and allowing that relationship to produce a stimulating brew that gives love and lift to family life. Looking from my vantage point, watching young people climb reminds me that I am - whether I want to be or not - an example. What a privilege! As older women pass from the scene, I become the leader of the line, the embodiment of what God wants for my daughters, my daughters-in-love, nieces, and granddaughters. What am I saying to them? God has clearly issued my orders:

Older women likewise are to reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good . . . encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored (Titus 2:3-5).

-- Jeanne Hendricks, Afternoon - For Women at the Heart of Life

A Day at the Amusement Park

Breakfast With A Bear

M. got up before me this morning and walked out to the cabin's kitchen to look for wildlife out the windows. By the tone of his voice when he called for me to come, I knew he was looking at something big. I flew out of bed, wild-eyed and wild-haired, to see what he saw. It was the biggest black bear I've ever seen in the wild. He was standing against a telephone pole down the road rubbing his back against it. By the time I ran for the camera, he had lumbered down the road and crossed the rail trail into the woods. We watched for a bit through the trees as he did some more scratching on a guide wire then disappeared. What a sight.


Marty had me take a photo of him reaching his arm up to the place on the pole where the bear came to standing up. The bear was at least 7 feet tall.


After all the excitement, we made tea and coffee and sat down to breakfast. And what a breakfast. The big one is called a Peanut Butter Bombe and the little one a Peanut Butter Dittie. We bought them yesterday at a little bakery we frequent when in the area. Rosencrans' Bakery in Montoursville reminds me of Sweet Stuff Bakery in Jan Karon's Mitford books. Just opening the door is a treat as you are greeted by a wave of cinnamony-smelling goodness. With homemade bread, English tea biscuits, giant cookies, fruity danishes and the like, it's a very good thing that I don't live near the bakery. I'd be as round as that bear.

Sunday Drive in the Mountains

Sunday afternoon we went for a drive along the ridge of one of the mountain tops. We were rewarded with these views from Mt. Lebo Vista:

A Day at the Cabin

M. and I had the best time on Saturday.

We went to a book sale where you bought two bags for $3 and stuffed them as full as you wanted with books. We did.



We yard-saled and stopped at quaint shops. And played miniature golf and listened to a lecture in the van on the evolution of the English language. (I know, I know. The lecture sounds dull but it wasn't.)


Then we bought barbecued chicken from the veterans, found a park and had an impromptu picnic. On the ground. By a babbling brook. With sharp cheese and hard pretzels and iced tea. Then we drove down the road to a tiny candy shop and bought 3 chocolate-covered Oreos to share for dessert.



I told you. The best time.

Quiche, Muffins & Tarts

A week or so ago Candy and I did one of our once-in-a-blue-moon cooking days. We spend the morning cooking and baking girlie goodies that our family wouldn't necessarily appreciate. Then it's time to dress the table, take lots of photos and partake of the feast while we catch up on each other's lives.


Here's the latest menu:

* Orange Juice Punch
* Zucchini Quiche
* Spicy Pear Muffins
* Garden Salad with Parmesan Cheese & Croutons
* Lemon Fruit Tarts



And because the quiche was especially colorful and delicious, here's the recipe:

Zucchini Quiche

Beat 4 eggs slightly in a large bowl. Add 3 C. grated zucchini, 1 C. Bisquick, ½ C. chopped onions, ½ C. Parmesan cheese, 2 tabl. parsley flakes, ½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper, dash of oregano, dash of garlic powder, ½ C. oil, and 1 C. grated cheddar cheese. Stir well and pour into a buttered, deep 9” pie pan. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 or until firm and golden brown. (Don't overbake - it's actually best a tiny underdone.)

A Summer Feast

Their house help, a.k.a. his nonlegally adopted daughter, was frying chicken, making potato salad with scallions, bacon, and sour cream, cooking fresh cranberries with shavings of ginger root and orange peel, simmering a pot of creamed corn, deviling eggs with homemade mayonaisse, and rolling out biscuits on the countertop. A pitcher of sweet tea stood at the ready, covered with one end of a tea towel; his grandmother's heavy glass pitcher, filled with unsweetened tea, was covered by the other end. A three-layer coconut cake, set square in the center of the kitchen island, reigned over the room next to a vase of early, apple-green hydrangea blossoms.

-- Jan Karon, In This Mountain

Walking the Trails

We recently started a little project - to walk all the trails at one of our local parks. On any given Sunday afternoon, we pull out the trail map and pick one of the 9 trails scattered over 1,500 acres to explore. Last week we discovered a creek that we didn't know the park had. A pleasant surprise . . .

A Visit to Family Heirloom Weavers

Last week Caleb, Eli and I enjoyed a unique experience - a field trip to Family Heirloom Weavers. This little business tucked in the countryside does big business all over America. They have woven carpets, drapes, fabric and other items for nine president's homes, many historical sites, as well as a variety of historically-based movies. Our tour of the factory was given by the owner - Mr. Kline - who obviously loves what he does. It was amazing to watch him go from loom to loom - touching the fabric, adjusting a part, re-attaching a thread - a master at his craft.