Instant Cuppa Joe

Every morning when I work in Gainesville, I swing by Starbucks. I can't help it...I have to pass by so I midas well stop. I strictly drink decaf because my ticker hates caffeine. What's the point, some ask....the point is that I love the taste and smell of coffee. Especially the taste of freshly ground coffee beans. Chocolate covered espresso beans...yum! Instant coffee always reminds me of old people. My grandparent's drink that stuff. I ont he other hand use it for distressing fabric. At least I did when I was a doll maker. When I went to Starbucks this weekend they were giving out sample packs of their new......INSTANT COFFEE! Italian and Columbian. I was skeptical, but intrigued.  I must say after sampling it ain't your grandmother's Sanka!  I think it was $9.95 for 12 packets.  Not bad if you need Starbucks, but are in BFA somewhere.

New Foodie Books

This week brings some new residents to cookbook row. Jaden Hair, foodie and blogger from Steamy Kitchen has this great book out, as of yesterday.

Ad Hoc looks like it is comfort food with a fru-fru twist.

Another Asian must have. I know I must have Asian ancestors in my family tree because I love their culture so much.

Nosey May

dsj

Pug kisses!

She loves the pugster!

Madeleines délicieux!

Madeleines...oh these are scrumptious.  They are little french butter cakes in the the shape of a shell.  I just bought a Madeleine pan and plan to make a batch after things settle in at the new house.

• 
  
• Madeleine recipe
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Butter and flour 12 (3 inch) madeleine molds; set aside.
2. Melt butter and let cool to room temperature.
3. In a small mixing bowl, beat eggs, vanilla and salt at high speed until light.
4. Beating constantly, gradually add sugar; and continue beating at high speed until mixture is thick and pale and ribbons form in bowl when beaters are lifted, 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Sift flour into egg mixture 1/3 at a time, gently folding after each addition.
6. Add lemon zest and pour melted butter around edge of batter. Quickly but gently fold butter into batter. Spoon batter into molds; it will mound slightly above tops.
7. Bake 14 to 17 minutes, or until cakes are golden and the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertip.

Receipe from Allrecipes.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Spiders are indeed amazing spinners. The best...and their webs are very strong for being so fine. I should love them, but I don't. Not even close. They make my skin crawl just thinking about them. I've had close encounters that made me jump and scream like a mad women. Such as the time I put on a sweater and had a huge wolf spider crawl out the neckline..and the time I failed to see the two banana spiders that made their comfy home on my porch doorway and walked smack dab into their web. They are ugly yes, but harmless. But this vixen is not..She's full of poison.  My property(as of today my old property) was a black widow boarding house.  The suckers were everywhere.  So much in fact that you better not pick up anything outside without investigating first.  Including when you went to check the mail and take out the trash.  She loved those spots.  However, they never made it into our house....or so I thought.

I took over some clean clothes to the new house and plunked them down on the floor to sort them into designated rooms, seeing as though there are 6 of us.  While pulling something from the middle, the vixen  rose up from my laundry and brushed my hand with her spindly leg.  Good God, it couldn't be.  I yelled.  My daughter came running.  I grabbed it between two socks and took it outside for a confirming look.

I flipped her over and there on her fat belly was the perfect shape of a scarlet hourglass.  What if she bit me and I didn't realize it???  I was freaking out.  My daughter piped up that she had just studied this yesterday in nursing school and started rattling off symptoms.  I called DH who told me I was being a paranoid freak and to calm down.  During the hoopla we forgot about the vixen.  When she saw us coming, what did she do, but play dead.  They are not only ugly and terrifying, but smart to!  However, she was no match for my flipflop.

So now that we are going to be somewhat citified, hopefully our spider population will decline.  Unless they hitched a ride to the new house.  Needless to say the chicks are now scared to touch the laundry.  How convenient!