The Mixer and me

The mixer (please see blog post on May 2nd for background) and I began our relationship yesterday..... we did the dance and got to know each other....

Many baking recipes begin with the beating of butter and sugar to form a creamy base.   This is painful by hand, and sloppy with a hand mixer.   Yesterday, it was a thing of beauty.   I watched in awe, through 4 batches of blueberry muffins, as my Kitchen Aid performed miracles with butter and sugar.  Light and airy and very smooth.  I was thrilled.

I learned to attach and detach the blade, and to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl on a regular basis.   I am still a bit befuddled on the process of adding flour, and eventually (by batch #4) decided it was easier to stop the machine, lift the blade, and add the flour rather than try to add it during the processing and having it fly around the room.   I did try the plastic ring which is supposed to help you when adding ingredients  but it seemed to take too long when adding flour.    Liquids were easy.

There is more to learn about my new friend.   And I am very excited about the prospect of making some bread!  

I count today as a success.    46 blueberry muffins (two consumed for taste tests) for the dining center at church.    Our guests at the dining center are an extremely appreciative group, so it's fun to bake for them.

The Joys of Vinegar and Baking Soda

Confession:   I have not personally cleaned the house in quite some time.  
For various reasons ......  when the kids were younger, cleaning was part of their weekly chores (and that was successful to some degree...!).   As they left home, my excuses changed to long working hours and business travel ..... and almost anything else I could think of.

With my newly-arrived free time, and after reading "Be Thrifty:  how to live better with less", I decided that housecleaning was something I actually wanted to take on ...... someday.    And then the time arrived -- no more procrastination -- the house desperately needed attention.   So this past weekend, I cleaned the house.

The Thrifty book advises that you can do all your cleaning with distilled vinegar, baking soda and some microfiber cloths/mop.   I ignored the array of chemical cleaners sitting in the cabinet and went to work.   And was totally and completely amazed at the power of distilled vinegar.

The pros:
Cheap
Soap scum and mildew were beaten back
Mirrors were a thing of beauty
Baking soda and vinegar combined got rid of stubborn stains in the sink

The cons:
The smell.... at one point (as I was vigorously attacking mildew), I brought up a fan to my "work area" (the bathroom).   I was fairly convinced I would be pickled by the end of the day.

The microfiber cloths and mop were also amazing.... no chemicals required.    Just dust or dry mop and everything seems to get trapped in the fibers.   Plop the aforementioned cloths and mop in the washing machine and we're good to go for next time.

I felt a wonderful sense of accomplishment.   Let's see...... when will I do this again?

I still can't believe I was in Rome ....

This post is a bit out of order from the last two, but as I pulled together a photo album of cruise photos, I came across the following picture:

Seeing this photo took me back to that first evening in Rome.......

We were desperately jet-lagged, having landed at 8 AM, and finally gotten into our hotel room around Noon.   After a brief rest and shower, we took the metro to the Piazza del Popolo and met our walking tour guide at a nearby bar.   It was a wonderful tour.   Our guide was originally from the US, had lived in Rome for 22 years, and was an architect!   A perfect combination for a walk in this particular neighborhood.   We went into some of the churches, the Pantheon, and walked by the Borghese Palace.   Our guide pointed out good places for gelato, and options for an early dinner.    We loved the tour, and the feeling that we now understood something about this fabulous city.    Afterwards, we thought that we could easily find our way back to one of the places she had pointed out and grab some food.   We wandered, and as we wandered we realized we had no clue where we were.    And then, this particular bar just appeared and I realized it was the one!

I can only describe the pizza as being heavenly.    Look at how much cheese is on this pizza!!!   Each mouthful was incredible.   And with a lovely glass of wine, we began to relax.... and I thought to myself -- I am really here.   In Rome.   Eating pizza and drinking wine.   And it is so incredibly good.   And yes, it's hot, and we're now beyond the point of exhaustion, but this is Rome!   Unbelievable.  

Peas, peas, peas

We love peas!!!!!!   It is a very short season and the last few years the pods have had very few peas.   But this year seems to be a bumper crop, and they are yummy.   Steamed with a bit of melted butter.    I think I could eat them every night during the season.

Update: the tomato plants are thriving!

The blog has not received much attention over the last month, and there are good reasons for that.   However, when you leave things alone for awhile, sometimes they just correct themselves.

The tomato plants seem to be doing quite well:

I am going to talk to them every day and hope for some tomatoes!!!!!!