Friday, October 28, 2022

The Animal in Me: Monthly Poetry Group

 

Pumpkin Dessert Croissants (no bake), perfect for holiday season. | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dessert

 

 

 

 

Last Friday of the month is for
Monthly Poetry Group to rhyme.
Diane, Mimi, and I take turns,
"If I Were an Animal," theme this time.
 
As usual, today I'll try,
a poem to write . . . or fudge.
Whether I'm successful or not,
you get to be the judge.  





 




 
 
 
 
If I Were an Animal, a monthly poetry challenge based on a theme. | Graphic property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #poetry

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Animal in Me

Mimi asked this question,
so, between me and you,
if I were an animal, 
here's what I'd do:
 
I'd hibernate all winter,
like a sleepy black bear.
And perfect, if it's icy out,
I'd neither know, nor care.
 
Let out a frenzied bark,
if you're in my space.
Next, spray like a skunk,
so best learn your place.
 
I'd have eyes like an eagle,
nothing fuzzy in my views.
So happy with all I see,
and no readers to me to lose.

I'd remember like an elephant, 
'cause, sadly, at my age,
words, on the tip of my tongue,
I'd prefer be on the page.

Oh, to eat like a horse,
(and I hear that's quite a lot).
But all things considered,
if I could, then why not?
 
 
 
Pumpkin Dessert Croissants (no bake), perfect for holiday season. | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dessert
Pumpkin Dessert Croissants (no bake)
 
 
 
I would roar like a lion,
at injustices I see,
we all need to be equal,
if we're going to be free.
 
But move like a turtle,
at a slower, steady pace.
Our kids grow too fast,
and it's time we can't replace.
 
This life is short, it's fleeting, 
and for us to live it best,
take the good from everything,
and just sidestep the rest.



Monthly Poetry Group, a monthly group writing challenge, poetry based on a theme | graphic designed by and property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics #poetry

 
Before you go, stop by these blogs for more Collections poetry:
 
 




Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics





Pumpkin Dessert Croissants (no bake)
                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Ingredients:
1 box (3.4 oz) cheesecake instant pudding mix, can substitute white chocolate or vanilla pudding mix
2 TBSP powdered sugar
1 cup half and half
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
 
1 dz mini croissants

1/2 cup caramel sauce
8 Biscoff cookies
1/2 cup shelled pepitas
 
Directions:
*Vigorously whisk together the pudding mix, powdered sugar, half and half, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, or until ready to serve.
*Slice the mini croissants in half. Crush the Biscoff cookies.
*To serve: pipe or scoop the pudding mix onto the croissant bottoms. Cover with the tops.
*Drizzle the caramel sauce over the tops of the croissants, sprinkle with the cookie crumbs and the shelled pepitas.


Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Hurricane Hope


 Wild Mushroom & Smoked Salmon Rotini | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dinner

Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida a month ago. For most of us, it's difficult to watch the path of the storm as it sets its eye on land. Those of us with a heart and the capability to feel compassion, that is. For me, the dread was mixed with deja vu.

 
I think you all know by now that my mom's winter home is on Marco Island. Hurricane Irma put Marco in the bullseye back in 2017, which was the last time I'd seen a CNN news story focused on the tiny Island.

In the end of September, it happened once again. Ian's bullseye was confirmed to be Naples. And Marco is just off of Naples.

That night was the second time I'd seen a CNN news story focused on Marco.

After the initial devastation, as the storm worked its way up the coast, weakening along the way, and we were able to assess the damage in general (my cousin was on the island and kept us informed), we waited to hear about the condition of mom's home. And I got to thinking.

Relief that it was over mixed with heartbreak at the loss of life. And there was empathy for all of those who had to deal with the aftermath, the clean up, the loss, the trauma. Millions were without electricity, their streets were flooded hampering even local travel, and something as simple and life sustaining as food was an issue. Where would their next meal come from?
 
 
 Wild Mushroom & Smoked Salmon Rotini | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dinner
Wild Mushroom & Smoked Salmon Rotini
 

I remembered the devastation Puerto Rico suffered in 2017 and how the trump administration did not provide the humanitarian support those citizens needed. Not a hurricane, but I remembered Texas's winter storm last year, when Ted Cruz called his friends, gathered his family, and went off on vacation.

And I thought about DeSantis, and what he had just done to target and harm people taking refuge in his state.

All of which, believe it or not, brought me to hope.

Because despite DeSantis's cruelty, my home state of Massachusetts rose honorably to the challenge.
 
 
Hurricane Hope | graphic designed by, featured on, and property of www.BakingInATornado.com |#MyGraphics #blogging

 
And it made me realize that the tide has started to turn, no matter the level of cruelty by the local administration of the exact state that was now in such a desperate situation, we no longer, at the federal level, reward or punish states based on their local politics. 

We have far to go as a country, just to get back to square one when it comes to how we treat each other. It was a relief to know that under this administration, desperation would once again be met with support, compassion, and collaborative assistance. 
 
Whichever way the wind blows.

Hurricane Hope | graphic designed by, featured on, and property of www.BakingInATornado.com |#MyGraphics #blogging


And that gives me hope.

Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics



Wild Mushroom & Smoked Salmon Rotini
                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Ingredients: 
2 cups vegetable broth, divided
1 package (.5 oz) dried wild mushrooms
1 box (16 oz) vegetable rotini 
4 - 5 oz smoked salmon, sliced
1 TBSP butter
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced 
6 oz portobello mushroom caps, cleaned, stem stub removed, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried dill
1 TBSP cooking sherry
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 green onion, sliced

Directions:
*Boil 1 cup of the vegetable broth. Add the mushrooms and set aside for 15 minutes.
*Cook the pasta to al dente. Place the salmon in the pot with the pasta and cover to keep warm.
*In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, and portobellos. Cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add the wild mushrooms with the broth, the additional broth, salt, pepper, dill, and sherry.
*Bring to a boil, reduce heat, add the lemon juice, and simmer 3 minutes. Mix in the pasta with the salmon. Top with the green onions.
 


Friday, October 21, 2022

Apps and Apps: Fly on the Wall

  
Mini Seafood Cups | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #appetizer




 Welcome to a monthly Fly on the Wall group post. Today 3 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house. At the end of my post you’ll find links to this month’s other participants’ posts.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
You know I talk all the time about the frustrations I go through with auto correct, here's my latest:

PurDude loves sriracha, puts it on almost everything. There has, however, been a severe sriracha shortage for some time now. I saw that a local store, still out of the Huy Fong, had some sriracha made by tabasco. I thought it sounded promising, after all, tabasco does make hot sauce. So I thought maybe I'd buy some for the next time PurDude is home.

When he texted me that morning, I texted back:

Me: Have you found any sriracha lately? I found some from tabasco I thought we might try.
PurDude: I actually did find some at a drug store chain.
Me: What do you think of me getting the tabasco for you?
PurDude: I'm really not much of a smoker.

Huh? What the hell was that kid talking about? So I looked at my text. Yup, thanks to autocorrect, I just offered to buy my kid tobacco to put on his dinner.



Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics
 
 
I walk around barefoot, pretty much as often as I can. Especially in the warmer weather, but often even in the winter if I'm just doing stuff around the house.

Might not be what you do, but at least there's some logic, right?

Hubs wears socks year round, even in the summer when he's just in the house. On a hot summer day, even a warm day early in fall, he wears socks in the house, then takes them off to put his shoes on and go mow the lawn.

Can you explain that to me? Because he can't. Not in a way that makes sense, anyway.



Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

 
 
I had just come back from an initial appointment with a new doctor.
 
Hubs: How'd it go?
Me: I think I need a new doctor.
Hubs: That was a new doctor.
Me: I know, but she didn't like my suggestion.
Hubs: What suggestion?
Me: The one I made when I first saw her.
Hubs: And what was that?
Me: That maybe she should finish high school before I let her examine me.
Hubs (sighing): Yeah, I think you need a new doctor.
 
 

Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

 
 
I had a birthday this month. Hubs went out and got me Dunkin Munchkins to have with my coffee. I love them but rarely have them.
 
Hubs (coming in the house): I got you some Dunkin Munchkins to start your day today.
Me (watching him open the box and start taking out donut hole after donut hole): What are you doing?
Hubs: Having some donuts.
Me: I thought those were for me.
Hubs: You're sharing.
 


Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

 
We were in line waiting for our flu shot when we realized the woman in front of us is someone we hadn't seen in a long time. While we waited, we chatted and caught up on what was going on with our kids. Turns out, one of hers lives not far from PurDude. 
 
Her: So what does PurDude do in Boulder?
Me: He works for PST, a subsidiary of Union Pacific.
Her: Oh, what does he do?
Me: He's a computer programmer. Basically he develops apps.
Her: Appetizers?
Me: Ummm . . . no . . . that's me.


 
Mini Seafood Cups | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #appetizer
Mini Seafood Cups



College Boy was in the kitchen, wearing just a pair of pants, eating breakfast before getting in the shower. I was sitting on the couch drinking my coffee.

College Boy: Can you turn on the news?
Me (turning it on): Sure.
College Boy: Can you turn it up?
Me: I'll turn it up a bit, but I don't want my ears to bleed.

A few minutes later, he was eating and I decided to go shower. 

College Boy: Now that you're leaving, turn up the volume.
Me (thinking a "please" would be nice): Do you want to finish that sentence?
College Boy: Or else.

Well, I guess that's another way to go.
 
 

Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

 

I turned up the volume for him, walked into the kitchen to put my mug in the dishwasher:

College Boy: A fly just landed on my back.
Me: What?
College Boy: There was a fly buzzing around the kitchen and I just felt him land on my back.

I look, and there is a fly on his back. I grab the fly swatter, raise it above my head and start walking towards him.

College Boy: Don't you dare touch that disgusting fly swatter to my bare skin.
Me: Do you want to finish that sentence?
College Boy: Or else!

Just for the record, I was never going to hit him with that fly swatter, but oh, the look on his face. Priceless. 



Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

 
Unlike most people, I don't do everything on my cell. I use a laptop, it works best for the amount of blog writing I do, as well as for editing pics and making graphics.
 
Lately, some of my laptop keys don't consistently make a connection. It's spotty, sometimes I can type normally, other times, I have so much trouble I end up finding, when I edit, that letters have been left out of words. 
 
I do edit when I write blog posts, but when I'm answering people in the thread of my FB posts, I generally don't, just type up my answer and move on.
 
So that's my excuse. Now the story:
 
I run a daily (Monday through Friday) Baking In A Tornado food based Wordle game. Each day I post a link to the puzzle and people go, play, then come back and post their results for me to see how they did. I then respond.
 
One day, someone had guessed my word in 2 tries. Most of the others had taken 3 tries or more. She posted her results with the comment "best score on this thread!" To which I responded, "yes, so far today." 
 
FB notified me later that she had responded to my comment. When I looked, her response was "???"
 
Unsure of what she was questioning, I looked at what I'd said to her. Apparently, not only was the space between the last two words gone, but so was the "oday."
 
So what I'd actually said to her was "yes, so fart."
 
And now I'll be editing all of my comments on FB too.
 

Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

 
Me: We're having a bit of a weird dinner.
Hubs: What do you mean?
Well, I had some chicken left from the other night when we had roasted chicken so I thought I'm make sandwiches.
Hubs: OK.
Me: And I'm trying out a new appetizer recipe, so I thought we'd have those and some fresh fruit with our sandwiches.
Hubs: Sounds good.
 
Later, we sat down to dinner. I waited for him to try the appetizers to see what he thought.
 
Hubs: They're good!
Me: Why do you sound surprised?
Hubs: No, I said they're good?
Me: Are you asking me?
Hubs: No! I like them! They're good!
Me: There you go . . . 
Hubs: Is it safe to eat my dinner now?
Me: Are you asking me?
Hubs: Yes, just, you know, checking.

 

Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

 

I was texting with PurDude, who often goes on trips with his friends from high school. Since he knows few people in Boulder, I love that he does this. But around the holiday season, he usually comes home.

PurDude: My friends and I are going to San Fransisco next month.

I started to panic, he usually comes here in the middle of November and stays through most of December.

Me: Sounds like fun. When are you going? I was hoping you were planning to come here next month.
PurDude. We're going the first week of November. I'd be open to coming home for Thanksgiving, but I haven't received an invite yet.

Invite?

Me: Seriously? This is your home. OK, fine. You're invited to visit from the 2nd week in November until forever. RSVP at your convenience. Today is good . . .

 

 

Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics 

Now click on the links below for a peek into some other homes:







Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics





Mini Seafood Cups
                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Ingredients: 
1 TBSP butter
8 oz bay scallops
salt and pepper
1 cup extra small shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail off
4 TBSP Alouette garlic and herb cheese
1 tsp lemon juice
8 Ritz crackers, crushed, divided
24 wonton wrappers

Directions:
*Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat.
*Pat the shrimp and scallops dry, cut them in half and add to the pan, cook and stir until cooked, the shrimp will be pink and the scallops will be white and no longer opaque. Remove from heat and drain well.
*Whisk together the cheese and lemon juice. Add the seafood and mix well. Add half of the crushed crackers and mix again. Set aside.
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
*Grease 24 mini muffin wells with non stick spray. Press the center of each wonton shell into each of the wells. Divide the seafood mixture into the center of each wonton wrapper. Top with the remaining crushed crackers.
*Bake for 10 minutes.

 

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Spooky Month: Word Counters

 

Leek & Bak Choy Soup (crockpot or not) | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #soup

Counting my words again. 

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month one group member picks  a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we all share what we came up with. 

 This month's number is 28
It was chosen by Mimi of Messymimi'sMeanderings.


As I've been doing in these Word Counters posts, I've chosen a theme and am using my word count multiple times in keeping with the theme. This month's theme though? It might require a little explanation.

 

 

 

~ Today I wanted to acknowledge Halloween season. But somehow "limerick" got stuck in my mind. So, a triple challenge: word count, Halloween themed, and in rhyme? Why not?

~ Little witch Tab liked to zoom,
flying to play by the tomb.
"You must," mom said,
"clean your room instead."
Tab thought "what a waste of a broom."

~ Vampire says "how do you do?"
Running's no option, it's true.
You see, he can fly.
Kiss your blood goodbye.
Your neck's headed for a big boo boo!

~ Don't anger the cook at meal time,
the revenge she'd take? Sublime.
Big toe of frog,
hairy tongue of dog,
your soup's how you'll pay for your crime.

 


Leek & Bak Choy Soup (crockpot or not) | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #soup
Leek & Bak Choy Soup
(crockpot or not)
 


~ Black cat, I don't want to see,
under a ladder . . . especially.
Then ladder fell flat,
splat went the cat,
seems the bad luck had all come from me.
 
~ There was a spider named Fred,
who'd frequently land on my head.
"Try stopping me,
and we'll have to see,
if you'd rather I hide in your bed."
 
  
Scariest Thing Ever | picture taken by, featured on, and property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #Halloween #blogging

 
Happy spooky month!


Word Counters, a monthly multiblogger writing challenge | run by and graphic property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #bloggingchallenge #MyGraphics

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:



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Leek & Bak Choy Soup 
(crockpot or not)       

                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe


Ingredients:
2 leeks
4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 TBSP sesame oil
2 tsp gochujang
1 clove minced garlic
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP sweetened lime juice
1 head Bak Choy
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 can baby corn, drained
6 oz fresh snow peas

 
Directions:
*Trim the leeks by removing just the roots from the bottom and about 3 - 4 inches of the darkest green from the top. Wash well, rinse, and thinly slice.
*SLOW COOKER: Turn the crockpot on to high, add the leek slices, broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, gochujang, garlic, and brown sugar. Stir. Cook on high for 1 hour, then lower the temperature to medium and cook for 2 hours. 
*Cut off the end of the Bak Choy. Separate the leaves and rinse well, making sure to remove any dirt. Pat dry and coarsely chop.
*Mix in the lime juice, add the Bak Choy, mushrooms, baby corn, and snow peas to the broth. Cook for another 90 minutes.
*STOVE TOP: In a large saucepan over medium high heat, bring the leek slices, broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, gochujang, garlic, and brown sugar to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
*Add the lime juice, Bak Choy, mushrooms, baby corn, and snow peas to the pan. Cook for 45 minutes, uncovered, over medium low heat.