Finale: Your Superpower Monthly Poetry Group

 

 

Last Friday of the month is for

Monthly Poetry Group to rhyme.

Diane, Mimi, and I take turns,

Your Superpower, the 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.  

Finale

Superpowers are fluid things

often changing throughout life,

Quite different when single,

than as a mom and wife.

College found me taking tests,

with hardly any sleep.

My superpower? Partying,

and yet, good grades, I'd keep.

Marriage and moving far away,

to where I'd not fit in,

Sometimes superpower can be,

just not giving in.

IVF, loss, and pregnancy,

the struggle, it was real.

Superpower in those years:

making mind and body heal.

When raising babies, some days,

wonder how we all stay alive.

My superpower in that time:

setting each of us up to thrive.

Family life frequently changes,

I later had time for me.

Exploring possibilities . . .

what would my superpower be?

Blogging was the answer,

recipe development too.

Writing something from the heart,

and creating yummies too.

  

 

Celebrate Anything Cake

My superpower in those years,

creating a blog community.

Developing, running challenges,

cultivating support and unity.

Eleven and a half years gone by,

done more than I planned to do.

Blog superpower's run its course,

though I'll miss all of you.

A superpower needn't be,

something way over the top.

Today it's just as simple as,

saying it's time to stop.

 

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

 

On the Border

Messymimi's Meanderings

 

Celebrate Anything Cake

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups birthday cake ice cream

1 box (15.25 oz) white cake mix

1/2 cup oil

4 egg whites

2/3 cup vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup multicolored nonpareils

1/4 cup multicolored sprinkles

1 cup frosted animal cookies, crushed

1 can (12 oz) whipped white or buttercream frosting

2 - 3 drops food coloring of your choice

1 can (16 oz) vanilla frosting

OPT: additionals cookies, nonpareils, sprinkles, and/or sugar pearls for decoration

Directions:

*Defrost the ice cream.

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans.

*Beat the melted ice cream, cake mix, oil, egg whites, and yogurt for 2 minutes. Mix in the nonpareils and sprinkles. Spread evenly into the cake pans.

*Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the centers spring back to the touch. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans and cool completely.

*Place the bottom layer onto a serving plate. 

*Mix a few drops of food coloring into the whipped white or buttercream frosting. Reserve 1/3 cup of this frosting in a piping bag and refrigerate.

*Frost the bottom layer with half of the remaining whipped frosting. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the chopped cookies, add the second layer and repeat with the remaining whipped frosting and chopped cookies.

*Add the top later. Frost the top and sides with the vanilla frosting. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

*Decorate the top and sides with the reserved whipped topping and the edible decorations of your choice.

Woes and Peace: Winter Poetry Monday

 

Poetry Monday's once a week.

I bet you know which day.

I don't participate every time,

But today I've come out to play.

My friends assign each week a theme,

Winter is what they chose.

Now it's up to all of us,

to put our thoughts into prose.

 

 

Woes and Peace

Winter is a time when I

need too many clothes!

Freezing, I must cover up,

from head down to my toes.

Driving's not so easy now, 

it's quite the scary deal.

Has me asking myself twice, 

before I take the wheel.

Full on storms are just the worst,

snow with sleet and ice.

Those days I stay in the house,

indulge my baking vice.

Blackberry Ginger Cookies

And those storms that never end,

our muscles pay the price,

when we need the snowblower,

to go over the driveway twice.

 

But then . . . 

Freshly fallen snow can bring, 

a calming sense of peace,

sitting by a roaring fire,

and all wrapped up in fleece.

 

 

 

Wait!

Read more poetry, 

you're not through.

Some talented writers

are in this crew:

 

On the Border

Messymimi's Meanderings 

 

Blackberry Ginger Cookies         

                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened

1/2 stick margarine, softened

1 egg, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup plus 3 TBSP sugar, divided

2 TBSP molasses

1 TBSP black raspberry sparkling water

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice blend

1/4 tsp salt 

1 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup blackberry preserves

18 blackberries, halved

Directions:
*Cover baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

*Cream the butter, margarine, egg, brown sugar, 1/2 cup of the sugar, molasses, and black raspberry sparkling water, until smooth. Mix in the flour, cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda.

*Drop the blackberry preserves into the dough and roughly cut in with a knife.

*Drop by heaping tsp onto the baking sheets. Leave lots of room, they spread. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar.

*Bake for 9 - 11 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately press a blackberry half into the center of each cookie. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely.

Hurrah: Monthly Poetry Group

 

 Last Friday of the month is for

Monthly Poetry Group to rhyme.

Diane, Mimi, and I take turns,

If You're Happy and you Know It, the 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.  

 

Hurrah

Holidays are a hectic time,

there's so much going on.

Parties, gifts, cookie exchange,

and Secret Santas are drawn.

Planning and then preparing for

meals, and snacks, and sweets.

Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, birthdays too. 

Come to my house, everyone eats. 

Working in the kitchen, I

await kids from near and far.

Excited, anticipating, as

I listen for their car.

Making their favorite recipes,

and trying a few that are new.

I double up on everything so, 

they'll have some to take home too.

 

Peach Pecan Pie

No matter how much work it takes,

it bothers me not a bit.

'Cause having us all together here,

makes me happy. And I know it.

 

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

 

On the Border

Messymimi's Meanderings

 

Peach Pecan Pie

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pie crust

1 peach

4 TBSP butter

1/4 cup peach jam

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup pecan halves

OPT: whipped cream for serving

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 inch pie plate.

*Remove rhe pit from and peel the peach. Slice about 1/3 of the peach and set aside. Chop the rest of the peach and set aside separately.

*Melt the butter. Whisk together the butter and the peach jam. Once mixed, whisk in the brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Finally, whisk in the eggs. Mix in the chopped pecans and the chopped peach. Pour evenly into the pie crust.

*Arrange the peach slices and the pecan halves on the top of the pie.

*Bake for 40 minutes, tent with tin foil, and bake another 40 minutes. Cool, then refrigerate to set.

*OPT: serve with dollops of whipped cream. Keep leftovers refrigerated.

Translation: Watermelon Poetry Monday

 

Poetry Monday's once a week.

I bet you know which day.

I don't participate every time,

But today I've come out to play.

My friends assign each week a theme,

Watermelon's what they chose.

Now it's up to all of us,

to put our thoughts into prose.

 

 

Translation

Of many options for raising kids,

we each choose our own way.

I was lucky to stay at home,

My friend Sue worked during the day.

Nate, Sue's son was in daycare,

from the time he could only coo.

His friends were there, enjoyed his day,

and the owners, they loved him too. 

One warm weekend afternoon,

invited Nate (and Sue) to play.

Something I came to realized was,

I understood what my son tried to say.

It came, I'm sure, from being there,

as he tried to develop each word.

Like "addle," I knew, was water,

though to others, it sounded absurd.

It happened a few times that day,

as we pushed our boys on the swings,

I understood completely when,

he'd mispronounced many things.

After a while I asked him,

what he'd like to share for a snack,

It didn't take him long at all,

to quickly answer me back.

 

Pear Pie Cookies

"Addlemoonya," said my smiling son,

naming his choice of sweets.

Not the cookies I thought he'd want,

but great warm weather treats.

 

Sue looked at me, shoulders shrugged,

the kids continued to play.

Smiling, I walked into the house, 

watermelon was on the way.

 

 

 

Wait!

Read more poetry, 

you're not through.

Some talented writers

are in this crew:

 

On the Border

Messymimi's Meanderings 

 

Pear Pie Cookies         

                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/4 cup caramel baking bits

1 pear, cored, skinned, chopped

1 tsp cinnamon, divided

1/4 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/2 stick butter, softened plus 1 TBSP, divided

1/2 stick margarine, softened

1 cup brown sugar plus 2 tsp divided

1 tsp vanilla 

1 egg, room temperature

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt, divided

3/4 tsp baking soda

Directions:

*In a food processor or clean coffee grinder, grind the caramel baking bits to a powder. Set aside.

*Melt 1 TBSP butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped pear, 2 tsp of the brown sugar, 1/4 tsp of the salt, 1/2 tsp of the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Mix. Lower the heat to medium low and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Set aside.

*Cream the remaining butter, margarine, remaining brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat in the egg.

*Starting on the lowest speed just until incorporated, beat in the remaining cinnamon, crushed caramel baking bits, flour, the remaining salt, and the baking soda. Mix in the pears.

*Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to overnight (the longer, the better).

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper.

*Roll the cold dough into about 25 balls, about 1 inch in diameter. Place onto two baking sheets, these cookies spread. 

*Bake for about 15 minutes, until the edges brown. Cool on baking sheets for 3 minutes before removing to cool completely.

Midnight Message: Monthly Poetry Group

 

 

Last Friday of the month is for

Monthly Poetry Group to rhyme.

Diane, Mimi, and I take turns,

Message Me is the 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.  

 

Midnight Message

"Message me," the text had said,

it had me seeing red.

Was the middle of the night and I'd

been asleep, in bed.

Messages alert for me, 

always, 'cause . . . just in case.

Delete and block, the thing to do,

return dreams to my head space.

Just got back to sleep and my

chocolate breakfast dream,

when another alert came through, and I

thought that I would scream. 

 

Chocolate French Toast

"Message me," it said again,

not sure how that could be,

the delete and block was supposed to have 

permanently set me free.

Angry now I answered,

though really not too smart,

"who the hell are you," I said,

"how do I make you depart?"

"I just want to talk," he said.

I answered in no time,

"well, do you know that stalking is,

a serious legal crime?"

"Blocking me does nothing,"

was his scary retort.

"I can get through anything,

so forget a police report."

"As for who I am, perhaps,

a selfie explanation will do."

Ding went my cell phone alert,

a picture had come through.

"The picture is of nothing,

it's just completely blank.

And if you want the truth, I'm sick

of your stupid prank."

"The picture is of me," he said,

"I'm more transparent than most,

and I'm already departed, 'cause

the truth is, I'm a ghost."

Happy (almost) Halloween!

and perhaps it's time we started,

to give some thought to making friends,

with the invisible (semi)departed.

 

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

 

On the Border

Messymimi's Meanderings

 

Chocolate French Toast

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chocolate ice cream

2 eggs

1 tsp brewed coffee, cooled

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

7 slices white bread

3 1/2 TBSP butter

OPT: serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and/or with syrup.

Directions:
*Thaw the ice cream in a pie plate. Once liquid, whisk with the eggs, coffee, vanilla, and salt.

*Heat 1 TBSP over medium heat in a large skillet. Swirl to cover the bottom of the pan.

*One at a time, dip both sides of two slices of bread into the liquid in the pie plate. Place into the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes, until the bottom has browned. Flip over. Reduce heat a little if the pan gets too hot, and cook the other side for about another 3 minutes.

*Remove and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining butter and bread slices.

*OPT: serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and/or with syrup.