Secret Subject Swap: Karma Comes Knocking

Welcome a Secret Subject Swap. This month 11 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. Read through mine and at the bottom you’ll find links to all of today’s other Secret Subject participants.

My subject is: Karma has come around for someone who hurt you. What happens to them? Are you satisfied?
It was submitted by: Karen of Dinosaur Superhero Mommy.

Is it bad Karma to wish bad karma on someone who's brought you bad karma?

Yeah, sometimes my mind is a scary place. Picture a dog chasing it's tail. That kind of scary.

I have to wonder though, if I revel in the bad karma visited on another, even if they deserve it, will I  rush out the door late for a meeting and find my tire flat? Go to the kitchen with a new recipe idea and leave out an ingredient?

Cranberry Swirl Corn Muffins 
no ingredients left out!

Karma works its own magic in its own way. Like the man who once suggested that G-d sends floods to punish gays and who, himself, lost his home in the recent Louisiana floods. Karma made a house call, so to speak.

I may be superstitious, or maybe I just hope I'm a better person than that, but I think it's dangerous to wish it on someone, to hope for bad things to happen, even to bad people. So if karma has come around for someone who hurt me, let me just make it clear that, like the flood guy, it was the universe making the correction. Nothing I actually wished on anyone. 'Cause that would be .  . . you know . . . bad karma.

 
I was talking to my son recently about someone he knows at school. This person crosses the line. Often. Many people in his sites get hurt. He hides it from adults and people who know him casually, but many have seen what I call his dark side. I told my son that karma will catch up with this guy. No reason to waste time hoping he gets his due, he will. You can't put that much bad out in the world without it catching up with you. 

I feel the same way about someone who hurt me. 

I worked for a guy once, he was a real jerk. Had a bit of a Napoleon complex, if you ask me. He was in charge of our division and his friend handled a department that was not doing well, was way over budget. Cuts were coming and he moved his friend around and promoted me to the sinking ship. I had no choice but hoped that the new title and experience could situate me well in the future. We were about to take a month long buying trip to the Orient and this experience would look good on my resume as well. Either way, it's not like I could decline the promotion.

New at the job, the time we were traveling was also my learning curve. But I really learned nothing. He rode my ass. He put me in absurd situations then stood in the way of any attempts I made to create solutions. He even kept me back from seeing one of the great sight-seeing markets in Seoul on the pretense that I needed to stay at the hotel and watch another buyer work. 

Ultimately I did negotiate some deals, danced in a nightclub in Taiwan, saw some of Seoul, sat by the pool (and was proposed to by a stranger looking to marry his way out of the country) in Jakarta, had leather and suede clothes made for me by tailors, purchased some beautiful jade jewelry pieces, and met up with my then new boyfriend (now husband) in Hong Kong, it remains a time I look back on with mixed feelings.

I did, not long after, lose that job, having been the scapegoat I was intended to be. Between the severance package and the fact that I was living with Hubs by then, I just stopped working and spent my time planning my wedding.

And the manager? He met a woman who married him for a green card, caused discord in his relationship with his kids (who were about the same age as his new wife), spent his money, divorced him and took more of his money. I hear he later lost his job.

Did I wish any of this on him? No. But I swear Karma gave me a wink on its way to knocking on this particular door. 

And am I happy with how it all turned out? Let's just say I can live with it.

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup and check them all out. See you there:

Not That Sarah Michelle


The Bergham Chronicles 
Spatulas on Parade
Dinosaur Superhero Mommy 
The Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver
The Lieber Family Blog 
Confessions of a part time working mom 
Southern Belle Charm 
Never Ever Give Up Hope 
Climaxed 

PS: My friend Rabia wrote a Secret Subject Swap post a month ago about making the world a better place. Since we're on the subject of karma, her piece is called Karma is not a Boomerang, and it's worth a read.

Cranberry Swirl Corn Muffins

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients:
1/2 cup jellied cranberry sauce
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs, room temperature 
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cranraisins
1/2 cup fresh corn niblets

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place 12 paper baking cups in a muffin tin.
*In a small bowl, mash then vigorously whisk the cranberry sauce. Set aside.
*Cream butter, oil and sugar. Beat in eggs.
*Mix in the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Next mix in the cranraisins and corn.
*Scoop into the muffin tins.
 *Put about a half of a TBSP of cranberry sauce on top of each muffin and, using a knife, gently swirl into the top of the batter.
*Bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes or until the tops spring back to the touch. Serve warm.

Coffee and Bacon Wake Up Waffles for Waffle Week

It's Waffle Week and I'm so excited to, once again this year, be celebrating with a talented group of bloggers. 

Last year at this time I was contacted by a friend, Kim, who was looking to see if she could put together a waffle celebration. Oh hell yeah, I'm in. The end result was a post I was so proud of for many reasons. More than 25 bloggers created recipes that covered everything from soup to nuts (well, appetizers to desserts actually).

My contribution was Mac and Cheese Waffles with Honey Bunches Chicken, and they turned out amazing . . . if I do say so myself. I had so much fun that a few days later I shared my Banana Bread Waffles with Cinnamon Banana Glaze.

I have to admit that I was disappointed to find out that Kim had stopped blogging. Fortunately the celebration she started is continuing and this year and I, once again, am so happy to be joining in with a unique recipe of my own for #WaffleWeek2016.

Here's a peek at what we all came up with. Individual pictures and links are at the end of this post.

As for my recipe, hoping to create a recipe completely different from what I did last year, I started to think of breakfast. What are some favorite breakfast flavors? Well, for me, coffee is first and foremost. And nothing gets my family out of bed faster than the smell of bacon cooking. So there you go. I had my idea, Coffee and Bacon Wake Up Waffles!

Coffee and Bacon Wake Up Waffles

I started with a basic waffle recipe and went from there. To add the coffee element I replaced some of the milk not just with coffee, but for added flavor I included hazelnut creamer. I beat the wet ingredients before whisking in the dry to make the batter a little more fluffy.

Last, I mixed in the bacon bits. I used packaged bacon bits (real only, not artificial) because I had used up all of the bacon in the house and had a partial package in the fridge.

Be sure to grease and heat your waffle iron according to the manufacturer's directions. Place the batter in the center of the waffle maker. All this is essential to a perfectly made waffle.

Now comes the hard part. All those delicious smells coming from that little appliance but resist the urge. Don't open till it's done!

But if you just have to indulge in a taste of that first one while the others cook? Well, I won't tell.

As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!

Be sure to visit these blogs for more Waffle Week recipes:

Terri of Our Good Life shares Waffles Gone Wild.

Lauren of Sew You Can Cook shares Buttermilk Cornmeal Waffles with Blackberry Syrup.

Lauren of A Nerd Cooks shares Sweet Potato Waffles with Candied Pecans.

Kaitie of Fuchsia Freezer shares Pumpkin Spice Waffles.

Hope you try them all. You know I will!
Happy Waffle Week.

Coffee and Bacon Wake Up Waffles

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients (makes 6):
1 stick butter
2 cups flour
1 TBSP brown sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup brewed coffee, room temperature
1/2 cup hazelnut coffee creamer
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cooked bacon bits

OPT: warm maple syrup for serving

Directions:
*Melt butter and set aside to cool a bit.
*Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.
*Beat the eggs. Beat in the coffee, creamer and milk. Beat in the melted butter.
*Grease your waffle iron. Heat according to manufacturer's directions.
*While the waffle iron is heating, whisk the dry ingredients into the wet. Last, add the bacon bits.
*When the iron is hot, scoop about 3/4 cup of the batter into the center. Close gently and allow to cook.
*When the waffle iron indicates it's done, check to be sure the waffle has browned. If not, allow to cook another minute before removing to a plate. Keep warm.
*Repeat with the rest of the batter. 
*OPT: top with warm maple syrup.

Excuses, Excuses

I've heard them all. Bet you have too. The thing (well, one of the many things) about having kids is that the excuses are endless. Most of the time they're nonsensical too. Aggravating, maddening, frustrating and infuriating come to mind, but it's possible I'm going off on a tangent here . . .

There was the time the project for school was not completed because "the teacher didn't tell me when it was due." And the time College Boy got a "C" because "the teacher made a mistake".

Then there was the time PurDude got a speeding ticket because "the cops had a quota". And his ticket a few days later? Well that was unfair because he was "barely going faster than the other cars".

And I can't forget the day, when they were little, when I came down to the kitchen to find that one of the boys had dumped over his cup of milk, which had spilled all over the table and was drip. . . drip . . . dripping onto the floor. Why hadn't he cleaned it up? Because I hadn't told him too, of course.
 
I need a drink. And no, I don't mean milk, spilled or otherwise. I mean something strong.

Caramel Apple Martini

I've made an executive decision. In the spirit of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em", I've got some excuses myself. And since I'm all Miss Organized (or the Queen of Forgetful, one or the other), I'm making a list. That way, I've got the perfect response ready for every occasion. I think I'll print it and put it on the fridge.

Mom's list of excuses:

1) The goldfish ate it.

2) Because everyone knows alcohol kills germs.

3) I decline to comment until I've conferred with my therapist.

4) Well I thought it was safe, the lady behind me in line at Walmart said so.

5) I didn't steal your {{insert name of item here}}. I just got tired of stepping on it.

6) I had planned to {{insert whatever I forgot to do here}}, but I was playing Candy Crush.

7) I didn't lie, I had a moment of intellectual creativity.

8) Because everything tastes better doused in chocolate.

9) If Beyonce can wear this so can I.

and if all else fails:

10) Dad did it.

There you go. An excuse for all most occasions.

So put that in your pipe and smoke it, kids. 

On second thought, don't. That's not legal here. 

Unless someone's got an excuse that'll work with a judge?

Caramel Apple Martini

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients (per drink):
2 oz Jim Beam Apple bourbon
1/2 oz butterscotch schnapps
3 oz apple juice
2 TBSP of caramel sauce
3 soft caramels
1 slice of a sour apple

Directions:
*Fill a cocktail shaker with ice to about the half way point. Add the bourbon, schnapps and apple juice. Place in the fridge.
*Thread 3 caramels onto a toothpick.
*Drizzle the caramel sauce around the inside of your glass.
*Gently shake your drink. Carefully pour, without the ice, into the center of your glass.
*Garnish with the caramels and apple slice.