Quandary

I am in a bit of a quandary… You see I have a dilemma.  A catch 22 if you will.  I am at a deadlock, an impasse maybe even a quagmire. I am in a bit of a pinch, a jam even a pickle, and I might even be in a tight spot.

I find myself perplexed and uncertain as to what to do in this particular situation.

So when in doubt and faced with indecision…go with your first instinct.

One of each Please!

January Photo A Day 2013: Surprise

Day 12. Surprise: I love when I stumble across coins when I’m walking. It’s a lovely surprise. That would be a lucky photo for me. Can you think of a way to capture surprise?

Surprise!!!  There’s a baby in my cake!!!

In the southern United States, the tradition was brought to the area by colonists from France and Spain and is associated with Carnival (also known as Mardi Gras). Celebrated across the Gulf Coast region from the Florida Panhandle to East Texas, it originated in French Louisiana and King cake parties in New Orleans are documented back to the eighteenth century.

The king cake of the New Orleans tradition comes in a number of styles. The most simple and the most traditional, is a ring of twisted bread similar to that used in brioche topped with icing or sugar, usually colored purple, green, and gold (the traditional Mardi Gras colors) with food coloring. In 1972, a small bakery in Picayune, Mississippi, Paul’s Pastry, started adding fillings

 Also, some bakers have now taken the liberty to offer king cakes for other holidays that immediately surround Mardi Gras season, such as green and red-icing king cakes for Christmas, red and pink-icing cakes for Valentine’s Day, and green and white-icing cakes for St. Patrick’s Day. Others have gone a step further and produce specialty king cakes from the beginning of football season for Louisiana State University and New Orleans Saints tailgate parties, then for Halloween, then Thanksgiving – and do not cease until after Mardi Gras season with an Easter holiday king cake.  It has become customary in the Southern culture that whoever finds the trinket must provide the next king cake or host the next Mardi Gras party.

Surprise...a history lesson wrapped in a pastry!  Some information gathered from Wikepedia and of course personal first hand knowledge.

What do the prompts mean?

There are no rules when playing along with photo a day, you can be creative as you like! Interpret the prompt as you please. For those that need a little help, some more suggested details about each prompt are below.

13. Circle: Look as you go about today for things shaped in circles. Is it the tyres on a bus? A big sign? Or something else?
14. Something yellow: Find something yellow in your travels today and take a photo.

One Beautiful Blog…

There are so many talented individuals sharing their passion for life through photography and writing.  My interests are varied therefore I am all over the place on the blogs I follow;  photography, travel, books, humor, diy, culture and food.  I have been inspired and encouraged by many in the blogging community by simply reading their posts.

There is one blog in particular that gives me a warm cozy feeling every time I visit.  Stopping by JustaSmidgen is like walking into my favorite cafe.  I can smell the coffee brewing and the bread baking.  There is the smell of fresh cake in the air.  I sink into the overstuffed chair at the corner table and all is well with the world.

The visual layout is inviting.  The writing is comfortable.  The photographs are warm. The recipes leave my mouth-watering.  This is one beautiful blog…I would love to curl up at the kitchen counter and watch this blogger in action.  But, calling Barbara a blogger doesn’t quite do her efforts justice…she really is an artist!

Here is a chance for you to experience this beautiful blog.  Barbara has compiled her top 10 recipes of 2012 in one post.  I hope you enjoy the beauty and creativity of Barbara at justasmidgen as much as I do.  Here is a photo from one of the featured recipes…just a sample to whet your appetite.  Enjoy!

A Southern Tradition…

Did you welcome in the New Year by eating a traditional meal of cabbage and black-eyed peas?  We went with the traditional meal and we added a side of good ol’  Texas comfort food, smothered steak.  So according to the old wives tale we are almost guaranteed that 2013 will be filled with comfort, luck and prosperity…Just to clarify

Comfort – contented well-being, satisfying or enjoyable experience

Luck – a force that brings good fortune, the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual

Prosperity the condition of being successful or thriving; especially economic well-being

October Photo a Day Challenge: Lunchtime

There was a time, a few years ago when I ate lunch out at really nice restaurants every day of the week.  I loved it!  But those days are long past…I know longer work or live in the BIG City and I love it!  Now, most days I pack my lunch.  This process usually starts out like this, staring into the fridge….Will it be this?

Or will it be this?

What did lunchtime look like for you?

Tomorrow’s October Photo a Day Challenge is…This happened today: What’s something that happened today? Shoot it and share it.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Solitary

A single solitary piece of fruit on our pomelo, pomello, pumello tree…

Pinterest Inspired…Williams Sonoma Aroma!

This post was inspired by a Pinterest pin…and the fact that fall has arrived!  We all have aroma association…there are people and places that we associate with certain aromas.  When I smell jergens lotion, I think of my Grandmother.  When I smell cooked cabbage I think of my Aunt Julia’s house.  So it is not so far fetched to associate Williams Sonoma with this aroma…Rosemary vanilla citrus!

Indredient/Directions

Fill a pot with water
Add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
Add 1 sliced lemon
Add 1 tblsp vanilla

I view recipes and directions much they same, they are merely a suggestion unless of course we are baking.  So use what you have and as much or as little as you like. 

Nostalgic Foods…Moon Pies!

Moon Pies…I remember eating and enjoying my fair share of moon pies during my youth.  They were included in my sack lunch from time to time as well as enjoyed as an after school snack.  I remember them being as large as a full moon.  I remember sometimes they would be smashed but that did keep me from breaking them apart and gobbling them down with ease…of course there was always a carton or glass of milk on the side. 

Now, I have not eaten or even thought about a moon pie in more than 20 years…so why all of sudden is my mind filled with images of moon pies?  I haven’t seen a moon pie commercial or overheard a conversation discussing the culinary delights of the moon pie.  I haven’t watched a food network expose on the making of the Original Moon Pie.  So what gives?  Whatever it is…it doesn’t really matter.

Just know that the moon pie is still alive and kicking…the original moon pie is available in vanilla, banana and chocolate.  Although I only remember eating the chocolate ones! But you don’t have to settle for the Original Moon Pie…made months ago, shipped from hundreds if not thousands of miles away to sit on a grocery store shelf for who knows how long before you end up purchasing it on a whim only to discover the expiration date is just a couple of weeks away…

NO! Instead if you check out Pinterest you can find several recipes for a yummy homemade version of this nostalgic food…some folks are incredibly creative and I am quite sure that a number of the recipes would make a delightful version of the moon pie…

However, when I think of nostalgic foods…my taste buds will not be satisfied until I have had that which my mind remembers…In the end I may or may not enjoy it as much but I will have appeased my taste for the original…So I am going to give the well-traveled shelf sitter its due.

Monday’s Menu…Spicy Shrimp with Spaghetti Aglio Olio

Let me just set the record straight…my husband is the cook in our house.  It’s not that I am not a good cook, he just enjoys the process more than I do.  And while I am setting things straight, I prefer eating.  However, if pasta is on the menu I will be wearing the apron. 

On the way home the Hubs called and asked if I would make a shrimp pasta dish for dinner…I immediately knew I wanted to keep it simple.  I chose the following recipe….I had to make a couple of adjustments to the recipe…I would caution you to go light on the salt.  Otherwise…Spicy Shrimp w/ Spaghetti Aglio Olio was delicious. 

The photo is from the foodnetwork.com website…my camera wasn’t available…blogging failure…I know!  One more thing for the record…my plate looked prettier!

Recipe courtesy of Rachel Ray and the Food Network…

Ingredients

Spicy Shrimp:

• 2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (a couple of handfuls) (I had to sub green onions because that’s what I had on hand)
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
• Coarse salt, about 1 teaspoon  (go easy)
• 2 tablespoons (a couple of generous drizzles) extra-virgin olive oil

Aglio Olio:

• 1/4 cup (4 turns around the pan in a light stream) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 (2-ounce) tin anchovy fillets
• 6 to 8 large cloves garlic, crushed and minced  (4 large cloves was plenty)
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley, a couple of handfuls
• Coarse salt  (omit)
• 1 pound spaghetti, cooked to al dente
• Tomato and Onion Salad, as an accompaniment
• Crusty bread, as an accompaniment

Directions

Combine shrimp with next 6 ingredients and toss to coat shrimp evenly.

Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium high heat, then add half of the shrimp. Cook shrimp 3 minutes until pink and just firm. Remove shrimp to a warm platter and repeat process with remaining shrimp.

Return pan to heat and reduce heat to medium low. Add 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Add anchovies, garlic, and pepper flakes to oil. Break up anchovies with a wooden spoon until they melt away into the oil and garlic mixture.

Toss spaghetti in the pan with parsley and the garlic oil, then season with a little coarse salt, to your taste. Top servings of garlic and oil spaghetti with spicy shrimp and serve with Tomato and Onion Salad and Crusty Bread. (Again do not add the additional salt…)

Cook’s Notes: Prepare the shrimp while the pasta is cooking.

Prep your garlic and parsley for aglio olio and set them, as well as drained pasta and remaining ingredients all within arm’s reach of your stove top.

The aroma will be intense! Cooked anchovies have a salted-nutty (rather than fishy) taste that compliments the garlic as it sweetens and softens.

Pinterest Pick of the Week…

This weeks Pinterest pick of the week is brought to us by Cupcakes and Cashmere… Such an incredibly simple idea! But the best part of this post may not be the actual pick of the week.  The best part very well may be the original post by Cupcakes and Cashmere for Pancakes with Rum Syrup.  I hope you pop over and check out the pics and recipe…its worth the trip.

I like this one so much I pinned the repurposed ketchup bottle onto my “Creative Kitchen Helps” board and the recipe for the pancakes w/ rum sauce onto my “Holiday Brunch” board. 

If you are a pinner check out my boards.