DOH!

In trying to tidy up my blog list, I inadvertently deleted the whole blasted list!!!!!    Trying to remember all the blogs I want to keep there....   Maybe there is a way to restore the lost list?

Anticipation

Tomorrow night is the opening game of the 2014 World Series.   So very proud and excited for the KC Royals!!!!

Getting In Touch With My German Roots

It's always fun in the fall to dig out a favorite German recipe...what with all the the
Oktoberfests going on around town.  Here's a kraut and sausage dish that even my husband, who does not like sauerkraut, loves!

Sausage Bake With Sauerkraut and Apples

In an ovenproof pan saute 1 large onion (quartered and sliced) and 2 lbs. sliced smoked sausage.   Add 2 large apples (peeled, cored, diced).   Saute 1 more minute.  Add  

2 cups cider, 1 T apple cider vinegar, 4 T brown sugar, 2 lbs. cold pack sauerkraut (rinsed and drained) and 1/4 t pepper.  

Cover and bake at 425 degrees for one hour.

City of Fountains

Celebrating KC Royals blue!

A Long Wait

The KC Royals nailed down a playoff berth last night.  We won the World Series in 1985 and had not been to the playoffs since!    Needless to say...Kansas Citians are celebrating.

Ahh....Comfort

The minute the temps drop a tiny bit, we start to crave warm comfort food around here.  Two favorites are Black Bean Chili and Tuna Casserole.

This dish can be used as chili or a side dish (great on taco night!).

Black Bean Chili

Heat EVOO or grape seed oil in a heavy large pot.   Add 1 yellow onion--chopped, 1 large red bell pepper--chopped.   Cook till softened.  Add squirts of garlic paste.   Mix in 2 T chili powder and a couple dashes cumin.   Stir two minutes. Mix in 3 cans organic black beans (drained but not rinsed), a can of diced fire roasted tomatoes and a squirt of tomato paste.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.   Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.      Serve with a dollop of sour cream and grated cheddar cheese.

Tuna Casserole

Bring to a boil about 3 quarts of water.   Add about 10 oz. noodles, cook till soft (about 10 minutes).   Drain and return to pan.   Add in 1 family-size water packed tuna, 3/4 cup frozen peas, 1 can cream of chicken soup mixed with 1/2 can milk, 4 oz. cream cheese, softened and cubed.  Pour into a sprayed oven dish.   Top with either crushed potato chips or crushed tortilla chips mixed with grated cheese.    Bake at 350 degrees till bubbly, about 30 or 40 minutes.

Summertime Favorite

Hub's very favorite pie is blueberry!    Summer rewards us with beautiful, juicy, plump, tasty berries...in spades.    This recipe is one I have used for ages and may even have blogged it before, but it bears repeating.

2  unbaked pie crusts (your favorite recipe or store-bought refrigerated ready-to-roll)

4 cups fresh, washed and dried thoroughly blueberries

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.   Add the blueberries and mix gently.   Pour into an unbaked pie crust (9" pie pan).  Top with the other crust.  Brush with egg and sprinkle lightly with sugar.   Cut slits to vent.  Put pie pan on a cookie sheet...filling WILL bubble out!    Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes.   Let cool.   Slice and top with vanilla ice cream.    Soooooo yummy. 

Natural Beauty

Northern Cali

Just returned from a vacation tour of Northern California.   Wow, love that area:   San Francisco and Chinatown, wine country, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Sequoia, Monterey, Carmel...loved them all!!!

                                                                              

If you're going to San Francisco, you better wear some flowers in your hair...

                                                                           

What a magnificent state!!!

It Is Officially Spring Now

The farmers' markets are opening here in KC!!!!    Hooray, hooray, hooray.   We made our first voyage for the season to City Market, then Parkville Market bright and early this morning.   Though not too much ready yet, what I did get looks amazing...and scrumptious.

Some wonderful asparagus, washed, tough parts trimmed, grouped into threes and ready to spray with a little organic olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and wrap in bacon and bake till yummy!

Broccoli to be steamed and buttered and salt-and-peppered; green onions to use in stir-fry.

New potatoes to be boiled (with their jackets on), smashed and tossed with butter, fresh chives and S and P.

And a wonderful loaf of honey wheat bread from a fabulous Mennonite baker.

And an early Mothers' Day present to myself, 

this gorgeous array of Million Bells in a handmade wooden container that just fits over the deck rail!

And who could resist this adorable handmade apron????

I would say I made quite a haul on my first 2014 farmers' market outing!    Bring on summer!!

A Beautiful Earth Day in Kansas City

Winter Reading

One nice thing about a miserable winter with too much snow, hail and wind and way too many sub-freezing temps was that it gave me a good excuse opportunity to get caught up on reading.   I am a slave to best-sellers' lists!  But I also love word-of-mouth recommendations.   Anyhoo, these were my favorite winter reads:

March 20th

Spring is 21 days away.....well, so says the calendar.   KC is in the deep freeze again.   With snow on the way!    I am dreaming of this scene below.   Hurry, Tulips!!!

Gratuitous Cat Photo

Is that Batman behind me???????????

Healthier Muffins

Probably most everyone has "Eat Healthier" at the top of the resolutions list.   I ran across this tasty muffin recipe with oat flour, oats and bananas.   No eggs or white sugar.   A little ginger, cinnamon and molasses for good measure.  Made a batch this morning and really liked them.   Bagged them by 2s and popped them into the freezer.

Banana Oat Muffins

Spray a 12 hole muffin tin with coconut oil spray.   Preheat oven to 365 degrees.

Mash 2 or 3 ripe bananas and add 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, sprinkle or two of ground ginger,  1 T molasses and 1/2 t vanilla.   Mix well and set aside.

In a separate bowl whisk together 1/2 cup rolled oats, 2 cups oat flour, 2 t baking powder, 1 t baking soda, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 t salt and 1 t cinnamon.   Stir in the banana mixture and combine well.   Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tin.   Bake 18 minutes.

Two Oh One Four

Happy Two Thousand Fourteen!    Does that high number even seem possible?

Going to try hard to find that quilting spark that has been lost for a few years.   Here's a possible motivator:

Can't get enough of this turquoise and red color scheme these days.