Life Rolls On

Hard to believe how long it's been since my last post. It's not that we haven't been eating, but, mostly, what we've eaten has been variations of our usual fare, with nothing to base a new post on, foodwise.

We have been moving along on the project, with paint on the walls and trim. Today Sweetie showed me how to use a battery operated airless sprayer to paint the pantry door. It is so light and much easier to use than the corded version. He has a real feel for spray painting and a supple wrist to make it happen. Because the weather today was perfect for painting we were able to paint both sides and get the door back where it belongs by dinner time. Dinner was lasagna from the freezer and carrot sticks...see, food has taken a backseat for a while.

Last weekend we visited our neighbor's pigs. They are so cute (and I never thought I'd say that about pigs!) and big show-offs. You could even say hams. Sorry, couldn't resist.

We try to take a walk with Pi at least every other day. One day this week the waterway we like to walk by was pretty as a picture.

We walked past blooming blackberry bushes, past blooming anise plants, past wild grapes that were in flower, too.

The heat the weekend before is encouraging rampant growth of the blackberries, so Sweetie brought clippers and snipped off the ones that were headed across the path. Pi walked along with his tail swinging; a very happy dog.

It was foggy most mornings during the week until today, but now we will have a row of days with high heat. That seems to be the way of it in summer. Maybe I'll beat the heat by trying bread baking on the BBQ like Elizabeth does. If I do, I'll let you know how it goes.For now, there are cabinet knobs and pulls to pick out, faucets to find and more painting to do. Life rolls on. Hope yours has been as enjoyable.

Hog Heaven

Way back in the early days of our dating, somehow Sweetie and I adopted cute piggies as personal symbols for our love for each other...might have had something to do with the fact that we both loved to eat.

Recently in art class we were given the opportunity to decorate a heart shaped box for Valentine's day. I ended up with a box graced by two cute pink pigs along with a band of color and some dots in shades of green, pink and blue to go witht he illlustration of the pigs. Then I cut out the box and put it together, ready for today, Valentine's Day.

I wanted to have a little treat for him in the box and very soon decided that bacon and chocolate truffles would be just the thing.

Now I'd never made any truffles with bacon and wasn't sure if it would work, but I had to try.

The bacon flavor with the strained heavy cream is very subtle. Next time I think I'll not strain it, just make sure that the bacon is finely chopped.

Sweetie was duly impressed and we shared a Bacon Bittersweet Truffle with our coffee this morning. I also had oatmeal, so it wasn't too decadent. Just enough :)


Bacon Bittersweet Truffles

2 strips bacon, cooked crisp, cooled, crumbled
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoons maple syrup
12 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat the bacon and heavy cream over low heat until just simmering. Turn off heat, stir to mix well, and let steep for ½ hour. Strain the cream mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Use the bacon in the strainer for another use or discard.

In a microwave safe bowl, mix the flavored heavy cream, maple syrup, and chocolate.

Microwave on half power for 1 minute. Stir the mixture Return to the microwave.
Repeat the microwaving the same way, stirring each time after 1 minute at half power, until mixture is smooth and all the chocolate has melted.

Chill the mixture, covered with plastic wrap, at least one hour or over night.

Scoop 1 “ rounds of the mixture a onto waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Roll the balls in unsweetened cocoa (as I did) OR
dip in 1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate that has been microwaved in a bowl, 1 minute at a time at half power, until melted, but add 1 tablespoon of shortening to the chocolate before starting the microwave process. If dipping the truffles, remove from the melted chocolate with a fork, transfer to the wax paper lined cookie sheet, and let cool completely by chilling for at least ½ hour.

Note: The bacon flavor is subtle, mostly in the aftertaste. If you want a stronger bacon flavor, don’t strain the mixture. Your truffles centers will be chewier that way, but have more bacon flavor.

More Virginny - Spicy Fun

Once the project was done and the party over, there was more fun to be had. First Sweetie and I drove through the rolling Virginia countryside, with leaves in nearby forests just starting to turn, south west to Charlottesville where we had an enjoyable visit with his sister and her good friend John. We left Mom's early on Sunday and decided to wait to eat breakfast until we reached the small town of Culpepper. Well, it used to be small, and the downtown is still small and charming. We made sure to get off the freeway and travel into the Historic Downtown because we always prefer to eat at local restaurants, not at the fast food chains you find right off the freeways. We were rewarded for our efforts with a delicious and inexpensive breakfast at DeeDee's Cafe, right across from the Catholic church. Out side there was a metal pig...not sure why, but since pigs have sort of become the mascot of the trip somehow, I took a photo. Poor pig has seen better days!

In Charlottesville we ate at an Himalayan restaurant and had the buffet. Since we were talking up a storm with Sweetie's sis and John, I completely forgot to take any photos, but the food was good and lots of it very spicy. Does anyone have a recipe for a soupy rice pudding flavored with coconut, probably an Indian recipe? I would love to have it if you do...Sweetie really enjoyed that dessert.

On the last day before we flew home, we wanted to find a little something to take home to the dear friends who were taking care of our animals. A Penzey's spice store had just opened up 3 weeks before our visit...how handy is that?...so we bought a variety of small containers of cinnamon at Penzey's. They have sample to sniff or taste. The sniff I took of the double vanilla extract was enough to convince me that I need to mail order some, plus some vanilla bean. Didn't want to take them home on the plane, but Penzey's has a great catalog.

The last fun was a trip on Monday to Green Springs Farm Park in Arlington. The cute tea cups in the first photo are in a bed there near the old colonial brick house, but they have an amazing collection of plants and scenic beauty. I just love the lush green of a Virginia forest and the way the first fall leaves are scattered in the water in the photo below. What a perfect ending to a wonderful trip home.

This Little Piggy

Time available to be at the computer blogging has been in short supply all of June so far. The good news is that there were nice reasons for this (mostly), but the bad news is that it is continuing. A good friend had surgery and I'm off to play either Florence Nightengale or Nurse Rachette, depending on what is needed.

So I'll leave you with this little piggy, one of a number found around Seattle during my visit last weekend. This one sits outside a chocolate shop and the chocolate just drips down him.

Happy trails for now.