HERITAGE RECIPE: Hermit Cookies

This recipe caught my eye because of a little story that was submitted with it. I have no idea how accurate it is--I was going to fact check, but then I realized I don't really want to know! I like that this was passed along in the heritage recipe book, and I like to believe that it's true. It's likely the story that was told with the recipe as it was handed down.

This recipe was submitted to the Rockwood, Michigan Area Historical Society by Barbara Metzger, who received it from her mother, Loretta Bondy. Loretta was born in 1907 and passed away in 1968. In Rockwood (the tiny town I grew up in) everybody knew everybody. And as I've been doing this heritage recipe collection, I've learned that pretty much everybody was related in some way to everybody, as well, haha. I know the names Bondy and Metzger very well.

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about Loretta, considering she passed away long before I was born. However, this is what was written with her recipe for hermit cookies:

Hermit cookies originated in Cape Cod in the days of clipper ships, when spices were imported from the Indies. Women would bake them, packed with fruits and nuts for the ships' crews, and they were packed away in canisters and sea chests.

I almost didn't make these because I'm not a big fan of raisins (and there is a relatively large amount of raisins in them). However, I liked the story behind them and I figured it wouldn't hurt to try them.

I'm so glad that I did--they are AMAZING. Jerry and both kids loved these as well--and when all four of us like a recipe, you can be reassured that it's great. You don't even notice that the raisins are in there, really; the recipe calls for "halved raisins", so I cut them up. I think that helped to get rid of the texture I don't like but the flavor is perfect. So, even if you don't like raisins, give these a try--you might be very surprised! (Jerry and the kids don't like raisins, either, but they said the same as me--you don't really notice them in the cookies.)

As usual, I will write out the recipe exactly as it was written in the heritage book, and I made it without any modifications or substitutions. See my notes after the recipe for any clarifications. The printer-friendly version is rewritten with my notes included.

Here is the printer-friendly version!

Hermit Cookies

1/2 c. shortening
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/4 c. cold coffee
1-3/4 c. sifted flour
1/2 tsp. each: soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon
1-1/4 c. halved raisins
1/2 c. broken nuts

Mix thoroughly the shortening, sugar and egg. Stir in coffee. Sift together flour, soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir in raisins and nuts. Chill dough. Preheat oven to 400 F. Drop dough by teaspoonful on greased cookie sheet, 2-inches apart. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or just until a light touch with finger leaves almost no imprint. Makes 3 dozen.

My Notes:

I thought the cold coffee was unique! I drink cold coffee every day, so it was convenient to reserve 1/4 cup. (I couldn't taste it in the cookies, but I imagine it added a little something.)

I already said that I don't like raisins, but I ALSO am not a fan of nutmeg. I was so very tempted to leave it out (no one would know!) but I just couldn't do that. I wanted to try the recipe exactly as written. I loved these cookies! I really don't think they would be as good without the nutmeg.

For the nuts, I used pecans (I always have them on hand in the freezer for my dad's pecan pies!).

Cutting 1-1/4 cups of raisins in half would have taken forever, so I just piled them on a cutting board and ran my knife through them a couple of times (along with the pecans).

I didn't run into any problems when preparing the dough. I let it chill for about 90 minutes before scooping the dough onto the cookie sheets. This was the texture before adding the nuts and raisins:

And then scooped onto a cookie sheet:

I used a small spring-loaded scoop and to my shock, I got 42 cookies out of the batch. (I say "shock" because whenever I make cookies and the recipe says how many it makes, you might as well cut that number into fourths and that's how many I get out of it. I wanted to see if I could get three dozen from this recipe, as specified, so I used a small scoop. The cookies are very small, but that's probably because I'm used to making cookies so much bigger.

I used dark non-stick cookie sheets and it took about 10 minutes to bake perfectly. I did the "finger test" mentioned in the recipe--"a light touch of a finger leaves almost no imprint". After 8 minutes, they were still too soft. Two minutes later, they were perfect. And one unfortunate batch stayed in 12 minutes, which made the bottoms really dark.

Even though there is no ginger in these, my family said they taste like ginger snaps. The spices taste is the same. And the texture is the perfect combination of soft and chewy, light but dense (not sure how that worked out, but it somehow did). I will definitely make these in the fall--they taste like I imagine how fall would taste, haha.

Continue Reading...

Friday Night Photos

Ahh, Friday! This has been a very long week. There is something about Friday night that makes me want to put on my pajamas early, make a good snack, and watch a couple of cheesy scary movies. Not sure I'll actually do that, but it sounds good!

Anyway, here are some pictures from the camera roll this week...

Poor Joey. He has a hotspot on his back (right by his shoulder blade) and it wouldn't heal because he kept using his hind leg to scratch it. He can't reach it with his mouth, so a "cone of shame" wouldn't help. I had to get creative with a way to keep him from scratching it, and this is what I came up with--haha! I took a men's t-shirt and altered it a bit with scissors to fit Joey. Now, if he tries scratching, he can't hurt his hotspot. (It's working well! The spot is finally healing.)

Jerry took this photo when he got home from work at 6:30 AM. Big Mama was patiently waiting for someone to put nuts in the squirrel lunchbox. (I have to take the nuts out every night because raccoons get into them if I leave them in there.)

Eli ordered a new fishing rod and it came in a very long box. The cats were immediately drawn to it, of course! Duck was the only one who crawled through the whole tunnel, though.

Speaking of Duck... I have to explain his routine. So, I've already mentioned that Duck is my baby, and I treat him as such. He's a total mama's boy. He likes to sleep on the couch in my bedroom, and I somehow got into this routine of spreading a blanket out on the couch cushions and placing the little folding table over over it (so he could sleep on the couch but under the table--a little hideout). Every night, he'd come into my room and I'd "make his bed"--then he'd crawl under the table and sleep there all night.

Last week, we had a LOUD thunderstorm--I've literally never heard thunder that loud before. All five pets came running into my bedroom. Duck is terrified of anything that moves or makes noise (he's the very definition of "scaredy cat"). I made his bed for him, but he was still scared. So, I made a fort (see photo) by draping the blanket over the couch and little table--that way, he could still sleep in his little nook, but now it's a fort.

I did it for him again the next night and he loved it! Jerry was off work the next night and he knew that I make Duck's bed for him every night. He made it the way he'd seen me do it for so long--spreading the blanket out on the couch cushions and putting the table over it--while Duck sat on the arm of the couch, watching him. When Jerry was done, he turned to walk away. Duck looked at Jerry, then at his bed, and then back at Jerry, like, "Where's my fort?" Hahaha, so Jerry made the fort and Duck went inside to sleep. Now he wants a fort every night!

I was going to order another fitted sheet from Brooklinen (ever since I tried their percale sheets, I'm obsessed--and I only have one fitted percale sheet, so when I wash the bedding, I have to wait for it to be done washing/drying. It would be nice to be able to swap it out with a second sheet when washing bedding.)

Anyway, I had an idea while looking at the sheets: I have a brand new top sheet that came in my set, so I figured I could try turning it into a fitted sheet. (We use a duvet cover over a comforter, so we don't use a top sheet.) I took it out to the garage after carefully measuring the sheet on my bed. I haven't done the sewing yet, but hopefully it'll work out!

This picture is from about a month ago, but I missed it somehow. This is from when Jerry and I were getting rid of the starling nest under the roof. (He also took down that satellite that's been up there for nearly 20 years--we'd tried satellite TV and only lasted two days before going back to cable.) I don't even remember taking this picture, but I like it!

Eli has been fishing a lot lately and he had a friend come over today. They took out the fishing kayaks that we got the boys for Christmas and went fishing across the street. I can't believe how grown up he is! (He's on the right, his friend is on the left.)

Can you believe these are the KITTENS? They're enormous now. I love how photogenic they are against an orange background.

This is definitely my kind of squirrel--finding a place to lie down in the shade and eat, haha.

I saw these while grocery shopping at Kroger and I had to buy some! They are Skittles that are all colored gray (in honor of Pride Month--"Only one rainbow matters during Pride"). Whenever my family eats Skittles (which is pretty much only after Halloween when the kids' candy is running low) we talk about whether they actually have different flavors or if they are all flavored the same (and we just think they are flavored differently because of the colors). I think that they have different flavors! But I thought this would be a fun thing to try--the Skittles are all gray, so we won't know which is which. (And even when we eat them, we won't know for sure! But we can at least try to notice a difference.)

I finally have apples growing on my apple tree--I've gotten about 3-5 each year for the past few years, but right now I have a couple dozen! (Not to be confused with my Asian pear tree--sadly, it still doesn't produce fruit. I need a second tree to cross-pollinate and that's just something I'm procrastinating.)

Anyway, I was admiring my apples from the living room window, when I saw one of the squirrels go pick an apple from my tree! She grabbed it and ran all the way up the utility pole with it in her mouth and then she sat and ate it. I thought she looked so cute! The next morning, I found an apple core on the front porch, hahaha.

The ultimate showdown: Duckling versus Estelle. They sat like this for a solid four minutes. Estelle was the first to turn away, which surprised me!

And finally, this is the table that I found on Facebook Marketplace (which, coincidentally, was listed by my cousin). I wanted a table for the garage that we could use to play board games, and this one looked perfect because of the little cabinet and shelf underneath. Now I just need to find some high-top stools.

Have a great weekend! xo

Continue Reading...

Procrastination

I am a procrastinator. I really wish that I wasn't, but I always put things off until I'm under so much pressure to get it done that I have no choice but to just DO IT.

And it's ridiculous, really. Procrastinating causes a lot of stress--and as someone who is a stress eater, well, the two just don't mix. I've noticed over the years that I tend to do much better with weight loss when I'm not generally stressed out. There is a sense of peace and calm that makes it easy to focus on myself (the diet and exercise).

When I am feeling stressed, I want to just get out of my mind for a little while... and that's where stress eating comes in. When I'm eating, I'm not thinking about all of the stuff I have to do. The eating is a way of procrastinating the real stuff.

So, I want to start working on the chronic stressors in my life. And by "chronic", I mean the things that are always nagging at me but I push them to the back of my mind. The little things! Stuff that really shouldn't be a big deal, but it festers.

To list a few examples: Fixing a squeaky door hinge, dusting the ceiling fan, hemming a pair of jeans, calling to make an appointment, RSVP'ing for a party, etc.

These are things that aren't a huge deal and shouldn't be "stressful" in and of themselves, but they are always there in the back of your mind--whenever you sit down in the living room, you happen to notice the fan needs dusting, so you make a mental note to do it later. Each time you drink something cold, your tooth really bothers you, so you make a mental note to call the dentist for an appointment... later. And "later" just keeps getting pushed back.

The reason I bring all this up is because I really want to work on these little nagging stressors. (Well, not those ones I just listed, because I made those up, but the ones in my life.) And MY biggest chronic stressor? Email.

I am always saying that I'm going to reply to all my emails and once that's done, I'll be really good about replying to new ones right away so that they don't pile up. It just never works out that way. This is usually because I'll read an email and I want to sit down and write a thoughtful reply. So I make a mental note to "do it later"--and not because I'm dreading it! I actually really enjoy reading and replying to emails (if you've ever emailed me, you know that I can get pretty wordy, haha). I just wait until "later" and then before I know it, I'm super far behind. I feel incredibly guilty every time I see my inbox. And there is no need!

I know that all I need to do is dedicate a specific amount of time each day (or even once a week) to email and I can eliminate the stress and guilt. Super simple!

So, I'm going to spend the next couple of hours (right now) replying to email. If you've emailed me and haven't gotten a response, it is NOT because I don't care--it's because I care too much and I don't want to send a quick, "Thanks for your email! Have a good day!" canned reply. I receive some really wonderful, thoughtful emails and I like to write thoughtful responses. So please forgive me--I'm working on it.

You want to know something ironic? I bought a book a last year called 'The More You Do The Better You Feel: How to Overcome Procrastination and Live a Happier Life' by David Parker (affiliate link). And when I saw how long it was, I said I'd "read it later"--hahaha! It's still sitting unread on my Kindle.

I know that I'll feel better if I just take time to do the little things that nag me here and there. Today, I finally went around the house touching up paint (from little nicks and dings with furniture or whatnot). I had to use five different colors of paint, but in total, it only took me about two hours. TWO HOURS and I've been telling myself "I need to do that soon" for TWO YEARS. I feel really good about getting that done. I want to knock some more things off that list and see how much better I feel!

Continue Reading...

Things That Helped Me Get Back On Track With Weight Loss

I've been going strong for over five weeks now, finally making some progress in dropping the extra weight I picked up over the last few years. Five weeks isn't a long time in the grand scheme of things, but considering how many times I've tried to get "back on track" in the last three years, five weeks seems like an eternity.

Something feels different now, too--I don't see myself quitting. I am super determined to be at a healthy, comfortable weight before my 40th birthday in January. I don't feel like every day is a struggle, nor am I counting the days until it's "over" (because it's never over, as we all know). I feel GOOD. I feel like what I'm doing is something I can do indefinitely.

(Excuse the random photo--I literally took this picture right at this moment, because I can't think of any other photo for this post!)

Again, it's only been five weeks, but I feel like I've made enormous strides in that amount of time. I've lost much more than I anticipated--over 16 pounds! Several people have asked me for advice on getting back on track. I wish I had magic words or a concrete plan, but I tried so many times myself and it just didn't click. I think the biggest key is just to keep trying, because eventually it WILL click. I'm sure that's how I managed, throughout the last decade, not to gain back all the weight I lost.

So, while my advice may or may not help, I just thought I'd share a few things that helped ME get back on track...

1) I enlisted a friend to do it with me. My friend Caitlin (who lost 242 pounds!) had a baby last year and she was struggling to lose the baby weight. We've commiserated with each other about our weight struggles throughout the years (she lost the weight around the same time I did) and we were both getting pretty fed up--quite literally--of not just taking action to lose the weight. (Here is a guest post by Caitlin)

When I decided to sign up for the DietBet, I asked Caitlin if she'd like to do it, too. She jumped on board. We've also been doing the Couch to 5K "together" (she lives in Boston, so "together" just means we're doing the same workouts and talking about them).

Somehow, having a friend to check in with and talk to about this stuff has been really helpful. In the beginning, we each texted a photo once a day of a picture of when we were feeling really good--not our "thinnest" pictures, but pictures of when we were feeling happy and confident and comfortable. Looking through the photos was very inspiring--I want to feel that comfortable in my own skin again.

2) I went back to my old go-to snack: grapes. I LOVE grapes and I've been told that I eat way too many of them. I promise you that I do, haha. But you know what? Grapes are a heck of a lot healthier than the other stuff I was/could be eating. I buy pounds of grapes at a time and I weigh out 300 grams (about 200 calories) for a snack.

Having a healthy go-to snack that I really love is super helpful in getting back on track because in the beginning, whenever I just wanted to quit and eat (insert lots of junk food here), I would eat a big bowl of grapes without guilt and not blow all of my calories.

3) I didn't make anything too hard or too complicated. My exercise plan is simply the Couch to 5K plan (which is three days a week, 20-30 minutes or so per workout). I didn't want to get overzealous and take on too much. Maybe I'll add more later, who knows?

As far as my diet, I went back to what works and what has always worked for me--counting calories. This is the only thing I've ever been able to do long term and see through to my goal weight. I don't worry about macros or anything else--just the calories. I'm NOT saying that this is what everybody should do! What I'm saying is that we all know what works best for us, so we should do what we know. What has worked in the past and what is do-able forever.

4) I still allow for "treats" in my diet--daily, if I want. It worked really well for me in 2009-2010 when I lost 125 pounds, and it still works. Lately, I have been really into homemade desserts or quick breads (usually the stuff I make out of the heritage cookbook). Having a warm slice of carrot bread in the evening with a cup of tea is heavenly.

5) I started cooking more and more frequently. Sometime early last year, or maybe even in 2019, I started to despise cooking. I'm really not even sure why that happened! I used to love to cook but eventually, I just found it to be a chore. My kids got pickier as they got older, so I found I was making the same tired recipes over and over, and I wasn't making foods I love because it was stuff that the kids wouldn't like.

Recently, however, I decided to start making things that interest me--and if the kids don't like it, well, they can have cereal for dinner. I went through the heritage cookbook and used Post-Its to mark recipes that interest me (either to make and share on the blog, or just make because they look good). I marked a LOT of recipes!

Making new recipes has made me feel excited about cooking again. (But not grocery shopping--still hate that.) And new recipes are fun to spend calories on--I find it much more satisfying than always eating the same dishes over and over. I count up the calories in advance and then plan the rest of my food for the day around dinner.

Again, that's just what works for me; it certainly won't work for everyone!

And there you have it. I tried not to be redundant by writing out the same advice I've given several times in the past. Here is a post with a lot of weight loss advice I wrote a few years ago--I still stand by everything I wrote.

While it's "only" been five weeks, I also don't want to downplay the fact that it's been five whole weeks(!). Haha, I am really happy that I've managed to finally get back the drive that kept me going all these years. I have no idea what the future holds as far as returning to my goal weight, but I am feeling very positive about it :)

Continue Reading...

Transformation Tuesday #32

Happy Transformation Tuesday! I am thrilled that I have some fun transformations to share today. Please please please keep them coming :)

---

Life got in the way this year (we adopted a new dog!) and I really let my community garden plot get away from me. The weeds in the before picture were really out of control! I knew it had to be dealt with and I set aside an evening to work on things. The after picture is what I was able to accomplish after about 2 hrs of continuous solo work. I was satisfied with the transformation and it didn't take as long as I thought it would. I even managed to get some veggies planted!

- Jess

---

This is not the most exciting transformation for others, but for us it is SO exciting and well over do. We moved to Australia from the U.S. in 2010 and once we found our own place, we bought a secondhand fridge. It has been with us through 5 houses and 11 years. Well last week, the freezer stopped freezing. So of course this meant it was time to buy a brand new fridge!

- Sarah

---

I got this cast iron skillet for $8 at a yard sale. This is the first time I’ve restored one. I think it turned out well!

- Rebecca

---

Last year when COVID hit and lockdown started, we decided to redo a few things in our house. I'd hated our kitchen and bathroom since we moved in 4 years before, and our carpet was getting pretty gross after housebreaking 2 puppies (not to mention the mess the kids make!). I don't know what I was thinking, taking before pictures when our house was such a mess, but I did! I cleaned up for the "after" photos!

So what did we do? First we replaced our carpet with rigid vinyl flooring (with 2 little kids and 5 pets this was the best decision ever!). Then we knocked out half a wall between our living/dining room and kitchen, we put a backsplash and new counters in the kitchen, replaced the ceiling fans and light fixtures, and then painted the walls and trim. And then we also completely redid our bathroom - tiled the floor, put up a backsplash, new vanity, painted (twice...), and then also widened, tiled, and refitted the shower.

It took the entire summer (a family member helped us with most of it) and there are still a few fixtures that need to be replaced and some shelving and photos need to go up, but overall it's 100x better than it was before and much more "us".

- Christina

---

Jess, I'm amazed at what you were able to do in just a couple of hours. Wow! Pulling weeds is no fun at all--but what a huge difference it made. I hope your veggies grow nicely :)

Sarah, I completely understand how exciting something as simple as a new refrigerator can be. I was ridiculously giddy over a new vacuum cleaner, haha. The new fridge looks fancy! I hope you're enjoying it.

Rebecca, that skillet is one of my most favorite transformations I've seen. I LOVE that you saw the potential in it, that you recognized what a good bargain it was, and I can see you put some serious work into it. Now you have a brand new (to you) good quality cast iron skillet! You make me want to keep my eye out for a skillet to restore, haha.

Christina, holy smokes! Just reading the list of what you transformed is exhausting. You did a lot of the same things I did a few years ago, and believe me--I know how much work that is. It looks fantastic! I'm sure it feels like a brand new house. Enjoy :)

---

Thank you so much for sending these transformations! I look forward to seeing new transformations every week--so please, if you have a one that you'd be willing to share, just send a before photo and an after photo to me at: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Don't forget to include your name and a description of the transformation!

Continue Reading...

Couch to 5K : Week 5 Recap

Week 5 of Couch to 5K is in the books!

I'm more than halfway done now; it's going by super fast. Just as I was nervous about Week 4, I knew that the third workout this week was going to be a tough one. The amount of running without walk breaks was a huge leap from last week.

First, though, Week 5 Day 1 - Run 0.5 miles, walk 0.25 miles, run 0.5 miles, walk 0.25 miles, run 0.5 miles.

This one started out great. I've been reading a book while I run instead of watching a show (I just can't find a show to get into lately, which is probably a good thing.) I'm currently reading 'One of Us Is Next'--the sequel to 'One of Us Is Lying'. Reading makes the time go by a lot faster than watching TV while I'm on the treadmill, which is nice.

I was caught up in the book while I was running my first 0.5-mile interval and when I looked down, I saw that I'd run 0.64 miles and my Garmin hadn't beeped. I realized I'd forgotten to turn off the GPS on my watch--AGAIN. (I wrote about this on Friday Night Photos.) So, I wrote a note and taped it to the treadmill to ensure that I don't do it again.

These two "accidental" runs have actually been a little helpful to check out my heart rate, though--since they include only the running portion (no walking), I can see what my heart rate was strictly from the run. This 0.64-mile run wasn't good as far as my heart rate goes. I spent almost the entire thing in Zone 4. (Remember, my ultimate goal is to run three miles in Zone 2--my MAF heart rate.)

When I realized my mistake, I stopped the treadmill, caught my breath, and started all over again after turning the GPS off. I felt pretty decent, but judging by my heart rate, I was working very hard. Too hard. By looking at this in comparison to the one above, I know that the only time my heart rate is in Zone 2 is when I'm doing the walk breaks.

Week 5 Day 2 - Run 0.75 miles, walk 0.5 miles, run 0.75 miles

I remembered to turn off the GPS, thanks to my note. This run wasn't as hard as I expected. I actually was tempted to cut the walk break short because it felt really long. But after the second 0.75-mile interval, I was definitely ready to be done!

Since my main goal is my heart rate, here is what it looked like for this workout:

Week 5 Day 3 - Run 2 miles (!!)

This was the "scary" workout--a random two-mile run at the end of Week 5 (next week goes back to intervals). I wondered if I'd even be able to do it. The farthest I'd run without a walk break so far during the plan was 0.75 miles.

Interestingly, I was looking forward to this workout. First, because I still hate doing intervals; I much prefer to do all of the running at once. Also, I was genuinely curious to know if I could complete it.

I turned off my GPS, set up my book, filled my water bottle, and set the speed at 5.0 mph. I tried to just focus on my book and not think about the fact that I was running. And I did it! I finished two miles--and honestly, I felt like I could have kept going. I was definitely tired when I was done, but I didn't feel like I was going to drop dead or anything. The time actually went by really quickly.

I was pretty happy with my heart rate, too--I stayed out of Zone 5 completely, and I spent more time in Zone 3 than I did in Zone 4. Considering this was a two-mile run--no walk breaks--that's pretty remarkable in comparison to the accidental 0.64 miles I ran on Week 5 Day 1.

I think that keeping the speed low has been most helpful--if I'd tried to bump the speed up, I'm sure I would have collapsed when I was done. I'm just going to stick with this speed until my heart rate is able to stay quite a bit lower, and then maybe I'll increase it a bit. But even if I stay at this speed forever, I'm cool with that.

I'm really excited about how this week went. That two-miler was a big confidence boost!

Continue Reading...

A Funny Story About Facebook Marketplace

I'm not sure what to title this, other than "a funny story"--because that's just what it is!

As you know, I love Facebook Marketplace. I've sold things on there, but mostly I love to find furniture. I bought most of the furniture in my house from Marketplace, saving a ton of money and finding some really cool pieces I never would have found elsewhere (like my 1976 couch and coincidentally matching chair!).

Yesterday morning, I opened Marketplace to search for something--I honestly can't even remember what it was--and a bunch of "Listings for you..." popped up. Marketplace basically uses an algorithm to show you listings you might like based on previous interest in items (not surprising). It always shows me furniture, which distracts me from what I was intending on doing (which is why I can't even remember what I had planned to search for yesterday).

I started looking at tables that looked like they could work for playing cards/board games in the garage. When the weather is nice, it'd be fun to be able to play games out there, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on a table that is just going in the garage. So, Marketplace.

I saw a table that looked pretty perfect--the base of it had a little storage cubby. I figured it'd be convenient to put cards and whatnot in there. It was only $20, so I sent a quick message to the guy who was listing it, just asking if it would fit in a pickup truck, assuming it was still available. His name was a little odd, and I wondered if it was real (I know some people use a pseudonym for things like Marketplace, for privacy reasons, which I understand). The name just stuck out to me because it was one of those funny names--I don't want to say exactly what it was, but it was a name like "Hugh Jass" (not quite so obvious, but you get the idea). 

I didn't hear from him right away, and I had to get ready to go to Brian's house. I was at Brian's until after 11:00 pm. I had completely forgotten about the table that I'd inquired about... until today, when I got a message from the guy. All it said was, "Call me" and he left his phone number.

I laughed and thought, "Sorry, I'm not going to call a random creep on Facebook." I figured the table just wasn't meant to be.

About five minutes later, my cell phone rang and it was a number I didn't recognize. At first, I thought, "Oh no! Could that guy somehow have gotten my number from Marketplace? I don't think they can do that, can they?" But I told myself to calm down, it was probably a spam call.

I answered... and thankfully, it was just my cousin who I'd seen at Brian's the night before. (It was really fun to see several of my cousins that I hadn't seen in years!)

He said he was a little surprised that I hadn't mentioned anything about the table to him at Brian's house, and I was totally confused for a second--what table? What was he talking about? And then it hit me--HE was the "random guy on Facebook"! He's always been really funny, and it did not surprise me at all when he told me the name he used was his pseudonym on Marketplace.

He realized how creepy it sounded after he said to call him (he had been thinking I knew it was him up until that point). So he called my mom to get my phone number and explain. I was cracking up--seriously, what a coincidence! There are SO many people on Facebook Marketplace--and it's not like my cousin lives very close--so it was just crazy that he happened to be the person I messaged about the table.

So, we had a good laugh and now I'm going to get a free table for my garage ;)

For the life of me, I could not come up with a photo for this post. So here is a picture of Estelle, enjoying my favorite piece of furniture I bought through Marketplace...

Continue Reading...

HERITAGE RECIPE: Blender Carrot Bread

This recipe technically isn't a heritage recipe--it comes from the same cookbook, but it's not in the "heritage" sections (the heritage section is a collection of recipes that were handed down among generations).

As I was going through the cookbook, I started marking recipes that caught my eye, and this recipe for Blender Carrot Bread sounded interesting. My family loves quick breads, so I decided to give it a try this week. This was submitted to the Rockwood, Michigan Area Historical Society by a woman named Ethel Beaudrie--she was born in 1916 and passed away in 2006.

The bread ended up being delicious! Jerry especially loved it. The prominent flavor is actually the orange peel. You only use two tablespoons of it, but it really flavors both loaves of bread.

As usual with the heritage recipes, I am writing out this recipe exactly as submitted to the Historical Society, and I am not changing or substituting anything while making it. (The printer friendly version includes any clarifications.)

Here is a printer-friendly version!

Blender Carrot Bread

Ingredients:

1-1/2 c. salad oil
2 c. grated carrots
1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple
2 T. grated orange peel
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 c. whole nuts
3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Combine first 7 ingredients in blender until nuts are coarsely chopped. Sift dry ingredients into bowl and pour carrot mixture over them and mix well. Pour into 2 greased 9 x 3 x 2-inch pans. Bake at 350 F for 1 hour until done. May be baked in soup cans. Makes about 6.

Notes:

I noticed that a lot of the recipes call for "salad oil"--this just means a flavorless oil like canola, vegetable, etc.

For the nuts, I used walnut halves.

In the directions, it says to combine the first seven ingredients in a blender until nuts are coarsely chopped. I did this, but the nuts wound up totally blended in with everything else. The rest of the ingredients wouldn't come together well while leaving the nuts somewhat intact. Next time (and there will be a next time!) I will add the nuts after blending everything--I'll add them and just pulse a few times to chop them lightly.

I thought that the pineapple and carrot would give a different texture to the bread, but the blender really does a good job mixing everything. When baked, you can't see or feel the texture of the carrots or pineapple.

I loved the idea of baking this in soup cans! Unfortunately, I would have had to open and empty the soup cans if I wanted to use them, because I never have them lying around. So I just baked two loaves of bread instead of the soup cans. However, I do think that if you baked this in soup cans, it would make a LOT more than six. The loaves of bread were pretty big, so it's hard to imagine baking the batter in cans.

Overall, this recipe is a winner--really good! It's very moist (and stays that way, even after a couple of days) probably due to the amount of oil in it. The orange flavor is unique and it really does make the bread special.

The first seven ingredients before blending:

And after blending. I couldn't blend everything without the nuts getting completely blended, too! Not sure if that was intentional, but I don't think that's considered "coarsely chopped" ;)

Pour the wet ingredients onto the dry...

This was really thick after mixing. Again, not sure if it was supposed to be like that, but it turned out perfectly, so I'm guessing I did it right!

Before baking:

It took longer for mine to bake--I believe it was about 70-75 minutes and not 60 minutes.

Continue Reading...

Friday Night Photos

I could have sworn I took all kinds of pictures this week, but going through my camera roll shows that I actually have very few, unfortunately. Noah and Eli were up north and Jerry had three of those days off work, so it was fun to spend time together--we didn't do anything special, but it was interesting to hang out in such a quiet house!

When I began working on Eli's room, the first thing I did was pull everything out of the closet. I wanted to clean the floors really well because I was sure they were loaded with dog hair (Joey spends most of his time in Eli's room). That led to finding a place for things that didn't belong and then--long story short--I rearranged his bedroom furniture, removing his desk (he never sat there--it only collected clutter) and putting a nightstand in there. Jerry helped me work on it the second day.

The kids got home today and when Eli walked into his room, I heard him say, "Holy crap!" I asked what he thought (and told him we have his desk in the garage if he wants it back) and he said he LOVES how it looks now. I wish I had before and after pictures, but I wasn't planning on this being that sort of project! 

Anyway, here are a few pictures that I did take this week...

My cousin Shannon saw a picture on Facebook of a baby wearing crocheted flip-flops and she asked me if I could make a couple of pairs of them for her friends' babies. There was a link to the pattern (I didn't want to have to design something myself because I get perfectionistic and stress about it!) so I said sure. I don't have a picture of them on the babies' feet, but they turned out cute and hopefully they fit!

A few hours after the boys left to go up north, Eli sent me a short video--they'd came upon a car that was on fire! They got there right when it happened (no police were there yet) so Noah pulled over and asked if anyone needed help. The driver managed to get out okay and said there was no one else in there. The police arrived and then Eli took the video as they were driving away. This is just a screenshot.

This may not look like much, but when I tell you how it happened, you might get the heebie jeebies like Jerry did, haha. I was shaving my legs in the shower and I was in a hurry--moving the razor really quickly--and I don't know how it happened, but the razor caught my nail. I felt it catch, but no instant pain, so I kept saying, "Oh no oh no oh no" while I was trying to see it in the shower. I just hoped it didn't cut through the nail.

Well, it had. It sliced into the nail and pulled down toward the edge, but didn't pull the nail off. After that, I was SO scared of getting it caught on something! I cut it as short as possible. When I was trying to pull my hair up, I felt my nail catch on my hair and it hurt like a mother. So I tried glueing it down with "liquid bandaid" (which is essentially superglue) and that helped a little. But the next day, it caught again. Eventually, that whole section of nail was pulled right off. So now I have a big chunk of missing fingernail. (This picture is right after it happened)

On Sunday, I went to my parents' house to bring my dad his pecan pie for Father's Day. Luke and Riley were over there so I hung out for a bit. Luke wanted to show me where he picked cherries (my parents have a cherry tree). He told me they were sour cherries but we could eat them. So we picked a few that looked ripe and then Riley wanted to pick some, too. They asked what we were going to do with the cherries and I said we could make a smoothie. So we looked around my parents' kitchen for things to throw into the blender--cherries, strawberries, milk, chocolate chips...

It was funny--I suggested we put a few chocolate chips in there, but when I looked in the drawer where I thought they'd be, all they had were butterscotch chips and white chocolate chips. When I told Luke, he said, "No, they aren't in that drawer. They're in the drawer underneath." And sure enough, they were! Haha, he knows my parents' kitchen better than I do now. The smoothie turned out to be delicious!

Speaking of blenders, this blender full of stuff is going to be the heritage recipe that I post tomorrow. It's called Blender Carrot Bread. And it turned out to be delicious!

On Wednesday, I (AGAIN) ran quite a bit more than I had to for the Couch to 5K plan because I forgot to turn off my GPS for the treadmill. (When the GPS is turned on while I run on the treadmill, the distance on my Garmin will always read "0.0" because the GPS location never moves.) Even though the Garmin shows the incorrect distance on a treadmill, it's not off by a huge number--so I still use it to set up my workouts. It was set to switch to walking mode after 0.5 miles.

Well, I'd run 0.6-ish miles and my Garmin still hadn't beeped to signal me to begin walking. I looked down and sure enough, I'd forgotten to turn off the GPS. (I did that last week and I swore it would never happen again.) I could have just skipped the first interval after resetting the Garmin, but I didn't want to do that. So, before starting over and running it again, I wrote myself a note and taped it to the treadmill--"TURN OFF GPS!!!" Now, I'm sure, it won't happen again.

Tomorrow, I'm going to my brother Brian's house for a 4th of July get-together. He's going to put on an enormous fireworks show (he spent some time last year getting licensed/certified to use these particular fireworks; when Brian does something like this, he goes all out). Last year's show was amazing, and it's hard to believe it could be any better, but I'm sure it will. I'm really excited to go!

Have a great weekend!

---

Oh! Thank you for the well-wishes for my dad. After all was said and done, we got really good news from his surgeon. Before his procedure, he was told that the blockages in his blood vessels were pretty bad but they wouldn't know just how bad until they "went in there" (he had a cardiac catheterization). The doctor said that he was pretty sure my dad was going to need bypass surgery. After the catheterization, his surgeon said that he was able to complete everything during the procedure--so he wouldn't need bypass surgery. Very good news! 

However, he said that my dad's LAD artery was almost completely blocked--which is pretty much the worst case scenario. If you've ever heard of a "widow-maker heart attack", well, it's caused when the LAD artery is blocked. The doctor said that if he'd waited much longer, he would have had a heart attack and it would have been fatal. So scary! I'm so glad that they were able to repair with angioplasty/stenting.

I always thought of my dad as being low-risk for a heart attack--he's never been overweight, doesn't drink or smoke, and gets plenty of exercise. His diet, on the other hand, could definitely use some work. Hopefully this scared him into making some changes!

Continue Reading...