Stressed spelled backwards is desserts!

I have been trying to be good and avoiding the surgery stuff!!! But if there has been a stressful time in our Nation, it has been now. I am stressed too, and "stressed spelled backwards is desserts" so I have an excuse.

I learned to cook, sew and iron in home-economics, like most of the readers out there. I had six (6) years of it and now I call upon what I learned almost daily. My teacher recommended we get a basic cookbook. The cookbook I chose is actually a series. They are a little beat up now, but "The Good Cook" is still the best set of cookbooks I have ever read! I purchased mine in 1980, but you can still get them on ebay!

I hope to share different recipes with you while I set up the cookbook shelf. Here is my favorite and most requested cookie recipe. There are million versions of the recipe, but I think this is the best one!

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients
3/4 pound (3 sticks) room temp unsalted butter
1 cup Sugar
1 teas. Vanilla
3 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
1/4 teas. Kosher salt
1 egg Beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
7 ounces (bag) sweetened coconut
Raspberry or apricot jam ( Any flavor works )

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together the butter and sugar until they are just combined and then add the vanilla. Sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Roll into disk, then wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes. This step is very important....and makes it the perfect cookie when you very busy. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and dip each into the egg wash and then roll it in coconut. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and press a light indentation into the top of each with your finger. Drop 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each indentation. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the coconut is a golden brown.

Try these! The're easy and everyone's favorite! I store mine in my Italian Biscotti Jar!



Arrivederci
Liz

My Fellow Bloggers!

Long before I started my blog, I read many of the ones out there to get ideas about decorating, collecting, etc. I have many favorites and as I am posting, I will share there links with you.


You should see some of the creative people out in the blog-o-sphere! They are creating, beautiful, amazing, creative things. When I am having a no-inspiration day, I visit one, and say to myself "I never thought of that." I lived on the state border between Georgia and South Carolina for 7 years while I went to school at the University of South Carolina. Because of that experience I just can't resist blogs from that area! They take me back now that I am a Western girl again!

I spent a couple of my grade school years in California, so blogs there have a special place in my heart and trigger all my old memories. Hopefully my blog about the High Desert...Rocky Mountain...High Altitude Albuquerque will trigger memories for readers about when they came here! I've already heard from a few of you!

Liz

☺Happy Easter 2009☺

Happy Easter Everyone! Now the fun really starts!

Liz

My Love Affair With Roses

My last home had 23 rose bushes, most of them from Jackson and Perkins. They were beautiful! This new home has 3, so I am going to have to create a new
rose garden. I took this photo at the Belagio in Las Vegas..they have a great greenhouse.



My dream garden would include a raised vegetable bed 'cause I love home grown tomatoes...and really any kind of vegetable.


...and a shade garden for impatiens and tender flowers. We are at such a high altitude, that the sun burns most blooms and dehydrates everything in site.


Fortunately roses, love the sun and do really well here. The soil is a little alkaline so you have to add lots of stuff to correct it. Every Spring I add cow manure and 1/2 cup epsom salt. During the growing season I put chopped bannana peels, egg shells and coffee grounds on them, and once a month a scoop of Miracle Grow.



This is my white rose "Iceberg." It was the only white rose I have found that does not fade with the harsh sun! This was usually covered in blooms from Spring to Fall. Behind it is a pink tea rose...you can see how much better the Iceberg did. It's a floribunda and they do better in our conditions.

Planting usually starts after Easter...I'll be dreaming of my rose projects all weekend.

Liz

Easter Table Setting 2009

My Easter table is ready...I decided to go "colorful" this year, instead of my usual pastel table, and posted it at betweennapsontheporch Tablescape Thursday! It's so much fun to see how everyone sets their table and all the different dishes!



I am using my vintage linen table cloth and vintage mix & match silver plate I have collected over the years. None of it matches but I love that about it. When I was young bride I was given an Oneida Community Set from the 30's but It was only service for 6, so I have added many different patterns to it.



These are the daffodil's I posted a picture of earlier in the week. They opened up beautifully! They are in my large mint-julip cup. I can never resist one when I come across them. I have several in different sizes.




I have included a cabbage from Mr. Gregor's garden for the bunnies!



The cabbage is my absolute favorite place to hide my chocolate stash...I was thinking I should have filled it with chocolate eggs. I bought it at the Cracker Barrel gift shop a couple of Easter's ago.



I've had the The glass bunnies ever since I saw Martha Stewart set her Thanksgiving table with those famous glass turkeys. I borrowed her idea. The plates are part of a Tuscan set I got at Tuesday Morning...each plate was a dollar. I love any plate with an unusual edge.



The green glass plates are part of my collection of depression glass. I love how you can see the design on the plate under the glass! I almost hate to eat on it!!! But, there is chocolate involved so I'll have to!

Thanks to betweennapsontheporch for letting me participate!




Liz

Spring Flowers

In an effort to be thrifty in this economy, I have decided to buy un-opened daffodil buds at Trader Joes, for 1.29 a dozen instead of full blown Easter bouquets, something I spend money on every year. I am using my own beautiful vases & 10 dollars worth of flowers, a 4th of what I have spent in the past. Here’s what they look like when you purchase them.




The instructions say to just pop them in water and watch them open. I’ll show you another picture at the end of the week. It should be fun! I really want to re-do this house without spending a fortune. I just have to work harder at it. In case anyone’s wondering, Trader Joe’s is a very cool grocery store out of California that sells world famous $2-Buck Chuck Wine, organic produce and beautiful flowers. I will take a field trip there and report with some great photos!

In honor of the daffidol's I am going to use my beautiful silver gravey ladle decorated with one. Isn't it grand! When I use it I find myself staring at it, instead of serving with it! When I found this gem, it said "take me home" even though it was completely tarnished. I think I paid 1.49 for it at the Albuquerque flea market.



I am starting my Easter decorating, a little late this year because of the move...here is my silver bride's basket filled with eggs I got at Micheal's with my 40% off coupon! HOORAY...MORE SAVINGS!





Easter is almost here! I make sure to post a picture of my table setting later in the week.

Liz

Empty Room

In the house we have moved into, there is a large room that will be perfect as a shabby chic- romantic cottage sitting room. I have been studying Rachel Ashwell's style along with alot of blog cites to figure out what to put into it. I am starting with 2 chairs I already have that I am going to paint.

I am thinking of what my secondary color is going to be, and I like pink, blue, pale sea-green and yellow. Or maybe, just white on white. I love that. One of my favorite movies, "Something's Gotta Give" with Diane Keaton has a beautiful white sea cottage with lots of examples, plus the beautiful greenery. HUM....how to get greenery feel in the dry West? Well, that I'll just have to improvise.

This is easter week so I am getting ready.

Liz

All About Albuquerque or A-A-A

I have just started my blog, and I have already been e-mailed about the city I live in, better know as Albuquerque. It is smack dab in the middle to the state along the historic route 66 that crosses the USA.

Albuquerque is very famous for our International Balloon Fiesta, where 500 ballonists from around the world descend on our high altitude city to fly. I usually see a couple of balloons daily. Here is how it looks around here every October when they are all here.

Every Christmas eve...people come from all over to see the luminarias in "Old Town" where you will see hundreds of candles in paper sacks. At Christmas time I will give the recipe in case you want to set these up in your hometown.

We are also famous for having a very close neighbor to the North that atracts alot of visitors and lovers of art and that is Santa Fe.

Yes we have real life cowboys...the wild west actually happened here...but that was a long time ago!

You can see Albuquerque in the movies....Hollywood build a huge studio here and starting filming. Breaking Bad on AMC is shot here, Transformers was also shot here and the last Indiana Jones move was shot down the road. But we are most famous for High School Musical One, Two & Three...all set and shot in Albuquerque.

It seems alot of people are moving here, so I guess that's a good thing!

LIZ

Glorified Pantry

I have a spare room in my house that is supposed to be an office...it's about 10 x 12. I have decided to turn it into a butler's pantry. I am going to line it with shelves to store all my dishes and glasses, and things are that too large to store easily. You know, crock pots, vases, cookie jars and things you only use once and a while. We all have some of those. It's a bold move, I know. A whole room as a pantry, the way people do with closets when they have too much clothing. I really have no choice. Have you ever noticed that in regular kitchen cabinets, the stuff gets all squirreled away in the corners, never to be seen again. Sometimes I actually have to go buy something I know is in there some where...but where? When I moved to this house, I found lots of duplicates...so I figure making a whole room a pantry is actually saving me money.

I already have 1 wood shelf, all I need is a second one, and the wood to make the shelves that will go between the 2 units, creating my own pantry unit. I bought the first one at the unpainted furniture store, so you have to it assemble yourself.

Here is a photo of my inspiration room!





Liz

Why Start a Blog?

I recently lost my job with a national company that was having problems, and as a result I sold my house and down-sized. Yes I actually sold my house in this economy, and I attribute it to how it was decorated...my favorite past-time. Actually, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. My 2 kids a are grown, so my husband and I could do with a smaller house. We live in Albuquerque, at the base of the Rocky Mountains in the high altitude, and found a 10 year-old track house ready for transformation.

I want to invite you to come along with me while I try to accomplish it! Hopefully I can do it with things I already have...but I'm going to hit the thrift stores, estate sales and flea markets too. Whatever it takes to do it within a budget, but with the beautiful things I love! I hope I can do it!

I have a great collection of silver, linens, glass and ceramics, and I am hoping to use them, instead of keeping them up on their shelf! During my scouting maybe I can add to those collections. I love several decorating styles...Tuscan-French-Mediterranean is a big one. But I passionately love "White Romantic" rooms too! And of course I am in the Southwest, so there is a bit of that!

Hopefully I can show you what a great place Albuquerque is! It's on route 66...so It's historic with lots of cool collectibles. Baking and gardening are a challenge because of the altitude, but are easy to conquer! And the food...well, the food! I'll just have to share some recipes with you! Along the way, maybe will take some side trips to Santa Fe or Taos...looking for decor!

I have lots of other blogs I follow, and they all have great ideas. I'll share those with you as we go along!

Thanks for reading!

Liz