Wednesday Words

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Happy Wednesday

About that pie recipe

I promised you the recipe for Blender Lemon Pie.

When I saw this recipe on a cooking blog, I knew right away it was going to be a favorite.

On account of, it takes less than five minutes to throw together. A trained monkey could do it.

Certainly a five-year-old could do it. In fact, I'm going to teach Dagny to make this soon, to prove that.

I guess lemon desserts are my favorite -- even over chocolate, depending on the day -- so in addition to how easy it was to make, that was one huge thing in its favor as far as I was concerned.

I mean, when you make your own Blender Lemon Pie (which I just know you will), you'll agree that although it's anything but a fancy dish -- it could even be described as rustic -- its beauty and tastiness is impressively out of proportion with how easy it is to prepare.

So here you go:

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BLENDER LEMON PIE

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 and 1/4 cups sugar

1 whole lemon, quartered and de-seeded

Splash of vanilla extract

1 prepared (or store-bought) pie crust

Powdered sugar and lemon slice for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Pat pie crust into pie plate and crimp the edges

Into your blender place eggs, melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and the entire lemon

Blend everything until smooth -- a few seconds is all it takes

Pour into crust and bake for about 45 minutes* or until reasonably "set"

(it will continue to set up while cooling)

Allow pie to cool thoroughly** before garnishing with powdered sugar and a lemon twist

*It took my pie about 55 minutes to get to the point where I felt it was just unset enough in the middle, to get all the way done while cooling. For the extra ten minutes, I placed a piece of foil over the top because the crust was exactly right after 45 minutes.

**I refrigerated my pie overnight.

I added the powdered sugar and lemon twist just before serving.

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When I made the pie for Mother's Day, I forgot to take a picture of it. Apologies. I would have made another one just for this post, but then TG and I would have had to eat it and we don't have dessert except on special occasions.

No; I couldn't think of anyone to whom I'd give an entire pie. 

TG mentioned that this reminded him of lemon bars; it's basically a simple custard, but the lemon zing is very prevalent. It's nice and tart and plenty sweet.

Let me know if you make a Blender Lemon Pie!

Also I think it'd be fun to make it with limes (I'd probably use two), and to slather whipped cream all over the top. When I do that, I'll take a picture for you.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Tuesday

Spring parties eternal

Easter Sunday 2019

Mercy. I am so very dilatory in telling you about our latest round(s) of pawtying.*

Before I can tell about Mother's Day -- which was a prodigious occasion in every way -- we've got to back up a few weeks, to Easter.

I thought I had told you about Easter, and shown you too. 

But I was wrong.

So here goes.

I remember making a spiral-cut ham that we bought at Costco. Also deviled eggs. Someone brought macaroni and cheese.

I'm having trouble recalling anything else about that day, except that as usual for a Sunday, we all went to church.

After morning services we pressganged a friend into taking family pictures with Brittany's phone.

My girls and I again wore black, as per usual. Erica spiced up her ensemble with white, and she and I both wore cobalt-blue suede shoes. We didn't plan it.

Easter Sunday 2019

Make of that what you will; just stay off of them. The shoes, that is.

Back at home, my table was decorated with an assortment of bunnies. 

Although I know that Easter celebrates the resurrection of our Lord, it's still fun to put bunnies all around.

Audrey had found Peter Rabbit napkins which thrilled Dagny, who loves having Beatrix Potter read to her.

Have you had Sanders Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels yet?

They're to be found at Costco.

Don't even finish this post. Go directly to your nearest Costco -- even if it's three counties (or three states) away -- and buy some of these.

If you don't have a Costco account, get one. Or use a friend's.

Then buy some of these.

Trust me; you need this candy in your life.

Shortly after Easter 2019 passed into history, TG and I went to Nashville. I know I've told you about that. Remember the sheep?

We came home and then, in two shakes of a lamb's tail, it was Mother's Day. Once again we all went to church together.

Easter Sunday 2019

But alas, no après-worship pictures were taken; we were anxious to get home and enjoy another glorious repast.

This time it was my homemade extra-rustic chicken salad served on Costco-sized croissants, deviled eggs, a fabulous fruit salad put together by the girls, Lay's lightly salted potato chips (TG's favorite), assorted soft drinks, and coffee.

To finish us off we had two desserts: homemade Lemon Blender Pie (I will give you that recipe within the week because trust me, you need it as much as you need that caramel candy) and strawberry-cream-cheese stuffed-croissant French toast.

You read that correctly. At Audrey's behest (she found the recipe) I made a filling of cream cheese, diced strawberries, confectioners sugar, and lemon zest. I stuffed those huge croissants with the filling, dipped them in a wash of eggs and heavy cream seasoned with cinnamon and a dash of salt, and grilled them in a skillet of sizzling butter.

Hallelujah. You'll be wanting to try that.

Then there were the gifts.

I'd already received presents on Friday from my own mother and sister, when Audrey and Dagny and I drove to the upstate to have lunch with them.

I was given several soap items -- foaming hand soaps as well as scented luxury bar soaps -- this year. I can't get enough scented soap; I am pretty much a soap freak.

On Saturday morning there was a box of gorgeous roses on my doorstep, sent by Chad and Erica.

On Sunday I received more roses from Andrew and Brittany. I also got a beautiful bracelet, a jar for making cold brew coffee, an antique-look hummingbird feeder, a Kate Spade pencil pouch, and a lovely coffee mug.

I made my first batch of cold brew coffee today. Mixed with heavy cream, it tastes like chocolate milk.

I'm in trouble. I'll probably never sleep again.

The antique-look hummingbird feeder is hanging outside the kitchen window, brimming with nectar. No takers yet.

Next scheduled pawty? Memorial Day, when we have our annual patriotic start-of-summer cookout/swimming bash, on which day we also celebrate our Erica's birthday.

After that? Let's see ...

Oh! Two weeks later it's Dagny's fifth birthday, Father's Day, and TG's and my fortieth wedding anniversary all in the same three-day time frame.

And yes; everyone will be on hand for the whole shooting match.

Fasten your seatbelts; it's going to be a bumpy night.

There will be cake crumbs. And more pictures. And more presents. And much merrymaking.

Meanwhile, we are having the sort of weather you dream of. A high today of seventy-five, with low humidity and balmy breezes.

If you stop by and I don't answer the bell, it's because Rizzo and I are gone for walkies.

Easter Sunday 2019

But we'll be back shortly, so have a seat on the front porch until we come into view.

And that is all for now.

*"pawty" is a term coined by my friend Cheryl to describe we Webers' penchant for near-constant elaborate celebrations of anything and anyone we can think of, haaaha.

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Happy Tuesday :: Happy New Week

Here's looking at ewe, kid

Hey.

I'd apologize for having been MIA for so long, but love means never having to say you're sorry.

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At least that's what I've heard. And I do love you.

Either way, I'm here now after a most busy and distracted/distracting two weeks.

Last week was consumed with preparing for, and going on, a golf trip to Nashville.

No; I do not play golf. But TG does, and he has been participating in this friends-only tournament for three years.

It's guys from "back in the day" when we lived in the Chicagoland area. Most of the fellows were students of TG's and also on the team during the fifteen years he coached basketball.

One of the men at the tournament stood as a groomsman for TG in our wedding forty years ago.

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Another of the group -- one of the founding members of the event -- passed away on April 11th, at the age of 58. The tournament has officially been re-named a memorial, in his honor.

So it was good to see everyone.

And in case you're wondering -- yes! I was the only wife who attended. The guys took it really well.

Our group stayed in the cottages at Hermitage Golf Course -- two bedrooms per cottage, each with en suite bath, plus a spacious living area with kitchenette, and a rocking-chair-equipped screened porch overlooking the links.

We shared our cottage with two gentlemen I've known since they were teenagers -- actually I am only five years older than them, but that's a lot when you're a teenager -- but nobody was uncomfortable, because of the privacy afforded by the separate bedrooms with their own baths.

Also because the guys hit the links every morning by eight o'clock, and as a rule I don't get up before eight o'clock.

(Dagny, who will be starting school in August, will have to get used to rising early. School starts at eight o'clock, you know, her mother told her. I'm scared of eight o'clock, Dagny replied.)

Yeah. Me too.

Speaking of which, this very morning -- due to recent circumstances, my first day to really rest with no pressure to get up and do anything at all in well over a week -- our neighbor whose house and yard is directly across the street, had contracted with a tree service to have a tree taken down.

Our bedroom is at the front of the house.

Wait for it.

At PRECISELY eight o'clock this morning, they fired up the chain saws and the wood chipper. Logs began thumping to the ground amidst much shouting and truly incredibly loud machinery noise.

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These days I am awake for a couple of hours around dawn. Why don't you just go ahead and get up if you're awake, you may be thinking -- or even asking out loud.

Because I don't want to. I want to wait and see if I can go back to sleep. Let me handle this.

Usually, if I don't achieve a state of at least semi-consciousness by eight o'clock, I do get up. But this morning around eight, I was pleasantly drifting back out, towards dreamland. I was so tired.

And then the tree-cutting noise began.

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It sounded as though that wood chipper was in the room with me. What am I saying? It sounded like it was in my ear.

Yes; it was frustrating. The struggle is frighteningly real.

A long coffee hour was required to get me in condition to take Rizzo for his walk.

Anyhow.

I wanted to tell you about the sheep at Hermitage Golf Course in Nashville.

There are forty of them -- Scottish Black Face is their breed -- and they roam the gorgeous golf course at will, grazing and hanging out.

Here's a beautiful two-minute video that shows how impressive they are:

The cottages are decorated throughout with the sheep motif. There are sheep throw pillows on the beds. A large sheep graphic adorns the wall in the living area.

The tee areas are marked with metal sheep. You can buy a sheep driver cover in the pro shop.

On the first day we were there, TG arranged with the staff of said pro shop to grant me the use of a golf cart so that I could go in search of the sheep. To take their picture and make their acquaintance.

It took me forty minutes to find the forty sheep, but find them I did.

And it was worth the wait. They were wonderful. Newly shorn, but still cute as little buttons.

There were several who looked to be just about to drop little lambies -- in fact, on the last day the gentlemen played, on the tenth tee they heard a plaintive baaaa and looked to see that one heavily expecting ewe had been quarantined in a pen by herself. To wait.

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The next day, when I was driving a cart around to take pictures of our guys golfing, I saw the geese and goslings.

Speaking of mamas and babies -- and waiting -- our Brittany is expecting.

Maybe you'd already figured that out.

We will have a new little baby in early December. A Christmas gift.

Such happiness, I cannot tell you. Andrew is ecstatic and Brittany is glowing.

They've already bought their baby a tiny sleeper to wear, in a neutral color because they don't yet know the gender.

With that I wish you a joyous Mother's Day and, leading up to Sunday, a pleasant and productive week.

On Tuesday morning, if the neighbor's trees have been granted one more day to live, I plan to sleep late.

Even if that means only until eight fifteen. 

And that is all for now.

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Happy Tuesday