LEMON BUTTERMILK SORBET

I mentioned yesterday that I had a lemon buttermilk sorbet going in my little ice cream freezer and now I need to tell you that it turned out to be fabulous! Probably the most refreshing sorbet I've ever had.

The story behind this is that the last time I owned an ice cream freezer was way back when my kids were little back in the 70's and it was an electric that worked with ice and rock salt and was a pain in the rear to use. I think we probably used it once and then it went into storage for years and eventually out the door.

But I've been seeing these little 1 and 2 quart tabletop versions recently at very reasonable rates. The one I have is a 2 quart and you keep the bowl in the freezer until you are ready to use it and then it slips easily into the base, you turn it on, and then pour the ice cream mixture in and 20 minutes later you have ice cream that is at the soft serve consistency. I spooned it out into 2 1-quart containers with lids and then put them into the freezer where they were solid after a couple of hours.

I wasn't drawn to the idea of homemade ice cream simply by the great recipes I've been seeing lately but also by the fact that I have a hard time with ice creams that contain stabilizers, emulsifiers, or whatever product that results in ice creams to melt but retain their pre-melted shape. For some reason, I have frequently become sick after eating them and have had to search for the ones that are made with more natural ingredients. So...I thought it might be a good thing to try my hand at making them myself.

The recipe I tried for the sorbet was so simple and delicious that I may try it with other citrus juices other than lemon...I'm thinking orange or pineapple in some fashion. I also have a good looking recipe for Sour Cream and Brown Sugar Ice Cream that has a little bourbon stirred in along with the vanilla! Oh...this could get me in a lot of trouble!

The next thing I will need is self-control so I manage to limit the amount I am eating of these frozen goodies!

Here is the recipe for the sorbet for anyone who is interested. I really think you could cut the recipe in half and freeze the mixture in a pan if you don't have an ice cream freezer.

LEMON BUTTERMILK SORBET
makes 2 quarts

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (I used 2 large lemons and the amount was perfect)
1 cup sugar (I'm not familiar enough with ice cream textures to know if Splenda would work, but I think the amount of sugar might be able to be reduced some without adverse effect)
4 cups buttermilk

Stir the lemon juice and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved and then stir into the buttermilk. Follow your freezer directions for beginning the freezing process.

The Husband is on his annual fishing trip to Canada so this is my week to do what I want, when I want...to eat what I want, when I want...and to keep the hours I want.

I have lots of people tell me that I always do what I want but that really isn't true. My days always revolve around my husband's activity to some degree and I really do strive to blend my wishes with his. That means mealtimes that are roughly the same every day, beginning and ending our days close to the same time, and my deferring to him when it comes to evening television...I figure I have all day with the remote and can DVR anything I want and watch it the next day.

So...here I am in all my "I Want" glory for an entire week.

Supper last night was a simple tuna salad sandwich and some custard that I baked....a meal that I would probably not consider extensive enough for him.The custard was perfect and is one of my very favorite treats but not one my husband particularly enjoys.

I didn't have breakfast this morning until about 9:30. The Husband considers the day half over by then!

I have a sauce of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, oyster sauce, garlic, ginger,red pepper flakes, sesame oil and a little peanut butter fixed up and ready to add to some very lean sauteed ground pork for my supper. When the meat is done and sauced, I will put a scoop of it over some thin spaghetti and cut up a green onion to go on top.It is a Schezwan Pork dish that is far spicier than he prefers.

And I have a recipe for lemon buttermilk sorbet turning around in my little ice cream freezer as I write this!

Yum! My dinner tonight is going to be so good! Ask and I'll open the door long enough to send some of the good smells in your direction!

A few movies, food and home repair shows, and a little knitting and my day will progress quickly and I will go to bed at 7 or 11 or 3...It's up to me today!

I remember awaiting...along with my daughters...MTV's first airing of the video of "Thriller". It didn't matter that I was a young mother...I was just as excited to see it as they were. It was such a departure from how music had been presented in the past. I remember listening to Rod Stewart sing "Maggie Mae" for years and having to guess at what he looked like because there were no accompanying videos at that time. If you didn't happen to catch an artist on Bandstand or Ed Sullivan, you probably would not have the opportunity to see an artist perform the songs you liked the most.

I don't know how many times we rewatched Thriller as it was played in regular rotation over the next few weeks, but even now, I am fascinated by the music and the dancing. And, of course, the other songs on the album were huge hits, breaking record after record.

I was told this morning by a religiously conservative friend that Michael Jackson should have died long ago! I was never a fan of his personal lifestyle but I managed to set that aside and appreciate the musical genius of the performer. So often, that kind of genius is wrapped up with an otherwise fragile and self-destructive person. We've seen it over and over.

I don't know how much of the musical and dancing talent remained to be set free in the upcoming tour...we'll never know if his best days as a performer had passed him by. But I do want to take the time to honor the talented fella who made Thriller and Billy Jean and many, many more memorable songs the last forty years and hope that he has found peace...at last!

FINDING INSPIRATION

Inspiration...it can come from many places. Today's blog entry was inspired by an exchange of e-mails between myself and Blogger friend, Lorraine, in Canada.

We were talking about her choice of blue for decorating a room in her house and she mentioned summer and the sea when describing the shades she was using. And we went on from there to add the colors each of us liked to use with blue.

When my husband and I moved to our present house a few years ago the walls were all builder's white and I had a lot of choices to make as to what colors I would choose. I knew right away the laundry room would be a soft buttery yellow because it is a color that brightens my mood and I wanted to be in the best mood possible when doing laundry!

But my inspiration for the remaining rooms was this print that I own...Kohler's Pond by Michael Sowa. I loved the peaceful setting and the whimsical pig so much! It never fails to make me smile as I pass it.

But I was also fond of the colors in it...the blues and greens especially. So I gathered color chips and matched them up to colors in the picture. The very pale blue that is in the sky to the right in the picture became the color of my guest bathroom...and that bathroom became the home for the picture since people tend to look at the walls while they are visiting that area of the home...lol!

The color of the grassy field behind the trees became the color for the hallway that led from the front entry to all the other rooms in the house.


The more olive green found in the pond became the color of one guest bedroom, the soft ivory tone became the color of the Master and the peachy pink is on the walls of the living room/dining room.

The diving pig recently moved to my bedroom where it looks just right among the chocolate browns, honey, and teals. btw...I am a huge advocate of moving pictures around every few years. You can get so used to seeing them in a certain spot that you finally don't see them at all any longer. Putting them on a different wall can make them pop again and no money needs to exchange hands!

I had a flash of inspiration in the kitchen Tuesday night when I went to feed a few more people than expected and I had loads of spaghetti cooked but didn't have enough spaghetti sauce again! So I looked to the vegetable drawer and was inspired by some red and yellow peppers that were in there and six of those not great but passable Roma tomatoes that you buy. I decided to do a form of primavera sauce for the adults by stirfrying strips of the peppers and a vidalia onion in a little oil until they were just beginning to soften. I then added the tomatoes which I had seeded and then diced along with some minced garlic, salt and pepper. I just wanted the tomatoes to get hot and then threw in about half the spaghetti I had already prepared. I tossed it around and at the last minute drizzled a little olive oil over the top and then some fresh grated parmesan cheese! Heaven!

If I had some zucchini or yellow summer squash I would have added chunks of that too.

Go out and have an inspiring Thursday!

EVIL PIE

I RIPPED THIS PHOTO FROM MY DAUGHTER'S
FLICKR PAGE.

AT LAST...SOMEONE HAS CAPTURED THE TRUE
FACE OF PIE!

YES, MOST OF THE TIME PIE IS ABLE TO SIT THERE
IN A BAKING PAN AND TEMPT YOU
WITH SUCH INNOCENCE!
"OH, LOOK AT ME!"
"I WON'T HURT YOU!"
"I'M JUST FRUIT IN MY FANCIEST DRESS!"
"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! YOUR MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER
ARE MY BEST FRIENDS!"
"COME A LITTLE CLOSER AND JUST SMELL
HOW WONDERFUL I AM!"

BUT THIS FELLA GOT CAUGHT UNAWARES
AND THE CAMERA HAS CAPTURED
WHAT WE HAVE ALL FEARED FOR A VERY LONG TIME...
PIES ARE EVIL!
APPROACH THEM WITH CAUTION!

SUNDAY PHOTOS

I DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO CLEAN OUT
MY STORE OF CUTE ANIMAL PICTURES...

THERE IS JUST SOMETHING ABOUT A PIG!
I LOVE LOOKING AT THEM.

I SUSPECT THIS IS EXACTLY HOW OUR PETS FEEL!

THERE'S ONE IN EVERY CROWD!

SHE'S PROBABLY ECCENTRIC EVEN IN HER CIRCLE OF FRIENDS!

I WONDER WHAT CHANNELS HE PICKS UP!

HELLO, BIG EYES!

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THE BREEZE IN YOUR FACE!

FLUFFY NEEDS MORE FIBER!

PLEASE???

HAPPY TO MEET YOU!

NUTS? WHAT NUTS?

OATMEAL COOKIES AND CARROT CAKE! YUM!

FEET GET THAT BIG???

BIG MOUTH!

WHAT KIND OF LENS DO YOU USE?

BETTER WITH KETCHUP BUT IT'LL DO!

NOW WHERE DID I PUT THAT FRENCH FRY?

DON'T YOU LOVE THAT NEW HAIRDRESSER I TOLD YOU ABOUT?

NOT AN ANIMAL, BUT ISN'T IT PRETTY?

BUTT, LEAVE SOME FOR ME!

BUTT...I'M SO HAPPY!

NO ANIMALS HERE EITHER, BUT A COUPLE OF DEAR!

AND FOR MY PHOTOGRAPHER FRIENDS...
THE EVOLUTION OF A PHOTOGRAPHER!
AH...YOU KNOW YOU'RE ALL ANIMALS!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

As Garrison Keillor might say if he lived a few miles south of Minnesota, "It's been a quiet week in Indianapolis, my home town!"

I've been working on a knitting project for my younger daughter...more about that later...and my mind has been in a gentle haze...involved with the project and it's execution. So...I have been mostly silent and contemplating creativity.

Most of the little creative spirit I was born with goes into my knitting, cooking, and a little decorating around our humble home. I always wished I'd been born with the ability to write a novel or to paint. I truly envy people who can translate what they see or feel onto a canvas. I've never been able to get my hands to do what my mind asks...I guess that is God-given and you have to be born with it. I recognize beauty but I lack the ability to create it.

I don't have that problem when it comes to cooking. Maybe being in the kitchen with my mother from a young age...I can actually remember standing beside her at the kitchen table and my line of sight was from the top of the table!...I feel quite comfortable there. I don't fear it and I know my limitations as well as my strengths. There are many things that I take for granted that others struggle with. I can read a recipe and know what it will likely taste like when it is prepared. I know the basics of cooking well enough that I seldom have to write down the steps required for preparing a cake batter or cookie dough. I'm not afraid to make changes that I know my family will prefer because I usually understand the direction the recipe is taking me. And I know how to plan a meal so that everything finishes at the same time and is ready to be served without having to wait for something to finish up. (My mother-in-law had to prepare each item of a meal separately and that made for some long dinners!)

I've seen recipes this week for a spice cake that had shredded head lettuce in it and another for a sauerkraut and custard pie. I've created a salad dressing that my husband is happy with...after 40 years of trying! And I made a casserole that evolved after I had put hamburger out to thaw for sloppy joes and then changed my mind when supper came around.

But my favorite meal this week? One that I repeated almost daily for lunch and would have had for every meal if I hadn't been ashamed to do it? A radish sandwich!

Radishes must be having a glorious growing season wherever they're coming from right now because we've bought them twice and found them to be large, solid, and sweet. And when they're like that, I go back to my country roots and have to put a thin spread of butter on some white bread, layer that with thinly sliced radishes and a sprinkle of salt and then eat it open-face! It is truly one of the best meals I've ever experienced and I could easily go through a loaf of bread if I let myself go unchecked!

No talent is required to prepare a meal that simple...none but the talent to recognize the delight of a simple thing made well!


I saw this cartoon and it made me think of all the dieters I have known who are tied to the scale! If they could only run and hide, wouldn't life be better?
I'm saving this one to show The Husband how he can still chauffeur me around in retirement!
And let him know that there are great biker bars even in Florida!

Have a great weekend, blogger friends! Hope the yard sales are great where you are!

YARD SALE QUILT $5

Oh, yard sale quilt, how I love you! You are already softened up by former use. Your colors have blended and become even more cohesive than was originally intended. And your price is so much better than it was straight from the store!
Just look at that pretty backing with the little pink flowers! I had a blouse with attached petticoat that my mother made for me back in first grade that had flowers like that! And the patched side has flowers that are just as appealing.
I didn't know where I would put you when I saw you, but I knew you would work somewhere in my house and I had to have you! I carried you to the yellow guest room and you looked pretty there. I can imagine laying you at the foot of the bed so a visiting grandchild could wrap up in your comfy-ness for a little afternoon nap.

You looked just as nice in my teal and chocolate bedroom! You are quite the decorating find! I would wrap my shoulders with you while I read in bed on a chilly winter evening!

And you were such a nice touch in the family room with the burgundy rug causing all your pinks to blush and take center stage while the blues receded to be discovered in another surrounding. You want to be thrown across the back of the old loveseat...it has seen better days and needs to be rejuvenated by your fresh colors!

And on to the dining room where your blues and peachy pinks popped to make a match with the new fabric on the seats of my dining room chairs! You are quite the little chameleon, aren't you? I just may throw you on the dining room table as a tablecloth the next time I have a gang over to eat.

And, speaking of eating...you'd make a fine ground cover for a little tea party out in the yard when the little girls are here!

Welcome to my house, you sweet charmer! We're gonna get along just fine!

And, thanks, Deanna, for offering this little gem up at your yard sale. And, no, you can't have it back!

SMALL WORLD DEPARTMENT!

This is one of two of these lamps that I have in my bedroom.

Now, go visit blogger friend, Lorraine's Garage Sale Find! I said it was a small world!

I've been watching a PBS special of the Library of Congress celebration of rewarding the inaugural Gershwin Prize for popular song to Paul Simon that I recorded last night. I've always had a soft spot for his music and for him as a performer and I would be hard pressed to even say why.

He's always had that dopey looking face and short physique...nothing to breathe heavy over...and his music all kinda sounds the same if you listen to it for very long, but there is a softness to his voice and the rhythmic guitar and drum in the background that has always seemed sensual to me.

And, like James Taylor, I think I like the older, thinner-haired version of the artist more than I did the younger one. There is a sweetness to hearing him singing about a father's love for a daughter that I find appealing. And it was fun watching Lyle Lovett sing "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover"...trying to sing it slowly and seriously but having to fight off a smile as he sang the silly "sneak out the back, Jack" and "make a new plan, Stan" lyrics. His lyrics always reflect his singular cadence and you can hear his voice even when it is Marc Anthony singing "Late in the Evening".

Sensual songs...Johnny Rivers' "Baby, I Need Your Lovin "...and "Summer Rain"!
Elvis..."Are You Lonesome Tonight" and "Love Me Tender"
Marvin Gaye..."Let's Get it On" and, of course, "Sexual Healing"!
And the track of West Side Story with "Somewhere" and "Tonight"!

Music...I love it!

PRETTY AS A PICTURE

YOU MUST VISIT THIS SITE AND PLAY FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES!

IT ALLOWS YOU TO ENTER UP TO TEN DIFFERENT COLORS

AND WILL SEARCH FLICKR TO FIND PICTURES

THAT HAVE THOSE COLORS IN THEM.

THE MULTICOLOR PICTURES ARE NICE

BUT I HAVE TO ADMIT I ENJOYED THE SINGLE COLORS THE MOST!

THE PICTURES ABOVE WERE INCLUDED IN THE SCREEN

WHEN I ENTERED A SHADE OF VIOLET AND ONE OF GREEN.

GOOD LUCK AMULETS? I THINK SO!

I was out shopping at yard sales last weekend and ran across a very country looking sign in blue and white that caught my eye. It said something bathroom/laundryroom on it like "Soap 10 cents" or something like that.

My rule is that I don't buy it unless I can visualize where it is going to go when I get home and then I must put it there ASAP. So this sign was not meeting that standard and yet something told me I should buy it. I invested a dollar and went home with it.

I carried it to both bathrooms and the laundry room and even tried it in the kitchen and it just didn't work. But, hey, I knew that when I bought it! So I decided to take it to my older daughter that afternoon since we were visiting her for the birthday party.

I walked in with it and asked my daughter if she liked it and she said it would be nice in her laundry room! I explained to her that I had no idea why I bought it cause I knew it wasn't going to work when I got it. She laughed and said that it was a small world because she had just bought a shelf that morning for 50 cents and had carried it all over her house from room to room and had no idea where she was going to put it!

Meet my new shelf!!! I loved it and knew exactly where to put it! Those are temporary items sitting on it. I want a bird's nest and some cute birds to sit on it eventually.

Neighborhood yard sales were everywhere this morning so we could be pretty picky about which ones we stopped at. I found books for the grandkids, 50 cents each tops for the girls (13 of them!), really nice candles from a girl who is allergic to them and had been gifted with $15 ones which she was selling for a dollar, and my husband got a brand new mosquito netting to take with him on his Canadian fishing trip for $2.

We found this framed print with a price tag of $120 on the back for $7!!! It is now hanging above my baker's rack in the kitchen. I got a Laura Ashley apron still in the packaging for a dollar that is in the same tones so I hung it next to the shelving.
And this is my second happy dance find of the morning...a new 5x8 area rug still in the original wrap for $5!!! I love the colors and put it in our family room. It is so soft...and our dog is thrilled that he has a new place to rest while he is watching over us as we watch television!
I guess yard sale mojo can be spread via the Postal Service, huh, Lorraine? Thanks, my friend!!!

A few random thoughts for Friday:

• I just read this morning that spraying Listerine around the lawn or deck where you will be sitting will keep mosquitoes away and actually kill the ones that are in the immediate area. They also say spraying it on the trim around doors and windows will help keep them from coming in the house. I hope this works cause I hate...hate...hate bugs or mosquitoes messing with me while I'm sitting on the deck and because I bought a case of Listerine for a dollar a bottle...big bottles...at a church yard sale last year and then found that it was too harsh for my gums! Gonna try this one out today!
• I was watching one of those first time homebuyers shows on HGTV the other day and was blown off my chair when the girl bought the house and accepted the developers offer of appliances, $10,000, and only $50 dollars down if she would use their mortgage company. She ended up with a 40 year mortgage at 7%!!!! I can't believe that we have gone from the crazy schemes that led to the financial disaster the mortgage industry is in now to even crazier ways of getting people into houses that are priced two and three times what they were a few years ago! There comes a time when each of us has to say, "I can't afford it!" and quit falling for these deals!
• My cucumbers plants have little bitty cucumbers forming on the blossoms. I just love watching vegetables develop!
• Can't wait to see how the NASCAR decision to have double file restarts is going to change the excitement of the race this weekend! I think I'm gonna love it.
• Take the time to visit here and look at the pretty flower arrangements! Love them!
• The Husband is taking the afternoon off to go fishing at a favorite farm pond. In the meantime, our son-in-law is coming here this evening to fish in our little lake! The fishing is always better somewhere else?
  
• Our favorite restaurant is featuring "All You Can Eat" dishes every night to increase customer interest. Last night was their fried chicken. Their fried chicken dinner is four pieces...half a chicken! And it includes soup or salad and a potato of your choice as well as dinner rolls. I wonder how many people asked for more after receiving the first serving? Oh, I forgot to mention the meal comes with free dessert...jello, ice cream, or rice pudding!
• I'm a country girl and love going barefoot whenever I can, but I'm having to give it up because the skin on my heels keep cracking and have become painful to walk on. So I have been soaking them, lotioning them, and pretending I am a city girl and putting on socks. It is already helping after just a few days. So happy I didn't have to resort to wearing shoes with the socks! LOL!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

THIS IS NOT A PIPE

When Rene' Magritte entitled the following painting, "This is not a Pipe", he was trying to say that it was actually a representation of a pipe. He reasoned that if you could not put tobacco in it and smoke it that it couldn't actually BE a pipe.
The internet is full of things that look like the real thing but are not and I'm referring to fraud.

You're probably like me...you find purchasing through web sites very handy but also feel a little like you're opening your door to strangers every time you log on to pay for that purchase. I do all the research on what is safe, try to deal with reputable sites, and still feel a little antsy.

My older daughter was fooled by an e-mail supposedly from a reputable site that requested that she call them right away and she ended up giving them account information as part of that call. She mentioned it to me a few hours later and I suggested she notify the company by another phone number and sure enough, the e-mail was a scam and she was able to prevent any use of her account because she acted quickly.

My husband received a phone call one Saturday morning which was supposedly from our bank and they requested account information from him. As soon as he hung up, we agreed that it just didn't sound right and he immediately called our bank who broke the news that it was a scam and they immediately stopped any further action on his card.

I'm bringing this up because we were probably about to be scammed again last night when the memory of those past attempts set off a little alarm before we were caught up this time.

My husband has been wanting to take one of our grandsons who is crazy about dinosaurs to see the touring arena show "Walking with Dinosaurs" so I went on line with Ticketmaster last night to get a couple of tickets.
We have used Ticketmaster in the past with no problems and I was fairly familiar with how the process works so when an extra screen came up that asked me to verify my card information with our bank and asked for all the same information that I had left on the secure Ticketmaster site, I got that creepy feeling and ended the process. It just didn't feel right and it was a screen that had never appeared before when I ordered tickets.

I called our bank this morning to ask about it and the manager took the information so she could report it and said that it was not something they would do and I had probably been diverted away from the authentic Ticketmaster site onto one that would take that information and use it illegally.

So...be careful out there. Even safe sites can be messed with by these computer jackals and if it doesn't sound or feel "right", shut it down and contact the seller through other channels to verify that you are not being scammed! It's a jungle out there!

PS...We managed to get the same tickets at the same price through our PBS fund drive who were giving two tickets to the show for each family membership last night. So we got our tickets and helped public television at the same time!

I LOVE THIS!

FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHER
ANNIE LEIBOVITZ
IS DOING A SERIES OF ADS
FOR
LOUIS VUITTON
AND WHAT BETTER PLACE
TO PACK FOR THAN A TRIP
TO
OUTERSPACE!
ASTRONAUTS SALLY RIDE, BUZZ ALDRIN, AND JIM LOVELL
(I love the look of excitement on Aldrin's face!)

From the department of "Why did I wait so long to do this?"...I finally went to Wal-Mart a few weeks ago and bought one of those curved hotel shower rods and

a fabric shower curtain liner! And I can't believe how much better I feel after that $50 dollar bathroom renovation!
I have suffered for years with the vinyl shower curtains sucking up to my body every time there was a change in the air current in the bathroom! And I'm such a claustrophobic that the lack of space to move around freely in the shower had driven me to the point that I was considering a full-blown bathroom remodel to get rid of the tub/shower unit that we already own and have paid for to get a free standing shower with loads of room!

From the outside it is hard to tell that the curved rod is going to offer much more elbow room, but step into the shower and there is a HUGE difference...HUGE!

And the fabric curtain/liner is so, so, so nice! I use mine alone and it never comes flying at me, it dries quickly, and I don't have to look at calcium deposits!

Just little things...that's all I need to be happy! Just little things!

My little oddities reminded me that there may be some of my nieces and nephews who would view me in this light...
Except there would be lots of knitting needles, yarn, books, and NASCAR stuff!