Daily Musings Page 4

Pumpkin pie sounds great for breakfast!! Since I didn't have to cook dinner this year (eating at in-laws), I tried something different this year - my contribution was an appetizer and dessert. I usually make a lemon meringue and pumpkin pie, but this year I wanted to be different so I made a pumpkin cheesecake - figured it would be so rich we wouldn't need two pies. Only made two cheesecakes in my life and was a little anxious about it. Fortunately it came out great, however I probably won't do it again, it just didn't have enough pumpkin flavor and it just wasn't the same as good old pumpkin pie. The recipe also called for a maple glaze (maple syrup and heavy cream boiled for 15 min to make it thick). I'll NEVER do that again, the glaze was too thick and even though it was just a drizzle of it over the cheesecake, it was kind of like eating a candied apple :(

I just read some of the thread... I would totally eat pie for breakfast... this year my sister forgot to get vanilla ice cream, so I tryed something... cramberry sauce on my apple pie ( I love cramberry sauce!) it was reaaly good!

I love cranberry sauce too! I tried a new recipe this year that was SO easy and yummy. Just chopped up an orange - skin and all and ran it through the blender with about half the cranberries and some sugar - cooked it until it thickened - then tossed in the rest of the berries until they popped. Opps! Getting a urge for cranberry - gotta go.

I've never made my own cranberry sauce, but that's mostlly because we like the canned stuff a lot. I was just saying today that cranberry sauce tastes good with every traditional Thanksgiving food item. A perfect compliment. But honestly I didn't even consider it with pumpkin pie! That would just never have occurred to me! I'm curious now. (But anyway, pumpkin pie in THIS house calls for whipped cream, not ice cream.)

Too bad the pumpkin cheesecake didn't work out as well as you'd hoped, Debbie. It sounded great!

nap~ whipped cream on the pumpkin pie here too, but DH says no cool whip.....it has to be real. LOL

Real, like from an aerosol can? Or real, like from whipping cream?? My hubby and sons like the can better. I like the REAL stuff!

I hope all you Cool Whip lovers know that it is high in trans fats. It's the Palm kernel oil that is the culprit.
Real whipped cream is better.

Real whipped cream! I hate the "can". It taste like butane...it's just nasty. There is no substitute for real whipped cream w/a dash of vanilla.

This message was edited Nov 25, 2006 8:22 PM

it only takes a couple of minutes to whip some real cream and it is soooo good and no chemicals at all

We had one of the kids' friends for dinner one night, and we had ice cream sundaes for desert. This guest thought that the stuff in the can WAS whipped cream. Maybe that's why on the menus it says "whip cream"; nobody knows it's supposed to be cream that's been whipped. Anyway this little dinner guest had the taste treat of her life - real whipped cream!

xxx, Carrie

I tryed the can one... I aggree it doesn't taste good... the only thing that is fun is to do it right on your mouth!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!
I was in VT and totally missed the storm. It was exceptionally warm and nice up there. Came back tonight and my yard is still soaked.

Carrie, sorry to hear about your Dad.

Dave

I had a pleasant surprise today.
A tropical hibiscus that I got as a gift a couple of months ago had it's first flower.
Andy P

Ooooh Andy..thats beautiful, and so cheery!!

Wow, Andy. that's a ray of sunshine. great pic! do you still need an entry for the contest for the tropical category? that's a beauty!

I think he found it! LOL

Thanks, all. It's nice to have the flower indoors where I can move it to catch the light 'just right'. No wind to shake it, either. LOL.
I took a bunch of pics.
Yes Gram, it is like a ray of sunshine.
Andy P

Andy, I was going to ask "It's inside, right?" duuuuuuh. I'm not usually a fan of yellow, but that's a beauty. Mine bloomed alllllll summer, so maybe you'll get a loooong winter full of blooms.

xxx, Carrie

I took some flower photos at the Biltmore greenhouse

nice and warm in there

Mr. Al, those are lovely Orchids. Good shots, too.
There is a Cherry tree in bloom at the house I'm working at. I'll have to bring my camera next time I go there. I have to wait for the contractor to catch up to me before I can continue.
This warm weather (Global Warming?) is at it again. It was 63 today.
I finally got all the leaves raked. The Sweetgum trees are the last to drop. My compost bin was more than full before I started on those leaves, now you can't even see it, lol.
Andy P

Al ~ Those are great shots! Beautiful orchids, i've always wanted to try growing them but have been to chicken. After seeing those, I may try it after all.
My Brother is back to gardening and cooking again, but he's still sore from his tumble in August. He turned 59 last Friday, so I called him up and asked him if he wanted to go 4 wheeling with me. he he he
Evil little sister, aren't I?
Here's a plant I bought for him 18 months ago, he took a snip and rooted it for me. Last week it started to bloom, first it was a green-yellow. Then it lost all it's green, was pure yellow and slowly started towards peach. Strange little plant, it has thorns (good sized ones too) it looks like Crown of Thorns, but the leaves and flowers are bigger. It's called "Somona" or the "Forever Flower"

Pixie, One of my first plants was a Crown of Thorns. Cool plant.
I've seen your Somona only once. Really cool plant. It gets big, too.
Andy p

Pixie, how big, or small, are the flowers? They look small.

Nap ~ Bigger than a fifty cent piece. It measures 2.5" across and 1.5" up & down. It's not huge but good size for the plant. My brothers is about 4' tall and has multiple blooms. Mine has 2. LOL

I like it, but I tend to forget to water indoor plants. Still, I do like it a lot.

Thanks , it's as Andy said, a cool plant. Very unique and rare I guess as I am having a hard time to find info on it.

Al, always like to see orchid pics. the white phalanopsis looks just like one of mine :0) (see below)

Pix, glad your brother's on the mend (and cooking again...very important!). I never heard of this plant..looks really neat.

I love the peach color at the end!

xxx, Carrie

Pix, you're going to have to take very good care of your cutting, because when it grows up, we'll all want pieces of it. it's really pretty. and your brother has that 'super green' thumb, so maybe you can sneak some more cuttings off of his (shhhh!)

He's very generous, so I don't think he would mind. I'll ask him the next time I talk to him, and I do want to get a pic of HIS plant.

did you guys noticed how many times this thread has been seen??? wow... this is popular!

Interesting to me that you should comment on that, Kassia, because as I clicked on this in my 'watched threads' list, I was thinking "wow, we're on the fourth one of these musings threads already."

It shows that we talk a lot in the Northeast.

It shows you talk about things of interest and are fun to listen to. Wheeeeeeeeee
Who was that???

Utah????? Where's that????

The wind must have carried the sound...

No one is more surprised at the longevity of this thread than I am. When I started this "Musing" thread I figured on a few comments before it would fade into history. Who knew????
Has any one else started to smell wood smoke in their neighborhood, It's kinda nice from a distance. I walk with Sidekick Sarah almost every day and try to guess which house is burning wood.
When I got my first dog (in recent history) I was a bit shy to walk around. Some people would watch as we went by to make sure the dog didn't leave any 'presents' on their lawn. Others would wave and be very friendly. Some times little kids would come running out to pet the dog, that was bad because Lucy (and now Sarah) was not a kid friendly dog. Parents should educate their kids about running up to strange dogs just like talking to strangers.
Now I find a 20 minute walk to be so relaxing, I can sort things out in my mind or chat with neighbors. Sarah gets to say hi to a couple of her canine friends, too. Not all the local dogs are friendly, though.
Andy P

I enjoy watching the neighbors out strolling with their dogs (or their kids!). I haven't seen one that hasn't been good about 'clean-up'. A lot of our neighbors have the invisible fence for their dogs. seems to work, although it's got to be a little disconcerting to have an unleashed dog come at you barking and stop at the last minute. seems like we're the only ones in the neighborhood that don't walk (wish we could :0( we had one older gentlemen who wasn't able to walk, but his dog enjoyed it, so he'd get in his van and drive very slowly around the subdivision with the dog on a leash out his window. nice dog. man's name was John Daniels 'but you can call me Jack, everybody does'. don't see him anymore.

That is the perfect reason that I would love a dog - company on walks. Especially since when I get home now it's dark out. Unfortunately, I'm not home enough and I don't think that's fair to a dog. My neighbor across the street is always burning wood - I love the smell!!

There are very few people who walk around here, one older couple is about it. Two others walk their dog on occasion.
Too bad about Jack.
As the years pass I see dogs start out as puppies, grow up and with luck get old. I also notice the same household get a new dog only to get rid of it. Then go out and get another kind and then get rid of that one, too. A little research and thinking would save a lot of dogie tears, there.

Here are the Cherry tree flowers. They are a little passed but still pretty considering the date. Shot taken this morning.
Andy P