Happy Thoughts

Christmas Season

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:45:00 +0000

Christmas season just seems to be crammed with everything good we can think of, doesn't it? It is downright dangerous to my budget to walk through a mall, and the decorations I delight in would look crass during any other season... but for Christmas it is glitter, and baubles, and teddy bears! Everyone seems to respond to the general good cheer- and be less forgiving about scrooginess and grouches! I wrote a bunch of Squidoo lenses for the season- they are on all sorts of topics and with all sorts of purposes. Some are simply showcases for holiday decor. Hope you enjoy them.

Start an Art Journal

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:53:00 +0000

This entertaining video will inspire you to start that art or nature journal you have been planning for so long. Creative ideas abound!

Love Matcha Tea Flavor

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 05:34:00 +0000

Something about it always appeals to me, so Matcha cake, or Matcha powder sprinkled on tempura, or Matcha bread- to me, it's all good.
Since I came across this recipe for Matcha bread, of course I had to record it.

It was adapted by The Spoonful Blog from Tartelette, or inspired by- not sure which.

Matcha tea is available on Amazon.

Matcha tea marbled tea cake

1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1.5 teaspoons matcha powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Butter a loaf pan. Line with a piece of parchment paper that covers bottom and long sides (leave some poking up from the pan to facilitate lifting the loaf out later). Butter the parchment paper.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with sour cream. Add vanilla, and mix 1 minute.

4. Portion out 1/3 of the batter into a small bowl. Mix in matcha powder, stirring well to combine.

5. Spread one-third of the plain batter into prepared pan. Use a small offset spatchula to ensure an even, flat layer. Dollop with 1/3 of matcha batter and use a spatchula to gently spread the matcha layer on the top of the other. Spread another third of the plain batter on top, followed by another third of the matcha batter. Repeat one more time so that the final layer is the rest of the matcha batter. Run a thin knife through batter to marbleize. Run spatchula over top to ensure the batter is flat in the end.

6. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire cooking rack for a few minutes. Lift cake out by the parchment handles and allow to cool completely on rack.

New Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:46:00 +0000

In the middle of the summer I get into the mood for acquiring new recipes. Not sure quite how that works, whether it is the lazy midsummer boredom with the status quo, or the longer days.... or? But I came across a new cookbook with the most fabulous recipe for brownies. They have chocolate, walnuts, and cherry flavors all mixed together in a not too sweet delight of a brownie recipe.

I am in the mood for cherry anything, since putting together a lens on pie cherries, which are one of my favorite fruits to bake into desserts. (Hence the draw of chocolate cherry brownies!) The peak season for pie cherries is over, but there are still ways to obtain them, and the recipe for the brownies calls for dried ones. That is a convenience for those who have no season on getting a hankering for a really wonderful brownie.

Summer Mood Lifter

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:38:00 +0000

Daylilies in Whetstone Park in late June/early July

Going to a a garden and walking through enjoying the flowers is a wonderful mood lifter during the summer months. Many public parks have lovely gardens to visit. Why not make plans to enjoy a summer stroll one of these evenings?

Tried Lush Products Yet?

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:13:00 +0000

this one is my favorite

I got some bath bombs for Christmas from my son, and I can't stop raving about their scent. I have one that is tucked into my lingerie drawer just because I am so enamored by the smell. Lush products are like fresh baked bread- you just want to keep taking deep breaths and enjoy the moment.

In fact, they inspired me to make a Squidoo lens about stuff that I think smells good!

I love the way that smells!

The World Is Your Oyster

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 22:03:00 +0000

I consider oysters such a treat. That would number me in the minority of my family, but maybe part of a much greater group in the world. This post has to do with that bivalve, the oyster genus Ostrea, that should be enjoyed on many levels- the first being its delicious eating.

Oysters can be difficult to describe in what makes their flavor something some of us like so well. Have you ever wondered how to shuck a fresh oyster? I have. Always buying them prepared and in containers at the grocery store, it was with interest that I clicked on the video further down in this post, from "The Brooklyn Kitchen".

How do you enjoy oysters? One of the ways my late Dad and I liked them was in turkey stuffing. My mother used to make oyster stew, but my favorite was steamed oysters from an oceanside shop in Florida (the Apalachicola oyster, "Shack Style with onions and colby cheese). Pick up the recipe before you surf on...
Here is something similar- just add a bit of Colby cheese:

Oyster Sauté

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup celery, sliced thin
1 12-ounce container Florida oysters, drained, reserve liquid
2 teaspoons garlic, chopped
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Preparation

Heat skillet on medium-high; add butter, onions and celery. Sauté until onions are translucent and beginning to turn brown. Add oysters, garlic and remaining ingredients except cornstarch; mix well. While mixture is cooking, dissolve cornstarch in oyster liquid; add slowly to skillet, stirring until thickened. Serve in 8-ounce gratin dish or over cous-cous, pasta or rice.

Ever wonder where that saying, "the world is your oyster" comes from? Circa the year 1600, William Shakespeare wrote his play "The Merry Wives Of Windsor'; and in Act 2, scene 2, 2–5 we find Pistol declaring: "Why then the world's mine oyster/Which I with sword will open." It is the equivalent of "Carpe Diem" or a declaration that all one wants is within ones grasp.

There are types of oysters... they are not all the same!
Apalachicola are my favorites. They are from the "Apalachicola Bay—thirty miles of shallow oyster paradise on the Florida panhandle—produces 90 percent of Florida’s oysters...it takes the oysters about three years to reach three inches. Apalachicola is the last place in the United States where wild oysters are still harvested by tongs from small boats."
Read all about oysters at The Oyster Guide, where you can also profile "What Kind of Oyster Eater are You?"

My friend Joanne created the perfect Kitchen magnet (from Zazzle) for oyster lovers:

oyster by Dibble_Artworks

A Few Oyster Worthy Products:

Of course, Oysters are not just for eating, they produce pearls! At least a certain type that are not true oysters, produce pearls, and that has made the cultured pearl industry our main source of these beautiful sea gems. I have to say I would take a pearl over a diamond any day.

We will have to save the topic of pearls (also good mood helium), for another day....

Aprons

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 22:14:00 +0000

You might be thinking: that is an odd thing to lift someone's mood. Or you might completely understand, since aprons make you feel happy when you see them,too. There are different reasons why I feel sentimentally cheerful when I see an old fashioned apron.

There are the memories

My grandmother always wore an apron at home during the day it seemed. She owned all sorts of aprons: Plain Jane ones, frilly sheer ones, calico, and bibbed ones. A veritable wardrobe of aprons. And there always seemed to be something good cooking in her kitchen. Coincidence you say? Something in my little child's memory says differently. For me, the production of good food and the use of an apron are inextricably tied.

Not only did she have aprons, but my mother had many, as well. And it seemed inevitable that there were several little child sized ones for me. Sometimes to help out while making cookies or perched on a stool washing dishes. Sometimes I had my own little work apron for paint projects at my easel. Each activity added up to a good memory, and aprons seem to connect them all. A new take on the "apron strings"?

All in all, a well worn apron or a pretty retro style... it all means homemaking that is of the exciting cookie baking kind in my mind. Or that most artistic of baking activities: decorating the cookies with frostings and sprinkles.

The good feelings from good food

In my own life as a mother and wife I don't use an apron everyday, when I do put on my favorite apron it means I am about to cook or bake seriously. That is usually the holiday meal or Christmas preparations (cookies!). It means good food in my mind, when I don that green, no-nonsense bibbed cooks apron.

I bake my cardamon rolls while wearing that apron, the roast turkey, the cookies, like Moravian Spice cutouts, and others. For an everyday event that seems like it could get messy I have in inherited assortment of regular half aprons- the type my mother most often wore. ( Because most of them are probably her old ones!

There is just something cute about an apron

It's true. Maybe it is a throwback to a more naive time, or maybe it is all the adorable prints or funny sayings. I like many of the new handmade ones that seem to be something like the those

Like a smock or a jumper, but just for working around the kitchen. I know I'm not the only one who think that aprons are cute. There is a whole group of people who are rediscovering the usefulness of an apron... but it is probably more about fun than usefulness. Like a little bit of playing dress up (and some of the fancy aprons might qualify for the term!).

Maybe it is homemade artistry

Old aprons, or handmade ones are something like quilts in the way they can express the makers sense of artistry and fun. Bright colors and skillful pattern combining rule in many of these creations, but there are some pretty sleek creations as well.

Looking over the aprons on a site like http://apronaday.blogspot.com/ or in the etsy.com shopping place is to be in a happy place and just a little addicting.

The sturdier ones can even do double duty as a gardening smock. To work well for the gardener it must have pockets.

Do you like aprons? do they carry some happy memories of the past or a favorite grandmother or aunt?

Love Valentines Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:38:00 +0000

Colorful Conversation Hearts by hallmarkvalentines
custom stamps usps made on zazzle.com

Some people get depressed by Valentines Day, but not me. Maybe because it didn't mean romance as much as it meant romantic for me; we can be romantic just because we want to anytime we like. I like romantic styles and thought making homemade valentines with paper doilies and pretty flower stickers was so much fun as a kid. I liked cupcakes that my mom made with strawberry cream cheese icing and red cinnamon hearts, and later I baked my own. And whether I bought it for myself, or someone bought it for me I adored boxes of chocolates on Valentines Day. It is the chocolate that counts, and stores go all out to provide so many choices. If I waited until just after Valentines Day: Bonanza!

I always thought conversation hearts were cheery, even long after I stopped eating them (just extra sugar without much flavor if you ask me). However, they still say sweet innocent romance and friendship to me. Zazzle sells stamps that would be perfect for sending off Valentines. And I thought I'd pick some random things to say "Happy Valentines Day" which is coming up sooner than you know it.

Victorian Valentine Butterfly Postage by golden_oldies
make your own stamp using zazzle.com

Cupcake Love Stickers by teeboutique
Browse Cupcake Stickers

Funny Valentine's Day by holidaysboutique
See more Valentine's day T-Shirts

Cupcakes:
Bake any flavor cupcake you like from your favorite recipe or cake mix. Use the following recipe for cream cheese icing and add strawberry jam for a pretty pink color.

Cheesecake Icing:
* 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Add the strawberry jam at this point.

Always refrigerate cream cheese icing :)
Decorate with hearts: cinnamon or candy hearts

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:35:00 +0000

Want to be happy? If you ever visit Atlanta, Ga. be sure to make time for Hawaiian ice in this little corner ice cream shop. They have a facebook page, if you want to know more about the details, including locations.

...but let me tell you about this stuff, it isn't the "Hawaiian ice" you are used to in most part of the continental US. It is shaved ice that is really smooth and of as fine a texture as the finest grained snow, with a bit of milky creaminess. Then there is a complete set of toppings, including fruits and green tea ice cream, if you want it. Mmmmm, always makes me feel in a better mood, maybe because it reminds me of Maui. but it might just be the taste experience itself.

On Maui, the only difference is that you can order a coconut cream for the topping, but Suno's might be superior on every other count! I feel better in this Midwest heat wave, just remembering how the giant bowl of soft fluffy ice and fresh fruit toppings gave refreshment on that super hot Atlanta day....

Love This: Breath of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:45:00 +0000

Relaxed me immediately.

clipped from www.lelonopo.com

Inhale, Summer

Exhale, relaxation

Sloe-ly Found Out

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:40:00 +0000

They may bloom in May , but this post on Blackthorn trees is interesting at any time you happen upon it.

clipped from stoneartblog.blogspot.com

Blackthorn, Shillelaghs and the tree of the fairies, the Hawthorn

The early Blackthorn flowers are followed by the finely serrated, dull-green oval leaves, which in turn are followed by blackish purple sloes in autumn. Sloes, the fruit of the Blackthorn, are extremely sour and are sometimes used for flavouring sloe gin.

Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:25:00 +0000

When you can buy ice cream all year, sometimes you forget what a treat it can be, but the old fashioned home made type? Never! It is always special and always just the right thing to create on summer afternoon.

I've had to cut my calorie intake in the past few years, so if I indulge in calories I want that something to count as a luxurious event. Making your own ice cream counts.

I saw a Cuisinart ice cream maker on sale:

and for recipe ideas...

For those who want someone else to do their gourmet ice cream for them.... there is always Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. But then you would miss out of the creative fun and ritual of home made.

Now that is what summer memories are made of!

Scottish Bagpipes

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:04:00 +0000

Bagpipe music always makes me feel better- even if it is a dirge... so this song, the theme from The Last of the Mohicans... makes me feel doubly good. Makes me want to watch the movie again, too.

Southern Dreaming

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:56:00 +0000

Love Deb's thoughts on a Southern Garden favorite. Transported me from rainy gray Ohio to the sunny South- if just for a minute.

clipped from debsgarden.squarespace.com

I didn't love my gardenia from the beginning, but the little cutting my neighbor gave me has won my heart. I now know why this plant has endeared generations of southerners, and I am happy to have one thriving in my garden.

Art Gardener

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:33:00 +0000

These paintings struck as distinctly garden oriented. Something like fifties sitcom meets millennial gardening. Do you garden in heels and pearls?

clipped from www.scoutiegirl.com

This Is How I Laugh

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 05:47:00 +0000

clipped from www.therejectionist.com

We Shall Never Tire of Brief Notes on the Importance of Proofreading

From this amazing flickr set.

Love Blue?

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:28:00 +0000

This is blue at its most cheerful! Sometimes as a color it is hard to harmonize the different blues, but this combination of Dutch iris and Aqua blue glass is perfect.

clipped from ofspringandsummer.blogspot.com

Moroccan blue is refreshing and intense at the same time.

The Gardening Bride

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:52:00 +0000

You know the woman loves plants when this is her wedding dress.

Made me smile when I saw it.

clipped from madickensvarld.blogspot.com

Cute Chicks Craft

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:27:00 +0000

Looks easy,looks cute. Fun project with the kids for Easter season.

clipped from chrisprojectlist.blogspot.com

Socks
Scissors
Black beads
Orange felt
Feather-boa tufts
Orange pipe cleaners

1. Cut the cuffs off the socks, cut wings from the cuffs, and sew two wings onto the sides of each puppet. The birds have black-bead eyes, orange felt beaks, and feather-boa tufts of hair.

2. For legs, poke orange pipe cleaners through the socks and bend to hold in place.

Message for Today

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:13:00 +0000

clipped from sugarcreekgardens.wordpress.com

We Are Complicated

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:52:00 +0000

I liked this set of symbols because it made me smile to see how simple the "husband" figure was and how complicated the "wife" character was- I think it says something

clipped from www.hildes-hjoerne.com

Cute Decoration Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:59:00 +0000

Just one of several very nice quality craft ideas. Easy, pretty, and you probably have most of the makings on hand.

I don't know about you, but I am trying to get current with my holiday schedule. Not that we need another thing to do, but it beats running around stores like a crazy woman and spending more cash. doing something with my hands sometimes quiets my soul better than anything else.

clipped from flowrgirl1.blogspot.com

These little wreaths are made my braiding long pine needles with floral wire. Then attaching greens, berries and little cones with a glue gun and wire.

Lovely ornament idea

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:45:00 +0000

If you have a few skills with thread and a needle- voila1 a pretty ornament.

clipped from resurrectionfern.typepad.com

Make an Ice Wreath

noreply@blogger.com (Ilona) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:41:00 +0000

If it is cold enough and you dare....
the whole site is filled with the most creative and simple ideas to adorn life with beauty.

clipped from resurrectionfern.typepad.com

How to Make Ice Wreaths