Tag Archives: Buttermilk

Settling out of/ into the Season

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I slept 10 hours Friday night. I think the last time I slept 10 hours straight through was when I was maybe 7. The only reason Bill didn’t put a mirror under my nose to make sure I was still breathing was because he slept even longer than me.

Don’t know if it was the Thanksgiving festivities, the carb overload, or simply the need to catch up on some zzz’s since I had not been sleeping well in anticipation of our family gathering, but I woke up rested and ready to start the Christmas season.

Our Thanksgiving couldn’t have been better. It isn’t very often that all of our kids and grandkids can gather together since our daughter’s family lives far away in Vermont. The kids enjoyed playing together. It’s fun to see how they sort of pair off, come back together, and then pair off differently. At one point our 3-year-old granddaughter was playing with our 8-year-old grandson. Not sure how they made that work, but they seemed content.

We had amazing food at the Thanksgiving table. All the usual suspects were present, but because we had several people who eat gluten-free diets, there were doubles on some things – i.e. pumpkin pie, dressing, green bean casserole. I don’t think anyone went away hungry.

I must say, however, that the carb overload has definitely made me aware of eating a bit healthier this week. We started last night with roasted chicken wings. I don’t really have a recipe for this. I simply take whole chicken wings, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and either grill them for about 15 minutes per side, or bake them in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, turn them over and bake them 25-30 more minutes. I do absolutely nothing else. No hot sauce. No butter. I think they’re delicious.

I’m ready to dive into Christmas joy! While I didn’t partake in Black Friday festivities (my sister and I went geocaching instead), I will be online at Amazon tomorrow with a kajillion others.

Bleu Cheese Dressing (from Allrecipes)

Ingredients
2-1/2 oz. bleu cheese
3 T. buttermilk
3 T. sour cream
2 T. mayo
2 t. white wine vinegar
¼ t. sugar
1/8 t. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Process
In a small bowl, mash cheese and buttermilk together with a fork until mixture resembles large curd cottage cheese. Stir in sour cream, mayo, vinegar, sugar, and garlic powder until well-blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Nana’s Notes: I use light sour cream and olive oil mayonnaise, so my bleu cheese dressing is fairly healthy. I started my healthy-eating week off right!

Nana’s Got a Brand New Bag

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Before I tell you my dirty little secret, I have to give you some context.

I wear nearly no makeup. On Sundays or other days when I dress up a bit more than usual for various reasons I might put on some mascara, a little blush, and some lipstick. Always the same color lipstick. But most days I only interact with my husband (who oddly thinks me beautiful with or without makeup), my kids, and/or my grandkid. I simply wash my face, put on some moisturizer, and am good to go.

Why is it, then, that twice a year, in April and October, when Macy’s has their Clinique Bonus, I hike my betooty to the mall to buy Clinique product simply to get the bonus gifts. Don’t get me wrong. Buying the product isn’t my problem. While I don’t wear makeup, I do try to take care of my almost-60 skin. I wash with their beauty bar. I follow up using their clarifying lotion. I finish using their Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. I do this twice a day.

However, the reality is I simply am compelled to only buy my product when I can get their free bonus gift, which this time includes a lipstick in a shade I will never wear, eyes shadow that will never even be cracked open, a tiny little bottle of special cream for very dry skin (which my skin is NOT), and a teensy-weensy bottle of perfume spray that I won’t wear because most perfume makes me sneeze.

But the real problem isn’t in the little bonus gift products I get (though I do tend to throw them in a drawer that is coming dangerously close to being unable to get closed). The real cause of concern is the two little makeup bags that always come with the gifts. I have used a few over the years for travel. I put my meager makeup in one; I put my jewelry in another; I put my pill bottles in a third. What’s left gets stuffed into another drawer.

So, there you have it. I have now admitted that I have two full drawers in my bedroom filled with various tiny bottles of perfume, little mascaras, small containers of skin products of all kinds, unused eye shadows in every shade imaginable, a plethora of lipsticks in shades ranging from bright red to lavender, and makeup bag after makeup bag after makeup bag. You think I’m kidding:

I called my sister last night to sheepishly confess. She told me the first step in any addiction is to admit I have a problem. The second step is to make a trip to Goodwill. I promised her I would on my way to Macy’s to pick up my next free bonus gift. It’s October, after all.

Here is a recipe for a really simple and extremely delicious coffee cake that comes from the Crème de Colorado cookbook.

Sweet Bishop’s Bread

Ingredients
2-1/2 c. sifted flour
2 c. packed light brown sugar
½ t. salt
½ c. butter
1 t. baking powder
¼ t. baking soda
1-1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk or sour milk (add 1 T. lemon juice to 1 c. milk; let stand 5 min)

Process
Mix together flour, sugar, salt and butter until crumbly. Measure and set aside ¾ c. of the mixture.

To the remaining mixture, add the baking powder, soda, cinnamon, egg and buttermilk. Beat until batter is smooth. Spread the batter in greased 8-in square pan. Sprinkle the reserved mixture on top. Bake at 350 for 50-60 min. or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes.

It’s Like Buttah…..

Posted in Desserts, Recipes by

Last night Bill and I went out to dinner with our son, his wife, and their two daughters, ages 5 and 3. Both of them are dealing with colds, so their appetites weren’t necessarily up to par. Nevertheless, here is what they ate for dinner:

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, their dinner consisted of eight or nine packages of butter. They started out with bread-and-butter, and then I guess they just figured the bread slowed them down.

Being the nana, I pretended to act shocked. The truth is, were I but 55 years younger, I would also eat plain butter.

Here is a recipe that satisfies my love for butter:

Kentucky Butter Cake

Ingredients
3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. butter
2 t. vanilla
4 eggs

3/4 c. suguar
1/3 c. butter
3 T water
2 t. vanilla

Process
Preheat oven to 325 and grease and flour a 10 in. bundt pan.
Mix together the flour, 2 c. sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Blend in the buttermilk, 1 c. butter, 2 t. vanilla and 4 eggs. Beat for 3 min. at medium speed, and pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 60 min. or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. While still warm, poke holes in the cake using toothpicks or a fork. Let cake cool completely.

Butter sauce:
In a saucepan, combine the remaining 3/4 c. sugar, 1/3 c. butter, 2 t. vanilla, and the water. Cook over medium heat until melted and combined, but don’t boil.

Once cake is completely cool, pour sauce over the entire thing.

Yum.