Lunch in Thailand....I wish!

On Wednesday Brad and Kami came to do yard work.  They have been coming every week to mow, remove brush and help in the garden.  Our yard is looking good this year.

My job is to provide lunch.

Weis Market had snow crab legs on sale this week so I decided on a Thai themed lunch with fresh spring rolls and pineapple fried rice to accompany them.  I love fresh spring rolls on a hot summer day and I thought they would be great after working out in the hot sun.

There is no real recipe for them, just a few basic ingredients.

An essential ingredient is the bahn trang rice paper wrapper.

The cellophane noodles are optional.

I usually get these ingredients at an Asian grocery but larger supermarkets have them too.

Next you need:
leaf lettuce, like romaine, green leaf, butter crunch
strips of zucchini, cucumber, or carrot
shredded meat, chicken, pork, shrimp, beef, whatever you like
cilantro and some mint of you like it

 I start by putting about 1/4 pack of the cellophane noodles in a bowl of water and microwaving them for about three minutes until they are pliable.  Drain them.  Then I snip them with kitchen shears roughly into short pieces and set aside.

Next I put warm water in a shallow pie pan wide enough to hold the rice paper wrapper and begin soaking one wrapper at a time.  You only want to soak the wrapper until it just begins to become pliable.  If you soak it too long it will get squishy and tear.

Less pliable is better than too mushy!!!

Lay it out on a cutting board or smooth surface and put the lettuce leaf on the upper half.

Pile on the meat, noodles, veggies and cilantro, but not too thick that you won't be able to roll it up.
I drizzle on a little bit of this Asian sesame dressing for extra flavor. 
Cooking can be exhausting so Deiter is taking a nap.

 And then start rolling, using the lettuce leaf to keep the ingredients where they belong.  About halfway down, fold in the sides and continue rolling.  Those are Kami's lovely hands doing the work.

And here are the finished spring rolls.

We used the Asian sesame dressing for a dipping sauce but there are many nice soy based recipes that you can Google that are fast and easy to make.

The crab legs were yummy and the pineapple rice was a nice side.

While we were having a lovely lunch the second shift was out working in the yard.
The minute Brad and Zip came inside, these two characters hopped on the mower.  They are father and son feral cats who live outside.

We provide food and shelter.  They come close but really don't want to be touched.  They don't mind a ride on the lawn mower, though.

Changes

After a lot of soul searching, I've decided to change the name of my blog.  The URL and everything will stay the same.  The title on the header will be slightly different.

Since there hasn't been a hook in my hand for who-knows-how-long, I've decided the 'Hook' must go.  It will simply be 'From Hand and Heart'.  My interest in handcrafts seems to have tanked.  That is the reason I haven't blogged as much as I used to.  No interesting projects to report.

It will no longer be a blog focusing on rughooking.  It will just be my random interests and what's going on in my life.  There will be craftwork when and if I do anything.  My interest in cooking and restaurants is still running strong, so I will continue to post recipes and reviews.  
And there will always be cats.

There will be some other BIG changes in our lives which I will tell about as soon as they begin in the next few weeks.

So if you're still interested, please join me - same place - different name - at
"From Hand and Heart".
 Thanks!

Corn Chowder Recipe

This past week our local Weis Market had fresh sweet corn on sale.  Not local of course!  It was a bit older than I like and taxing for Zip who wears dentures but still good tasting.

So not to let it go to waste, I cut it off the cob and made corn chowder.

Please note that quantities do not have to be exact.  Use your creativity!

4 cups fresh sweet corn, raw or left over cooked corn-on-the-cob, either one works
8 ounces potato (2 medium)
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
6 oz. extra lean diced ham (3/4 cup?)
1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 cup flour
4 cups combination of chicken broth and water (more broth = more flavor!)
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 cup low fat milk

Put olive oil in stock pot.  Add the first five ingredients.  Saute.
Sprinkle with flour, stir and saute for several minutes.  Add about 1 cup of the liquid and stir and cook till broth is slightly thickened.  Add the rest of the liquid and cook till veggies are tender.
Add cilantro leaves and milk.  Heat and serve.
Serving size of 1 1/2 is 215 calories.  The recipe makes 8 cups or 6 servings.

Hopefully the next time I post there will be progress in the garden.  We have been so late getting started this year because of the weather.  Yesterday Zip laid out the fiber mulch for planting the tomatoes and peppers.  Brad and Kami plan to come on Wednesday so maybe we can have a planting marathon.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this cat?

 
Only about a hundred times, you say?
Oh, OK.

Until next time, happy Summer!

Greenhouse Time

The opening of the local farmers' markets is one of my favorite times of the year.  This past
Saturday, our favorite orchard, Hollabaugh's, near Biglerville, PA, had it's grand opening.  Of course there weren't any fresh offerings from the orchard at this time of the year but there were some local lettuces, rhubarb and asparagus.  They were also featuring a local farm that raises grass-fed, no antibiotic beef by giving away free sliders with a selection of yummy toppings.

Zip is making a bee line for the grill.
 

The beef was really delicious.  We ended up buying two pounds plus some of their lovely asparagus.  No pictures of either.  The asparagus got eaten and he beef is in the freezer for a special occasion.

Even though the offerings from the orchards haven't come into season yet, Hollabaugh,s is still worth a visit if you're in the area.  They have a nice produce section, a bakery area, had dipped ice cream, pickles and relishes in jars, a coffee bar (Zip's favorite) and a lot more.


On Memorial Day Brad and Kami came to do yard work and have lunch.  Brad made smoked pork loin on the grill.  Kami and I prepared the rest of the food which included deviled eggs and panko crusted corn fritters plus watermelon and honeydew and other salad makings.

We didn't have a recipe for the corn fritters, just an idea that we wanted crispy, savory ones.  We really got it right o the first try.  They were delicious!


We used the smoked pork to make tacos with lots of tomato and cilantro.

 We had a great holiday.  Lots of eating and even a nice amount of yard work got done.

On Tuesday we went to Lurgan greenhouse to get plants to fill our hanging baskets for the porch and tomato and herb plants for the garden and herb planter.  Unfortunately it was the hottest day of the week.  I thought Zip and I were going to have a heat stroke.  He had to sit down and rest because he was feeling faint.  I blundered on with sweat running off me in buckets.  It must have been 100+ degrees in the greenhouses, not to mention the high humidity.

Needless to say in my hurry to get out of there I forgot a lot of stuff I wanted to get.  I thought we had three arches between the support posts on our porch so I only got enough to do three hanging baskets.  Guess what!  I need four!

So today it is cooler so we returned to the greenhouse.  I wanted to take pictures but forgot until we were leaving. This is the parting shot.

Got what I needed to finish the last hanging basket, cocoa mulch for some flower beds, and a few pepper plants. 

I put a dark red geranium in the center of the basket, very dark purple petunias and the ornamental sweet potato vines around the edge.  They should look really nice when everything starts to grow over the edges.  I have to laugh.  Both geraniums and petunias are stinky.  I sure didn't plant my baskets for fragrance!

Was going to post my recipe for corn chowder, but I think I'll save that for the next post.

Will close with a kitty picture.  Penny and Izzy sleeping on wicker.  Summer dreams.

 Thanks for stopping by!

Sprechen die Detsch?

No, you don't have to speak German to have a successful shopping experience at the PA Dutch Market in Hagerstown, MD.  The Amish and Mennonite people who provide the wonderful selection of edibles all speak perfectly good English.  And contrary to  popular rumor, they don't mind being photographed.

I have written about this smorgasbord of traditional PA German delights previously.  When I checked back through my blog, I realized that it been over two years ago so a revisit is in order.  I took my friend, Linda, who says she's never seen this kind of market before.

So let's start with the bakery.
Pies, breads, fancy pastries, cookies, brownies.  You name it, they have it.

One of my favorites is the bread, like raisin bread, with peaches instead of the raisins and either icing or crumb topping.  Makes yummy toast.

You can watch the Amish women working on the various pastries as you decide on which goodies to buy.  Oh, to have a kitchen like that for baking!

They have a beautiful selection of fresh meat.  I always bring a small cooler along to keep my purchases cold since it takes about an hour to get home.

They have a lovely produce section.  This is only a small part of the fruits and veggies being offered.  There is also a fresh salad bar so you can make your own salad to go.

The cheese cooler is filled with interesting cheeses from all over the world.  One of my favorites is a stilton with mango and ginger.  A perfect dessert cheese.  There are plenty of samples to make the decisions even more difficult.  Of course, you have to try several to be sure.

If you are still hungry after the cheese sampling, there is the barbeque counter.  The aroma is out-of-this-world.  At lunch time the line of customers seemed a mile long.  We intended to eat there, but didn't want to wait for half an hour for that delicious pulled pork.

There is also the deli counter with all kinds of pre-made foods for when you are too busy or tired to cook.  It's a good thing I don't live closer.

There is a bulk food section where you can buy flour, sugar, snack foods, canned pickles, jelly and spices.
And then there's the CHOCOLATE!  This is just a teeny little section of the wonderful handmade chocolates they have to offer.

Since the market was so crowded at lunch time, we decided to travel back toward Chambersburg and stop at the Trickling Spring Creamery for our lunch.  A friend had been telling me about their delicious pretzel sandwiches, so Linda and I just had to try them.


They have an extensive list of meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments from which you choose to customize your own sandwich.  Then it's all put inside a buttery, salty sliced soft pretzel.

I had smoked turkey breast with lettuce, tomato, onion, and sweet pickles with a sweet onion dressing.  YUM!!!

Wish I had taken some pictures of the Trickling Springs store because they have lots of nice products.  It's one of the few places where they feature fresh milk, the kind with cream on top.

They have delicious ice cream made with milk from local farms.  But that's another trip.

So that's it for today.  Except for.....

No post is complete with out a kitty picture.

Here's Deiter.  In your face.

  I love waking up to this every morning!

Thanks for stopping by!

Is It Safe Now???

Is it time to come out of hibernation?  Is it safe to stick my nose out the door without taking the chance of getting frostbite?  No more snow, RIGHT???

The lambs are out frolicking so I guess we humans should do likewise.
These sheep are in the front yard of a nearby Amish home.

Oh, how I love spring in PA!  The grass is so green and the fruit trees are in bloom.  Life is good once again.
After spending the whole month of March with a severe sinus infection and then adding an ear infection, I'm so grateful for warm weather and sunshine.  It is the cure-all for everything.

While I was sick, my creative endeavors took a sad turn to nothing.  I still haven't found a project to really get my juices flowing.  I became obsessively attached to my Kindle, an instrument with which I had a mediocre attachment to before.  Without being able to get out to the library once a week, the Kindle became my reading lifeline.  I have to confess that reading and eating are my drugs of choice.  Gee, they go so well together!  Ha-ha!  Now MANY pounds and many wasted hours later, I'm once again trying to kick both habits and get moving to something less sedentary.

On the subject of food, I made something I've always wanted to experiment with.  English muffins!  I found a cookbook (of course!) recently at the thrift shop.  There was an interesting recipe for English muffins that had yogurt in the dough.  Healthy, RIGHT???  Delicious?  YES!!!

The dough starts out looking like normal bread dough so I didn't take pictures of that part.  After the first rising, the dough gets rolled out to about 1/2 inch thick.  I used a 4-inch round cutter.

The rounds on a cornmeal dusted cookie sheet.  Ready for the griddle.

Cooking on the cast iron griddle.

The bottom is cooked and the muffins are flipped.  I tested for internal temperature with my insta-read thermometer.

Breakfast is ready!

I was really surprised how well they came out.  Better than Thomas' and almost as good as Wolfermans.  And really not that hard to make.

Last week a friend and I went to the PA Dutch market in Hagerstown, MD.  I've shown pictures of it before, but it's a wonderful place so next post I'll write about it again.  And I'll try not to let a month go by before writing again.  There will also be some green house visits in the near future.  Love those flowers!

Can't have a post without at least one kitty picture.  This is Deiter and Izzy doing Kitty Yin and Yang.
They're so Zen!

Thanks for stopping by!

Gifts

This year winter is the gift that keeps on giving.  And giving.  And giving...

Or maybe it's the booby prize.  Whatever.  
After receiving three snowstorms in the last ten days,  I'll be glad to see it gone.  As I know most everyone will.

I want to thank all of you for your kind comments about making it through this very long and trying season and the resulting depression.  I did see my doctor.  She did prescribe an anti-depressant.  After taking it for a week and feeling like I was in a head fog, I decided it was not going to work for me.

You all have written such positive messages, some in the comments and some by private email.  I appreciate your help!  I am feeling better just knowing that there are people out there who share the same affliction.
I titled this post "Gifts' because your support is indeed a gift.

And a very sweet gift came in the mail too!  Very unexpectedly!
Briony from the Crafty-Cats-Corner blog sent me this lovely notebook for which she made the lace and bead embroidered cover.  Isn't it wonderful?  I was so thrilled to get such a nice surprise in the mail.  And the whole way from across the ocean in England.

Thank you, Briony!
Be sure to visit her blog and check on the fun things her kitties are up to.  And also enjoy her beautiful artwork.  http://crafty-cats-corner.blogspot.com/

In my last post I showed a picture of my spinning wheel that I was hoping to use in the near future.  I did not notice a problem until I tried to spin.  The pedal went right to the floor and the wheel did not go around.  Whaaaaat???
A small technical problem right here:

The nylon connector between the pedal and the drive arm snapped, probably from being old and dried up.
So I called the Mannings spinning and weaving supply store.  They had another one in stock, so Zip and I made the 45-minute drive to East Berlin on one of the coldest and windiest days to get it.
I didn't have time to put it on right away so...
Well, where did I put it???  It was in a little plastic bag in my purse.  I got it out to look at it.
After that, who knows???

I didn't want to make another trip to Mannings so decided on a makeshift solution.  The piece has to be stiff with just a little bit of flexibility so I decided to use heavy leather.  Couldn't find anything thick enough so glued three strips together to make it about 1/4 inch thick.  Then shaved off the square edges so it would fit in the round hole.

So far, so good!

I spun a test sample of yarn to see if I could match the weight and twist of the yarn I used in the Fairisle vest.  The original Fairisle yarns are the two pieces on the left.  My samples are the
two on the right.  The yarns are shown twice the actual size.
I think I've got it!

A friend of mine will be giving me some dog hair from his Border Collies to spin and make into a scarf for him.  I'm looking forward to that interesting project.

So hopefully some new projects will do wonders for my mood.  Spring is on it's way regardless of the fact that the snow is still falling outside.
Blue skies and green grass will be the ultimate gift.

One last happy picture before I close.

Don't you just love those eyes???
Penny, you are so darn cute!

Thanks for stopping by!