Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween 2

Black Cats are Best

Cupcakes Inspired by Lisa

At knit night Lisa served a decadent homemade cake laced with a decadent sour cream based frosting. What was this foreign frosting? What have I been doing all my life with the buttercream frosting madness? (Okay, buttercream frosting is heavenly, but sometimes you gotta mix things up a bit.)

Here's the frosting recipe. 

Lovely Lasagna on a Cold Tuesday Night

Make one, freeze one they always say. At last there is a pre-made homemade meal sitting in my freezer ready to tap at any time. This is because today I made two small pans of lasagna and put the second aside for another day. I am secretly thinking that day may be next Tuesday because I am going to be glued to my television set watching election returns.

So spinach lasagna take one is for dinner tonight. I will add more sauce to the second serving because tonight's isn't very saucy. I used a large container of part skim ricotta cheese and two bags of shredded cheese. One bag is straight mozzarella, the other was an Italian blend. I steamed a bag of spinach and wrung it nearly dry, then chopped the leaves in the microwave. I chopped several cloves of garlic and added one egg. I split one package of no-boil lasagna noodles between the two dishes of lasagna and used one small can of tomato paste and a large can of crushed tomatoes. I added salt, pepper and basil.

For round two I think more sauce and I would have let up a little bit on the garlic cloves. Still, yum.

Chicken Fried What?

My mom has been fighting the good fight against a series of illnesses over the last year so I set out to make some comforting food with a nice stealthy dose of nutrients. Unfortunately our country grocery stores didn't have the oven stuffer roaster chicken I was looking for so I wound up making chicken cutlets coated with crumbled crackers, flash pan fried and then baked in the oven. We had steamed carrots and green beans with rice. They had chicken gravy, but I cannot abide gravy in any form. 

A Plate I Can Get Behind

There's a lot of whacky stuff on cars these days, but here's a license plate I think we can all support!

Not a Chance Lady

When we got Kirby from the rescue they said he'd probably need to be shaved because his long wavy coat was so matted. But Kirby and I toughed it out through a couple long nights of grooming (a totally new concept for him) and no shaving was necessary. When I sent photos to the rescue they said, "Do you think you'll ever groom him like a Kerry?" I think I said I might. But our adorable black mop is perfect just the way he is.

PB FAIL

Techies have an expression that only needs four little letters: FAIL. Well, how many peanut butter sandwiches have I made in my life? So why is it that when faced with a single slice of half-circle shaped bread cut in half that I made this ridiculous error - putting PB on top of the top slice? Critical Sandwich FAIL.

The Acorn Squash Extravaganza: Part One

When I arrived at JMU nearly-vegetarian, I started to explore all the veg options that were out there. That's when I discovered how sweet and tasty acorn squash is. My stuffed version includes couscous and toasted almonds. 

The process is simple. Split, seed and bake acorn squash on baking sheets for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. I add water to the pan to contribute to the steaming and reduce sticking to the pan. Cook squash as directed. Fill squash halves with couscous and chopped or sliced nuts. I like to use honey toasted almond slices. Nummy nummy nummy.

That's Plumtastic!

The single best food I have ever tasted in my life was bought from a guy wandering through the campground in France. He went from RV to RV peddling tarts made with the sensational Italian plums (or prunes) that I had come to love all summer.

Italian plums make me understand why some people are fanatical about their yearning for unpasteurized cheeses, because there is no replicating the taste of those Italian plums here in the States. They're good, yes, but pure sunkissed goodness? Not quite.

But Jac had found locally-grown plums at the Columbia Pike Farmers Market and I was in the mood to recapture some of that French plum tart goodness. It's not the prettiest of dishes, I thickened the plum mixture a bit much, but it was delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I would love to write you a precise recipe, but I just went with the plums and did what they told me. So it was about 10 plums (halved and pitted), 1 1/2 cups of water, 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of cornstarch - or so simmered on the stove until the mixture is a thick, smooth consistency. Spread across lightly pre-baked pie crust, dress as desired with additional pie crust. Brush crust with milk. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. Devour.

Pretty Pictures

I love my new camera. This was taken in a candle-lit restaurant without flash.

Back on the Blogging Trail

We've arrived at the river for the weekend! That means I have my camera back and the photos from last time. Now I can catch up on some entries!

It's slated to be a grey and rainy weekend, at least through tomorrow. We don't mind much. Of course I'm happy as long as the web and tv stay on. We're into a flurry of fixes chez magniferous. Since the first month we were in our city home, the basement has flooded with most rainstorms. Now a fix is officially on the calendar. In mid-November our basement floor will be chopped up and new drains run all around. I'm expecting a good amount of chaos and noise. Yesterday my favorite landscaper Juan came out and decimated the evil Japanese Knotweed plant that has been dominating our back yard despite all Jac's valiant efforts to get rid of the stuff. Juan is on the hook now though and he knows if it comes back his phone is going to ring...

Tonight we're headed out to dinner with the parents and a visitor. I'm hoping Jac will get the oysters he's been yearning for. 

What I've Been Up To

I mentioned that I spent the better part of a week working in the booth for one of my customers. In a nearby booth we had a bit of a celeb event when Dennis Miller showed up to support the troops. There was a time when I would have staked my place in line, but that time has so passed.

Moblogging Morons Chatty Shopper

Getting my mojo back!

Never-Fail Fallin'

I am here, just a bit busy. Last week was our client's huuuuge conference and I had the assignment to work in the booth everyday. Thus, lack of posting. 

And this lovely week I think I left my camera at the river which means no pix or stories about al the delectable treats I made this weekend.

I did bathe the dogs. That's progress. But also, not incredibly photogenic. And I don't have the camera anyway so...

Chez magniferous we are spending as much time as possible lapping up polling for a certain national political race that's happening right now. We are cautiously optimistic...ever so cautiously.

Jac's birthday was last Thursday and we had a nice relaxing day at the river followed by dinner out at one of the posh restaurants. I was saddened to learn that the Brasserie Americaine has closed though because the owner and manager had to go back to their home country to take care of a loved one.

Simple Physics

I now have photographic evidence that the egg came before the chicken, but it's understandable people get confused, because the chicken had such a great impact.

One egg escaped unharmed from this totally unplanned science experiment. I would like to thank the bagger at Harris Teeter for creating the wildly unbalanced bag of groceries that gave us this lesson.