The End of the Line

The End of the Line

For some, life just meanders on, the same thing day after day. For others, there are numerous challenges and changes as the days go by.

I have experienced many changes, from getting married, to losing a spouse, to building a new house due to a degenerative disease, to selling that house and moving to an apartment.

Along the way, I became an author, got brave and published my books, started my blog.

I've seen computers change from key-punching to something you can slip into your pocket or purse. Phones can now tell you the weather, play music, show a video, get your emails, give you directions.

But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, or is it the final chapter, the end of the line, the last hurrah, adios amigos? 

However you look at it, what I'm trying to spit out is that I will no longer be a blogger. It's been a difficult decision to make, but one that I feel is right.

I don't foresee starting a blog again in the future.

I will continue to write. After all, I want to publish at least 13 books(one of the items on my bucket list).

I need the time away to rethink, regroup, regenerate.

I want to thank all of my faithful readers and followers. As they say, it's been a real trip.

But, all trips eventually come to an end.

And, in the famous words of my late grandfather, was it ever good.

Tearfully yours.

Sneak Peek

Sneak Peek before I Tweak

I have my next two books written. I just need to tweak them before I publish.

I've decided to share the covers, along with the titles, today.

Three of Everything

Rivers Run certainly does have their share of problems and crime. Old and new characters, and I mean characters.

Cowboy Coffee

The setting is different, the story is shorter, the characters are old and new.

I'll have both ready for printing by the middle of October, and hope to schedule another book signing event for early November.

I'll be sure to share a blip or two from each book when they're published.

Hope to see you soon.

Tiny Kitchen Nation

Lemon Bars

Day 2 of the Tiny Kitchen Nation. Day 1 was last Tuesday. I made Toffee Bars, in case you missed it.

They say when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Well, I didn't exactly have any lemons, but I had the product thereof, so I came up with my version of the famous Lemon Bar, baked in a tiny pan, in my tiny oven, in my tiny kitchen.

Butter and sugar,

flour,

mix until crumbly.

Press in the pan, and bake. Oh wait, first grease the pan. I use a bit of corn oil, or canola oil, or olive oil, depending on what I have on hand, and I brush it with a pastry brush. There's nothing wrong with using cooking spray, but when the can is empty, that's one more item in the landfill that just sits there and doesn't disappear.

Ok, I'm hopping off of my soapbox now.

Now I bake it in my toaster oven. You can use a 4x8 inch bread pan, a 5x7 inch glass baking pan, or a 6x9 inch baking pan. I switch off, depending on whether I'm baking in my tiny oven, or the regular oven.

While the crust is baking, it's time to mix the lemon part. Liquid egg product (like EggBeaters) ((remember, 1/4 C egg product equals 1 egg)),

flour, sugar, lemon juice from a bottle,

and a drop or 2 of lemon extract.

Here's the tricky part. Do not overdo the extract. You won't like it. Trust me on this.

Whisk,

Pour over crust that has been baking,

bake it again. It gets nice and brown on top, which doesn't hurt it a bit.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar,

and there you have it. Another great recipe from the tiny pan that fits in the tiny oven that sits on the counter of the tiny kitchen.

Are they ever good.

Happy Saturday

Lemon Bars

1/3 C butter

8 Tsp granulated white sugar

2/3 C flour

1/3 C liquid egg product

1/2 C granulated white sugar

4 Tsp flour

3-1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 Tsp lemon extract

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325°. Spray 4x8 inch glass bread pan with cooking spray, set aside. Combine butter, 8 Tsp granulated white sugar, and flour, until crumbs form. Press into bottom of baking pan. Bake 15-20 minutes, until golden. In small bowl, combine liquid egg product, 1/2 C granulated white sugar, flour, lemon juice and extract, whisk until combined. Pour over top of crust, bake additional 20 minutes. Cool on baking rack. When completely cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into bars. 8 bars

Tiny Kitchen Nation

Tiny Toffee Bars

Tiny House Nation, Tiny House Hunting, Tiny House Living. Where will it all stop? I hope the shows don't ever stop. I love watching to see how one to six people will fit into, and live in, one hundred fifty square feet to five hundred square feet.

One of the most common comments when they see the kitchen: will the Thanksgiving turkey fit in the oven? That has me thinking, which is a really scary thought in itself. How about some Tiny Kitchen Nation recipes?

I'm getting with the program today, so to speak, by sharing my aunt's recipe for Tiny Toffee Bars. Her recipe calls for a 10x15 inch pan. That won't work for my tiny kitchen, so I baked them in a tiny pan, in a tiny oven. It can be done.

I start with creaming butter and adding brown sugar.

Liquid egg product, such as Egg Beaters, because I don't have fresh eggs. If I did, I wouldn't use them anyway. I would have to beat an egg, measure out 1 Tbsp, and throw the rest away. That's not economical, and it's wasteful. Eggs are a precious commodity in this day and age, based on the cost per dozen, unless you have your own chickens running around your yard.

Ok, now the dry ingredients, and mix,

press in a tiny pan (5x7), place in a tiny oven(toaster oven). I like using my toaster oven so that I don't need to heat up my tiny home with my regulation style oven. It's summer. I don't need any extra heat.

After it's baked, I sprinkle with chocolate chips,

wait until they melt(a couple of minutes), and spread with the back of the spoon.

I sprinkled mine with finely chopped pecans. Other nuts can be used, according to your taste.

So there you have it. A tiny batch of Tiny Toffee Bars, which allows you a tiny taste of goodness.

My next tiny kitchen recipe: Lemon bars. If my tiny oven bakes them properly, I'll share that recipe as well.

This batch? It's going to a get-together with my family.

Are they ever good? We'll have to wait to see what their opinions are.

Tiny Toffee Bars

1/4 C butter

1/4 C brown sugar

1 Tbsp liquid egg product

1/4 Tsp vanilla

1/2 C all-purpose flour

1/8 Tsp salt

2 Tbsp semi-sweet chocolate baking chips

2 Tsp finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350° (325°for glass pan). Combine butter and brown sugar, cream until light and fluffy, add egg product and vanilla, mix well. Stir in flour and salt. Press into 5x7 inch pan, bake 18-22 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from oven and sprinkle with semi-sweet baking chips, let sit until chips are glossy and begin to melt. Spread over bars with back of spoon. Sprinkle with nuts. Cut into bars immediately and let cool.8 bars

From the Kitchen - Outside the Nest

Grilled Pineapple Sundaes

Yes, I'm still grillin' and chillin'. This recipe will really bring the chill on after I get my grill on.

If you read my blog on Tuesday, you know that I am not perfect, because I wasn't able to produce the perfect caramel sauce for my ice cream.

I needed to step it up, come up with something different, in order to sooth my irritated ego.

This is a pineapple cutter. It is the slickest gadget, rating at the top of my variety of gadgets.

This is what I get when I ply the pineapple cutter to a fresh pineapple. Sorry, no before and after. I figure everybody knows what a fresh pineapple looks like.

This is toasted coconut. Just a side note: I found instructions from a very reliable source, that said to toast the coconut on a microwave safe plate, 30 seconds at a time, until lightly browned. Well, either my microwave is way stronger the the source's, or my microwave safe plate isn't so safe. I threw out the darkened evidence. Extra dark coconut does not smell nice. Trust me on this.

 Then I went at it 10 seconds at a time, stir, 10 seconds, stir, etc. Much better.

And we're grillin'. That's right. I put my fresh pineapple slices on the grill, and got them some tan lines. I was careful, so as not to burn the pineapple, because when I have fresh pineapple, I do not want to waste a single morsel.

Grilled pineapple, topped with vanilla ice cream, sprinkled with toasted coconut. I broke into the Pina Colada song with I scooped it up, scarfed it down, inhaled every bit of it.

Was it ever good.

Happy Saturday

Grilled Pineapple Sundaes

1/4 C shredded coconut

8 slices fresh pineapple

6 cups vanilla ice cream

Place coconut on a microwave plate. Heat on high power 10 seconds at a time, stirring after each, until coconut is lightly browned. Heat grill to medium low, place pineapple slices on grill and heat until grill marks are brown, flipping often to avoid burning. Place 2 pineapple slices on each of 4 salad plates, top with 1-1/2 C vanilla ice cream each. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp toasted coconut on top of each sundae. 4 servings