As many of you know, my oldest grandson, Derric, is in AF Tech School in Lackland, TX learning to serve in the Security Forces. I wanted to send him something fun to share with his buddies and had come across a recipe for Cake-in-a-jar that I thought would be just the ticket. Tom helped me pick out the cake mix and frosting and dug out the large mouth canning jars from our stash. The recipe made 1 quart and 2 11/2 pit jars of cake. We had to try one ourselves, of course, to be sure it tasted okay (yeah, right!) which it did. I also made some homemade granola to send along with the cake. I wrapped the jars with bubblewrap and put the 2 cakes, a can of frosting, a baggie of granola, some plastic forks and knife all in a Priority Mail box and shipped it off to Texas. Derric called the night he received the box and let me know it arrived in one piece and the cake was moist and delicious and a fun surprise! Yea!! He thought we had sent him some canned tuna or smoked salmon at first - ha! I think the can of frosting was the clue that it was not fish in the jars!!
I sent a baggie of the granola to my cousin Bob and his partner, John, as well. Bob had made some scumptdillicious pomegranite jelly and sent us a jar for Christmas. (I admit, I saw the post on FB and shamelessly begged for a jar!!) They sent a cute little jelly bowl and spoon along with it. So sweet!! John let me know that they LOVED the granola! Another yea!!
For the cake in a jar, you use any boxed mix, fill the jar about 1/2 way, bake on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for about 30 mins. While the cake is baking, boil your canning lids and rings. Take the cakes out one at a time, placing a lid and ring on each. Tighten the ring. They should pop letting you know they have sealed in about 5 mins or less. As the cake cools, it will shrink away from the sides, but we found that we still needed to use a knife to slide around the inside to completely loosen it before shaking it out of the jar onto a plate. I found this recipe on a FB page for Air Force families - AF WINGMOMS. It was copied from a blog, but I have found several variations on the web.
The granola is a variation of a famous granola made in a restaurant in NY, NY. Saw it on Good Morning America a few months back and thought it would be a nice Christmas gift. Didn't get the ingredients in time for Christmas - sorry friends! Then, I couldn't find all the ingredients called for, so I improvised!! There is raw pistachios, rolled organic oats, sweetened coconut shavings, pumpkin seeds, and some sliced almonds all coated with some light olive oil, brown sugar, and sugar-free maple syrup. I had some pomegranite infused dried cranberries that I added after the rest was roasted in my oven for about an hour at 300 degrees on a parchment lined raised-side cookie sheet - stirred frequently. It is yummy!!! I've never tried making granola before. It's not a cheap thing to make in small batches!! But it is definitely a winner for a little snacking, sprinkling on your oatmeal or in your yogurt, or even putting some in a bowl and adding some milk. MMMMM good!! I haven't been able to find any shelled pistachios locally, so we had to go to a Winco in Lacey - about 45 minutes from home - to buy them. Then, while shopping at a near-by Costco, we found a big bag of them! Now I have enough for about 4 batches stored in my freezer. Everything else I can get at our local grocery stores. No excuses - got to make some more for the rest of the grandkids!!
Which brings me to another project I finished this month - a keepsake box for my grandson, AJ, who turned 15 this month. I've been working on it for about 2 years. Started out with the top - a stained glass rendition of the Denver Broncos logo. He was born in Denver and is a fan of the Broncos even though his family moved near Philadelphia about 10 years ago. I had made glass boxes for his 3 sisters, but wanted to do something a bit more masculine for him. I found a pre-made wooden box at JoAnn's a year ago and had painted it Bronco blue inside and out. I then sprayed it with a glossy finish. But I couldn't figure out how to make the hinge work with a transition from metal to wood. Then, about 2 months ago on my way home from church, it dawned on me! I had some brass hinges in stock from a project I was working on years ago. I just needed to take the pins out, turn them inside out and nail them to the edge of the box and then feed some heavy gage wire through the hinge and into the brass tubing attached to the back edge of the glass top. And, voila!! It wasn't as easy as it sounds - the brads are really small and I hit my fingers as much as the brads! Ouch!! I then used a trick my friend Mimi from Blue Roof Cabin, uses for transferring designs using pencil lead to put his initials on the front of the box. I used a gold paint pen to fill them in and then sprayed the gloss finish over that for a little extra protection. I forgot to take a picture of it before I mailed it, sorry! But AJ liked it and recognized the Bronco theme right away, so I guess it turned out alright! I'll ask AJ to take a picture of it and put it on FB so I can copy it for my next blog.
So, since I don't have enough to do, I volunteered to be on the Sunday treat list for my church. We give out treats at each of the services to visitors and those celebrating birthdays or anniversaries. Gives me a chance to bake without having to eat the treats!! This was my first week, so what did I do? I thought about it all week until Friday and then, whoosh, it was out of my head!! ARGHH!! Thankfully, the gal in charge sent me a reminder via FB Saturday morning! I knew what I was going to fix and had most of the ingredients, so all I needed to pick up at the store was some whipping cream. That's right - it was time for scones!!! I decided on making 2 types - dark chocolate chip and blueberry infused craisin. I sprinkled a mixture of cinnamon sugar on top before baking and then, for a special treat, topped them with a light glaze. After letting them sit in the fridge to set the glaze, I put each in a little cellophane bag. Debbie was very impressed and delighted with having them delivered personally to her before the 9 am gathering this morning! Hope everyone who got one enjoyed eating them as much as I enjoyed making them! Here are some of each kind.
Don't they look yummy!!??
So, today, I am spending a little time with this blog and a little time with my guy. He worked out of town last week, which is good in that he WORKED, but sad in that I missed him. The best part of course is that it looks like he may get alot of work this Spring and Summer again this year, so we can start planning for our next road trip in the Fall!! Yea!!
He loves to cook, so he was in the middle of making food for all our lunches and dinners for the next week when I got home from church. I can hardly wait to eat them! There are delicious turkey burgers, grilled chicken breasts, stuffed bell peppers, salad, and some pierogies that I cooked last night and sprinkled with finely grated parmesan cheese. (I had to help with something!) I'm a lucky woman!! A good man who loves to cook and is good at it, to boot!! Think he's a keeper!
Tom enjoys lots of different TV programs. He goes through the listings and programs the ones he likes to record on the DVR so he can watch them later and leave out the commercials. One of his favorites is "Stories of the ER". He was watching one of them today after he was done cooking and suddenly broke out with a true belly-shaking laugh!! He was actually tearing up from laughing, so I HAD to see what was so funny. Evidently, this couple comes into the ER with very little clothing on. In fact, the guy only had a beach towell wrapped around him. After being taken into an exam room, it is discovered that he has a camp stove stuck on his penis!! OMG!!! But that's not even the funniest part - the male nurse trying to figure out 1. how it got there and 2. how to get it off, called for a maintenance man to see if he could cut it off - the stove, that is! Well, that poor guy took one look at what was stuck in the stove and passed out!! Then they called the local firestation and asked for an EMT. The EMT took one look and had to go sit down before HE passed out!! By this time, Tom is in hysterics!! The patient has not only been drinking, but smoking pot, so he's getting a kick out of seeing all of this, but really wants to be free from the stove. Well, the nurse finally calls in a urologist and he determines that a large amount of blood needs to be taken from the appendage before it can be released. I won't go into details, but everything comes out okay!!! LOL!! Okay, I had to say that!!
Now, we're watching an old Twilight show. I told you, he likes lots of different programs!
Wow! This is turning into a novelette!! Speaking of novelettes, the weather is still too iffy to finish any outside projects, so I'm doing lots of reading. I'm presently working my way throught the Bible for the 5th time. Always find something different that speaks to me. I am also reading Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina". Wonderfu linsights into the Russian aristocracy of the pre-bolshevic revolution. All I've got to say is, "We've come a long way, Anna!!"
Time to let you go and spend some time with Tom. Have a wonderful week!!
Bye!
Jackie
