DoveSoup Art

You know the saying "If life gives you lemons...."? Well yesterday life gave me three pounds of unripe Fuji Apples. I let the dog out and he ran off barking like a crazy fool, probably chasing after a squirrel he will never catch. Being the dork dog that he is, he ran into the support stakes that are hold up our young apple tree that was loaded with soon to be, but not yet, ripe apples. We were so disappointed when we found our lovely baby apples scattered about the garden. I picked them up thinking they would at least look pretty in a bowl on the kitchen table. Then a stroke of genius! (which I humbly admit I often have) I figured crab apples are tiny, tart, (make that sour) and they make great jelly. So, yes indeed, I made lemonade. I cooked down the unripe apples, strained them and made totally fabulous "Organic Green Fuji Apple Jelly" Select firm (normally crab) apples. Wash and remove blossom ends. Cut into quarters without p...

Hey Jack J ack, why did you slash the wrist of your immortal muse? Did you stare as Red idioms pooled? Dripping, seeping, spilling, pouring streams of skillful consciousness soggy on the soles of your boots, leaving tracks along Route 66. Allen, the hawk stopped by my garden for breakfast today Majestic menacing brazen magnificent. Can you imagine having Bukowski as your mailman? And what would you Say to the academics when they ripped Billy to pieces, while his back was turned. © 2009

Last night we were sound asleep, snuggled next to each other with the fan gently stirring the air around us - and then... in a flash, (I swear at the stroke of midnight) the tornado warning sirens went crazy! The thunder was ear shattering and the rain was biblical. Matt went down stairs and turned on the news, sure enough it was heading straight towards Upper Arlington where we live. I woke mom up and helped her down stairs and down one more flight into the basement. About 1/2 down the very steep basement stairs the electricity went out. You have never seen dark like "basement dark". Mom and I managed to feel our way to the bottom of the stairs while Matt went in search of the flash light. We all settled down, mom, Matt, me and the 2 dogs. I really wasn't scared, neither was mom... we just sat and waited. Matt was up and down, closing window...

I recently read this recipe on my daughter's blog. I thought it deserved a mention in the recycled bread section because it calls for 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs. Stale bread is so easy to make into seasoned bread crumbs. Chop your bread into small squares, spray with Pam or sprinkle a little olive oil over them, add some garlic powder, Mrs Dash, or what ever herbs you have on hand... toss them into a 350 over until toasty. Here is the recipe from Urban Farm Girl (aka my darling daughter)

Matt makes a lot of bread. Some it great - some is greater than great. But with the three of us we often can't eat it fast enough and it often goes stale. I loathe wasting such yummy bread so I've begin collecting ways to recycle it (other than feeding it to the birds) I've come up with a few recipes so far and I must confess they are winners. Here is recipe #1 Cream of Garlic Bread Soup Recipe · 2 tablespoons olive oil · 1 tablespoon of butter · 2 chopped onions · ¼ cup finely chopped garlic · 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes · 2 quarts chicken stock · 1 bay leaf · 2 cups diced day old French bread · 1 cup half & half · ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese (reserve ¼ cup for garnish) · Salt & Pepper In a large saucepan, over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions, garlic, crushed bay leaf and crushed red pepper. Season it with a little salt. Sauté until slightly caramelized, about 6-8 minutes. Add the stock and bread cubes. Bring the liquid up...

Malt vinegar is made from malted barley. Rather than malt my own barley, which I do not know how to do, I decided to use a bottle of Guinness and 1 cup of Braggs Apple cider vinegar. Braggs is a living vinegar and as the starter should do the trick fairly quick and easy. I began my vinegar on February 18th by pouring the Guinness and Braggs into a small crock and placing it in the pantry. I covered the crock with a cotton fabric to keep dust and such out and let air, wild yeast and such in. By February 24 a short 5 days later I checked my concoction and found a mother was forming! The vinegar mother was not a solid layer, but a bunch of small globules floating on the top... so I guess I didn't have a mother, I had a litter *L* It was only a couple more days before I had a healthy mother completely covering the top of my Malt Vinegar. Now some people say when the mother sinks the vinegar is finished. When brewing other vinegars I never went by the "sink theory", I go by t...

I keep thinking I should write something... after all, when asked, I tell people I'm a writer, I tell them I'm an unknown poet, I do not mention that underneath it all I'm confident that after my death I will acquire the fame I so richly deserved but did not achieve during my life. (As a writer I must confess that is one hell of a "run-on sentence" the kind your elementary school teacher warned you about, and I don't even care.) My sister wants to change her name to Cher Nobel, because she is in constant mental meltdown, I say at least she still has her wit. My daughter who is " undiagnosed " lives in constant pain , we really don't fully know why, she also lives 2500 miles away and needs me.... I can do nothing physically to help her. That causes my heart pain. I hear though the family grapevine that when my oldest son drinks too much, he tells my youngest son what a horrible woman he (the younger one) is married to. That hurts my heart too. My...