Cooking

I spend hours browsing old books at garage sales and second hand stores, and I just came across a lovely old cookbook: HONEY RECIPES from the Country Kitchen of Peg Carpenter. The copyright is 1964, and contains the following: May your home also be blessed with the honest aroma of baking bread, the appreciation of food healthfully prepared, and filled with the happiness of your loved ones heart felt thanks.

I am unsure if this small book (about 5 x 7 inches) was self-published and distributed to friends (I LOVE these type of books), or sold at their farm stand perhaps.

I left home with a tenuous grasp on boiling water, and when first beginning my cooking adventures , would call my mother with questions such as: "Mom, how do you make pancakes from scratch?". (I could hear my 13 year-old brother snorting in the background with that question.)

My mom seemed a little shocked that I didn't realize flour, water, and an egg made pancakes, and promptly sent me "Sunset's Easy Basics ".

It is a fabulous, very basic cookbook (I still use it). My downstairs neighbors were a trio of bachelor freshman, and they often borrowed it to create homemade meals for their dates. It's the primer that explains concepts such as "frappe" with step-by-step photographs of the frappe process.

As I delved more into cooking, I became even more fascinated with "cooking from scratch". This recipe is definitely in that vein:

Honey Marshmallows (from Peg Carpeter's Honey Recipes)
1 T Knox Gelatin covered with:
1/4 cup cold water, then warm:
1 cup Honey

Mix honey, gelatin and water with electric mixer for 10 minutes, or until the mixture climbs the beaters (I might need to consult Sunset for pictures on "climb[ing] the beaters").

Spread in a 8" x 8" x 2" pan lined with buttered wax paper and refrigerate 24 to 48 hours. Turn out on coconut. Toast coconut if desired.

Garden madness

I visited a garden nursery on Tuesday. It is a local institution, with a wonderful cafe, beautiful plants, and sobering prices. I bought a small vinca for a shady area for $3.49.

I was drawn to the evergreen hedges, though. I have a beautiful laurel on the South side of my house. When we first moved in it was overgrown, and a little scary. Now it has been pruned for 3 summers and is really beautiful. I've a new appreciation for hedges.

On craigslist this past weekend, I've noticed people listing plants. Several hedges were listed, and after checking out the prices at the nursery, I am quite willing to go dig. My only thought is how to get the bush/hedge into the truck once I've dug it out. Rootballs and limbs are heavy.

I mentioned my plan to Andy, and he seemed a little frightened ; )

Driving

“Where did you learn how to drive?” Andy asked.

(R) "I learned how to drive in FL."

Andy shook his head. "I thought you learned how to drive in NY."

(R) "No. I learned how to drive in FL. I learned how to park in NY."

Andy rolled his eyes, and my friend Stephanie just laughed. It’s true. I was not trying to be funny. I failed my driver’s license test 3 times in FL because I didn’t know how to parallel park.