Warning—Candy Recalls!!!

I was going to write something fun tonight, or even post another recipe since yesterday’s post for Kalua Yams went over so well, but I noticed this post on wordpress and wanted to share it with my readers. Also, Halloween is this Sunday so be sure to check the candy your kids bring home from trick-or-treating before they eat it!

 

http://purebebe.com/2010/10/27/check-your-candy-6-companies-issue-halloween-candy-recalls/

Kahlua Yams

I love the holidays but they always seem to creep up on me, and I don’t think I am ever totally prepared for the cooking, shopping, and sheer survival of it all. During this time of year I love to find new recipes and even share some of my old favorites. This recipe was given to me by a friend and has become a family favorite throughout the years. It is a very simple recipe that is sinfully delicious—many of my friends and family have asked me for this one, so here it is…enjoy!!!

 

Kahlua Yams

4 medium-sized yams* OR 1 can of yams (1 lb. 3 oz)

1/4 cup butter (if you are vegan like me you can substitute with vegan butter products)

1/3 cup firmly-packed brown sugar

1/4 cup Kahlua

 

Cut yams  into serving-size pieces.

In a heavy skillet melt butter and sugar. Add Kahlua and cook for one minute.

Add yams, turn until brown on all sides.

Cover and reduce heat.

Cook for about 15 minutes turning yams once more before serving.

 

Makes 4-6 servings

 

*In a large pan, boil yams until tender but still firm. Remove from pan, let cool and peel.

The Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie

It’s a dark October night. There’s a chill in the air, a freshness that comes with the birth of yet another autumn. The air smells of burning leaves from the Lenape camp story circle—it mingles with the fresh kettle corn that is made on site. One can hear the laughter of children from an ancient barn—the puppet theatre is in full swing with the tale of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Other scents of apple, pumpkin and marshmallow fill quaint pockets of the sprawling acreage. One camp circle, where s’mores are being made by young and old alike, smells of burnt sugar. Fodder, colorful corn, and scary jack-o-lanterns adorn every nook. Different types of scare crows are roped off  in a small area—children standing around wondering who had the best one. Lines are formed and people are waiting for the big event…the hayride…a hayride where each and every one of them hopes to come face to face with none other than The Headless Horseman!!!! We all know The Legend of Sleepy Hollow—a great short story written by Washington Irving that was published in 1820 along with his story Rip Van Winkle.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is set circa 1790 in the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town, in a secluded glen called Sleepy Hollow. It tells the story of Ichabod Crane, an extremely superstitious schoolmaster from Connecticut, who competes with Abraham “Brom Bones” Van Brunt for the hand of 18-year-old Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter and sole child of a wealthy farmer, Baltus Van Tassel. As Crane leaves a party he attended at the Van Tassel home on an autumn night, he is pursued by the Headless Horseman, who is supposedly the ghost of a Hessian trooper who had his head shot off by a stray cannonball during “some nameless battle” of the American Revolutionary War, and who “rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head”. Ichabod mysteriously disappears from town, leaving Katrina to marry Brom Bones, who was “to look exceedingly knowing whenever the story of Ichabod was related”. Although the nature of the Headless Horseman is left open to interpretation, the story implies that the Horseman was really Brom Bones in disguise.

…or was it?

As you settle down, snuggle into your warm coat, and bury yourself with hay, the wagon starts with a jolt and takes you through what seems like miles of winding, pitch black woods. Lights flicker here and there, ghastly and ghostly images flutter around, things dart, things howl, and the settlement barns and houses are filled with fright. Finally you come to a wide open field…seems as though there’s nothing there except the moon, which is always so big it seems like it is just looking for a place to rest in the open clearing. You think nothing is there, then suddenly, out of the darkness a flash…the Headless Horseman gallops up behind your wagon on a very large, raven-colored steed. His white ruffled shirt is luminescent and his red and black cape billow behind him like a victorious flag. The horse is running hard so you can hear his nostrils flare. The Headless Horseman is gaining on you. Now he is right next to your wagon with his sword…and he really doesn’t have a head…and!!! Everyone screams—and loudly—even if you’ve been here before, you scream—you are in disbelief. After he has managed to scare the daylights out of you, he turns his horse around and goes back into hiding for the next unsuspecting group of Ichabods.

Yes, this is one thing I look forward to every year, and it is by far my favorite thing to do in the fall…maybe one of my favorite things to do ever.

Cheers!

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Show Your Support!

I saw so many different profile updates and posts today on Facebook in support of gay rights. One really stood out to me so I am re-posting it here and I hope you will do the same!

Today, I wear purple in memory of those who have lost their lives to hatred. I wear purple to show my love and support of the LGBT community. I wear purple because everyone is beautiful, and no one should feel unloved.

 

I’m wearing my purple. Are you wearing yours?

Mad Men Season 4 Finale (SPOILER ALERT)

Gee, right when I thought I had the dapper Don Draper figured out…he pulls the rug right out from underneath me! I’m really enjoying the show but I have to admit that last night’s season finale was in a word weird. I was waiting for him, or the new future Mrs. Don Draper Dick Whitman, to wake up after that proposal scene. I truly thought it was a dream or something, cheesy as it may sound, but it was so unexpected. I’m not sure the unexpected outcome was a good one…it kinda seemed desperate..is that because Don is desperate? Hmmmmmm. I would love to know what others think of this finale.

Cheers!

The Gift of Flight

I have been trying to give my husband a discovery flight lesson for about two years now. His birthday is this month and every time I scheduled a lesson, it got canceled due to rain or wind. I guess I could have scheduled it for another time during the year but his birthday seemed such an appropriate time for him to learn how to fly the friendly skies. This past Sunday, it happened—I was finally able to get him up in the air! He didn’t know anything about the lesson until we got ready to leave the house late Sunday morning. We had our usual Sunday morning pancakes and family chat, then the kids and I presented him with a small wooden plane that I had painted the day before. We decorated it with hand-written b-day wishes and hearts. The smile on his face and glint in his eye let me know that we had given him a great gift! My husband is getting more and more difficult to buy for. He is the also the type of man who works very hard and rarely does anything for himself—this special gift was so well deserved—and obviously well liked. When we reached the small airport, the wind seemed to pick up a bit but that didn’t dampen his spirits. It was exhilarating to watch him board the plane and fly off into the wild blue yonder. Did he enjoy his first flying lesson? You bet he did! Now we will work on scheduling more flight lessons so he can eventually get a pilot’s license. To those of you who have people in your life who are difficult to buy for, or people who just like an adventure, a discovery flight lesson is a wonderful, affordable gift for any age! Check with your local airport for details. Check out my pilot below and his fan club (errr, or his support group, whichever fits [me, our children, my mom Carole, my brother Darren, my Aunt Paula and my Aunt Dottie)! :^D

By the way, that's the flying instructor shaking his hand before the flight!

Cheers!

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Romantic Threads, Indeed!

After my last post about the horrors of shopping for appropriate Halloween costumes, I finally decided to look elsewhere—away from the cheesy party stores only stocking costumes that are CLEARLY just for young women. Since I have an etsy store, I decided to start there and found that I had to look no further. I found a great maker of beautiful Marie Antoinette-style dresses as well as other fabulous things! Romantic Threads is the name of the shop and the costume builder extraordinaire is Belinda. She specializes in unique, beautiful gowns. Anything you can imagine…one-of-a-kind wedding gowns (actually gowns for all types of weddings), vintage reproduction gowns including Victorian, Renaissance and Medieval styles, and much, much more! So if you are looking for a fabulous gown, whether it be for a wedding, special occasion, portrait, Halloween, Renaissance Faire…any occasion at all, be sure to check out Romantic Threads! Go to: www.romanticthreads.com

I have included a few of my favorite gowns from Romantic Threads’ etsy shop in a slideshow below, so enjoy!

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