I can't find it!

Do you believe in gremlins, brownies or bogies?  I don't want to but I don't really have much choice.  Because either there's a prankster spirit in our home or my husband is totally screwing with me.  I'm leaning towards option number one because it would be very bad for hubby if I found out he was trying to make me crazy . . . very bad indeed . . . and he knows it.

Every so often something disappears only to reappear days, weeks or even months later either exactly where it should be and where we looked over and over again or somewhere where the thing has no business being, someplace we wouldn't have put it.

It's really freaky.

Three recent examples . . .  

When I do laundry I make sure hubby removes all the stuff from his pockets . . . he carries more crap around in his pockets than I do in my purse.  I make sure he takes everything out so that I'm not responsible for accidentally washing something he doesn't want washed . . . like his phone or flashlight.  A couple weeks ago we did the emptying of the pockets routine and he put his stuff in a pile off on the side of the bed where he normally puts his things.  On the same day I was washing sheets so I gathered those up as well and put on fresh ones.  The next day he was loading up his clean shorts and couldn't find his flashlight.  He had everything else including the holster for the flashlight . . . but no flashlight.  He looked all around in his piles of crap on his side of the bed.  I looked in the dirty sheets and laundry in the the basement, just in case they got caught up in those.  The flashlight was nowhere.  For a week he poked around for the flashlight.  For a week he swore up and down that I had somehow managed to get the thing wrapped up in the old sheets and that it had to be in the laundry pile.  I looked three times . . . it wasn't there.

Keep in mind that this is a $130+ pocket flashlight that is extra bright, extra durable and has weapon potential. . . not something simply replaceable by a trip to the local Walmart.

A week later he decided to plow through his stacks and piles and bags of stuff.  The flashlight had to be there somewhere.  He picked through junk that he hadn't touched in years . . . no flashlight.  

The week before when I changed the sheets, I took the clean ones out of the closet and made up the bed.  Somehow I ended up with a spare sheet that I left draped over a suitcase at the end of the bed.  For whatever reason when he was going through his stuff he shook out the sheet and out fell his flashlight.  This was after literally hours of sorting through his things. That  flashlight couldn't have been there because where he emptied his pockets wasn't anywhere near this spot.  But there it was.  Weird.

Another such incident was last December.  A gun cleaning kit went missing . . . something we use all the time and I ended up getting another one because we really did need it..  Hubby thought I threw it out with the Christmas wrapping paper and boxes.  I know I didn't throw it away but I thought that maybe I packed it up with the Christmas decorations and that we'd find it when we decorated this year.  So, this past weekend hubby was cleaning a rifle and was going through the bin of cleaning supplies . . . I bin I have taken every single thing out of and he has taken every thing out of several times looking for the kit and other cleaning supplies.  It wasn't there and hasn't been there for months.  Guess where the cleaning kit was?  In the bottom of that bin . . . exactly where it should have been but hasn't been for months and months.   The cleaning kt was visible from the outside of the bin . . . a milk crate . . . in a spot I look at probably a half a dozen times a week or more.  Plain as day . . . in our faces . . . right there.  Crazy.

One other thing . . . or several things . . . went missing last November.  Some papers that I needed but were replaceable so it wasn't a huge deal that they were gone . . . it was just weird that they simply disappeared from a spot where I knew . . . absolutely knew . . . that I had placed them but not to be found again until 6 months later.  The papers are kept in an envelope inside box on top of a bookshelf in the living room.  I found them at the bottom of a bin full of motorcycle gear in the basement.  There is no conceivable reason why those papers should have been where I found them . . . randomly found them because I was looking for a jacket.

There's one other thing that's been missing for several months . . . a controller for my Wii . . . let's see if that happens to turn up or if hubby is right in thinking my son "borrowed" it.

So . . . I need to appease whatever creature this is that's playing tricks on us.  I just don't know what it wants or I'd happily give it him!  

Check out this post and this post for previous disappearances and recoveries.

Mint Chocolate Chip Pie

Mint Chocolate Chip Pie

This recipe calls for a regular pastry crust.  I think a graham cracker crust would really good or even better!

2 Cups Whipping Cream

2 Tablespoons Confectioners' Sugar

2 Cups Cold Milk

1 1/2 Teaspoons Peppermint Extract

5 - 6 Drops Green Food Coloring, Optional

2 (3 1/2 Ounce) Packages Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix

1 Cup Miniature Semisweet Chocolate Chips

1 9 Inch Pie Shell, Baked

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream and sugar until soft peaks form.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk, extract and food coloring if desired.

Add pudding mixes; beat on low speed for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Fold in cream mixture and chocolate chips.

Pour into pastry shell.

Refrigerate for 3 hours or until set.

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Drying Homegrown Basil

In my vegetable garden I always sow basil seeds with the tomatoes.  Let's face it . . . tomato and basil are perfect together.  

Throughout the summer I pick basil here and there for recipes and whatnot.  But now that summer is over and my garden is pretty much played out I have huge bunches of basil that I need to do something with lest they go to waste.

If you're planning on drying your basil keep in mind that basil begins to lose flavor once it starts flowering, so plan on harvesting it before it begins flowering.

Dried basil is less full-bodied when it is dried, but it doesn't lose its distinctive delicious taste.  Keeping the dried leaves whole instead of crushing them retains more of the flavor.

 

Drying basil . . . herbs in general . . . is easy.  All it requires is a little time . . . . or a lot of time depending on the drying method employed.  

Whichever method you use you must start by washing the basil. Place each branch under the tap.  The water should be about room temperature.  Carefully wash off the dirt and debris from the leaves. Then blot the leaves dry with paper towels.  While you’re washing the leaves discard any that are rotten or look bad.

Air Drying

Air drying is the easiest method as it doesn't require any special equipment.  Select stalks that are fairly even in length.  Hold the stalks upside down then take string or a rubber band or a twist tie and tie the base of the stems together . . . kind of like a bouquet.  

Hang the basil in an area where it can dry. You want to select an area that has good air circulation to prevent mold from growing.  Depending on conditions, it will take two or three weeks for the leaves to completely dry out.  The leaves will be brown and crunchy when they are totally dry . . . if they are soft then they are not yet dry.  

Using a dehydrator

I prefer to use my dehydrator.  It's faster and there's little chance that the leaves will mold or be otherwise contaminated.

Remove the cleaned leaves from the stalks.  Place the basil leaves on the drying racks, leaving space between them for the air to circulate, and only one leaf thick on each rack.

Set the dehydrator thermostat set to 95°F to 115°F.  If the ambient humidity is high you can set it as high as 125°F.   I started mine out at 95°F  and after several hours they were barely drying so I bumped it up to 125°F and they dried out within a couple of hours . . . it was a fairly humid day and we don't have air conditioning.  Overall mine took about 10 hours to dry but that time could have been drastically reduced if I had started out with a higher temperature.  Use your best judgment.

Storing

Once the leaves are dry you can either keep the leaves whole or crunch them up.  Simply pick them off the stalks (crush them or not) and then place them in an airtight jar or zipper bag.  

Store herbs in a cool, dry, dark place (away from sunlight). Dried herbs keep for years but for best results use within a year. Most herbs will diminish in flavor with age and a larger amount will be needed to achieve the desired flavor in cooking

Homemade Marigold Salve

When I plant my vegetable garden in the spring I always plant marigolds as a kind of sacrificial plant.  They are excellent to attract harmful insects away from my veggies.  Now that the planting season is over and my vegetables are pretty much done producing I have big beautiful bunches of marigolds.  I hate for them to go to waste and there’s no need to let them.

Marigolds have been used medicinally for centuries . . . both internally and topically. 

It’s an easy process to make a soothing salve for your skin to help heal wounds, soothe burns and soften dry, chapped skin.

Homemade Marigold Salve

Two handfuls of marigold flowers

1 cup oil (such as olive oil)

2 Ounces Bees Wax

In addition to the ingredients, you will need a fine material (cheese cloth or a knee-high stocking) to strain the steeped marigolds from the oil and small container(s) with lid(s).

  

Gently wash the marigolds in cold water and then place the marigolds in a small saucepan with the oil.  Heat oil on low until flowers begin to wilt.  Remove from heat source and cover.  Allow to steep in the oil for 12 hours or so.

Reheat the marigold oil mixture over low heat.  While the oil is warming, place cheese cloth over a funnel (I use stocking stretched over a canning funnel) and set over a bowl or jar.

Once the oil is warm, strain through your material the gather it up and squeeze as much of the oil out as you can.  Discard flowers.

Slowly melt wax over a double boiler.  The water should be at a simmer, not a boil, to make sure the wax doesn’t get too hot.  If it gets too hot it will destroy the healing properties extracted from the marigolds.

The wax used to coat cheese is made from beeswax. Save this wax and use it for preparations such as this.  Just make sure to remove any cheese residue to avoid any possible contamination.

When the wax has melted, add the marigold oil slowly, mixing continuously.

Pour the mixture into clean containers, cover tightly and store in a cool location.

Burger shmurger

Hubby and I were out on our weekly date night.  Instead of going for our usual wings and beer place, we went to a local restaurant that has some of the best and most inventive hamburgers around . . . Plan B. 

The reason we went there was because they were celebrating their one year anniversary and they were offering up all kinds of bacon fare.  Who doesn’t love bacon??

So I’m thinking a bacon burger would definitely be in order.  To me, a bacon burger brings to mind a ground beef patty on a bun with strips of bacon.

On the special menu was Bacon Candy Bars, Bacon Cotton Candy, and Bacon infused Bourbon cocktails but the one menu item that caught our attention was the Divine Swine . . . a burger made with 100% ground bacon burger topped w/ thick sliced chicken fried bacon, bacon aioli, bourbon bacon red onion jam, and a fried egg all sandwiched in between a grilled cheese. 

That, my friends, is a bacon burger . . . BIG time!

This burger lead to a conversation about what exactly qualifies as a “burger” or a “hamburger”.

I’m not going to get all into the history of the hamburger or the multitude of people claiming to have invented . . . I already did that (click here).

Suffice to say that the hamburger came to be what we know to be a hamburger in the late 1800’s.  At that time it was called a hamburger steak, which was ground up beef served on a bun.  At some point in history it got shortened to hamburger and then simply to burger.

So, if that’s what a hamburger is then how can it be that we were enjoying a burger made of bacon? 

Well, sometime during the late 1900’s some granola crunching type invented burger made out of vegetables . . . the horror!  And then came along other alternative burgers made of turkey, chicken . . . you name it . . . oh those silly health nuts.

So, nowadays, we can have a burger made out of just about anything as long as it is prefixed by a descriptor indicating what it’s made of.

But to me . . . a burger is made from cow and it better damn well go “moo” when I bite into it!  That’s all I’m sayin’.

How was that bacon burger you may be wondering?  Hmmm . . . it was good but it was seriously over the top with all that bacon and the bacon condiments and whatnot.  But that’s what it was all about.  Bacon!

Firewater Friday - Strawberry-Basil Martini

Strawberry Basil Martini

A lovely, elegant cocktail.  Delicious in it's complexity yet so easy to make.

3 Strawberries, Plus One For Garnish

3 Basil Leaves, Plus One Or Two For Garnish

1/2 Ounce Simple Syrup

Ice

1 Ounce Gin, Preferably Tanqueray No. Ten

1 Ounce Vodka

1/2 Ounce Fresh Lime Juice

To make simple syrup combine equal parts granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the strawberries with the basil leaves and simple syrup.

Add ice and the remaining ingredients and shake well.

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with strawberry and basil leaves.

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