Real Butter is Love

"Real Butter is Love.
Real Cheese is Respect.
Real People are Essential."
 -Tao of Scout-


"Real Butter is Love" is a phrase you have seen, and will continue to see, on my blog. I don't believe in margarine. I like ingredients that your average elementary school child can read, not things that remind me of my 10th grade chemistry class (...although, the lab partner I had was pretty hot.. ERR, never mind).  Cooking is enough chemistry for me without getting into complex chemical chains and whatnots. So, you get to read my sass about real food.

I have really creative great-friend (who I am convinced is secretly my sister) that is a Craft Super Hero.  She sews, and paints, and crafts-- all that stuff that I do in my head, but don't really do in real life. I know sometimes she can hear me squeeing over her stuff the entire 4/10 mile between our houses.

Not long after I featured my staunch Pro-Real status in my last blog, Big Sis got my permission to get crafty with my phrase (as if I would deny her!), and she made this apron holder: 

See it here at Whetsel's Wearables

You can't convince me that I haven't hit the big time now-- I have a catch phrase on a sign.  This is right up there with signing autographs after plays--wait, no, that one is a bit weird.  Cool, but weird.  This is a catch phrase on actual product! And it looks awesome.  Woot!  I will try to stay humble, though...  :-P

La Tea Dough

I love bread. I am short. Therefore, I love shortbread. Right?

Well, not really.  But I do love shortbread. Or tea biscuits. Or Danish Butter Cookies.  They are all pretty much variations on the same theme: butter and sugar with enough flour to bind them together. I love it; the teen loves it; the best friend loves it; my coworkers love it. What's not to love? It's butter and sugar.

After binging on Walker's Shortbread, Danish Butter Cookies and honey almond tea biscuits the week before and week of Christmas, you would think I had shorted out my craving? HA! As If.  More like I was on a mission to get fat... er, find more cookies.  Thus, I took to Pinterest looking for a tea biscuit recipe.

I did a little research because most of the recipes for shortbread and tea biscuits are nearly identical. Ask.com says it's a matter of flour and sugars. I didn't see that in the recipes I read.  There is a texture difference, however, between tea cookies and the Walker's Shortbread I picked up at the British Import store in my home town.

Remember that a biscuit is a cookie.

This is the recipe that I bounced off of:  Inspiration Recipe. 


Three ingredients?  Three common ingredients? Three common ingredients that were in my kitchen at the moment I found the recipe and I was home alone... and bored?  That oven was preheating before you could say, "Jolly Good."

I made cookies.  I didn't take pictures.  They weren't pretty anyway.   But never fear, reader. I made them again, taking liberties of my own, and I took pictures along the way.

According to the original recipe, you will need:

2 sticks of real butter, softened. I've told you before- do not use that fake crap. Real Butter is love.
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 cups of flour

I also add about a teaspoon of almond extract. I love the flavor it adds.  I made three variations this time, so there are two other ingredients (one for each variation) that I will mention in a bit.

I use an electric hand mixer, mixing bowl, rolling pin, and cookie cutters.  I measure the flour out into a separate bowl, have extra flour on hand for dusting, and bake my cookies on a pan covered in aluminum foil.

Preheat your oven to 300.  My oven thinks I should only bake at 350, so I really have to watch the temperature.  350 is too hot and you will end up with tan cookies (Not the "good tan," either).

Grated butter

I have no patience for waiting for my butter to sit around and soften, it works better slightly cool, so I grated it with a cheese grater.  It's a LOT faster than waiting for the butter to soften. It also makes working with the electric mixer easier. No jerky killing of butter sticks. 

Butter + Sugar +Mixer = Good

I pour the almond extract over the sugar after I dump the sugar in the butter.  Add to taste; I used about a teaspoon this time.  The flavor was pretty mild.  I like overkill. 

Creme the butter and sugar. I use my hand mixer starting on slow and then increasing to medium.

After combining the sugar and butter, I took a tip from a different recipe and popped the bowl in the fridge to chill the butter again for just a couple of minutes.  While that was in the fridge, I measured out my flour in a separate bowl

Slowly add the flour. The first time I made this, I added about a 1/4 a cup at a time.  The second time I made it, I dumped too much at one time. Do it slow, trust me.  Oh, and go lightly on the mixer switch-- don't accidentally turn it to 2 or 3 in a bowl full of flour.  Don't ask why.  Just trust me.

The original recipe says the recipe will be flaky.  My turns out to the consistency of bread crumbs.  It will stick to itself if I work it by hand, though.  If I were making my cheese straw recipe, I would add more butter. I don't have anyone guiding me, and I have made this recipe all of twice, so I just go with it.  It turns out ok. 

Once everything was combined, I gave the dough a time out in the fridge for a few minutes and cleared a space for the next step.  You need space. I didn't allow for the the space the first time. It was a pain in the ass.  The second time, I scrubbed my counters within an inch of sanity and just worked the dough directly on my floured counter top.

REALLY flaky dough right out of bowl

After kneading 4 mintues

You MUST knead the dough, just like the inspiration post says. I mean, REALLY work the dough. Squish. Punch. Smash. Pulverize. It will start to come together the longer it's worked with. I kneaded the big dough ball for about 8 minutes total, before dividing into three sections for different additions.

I kept one section plain and kneaded it another 3-5 minutes before rolling it in a ball and popping it back into the fridge.


If you are not adding anything, kneading a total of 10 minutes-ish, until the dough is a solid mass. I let mine rest a couple of minutes in the fridge, just long enough to wipe a dry paper towel over my space and dust with it flour again. I rolled/ smashed it out (somewhere between 1/4" and 1/2" thick) and attacked it with cookie cutters. The first time I used the pizza cutter. It was ok, but cookie cutters are fun!



Place the cookies on your cookie sheet. Prick the cookies with a fork a few times.  To be honest, I have forgotten this step both times. It's in most of the recipes I read, so it must be important, but it's not catastrophic if you forget to prick the cookies.

Bake cookies at 300.

16 minutes bad

How long?  Er, well... uh, you see.. well... for me it was 15 minutes.  I followed the recipe the first time and set the timer. At 16 minutes (inspiration post said 25, remember? I had it set for 25), I smelled something not so savory.  Luckily, the cookies weren't too far gone and my second batch came out beautiful at 15 minutes.  You want to take them out just as they start to turn a bit golden.  Check them around the 14 minute mark.  Watch them closely. Do not walk away from your oven thinking you have 3 minutes left and you can check Twitter.  Don't. Resist the urge. If you walk away from that oven, even if your oven says you have extra time, your temperature will shoot up to 350 in your oven and you will end up with tan cookies-- the bad tan I alluded to earlier.  Tan cookies taste ok, but the cookies are SOOOO much better, so much flakier, and so much prettier if you keep an eye on them.

Once they are out of the oven, dump on a plate. Brew a mug of Earl Grey tea with two sugars and a splash of milk (or beverage of choice). Take plate and tea to a secure location. Eat while watching BBC online.  My BBC programme of choice last night was Death Comes to Pemberley, but Sherlock is a brilliant choice (you cannot go wrong with Sherlock).  There is no shame.  Just wipe the crumbs off your chest when you're done.

 --Now the variations I spoke of--

I made Orange Zest Biscuits and Earl Grey Tea Biscuits.  I wasn't inspired by specific recipes, just titles as I looked though tea biscuit recipes on Pinterest.  I totally made this up, y'all.

After adding the extra ingredient, I kneaded the dough 3-5 minutes to really incorporate the ingredient through the entire bit of dough. Again, I let the dough rest in the fridge for a few minutes before rolling. The dough balls got really smooth and shiny-- which isn't always great when working with a butter based recipe (so I read). Chilling them seemed to help with that.

I repeated the same process-- rolling, cutting with cookie cutters, placing on the cookie sheet and baking 15ish minutes at 300.

Extra ingredients

For the Orange Zest biscuits, I used about 1/2 a teaspoon of dried orange peel for a small ball of dough.  I would probably go upwards of a tablespoon if making the whole batch.  Fresh zest would be ideal, but I used orange peel from a jar.  The biscuits smelled fantastic out of the oven; the flavor was subtle.  Next time I am adding more zest.

For the Earl Grey, I used Tazo brand Earl Grey.  It's milder and sweeter than Twinnings or Darvilles of Windsor and has lavender in it, a little non-traditional, but nice. The tea bags are full leaf tea, so I smashed the heck out it in the bag by pinching it and grinding it with my fingers.  I ground it up pretty fine-- and I could have ground it up a bit more.  I added most of the tea bag to a small ball of dough.  The full recipe would need 1-3 tea bags, depending on your taste.  Again, the flavor was mild. Biting into a lavender flower was a nice flavor explosion, but a reminder to grind up the tea better. I really liked the lavender flavor, though.


I took all three recipes to my office today and I didn't hear anything bad-- most of the biscuits were gone by afternoon. I think that's a good thing? 

That's it.  Let me know how yours turn out.

Souper Fast Dinner (Beef Soup)

Some days I fancy myself a Martha Stewart/ Donna Reed/ Paula Deen hybrid like Domestic Power Ranger.  Other days I fancy myself a sloth, Pig Pen, a pampered Pure Blood with a host of House Elves.  I am actually neither, but if I had to pick, I am far more inclined to the lazier end of the spectrum. It doesn't, however, keep my from longing for that strike of lightning that will flip me into someone who doesn't have a huge pile of mismatched socks on her couch. 

Front Lines of House Elf Liberation

Most days, I put in my 8-9 hours of at the desk job, pick up the teen and "cook" dinner at the nearest (least repugnant) drive through window.  And it gives me MASSIVE bouts of Mommy Guilt.

Some days, however, I find my Power Morpher and get my butt in gear.  And that is where today's recipe originates.  It does not come from a link on Pinterest in any shape or fashion, though I am sure that some of those domestic diva's have figured this out.  It's not rocket surgery, folks.

This recipe is so easy I managed to put it together on my hour-long lunch break, after I had to go to the store  to acquire the goods.  When you factor in 15-20 minutes driving time to store, to home, back to office, and the fact I payed my electric bill on my way back out the door, it becomes pretty impressive time wise.

And it's teen approved most days.

You will need a crock pot-- the saving grace of working moms everywhere. I think mine is a 4 Quart.

Yields about four bowls, give or take, depending on what you add.

Souper Fast Beef Soup


Onion
Celery
Fresh Green Bean (mine are french)
Red Potatoes
1 can of V8
1 sm box of low sodium beef broth
garlic
seasoning to taste
1 lb of pre-cubed stew meat

I don't measure when I make this.  I use my nose and add according to what I think the teen will like today (it changes constantly, it's always a guess).  It's completely customizable and so easy I can't believe I didn't think of it years ago.

I put my cast iron skillet on medium-high with the onion, some garlic, and the stew meat.

While the meat is cooking up just a little (just past rare, I suppose), I turn my attention to the crock pot.  I broke a handful of beans and tossed them in with chopped celery, carrots, another half teaspoon-ish of garlic,and tiny red potatoes.  You can add more onion here, but I didn't.  

Add the can of V-8 and the broth and your seasoning.

Toss in the meat and onion-- I just dump the contents of the skillet right into the crock pot.

That's it.  Put the lid on it, turn it to low and let it go for 4-5 hours.  I cranked it up on high for about half an hour when I got home.

I wish I could say I pre-chopped all the veggies on Sunday, when I did all my meal prep for the week, but that would involve meal planning and effort. I bought pre-chopped food. It's still natural and it saved me a lot of time that I didn't have this afternoon.

I've used ground beef (lean).  I've also used spicy V8 with the regular.  I've cooked the meat covered in a french onion soup powder.  I've used frozen veggies.  I've used less water and thickened it up like stew.  Like I said, this recipe is customizable.

There you have it.

This is what we had left over.

Cat House

I have four cats.

Eryn Grace

Chance (back), Tommy (middle), Trouble (front)

Just like the Teen, there isn't a whole lot I wouldn't do for my cats.  They are as much a part of the family as the humans.

I learned early on they don't require special trips to Pet Smart for toys, though Chance did like the rabbit fur mice in his younger days.  Most of the time, they are content with ties to dresses or robes, or caps to water bottles, straws, boxes, my make up brushes, etc. Eryn has an affinity for pony tale holders and anything she can drop in the toilet.

I am always on the look out for practical ways to spoil my brats.  Knowing that most commercial products aimed at cat owners are a bust, I try to get creative.

And then one day, I was rolling through facebook and I found this link : DIY Cat Tent.  Seemed legit, so I pinned it to Pinterest.

I finally got around to digging out everything to complete the project today.  The source is basically just pictures, but it seems straight forward enough.  I gathered what I needed:  two wire hangers, a t-shirt, and my pliers.

The pics aren't great because I unexpectedly had to complete my project indoors, instead of outside, where there would have been better contrast than the hardwood floor.

First I straightened the wire hangers using my pliers.  I fashioned them into an X shape, using a small piece of duct tape to secure the top of the X.  I also bent the end into feet, like in the source material.

straighten the wire hanger

fashion into an X

Once they were bent, I tried to stand them up.  They slid back down into the X formation, above.  I tried it again.  Nope. Still sliding.

I got the bright idea at that point, to cap the little wire feet ends with duct tape, hoping it might (maybe) reduce the slippage, and protect my t-shirt from holes.  The result?  See picture above.

Thinking that the t-shirt would help, I began trying to shove the hangers into this epic t-shirt:

Do you know how hard it is to shove hangers into a t-shirt and keep the X formation?  Let me tell you, a mother of a toddler with five arm has it easier.  The hangers kept collapsing.  They wouldn't hold the X shape.  They slid; they fell.  I couldn't get the hole at the bottom for the entrance.  I was a little perturbed.

The inspiration picture has a cushion in the bottom. I started to suspect this was the key to the magic holding of the X shape. I didn't have one, and I wasn't about to purchase anything like a cushion for the cats, knowing my oldest would promptly do something foul.  But, I had a box from a case of water bottles.

I had to get a box

Ta Da!  The box held the hangers in the X formation!  And cats love boxes!

I taped the hanger into the corners:

And set off to shove the t-shirt over the frame.  I quickly found that my epic Goonies shirt was too small. So, I grabbed a shirt the teen had recently laid claim to.  This shirt was an XL. It took a minute, and some frustration, but I finally got the shirt over the frame and secured the back with a pony tale holder.  I left the arms open for paws and quick escapes.

As soon as I backed away from the tent, this is what happened:

What's this, Momma?

Blurry action shot of a paw stealing a ribbon

Eryn was the first one in the box.  She immediately saw the merit of using the box for a sneak attack on her brothers. She was in and out an arm hole so fast, Tommy had no idea what hit him.

Tommy was next in.  He's naturally high strung and a titch skittish, so he initially liked the idea of the covered box.  He also liked the arm hole escape.

Trouble peeked in.  Chance couldn't be bothered with it.  So, the initial reaction was 2 out of 4 cats liked the novelty of the idea.

The tent has been up for several hours and is thoroughly ignored.  The newness has worn off.  Going to leave it up for a day or two, to see if they reconsider, but it appears this idea was a flop.

Type Casting Shadows

I realize it's been a while since I've uploaded.  I have blogs and experiments for you, I just must find a moment to commit to writing and moving pictures around.  Bear with me, I will be back for more fun Pinterest things soon.

This post is not my usual banter.  With four posts, it's a little difficult to convince you, but I must assure you that it's not normal. 

I wish to refer you to another blog (Nightdreams & Daymares) and tell you a little story.

Growing up, I was biologically the oldest child in my family, but in my play and in some fantasies, I was the younger sibling.  I always felt that I would be a good little sister, though I clearly had the.... leadership skills (we'll just go with that) indicative of first born siblings.

You can imagine my glee when, in high school, I started "adopting" older siblings.  These were upper class men that took a small freshman under their wing and picked on me unmercifully, just as big brothers should.  And then one of my Bubba's introduced me to his college age sister.

It was pretty much squealing, and giggling, and love on the spot.  I got a big sis.  And she's been my big sis for getting close to 20 years (eeep!).  I passed out programs at her 1st wedding.  The very first baby shower I went to was for her daughter, my "niece," Sarah.

Sarah was an extraordinary kid. Bright. Artistic. Full of the right kind of Sass.  Not afraid to stick up for the underdog. For a someone so young, she related well to adults.  I remember talking to her at her mom's and step dad's wedding and having to remind myself I was talking to someone that still had diaper-butt when my daughter was born.  Sarah also had Type 1 Diabetes.

On Sept 16, 2011, a Friday morning. I got a call from my Bubba.  I had just gotten to work.  I was tired.  My best friend had just moved 185 miles away, and I still felt like my right arm was missing.  I had deadlines.  I didn't want to talk on the phone.  But we live in a day and age where phone calls to cell phones from texting family and friends equates to emergency.  The governor could not have stopped me from answering that call.

I will never forget those words, "We've lost Sarah.  Sarah's gone..."  I remember the rest of the call like watching a movie.  I remember dropping my phone on my desk and standing there for a minute.  Somehow I got around the corner and down a long hall to my Supervisor's office before I lost it.  By the time I got to her office, I felt like I was choking.

I don't remember getting home.  I barely remember texting my best friend, "911, text me when you wake up."  The next few days were a blur.  I only remember pieces.  Telling my daughter was one of the hardest things I had to do.  Going to the funeral was excruciating. I cried every time I pulled up facebook and saw a blue candle. 

What my Big Sis and family has gone through in the last year and a half is unimaginable. Heaven got one hell of an Angel on September 16.  Our lives are richer for having had her here for 14 years, and great things are happening in her memory.  But it's still not fair.

Type 1 Diabetes is cutting lives short.  My heart hearts every time I see a post, or I see a blue candle show up on facebook.  Children should always wake up in the mornings.  No mom should have to endure what my Big Sis has, but moms, dads, little brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and best friends are living this Hell every day. I urge you to read her blog and pass it along. Know the signs.  Don't let a doctor attempt to contradict your gut instinct.  Test those sugars.  Get treatment.  Pass it to your friends.



We gathered last September 16 to draw with side walk chalk, blow bubbles, and share cupcakes with kids at the local skate park.  A young girl came out with her Diabetic Alert Dog, and we laughed when he saw Big Sis's small, chew-toy sized dog and went bananas. I hope we will do the same every September 16.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Until there's a cure.

This Tip is a Shoe In

To be honest, I don't know where precisely I got this idea.  I can tell you it was on Pinterest somewhere, on a Pin, on a Board, in some section (Not Geek-- it didn't have Doctor Who on it).

I can also tell you I had the biggest DER! moment of my afternoon when I read the tip.

The concept is simple: use staggered suspension rods to suspend your shoes.

I love suspension rods.  I use them to hang long curtains in my tiny, non ADA acceptable doorways that have no doors (two in my house).  If I have a curtain in a window, it's on a suspension rod.  My shower curtain and it's valance are hung on suspension rods.  They are completely useful gadgets, especially in small spaces.

Now, my closet is one of those standard, narrow closets that come in a "hurry up and build 1950s suburbia" kind of house.  It has a shelf and some sort of rejected-for-plumbing pipe for a bar.  And, since I didn't think it was small enough, I shoved an old buy-it-at-the-Wal-Mart-build-it-at-Home entertainment center in there.

No longer an "entertainment center," the repurposed unit has cute fabric lined baskets for slips and pjs, places for decorative boxes filled with sheets, and places for hiding crap.  For as much hanging space as it takes up, it also provides valuable storage space.

The entertainment center has long been destined for my shoe collection.  I had always envisioned a plywood shelf, or something, in the TV compartment to hold shoes.  I never got around to adding the shelf, so I had a virtual Mount VaShoevious in the bottom portion of the entertainment center. I also have cats who like to punish me for leaving.  Suffice to say, I don't leave my shoes laying around on the off chance I have incited feline wrath.

This solution was much easier, and I completed the project in less than 5 minutes.  All I did was adjust the size of the first suspension rod to fit the cavity that once held a TV.  I hooked a heel on the rod, and used it to determine the placement of the second, like so:

That's it.

Final product is as it looks at the top.  Or, at least, that's what I will have you believe.  I do have more shoes, and it may or may not look that neat or well spaced.

Mmm... Beer Bread.

This is my favorite Pin recipe right now.  The moment I found it, I knew the author should be given her own billboard,  or reality show, or (at very least) the Nobel Peace Prize.

This recipe combines bread, And beer, And honey? 

Shut the Oven Door!

As soon as I saw the list of ingredients, I ran to my kitchen.  I had everything but honey.  Never fear, blog reader! I am the queen of reasonable substitutions.  Instead of honey, I had real maple syrup.  And I had a lonely bottle of Blue Moon's fall brew wasting away in my drawer.  Oh, and I mixed half the white flour with whole wheat (I may have... uh, run out of white).

I don't have pics of the first round, or the second, or the third...  but all of my trials have been good.  You'll just have to trust me on that.

I was instantly enchanted with the simplicity of this recipe. Part of the appeal is the inherent versatility: different brews, different sweeteners, add ins, toppings...

It's like the Sonic Drinks of Bread!

OK. OK. Not like Sonic*.

But it IS versatile.

I am sharing my Blueberry Wheat version.

1c whole wheat flour
2c all purpose flour (see notes below)
1tbs baking Powder
1tsp salt
2 tbs regular sugar
2 tbs honey (see notes below)
12 oz Wild Blue Blueberry Lager (see notes below)

4+ tbs butter (see notes below)

 Pre-heat oven to 350.

Butter melting in oven

While oven is pre-heating, I melt the butter in the baking pan, right in the oven, for just a few minutes.

Keep an eye on that butter! Don't let it burn.  I remove it when it is mostly melted.

Flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, honey

While butter is turning into melty, liquid gold, mix dry ingredients until just combined.  Here, I jumped the gun and added the honey before I mixed the dry ingredients.  It still worked, but I don't recommend doing this, OK?

Did you take the butter out of the oven?   If so, set aside. You'll need it in just a minute.  If not, do it now!

fizzy, purple Wild Blue is added to mix

Once dry ingredients are combined, add the wet.  I add the sweetener, then the beer.  I suppose you can do it in any order.  Because I am using a (blue) fruit lager, my beer is purple.  Don't be alarmed by the color.  It is not the blood of a purple, singing dinosaur, no matter what my teenager says.
 
 Mix with fork until all the dry is combined with the wet ingredients.  The dough will form a sticky blob in the bottom of the bowl.

Next, dump the lump into your loaf pan, right on top of that melted butter.

I add a little more melted butter to the top, too.  Butter IS good. 

 Bake at 350 30-40 minutes until knife inserted in middle comes out clean.  I invert mine on a plate right away when I bake with my beloved silicone loaf pan.   The outside is nice and brown and crusty, and the inside is soft. 

finished product

 While this was cooking, I made the best topping in the world for this bread (or at least thus far): homemade sweet butter.  I simply mixed heavy whipping cream, agave syrup, and cinnamon in a clean jelly jar.  I didn't measure any thing.  Just added.  And then I shook it.  And shook it.  And shook it.  It takes a while, but the end product is worth it.  Once it forms a solid lump, pour off remaining liquid and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

Cream, agave, cinnamon

Sweet Cinnamon Butter

  Try it with honey and cinnamon!  I've made it to where it tastes just like Texas Roadhouse's honey- cinnamon butter, only without the powdered sugar.  

I've also made it with a dollup of blueberry preserves.  Home made  blueberry butter gets the stamp of approval from a most discerning critic-in-residence, much to my chagrin (to see the critic, scroll down). 



 NOTES:
 Flour:  I have tried 3c All Purpose; 3c Whole Wheat; 1.5c wheat, 1.5c all purpose; and(like this recipe) 1c wheat, 2c all purpose.  They all have worked well.  Wheat gives it a hearty, heavier texture.  My teen hates it.  I prefer it.  The 3c all purpose was kind of gummy to me.  I was called insane, though.  Truely, I was. By everyone else that tried it.

Liquid Sweetener:  I've used honey, agave, and  pure maple syrup.  My honey is raw, and as local as I can find in my supermarket.  My agave syrup is organic.  With the REAL maple syrup, I had to add an extra tbs. Don't use pancake syrup. 0_o

Tonight's selection

Beer: I've yet to use a beer that didn't turn out well.  I usually use what's on hand, or what strikes me at United's build your own 6 pack station.  That's how I found the Wild Blue.  It comes in blackberry and raspberry, too.  I sipped the blackberry and it tasted like a stout Arbor Mist Blackberry Merlot.  Very good, but I am not sure I could drink a whole bottle.  But, it will make a great bread.  I've not actually consumed the Wild Blue as a beverage.  I keep baking it in bread!  Monty Python's Holy GrAle was good, but didn't make me say "Ni!"  I prefer sweet or dark beers. The next time I am near a Central Market, I am scoring a Lambic (cherry, strawberry, or peach) and giving that a go. Shiner Bock is also on my list of beers to try VERY soon.

Butter: REAL  BUTTER.  People, do NOT consume that vegetable oil crap! It's almost plastic.  Real butter will not kill you.  You may reduce the amount.  I go for over kill.  Yummy, yummy over kill.

Pan:  My pan is 9"x5".  When I baked in paper loaf pans (found at Central Market), I made two smaller loafs that baked for about 25 minutes and had to cool them before I tore them out of those hateful skins of dead trees.  Needless to say, acquiring another silicone loaf pan is high on my priority list. 

 Did you try something different?  Let me know!  I would love to hear your cheers and jeers.

"Don't leave your blueberry butter unattended.  It's my favorite."

*If you're in an area that's not cool enough to have a Sonic, it's a drive-in restaurant that has thousands of drink combinations (398, 929 combinations, or so they say).  You can go all crazy and stuff, if you want.  Or you could be cool like me, on the rare occasion I drink cokes, and order a Dr Pepper with real cherries.  Sonics are the new DQs for small towns around here.  It used to be you weren't a real town without a DQ, but now a Sonic gives you credibility.  I live in a town with NUMEROUS Sonics, but no Central Market.  :(