The Capone - Vickery Wedding

A day I didn't think I would ever see finally arrived.  My brother got married!!!

He and the Diva herself, Miss Mary had a beautiful ceremony and reception at Hearth at the Wayside in Greenfield.  It was really quite an event.

We decorated the night before and made scores of goodies and items for the big day.

I made the muffs and faux fur shawls as well as the big Christmas stocking for cards. 

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Vickery!!! 

The Provident Woman is having a give-a-way!!!

That's right you heard it here ... The Provident Woman is having a give-a-way. 

Click on the link and head on over to her blog if you are a fan and want to enter to win.

Irish Soda Bread ~ According to Kittie

Here is the recipe for the bread. I altered it because I never have buttermilk and it's hard to find out here in the woods. I also doubled this recipe so we could have two loaves.  It will be nice for breakfast in the morning.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cup buttermilk ***

(***My substitution - 1 cup plain yogurt mixed with 1/4 cup milk with 1 tsp vinegar)

Preheat oven to 350

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

In a large bowl combine dry ingredients and mix together

Make a well in the bowl and add yogurt mixture ... at this point you can use a large spoon but I just used my hand in a "claw" formation slowly pulling the dry ingredients to the middle. Do this until the dough just comes together.

You might need another tablespoon or so of milk depending on the weather .. it might not be moist enough. It needs to be sticky ... but not so sticky its really hard to handle

Shape into a round and place on the baking sheet and cut an X on the top with a sharp knife. 

Bake for 45 minutes until dark golden. A skewer or sharp knife will come out clean - let cool before slicing ... and best served shortly after baking. I put mine in about an hour before dinner was done. 

It's really easy and tastes great :o)

Bon Appetite!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Another St. Patty's Day has come and gone and a lovely meal was had.  I'm a pretty good cook if I do say so myself.

A close up on the main attraction.

... and here is my Irish Soda Bread. It turned out so good.

Even though I am Irish every day ... today just makes me really Irish.

Bean & Barley Salad

This is my sister Jessica's favorite salad so I decided to make it today so it would be ready for her when she gets home from work.  

It's a refreshing light salad with a nice little punch of flavor. 

Ingredients:

1 can Chick Peas/Garbanzo beans
1 can Cannellini beans or White Beans
1 cup flat leaf Parsley
2 Tbs Rosemary
1 med Onion 
2 stalks Celery
1 small or 1/2 large Cucumber
4 Tbs Lemon juice
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1 cup cooked Barley
1 tsp Salt

Directions:

Drain and rinse beans
Chop Parsley and Rosemary
Dice Onion and Celery
Peel, seed and dice Cucumber
Mix in large bowl and add Lemon juice, Olive Oil, Barley and Salt

Best if left to sit in the fridge for a couple hours before serving. 

 

Enjoy!!

New Year 2011

It's a New Year and a new me ... with new hair..... Finally

It's starting to show really well now.  I might actually have to get a trim shortly to keep it growing even.

I have to say I am getting used to it though.  It's very easy to take care of ... wash, brush and go.  Can't get easier than that.

Christmas 2010

I had a great holiday with the family.  My energy is coming back little by little.  I even managed to make all my Christmas treats and go shopping a few times and didn't feel like death warmed over after.  My hair is even coming back.  It just looks really short .. but I have stopped wearing the bandanas.  I am thinking of making something out of them.  They are dear to my heart and I can't bear to part with them.

The whole family gathered for our annual Christmas breakfast.  My sister and myself did all the cooking.  It was a pretty nice spread.  Lots of food and goodies and lots of left overs.  We were sending everyone home with goodie bags.

Here is our Tree:

I made quite few of these for decorations around the living room. My niece Alex came home with one and I fell in love with it. She gave me a lesson in making them so off I went.

Mikey helped me glitter them. He was a glittery cocoa covered mess after but he had such a good time.

My beautiful babies ... I am a lucky Auntie

 

Let's see ....

Keilbasa, Bacon, Pancakes, Eggs, Peanut butter Balls, Oreo Balls, Peanut Butter fudge, Chocolate fudge, Mini Pecan cups and Butterscotch Haystacks.

Quite a display eh?

Thanksgiving

We all packed up the van and drove the nearly 2 hours out to my our sisters house in Fort Plains.  We had a great meal.

I wore my 2 dollar Target Halloween wig .... I had my sister fooled for about 90 seconds.  She gave me a strange look and I told her ... ''well you know after Chemo it can grow back curly''

She caught on pretty quickly .. but I had her going for a minute.

I think I can pull off an afro ... if only it was still the 70's lol!

Our lovely Turkey. My sister did a great job with it. It was so moist and tasty

This was the best Thanksgiving ever. I have so many things to be thankful for. Every day is a blessing. I won't ever take them for granted again.

A little update

Here is a pic where I am down to Steri Strips .. now I just have to wait for them to fall off.

Not too much bruising but lots of swelling and its still a little tender but not bad at all.

It's so nice to have it gone!!!

The scar is looking better ... but one of the stitches has worked through ... but still knotted under the skin and it's driving me batty lol ... sort of itchy :p

Port Removal

I had my port taken out today ... not much to see right now. It was much easier coming out vs going in. After everything I've gone through this was a piece of cake.