Hummingbird Cake and Hummingbirds

I was first introduced to Hummingbird Cake by my Mom and loved it. I never knew such a thing existed before that day. When my Mom came out to visit me on her 72nd Birthday, I went to the local bakery to get a cake and they actually had a Hummingbird cake so that is what I got. I had planned on making one on her Birthday, but that was the week we listed the house and we were real busy, better late than never, right? Here is the recipe, I found it on line and it's from 1978.

 I cheated and bought cream cheese frosting - shhhhh.

After the pecan pieces were added - it turned out real pretty!

...and here are some Hummingbird photos for you. The guarder of the feeder, fast Freddie. 

Even though he is such a bully he is very pretty.

I hope you had a great night, geez, it's tomorrow in some time zones. Have a great weekend and remember to honor those who have served, those who are currently serving and those who gave everything for our freedom. Thanks for stopping by, have a safe Memorial Day.

Cheryl

Around the neighborhood

On my walk this morning I was noticing what people had in their trash cans (it's trash day and they were at the curb, I wasn't snooping in their driveways). We have 3 kinds of cans, black (trash), blue (recycle) and green (lawn). It is amazing how much garbage people generate in one week, to the point where the cans are overfilled and the lids are open. I found the widowed gentlemen down the street that lives alone has 2 of each can, full, I know who has cats by the tidy cat boxes, who has pools by the chemical bottles, who has babies in diapers, what several people drink and how much based on the overflow, which one of the neighbors got new blinds, a new freezer and a new love seat. I could go on and on. The economy must be good, because the people at the bottom of the hill got a huge TV and a surround sound system. I just found it interesting how much information we put out to the curb and I wouldn't be advertising my purchases. Fortunately, we live in a good neighborhood.

So, the next time you put your trash to the curb, really look at what you have out there that people can see, and make sure to put your wine bottles in the very bottom of the can.

We are going out for dinner tonight. I am excited because, well, I haven't been out to dinner in awhile, or worn make up. When you are home all the time you have no need for make up, or nice clothes, or doing your hair, etc. so this is nice for a change.

Have a great night and thanks for stopping by.
Cheryl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Granola Bars

I planned on posting the Granola Bar recipe yesterday, but, since doing the cookies and the Granola Bars (that stuff goes everywhere when you cut them up), I decided I needed to clean my kitchen, floors and oven. I don't even know why I chose to clean the oven really, I intended only to clean the racks, but after I cleaned them, I wanted the rest of the over to match. Now everything looks like brand new, even the window is spotless! While I was at it, I cleaned the whole down stairs, leaving the upstairs to do today. Right after I got out of the shower, we got a call from a real estate agent and someone wanted to see our house at 6:30 last night, so.....I continued to get the rest of the house cleaned too.

Here is the Granola recipe that I used, http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/09/granola-bars/  In case you haven't noticed from my precious recipes, I am a big Pioneer Woman fan.

 

I made these once before and everyone loved them. They are really easy to make and are crunchy like the Nature Valley Granola Bars, to make them more chewy, you can bake them for about 10 minutes and they will come out softer. I figure if you cut the whole pan into 45 pcs they are approx. 100 calories each, not bad. Here is the finished product, it smelled like heaven in the kitchen!

 

 

I made these for da Boys and 4 friends who are going on a big hike over the weekend, so I bagged them up with an ingredient list just in case someone has a food allergy. When you cut these up, you end up getting a bonus bag of Granola from all pieces that break off and Granola pieces all over your kitchen. 

 

 

Since my house was clean and the weather was cool and cloudy, I slept in and did my walk at 9. After I finished my walk and my coffee, I decided to weed the front hill again, it's been a month and the weeds are back - damn them!

 

So, I am feeling accomplished and since a long weekend is ahead of us, I can just relax, give thanks and count my blessings. Maybe I'll get some hummingbird pictures too.

 

Have a great weekend and be safe out there. Thanks for stopping by.

Cheryl

 

 

 

Stamping cookies

Happy Tuesday! Well our weather has cooled off drastically, to the point, when you are outside and the sun goes behind a cloud and the wind is blowing, it's downright cold (for us, since we were having 105 degree weather last week). When I went walking this morning at 6 (believe that?), it was cloudy and 58 degrees, but no wind, so it was great. I even took a minute off my time :)

 

So, cooler weather means I can start baking again - yayy!. I have been dying to use those cookie stamps I got for my Birthday last month from my Sister, remember these?

I thought I would make Peanut Butter cookies since you have to mash those down anyway. I rolled the cookies in a ball and stamped them right on the cookie sheet. The trick in stamping these is you need to have a bowl of flour handy and really flour the stamps and then tap off the excess. I finally got it on the third try and you know what they say about the third time - it's a charm! Why do they even say that?

Next I used a glass as a cookie cutter to remove the excess around the edges so they would look better. I said better, but not much better as you see in the picture. I should have floured that glass better! Oh well, (note to self).

Here is an close up look. These cookies are 3 inches in diameter

 

 

They spread out a little while baking, but not too bad that they lost the imprint. In the future I think I will use these on sugar cookies and see how they turn out.

 

All in all I am pleased with the stamps and Hubby said the cookies were delicious.

I really need to take advantage of the weather, so I will be making Granola Bars next and will post that later in the week. Have a great night and thanks for stopping by!

 

Cheryl

For the birds

I haven't had much to post about, because it's been 100+ here and I have not been baking or cooking. When I went walking yesterday the air quality from the fires sucked and that was at 6:30 am and it was already 70 degrees out. So, all I have today are bird pictures that I took the last couple days in the morning and tonight - enjoy!!

You can't see me right??

The protector of the east feeder

Pretty boy!

 

First one in the pie plate feeder!!

Finches taking turns for the feeder. 3 on the rope.



This is fast Freddie's feeder and don't you forget it.

Little devil

He doesn't like it when I stand there with my camera, he gets mad!

This guy loves to squawk, must not like it on that cactus!



When I swapped the feeders tonight, he was in my face and loved my hair.



Is that a mirror? No? I better go!



This little princess was showing off, she's so tiny.

 

She just loved to flitter around.

This guy is a Western Scrub Jay, when he is around, he wants everyone to know it, so loud.

Thanks for stopping by, today is Armed Forces Day so give a shout out to those serving and those who have served. Thanks for your prayers for the people and fire fighters out here, it's not over yet, fires are still raging so keep them coming!

Cheryl




The County's on fire!

Day 3 of the critical red flag fire warning here. Normally, we have these conditions in October after a long hot summer, but this year it arrived 5 months earlier so we are going to be in butt load of trouble when October rolls around. We have had several fires over the past few days, 100+ degree weather, high winds (55-65 mph), dry conditions = disaster. I think there are 9 active fires right now in the County and thankfully they are about 20 miles north which is good since the wind is blowing east/west. We had one yesterday to the east of us about 8 miles away and that one is now contained.

 

It's just devastating to see all of the homes burned to the ground,The fires just come up out of the canyons and consume the houses built on the edges of those canyons.  The San Marcos fire is getting huge. If you are the praying type, I ask that you pray for all of those who have lost their homes, lost power in this heat, are evacuated or displaced and most of all, a prayer for the fire fighters to keep them safe. I can't imagine fighting a wild fire in 105 degree heat around the clock, with little sleep breaks. We have local restaurants that are bringing free food to the firefighters, responders and the shelters in the area which is fantastic!

 

The hummingbirds and birds in general have been very active in this heat (105 deg) which is unusual and I think we have some new kids in town. We put up another feeder for a total of 4. I imagine that several are displaced as well due to losing their nests and habitat to the fires.  We will welcome them with open arms and full feeders here. This one showed up this morning and looks pretty scruffy, I normally don't see them looking rough. I hope it's not a mama who lost her nest. Sorry it's out of focus, she was very skittish.

 

Dinner with da Boys tonight, we will definitely be eating inside since it is still supposed to be 97 degrees at 5 o'clock. This weekend should be 20 degrees cooler, maybe I can wear clothes instead of laying around the house in my underwear (just kidding), but if you want to make a donation for my electric bill feel free :)

 

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by. If you are in So Cal, stay cool and evacuate if you are told to - don't risk it!

Cheryl

Just hummingbirds...that is all.

Hot day today and red flag warning for the next few days, already 2 major brush fires this morning in the County. The hummingbirds have sure been active and we have no shortage of bullies watching the feeders around here that is for sure.

 

 

This guy has replaced fast Freddie, either that, or he put on an 1/2 ounce!

 

 Hey, where are all the girls?

 

 

 

 I knew she'd show up fashionably late as always!

 

  

Happy hour

 

 

So very graceful and beautiful

 

This guy had a beautiful landing.

 

 

 

 

This guy was showing off in front of the girls... 

 

That's all folks! Have a great night and if you are in So Cal,stay safe from the fires!

Cheryl