HEY EVERYONE, COME ALONG WITH ME!

Just wanted to let my blogger friends know that I have started a new cooking blog on Wordpress and also moved Living on the Other Side of the Hill to wordpress.  All my favorite recipes are listed there along with photos of family, southern stuff, quotes, etc. I will be updating this often with some of my best southern recipes. Please come by and check me out, leave a comment to let me know you've been there so I can add you to my blogroll, and I would appreciate very much if you would add me to yours.

I was able to import all my recipes from my old cooking blog and my regular blog onto wordpress which was a great help. Thanks for your comments and even any criticisms you might have for me.  Visit me at THE SOUTHERN LADY COOKS and LIVING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL on wordpress.

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

I have not posted for a while and my blogging friends are beginning to check up on me. Just wanted everyone to know I have been busy. I am baking cookies, making cakes, wrapping gifts and trying to get ready for the holidays.





Yesterday, I made cookies all day. I have made gingersnap cookies for at least twenty-five years.
My mother-in-law used to make shortbread cookies every year and now that she is gone, I make those, too.

Another tradition with our family is jam cake and I make one for Bob and me and one to take to the farm for Christmas Day. If I have enough time during the holidays I will make a cake for a family member for Christmas.







I have a real good recipe for pumpkin bread and I make that for gifts for family members, too.

On Christmas Eve, Bob drops me off at Twinbay Farm around noon and the girls and I go have lunch at this quaint little restaurant called Fava's. Then, we go by the grocery if we need any last minute items. Back at the farm, we get everything organized and Anne usually makes sausage balls for snacks and we relax and plan our meal.

On Christmas morning, we get up before daylight and have coffee. Then, we go to the barn and watch the sun come up on Twinbay Farm while we feed the horses and take pictures. Next, it is back to the house and start cooking dinner.

Our menu consists of ham, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, macaroni and cheese, barley casserole, cheese grits casserole, cranberry salad, rolls, tea, coffee, jam cake and pumpkin pie and any other last minute additions.

The barley casserole and cheese grits are another tradition. We have made these two dishes for years and we all like them.

This year, we are only buying gifts for Thomas Wyatt as he is the only child in our family at the present time. Rob, Sarah, TW, Bob and Hilori, a friend of the girls, will join us Christmas Day for our holiday celebration. I can't wait to see TW get his presents and visit with Anne and Leigh on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The recipes for the cookies, jam cake, barley casserole, cranberry salad, cheese grits, and pumpkin bread are all on my recipe blog: Recipes From A Southern Country Cook

Does your family have favorite recipes or traditions at Christmas?

COFFEE IN THE MORNING!

Are you one of those people that can't function until you have your morning coffee?


I am not much of a coffee drinker. Usually, I will have a cup with Bob in the mornings but if he is not here, I don't even make coffee.


I like the international coffees that come in those little tin containers and taste more like hot chocolate than coffee.

Bob has to have at least two cups of coffee in the morning in order to get his day started.

I don't do well with caffeine either. A cup of coffee with caffeine will really wake me up. If I drink anything with caffeine during the day, I stay up all night.

I love coffee mugs and cups and pick them up anytime I see an unusual or different one.


I used to know people when I still worked that drank coffee all day.


Did you know that special studies conducted about the human body revealed it will usually absorb up to about 300 milligrams of caffeine at a given time. About 4 normal cups. Additional amounts are just cast off, providing no further stimulation. Also, the human body dissipates 20% of the caffeine in the system each hour.



Here's a little joke about coffee: A Grandmother was surprised by her 7-year old grandson one morning. He had made her coffee! She drank what was the worst cup of coffee in her life. When she got to the bottom, there were three of those little green army men in her cup. Puzzled, she asked, "Honey, what are the army men doing in my coffee?"
Her grandson answered, "Grandma, it says on TV, the best part of waking up is soldiers in your cup."




Here's how to tell if you are a caffeine addict.


You might be a caffeine addict if :


You think sleep is for the weak.


Your heart beats noticeably faster as a reaction to the smell of coffee.



Your child's name is Nescafe.


You go to sleep just to wake up and smell the coffee.


Your coffee pot is next to your bed and your alarm clock is in the kitchen.



You suck on a used coffee filter whenever the can runs out of coffee.

I love to serve coffee to my friends and family along with some kind of great dessert. You can find a great holiday coffee recipe on my recipe blog: Recipes From A Southern Country Cook.

A cup of coffee shared with a friend is happiness tasted and time well spent.

Are you a coffee addict or do you not drink coffee?

MY MOTHER'S CROCK

My mother had this crock for as long as I can remember. She kept it in the old, white, kitchen cupboard with a flour sifter on one side and a bread drawer on the other. The crock was used to mix up the dough for her biscuits. It holds eight quarts. Momma was the champion when it came to making those big, fat, buttermilk biscuits and she would make a lot of them at one time. We thought her cold biscuits with blackberry jam and fresh butter was a treat and would eat them for a snack like kids today eat chips. I can remember neighborhood children knocking on our door and asking my mother if she had any cold biscuits they could have and momma would always give them a biscuit with jam or jelly.

I use the crock to mix up cakes from scratch and to mix the dough for my sourdough bread.

When my children were small and we lived on the farm, I used to make my bread all the time. Several months ago, I started making it again. My starter is made with instant mashed potato flakes and I feed it every five days and then make the bread. If interested you can find my recipe for the starter and the bread on my recipe blog Recipes From A Southern Country Cook. There is nothing like hot sourdough bread straight from the oven with butter. It is also wonderful toasted for sandwiches.

I have very much enjoyed making bread for my family once again and also give it away as gifts to friends.

I always think of momma when I get the crock down off the top of my refrigerator every five days.

I have several things that belonged to her but for some reason "the crock" just seems like a part of her that remains close to my heart.

Hopefully, one day my girls will continue the tradition of bread making in one form or another and the crock will be passed to another generation. My son already has a smaller one just like mine that belonged to momma.

I think we all have things that have been passed to us from friends or relatives that mean a great deal to us or bring back memories.

I would love to hear about something that is special to you.

DUNCAN HINES, A MAN AND A CAKE MIX

Have you ever made a cake using Duncan Hines cake mix? I have. My favorite dessert, (other than blackberry cobbler), is cake. I bake at least once a week or more. Many of my cakes are made from scratch but I use cake mix a lot, too. Sometimes, I use a mix as a base for some cake and add other ingredients to make it better.

My father loved sweets and I guess I inherited his love for pastries, cakes, and cookies.

Now, I will give you one guess as to where Duncan Hines, the man behind the cake mix was born. If you are a reader of my blog, you probably have figured out the answer is Kentucky!!!

Duncan Hines was the youngest of six children born on March 26, 1880 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Hines' mother died when he was four and after her death, he spent summers on his grandparent's farm. This is where he learned about good cooking from his grandmother.

When Hines was younger, he worked for 33 years as a traveling salesman eating in restaurants all over the country. He compiled a list of good restaurants that he sent to all his friends instead of Christmas cards. People began requesting this list. Finally, when he was 52 years old, he published a book called, "Adventures in Good Eating", which led to the book, "Adventures in Good Cooking".

In 1947, Roy Park, an entrpreneur, put Hines' name on kitchen products and their company, Hines-Park, made them millionaires. In 1953, Duncan Hines sold the right to his name to Nebraska Consolidated Mills which developed Duncan Hines cake mix. They later sold out to Proctor and Gamble.

A portion of Highway 31W in Bowling Green, Kentucky is named for him and called Duncan Hines Highway.

Duncan Hines was married three times, had no children, and was a chain smoker. His motto was: "Have what you want, but want what you have".

He died on March 15, 1959 at the age of 78. Duncan Hines is buried in Fairview Cemetary in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Today, Duncan Hines is the second largest baking mix company in the nation.

Here is a recipe for an easy Duncan Hines dessert:

DUNCAN HINES PINEAPPLE CAKE

1 box pineapple cake mix

1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple

TOPPING:

1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding, using only 1 c. milk

1 sm. container Cool Whip

Walnuts or coconut

Bake cake as directed. Prick cake with fork while still hot and spread can of pineapple on top. Do not drain pineapple. When cake is cool add topping.

Topping: 1 package instant vanilla pudding, using only 1 cup of milk. Fold into pudding 1 small container Cool Whip. Sprinkle top with coconut or broken walnuts. Keep cake refrigerated. Enjoy!

My Son Turns Forty, Lordy, Lordy

Sarah and Rob

I can't believe that my son, Charles, turned 40 on April 14. It seems like it was just a few years ago that he was a toddler like his son, Thomas Wyatt. Robbie (that is my name for Charles since his full name is Charles Robert) was born on Easter Sunday. He weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz. and had this big shock of black hair. Everyone in the hospital was talking about that hair.

I could not ask for a better son. He is one of the apples of my eye since I also have twin daughters, a daughter-in-law, and this little grandson that has stolen all our hearts. Robbie is so talented. He is the most wonderful artist and can draw anything. His paintings are just fascinating to anyone that has the pleasure of seeing them. TW is only ten months old and is captivated by his father's work. He constantly stares at the one I have on my living room wall and the ones at his house.

Thomas Wyatt

(Tater)

Besides working a fulltime job, Robbie, babysits TW every day since he works nights. That way the baby does not have to go to a sitter.

Robbie is also very smart and well read. He graduated from Eastern University and has traveled extensively in Europe and moved from Florida, to New York, to California. I am so very proud of my only son.

Being a father at 40 seems to agree with Rob. He loves TW so much and so does his wife, Sarah. They are both just wonderful parents. TW is a lucky little boy.

I babysat the "Tater" overnight this weekend. He is cutting teeth and was a little cranky but did not let that get in the way of having fun and inspecting everything at Nanna JuJu's house while mom and dad enjoyed a weekend away in Cincy visiting the art museum, shopping, relaxing, and eating at a nice restaurant.

He knows his Nanna loves him so much and we have great fun together.

Nanna sure does feel old though when she realizes her son just turned 40!

This morning Bob and I had our coffee, he took the trash out for me and left to go work on Vicky's bookcase he is building for her.

I made myself a wonderful smoothie in the blender for breakfast consisting of :

1 ripe banana

1 cup of orange juice

1 small cup of strawberry yogurt

Some frozen strawberries

This is such a cool and refreshing and healthy drink

My twins, Anne and Leigh, are the healthiest people I know. They are always eating right, exercising, running races, going to the organic foods store, dieting and basically just loving their work and life on the farm with their horses and dogs.

Leigh and Anne

Today, I plan to move all my plants and flowers back outside from their place in my kitchen where they have been waiting for frostless mornings.

I will piddle around outside with my flowers, do a little housework, and some more planting.

Bob will be back tomorrow with his truck to help me move some rocks, lay some stones to my storage building, and work on our garden.

We are planning a trip to Indiana on Friday.