Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Shirt Off My Back...

Tuesday I ran to a thrift store and found a cute top. As I'm so inclined to do when I go shopping, I washed my finds and laid them neatly in a pile waiting to be put away upstairs. 

& brings the girls, Lily and Lola over to my house when she's going to have an abnormally long day away since she works in the neighboring city and my work day is generally kinder to their bladders. 

So I got a text with this picture. And the words. "For me?"

"Well, it's my size so it's going to be too big for you. Do you want it?" 

I get a text a few hours later with a selfie, wearing my shirt and the words. "Well, this is awkward!" 

So. I guess she did. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ A Little Step Forward..

Around Thanksgiving I began my violin journey. 

I remembered precious little from my short violin career nearly four decades ago. I knew there was a bow, that the strings had names, as did the little dots on the page. I remembered the combination of fingers on the strings and sliding the bow across the strings made sounds. Some not so pleasant, some amazing depending on who played them. 

In February, when I barely knew a dozen notes and couldn't count to four and play at the same time, and couldn't recognize anything I was playing beyond the occasional kid song, I went to my teacher's concert. 

They played William Tell Overture and I was amazed. So fast, so crisp, so entertaining. And as I watched their fingers fly I thought I'd never be able to play that song. 

Rusty. Rough. Squeaky and HARD... here is what I've been working on. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ A Few More Memories

The last flowers from my grandma's funeral bouquet...

My grandma's grandmother's coffee grinder...

My mom's metronome passed to Grandma and then to me. I used it in one practice session and then I did something to make it no longer work. Sigh.
Anyone know a metronome-smith? 

One of my favorite childhood memories...the hourglass. I don't know that I ever visited my grandparents without flipping the hourglass over. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Jacksalad Salad Sandwich Ring

My second experiment with jackfruit -- Jacksalad

I drained one can of immature unsweetened Jackfruit and dumped it in a crockpot with two cups of vegetable broth. I cooked it on low for 7ish hours while I was away. It darkened and softened enough to shred with a fork and the inside was nicely white. It looked a lot like shredded chicken. 

I let it cool and drained off the broth. 

To the Jackfruit I added approximately 1/4 each of the following:

Craisins (or diced fruit of choice such as apples or grapes)
finely diced celery
finely diced onion
chopped cashews (or other nuts of choice)

I made a dressing of :

3 TBSP Vegan mayo
1 tsp of brown mustard
1/8 a teaspoon each of 
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
dill weed
agave

Mix all together. This is great on crackers or bread. But, to make a ring, do the following:

Two cans of Vegan crescent rolls (I found some that just list "wheat" on their allergy labels). Not healthy ingredients, mind you, but this is for an occasional treat like the picnic I took them to. 

I didn't try to make it a beautiful wreath because I was going to just cut it into slices. Separate each triangle and place them side by side, touching with the flat end in and the points out. Press together very well. Scoop the Jackfruit salad onto the flat inner ring. Then fold the point over the Jack mixture and fold under or twist, overlap and tuck. 

Bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes. The dough will get golden. If you don't bake it long enough (the package says 12 minutes, but that's unstuffed bread) the bread doesn't cook all the way through. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ More Memories...

I needed to take a dessert somewhere last night. So I pulled out a few necessary ingredients. 

And a few of those were my grandma's and they have recently found their way into my home. 

Her metal, well-used 9 x 13 fits my life perfectly. And my cake, just as well. 

She would be pleased that I filled it up and also would have enjoyed the treat. 

I don't know if these bowls are the exact bowls I remember. It's been a few years since I curled up with a metal bowl full of grandma's freshly popped corn. Even if they aren't the ones I happily munched out of they remind me of the times I spent chillaxen at her place. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Simple Fruit Salad

A few years ago a friend told me how to turn frozen, somewhat bland fruit, into delicious fruit with a perfect glaze. I had tried tried various other attempts at glaze...like orange juice, jam, sugar. None of them did it for me. 

Her recipe was so simple. Vanilla instant pudding. Just enough to cover the fruit and leave a delicious coating. Let's say, 1/2 a small box to a medium bag of fruit. Sprinkle, stir, let sit. Stir. Brilliant. 

However, trying to avoid super processed, super unnatural, dairy, etc made this no longer an option. 

But at an Arbonne spa party my mom had some frozen fruit and a terrific idea. Why not try the Arbonne Vanilla Protein Powder as a glaze. So we loaded a few cups in a bowl and sprinkled a tablespoon or two of protein powder over the fruit and stirred. 

Win!!!! Win! Win! Fabulously delicious. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ A Hump Day Smile or Laugh or Whateves...

So. My friend says that I should remind her not to drink a bottle of wine around her husband. I said that my initial thought was that the storyteller was pretty lucid....far more than me when I'm stone cold sober but think something is hilarious. Which I pretty much thought this was.