Scribbles and Scrambles ~ I'm Sure You Want to See This...

 Yeah, or not. These were part of my in-my-pajamas until 4:00 P.M. Saturday frenzy of cooking, cleaning, purging. I needed to update my chalk art signs for the season. Yeah. Here's a peek into my crazy. The whole house around these signs is a huge mess because I'm pre-organizing so I can clean properly. Recycle bins here, bags for charity there, puppy chewings everywhere. But I took out time to play with chalk. When it's put back together, my house is going to look great... for 5 minutes. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Adventure Times Two

 So. It was an interesting Monday on top of an interesting weekend. I'll not focus on the computer issues aka crisis of monumental significance for the office (or sure seemed like it to a few folks). Nor will I focus on the furniture moving, the cleaning frenzy, the donating items I no longer want, the wearing of pajamas until 4:00 p.m, the wipe out on the back patio on Saturday. No, those are a story for another day. 

Let's talk about puppy digestion. I have just heard, twice, that pumpkin is a lovely binder and hence it will become a regular pantry staple item for the pups. Gertrude has a little tummy bug, she tossed her treats Friday afternoon and took a few extra visits outdoors for emergency style gotta-goes. I was a little concerned that she'd have overnight issues. I want to set them up for success. So I kept one ear open and sure enough a whining commenced at midnight. Because getting them in and out of the kennel, in and out of harnesses and wrangling them for leash attachment can be harrowing in normal circumstances, when a puppy has to go NOW that adds a bit of drama, so I decided to keep them in their harnesses and let them sleep with me on the couch. Every two hours we visited the frozen way-too-early-winter-wonderland to make a deposit.  

Night number one was a huge success. No accidents and lots of brisk fresh air. Saturday night the visits were even fewer to the great outdoors. And Sunday. Well. I think the fun factor kicked in. Maybe the tummy isn't feeling quite as punk. Maybe they are loving the freedom. But the picture of the back and front was pretty much a constant blur. One pup picked my hip, the other chose to sleep in the crook of my knee. But, wait, there needed to be circling. Lots of circling. And inching. And itching. And licking and then the growling because a sister crept a bit too close to a territory. 

Swimming with the dolphins, sleeping with the puppies, swimming with the sharks, sleeping with the fishes. Pick your adventure. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Banana Pecan Bundt Cake

I told you'd I'd have a bundt recipe for you today. Saturday was national Bundt Cake Day, and I needed to take a dessert to church for a missions conference. 

Let me tell on myself. I had two desserts to toss together and both were going to be bundt cakes but DANG IT I couldn't find my bundt pan. I gave up and put the Peanut Butter Mocha cake in a 9 x 13. 

Then I found the pan. Duh. Right where I put it. 

I'll share the Peanut Butter Mocha cake when I have a chance to tweak it and put it into the bundt cake scenario. 

But until then, here's a lovely, dense, moist Banana Pecan Bundt Cake. 

The cinnamon frosting glaze and crunchy pecan topping is pretty tasty. The texture is a nice mix of banana bread and cake. 

1 Cup non-dairy milk
2 TBSP ground flaxseed
2 teaspoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1 1/3 Cup sugar (add more sugar if you want a sweeter cake. This is not a super sweet cake, but the topping and frosting are.)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/3 Cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 Cup shortening, coconut oil or Earth Balance
2 ripe bananas 
1/2 Cup chopped pecans 

In a small bowl mix the milk, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice with the flax seed and stir. Let sit while you cream the shortening and sugar. Add the bananas and mix well. Add the baking powder, salt and cinnamon and blend well. Poor the milk mixture and vanilla in the bowl and blend. Add the flour and pecans and stir until incorporated. 

Let mixture sit while you mix the following. Preheat the oven to 350.

Cinnamon Pecan Crunch 

1/2 Cup chopped pecans
1/4 Cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon sugar 
(Double if you want more crunch and sweetness.)

Mix and pour into a greased bundt pan. 

Pour the cake batter over the crunch. 

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

Remove and let sit for 20  minutes. 

Pop the bundt cake out onto a plate. 

Mix the frosting and pour over the cooled cake. 

Cinnamon Frosting

2 TBSP non dairy milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Cup powdered sugar

Mix. Add either powder sugar or additional milk until the consistency is right. 

Sprinkle with additional chopped pecans if you desire. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ National Bundt Cake Day

 is coming Saturday. And I have a potluck this weekend so guess what I'll be making? I'll share the recipe on the 17th. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Baffle Me

  Recently I've noticed a few things that cause me ask why.  Why? 10X mirror? I mean, without it, I'd never be able to do my eyebrows again. So I appreciate this little product. But when I occasionally look up, down, left of right of my eyebrows I get a little start. Let's just say 10X mirrors magnify the good, the bad and the saggy to way bigger than life.

And then I am totally baffled by the object in the picture. I have three climate knobs and they each have the identical raised pattern. So I'm wondering. It can't be braille for a few reasons. 1) a person who reads braille should probably not be driving. 2) If all three knobs have the identical markings it can't be for identification purposes. 3) You push the entire knob and so anywhere you hit is going to get results. So, why?

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ First Snow for Pups

For some reason the snow and arrival of winter weather threw me. I mean, I live in an area that certainly gives huge clues of climate changes. And winter comes every stinkin year. There are degrees of winter, but, it isn't a "hmmmm, did we have winter this year?" kind of a place. Ya know. 

I spose I shoulda prepared the pups. But I just didn't think I needed to. Yet. 

Here are the degrees of winter awareness and acceptance. In this instance there are four degrees. 

The first response was porch statuing. That is where they refused to move and turned to stone. Once I stepped out into the white foreign substance they followed. (They'd probably make me test their food and drink if they could speak and owned scepters. No, wait. I think they do consider me a food tester. Except I'm eating people food that they legitimately think is theirs.)

Second was the discovery phase where they basked in the newness of it all. Many minutes in the still silence of the gray blanket of cold were punctuated with deep sniffing and snoodling. 

Thirdly was the discovery of this amazing, miraculous substance's perks. It's edible. Thin layers of it could be broken off and consumed. Greedy snow grazing commenced.

Finally, the marking of the snow. This is their snow. Nobody but nobody needs to doubt that. 

At least they didn't stand and bark at it. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Okay, Not Pretty, But EASY and Pretty Tasty ~ Vegan Chili Cheese Dogs

This is one of those almost embarrassing recipes. You know, open a bag, toss in a canned item, apply heat, Bammo!

Vegan Chili Cheese Dogs

1 Package LightLife Smart Dogs (Or other of choice) (8 dogs)

1 16 ounce can of chili spiced beans (I used chili sauced pinto beans)

Approx 1/2 Cup shredded Vegan cheese (I used Daiya's Pepperjack) 

Hot dog buns

Toppings: 

Ketchup

Mustard

chopped onions

dill or sweet pickle relish

Preheat oven to 350. Semi-slice the hot dogs longwise down the middle. Slice only half way through the dog. Open the dog and lay sliced side down and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes. I'd line the pan with parchment paper or grease the pan, as my hot dogs stuck a bit. 

This will heat the hot dog through a bit and give a nice warm surface for the beans and cheese. 

Flip the hot dogs over and spoon beans over the dogs. Sprinkle cheese over them. With vegan cheese, in my opinion, less is better. 

Place the pan back in the oven for 14 minutes. If desired, turn oven to broil until cheese is fully melted. 

Open hot dog buns, slide a chili dog onto each bun and top as desired.