Winey Wednesday

I know.  It's not Wednesday.  I don't care.

 

I bought this wine a bit ago and it has been sitting in my fridge waiting for a bad day.  My three year old was testing the limits of my sanity and I popped it open on Tuesday. 

 

I should have left it alone. 

 

The label says it is light and refreshing with a touch of zing that lets the fruit flavors rush forward.  It is slightly sweet with the flavors of pink grapefruit and peach.

 

The forward flavors were fine.  The aftertaste was the problem.  Awful.  I mean, just awful.  I dumped the whole thing down the drain.

 

If the after taste had not been a problem, the fact that it has a bottle cap would have been.  No resealing for this wine.  You would have to drink it all and let me tell ya, I would already have to be schnookered to think this tasted even remotely palatable.  This is a big thumbs down. 



Preserving Precious Works of Art

I am a creative person.  I have bred creative people.  The largest of my smalls loves making me pictures and let me tell ya, some of them are pretty impressive.  I realize that these works of art are priceless and I want to keep them pristine.  Unfortunately, I don't have the wall space to keep them all in frames and protected, so I was on the hunt for an alternative.  I knew Modge Podge would get the job done, but the application method (paint brush) would smear anything done with pastel or pencil.

While hunting for spray paint at Menard's, I came across this:



Eureka!  Inexpensive (under $10), easy to find and apply, this was my answer.  Now, I keep a can of this on hand at all times.  Here is how I use it:

I lay the picture I want to spray face up in a dry, well ventilated area (my driveway).  Shake the can for about 1 minute after you hear the mixing ball rolling.

(Pretty impressive pictures, right?)

 

Spray a light coat 6"-8" away from the paper.  Wait a few minutes and apply at least one more coat (I do a total of 3).

 

 

 

Once dry, turn it over and repeat on the back.  Paper is porous and I want my pictures to remain as close to original condition as possible.

 

 

That is it!  So go round up all your little people's amazing refrigerator art and spray away!

Plum Cobbler

I love plums.  I love the combination of sweet flesh and tart skin.  I must be in the minority because they don't seem to get the same attention as say, apples or peaches.  Don't get me wrong, I also love apples and peaches, but sometimes you want a new twist on your pie or cobbler.  That is when I turn to plums.

This is a simple crisp style cobbler.  It can be used with plums like I did, or if you are uninteresting, apples or peaches.  Actually a lot of fruits would work, so experiment away (grapes or strawberries maybe?).  It is made using a handful of ingredients you probably always have on hand and if you use a slice free fruit (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries) you will have it put together before your oven heats up!  I call that a win.

Plum Cobbler

 

 

Ingredients:

Filling:

12 plums, pitted and sliced (or enough fruit to fill an 8"x8" baking dish 3/4 full)

1/8 c. sugar (I like the tartness of plums.  If you don't increase to 1/4 c.)

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Topping:

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 c. flour

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt (if you do not like a little sweet/salty mix cut back to 1/2 tsp.)

1 egg

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

 

Directions:

Combine filling ingredients and pour into greased 8"x8" baking dish.

Combine sugars, flour, baking powder and salt.

Add egg and cut in until mixture looks like sand.

Sprinkle over the top of fruit in dish.

Drizzle melted butter over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.