Butterscotch pie....do you remember if it was a traditional format (pie crust + butterscotch pudding) or was it anything that's non-standard, like Boston cream pie (which is really cakke) or key lime pie (which is pie but with a graham cracker crust)?
Practical Matters for Physically Challenged Gardeers #16
Vickie, did it have a meringue topping? Check out some of these recipes.
https://www.google.com/search?q=butterscotch+pie&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
Looks like egg yolks + brown sugar + flour/cornstarch + butter filling and egg white meringue on top, with or without more sugar.
Yummy!!! Now I want butterscotch pie
We have a generator, but I don't like the sound of it either or the routine cleaning and maintenance I have to do on a machine that is used once in a blue moon. We never bother to crank it up unless an outage last so long that food in the freezer might melt
We are having just the opposite problem with trees and the power lines. The workers who keep the lines clear are over-zealous and cut down trees that did not pose a reasonable threat to the lines. The company seems to be trying to extend the right of way it receives from property holders. Why do they shave off one side of a tree anyway? That practice makes absolutely no sense to me. It's like torturing a tree to death instead of simply cutting it down. The workers are heavy-handed with the herbicides also. That is a concern when your property and many waterways are downhill from a major run of high voltage lines. I know the power companies face more than the usual challenges from nature in this area. (Just to name a few: Fire ants getting into electronic equipment. Kudzu and half a dozen more vines with enough vigor to damage structures. Frequent hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding.) It is like the power company has declared war on nature and that is a war we can't possibly win. There have got to be better methods.
The windows are stuffed with pots of seeds from tomatoes to hollyhocks. We will harvest some kohlrabi today. If it tastes as well as it grows, we have a new easy winter crop to join the kale, mustard, collards and turnips.
Photo: Not exactly sure what this is, but it was a sunny surprise on the shadiest side of my deck rail planters and a nice contract to the blue wood anemones that are starting to pop up.
(Jim)
Did the recent storms hit your mountain, Vickie? Did you lose electricity? It's been rain, rain and more rain for us. Early morning temps in the 70's. The frogs are partying like college students on spring break. I've never seen so many happy frogs. The 'Goldilocks' crocus have appeared like amphibian party decorations. What little cuties!
Well, I can always make a rainy, dreary morning better with hot chocolate. Good article, Carrie. I've been learning a lot about chocolate lately. Only a few days ago I was listening in to one of Kay's audio books called "Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light. When I commented that the idea of drinking cocoa made without milk or sugar sounded terrible, she made me a foamy brew using water instead of milk and flavored with cinnamon and hot chili sauce. I'm not going to stop buying Hershey, but the cup she gave me sweetened with honey wasn't bad. My chocolate taste will never be very sophisticated. I spent too many happy days roaming Hershey Park as a child. Besides, I don't think we can afford another person in the house who is into Verona chocolate. lol. (Jim)
Thank you, Jim. Before I wrote that one, I was vaguely aware that chocolate was from the Americas, but that research was eye-opening! Like about the Columbian Exchange and spices....plus the style, with the sidebar....that was a pivotal article for me. I'm glad to see it run again!
I injoyed the article beyond words. I always have been and always will be a totally unrependent chocoholic. My motto could be "Don't make war...... give chocolates." I learned somethings about chocolate too.But...What is Verona Chocolate.
We were without electricity for a few hours. They cleared the trees and stuff several years ago. but in a forest,one can clear just so much.Tho I think the lines went down in town. There was ice building up on the lines.
Butterscotch Pie Receipe
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup evaporated milk
Brown in skillet till good and brown,not yellow. stir as it browns.
meanwhile
In a large bowl beat
2 cups milk
4 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
gradually add to contents of skillet stirring constantly,cook till thick, add to 2 baked pieshells
This is an old receipe and very rich.
You can make maringue but my family preferred coolwhip or whipped cream.
Vickie
Thank you, Vickie! The mystery has ended. Now we can all make it--actually, DH and I just gave ourselves a talking-to about our weight. Not until I'm down a few pounds.
Vickie, I've added that recipe to our files. Thanks. Nadine is always looking for new dishes to fix for the churches 5th Sunday lunches and she is currently on the lookout for a good dish for the potluck planned for the local RU.
Going to our local RU is almost a necessity this year. We have so many excess plants that we really need to give some away. Kay is into the PROCESS of propagation. It doesn't seem to matter to her that we don't have room for another 30 lilies. The idea of propagating them on mass from bulb scales fascinated her. I have to say though that the S.A.D. didn't hit her so hard this year and I think all her plant winter propagation played a part in that. Those projects are everywhere in the house, however. I've got to get the lady a GH built. (Jim)
I can relate to needing to lose weight, Carrie. I haven't braved the scales, but I'm afraid I've gained a few pounds. Many mornings DD#1 brings home the pastries that she feels aren't up to gourmet pastry beauty standards. Unfortunately, a pear and brie en croutte that is a little lop-sided or white chocolate macadamia nut cookies that don't have the perfect degree of roundness taste just as good and have just as many calories as those beauty contest winners that end up on the bakery's shelves. My will and resolve to lose weight fly out the van window around dawn when DD#1 climbs in accompanied by all those wonderful fresh baked good aromas. Losing weight will be next to impossible as long as she needs a ride home from work.
We had to take Fenrira to the animal hospital today. One of her paws is giving her trouble. The vet drained the infection and put her on antibiotics for a week. He will decide next week if she needs surgery. The doc said she is one of the most calm and best behaved patients he has ever treated. Away from home, when she doesn't feel compelled to defend her territory, she exhibits a markedly different personality. Quiet and easy going. Not the least bit aggressive. She seemed more amused than anything by the barkers and growlers she encountered at the hospital and was friendly toward the other friendly dogs.
Kay is spending the day potting up excess plants for the RU and making sure what has been seeded and transplanted stays warm. Winter is going out like a lion this year. I hope this will be our last cold snap. (Jim)
I'm so glad Kay had less depression this year.It does help to stay focused on something else.
We've got a dusting of snow on the ground this morning.
Yesterday I went to town and renewed my car insurance.bought most of my monthly grocerys and spent three hours looking around the Dollar Tree and Wally World.bought a purple and white varigated African Violet. stocked up on snack food(at 72,I refuse to watch my weight.)LOL
Glad you liked the pie receipe. I've been hungry for SOS. I know Jim knows what it is. Hamburger gravy over bread.
Cricket and Dillen are good in a Vets office too.My cats are not. I've got to get Foxy fixed soon.
When are you having your plant reunion? We want all the details of what you give and get.
I just found out the Ark, Okla garden show is today and tomorrow at the Fort Smith Convention center. I've gone a couple of times and injoyed every second. Since I did'nt know about it. Have spent all my monthly splurge money. A total bummer!!!!
Am gathering up all my what nots and other stuff and hope to have a yard sale somewhere in town next month. Have decided I am almost a hoarder. You've given me an idea to start some plants growing to sell. I've already started some annuals for myself.
Well, it's not so cold here that linemen have to worry about power lines icing over. Bur-r-r. When does Spring arrive in earnest in your part of the world, Vickie?
I found pots on sale at Dollar General yesterday. Just in time. Kay used up all the ones we had on hand. The lilies she propagated were Easter lilies someone gave us a few Easters ago. They are perfectly hardy in gardens here, but bloom around Independence Day, not Easter, left to their natural timing. Those are all potted up and she has moved on to Regal lilies. I suspect quite a few of the regal lilies will stay because they have a nice scent. But, I think I'll try to find homes for all the little Easter lilies. Tara, melinda, Nadi and I all have some in our respective gardens already and they are so lightly scented Kay would rather save her personal garden space for something else with scent. She says her sense of smell is growing less acute as she ages.
I'm making a list of the plants we will be bringing to the RU. Hope to have it posted on the FL/ALA RU trade list thread in a day or two and will be adding more plants as the time for the RU grows closer. Let me know if any of you here see something you would like. I will sit it aside for you.
Crazy day yesterday. DD#1 had to be rushed to the hospital too. (The people one in her case. lol.) They pumped her full of potassium via IV and she insisted she felt well enough to go to work this morning. (She works a day shift on weekends.) I didn't realize running low on potassium was that dangerous.
Fenny is feeling well enough to grumble about the twice a day footbath (paw bath?) and having to wear a sort of shoe so I guess she is better. (Jim)
P.S.: I forgot, Vickie. Verona is a brand of chocolate beloved by dark chocolate fiends. It lives up in the lofty heights of chocolate land with neighbors like Godiva and Ghirardelli
Oh Jim, Think Potassium has to be in every cell in your body for your body to work right. Bless her heart Hope she's all well now. You guys take care of yourselves. We'd like to keep you around awhile. We kinda like you. Fenny too. Think you're right about losing your sense of smell,for me, the bad thing is you kinda lose your sense of taste also. Know I love hot pepper taste now and use to ,the hot taste stayed around half the day.
I looked thru Geurneys catalog today and wistfully wished i could make a big garden. even wondered how long I'd last on shovel duty. I need to grab hold of myself and give up those negatve toughts.
Yes, folks, Potassium is crucial! They believe the mechanism of MS damage comes from damage to the potassium channels that transmit the signals from cell to cell in the nervous system. Ka + is potassium. Eat more bananas.
Jim, I would have a tough time resisting those treats myself! Our last night, we both had flan, just flan, for supper!
Vickie, the local spring swap isn't until the 20th of April, but we have quite a few things to pot up and find new homes for.
I was teasing Kay this morning about her lily mania. (Today, she is potting up the excess Star Gazer lilies that she also grew from bulb scales.) She came back with comments about my recent fascination with amaranth. I thought I had shown great restraint limiting myself to buying seeds from only three classic varieties. I had even paused to consider how I would work the new plants into our existing landscape. The similar color, but different leaf shape made Hopi Red Dye a natural companion for the red leaf cannas. I planned to put the Love Lies Bleeding in Travis's tropical, snake-themed garden where its unusual form would look great with the other plant oddities. Also, paired with other old fashion, cottage plants I thought it would also look good in Tara's cottage style garden. I even had a vague idea where I would put the 7' golden giant variety. What I hadn't considered...what Kay pointed out...was the seed count on the amaranth packages. Approximately 1,500 seeds of each variety! Uh-oh. I ordered them online and the price was what I expected to pay for an average size packet so I didn't check the seed count. I may have to learn to make amaranth flour.
I'm working on a simple, mini garden today. Kay wants to clear a consistently damp bed under a rain chain of its different varieties of moss to make room for some cardinal flowers. While I like the idea of the hummingbirds the cardinal flowers will draw, I also like the look of the different kinds of moss. I thought I would put it in a mini landscape to act as the grass. I noticed a bent-out-of-shape, concrete covered tuna can that will make a convincing pond. (Something Kay used to dip concrete mud out of the mixer, then tossed it aside I assume.) A shaped and root pruned yaupon holly might make a convincing apple tree. (A faux apple tree is better than none. With powdery mildew and cedar apple rust I don't think I'll ever be successful with the real deal.) Such a mini landscape would be at its peak in winter so I think it is worth a try. It won't cost anything to try. Yaupon holly grows like a weed for us.
Kay says she expects to hear mooing cows and clucking chickens when she walks outside and sniffs. We spread a truckload of mushroom compost yesterday and it was still a little hot.
The entire property will smell like a barnyard for the next week. Oh well, it will lead to wonderful smells later in the year.
(Jim)
Amaranthus is supposed to make good gluten-free flour, Jim....please let me know. Sounds like a dandy plan but aren't you supposed to use each of 1,500 seeds to grow a plant to produce 500 K more seeds?
Jim, I can't have apple trees for the same reason as you. So I planted pear trees.
Carrie, Huh? LOL
Trying to work thru depresson,decided to go thru all my paperwork and sort things out. Big Mistake. eeuuuu what a mess.Now my living room is a total mess. I am mentally challenged when it comes to organization skills. Also have decided to be brutal at throwing stuff out. Most things I have are unusable by the time i get rid of them. Sigh!
If you grow a lily from a scale, is it genetically identical to the parent?
Yes. kb
Thanks, k.b.! So anything grown vegetatively (cuttings, seed potatoes, tubers, etc.) instead of from ordinary seeds does not have the benefit of sexual reproduction to improve survival? Light bulb in brain today!
right.
Hmmm. This stuff just gets interestinger and interestinger!
Vickie, I haven't tried pears. Somehow I had it stuck in my head that they were prone to all the same diseases. But, that can't be true. There was an ancient Bartlet in the middle of an open field at the top of the hill. (According to all I've read, Bartlet aren't supposed to grow here. It had been struck by lightning and looked like it was about to fall down. Kay said it had looked that way as long as she could remember and it still produced pears. (She even wrote a poem about the tree.) Pears must be tougher than apples in our conditions. I've never seen an old apple tree around here, but I have seen old pear trees, especially one with huge fruit the long-time residents call a pineapple pear. Thanks for getting me to actually think for myself, instead of going completely by what I read.
Carrie, I think of propagating from bulb scales as a tissue culture method of growing that home gardeners can do.
Buying bananas will just have to be one of the compromises we make with our locavore diet ideals. DD#1 and I both tend to run low on potassium. We grow an edible Cavendish type of banana. It will survive outside a GH in a protected area, but rarely produces fruit.
Great to see you are still hangin' in, Katie!
I checked out my amaranth seeds today. Those things are TINY! I'm going to start them out in pots...if Kay left any pots. lol. She was resorting to the recycled CoolWhip and yogurt containers when last I looked. (Jim)
Jim, potatoes have as much potassium as bananas, I think. (I'm writing about potatoes at the moment.) You can grow potatoes there without too much difficulty, right?
White potatoes don't grow as easily here as they do in more northerly climates, but it can be done using alternative methods. I recall IO1 got a good harvest of potatoes using the garbage can method. I do love white potatoes. I'm tempted to try one of the alternative methods. Sweet potatoes are delicious and can be used in ways I never imagined. But, I still miss white potatoes as one of my go-to comfort foods. (Jim)
Jim, My view on Irish potatoes is that they are a necessary staple.(must have been my French grandmother) I never had a rice dish untill I was a teenager.
Sweet potatoes was my luxury food.
Finding an old pear tree in the forest is what sent me looking for pear trees to plant. I also planted a fig tree(Right by my front door)and Blue Jays beat me to the ripe ones every year. Think I'm going to try putting a net over it this year.
Am thankful for wild blackberrys.Turkeys beat me to huckleberrys.
Jim, Have been wondering about your back. Is it still giving you a lot of pain?
Dunno abut sweets and potassium; interesting question! Vickie, use the net! Those are your figs! (Do they continue to ripen if you pick them early? Like peaches etc.?)
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/926757/
Jim/Kay, have you seen this Forum? I'd like to do an article on (other people's) scented gardens, if it hasn't been done yet.
Thanks for the links, Carrie. I'll put my two cents worth in on the fragrant thread. Jonquils have become my Spring blooming favorites since I came south. Mignonette is a good one also.
DD#1 is in the hospital again and she is going to stay there until the doctors figure out what is going wrong, if I have anything to say about it. Her hemoglobin is very low and the doctors aren't sure why. Nadine is with her today. Kay and I are taking the day off from the hospital to catch up on things at home.
Vickie, my back is complaining about those medieval torture devices the hospital calls waiting room chairs. I'm going in my w/c tomorrow so I can have a comfortable place to sit, if nothing else. lol.
Moving the 2nd 'Flying Dragon' today from its prime spot on the south side of the house. It is hardy to zone 7 so it doesn't really need the extra protection from the cold. Putting annuals there (sunflowers, tomatoes and peppers) until we decide on a more permanent planting. (Jim)
Oh Jim, yes, yes, yes on your "medieval torture device!" I've only ever had one WC that was comfortable; my free manual one that Medicare/Masshealth bought me in 2011. It now is already falling apart!!!
I have a new power chair scheduled but they have to get it approved by BC/BS and Medicare! So it takes 4 months instead of 4 weeks. Yeeesh.
So sorry I got all mixed up. Nadine is not the one who needs iron and potassium? My family is very complicated but for some reason I always expect other people's to be straight-forward.
We all think like that I believe, Carrie. I see where your mind was lately. Good article yesterday and very timely so close to St. Pat's. I wonder if some of the more unusual potatoes would do better in our heat and humidity. Something to experiment with. I wonder what the blue potatoes taste like. lol.
DD#1 finally stabilized physically, but the doctors decided to move her to Behavioral Medicine ward for a few days. They are trying out a new anti-depressant that will hopefully encourage her to eat more and take better care of herself. If all goes well, she should be home Monday.
Figs are best picked very ripe if it can be managed. Blue jays are our worst fig thieves also. We gave up keeping them away and planted more fig trees. The plan is that will give enough fruit for all the parties involved. lol. We might just end up with more blue jays coming for dinner.
We were all sitting around the computer doing some virtual traveling a few days ago. We paid a visit to Ozone, Vickie. Ozone has a better website than most towns that size. What a pretty place to live!
It's a quiet day here. Kay is labeling the plant pots destined for the RU and I'm sitting out the tomato, pepper and some sunflower seedlings in the newly cleared bed on the south side of the work house. I'm so happy to have the Dragon oranges out of there! (Jim)
Yay about your DD!
People always say, "what a coincidence that the article about Lady Bird Johnson appeared ON her birthday," but we plan these things in advance. Sometimes (only sometimes) I'm not stumbling around in the dark. Usually I'm running over my own feet!
I've laughed at Kay for writing Christmas related stuff in August, but she says most print mags require a six month advance to have everything in place on time. Things appear to move faster in online publishing, at least. (Jim)
Well, yes, in our inhouse online publishing, it is fast, sometimes faster than I expect. And sure, they're working on the Christmas catalog layout now for Christmas catalogs, even though they may change the prices and store hours and so on. The general themes and color schemes are in place, I believe.
DD#1 wasn't as physically stabilized as the doctor's believed. She's back in the Internal medicine ward. In Behavioral Medicine, they pump you up to the gills with whatever anti-depressant the doctor has decided on to accelerate the two week period it normally takes for an anti-depressant to fully take effect. She wasn't able to physically withstand that. Poor liver function evidently complicates things. *#~! Shouldn't the doctors have realized that ahead of time? Shouldn't they have been watching for complications more carefully? She tried to tell them something was very wrong, but the ammonia is so built up in her bloodstream, she couldn't form a coherent sentence. She still can't. Kay is furious in that cold way she gets mad these days. The botanical garden is luckily on the way to and from the hospital giving her a place to decompress and grow calm.
We are still planning to make the local RU next month. Prepping for that is helping both of us. I would like to try to travel a little further and go to a botanical garden in Theodore, AL just on the other side of Mobile. They have an azalea collection I would like to see in bloom if mid-April isn't too late in the season. We chose to give up all our azaleas to assure better health for the honeybees, but I still like visiting them in their spring glory on someone else's property. Our local azalea/dogwood festival starts this Sunday afternoon, but with the unusually cool spring we've had thus far, I'm afraid it will start out less than spectacular. That's okay. It's still fun to watch those thoroughly modern, blue jean wearing young women trying to move about gracefully in hoop skirts carrying frilly parasols. ROFL.
Nighttime lows of 37 degrees tonight. Today, I'll be covering up the tomatoes, basil and peppers I set out prematurely. .
Photo #1: Chinese lorepedilum
Photo #2: There will be some dogwoods to show off on Sunday afternoon.
Photo #3: Pests Beware "Don't look at Me" (YOU CANT SEEE MEEE).
Planted some wisteria in large containers today. Hope we don't live to regret that. Kay is training it around a metal post to assume a small tree form. If we can get the blue form to behave itself, I would like to try the white form on the next post over. The stuff is gorgeous and easy to grow, but it can assume massive proportions in our part of the world, if you spare the pruners.
DD#1 is back in Behavioral Medicine to get the Depression under control. I think they will keep a closer eye on her medical condition this time around. She can speak in coherent sentences again and doesn't seem confused about what is going on. She is guardedly optimistic and co-operating with the medical staff. That is a great improvement. (Jim)
Hope everyone had a happy Easter!
DD#1 is out of the hospital and things are looking up.
It looks like Spring has finally arrived. Azaleas and dogwoods are in their full glory. We missed a few azaleas when we were clearing them out for the sake of the bees, but the honeybees have so many other good nectar sources , the azalea blooms are of no interest to them. I may keep one or two of our favorite kinds.
My little kingdom is peaceable. The birds are singing. The temperature is ideal. DD#1 says she actually likes doing the mowing so I am being spared that task. The bugs haven't recovered from the unseasonably late cold. We had an excellent and fun meal yesterday with lots of tasty leftovers . Life is good!
Hope everyone is doing well. (Jim)
Photo# 1: Happy Late Easter Everybody
Photo #2: Our edible Easter meal decorations Peep trees and egg bunnies, YUM!
This message was edited Apr 1, 2013 4:41 PM
The bad penny has shown up again. The day after Jim called depression hit me big time. I can't afford to go into the hospital again. Medicare does'nt pay for all of it.
I went to bring DD1 (Nita) from Texas up here, She's depressed also.Maybe we can help each other!
I'll have to look up Ozone. The only thing here is the Burger Barn and a church.It's a beautiful drive up tho.
How is everyone?
I've been neglecting my flowers and my house. Have a lot of catching up to do.
Please forgive me.
Vickie
Don't apologise, Vickie. I've been struggling with depression (as usual) and got a (second) tax bill from the IRS demanding over $4,00. They seem to have misplaced the documentation that my income is not taxable. This means I may have to deal with my retirement association. Their workers are protected by Civil Service and the Retirement Board. Their "work" reflect" how concerned they are about keeping their jobs.
I'm moving from depression to rage. Am on hold with Irs and it will be at least 15 minutes before they get to me.
Tony continues to come for four hours six mornings a week. We remind each other that there are no big deals.
hugs, katie
Amazingly, I submitted our taxes on time and correctly filled out the form for it to be directly deposited. Usually I get defeated by all those numbers. May be our last refund though. I finally got DH so he withholds close to the right amount. (If you withhold too much, you get a refund, not enough and you owe.) Withhold too much is like a 0% loan to the gov't.
Good luck, Katie! I've been there with on hold for 45 min to find out what form to file, and so on. My SSDI was never taxed before, but now it is. Not sure why.....I guess our family income is higher which puts me over the edge for SSDI. Darn. cost of living for disabled folks and seniors is higher than normal!!!! We should get taxed less and more frequent COL increases!!!! I mean, mom of 2 uses Walgreens or pampers baby wipes...I use some brand of sensitive adult personal cleansing wipes, not because I want to spend 3x as much or because I want to treat myself, because I have to.
Which brings me to my next point about depression--sometimes I can twist that deadening emptiness into anger or energy. If I write a Letter to the Editor about COL adjustments and SSA, that's constructive. If I let anger leak onto DH, it's horrible.