You Say Po-tay-to, I say Po-tah-to, LaLaLa

   Most of tonight's post will be dedicated to a scrumptious potato recipe that makes a great side dish or (vegetarian) entree but before I dive into that I'd like to run an idea past you, my lovely readers. I'd thought of doing some type of blog hop but a meme sounds more practical to me since I'm not really very good at bloghoppy type things. My idea is to showcase a particular virtue or gift and post links to a couple of blogs which epitomise that particular quality in your opinion, along with a short blurb about why they represent that virtue or why you were drawn to that blog. Each day for, say, a week there would be a prompt such as creativity, kindness, tenacity, and so on.... Is this something any of you would find interesting or fun to participate in? You could let me know if you wish to participate via a comment or my email (kitchenelixers@gmail.com) and I would post the link to your blog here, along with the blogs I would post about of course!

So tonight's recipe is a little something I call:

                             
                     Pommes de terre de fromage

(aka Cheesy Potatoes, but doesn't it look classier in French! These are vegetarian and gluten free.)

6 medium potatoes, well-scrubbed (I used Yukon Gold)
1 brick cream cheese, cubed
1/3 c. Each: sharp cheddar, Parmesan and pepper jack cheese (shred or cube cheddar and pepper jack)
3 Tbsp. butter or 2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. Each: garlic powder and dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. ground black pepper
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. Wash potatoes well and slice thinly, not cutting all the way through to the bottom. Place in baking dish and salt lightly before covering tightly with a lid or aluminium. Bake for 1 hour. (You can hasten this step by putting the potatoes in a microwave-safe container, covering them, and microwaving until fork tender.)

Combine cheeses, except Parmesan, and spices in a medium bowl...remove potatoes from oven and dot potatoes with butter or olive oil.

Distribute mixed cheeses over the top of the potatoes and tamp down lightly with fingers.

Scatter Parmesan cheese across the top and place back into your 350F. oven, uncovered, for a half hour. Voila'! I put the dish on a baking sheet in case of extreme bubbliness.

Play around with the cheeses you use; next time I may use a mixture of fontina and feta...or who knows? This makes 3-4 entrees or 6 side dishes.

And because it seems so appropriate: Lets Call The Whole Thing Off - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

BOO!

   Just making sure you were still afraid, hehe.

   I've been finding gazillions of mulberry recipes online but I'm thinking mulberry muffins; big surprise, right? Still, we do love our muffins and bruffins around here. I'll probably pick some this weekend, toss in a bit of lemon zest (since mulberries can be a bit bland) and bake away. The Great Scot has suggested a solution to the uneaten mulberry mystery: with this being such a 'lush' spring the birds have so many edibles to choose from that they simply don't have room for the mulberries...sounds good to me!

As you can see, they are ripening up nicely but are only about two thirds the size they normally are. 

The kidling and her bestie 'Sasha' stopped by for a visit after my darling daughter got off work; they nommed the bread I'd baked earlier then headed off to whatever it is that young women do these days. Sasha has an interview for a government facility on the west coast in a few days and we discussed interview outfits amongst other things; I must confess, some days I just don't have the energy to keep up with those two! Abby knows how to keep the kidling from bouncing around though:

   As soon as Jen sits on the couch Abby plops down on her! It's sweet to see the two of them enjoying one another so much; the kidling has never been terribly fond of those of the canine persuasion, having had some bad experiences with dogs when younger. Looks to me like Abby may have changed her mind a bit!

   So percolating ideas: one involves a meme and, of course, being from me it's going to be a bit...well...different. More about that in a few days. The kidling and I have also been discussing a crafty small enterprise, and there are other ideas bobbling around in there as well.

One of my dad's favourite songs: Music Box Dancer - Frank Mills Enjoy!

Pictures Tomorrow...

But first: does anyone have any wonderful recipes for mulberries? We've a plethora of them ripening and, oddly enough, the birds seem to be leaving them alone this year. We don't drink wine, so wine-making is out. The berries are a little smaller than usual this year, no doubt due to the funky weather, but they are plentiful. I was wondering if I could make freezer jam from them...or substitute them for blueberries in baking recipes. 

I've been daydreaming about growing up on the family farm this evening; it's been in the family for at least 8 generations. In fact, it was deeded to the family before the United States became a country....of course, it is much smaller now than it was originally; a 1,500 acre parcel which has been whittled down to around 80 acres over the years. Still, it was Utopia for a child, and I'm glad that part of it is still in the family. These daydreams were engendered by the lovely blog engrained, you should go check it out. Definitely makes me want to find a beautiful spring to splash about in, just as I did as a child.

                                              source

For even more beauty, check out the photo of Janice on Bikbik and Roro and the picture of Vivienne at Thrifted Shift. Don't they both look gorgeous and glowy?? 

Before I sign off for the night I feel I should warn you: I've all sorts of ideas percolating right now.......be afraid. Be very afraid.

A wee bit of music for your day: To make you smile... Love Shack - B52s and another the kidling introduced me to (a couple of shots of a woman in a slip and curlers, but nothing 'racy') Vive Le Swing - IN-Grid

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

With all the ups and downs in the temperatures the last few days I've been a bit uncomfortable; enough to make it difficult to concentrate. It's more frustrating than serious, I just wanted to pop in and say "hi guys, I'm still here!". Oh, and to share this picture of my kidling at her graduation:

She said all she could think about was getting out of there and getting ready to move back to Indiana. I think I'm terribly proud of her, not that you can tell, right?

Hope everyone is well and happy! Before I go, a couple of songs to make you smile, one from a favourite Canadian group and the other is appropriate for the post title.

Great Big Sea - Ordinary Day

(Cuteness alert!) The Shirelles - Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

Please Mr. Postman....

   "Looky look and see/
     If you're carrying something for me/
     Mayhap a package from overseas!"

Okay, that's not the way the lyrics really go but I was still singing it that way today. And bouncing around. And smiling a lot. Why? Well it's all Janice's fault. Janice of Bikbik and Roro, who makes such lovely things for children (of all ages) and who had informed me a wee while back that she was sending me a special package from the land of Far Far Away. It arrived and oh did it ever make me smile! You all know this wee guy, Buddha, that I adore...(as you can see, he'd made himself a wee blanket 'nest' on the floor and was sure he'd be in trouble, the video was taken not long after we rescued him; he's since realised he can nest with impunity, lol)

Well so does Janice, and her package included this beautiful handmade brooch

As well as these stickers she made (some of which the Great Scot absconded with, by the by)

And these lovely postcards Janice made, which will be framed.

Aren't these just so fun and creative?!? They certainly brightened up my day and I'm sure her huggable creatures, bright and fun bags and backpacks, and dollhouse additions (as well as her brilliant film shorts) would make any child, or child at heart's, day! 

Janice is a beautiful (inside and out) lady with two adorable young daughters...and a third bebe on the way...whose thoughtful posts brighten my day. Now I'm plotting how to reciprocate; bwahahahaha!

In other news: I promised additional cleaning 'receipts' and here they are....

Homemade furniture polish: 

1/3 c. light-scented oil (I generally use olive or canola oil)
1/8 c. white or cider vinegar
10-20 drops lemon essential oil

Mix ingredients well and pour into a container such as an old baby wipes container (I actually use an old lemonade mix container) and place 2-3 clean cloths inside. Old cloth diapers or worn washcloths work beautifully. Use as you would any furniture wipe. 

Insect repellent spray:

1 spray bottle
warm water
1 cinnamon stick
10-20 drops Each: tea tree oil and peppermint oil

Add cinnamon stick and oils to bottle, fill with warm water and shake thoroughly. Works well to repel flies, ants, spiders and mosquitoes. 

Scrubbing compound, oven cleaner, and silver cleaner:

1 box baking soda
juice of one lemon

Mix into a paste for scrubbing hard water stains, silver, calcium and lime build-up, burned or crusted pans, etc... For cleaning the oven: Turn oven on for a few minutes to warm slightly, mix lemon juice with an equal amount of water and spray inside of oven (or microwave) lightly; sprinkle liberally with baking soda. Let sit for 15-20 minutes and scrub as usual. Remember to rinse thoroughly before using the oven again! 

I'll be taking the holiday weekend with my family so see everyone next Tuesday!

For your listening pleasure, a real version of: Please Mr. Postman - The Marvelettes

Soooo Sleepy

   I am too sleepy to write coherently for more than three seconds...so sleepy I look like this:

                                            source

   So if you'll be kind enough to excuse me tonight I shall attempt comprehensibility tomorrow night when I will be bouncing off the walls because of a lovely surprise sent from faraway places.

   Oh, and I shall have some 'receipts' to share. In the meantime, for your listening (and dancing) pleasure, I give you: Men Without Hats - Safety Dance You're welcome Keith...but if you don't dance you're no friend of mine! Hehe.

Busy, Busy

   Keeping up with the kidling, baking raspberry 'bruffins' and zucchini-cheddar quick bread...

...and chasing our flock of furry barkers. Oh wait, they have to be a herd the way they thunder through here. 

   The kidling and her best friend and housemate stopped by for a while this evening; it seems the three of us have a baking date in our futures. Need I say I'm looking forward to it? We've also been making homemade cleaners (spray bottle, white vinegar, sliced lemon peel, a sprig of rosemary, and a few drops of tea tree oil + a little time) and we've struck a deal. They will help me with items which are too heavy for me, etc... and I will go to their house and help them get things clean and organised. Sounds like a win-win to me!

   (Pssst, don't tell them but I'll be baking cookies next week...and making an extra batch for them.)

   Speaking of their house: They have a lovely large old house with the most beautiful old woodwork! It's late 19th - early 20th century and in remarkably good condition; is it bad that I'm experiencing a slight touch of woodwork envy? And it is theirs, well, it belongs to Jen's bestie...hmmm, methinks I'll call her Sasha on the blog. Sasha is in the National Guard and served in Iraq, she now works in a government facility and is a very responsible, hard-working young lady who has been able to purchase her own home at a very young age. I'm as proud of her as I am of my own kidling. 

   Oh! Speaking of Jen and being proud...remember her job interview? She nailed it and begins work next Monday! Considering that there were several other candidates, and that it was her first application/interview since moving back up north; yup, I'm very proud of, and delighted for, her. 

And now, for your listening and viewing pleasure: A great Scottish duo with one of my favourite songs... The Proclaimers - 500 Miles