Not Your Grandma's Brooch...

We all have at least one...a big, gaudy Rhinestone brooch that we got from Grandma, or Mom, or just couldn't resist buying at a garage sale.
But who really wears them??
Let's be honest...unless you rock the retro look, a big sparkly brooch pinned to your sweater makes you like, well, a cat lady (sad but true).
Personally, I have a soft spot for them, my Mom had a large collection of AB jewellery (Aurora Borealis) that she wore to church, or when her and Dad went on dates.
When I was a kid, would sneak into her jewellery box and try on the huge clip-on earrings, triple strand necklaces, and matching brooches...I felt like Queen.

I think they deserve to be worn,  so who cares what anyone thinks??

Lets make Sunday, March 6th "Grandma Brooch Solidarity Day".

Pull out your pins ladies, and wear them with pride...on a jacket, scarf, or hat...or even in your hair (see picture of my daughter above).
And if you don't have one, hunt one down (there's usually a few at any given Thrift store).

If any of you are brave enough, send me your pics & I'll post them here :)

Comfort Food...Southern Style

Rice Pudding...the Queen of Comfort Food.

When I was a kid, the closest I got to rice pudding was a hot cereal my folks would make out of leftover cooked rice with a little milk, sugar & cinnamon...good stuff, but little did I know what was waiting for me...

Years later, as a newly engaged bride to be, I was introduced to rice pudding for the first time by my fiancée.

His Grandpa owned a restaurant in Desert Hot Springs, CA, called "Hayden's Fisherman's Wharf of The Desert" (1959 - 1993).

Now that's real mouth full, I know....but the food was amazing!

Grandpa Chuck Hayden grew up in Arkansas and brought a real Southern flair to his seafood restaurant, and I was lucky enough to eat there several times before Grandpa passed away and the restaurant closed its doors.

Each meal ended with Grandpa's rice pudding, so creamy & smooth...and not too sweet.

A few years ago my Mother-in-law shared with me the recipe, which was printed in the "Desert Sun" newspaper as "Hayden's most frequently requested recipe"....and if you take the time to make it, you'll see why.

This recipe is easily doubled and I often bring it to church potluck's, in fact, when I dare bring a different dessert, complaints ensue...

HAYDEN'S RICE PUDDING

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup rice

1/2 tsp salt

1 quart whole milk 

1/4 butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Cinnamon sugar & nutmeg

Bring water, rice & salt to boil (in a large, non stick saucepan if you have one).

Simmer on low for 7 minutes.

Add milk & butter, return to boil, cover and simmer on low for 1 hour & 15 minutes.

Gently stir a few times every 20 minutes or so.

Beat eggs, sugar & vanilla (I add a dash of nutmeg) and slowly add to cooked rice mixture in a thin stream while stirring so the eggs don't solidify in the hot liquid.

Heat through, remove from heat and stir in raisins.

Pour into a shallow buttered dish, sprinkle with Cinnamon sugar, cover with plastic wrap and chill for a few hours before serving.

You can also serve it while its still warm, but chilled it has this cold creamy mouth feel that is very close to good ice cream...honest!

Cleaning House...

For my first ever Blog I have chosen the least favourite topic of most every woman on the planet....

the subject of cleaning.

Yep, you heard me...time to clean house ladies!!

Ever stop and wonder if your surroundings are a reflection of who you are, on the inside??

Well, I do....mostly I try not to.

I like a clean house, but I'm not insane about it....out of sight, out of mind is my motto.

I'm not talking about things like making the bed, doing laundry, scrubbing toilets...everyday or weekly stuff.

Nope....I'm talking about the big jobs we ALL avoid.

So here is my big insight (or confession) if you will...

Last week after cleaning both our fridges out (yes 2, we have BIG family), I felt so much lighter, so happy, that I decided to tackle the dreaded pantry...dreaded because I'm pretty sure a year has flown by since it was done by my long-suffering daughter (do-er of the worst household chores).

Well, yesterday was D-Day for the pantry...2 + hours later I had lovely clean shelves full of neatly stacked staples, and....a HUGE garbage bag full of: half eaten cracker boxes past their date, stale cereal, chips, and ancient molasses from last years Christmas baking.

That bag of garbage held enough food (if fresh) to feed a family of 4 for a week. seriously.

Guilt....MAJOR guilt.

To make things worse, as I happily re-stacked cans & jars back into the clean pantry, I realized:

do we really need 4 bottles of pancake syrup, 4 bottles of ketchup, 3 big jars of pickles, 6 boxes of cereal??

Yes, buying multiples saves money for big families, but if we are not consuming these items before the fresh dates and then throwing large amounts away, how much $$ are we actually saving??

Less Waste = more savings $$

So repeat after me...the next time hubby asks for you to pick up 10 cans of Spam on sale...JUST SAY NO!

**next Blog will be much lighter fare and contain treats...promise...now go clean something!