Whole Wheat Oat Bread

[recipe]

I made two loaves of bread and a tray of rolls. I recommend reducing the baking time by a few minutes. Spraying the oven for steam produces a crispy crust not suitable for dinner rolls.

Sand Run Metro Park

There are 41 miles of the multipurpose Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Summit County. The 995-acre Sand Run Metro Park opened in 1929, but the area has been welcoming visitors for centuries. The land surrounding Mingo Pavilion was a campsite for Mingo Indians. Portage Path was once an important Native American trail between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers; later, it was the western boundary of the United States. A high ridge above the Wadsworth Area was a lookout point for General Elijah Wadsworth, who made his camp near the present-day Old Portage Area during the War of 1812. In the 1930s, Sand Run Parkway and many of the surrounding shelters and structures were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

The Flats

Card Box

This was the card box I made for my friend's wedding.  It was a blue, old fashioned suit case.  I ripped out the satin lining.  The top was replaced by a mural of map-like paper, enhanced with music note washi tape, and embellishments of their planned destinations in Europe.  For the bottom of the suitcase, I loving hand stitched in lace and tuelling ruffles.  I finally found a use for my upholstery needles! 

Happy Birthday

I made this lovely leather journal for my mother. I am enjoying leather working as a potential new hobby. I got excited, and forgot to take pictures of the finished product. The motif is acorns and oak leaves with a fox on the front. I sewed in two sets of pages. It has also been dyed brown and  has a string closure.

Work flag

Our quarterly Hampton work project was designing a flag that shows our regional "Hamptonality", the thing that makes our hotel special, the reason people visit us. Nobody had any "good" suggestions so we went with generic Cleveland things. Malley's chocolate (4 miles away from us), the Christmas Story house (12 miles), and a football for the Browns. I was careful not to use any copywrited images like the Browns logo or the NBA trophy, or the Captain America shield (for the Marvel movies being filmed here).

Lemon Cashew Tart

Coconut milk
1 envelope gelatin
2 cups raw cashews soaked in a bowl of cold water overnight
4 dates
1 cup dates
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw pecans
1 lemon tested
1/2 c. Lemon juice
1 tsp. Vanilla
Can of coconut milk
Make crust. Puree cashews, milk, salt, vanilla, dates until smooth. In a saucepan heat maple syrup with gelatin. Add to blender. Firms up in about two hours. This does not have the consistency or mouth feel of cheesecake. It has a definite coconut milk after flavor. It makes an interesting nut tart, but a horrible cheesecake replacement.

Garbage disposal tablets

1 c. Baking soda
1 Tb. crushed lemon verbena
1 Tb. Kosher salt
4-5 drops lemon essential oil
1 tsp. Dish soap
1/4 C water

Slowly combine Ingredients. Only use enough water to form a paste. Add more baking soda if necessary. Scoop into little balls and allow to dry. Use them in your garbage disposal to freshen up the smell.

Banana Bread Muffins

1 stick softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
4 bananas, finely mashed
1 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix well. Bake at 350*, 60 minutes for a loaf and about 20 minutes for muffins.

Grape Jelly

Cook down grapes until you have four cups of juice. Boil juice with 7 cups sugar and 1 envelope of liquid pectin.

Concord Grapes

Bug Bites

Household ammonia is dilute ammonium hydroxide, which is also an ingredient of numerous other cleaning agents, including many window cleaning formulas. Ammonia is a base, or alkali, and alkalies neutralize acids. Most bug stings are acid based, like wasp and ant venom. So dabbing ammonia on the sting (or baking soda) will help neutralize the acid. But contrary to popular belief, honeybee stings will not be helped by this method. Honeybee venom is a protein, and amazingly, meat tenderizer works for this. The itch from mosquito bites is caused by histamine, the body's chemical reaction to the bug's saliva. Best remedy for this is hydrocortisone cream. Many natural remedy websites call for simple table sugar.  Sugar pastes, or honey help facilitate wound healing by reducing the amount of water within the wound, which significantly retards bacterial growth.  This can reduce scarring from scratching.  Wash all bite area with soapy water first.  Apply a cold compress if you need to reduce swelling. Take an allergy tablet and then apply one of the methods above. 

Labor Day

Beer boiled bratwurst grilled with brussels sprouts.  We played 9 holes of Frisbee golf and had a nice time.  Just, stay out of the water.

Deconstructed kebobs

Grilled chicken, brussels sprouts, cherry tomatoes, and Colby cheese.

Bog chunk