Ah, chocolate fudge pie...:sigh:  It's rich, chocolatey deliciousness, and Jessie inevitably asks for the recipe around this time of year so I thought I would go ahead and post and share (that, and Jori asked for it too ;oP).

This is a pie whose recipe doesn't call for a crust.  However, I like crust with my pie, so I'll use either a regular pie crust or a graham cracker crust (and as I was feeling lazy today, graham it was).

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• pinch salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

Directions for Chocolate Pie
Melt butter and chocolate in double boiler; beat in sugar. Fold in flour and salt. Add vanilla. Beat eggs; fold into chocolate mixture with pecans. Turn into a greased 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350° for 20 to 30 minutes. Center of the chocolate pie should still be moist when done.


This pie is incredibly fudgy and is wonderful when served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. :o)


Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!


--Rach

I'm such a huge Olympics junkie I've been spending my time sitting in front of the TV surfing between the channels covering the Olympics, cross stitching to keep my hands busy.  By the time I went to bed Friday evening, I have finished this much of my snowman.  I was quite distracted by the Opening Ceremony (tell me Mr. Bean wasn't hysterical) but managed to get quite a bit completed.  The white is so hard on my eyes...Ugh.

I pretty much worked the day away yesterday and by yesterday afternoon, I had this much finished.  I was more than happy to have all the white FINISHED...or so I thought.  Drat. I still need to put in some snowflakes. 

And, here it was as of noon today. :o)  There are still things that need to be done (and I quite forgot just how much time it takes to cross stitch) but I'm pretty pleased with my progress.  That's quite a bit of work for a weekend.

--Rach

Every family has their favorite recipes.  Every family has their favorite made up recipes.  As I posted on my blog yesterday, one of our family favorites is Lissie's tuna casserole. 

Family lore has it Liss was desperately trying to come up with a well-balanced, yet quick and easy meal one night and was limited to the ingredients she had on hand (life is not always easy for a single mom with two little ones only 20 months apart in age).  This was the end result.  :o)

Ingredients:
4 small cans tuna, drained
2 cans Cream of ________ soup (Liss uses celery, we use mushroom and cheddar)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
10 oz frozen peas
1 soup can of milk (I know, I know, sounds weird, but we use the can so we can get the dregs of the soup out)
1/2 cup mayo
1 bag egg noodles
Colby cheese to taste


Directions:
While you boil water for the noodles, sautee the onion until just soft--this allows them to cook fully when baking.   When noodles are cooked and onions are just soft, mix everything together and pour into a greased casserole dish.  Top with shredded cheese and bake at 375 for 45 minutes. 

(Mom, Jess, this is right, right? I didn't forget anything?)

Simple, inelegant, delicious. :o)

--Rach

Lissie taught me how to cross stitch when I was eight years old.  This was a form of craftiness I loved and had my own little sewing kit filled with DMC embroidery flosses, Aida cloth and more.  Sure, often those flosses were used to make friendship bracelets, but I also did quite a bit of cross stitching. 

I loved to cross stitch, and completed a couple of larger pieces when I was in college.  Then, I got married and discovered this amazing thing called the "Internet" and the next thing I knew, I no longer had time for cross stitching (husband, children, my internet addiction) and my flosses and patterns languished in the closet.  Feeling sorry for them, I found a friend who cross stitched and gave her every last one of my cross stitching goodies and bid them a fond farewell.

Who knew I would be desperately needing them 10 years later?  I'm unable to do anything other than sit with my foot elevated at the moment and I'm getting BORED!  My lovely friend Robin suggested I pick cross stitching back up as I was tired of the 'net and couldn't focus on reading anything. 

Just let me tell you, cross stitching is obviously not the "in" thing any longer.  I had a miserable time trying to find a pattern I would enjoy doing and have some use for, I couldn't find a hoop to my liking, and there was no Fray Check to be found anywhere! 

I finally found these cute snowmen and decided I could definitely do something with them.  If nothing else, I can frame them and put them out at Christmas with the rest of my snowmen buddies.  ;o) 

I remembered how to find the center of the design and my cloth and got to work, only to have to remove five rows of stitches 30 minutes later because I had miscounted.  GAH!!  Then, I had to remove more work last night.  That tiny bit of stitching up there?  That is over five hours of work.  No, I'm not kidding. 

It makes me wonder what I was thinking to pick up this piece. Doh!! But, I loved the colors and figure I'll be cross stitching from now until the end of time, and surely in that time I can get this finished.  Right?

--Rach

Yes, yes, I know, I know, I owe you two more batches of daylilies.  But, I got distracted! As most of you are aware, summer is not my most favorite season.  I loathe the heat and humidity, the soaking in sweat the minute you walk outside, the mosquitoes, the blistering heat of the seats in the car...I could go on and on. 

However, I've been trying to embrace the heat and misery and simply enjoy the moment and being in it.  It's been a struggle, but I'm working on it.  ;o) We went out for ice cream tonight and I didn't even think about the fact it was so hot the ice cream was dripping faster than we could lick it.  I swear!  Everyone around me was mentioning it, but I was simply enjoying my ice cream. :oP

I was thinking of my extreme dislike of summer and decided to try to find things to enjoy about summer, and lo and behold, I came upon Michael Franti & Spearhead and their song "Say Hey (I Love You)". 


Holy smokes is it catchy and pop-y and so summery.  Then, I found "The Sound of Sunshine".


Again, another summery fun and bubbly song.  I'm sure I'm so late to the game with these guys, but when I find something fun, I have to share. :o) 

And, speaking of summer, tomorrow is July Fourth.  We're having a family picnic with Nana and Pop and I was put in charge of dessert.  Have I mentioned it's hot here?  I mean, really really HOT? No?  Well, it is.  Trust me. :oP  Sooooo, I wanted a light, cool, refreshing dessert and immediately went to Lemonade Cake.  Here's the recipe:

1 box yellow or lemon cake mix (since I'm a citrus junkie, I go for the lemon)
1 box instant lemon pudding
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup veggie oil
1 small can lemonade (I typically use a regular size can)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (I double it--see above)

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine the first five ingredients.  Pour in greased 9"x13" pan and bake for 45 minutes or until done.

Mix lemonade and sugar and microwave for one minute. Pour over cake while hot.  (I typically poke some holes in the cake before pouring on the lemonade, and don't use all of it when I use the regular can.) Serve chilled. 

I cannot express how quick and easy this cake is, nor how delightfully refreshing on a hot day. :o)

Enjoy your summer! I would LOOOOVE it if you would share your quintessential summer songs and recipes as I'm trying to do my best to make the most of this most miserable time of year. ;o)

--Rach

Lissie and I were beyond excited to attend the Oake's Daylily Festival this year.  When we attended last year, there had been flooding and torrential rains and we wound up covered in mud from the squishy ground.  We had thought that given the dry weather this year we would avoid that problem. Nope.  Next year we'll know better. ;o)

And, as many of you know (and are probably experiencing), we are ROASTING here on the east coast.  It was HOT Friday morning.  But, that didn't deter us.  We arrived, got our free daylilies (Miss Tinkerbells for Lissie, Lil and me, and a Sparkling Orange for Beanie) and began touring the grounds.  I could have looked all day they were all so beautiful.  Truly. 

However, given the heat, and the fact we were there with a six year old and a two year old, alas, our visit was only about an hour and a half long.  I snapped as many photos as I could of all the daylilies that caught my (or Liss's) eye.  I find that I'm really drawn to corals, oranges and reds, and also like pink-ish ones.  I'm not as fond of a startling eye zone, and really like blooms that are full and ruffled along the edge, preferring blooms that are about 5"-7".  Here is the first batch of daylilies I loved.

Big Kiss makes me swoon.  So does that price tag. ;o)


Love this one.  Such a gorgeous color.

You know what, I could make comments about all of these guys, but I think I'll just let the flowers and photos speak for themselves. :o)

























How sad was I to see this beauty and the one before it weren't for sale?  Not that I'm buying any daylilies right now.  Ha!


This one wasn't a fave, but I thought the ruffled edge that was a different color from the petals was interesting.

I'll post batch two tomorrow. :o)

--Rach

I have become a bit obsessed with daylilies.  You see, the front of my house bakes in the summer and I have had a miserable time finding any flowers that will grow, let alone thrive in those beds.  Lissie told me daylilies could survive anything and were insanely easy to grow so I took a chance. 

Well, I'm utterly smitten and am constantly trying to create new beds so I can have even more lilies.  Poor Brien. :oP

What follows are the daylilies that have bloomed or are currently blooming in my yard. 

I have no clue what that sweet little daylily up there is.  What I can tell you is it's a rebloomer that first blooms early. 
This one is Bitsy.  Bitsy has tall scapes (about 24") but teeny little blooms.  It is a prolific rebloomer and I typically have Bitsies blooming from March to October.

This was a new addition last fall.  This beauty is a Siloam Nugget.  She is a delicious golden color that did not photograph well at all.  She's short and squat but oh so lovely.

And, every once in a while, she'll throw a double. :o)

This is lovely lady is Little Strawberry Shortcake.  The scapes are short, but the blooms are nice sized.  It's a great daylily for edging or in the front of beds.  I just love it.

This is a Red Volunteer.  We have a TON of red daylilies since Lil helped select them and she's a bit of a fiend for red. ;o)

Oh how I love love LOVE this one.  This is Strawberry Candy.  I love the color, I love the ruffles, I love the blooms, I love the height, I love everything about it. :o)

This is Frankly Scarlet.  She's RED RED RED.

This is Pardon Me.  She's up front and is a nice rebloomer.  The blooms are a bit on the smallish side, but it is a lovely daylily.

This is my Miss Amelia.  She's out front as well, and has just started blooming.  She has tall scapes and can be a light yellow to almost white.  Mine is more yellow.  She is also a rebloomer (in fact, I purchased the "Rebloom Collection" from Oake's and planted them out front.  More bang for the buck, you know. ;oP).

This is Chorus Line. She's a rebloomer as well, and a lovely pink.  Most of the pinks I have (I purchased the "Pretty in Pink" collection) are rather coral-y, but this one is PINK.

This is such a pretty little daylily.  She's Lullaby Baby and she has the loveliest sparklies (diamond dust or some such I believe) and ruffles.

Rootin' Tootin' Red.  How could I pass up a flower with such a name?  Lily, of course, loves it.

This is Scarlet Romance.  Another lovely red.  I've had to be careful deadheading the reds as the spent blooms will stain anything they touch.  Lil has used them to "paint" the fence.

Strawberry Candy again.  I did mention I loved it, right?  Look at the color on that ruffle!

This is Mae Graham and is the first year she's bloomed for me.  She is a coralish pink and so pretty.  It turns out I'm a sucker for a ruffled edge. Who knew?

And here's Corryton Pink.  This is the first year she's bloomed as well.  In fact, I'm anxiously awaiting all my pinks to see how they do.  She's a more peachy pink.

Oh goodness, I can't remember this one.  Drat! Something red, though. ;o) 

Oh my stars am I in looooooove with this lovely lady.  This is Autumn Wood and she is a stunner.  Her scapes are short, but this is a big bloom.

And, look at the multi-color on those petals.  This is my first year with this beauty and I'm so happy I splurged.  I had a couple Groupon deals and free shipping otherwise it NEVER would have happened.  I'm el cheapo when it comes to ordering daylilies. ;o)

This was my freebie from the Oake's Daylily Festival last year.  She too is rather peachy/coralish but wow, what an eyezone!

She was put in Lil's garden of Frankly Scarlets and seems to be holding her own. ;o)


Lily's garden.  Those Frankly Scarlets are so very red.  They look almost velvety and are so stunning. 

I'm still awaiting a number of pinks and will post after they bloom. 

Lissie, the girls and I are all heading to the Daylily Festival again this year.  I'm dying to place an order before we go so I can pick them up there--they give you the BIGGEST plants!--but I have no clue where I'd put them.  It's official, I'm obsessed. :o)

--Rach