A bit about... whatever's on my mind. ;)

A bit about... whatever's on my mind.  ;)
Hello Friends, Family, and Peoples, Welcome to My Blog. :)
Now I only post when time will allow me to do so, and it's all very random. So add yourself as a follower, down and to your right. This way you wont miss a thing...

Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Pie and Time

Life sure has been busy lately.  And blogging.. sorry to to tell you this... really isn't on the top of my priority list.  But as you can tell, it is on the list.  : )  
This past month it has seemed like the minutes of the day have turned into seconds. Time is just ticking away...
And I can not believe that my baby has already started school! Here he is on his first day.. he was doing some kind of power kick. He was WAY excited to start school! And I'm so glad! But sad that he no longer is a baby.. He's growing up! And this Mama's all down with the baby faze.. very bitter sweet. Now though to Welcome the kid faze! And more hours in the day to take care of the little things that have been swept by for so long.. since Will was born. 
The end of the summer also meant that my nephew's went back home to my siblings.  Alex my brother Victor's son and Taden my sister Raylinn's son, came up to help Papa (my Dad) out with the farming.  I love these kids!! And really truly already miss them like crazy!! 
ALEX:
 
TADEN:
 So Richard's bunny, Kitty,  has way too much in common with his Master!  He has escaped yet again and is currently living in the junk pile and pasture next to our house!  I don't know how many times Richard snuck out of the house and ran down the road to my Mom's as a toddler.  I am so glad he grew out of that.  And am hoping his bunny matures a bit as well.  And stays home!! 
This little stinker has gotten too quick.  We just can't catch her.  But at least she is staying around and she does have plenty of food to nibble on.   and has made friends with the horse..  Bud (the horse) is totally not helping, rather blocks us from grabbing her.    
We have a plan though!  And just set a trap for her!  A friendly one.. just so we can catch her.  Her poor sister misses her!  All alone in her home.
I love my children!  There minds amaze me!  They have such passions for things. -well I'd really say more like Obsessions.. but passion sounds better.  
Here's Richard at the fair in front of one of these perpetual motion things... Where the balls never stops moving throughout these mazes.  He stood and watched this for a few hours!  looking it completely over.  Last year they had a different one, that he totally loved too.  I tell you what.. if I had one of these at my home.. Id never have to worry about what he was up to. -This was beyond fascination! 
 
Here's William with one our Perplexeses.  The kids and well every aged child that walks in our door and see this on our coffee table.. is in love!  This perplexing puzzle has been a huge hit in our home!  This too we discovered at the county fair the previous year.  And started collecting!
 
Josh and I also took a short but sweet weekend getaway this month to celebrate our 2 year anniversary!  And I skipped out on making pie!  But we ate some! 

We didn't get any pics of the two of us together.  Not sure how that happened.  But between the two of us, we got over a hundred pictures of waterfalls, cliffs, dear, nature and of course.. the Jeep!
 

As far as Pie goes, I'm a slacker! 

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Pie #7 goes a little nuts!

My brother's boyfriend came up to meet the family.. and what a better way to get to know each other, than with Baking!  -His request, a Pecan Fig Pie!
Damon!
 So I searched and searched for a good recipe.  All I found was the drinking kind.  I am not the drinking type.  But we decided to go ahead and try one, it just sounded too yummy to pass up! http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pecan-Fig-Pie-with-Brandied-Whipped-Cream-105849   Instead of the Brandy we added Home made Vanilla Extract.  - Probably has the same amount of alcohol.  Since Home made Vanilla is made from Vodka.   Oh well, it all cooks out, right?

I think a Pecan pie was the perfect choice.  -Three people in the kitchen.. is a little nuts!  But the Fun kind of Nuts!

Now for some pictures to show you all our amazing cooking skills...
cutting the figs.
Fred had a great idea: We picked out the prettiest pecans and set them aside.. so we could make a beautiful top, of arranged pecans and figs.

While they worked on the filling I worked on the crust..

TaDa!  So far much better than last weeks.

Damon was very smart and poked holes all over the bottom of our crust.. so it wouldn't rise while baking in the oven.  -I really need to get some pie weights.




 : ) Aren't they Cute!
So many hands at work here!

Fred cracking an egg, for my pictures.. I thought he was being slow.. but then.. 

I missed snapping my picture when the yoke came out.  And he was trying so hard.. : (

Now there's the yoke!  - Yummyness is beginning!

melting butter.. such an art!

Pouring the sugaryness into the Pecan and fig mixture.  I guess all the extra hands came in handy!

Building our Pie by adding the first layer of our Pecans.

Now adding the very SWEET mixture.
Then we arranged the pecans and figs we set aside.. for a beautiful presentation!
Look at this GORGEOUS Pie!
However, one bite was more then enough sugar to last me a Month! : ) I suggest less sweetness!.. I am definitely going to try a recipe with less sugary ingredients next time.

What I learned from making this pie:
Three people fit in my kitchen and can work well together.. no bumping elbows!
But three people in the kitchen also means three different ideas and opinions on how to do the same thing.  : ) 

And now I ask your opinion on the main discussion of that day..

Does it matter if you follow baking recipes exactly as states?  Is it just like Chemistry?
Do I have to Measure each ingredient to the exact amount?  And only add, mix, bake, in the order stated in said recipe??? Or is it okay to dodge around steps and guess?  Is it considered the same recipe if I instead of mixing the sugar in with the butter on the stove, do it at the table? 
How close do you follow a baking recipe??