Saturday, August 18, 2007

Deep Dish Struesel Topped Pear Pie

I did tell you all that I would start creating something with the pears gathered from off of my pear tree..and this is a recipe that I invented this evening..yummy too! and not too difficult.







DEEP DISH STRUESEL TOPPED PEAR PIE

1 frozen pie crust..thawed and placed into bottom of a deep dish pie plate/crimp sides slightly.

4-6 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 TBS cinnamon
1 cup packed sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Cook in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat until pears are tender (about 25 minutes cook time)

Remove from heat and quickly stir in 2 TBS. tapioca pearls.
Let sit about 5 minutes.
Pour over into your pie crust.Spread out evenly.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare struesel topping:

1/4 cup sugar
2 TBS. cinnamon
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup quick cook oats
2 TBS. softened butter or margarine
mix together with a fork until resembles a slightly crumbly mixture.

After the pie has baked for 30 minutes..remove and top with your struesel topping. Add 2 more TBSp. of soft butter to the top of the struesel in the very middle of the pie.
Return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Remove and let cool slightly before slicing.
Top with icecream or whip topping if preferred.
Enjoy!

~The Garden Goose~

"Shine! Shine!"...and "Just To BE"....

This morning being a Saturday..we all slept in a bit. ...but wee 3 yr. old and I were up earlier than everyone else and so we decided to rouse the others.


My little one went in by her dad and declared "Shine!..Shine!" (she hasn't figured out yet that it's actually.."Rise and Shine!") So she'll say.. in her little 3 yr. old darling sing-songy way..."Shine!Shine!" ..then she will dance around the room twirling around and holding her arms over her head as she twirls about..."Shine! Shine!"

What an awesome way to be greeted in the morning..and what a beaming outlook!
So... here's to you all...I hope that every day you remember to "Shine!...Shine!"
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I was thinking today about a few things ....perhaps a bit of a different thing than what I normally mention here...but a thought/thoughts I had none the less.....

.... how so often folks are in a hurry, skurrying about, going and doing...hardly time for taking a break and just "Be-ing" anymore.
Seems that so often folks are shaped by their peers and societies ideas...from a very early age.
Shaped by what others think they should be, where they should go..what they should do...how they should act.

(I'm not saying that sometimes these things aren't necessary..indeed they are..especially when it comes to the raising of young children..we try so hard to steer our children in the right directions through life.)

What I am talking about though..is how so often into the adult years there is so much the mentality of ..."being like the Joneses", ..the "I must have this".."I must dress this way because it's the latest fad"..or "I must drive such and such style of car because it's the latest status symbol" ..or the comparisons of salaries amongst folks or the "my kid is better than your kid because.." or the "my house cost more than your house"...anyhow..you get the picture I'm trying to paint here...
So often the "trying to be what society says we should be like"....that they lose sight of who they are...

Too often folks lose sight of the real thing......
The simplicity of life and the joys found therein.

The joy of simply..."Just to BE"...

Just to be who you are..with no airs being put on.
No falsity. No hypocrisy.
No doing things because it's what someone else thinks you should do/be...or what society deems as "having arrived"....
having arrived at what?... perhaps a state of being in debt? and worrying about everything...how bills will be payed..etc... because of those high dollar toys that were bought to "keep up with the Joneses"?

Oh no!....the art of "Just to BE" is very special indeeed....
It's the taking time to breathe in a breath of fresh air..exhaling slowly...and taking the time to watch the spider in it's web. The bird on the wing.
Listening to the hum of a lawn mower a few houses away. The sound of crickets chirping in the evening.
It's the letting your hair down and walking around barefoot in the grass if you want to.
It's the "I'm being me!" mentality.
Try it sometime...you may actually enjoy the new you that you find along the way!
It's the art of ..."Just to BE!" (no strings attached)
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~The Garden Goose~

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Ode to the South!...

Another of the entries in the little contest ..I thought this one was deserving of a post all by itself..because I just loved it!


Miz Frannie from Freedom Valley Farm wrote this:(I think it sums it up pretty good)

Twenty Short Words To Describe The South

Would Drip Like Honey From My Mouth.

I'd Tell Of All My Kith And Kin

And Then I'dTell It All O'er Agin.

The Stories OfCountry Before The Town

Of Those Who Plowed Our Fertile Ground.

Our Fathers And Mothers Who Came And Stayed

On Whose Foundation Our South Is Laid.

All The Traditions They Brought With Them

The Songs They Sang And The Worship Hymn.

The Stories, The Lessons,TheStrength,TheLove

Always Thanking The One Above.

Teaching Goodness By Living The Part

Showing Kindness Is From The Heart.

A Hard Earned Dollar

For A Hard Day's Work

We're Taught In Life Never To Shirk.

The South Is Lasting

The South Is True

We Give Our Best In All We Do.

This Is Of What The South Is Made

Not For North, OrEast, NorWest I'dTrade.

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(and I say..Amen! ) :0)

~The Garden Goose~

And the winner is.... and more...

Today was the drawing for the "Breakfast in the Bag"

I put all of the names on strips of index card and then put them in a large bowl and had my hubby draw a name....and the winner is....

KAY from "Cottage Ramblings"

Congratulations Kay!
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First of all I wanted to talk a little about friendship..and how that I have been fortunate to find a few wonderful women folk online...and it seems that we are all kindred spirits indeed.

I so very much enjoy the fact that you all visit here with me, as well as over at Mary Jane's Farm..and also take the time to email with me once in a while.It is a real treat and a blessing to me. Thanks so much!
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One of those dear friends shared her favorite poem with me..and I must say I love this poem also.
(thank you Miz Frannie from "Freedom Valley Farm-Kentucky)
I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew,
the sightCould not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward,
in an oakI found the arrow,
still unbroke;
And the song,
from beginning to end,
I found again
in the heart of a friend.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Here are some of the "Odes to the South" that some of you entered in the contest..some of you were so very creative. I enjoyed all of the input. Thanks so much!

from Laura:
1- sweet tea 2- lazy summer days 3- grits( girls raised in the south)4-saw mill gravy 5-porch sitting 6-boiled peanuts 7-the blues 8-farmed raised catfish 9-tomato sandwiches 10-banana sandwiches 11-black-eyed peas 12-magnolias in the spring 13-the gulf 14-b.b.king 15-redbuds in the spring 16-best cornbread on earth 17-overalls are business casual 18-moon pies 19-where else can a blue tick hound sit at the dinner table(lol) and the last 20- ELVIS!!!

from Angie:
Grandma's porch swing and buttermilk biscuits. Talking "southern" when I am tired or mad, because it's always in your soul.

from Denise S.:
They have a way down South we could all take a lesson from at one time or another.Manners, most southerners still have wonderful manners and aren't afraid to use them.Accents, the most melodic sound in the world to me,my relatives live there.Food,oh baby the list is endless but a few favorites are catfish,shrimp,slow & low BBQ,hushpuppies,berry cobblers,black eyed peas and greens,crab boils,pecan pie,and beautiful woman wearing aprons.So much to love about the South!

from Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe:
Southern kindness~ gentle men~ straw hats~ gracious ladies~ sweet tea~ kudzu~ ocean breezes~ buffalo rock gingerale~ fried green tomatoes!

from Bright Meadow Farms:
Bare feet on red clay.
The lake has alligators.
Georgia, five years old.
Big farmhouse -iron beds
Family's arms spreading wide
Biscuits feather-light

from Aunt George:
I nteresting museums

L ittle shops
O ld magnolias
V iolets
E arnest folks

T arheels
H ot Cornbread
E everything Fried

S unrises
O cean
U ptown Richmond
T acos
H am

from Janet:
Catfish fries,
Pecan pies…
Kudzu jelly,“Miss Melly…
”Storytelling, Quite compelling…
Mansion ghosts,Sugar coasts…
Yakkity-yak,“Y’all come back!”

from Miz Frannie over at Freedom Valley Farm:
AN OPEN HEART ..
AND GENTLE MIND ...
THE SOUTH'S SOUL CAPTURES
THE ESSENCE OF "KIND"
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Thank you all so very much! I enjoyed all of the input and the poetry that sprang forth from your hearts.

~The Garden Goose~

Monday, August 13, 2007

Some Recipes to Share....


Today I was "errand girl"...ha. Almost sounds like I should have a cape to go with that title and be endowed with some sort of a Super Power now huh? Gee ..I wonder what type of outfit I would wear? hmm..maybe an apron and a cape together huh? Now wouldn't that be cool?..:0)
Anyhow... First I had a delivery to another sign shop this afternoon, then immediately following that I had to be at a dr's appointment with dear son..waited about half an hour in the waiting room, didn't get out of there til about 3:30...rushed over to shoe store for daughter to find a pair of shoes... then had to get to the post office...the post office way across town near home..closes at 4:30..so I had to get packages sent out today..go to the post office and they were packed..had to wait about 20 minutes in line there to get my packages sent...then back home to finish up school lessons with dear son..then afterwards had to vaccuum and straighten up some areas of the house...busy day!

At least not everyday is spent running...but "Super Mom"/errand girl" got every thing done..and saved the day...yet once again! Hooray!...ha
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Well...I have a few of my grandmother's recipes that I'm going to share tonight...
First up is a recipe for a type of pancake syrup my grandmother used to make:

KOOLAID SYRUP (makes 1 1/2 to 2 cups)
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2 cups brown sugar
1 cup prepared KoolAid (any flavor..but granny used to use the red varieties/punch types)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In small saucepan combine all. Cook on high until boiling. Cover and turn down heat. Simmer for 10-20 minutes or until thickened. Do NOT stir.
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EASY APPLE PIE
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6-8 apples,peeled,cored,sliced and cooked until tender
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup sugar
4 TBS. butter
3/4 cup plain flour
Dash of salt
1/2 cup milk

Combine all ingredients except apples.
Then gently fold in apples.
Bake at 450 degrees until crust is brown. About 20 minutes.
(grease and use a pie pan for this)
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Well..there are a few of my sweet Granny Helen's recipes that I have shared with you this evening.
My granny used to own a resturaunt many years ago(back in the early 60's) in Euphrata, Wa.
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Enjoy!

Hope you all have a lovely evening!
Thanks for joining me in "blogland"

~The Garden Goose~

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Whoa! Nellie...


Well, I decided to just jump in and start re-arranging things around here today...oh my! ha.
It becomes a full time effort..nearly all day long..moving this object from this room ..then to that room, and figuring out a new look for a room.

It's an undertaking..but after it is completed it's a very inexpensive way to get a whole new look too.

I've been re-arranging areas of my living room today..still haven't finished that yet.

Then daughter and I decided that her room can be converted to a crafting room/studio. We still have lots to tackle in there.
But we are switching out some room sets/dressers and ..well..boy howdy..you can imagine!
..ha
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Making some progress on things..and it's looking nice though.
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Well...we recieved a little bit of rain today..and for that I am glad. It has been too hot.
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Daisy the duck laid 2 eggs on the patio by my back door today..both were very thin shelled and nearly see through..she only started laying eggs last week..some have been perfectly fine, while others have been real small..then some have had the really thin shells. I was told that it takes them a while to "get the hormones in balance". I hope that eventually things balance out for her and she can lay decent eggs.
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It really hasn't been very exciting here today..just alot of room clean up and re- arranging. ...and dear daughter is excited about transforming her bedroom into a studio/crafting area.
And I'm glad that I have created a whole new look for my master bedroom...for free..ha.
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Well...I hope that you all have had a good weekend.
As of tomorrow my summer break is officially over, and I will again resume the role of teacher.
I'm actually looking forward to it..and so is my son.
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That's all for tonight...short and sweet. I'll make it up to you all later this week though...I promise.:0)
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Have a good evening!
~The Garden Goose~

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Holding on to the Memories...







We all have very precious memories in our lives that we hold on to very strongly..for me one of my memories is that of my dear Grandmother. Today marks 3 yrs. since she has been gone from my life...and I miss her terribly still.
She was such a sweet presence in my life. The one from whom I gained a love of cooking and for the simpler things in life.

So many things I remember about her.
Her lovely smile. Sitting crocheting in her room , sipping sweet tea, or iced coffee. Always every day wearing an apron.
Homemade bread baking.
The best meals your mouth ever tasted.
Making homemade noodles together.
Just sitting in silence..just free to be us.
Heart strings tied together.
Hard to describe the bond..but it was precious. So very precious to me.
Granny..I miss you.
~Tina