Julie's Jabberwock

More Autumn Pasta To Enjoy

More Autumn Pasta To Enjoy

        Autumn Has Arrived I would say that ‘Sweater Weather’ is here but we live in Florida so that doesn’t happen until around January, if at all.  But what we do experience in Florida is a cooling off.  Temps in the high …

Dirty DAWGS

Dirty DAWGS

        Bowl a Comfort Dirty Rice/Spanish Rice With Fried Kielbasa Sausage A Meal In Itself —————————————————————————- Dirty Dawgs I keep my Granddaughter anywhere between 2 and 5 days a week.  We tend to do a lot of coloring and drawing, and plenty …

All My Delicious Jezebels To Tempt You

All My Delicious Jezebels To Tempt You

 

 

 

Peacock Feathers For Luck

I was born in Georgia and lived throughout the south during my upbringing.  The South is also known as The Bible Belt.  The South has a very large religious community that comprises of many different Churches.  Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Church of God, Church of Christ, Pentecostal Holiness, and a few others….  We were Disciples of Christ, which is what Ronald Reagan was, btw.

Although my family and the people we knew were more liberal than the average Southerner.  We learned about other religions at church but in an educational way, and not in a ‘they will all burn in hell because they aren’t like us’ way.  I was certainly exposed to the Evangelical’s and their beliefs.  One thing that they would warn you about were the “Jezebels” of the world.  It was just in the culture. 

When I went off to college I was warned to ‘Stay away from the bitches and the whores.’  Although no one in my family ever said that to me… well, my Grandmother would always tell me to stay away from the Floozies and the Flossie Mae’s, it was just the culture of the South.  (I’m not excusing it, just explaining it.)  Although if anyone I knew was a Flossie Mae it was my Grandmother.  That woman could sashay!

But, when I did go off to college and I did interact with the other girls there, I found that the people that I liked the most were the bitches and the whore’s.  The bitches weren’t bitchy, they just stood up for themselves.  They were intelligent and spoke out when it was important to do so.  And the whores, well, they never judged you.  They would even look out for you when you would go out with them while the Evangelical girls would just as soon dump you on the side of the road than deal with you.  Also, the gay guys that I went to college with, it was a private fashion college in Charlotte, North Carolina, they were the best friends you could ever have.  You could go out with them at night and they would look out for you.  And the best giggles you will ever have in your life were with the gay guys!

The hypocrisy of the South is that they created a “Jezebel Sauce” that they serve at various religious functions.  Whether it is a Church Suppah, a Church Picnic, a Church Wedding….. Oh, and it is the number #1 condiment in the state of conservative Mississippi.

Which brings me to all of my Jezebel’s…..

I adore each and every one of you!

Which Is Why I Created You!

The Jezebel’s Of This World Have The Biggest Hearts…

Which Is Why I Love You All!

Julie

p.s.  Coming Christmas 2026,

A Naughty Christmas Jezebel For Underneath The Tree  🙂

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Click Here For:  Julie’s Jezebel Sauce

Our Jezebels On This Page:

The Forbidden Jezebel

With Apples

The Classic Jezebel (My Twist)

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The Latin Jezebel

(With Guava Shells and Jalapeno Peppers)

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And My:

Georgia Peach Jeze-Bells

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I Also Created An:

Aloha Wahine Jezebel Sauce

Based On Our Love Of Hawaii

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AND,

An Oriental Jezebel

Again, Based On Our Love Of Hawaii And The Asian Cultures

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AND,

An Old Florida Jezebel (Sauce)

Based On My Love Of Old Florida

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I ALSO CREATED,

One HOT Jezebel for Breakfast (Sauce, That is.)

AND,

Click Here For:  More of Julie’s Jezebel Recipes to Enjoy

I Needed An Additional Page To Place Some Extra Jezebel Recipes

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I Even Created A Halloween Jezebel:

A Haunted Jezebel, Together With A Haunted Mansion Halloween Repast

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AND,

A Valentine Jezebel Sauce

I LOVE Valentine’s Day!

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ALSO,

This Jezebel Is NUTS!

Based On My Home State Of Georgia

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AND,

A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce

(Because I love Nancy Drew and Morse Code)

Click Here For:  A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _..Sauce

I would like to add that Nancy Drew was no ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _..  .

I cannot even bring myself to say the word ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. beside her name, which is why I got the idea to put the name in Morse Code.

The reason I created a ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. sauce for Nancy Drew is because I wanted to create some sort of sauce in her honor.  She was very worldly.  She traveled the world with her father Caron Drew, and her friends Bess and George.  Nancy knew people from all over the world and also knew and respected their cultures.  She was mature beyond her young years.  She had encountered many a villain, been knocked unconscious, and had to use her wits about her to escape.

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I Love Every Single One Of You!

Julie Jezebel

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More Great Sandwiches To Enjoy

More Great Sandwiches To Enjoy

      Yet Another Sandwich Page! WELCOME We eat a lot of sandwiches.   Although we have sandwiches all over our website, whether they be interspersed with other recipe pages, or having their own website pages, here is yet another one I created. WE LOVE …

A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce

A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce

    A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce (Because I love Nancy Drew and Morse Code) I would like to say that Nancy Drew was no ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _..  . I cannot even bring myself …

65 and Beyond, (Finger’s Crossed)

65 and Beyond, (Finger’s Crossed)

 

 

 

 

On February 13th., 2026 I Turned 65

Gordon and I ‘Out and About’ on My Birthday

65 Feels Pretty Good

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When I Turned 60 I Started this Website Page:

Sixty’s, (Sensational or Surviving?), We’ll See, Right?

(If you would like to read, just click on the link above.)

I didn’t know what 60 would be like?  Which is why I started the above website page.  

I assumed that I would be blogging about any changes in my body or lifestyle.  Perhaps the ‘ups and downs’ of ageing?  My intention was that we would explore it together.

I am a very open person.  Sometimes to my detriment.  But, that is who I am, and I am not going to fight against that.

Now that I am 65, I have been in my 60’s for 5 years now.  I have been getting to know the ageing me and I am fine with it.

Yes, I have put on some weight in the middle.  That is where my pounds accumulate anyway.  They always have.

However, there is just something empowering that comes with ageing that I didn’t know in my 50’s, or 40’s, or 30’s, etc.

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Turning 65

As I like to say, Uglier on the outside, Happier on the inside.

I would not go back if I were given the chance.  I feel as if I have reached milestones that are important.  As in evolving into the person I am destined to be.  I have earned the right to be 65!  Ageing is a privilege.

If I could give my younger self a heads up, I would not!

I needed to go through all that I did to get to here.  I would not have made it if I did warn my younger self.  I have learned that the damage that was done to me by certain people in my life never had anything to do with me.  It was their damage they were inflicting on me.  I used to regret being nice or kind to certain people.  I have however learned that I should never be upset about doing the right thing.  They are the ones that should be upset that they took advantage of my kindness, and loyalty.

I don’t know how much time I have left?  Oh, as far as I know I am fine where my health is concerned.  I am just referring to life in general.

None of us really know the answers to that?  I always figured that I would die young.  No idea why?  I just always thought so.  But, before I am gone, I still have many things left that I want to do.  I’ll go when I’m ready.  I’m stubborn that way.  🙂  But for now, my granddaughter needs me.  My daughter and son-in-law need me, my husband needs me, and I need me too!  🙂

So, Here Is 65 and Beyond, Finger’s Crossed!

Julie

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BLOG ENTRIES START HERE

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Shopping At The Asian Supermarket

Shopping And Creating Recipes Does Make Me Happy

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September 7, 2026

How Much Is Too Much?
And, The Death Of A Legend
Dolly Parton in Hawai’i
(I can remember that she had a home there when we lived there in the mid 80’s to late 90’s.  When we would drive around the island we would pass by her house.  Actually, the gate to her house.  Everyone knew it was hers.)
When I write, ‘How Much Is Too Much’ I am referring to plastic surgery.  I’ve been wanting to write about this for months now.  I’m finally getting around to it.
With Dolly’s death it does kind of muddle the waters now with what all I wanted to say.  She embodied everything fake on the outside, yet possessed the most genuine of souls on the inside.  I read where someone even described her as Jesus and as strange as that may sound, I can see it.  She didn’t just become a good person as she aged, she always was a good person.
I adored her!  So did most everyone.
I read somewhere online where someone said that ‘Dolly was the string that held us all together.’  I believe that.  That is how I saw her.  Her loss is all of ours, not just her family and friends.  We lost the nicest and kindest and most generous person in the world.  I’m grieving that.  
After Dolly passed I was reading so many ‘Dolly Stories’ online.  Everyone seemed to have one.  Including me!  I went to Dolly’s high school in Sevierville, TN. in the mid to late 70’s for 9th., 10th. and 11th. grade.  My step-father was one of the only surgeon’s there at the time.  Which is why we moved to Sevierville.  I was in the marching band.  One year Dolly came to our high school, her Alma Mater, and gave a concert donating the proceeds.  Our band had just made an album that year and presented it to her as a gift.  She wouldn’t accept it until everyone had signed it.  I can remember how star struck the audience was seeing her on stage.  I don’t think I’d ever seen my friend Judy so enamored by anyone before.  Dolly was funny, charming, and she would sometimes forget the words to some of her songs and would substitute them with other words like, la dee dah, la la dee dah.  It was charming.  She made fun of something large on her body that she said people wondered was fake, and of course we’re all thinking about her boobs, but she then said, I’m talking about my nails, what are you talking about?  Our band played Hello Dolly to introduce her at the concert.  I can rememer seeing her big tour bus parked in our school’s parking lot.  
Dolly In Front Of Her Tour Bus
I enjoyed reading all the Dolly Stories pouring in online.  Of course they have since died down, but I think we are all still sad by her death.  As I said, she wasn’t just a country music legend, she was the kindest and most generous person in the world.  Now who do we have?
I originally wanted to explore how our society as a whole is embracing so much of this, I don’t even really know what to call it?  Plastic surgery?  Enhancements?  Implants?  Injections?
I would like to say that I believe that people should do what they want to do.  It is your body after all.  But coming from a medical background, not mine, my step-father’s and my mother’s, you never go under the knife unless it is absolutely necessary.  Once they put you to sleep you do run the risk that you may never wake up?  Although perhaps technology has caught up that they don’t even need to put you to sleep anymore?  I don’t know enough about it.
I also can’t tell you how many times I have read where a mother of 3 died while on a trip to Mexico for some sort of liposuction.  Why?  Was that worth it?  The children now don’t have a mother?
Kanye West’s mother died while getting liposuction.  Again, is that so important?  Joan Rivers also died while undergoing plastic surgery.  And then there is Michael Jackson and all the work he had done.  He didn’t even have a nose left.
I don’t want to shame anyone.  I think that sometimes we do things because of past trauma’s.
Sometimes when I watch T.V. I will see a very attractive woman and you can tell that her hair is fake, and she has fake boobs, injections in her lips, fake nails, and all I see is a fake person.  Some people take it even further with their fake butts.  I just think that someday aliens will come to our planet, (although I think they are already here) and dig us up and ask, ‘what was wrong with these people?’
I have a confession to make about my daughter Veronica.  When she was 5 she did have plastic surgery on her ears.  They were deformed when she was born.  She was a breach baby and I had a C-Section at her delivery.  To me she was the most beautiful baby in the world, but when I presented my perfect child to my grandmother I will never forget what she said when she saw her.  “Let’s tape those ears down.”  And it was at that point that I finally saw them.  The debate to have Veronica at age 5 get plastic surgery on her ears was important for us.  I didn’t want her to start school being called Dumbo, I myself had had a hard time growing up in so many different school’s with so many cruel children that I didn’t want her to go through what I had gone through, so my grandmother paid for the surgery.  By age 5 your ears are at about 90% growth.  They mature before your head does.  So, having confessed that do I have any right to criticize someone else for having elective plastic surgery?  I think not!
I will say this though, I do believe that there is a point where someone will take it too far.  It is at that point where I believe money should be spent to fix what’s wrong inside, and not keep spending money on the outsides.  It may make them happy for a short while, but the insecurities come back and then here comes more plastic surgery, believing that will make them happy but it never ultimately does.
One day, a few year’s back, I was watching T.V. when a commercial came on advertising The Real Housewives of somewhere in California?  The commercial had about 4 blonde women and one brunette.  All 4 blondes had the exact same long hair extensions, the exact same mini-dress (in different colors) and the exact same high heeled shoes (in different colors).  The brunette was the only one that didn’t seem to have all the fake attachments to herself.  But then again, I have no clue what work may have been done underneath her clothing.  I looked at all of them and they just looked like clones of each other.  When did that happen?  That same look is still out there and popular.  I’m not criticizing the look, I’m criticizing the fact that all these women feel that they have to look like that in order to be happy or excepted.  When did our society become so shallow?  I do blame reality T.V.  But that is a conversation for another day.
I look at my granddaughter Isabelle and she has the prettiest face.  I hope that she will always know how pretty she is and not feel pressure to change her nose, or get lip injections, or some boob job, or butt implants just to please a shallow society with the shortest attention span in our history.  When Sarah Jessica Parker was in her early years of acting the ‘establishment’ wanted her to get a nose job.  She said no, because she liked that she looked like her family, and didn’t want to change it.  That confidence comes from being born into a supportive and loving family.  I also love how she is accepting ageing, and ageing very well.  But then again, she is in a strong and healthy long marriage with children.
There is a famous family out there that you all know of with lots of girls in it, that are big influencers that change their faces quite often.  Their mother is especially pro-plastic surgery.  The thing is, they have lots of children between them and I can only imagine the lessons being taught to these children?  ‘Our faces aren’t good enough so we constantly get work done.  Therefore your faces aren’t good enough either so you will be needing to fix those as well in the future, or until your 10.’
I do believe there is this self-anointed group of people out there that make up things that they believe we all need to do, and then it filters down into our society through magazines, books, hair stylists, make-up artists, and influencers.  Once they get the celebrities to go along with them and their ideas, they know the public is not far behind.  A huge money making industry that people will throw their money at just to look like the latest big celebrity that they love and admire.  It’s quite sad actually.  So many original people wiping their identities in order to look like the latest clones out there.  Did Dolly do that?  No!  She was herself from day 1!
Dolly Parton grew up poor in the mountains of Tennessee.  I know those mountains in Tennessee very well because we did live there, but we also spent a lot of time in those mountains.  Mountain cabins, fire places, hiking, picnics, creeks, streams, waterfalls, throwing rocks, camping, etc.
When I look at Dolly, I see her poor childhood.  I see the ‘over the top’ clothing, hair, and make-up.  I see her making up for the fact that she was poor.  I see her presenting this larger than life Dolly to the world to make up for the fact that she wasn’t born ‘over the top.’
There is a relative that I have on my biological father’s side that also grew up poor.  She studied hard and graduated from high school as Salutatorian.  She went onto college and furthered her education, earinng her degrees and accumulating a lot of college debt in the process.  She is a teacher.  The thing she should be the proudest of is that she is self-made.  But I believe that her poor childhood haunts her which is why she will drive an expensive car, wear expensive clothing and shoes, and carry an expensive handbag, wanting only the finer things in life.  Not that there is really anything wrong with that.
Well, I too wear my Lilly Pulitzer designer clothing, and carry designer handbags, but I’m also known to shop at Goodwill and the Dollar Tree.  Stores I don’t believe my relative would ever do.
Whether it be good or bad, our childhood’s shape us into the adults that we become.  There is nothing wrong with that.  I just hate that with a lot of us, we are held back from becoming the people we should be because of those past trauma’s.  I know that for me I walk hand in hand with my trauatized childhood version of myself everyday.  But, I like to think that I am rewriting HER trauma and turning that into a happier functioning adult, ME.  🙂
Dolly Parton turned the hardships of her upbringing into becoming the larger than life person she became.  Not to mention the most generous.  I know that I will miss her for the rest of my life.
Julie

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July 12, 2026

Constantly Chasing Sleep

Favorite Pajamas

I can remember reading decades ago how Betty White only got about 3 hours of sleep a night.  I couldn’t believe that she could function on that minimal amount of sleep.  Then I read around the same time frame that Martha Stewart would be up at 3:00 a.m. with a flashlight out in her garden pulling up weeds.  I was so shocked that these two successful women could even function on such a minimal amount of sleep?  Well, now that I am 65, I am getting not as much sleep as I need, and not being able to function without a good night’s sleep.  I cannot relate.  I need my sleep!

My lifestyle is that I keep my Granddaughter  anywhere from 2 to 4 days a week.  Either Veronica or Brian will bring her over in the early morning hours at either 5:30 a.m. or 5:45 – 6:00 a.m.  I am always up by the time they bring her over.  I set my alarm clock for 4:00 a.m. in the morning.  I shower and I’m dressed and ready by the time Isabelle arrives.

Even though she just turned 3, we still give her a bottle in the mornings.  Even though that is a bit young for her, you have to understand that her sleep has been interrupted.  She needs to get back to sleep.  That warm milk helps her.  Whether we deliver it in a baby bottle, or a water bottle.
That also benefits me!  I need to get back to sleep in the mornings myself.  It is difficult for me to function without a good night’s sleep.  I love a good extra hour or two in those early morning hours.  That way I get to sleep in to around 8:00 or 8:30, or 9:00 a.m. in the mornings.  Being her care giver, I need the extra hours of sleep in order to function for the day.  After all, her parents don’t pick her up until around 4:30 – 5:00 p.m. on some days, and as early as 9:30 – 11:00 a.m., on other days.  Some of those days are long!

I wanted to say that I think that we justify the early morning bottle with the understanding that there are women out there that continue to breast feed into the child’s 5th. birthday.

That is not our intention.  We are just delivering the warm milk to Isabelle in a vessel that will not leak into the crib/bed, and will help her to go back to sleep, so that I can also get some more much needed sleep myself.  That’s where my heating pad comes in.  I do so love that warmth and it makes me drowsy, helping me to go back to sleep.

NOTE!  It is easier to go to sleep once you have taken a nice warm shower, day or night.  Which is usually why I tend to go back to sleep more easily after I have had my 4:00 a.m. shower on those mornings I have Isabelle.  Nice shower, and a heating pad work for me!

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I Also Think That I Suffer From  Anxiety 

On those days that I have to leave the house, I tend to have a hard time sleeping the night before.  That is something new to me.  It’s really just been since I’ve been in my 60’s that I’ve had that problem.  There is just this anxiousness and dread that I have where I am up in the middle of the night and I can’t shut my brain off in order to relax and go to sleep.  

I think some of the problem it is that America is a dangerous country to live in.   I don’t feel safe when I leave the house.  Too many guns, and too many hot-heads that own the guns.  Also, just not enough respect towards our fellow human beings.  I think a lot of people would just rather shoot you than deal with you.  Same with driving.  Even though I do the speed limit, I am never going fast enough for some people.  I think they would rather run me off the road than have to drive behind me.  Which is why I tend to make appointments or run errands on those hours where there isn’t a lot of traffic.  I also only shop in business’s where I feel safe in their parking lots.   Now that I am 65 and ageing, I am becoming more of a target to those that take advantage of that.  Always be aware of your surroundings.  Quit looking at your phones and pay attention.  It just might save your life.

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Afternoon Naps And Back Pain

Sometimes I do take an afternoon nap.  Or, I might just lay down on the couch among my comfy blankety covers and pillows, turn the T.V. volume down low, close my eyes, and just rest and relax.  If sleep follows, wonderful!  If not, then that’s o.k. too because I am resting my body and getting off my back.  Walking on these cement floors here in Florida can ruin your lower back.  When we were living in Hawaii I developed back pains from every surface in Hawaii being cement.  The reasoning behind all the cement is hurricane’s.  Then when we moved to Maryland, where everything was this nice wooden surface, my back pain went away.  Then we move back to Florida where everything has a cement flooring, and here come the back pains again.

I do wear indoor shoes, mainly smooshy, mooshy  Flip Flops.  (Or Slippers as they say in Hawaii.)  The mooshy kind have a nice comfy give that allows your foot to be more comfortable.  The downside is that sometimes they are easy to trip in while wearing.  Something I will need to be aware of as I age.

The point I was trying to make here is that by just resting and getting off my back I feel this rejuvenation that allows me to get through the rest of the day on those sleepy tired days I sometimes have.  By laying down, place a pillow underneath your pelvis just to elevate it up a bit.  For me the pain goes away immediately just by doing that.  Try it!  See for yourself.

Also, take an Advil if your back starts to hurt, OR even before it starts to hurt!  When I am about to take on a big job I just go ahead and take one.  It will prevent the swelling in my lower back which brings on pain.  It’s that inflammation you have to worry about.

I also don’t take any of those energy drinks.  Coffee is the strongest thing that I use to pep up.

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About 2 Years Ago I Moved Into The Gust Bathroom

(For Bathing And Skincare)

It’s been a few years but there was a time, a very long time, when my next door neighbor started stalking and harassing me. 

I do document it here:

Click Here For:  My Log Blog Documenting Stalking And Harassment From My Neighbor

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Gordon was working overseas and for some reason my hot-headed neighbor next door to us starting throwing things at our house at 4:00 a.m. to upset me.  It was always when I was in the bathroom or in our bedroom.  Regardless, I no longer felt safe on that side of our house, so I started bathing in the guest bathroom.  At first I just dragged a few things into the guest bathroom, not bothering to really fix it up and make it nice.  But, I have since made it nice and I’m glad that I made that switch.  I feel a lot safer.  I also feel like I have my very own bathroom just for me to enjoy.  Yes, it’s smaller.  Yes, it’s not as nice.  But, I like it! 

I still do my hair and make-up in our master bathroom, but I am never naked in there.  I haven’t felt comfortable changing clothes or using that bathroom any more.  That’s what abuse does to you.

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Just Some Skincare

I Did Not Buy Anything New Here

(I organized with things that I already had.  Seeing as how my Cindy Crawford Skincare is all purple, I found an old ‘free with purchase’ purple cosmetic bag to house some things in.)

 

I Bought Nothing New Here, This Is Plenty Of Room For Me

Sometimes I think it’s important for us to just carve out our own little niche somewhere.  A place that is just ours.  With me being the only one who uses this bathroom, I keep it quite nice and clean because I don’t share it with anyone.  Well, except Isabelle.  🙂

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Somethings that I may write about, I have also written about on other website pages.  Not everyone reads every page that I have on this website so sometimes I do repeat myself.  This is one of those times.  I am writing here similar things that I wrote on my Skincare Website Page.

Click Here For:  My Nifty 50’s and 60’s Skincare

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I Did Add Some Hawaiian Things That Were New

The Rattan Shelf Was My Grandmother’s

The Birdhouse/Beach House, Veronica painted years ago and gifted to me.

Diamond Head and the Surfboards spelling out Aloha, I purchased at a favorite Hawaii store, CocoNene.

The Blue Star Fish Veronica also gifted to me one Christmas.

And the Palm Leaf painting I also purchased from Coconene.

The Fish Photo Frame was a gift to Veronica from her friend Kara when they were 3 years old and we knew them in Hawaii.

  Looks great there.

Now You Know What My Bathroom/Guest Bathroom Toilet Looks Like  🙂

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One More Thing ….

The Little Window In The Shower

(I papered it over with Rice Paper when we first moved in.)

All My Shampoo’s and Conditioner’s

Our Diana Hanson-Young Posters From The 80’s

Autographed By Her

We Were Too Poor To Buy Prints Or Paintings Then

I Framed Them And Still Treasure Them

Dry Your Hands!

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65 And Beyond

Finger’s Crossed!

Julie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julie Barefoot 2026, (‘Puke Punaewele, (Blog)

Julie Barefoot 2026, (‘Puke Punaewele, (Blog)

          2026 A Morning Aloha (Hawaiian Kona Coffee) —————————————————————————————— Brodie In Our Backyard Plumeria Tree in Ewa Beach, 1996 ————————————————————————————- E Komo Mai Welcome to My Aloha Julie Barefoot 2026 ‘Puke Punaewele (Blog) Ready for 2026 This year will be a …

Autumn

Autumn

          UNDER CONSTRUCTION   Okra Wind Free  🙂     UNDER CONSTRUCTION Autumn Harvest Medley                     ————————————————————————————————                               …

www.VintageJulieBarefootArchives.com

www.VintageJulieBarefootArchives.com

 

 

 

I Created A New Website:

Click Here For:  VintageJulieBarefootArchives

I gave my Web Designers in India instructions on what I wanted, and they did the most remarkable job of bringing my vision to life.

I could not be happier with it!

My current website:  (This one.)

BarefootInFloridaWithJulie

..Was no longer working accurately. 

Therefore, I decided to instruct my Web Designers in India, to create a “New” Website in order for me to house some of my “Old” content.

Initially, I didn’t figure in that it would be my Florida Website Pages, but it did evolve into just that.

My First Blog Posting On The New/Old Website

I Debuted This New Site On Brodie’s Birthday, November 29, 2025

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Welcome To VintageJulieBarefootArchives.com

(As Taken From Blog Posting from the new site.)

Brodie Keith Kanakaleo Whann

I decided to create this new website because our live site, www.BarefootInFloridaWithJulie.com, was getting a bit too big.

(Admittedly, I was hoping to get a place in The Guinness Book of World Records as the largest amateur website on the internet known to man. But alas, another dream squashed by reality, or human intervention.)

I thought that if I were to create a new website and move a lot of our old content over, that it would lighten the load to our current live site, and I could make this new website about our Florida Life. So, I specifically chose website pages that were of a Florida nature. We love Florida! My ties to Florida go back to when I was a baby in the 60’s, living in Rome, Georgia with my mother, grand-parents, and great-grandparents. Every summer was spent vacationing in Florida. Also, prior to me being born, it was where my mother and her friends, and their families vacationed as well. I have some really great old photos of my grand-parents, great-grandparents, and great-aunts and uncles wearing their old fashioned swimsuits with their old timey cars parked on the beach. Once upon a time you could do that. Drive onto the beach and park your car.  Mostly on the East Coast of Florida, they had the longest stretches of beaches.

I’m the tall one with my cute petite friends.  St. Pete left, Daytona right.

I can remember the Florida vacations very well. We would leave Rome in the evening, and drive all night down to Florida. I would be asleep in the backseat, wearing pajamas.. My grand-father would do the driving. If I had to use the bathroom on the way down my grandfather would pull over to the side of the highway, they would open both doors, the front door and the backdoor, and I would take my winky-tink between the two doors. Sometimes, cars would honk as they would drive by. I was always in a panic that someone could see me. My grandmother always assured me that no one can.  (She was probably lying.)

St. Petersburg was usually our destination. My grand-father would look for Motels with a VACANCY sign flashing towards the street. He would just drive down what is now Gulf Blvd. looking for a Motel that he thought looked nice. He would then pull into those Motels and inquire within for something suitable for all of us. I can remember that we were always on the ocean side, most of the time there was a pool. I can even remember one place we stayed at where we walked out of our motel room door directly onto the beach. There was so much beach sand outside our door.

I have beautiful memories of many Florida vacations with my grand-parents. My grand-father was one to lay on his back in the ocean, floating, and falling asleep. He was a big man, very tall, with lots of cushion. He floated very easily. I can remember one time he fell asleep and was drifting out to sea, a lifeguard was blowing his whistle trying to wake him up to get him to swim back towards shore.

Most every night we would eat at a seafood restaurant. The restaurant was always located on an ocean front, or a canal front. I have so many great memories of finding little fishies trapped between the rocks by the ocean or canals. I would use a paper cup to capture them and take them back to the motel room with me. I loved having them with me in the motel room. I loved watching them. Sometimes I would set them loose the next day, if they even made it through the night. Upon reflection I wish I had known more about helping them. But I didn’t. I was just a child.

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Hello Rosy Cheeks

I remember this very well. It was at one restaurant that was busy that evening for dinner. There were many people waiting to get seated. My grand-parents and I were sitting at a table in the entryway when suddenly this cute boy sat down right beside my grandmother, he sat across from me, he then looked at me and said with all the confidence in the world, “Hello rosy cheeks.” I was in my early teens. My grandmother instantly adored him! I guess charmers must recognize each other because my grand-mother was a charmer. She then burst out laughing.

This cute, charming boy sat there flirting with me. I knew I could fall for him in a minute! But, I was just too shy to do anything about it. But, I have always remembered that cute boy that made this awkward girl feel special.

Oh, and the rosy cheeks were from my being sunburned that day from staying out too long in the sun, on the beach.

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Florida is not just a great state to vacation in, it holds so many happy memories for me and my family growing up. It makes sense that Gordon and I would settle here and live out our days until we are gone. Hopefully that won’t be for a very long time. But, until then we have a grand-daughter to help raise and make many happy Florida memories for her to take with her in life.

An old timey Motel, a Shuffleboard Court, Sun, Sand, Shells, Beach, Oranges, Orange Juice, Drawbridges, Souvenir Shops, Boat Rides, Seafood Restaurants, Summer Friendships with other Tourists, Salt Water Taffy, Vintage Beach Buckets, Sand Shovels, Flamingoes… and being Barefoot!

This is what I carry with me every day.

Happy Vintage Julie Barefoot Memories,

Julie Barefoot

(Julie Lancaster-Whann)

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Florida is Beautiful and Unique,

Located in the South, yet not Really Southern.

Although Florida is the East Coast, and Canada’s Destination

My Florida Favorites

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Some of Veronica’s Artwork 

I asked her if she had some of her art that I could display on the new website.  She sent over these.  This was all she had in her possession.  People do hire her to draw and paint for them.  I would love to had seen those paintings, but she did contribute some nice things.

Busch Gardens 

I told my guys in India that I wanted an Alligator on the bottom left, and Flamingoes on the bottom right.

I do think the landscaping you see in the graphic above looks like Africa, but then again we do have Busch Gardens here in Florida that is theme based on Africa.

  So, I guess it all goes together nicely.

Web Design is a lot of fun but it isn’t really something tangible.  I mean, the moment I quit paying the monthly fees, it can all just disappear.  Or an experienced hacker can just come along and delete the whole thing forever.  As much as I love my website’s they aren’t anything that I can hold in my hand, or place onto a shelf for display, or even own forever.  My experience with having websites is that they are very vulnerable to those that know how to penetrate them, and abuse them without any conscious or authority whatsoever.

I guess what I am trying to say is that they are very temporary, so enjoy them while you can.

 

See You At The Beach!

Julie Barefoot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Jezebel is NUTS!

This Jezebel is NUTS!

            Mr. Peanut In 1906 Omedeo Obici, originally from Italy, founded the Planters Peanut Company in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In 1916 Mr. Obici held a contest asking the public to draw a logo that he thought would best suit the company.  …

My Brunswick Stew Chicken Skillet

My Brunswick Stew Chicken Skillet

        My Brunswick Stew Chicken Skillet Dinner I love Brunswick Stew!  I grew up eating it in the South, in the Summer months, throughout the year, but especially for the 4th. of July. There is a history of the stew which I …

Italian Colazione (Breakfasts)

Italian Colazione (Breakfasts)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buongiorno a Tutti

(Good Morning Everyone)

My Italiana Breakfast Skillet

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You Don’t Have To Be Italian To Enjoy This Delicious Breakfast Skillet

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A One Skillet Breakfast With Baguette and Caffe

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This Also Makes An Excellent Dinner, Or Even Luncheon

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Excellent Eaten In Bed…

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The Boot

Italy is Shaped Like a Boot

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I Hope To Add More Breakfasts As Time Goes By

Godere,

Julie and Gordon

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Recipes Start Here

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First Up:

My Italiana Breakfast Skillet

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Ingredients:

Orange, Yellow, and Red Bell Peppers, Washed

Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, or any you Desire, Washed

(I Give The Rest Of The Ingredients As I Write The Recipe)

You will need a Cutting Board, and a Sautee Pan or Two…

Time To Chop My Bell Peppers

Also, White Onion, Chopped

(This was a large White Onion, I used about 3/4 of it.)

Chopping My Bell Peppers

6 Garlic Cloves, Minced

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In a Large Sautee Pan Drizzle Some Olive Oil..

Place the Onions into the Pan to Soften on a Medium-High Heat

This should take about 5 Minutes.

Next, add the Bell Peppers to Soften, about another 5 Minutes..

Mincing the Garlic Cloves into the Pan with the Onions and Bell Peppers

(Just Sautee a few minutes more, stirring often, until all of the ingredients are softened. 

Then remove from the heat and set aside.)

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In my Cast Iron Skillet I am adding some Olive Oil, along with a bag of Hash Brown Potatoes from the freezer.

My Spices:  (To Add Soon)

Italian Herb Seasoning

Ground Oregano

Ground Basil Leaves

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste

Hawaiian Sea Salt, To Taste

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I’m Browning my Thawed Hash Browns in my Cast Iron Skillet, on a Medium Heat – Medium-High Heat.

My Onions and Peppers and Garlic are Waiting..

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I had some Italian Sausage frozen in the freezer.  I thawed it out placed it into a small Skillet on the back burner to just warm through.

Sometimes I will cook sausage to keep frozen in the freezer to place on Pizza’s or dishes like this.

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Time To Add The Spices To My Hash Brown Potatoes I’ve Been Sauteing

I probably added a 1/4 t. of each, maybe a little bit more.

Blending The Spices Into The Hash Browns

Now It’s Time to Add My Onion, Bell Peppers, and Garlic to My Hash Browns…

..And Placing Them Into A 350F Oven For About 10-15  Minutes.

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My Sausage Is Ready, And Set Aside

Time To Remove The Cast Iron Skillet From The Oven…

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Time To Add The Cheese

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

(I just added as much as I wanted to over top my Hash Brown Medley.)

Now Place Back Into The 350F Oven For About 5 Minutes To Melt The Cheese

(When done, remove and set aside.)

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Ready To Scramble Some Eggs

In A New Sautee Pan Add,

About 7 Eggs

Butter

Milk

Melt Some Pats Of Butter Into A Sautee Pan,

Crack Some Eggs Into The Pan On A Medium-High Heat

Scramble With A Wooden Spoon….

Add A Few Tablespoons Of Milk To The Eggs To Fluff

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Eggs Are Ready, Time To Add Them To The Cast Iron Skillet

Italian Sausage Is Ready, Time To Add It To Top The Eggs

Now It’s Time To Place Some Julienne Cut SunDried Tomatoes On Top As Well

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The Herbs

Ready To Add To The Top Of The Skillet Breakfast

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Preparing The Bread

(I love bread!  I especially love it here with this Skillet Breakfast.)

I just sliced a Baguette into rounds, drizzled with some Olive Oil, placed onto a foil lined baking sheet, and placed into a 350F Oven for about 8 minutes.

  After 8 minutes I turned it on Broil to brown the bread.  It was perfect!

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With My Skillet Breakfast Ready It Is Time To EAT!

Don’t Forget The Caffe!

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Buona Giornata,

Julie

 

 

 

 

Eat Your Vegetables More

Eat Your Vegetables More

    CURRENTLY ROASTING VEGETABLES, CHECK BACK SOON!                                                              

Here’s a CLUE for Nancy Drew

Here’s a CLUE for Nancy Drew

        “I don’t promise to forget the mystery, but I know I’ll have a marvelous time“ Nancy Drew —————————————————————————— #45 The Spider Sapphire Mystery Thrilling, dangerous adventure confront Nancy Drew while on a safari in East Africa with a group of American …

My Log/Blog Documenting Stalking and Harassment From My Neighbor

My Log/Blog Documenting Stalking and Harassment From My Neighbor

 

 

(Note Update April 10, 2025:  If this harassment continues, or more damage is done to our property, then I will reveal their names here, and getting the police involved.)

 

“The pen is mightier than the sword.”

Edward Bulwer-Lytton

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Write it all down, it’s what they fear the most.

Julie Lancaster-Whann

 

Where Do I Even Begin?

2025

For those of you that know me and have read me, then you know of my account of my Cyber-Stalker of 30 years, P.  I did start a webpage of his stalking back in 2015 on this website.  Wow, 10 years ago I started writing about him.  I’ve also mentioned throughout my personal blogs the stalking that I have had to put up with and endure.  Well, he’s still in the picture.  Gordon and I were able to bring in (a 3-letter agency) to look into him.  I hadn’t really admitted much to any of that until now.  This has been about a year and a half ago that we did that.  I know these things take time, but with all that’s going on right now with that ( 3-letter agency), I’m not so sure if we are a priority anymore.

I also started a website about him that I have not worked on yet at all.  I simply sent a few photos to my guys in India and had them to create something for me.  They did, and I paid quite a bit of money for it.  I hadn’t started working on it yet for a few reasons.  First of all, I would much rather be doing other things than talking about P.  And number two, I didn’t want to hinder any investigation into him.

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This is the Original Webpage Where I Introduce you to P.:

What It’s Like To Be Cyber-Stalked

Julie Lancaster-Whann

If you do check out this webpage I started on him, you will most likely see some sabotage.  That is from P.  When I had web hosting companies in America to host and look after my site, P. had the run of it.  It wasn’t until I contacted a company in the U.K., and they recommended theses guys in India, did I finally have a more secure website.

Sad isn’t it?  I had to go outside my own country for help from my American Cyber-Stalker.

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One thing that I have learned throughout my life when I was being abused by anyone is to start a log.  Write down everything that that person does to you.  Keep a diary of it.  That’s why I started the Cyber-Stalker blog page that I write about above.  It is also why I am starting this webpage about the abuse that I am having to endure from my neighbors next door to me.

I will work on this as I feel like it.  Oh trust me, they aren’t going anywhere.  Their kind never does.

I know their type very well.   Arrogant, self-righteous, white, no respect for people or their property, or opinions that differ from their own.  They only value ‘Freedom of Speech’ when it is their own.  They easily fall in line with the herd.  A Shepherd  to herd them this way, and then herd then that way.  I’ll get into more of that later on.

You know, no where in the world do they have people like a certain segment of our population.  Nowhere!

The world does have it’s poor and ignorant.  But nowhere does any country have these kinds of people that think the way they do. They are definitely home grown.

There is something very toxic in our country’s environment that creates these people.  I know what it is, but I don’t dare say it.  I’ve touched on it though.  I even tried warning our former Canadian friends about it, who seemed to adore the republican friends they knew in Kentucky.  And I will speak of it in the future.  But talking about it now is only going to get me clubbed over the head by a caveman.  I also warned our Canadian friends that don’t be surprised if America comes after Canada someday.  If you have something they want, they will come and get it.  Funny, but she thought I was being ridiculous.  Wonder how she feels now?  I told her these things over a decade ago.

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My Camera on My Tripod Took These Photos

(The Thing Is, My Neighbors Are Probably Watching Me Right Now)

I wanted to take some photos for this blog, and seeing as how I am the only one here, I had my camera on my tripod to do it.  My husband Gordon is working overseas.  Oh, we talk most everyday.  He is in a hazard zone overseas.  He is quite valuable in his job, and we are benefiting from that.  We were thinking about him coming home permanently at the end of this year, but what with all that is going on in our country, it might be wise for him to stay over there for the next few years.  He does come home twice a year to see us all though.  He has even suggested that I come over there to live out in town near where he is stationed.  If I were to do that, I would only see him on the weekends from my very exotic location.  My answer:  I’m not leaving Isabelle.  Done!

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What has kept me going all these years is that I want to outlive P.  I want to know what life is like without him in it.  That is what has kept me going.  Will I ever know that?  I don’t know?  But now, I have a new stalker.  I never saw this coming at all.  I am an Empath, yet I never once sensed this neighbor’s hatred of me at all.  Which means that he is either a Psychopath or a Sociopath, or a Narcissist.

 I have probably only spoken 20 words to him from the time they moved in years ago.  He is probably in his early 40’s.  He is married and they have 2 children.  They have a very nice home.  Nice automobiles.  Basketball goal in their driveway, pool in their backyard.  On the surface all looks great.  I have noticed that all their cars are there all the time.  I’m wondering if he is still employed or if he is working from home, or he’s been fired?  Don’t know?

I knew they were Republican’s, but I didn’t have any ill will towards them, until now.

  I’ll get to that.

Where do I begin to document the Harassment and Abuse?

Once again, I’ll get to that in a little bit.

I want you to understand something.  Just to give you an example, why have I had a Cyber-Stalker for 30 years now?  Why?

P. was Gordon’s Best Friend From Childhood

P. started out in life with parents that had money and means.  They put him in Private School growing up.  Once he graduated, he was able to go on to college, and graduate.  I’m pretty sure his parents paid for that as well. 

I can even remember something about P. working as some DJ for a radio station while he was in college, or afterwards.  I mean, how cool is that?  He would send us these tapes of Chicago singing love songs.  I loved it!  I would play them and listen to them in my headphones when I would go for my walks when we lived in Ewa Beach, Hawaii.  It was the best of both worlds.  Great music while I would go on my walks, with views of Diamond Head in the background while I walked down the beach. 

It wasn’t until the early 90’s that P. started stalking me.  I really don’t want to go into that now.  I do have it documented in other areas.  But what I wanted you to understand is the amount of time and energy that goes into stalking anyone.

P. has stalked me for 30 years and counting.  30 years!

P. gave up having a life to stalk me.  He gave up dating, falling in love, getting married, having children….

To him I was more important than all of that.  He has spent his life glued to a computer screen stalking me.

P. started out with Microsoft.  He was on the cutting edge of technology.  In the midst of history being made.  He could have snagged a lovely intelligent woman to love and have children with.  He could have had a lovely home and even a vacation home, or two.  He could have had children and perhaps by now, grand-children.  But NO!  He gave up all of that, he sacrificed his youth to stalk ME!

Believe me when I tell you, I AM NOT WORTH THAT!

He gave up his youth to stare at a computer screen stalking me!

That is the mind of an obsessed person. 

Obsession is not love, it is obsession.  Love is healthy, love is beautiful.

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All My Flowers

Looks Like I’m In Mourning

Although I am not in mourning, I am angry.  Angry because I live in a neighborhood where there are pathetic people that feel the need to do harm to me.  Harm to someone that does nothing to them.  I don’t bother them.  I never see them.  Why is my neighbor so obsessed with me?  Well, I do have my theories.  But first you need to understand Obsession.

Obsession isn’t love.  But I dominate his thoughts each and every day.  Why would any woman want her husband or boyfriend to be obsessed with anyone?  Yet alone, another woman?

Does he love me?  Hate me?  The emotions are really the same.  Love and Hate are very strong emotions to have towards anyone.  but whether they be love or hate, he is still obsessed with me.  He gets up every morning at 4:00 a.m. and looks to see if my bathroom light is on.  If it is, he throws a ball at my house, around the bathroom windows where I am.  He does this to alarm me.  To scare me.  To upset me.

If I get up at 4:30 a.m., he’s still there.  Here comes the ball being hurled at my bathroom window to alarm me, scare me, etc. 

I want you to understand what this means:

He is going to the trouble of setting his alarm clock for 4:00 a.m., probably waking up his wife in the process, while he leaves his bed, to go outside and throw a ball against the side of my house, around my bathroom, where I am.  And, perhaps even peeking in.

Sometimes I get up at 4:30 a.m., which means that he is laying in wait for me at that time.  Which I will hear the loud thump against the wall of our house while I am in the toilet room. 

This is STALKING!

The fact that he does this to me means that his wife is o.k. with it. 

Otherwise, I would think she would intervene and try and stop him from harassing me.

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This is Vandalism, This is Property Damage

I Noticed This September 6, 2024:

The Damage Our Neighbor Has Done to Our Meters

I don’t come over to this side of our house that often.  But one day I did and I was really alarmed to see this.  This is obviously damage done through someone tampering with it.  So, prior to September 6, when I discovered it, how long has it been this way?

Can a Ball Do This Damage?  Or Did he use Something Else to do This?

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I Used Some String To Tie Them Back Together

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The Bathroom Window Facing Our Street

This is not the bathroom window he throws the ball at, but this window faces the street from our bathroom.  You can see the Plantation Shutters…

I placed a tablecloth over it because I always felt like there was someone peeking in at me early in the mornings through those slats.  Throughout the night and morning hours I have them closed but if you were to stand right outside you could probably see through the slats into the bathroom. 

Well, it turns out I was right, there WAS someone out there!

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Saturday Afternoon, Early February

I had gone shopping on this day.  I did hear the THUMP of the ball against the house early that morning.  I then climbed up on our bed and looked out the window between our houses and saw that orange and blue ball.

I’m taking the photo from our bedroom window of the space between our houses. 

That is where he lies in wait for me in the mornings.

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I wish that I had taken a photo of the ball when it was between our two houses.

When I got back from shopping I was telling Gordon about it while I was talking to him on the phone and I went over to that side of the house, picked up the ball, and threw it toward their front yard.  I’m not a great thrower, but here is where I threw it:

If you look closely you can see the orange and blue ball.

See the Ball Now?

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So, Why Does My Neighbor Hate Me So Much?

Well, I can only guess?

When I first realized what he was doing to me, I wondered if it was because I got up so early and perhaps my lights were shining into their bedroom disturbing them?  Or perhaps it was the fact that when Veronica or Brian would drop off Isabelle early in the morning that my dogs would bark, perhaps waking them up?  But then I quickly erased that because he is setting his alarm clock to get up early to harass me.  He isn’t harassing me in response to anything I am doing to him, he is harassing me for the sheer sake of it.  Not in response to anything.

So, If It’s Not My Lights, And it’s Not My Dogs, Then It Must Be…

MY POLITICS!

Although I have never talked politics with anyone in my neighborhood, I do wonder if perhaps my politics has been passed around the neighborhood as news?  It was back in 2008 when I placed my Obama yard sign on our lawn that the sabotage from my neighborhood began!  The day after I placed that sign in our yard, every neighbor around us suddenly set out their McCain/Palin signs.  Interesting.  The day I placed our sign in our front yard I was driving out of the neighborhood to do some shopping when I noticed Judy, who used to live across the street, walking on the sidewalk with her dog.  Instead of the nice happy smile and wave that I usually got, I just got this LOOK.  OH, I know that look very well!  It’s one that a hater gives you for not being like them.  I’m pretty sure Judy is the one that organized everyone placing McCain/Palin signs in their yards in their attempt to drown us out.

So Where Am I Going With This?

Judy and Michael sold their house, I believe in 2011 to a family that went to their church, our current neighbors across the street from us.  I like them.  I think they are nice neighborhood family.  But, I’m pretty sure the gossip got around that we were the “Evil Libruls” of the neighborhood.  Which the neighbors across the street might have mentioned to their fellow republican’s that live next door to us in the neighborhood.  Thus, making me a big target for the neighbor’s hate.  I’m not seen as a 64 year old woman that minds her own business, that keeps her granddaughter a few days a week, respects the neighbors privacy in the neighborhood, who doesn’t play loud music, who doesn’t have tons of people over thus blocking the street causing headaches, Oh NO!  I’m only seen as the “Evil Librul.”  (Even though they are the ones that wear the SIGN on their foreheads, if you know what I mean?)  Just sayin.’

The thing is that republican’s are very organized.  Oh, believe me when I say that my next door  neighbors truly lack the intellectual curiosity to look me up and read my website or my social media accounts on their own.  Oh no, they are on some list that is distributed by their leaders telling them who in their neighborhood is an “Evil Librul,” and who to hate and harass .  That makes more sense to me.

We do still have the Rule of Law in our country.  That hasn’t yet been eliminated.  And, I am a Paralegal by profession.  We’ll leave it there for now.  I’ll update as things happen.  It’s important to always document abuse.  You know, future lawsuits….  🙂

Julie

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New Entries Will Be Listed Here

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February, 2025

I would just like to add here that I am hearing the thump of the ball against the side of our house early in the morning many times this February 2025 month.

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March 11, 2025

I had a big day today.  Just lots of shopping in Tampa at the Air Force Base.  I had left the house around 11:00 a.m. this morning, exiting my street through the back way so that I didn’t have to drive in front of my neighbor’s house.  I am trying to do my best to not let him know when I come and go.  Anyway, at the end of the day when I was returning home at around 5:30 p.m., I debated driving in the back way where I wouldn’t have to drive in front of his house, but I then decided not to do that.  I had lots of food in the car and I needed to get home as quickly as possible, and not go out of my way to come in the back way just to try and avoid him.  As it was, it took me an hour and a half to get home due to all the traffic.

Well, he and his wife were outside in their front yard.  He was blowing leaves from the street with his blower.  She was sitting in a chair out front.  She did turn her head to look at me as I drove by.  She had no reaction.  He did use his left arm that was laying by his side to use his hand to ‘wave at me.’  It was a very sheepish wave.  He had his head down and was reluctantly acknowledging me.  I could see his embarrassment.  I had no reaction.  I just looked at them, and then pulled into my driveway and started to unload my car that was full of shopping.

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Bully’s

Joe Kee… from Sevierville, Tennessee taught me the psychology of Bully’s many years ago when I moved from Roanoke, Virginia to Sevierville, Tennessee in the 70’s.  I have even written about him in my past blog posts.  Joe Kee… sat next to me in homeroom for 3 years from 9th. – 11th. grade at Sevier County High School.  Joe was a bully.  But interestingly enough, whenever his entourage wasn’t around, he was quite nice to me.  I know that I would brace myself for the usual insults that I would receive most every morning from him.  But on those days where his friends weren’t around, nothing.  He taught me that bully’s are truly cowards.  Joe was nothing without his backup.  Just like my neighbor next door.  He is nothing without the cover of darkness.  I stared him down.  I’m not afraid of a chickenshit.  And that chickenshit, waved at me when I drove by.  Why?  Because he was exposed out in the sunlight where he couldn’t hide.  I’ve never seen such a sheepish wave in my life.  He’s scared of me.  Good!  🙂

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March 22, 2025

Buying Fence Material to Extend our Fence

Gordon came home from abroad and was here for a few weeks.  But months prior, we had decided that we wanted to extend our fence to the end of our house so as to protect me from our hot heated neighbor.  We were coming up with ways to protect me and our property from him.  By extending our fence, that would prevent him from throwing things against our house.  It would also prevent him from tampering with our property.

Gordon created a nice power point of how we wanted to extend our fence, and sent it along with the photographic evidence of the damage of our outside boxes, and a document of the abuse I was having to endure from our neighbors, to our HOA, (Home Owner’s Association.)  They then granted us the permission we needed to extend our fence.

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This is one of the presentations Gordon created for our HOA.

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Gordon Buying The Materials For Our Fence

Gordon had put up our existing fence on our property so this was no big deal for him to do the extension.

Gordon purchased our fence material from Home Depot and rented a truck from them as well in order to get the materials here to our home.

The Truck, and our Fence Material

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Bringing Everything Around To Our Backyard

(I wanted to add that Gordon can only come home for a certain amount of time each year from his working overseas.  It was quite sad that he had to spend a part of our time together extending our fence, because of our hot-headed neighbor’s abuse towards me.)

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Erecting Our Fence Extension

Gordon, along with our son-in-law Brian put up the fence extension.  We waited until Brian had a day off.  I kept Isabelle inside, while the guys erected the fence outside.  They did it all in one day!  And it is professional as hell!  As always!

This is the Space Between our House and our Neighbor’s

Most of the Property is Ours

Gordon and Brian Erecting the Fence

(With Isabelle visiting her Daddy.)  🙂

Above left, you can see that large bush that is our neighbor’s.  With our fence up, they only have about 1 foot of space between that bush and our fence.  🙂

Coming Together Nicely!

Me, Entering This Extra Privacy Space We Never Had Before

(I could sunbathe out here!)  🙂

The fence extension is up.  Gates locked.  Area contained.

I will be posting a photo of the finished results soon.

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April 3, 2025

What This Abuse From Our Neighbor Has Done To Me

Abuse always has a way of affecting us negatively.  There are many kinds of abuse.  I am only here to dictate what this abuse has done to me, and how it has affected me. 

I get up very early in the morning on those days that I keep my Granddaughter Isabelle.  On the days my daughter drops her off, I get up at 4:00 a.m..  On the days my son-in-law drops her off, I get up at 4:30 a.m.. 

Because of the abuse that I was having to endure from my neighbor I had moved most of my toiletries into our guest bathroom in the middle of the house so that I didn’t have to have that ball thrown at me when I was in mine and Gordon’s bathroom.  Also, I just didn’t feel safe and secure using our bathroom.  I didn’t feel safe in my own home.  The guest bathroom offered me more of a private sanctuary than I had using our own bathroom.  But, the thing is, I would shower at 4:00 or 4:30 a.m., with the lights off in the bathroom.  I didn’t feel comfortable turning the lights on and letting him know that I was in there.  So, I would get up, turn on the bathroom lights in our bathroom, and then shower in the guest bathroom with the lights off, hoping that he would then turn his attention towards the main bathroom, so that I could shower in peace in the guest bathroom.

Seems like a lot of trouble to go through in your own home just to have some peace.  Yet, that is my story.

Showering in another bathroom, in the dark…  Wow.  You would think you should be safe from abuse in your own home, wouldn’t you?

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I have more to tell you but it will have to wait.

Julie

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April 4, 2025

Our New Fence

For Every Action, There Is A Reaction

Here is a photo of our extended fence.  I took the photo today.  The fence is there to protect me and our house from anything our neighbor may decide to do.  The gates are locked.  If he does decide to throw something at the house, it just might get trapped inside the fence.  He would then have to hop over it to retrieve the item. 

That is when……

he Would Be Recorded on Camera… and the police would be called in.   🙂

That’s Right!  We have updated our security on our property.

(I should do something with that area.  Perhaps turn it into some sort of private garden, or a Julie Sanctuary.)

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His Action, Our Reaction

It was a few years ago when I was outside in our backyard, and our neighbors were outside in theirs, when I heard her say to her husband, ‘You know what C_____, sometimes you can be a real bastard.’

See, she knows who she is married to.

You know, we never would have even thought to extend our fence, or even go to the trouble of installing some high tech security system.  This is our Reaction, to his Actions. 

When you look at the space between our homes most of it is ours.  Our property.  Now all they have to look at is our fence on that side of their house.  It’s not our fault.  It’s his.  He is actually his own worst enemy.  Do they know that we extended our fence because of what he was doing to me?  I don’t know if they are capable of realizing that?  And if they are, does he regret what all he did to me?  Probably not.  His kind only regrets getting caught.  They never regret what they do.

Feeling Better,

Julie

p.s.  Is this now over?  That depends on our neighbors.  But, things are more secure here than they were.  🙂

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(Update:  October, 2025)

The Money We Have Spent To Protect Us and Our Property

(Always save your receipts.  You not only document the abuse, but you also document the cost you are spending to protect yourself from the abuser/s.)

I decided not to publicly post all of the costs we have spent so far.  You have to have some surprises in store.  🙂

I will say that you not only document the costs of things spent, you also document the milage on your car used in buying the materials you need.  Also include ‘Wear and Tear’ of the vehicle.  And don’t forget to include gas money.  Also, your time is worth something.  An example, back in March, 2025 Gordon had to take time out from his vacation here to erect that fence, etc.  

And lastly, always include your ‘Pain and Suffering.’

(I’ve recently come to find out that there were other neighbors that knew what was happening to me.  They even supported it.  I’ll write more about them below.)

KEEP THIS INFORMATION FOR YEARS TO COME!

Keep it in a very safe place.

The abuse may end for awhile, but when you are dealing with a Hot-Headed Narcissist, they don’t change.  They always come back at some point.  Remember that.

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April 5, 2025

Update on P. G. My Cyber-Stalker

Recently, Gordon and I came across a person who used to work for Microsoft.  We then mentioned our cyber-stalker who started out with Microsoft and all that he has done to us since.  This person then asked us what his name was?  We then told this person.  This person then looked downward in surprise, but then looked up at us and said, ‘I know him.’ 

This person left Microsoft in 2015, but said P. still worked there.  We figured as much.  When we would try and look P. up online we were always given bogus info on him.  Places of employment that he never worked at.  P. has been erasing himself from the web for years now.  But, he can’t erase former co-workers.  This former co-worker now knows all that P. has done to us.  This person also added that if P. is doing all that to us, he is most likely doing it to other people as well, and even stealing money.

I’ll leave it all right there.

Julie

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April 6, 2025

Adding A Little More Privacy

Gordon Putting Up More Bamboo Blinds on our Lanai

This side of our lanai is next to our neighbors and I wanted just a bit more security and privacy so Gordon hung these up along with one section.  I had him do both sides of this section to make it a bit more private.  We already had the blinds in our garage so the only cost here were on the hardware and some line to secure them in place.

In these photos everything is still covered up from winter.  Now it’s all been cleaned and spruced up for Spring.  I also like that I have a bit more privacy.

One More Privacy Project Coming….

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April 11, 2025

Still Not Comfortable Using My Own Bathroom

Even though we have done things to try and protect me from my neighbors I still don’t feel comfortable using my own master bathroom.  This is what abuse does to you.  It changes you.  It limits you.  It prohibits you from being the person you should be.  And sometimes it is very hard to overcome. I’m sure that I will eventually get back into my own master bathroom.  But, until then, I am using the guest bathroom because it offers me more safety and security and peace of mind.

Julie

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May 29, 2025

An Update Of My Nasty Neighbors

Through my cameras I can see my neighborhood, and my neighbors.  I’m really not one to spy.  Honestly!  I never really cared about those kinds of  things.  Those were the kinds of things my friends cared about.  ‘Hey Julie, come look at this!’  My friends always thought I was weird because I wasn’t as nosy as they were.

At first it was kind of fun and interesting to see my neighbors on the camera to come and go, walking their dogs in front of our house, etc.  I love seeing when a package arrives!  I have this big T.V. monitor that Gordon bought me so that I could keep track of everything.  It is to the left of me.  He is worried about me and wanted me to have some protection while he is away.  Our own home security system.  Sometimes it can be distracting with lots of activity that will catch my attention while I am online and cause me to look at the monitor.  Most of the time it’s pretty boring.  People setting out their trash cans, driving in and out of their driveways, etc.  .  I’ve even caught my neighbors across the street from me placing their trash bags into my can most every week under the cover of darkness because their can is full.  I find that funny.  If I were a man I doubt they would.  But, seeing as how I am a woman living alone they take advantage of that.  

However, it’s whenever I see my next door neighbors on the monitor, you know, the ones that have harassed me for so long, to have the audacity to walk by my house with their Labrador, that it just makes me sick to my stomach.  How dare they walk by my house as if they haven’t a care in the world after all that they have done to me?  That is the kind of people that they are.   The self-righteousness, the white privilege, the republicanism.  (It’s quite glaring actually.)

I still don’t use my bedroom and bathroom because of their harassment.  While Gordon is gone I sleep on the couch and use the guest bathroom.  They have literally chased me from an entire wing of our house.  I need my sleep.  I need my peace.  I am my Grand-Daughter’s main caregiver.  She needs a rested Tutu.  She needs a Tutu that is at peace in order to care for her.  I do my best.  But, I do long for the day my next door neighbors move away.

Julie

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October, 2025

Gordon Home For A Few Weeks

Installing More Blinds

We ordered these custom blinds earlier in the year when Gordon was here, but they didn’t arrive in time before he left to go back overseas. 

So he is just now able to install them.  

I wanted more privacy and security here because I do want to spend more time outside, especially now that our granddaughter is getting older, and the weather is becoming more cool, but I really don’t want to see their house, they make me very uncomfortable.  But now, I feel better.

I’d Like To Fix This Area Up Nicely, Make It A Bit Cozy

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Installing More Outside Cameras

Gordon, Ready to Crawl Through The Attic To Install The Cameras

We thought it would be a good idea to install more cameras.  Gordon and our son-in-law Brian recently installed them.  Our system has the capacity to house even more than we have so far.  Not just because of our neighbors, but because of what is to come in our country.  With our current political climate more people are loosing their jobs and being made to be poor.  Programs that used to assist them are being terminated.  They will be hungry.  Their children will be hungry.  No parent wants to see their children starve.  Crime will go up.  Why do you think so many of our current administrations cabinet have all moved onto military bases?  They know what’s coming.  And, they will be protected, but it will be up to us to protect ourselves.  I’ll leave it there for now.

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As For Our Hot-Headed Narcissist Neighbor, and His Codependent Supply Spouse….

..at Casa Del Labrador

There is no cure for a hot-headed narcissist, so therefore he will always be a hot-headed narcissist.  Men like him tend to go through life with run-in’s with the law.  And, it is usually ‘Life or the Law’ that brings them down in the end.  He will always need his ‘supply’ to support him and enable him.  Yet, Narcissists don’t seek validation from them.  (He sought it from other neighbors, I’ll get to them soon.)

Let Me Tell You What We Could Have Done, And Still Can, If Necessary

We could have called in the Police, Pressed Charges, taken out a Restraining Order against him, and he would have had to move out of his own house while we fight this out in court.

It is still an option.  We have what we need to do so.  However, I don’t believe in separating families.  Although if this continues I think I can get used to the idea pretty quickly.

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As for the Other Neighbors in our Hood that knew what the Narcissist was doing… 

(Be Our Guest)

Supporting him, enabling him, encouraging him, and even having a good laugh at my expense, well,

I’m really not surprised that this particular family was involved, both families are from the same kind of ilk, but it is disappointing.  I mean, at some point you either grow up, or you don’t.

Who thinks it’s funny to harass and abuse an old woman who most of the time throughout the year is alone, and who has never done anything to either family?  Only warped minds do.

No one I would ever want to know.

The narcissist next door has showed me exactly what kind of person he is.  But, he didn’t just show me, he showed the other neighbors that knew what he was doing, and they are o.k. with it.  One particular trait they both have in common is that they are sneaky people.  You can’t trust sneaky people.  They are sneaky for a reason.  

When you align yourself with someone that can do terrible things to people you don’t like, they can also do terrible things to you.  And that is exactly where we are right now in our own country.  Again, I’ll just leave it there.

I guess the BALL is in the Narcissist’s Court right now.  We’ll see what he does with it?

Julie

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January 30, 2026

Intimidation Tactics

You know, I wasn’t going to write anymore on any of this, unless it turned out to be really relevant, (I do have things documented elsewhere in more detail just in case), but I do believe that I should be writing about this and getting this all down on “paper,” so to speak for my readers.

Intimidation Tactics are a Form of Abuse

I not only do this for me and my records, I also do this for you so that you will understand and I hope that this will help my reader’s that are having to undergo forms of abuse from their neighbors on exactly why they do the things they do?  And know this, it is never about you.  It is always about them.  After all, we do what we do because it is in us to do it.  Period!

Even When You Don’t Bother People, It Bothers People

I do write about neighbors above that knew of the abuse from my nasty next door neighbors.  They were in on it actually.  I really hadn’t planned on talking about them anymore, but I believe that I should, you see he is a psychologist.  Funny, huh?  A “professional” who should know better.  I do wonder what kind of advice he must give his patients?  (If he even has any.) 

I can only imagine….  ‘Oh, if that person annoys you, then you should use your automobile to shine your bright lights into their house to annoy them.  Or better yet, throw things against their house at 4:00 in the morning just to scare the old woman, maybe you’ll get lucky and she’ll have a heart attack.  Yes!  Intimidation tactics work well on women who live alone.  Or better yet, park your vehicles so that they face her house, using a ‘show of force’ to let that bitch know who’s boss!’  Yeah.

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It was Tuesday morning when I was placing my mail into my mailbox that the neighbor I write about above, was taking his children to school.  I avoided looking at him.  I have nothing to say, or any reason to acknowledge that family.  When he returned home he backed his big red truck into his driveway, literally taking up the entire space.  No other car could have parked on either side of him.  I thought that was funny seeing as how he had nothing to unload in the back.  Instead of seeing a big bad red truck with a big man driving it, I saw a Puffer Fish.

(Oh, and know this, people that drive red vehicles are more likely to get traffic tickets.  He should know.  I looked him up, and he had to pay big traffic court costs in his past.  Yeah.  Actually, I discovered in my research that white men in his income bracket and political affiliation tend to rack up big court costs from traffic violations.  It makes sense really, they don’t like to follow rules and laws, but they expect everyone else to.  In other words Freud was right, it really does all boil down to THAT.)

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Inflating One’s Self

The Puffer Fish are small, and they puff themselves up to appear larger than they really are in order to scare others.  This is generally something that men tend to do more so than women.

My response:  ‘Look at the cute little puffer fish!  Aren’t you so cute!  Yes, you are a big, bad, boy!  Oh, I’m so scared!’  🙂

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Yeah…

He may be a psychologist, but I know psychology.

I’m sure there had to be a class on ‘The Smartest Person In The Room?’  The Axel Foley Affect?  No?

Well… that explains a lot.

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To Continue…

On Thursday I drove into the Air Force Base to do some much needed shopping.  I hadn’t been there in awhile.  I was getting low on all my supplies.  When I do go into Tampa I tend to stock up on everything.  Especially bulky items.  Shopping on the base is much cheaper than the local grocery stores.  

Thursday’s Shopping

I left the house around 10:00 a.m. and I got home around 3:30 p.m.  As I was unloading my full car, (as you can see), my neighbor was leaving to go and pick up his children from school.  When he got back, I was still unloading my full car.  As he was pulling into his driveway I was placing a few bags inside my garage.  When I walked out of the garage to unload some more, all I saw was a FLASH!  A blur!!  I saw what looked like a flowered blouse dash into his garage.  It wasn’t a cool Aloha Hawaiian Shirt, it looked more like he had raided his mother’s closet and chose an old Laura Ashely blouse to go with his baggy shorts and flip flops.  He was in his garage before his children even exited the truck.  What I saw was a chickenshit running inside his house to get away, to hide.  I did learn something that day.  They haven’t told their children about any of this because otherwise his children would have been a bit awkward.  They weren’t.  They were just being normal teens.  

I do know that when we were being harassed by Leisa, John and Ed, the Gray Haired Bullies in our neighborhood, because we were Obama supporters, that I did tell our children about it so that they would be aware and alert, as in looking out for nails in the driveway, etc.  (I wrote about The Gray Haired Bullies years ago.  They are all dead now.  But my blog exposed their harassment of us, just like this blog is exposing this harassment from these people.)  

The more they give me something to write about, the more I will!

Julie

P.S.  I would wait for them to grow up but I don’t have that kind of time!

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One thing I have learned from all of this is that I need to be more aware of what goes on in my neighborhood.  Prior to this abuse and harassment, and before we put up cameras, I never really cared about what went on outside my front door.  Oh, there were times when I saw a car parked out front that I would look out the window to see who it was?  Especially if it was at night.  After all, I have had a cyber-stalker for over 30 years.  He has hired people in the past to photograph me, our cars, and our house.   Also, seeing as how I do live alone I feel more of a need to be aware of my surroundings.  Gordon is still working overseas, he will be home soon and we have a lot planned while he will be here.  He is looking into coming back permanently.  He is living and working in a danger zone after all.  And I do fill him in on the neighbors, and the neighborhood so that he is aware of it all.

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Just Some More Observations….

I have noticed throughout my community that I live in that there are ‘For Sale’ signs that have been up for quite a while.  I can remember when houses like that were snatched up quickly.

My nasty neighbors next door to me have had what looks like a giant panty shield wrapped around their chimney for about 5-6 months now.  I got a letter in the mail from their “roofers” dated October 24, 2025, informing me that their roof would be going up in a few weeks.  That was months ago.  Looks to me like they don’t have the money to get it fixed.  You know, I could complain to the HOA who could then force them into getting it fixed, or fine them until they do?  After all, I asked for a backyard studio and they nixed that because they said the neighbors may not like looking at it from their homes.  Well, do you think I enjoy looking at a giant panty shield wrapped around their chimney?  See, I can actually do more to these people then just write about them…  🙂

I have also noticed that a particular woman in the neighborhood has gone back to work full time.  Guess they must need the money?  That is why you go back to work, isn’t it?  What?  Is the current Administration’s economy not working for them anymore?  Well, you deserve and get what you vote for.  But sadly, so do the rest of us that knew better, voted better, etc.  we also will be getting exactly what they deserve.

When you vote for the political party that does for the lowest in our society, then everyone above that line will be o.k.  However, when you vote for the party that does only for the wealthy?  Then no one below that line will be o.k.   Hence, where we are today.

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You know, I really do hope that this will be my last blog entry on this page. 

But it really isn’t up to me, now is it?

Julie

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February 10, 2026

Just An Update:

Looks like the nasty neighbors next door are finally getting a new roof.

Good, because I’m tired of staring at that Panty Shield from our bedroom window.

 

Guess they finally came up with the money.

Julie

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February 14, 2026

P.S.  It’s a Cheap Roof

The nasty neighbors new roof is up.  Cheap materials were used, (paper, not laminate.)  Which is originally why they have had a bad roof all along.

It was back in 2011 when this couple who used to live across the street from us, but now reside in Texas, got several neighbors in our neighborhood to all go into getting new roofs together.  It was going to make it much cheaper for all, with Michael and Judy’s roof being either free or at a huge discount.  (Right wingers are very good at networking.  This is yet another example of that.)

We were asked if we wanted to go into it, but we said no.  It just didn’t feel right.  Good thing that we didn’t because every single family in our neighborhood that did that, got really shoddy, cheap roofs.  Of course Judy and Michael quickly sold their house and moved away before the true damage was revealed.   Every single neighbor that went in on that con have always had problems with their roofs, even shortly after they were installed, either to have them redone, or patched here and there.

The nasty neighbors new, ugly roof will probably last a good 7 years if they are lucky?  Perhaps they went the cheap root because they will be selling their house and moving soon?  🙂

One can hope!

However, realistically, worse can always move in.  But there is just something about that house that attracts the worst kind of human beings.  We have been here for 3 families that have lived in it.  None of them were ever worth knowing.

Julie

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May 14, 2026

Hoping This Will Be My Last Post Here

I think I will be taking down this website page from the Homepage.

Oh, it will still be on my website, just perhaps not on the front page.  You can still access it by saving the link into your Favorites, or using the Search button on my website.  I would much rather be blogging about recipes and gardening than a neighborhood asshole.

Some Advice As I Move On

First of all, moving on isn’t as easy as it seems like it would be.  I do sleep in the master bedroom now, only because my husband is back home from working overseas and I feel a little bit safer.  But, I still will not use our master bathroom.  I shower and do my skincare in the guest bathroom where I feel more comfortable.  I do blow dry my hair in the mornings in our main bathroom, but I am dressed and I don’t feel as vulnerable.  And I do my hair and make up in our master bathroom, but only when it is light outside.  I will not use the toilet in the master bathroom because I just don’t feel safe and comfortable whether it be day or night.  If I have to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I walk all the way to the guest bathroom.  A long way to walk, but that is what abuse does to you.  It changes you.  This is why people are awarded money for pain and suffering.

Turn Your Log Over To The Police

Everything that you have been recording whether it be your typed or written log documenting the harassment and abuse, or the video/audio evidence that you have collected, or the photographic evidence you have collected, can be turned over to the police.  Make 3 copies of everything!  Keep one for yourself in a very safe place, give one to someone you trust for them to keep in a very safe place for you, and give the police the 3rd. copy of everything. 

You don’t have to file charges against the person that is harassing you, you are turning over your documentation that will be kept in your record for any future problems that may emerge with that person.  In which case, all you have to do is alert the police that you are filing charges, and then you go from there.  They already have your documentation on file.

If you are someone who retains an attorney on a regular basis, then make sure the attorney has everything, along with all of your receipts.  Also, document how this abuse has affected your life and relationships.  Have family members to add to the documentation as well.  Everything you can contribute will help your case.

Most likely my hot-headed neighbor will be getting into more trouble in the future.  Perhaps not with us, but with other people.  That is who he is.  If he can do this to me, a woman in her 60’s that he thought was all alone, then imagine what else he can do to other people or animals? 

Cowards prey on the most vulnerable.  Which reminds me of that hot-head from Washington State that threw that big rock at Lani, the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal in Maui.  There are only about 1600 of them left.  The Hawaiian people were rightly upset about it.  As we would be here in Florida if that hot-head had thrown some big rock at one of our Manatees.  It’s white privilege that motivates these kinds of people into doing such terrible things to other human beings and/or animals.

Karma Catches Up To Us ALL!

If you are in a situation where it looks like your abuser is getting away with it, I assure that you he isn’t.

My definition of Karma is something we do to ourselves.  I don’t believe it is some punishment from above, I believe it is life catching up to us.  If we keep doing ‘that thing’ that we are not supposed to do eventually ‘that thing’ will be our undoing.  The thing is that most people don’t stop doing ‘that thing’ unless they are made to.  And, they eventually get caught in ‘that thing’ because they never stop doing ‘that thing.’  Why don’t they stop?  Because they keep getting away with it so they figure they always will get away with it.  Let’s ask Bill Cosby about Karma.  Or O.J. Simpson, just to name a few.

I’ll give you an example. 

If someone shoplifts every day for 5 years and gets away with it, if they don’t stop then eventually they will get caught.  Either technology will catch up to them, security cameras will see them, or they will be witnessed by someone, or someone taking selfie’s might capture their stealing in the photograph on their phones.

But, if that person stops right now, they will most likely get away with everything they have stolen thus far.  However, that’s not how most humans react.  That’s not how most humans think.  They keep stealing because they’ve gotten away with it so far.  They also get sloppy.  Their arrogance gives them this sense of superiority, that is when they get caught.

You don’t have to take any revenge, they end up destroying themselves in the end.  Just let them do their thing and collect the evidence while they do it.  🙂

 

The End,

Julie

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One More Thing:

It has been updated that the Hawaiian Monk Seal that was hit by that horrible Washington State man when he threw that huge rock, was not Lani.  NOAA has determined that it was a male Monk Seal that he hit.  I just wanted to clarify that.  I also wanted to state that the man is being charged with Harassment.  That is one of the charges.

I don’t think that most men understand what harassment is?  How is my nasty neighbor throwing things at my house doesn’t understand that is harassment?  Just like the man from Washington State.  Perhaps men should attend classes on being respectful?  It would also benefit them.  Otherwise they will just end up in prison eventually for their actions and behaviors.

 

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July 27, 2026

I Brought Back My:

What It’s Like To Be Cyber-Stalked

I also did an update on the website page.  I took it down for personal reasons but I decided to bring it back.  I will also be slowly bringing back my many other personal blog pages.  I took them down because of the climate in our country that we are living through right now.   Intelligence is the enemy in our country right now, where ignorance is thriving.

Julie

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September 23, 2026

I did another update to my:

What It’s Like To Be Cyber-Stalked

If you care to read it click on the link above.

Julie

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September 23, 2026

My Neighborhood STING Operation

(They will never know how close they came.)  🙂

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Under the Florida Litter Law Statute 403.413:

It is illegal to Throw, Place, or Deposit Trash into Someone Else’s Dumpster or Garbage Can Without Their Permission.

That action is Prosecuted as Littering and Trespassing.

Any violator can be sentenced to 1 Year In Prison, and a $1,000.00 fine.  That is Per Violation!

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Our neighbors across the street have been using our trash can, and recycling can as his personal property for years now.  I have 6 months of video saved up on our cameras of him sneaking over to our property very early in the morning while it’s dark, and placing 1 or 2 bags at a time in our containers.  He has NEVER asked for my/our permission.

He has always been a very sneaky man as it is.  I finally started saving the videos of him.  What really gets me is that he believes that our property is his to do with as he pleases.  I don’t view my neighbors in that way, nor have I ever!  Once again, white privilege at it’s best!  Oh, and for the record, we too are white.  People think our last name is either Asian or Mexican, it’s actually Welsh.  Yes, European, as in Prince of Wales, ya know?

We may be white but we do not carry the arrogance that so many other white people have here in our country, especially towards minorities, or people they don’t like.

Our cameras do have the goods on the man across the street, but I also started photographing their trash can when when they set it out with my camera.  (Once a photographer, always a photographer.)  It is usually overflowing, which is why he would bring their overage to our cans, but that is not our problem.  They are a very large family and generate a lot of waste.  Again, that is not our problem!

When Gordon was working overseas the man across the street would literally view our trash and recycling containers as HIS!  In some cases my trash wasn’t picked up because of some utility vehicle blocking it so the garbage collectors couldn’t get to it.  That is when I would have to drag my trash back to the backyard as it is heavy as hell because of the extra bags put in it by my neighbors.  I then didn’t have room to place new bags of my own trash in my container for the next pick up, because it was so full from those extra bags from them.  One time earlier this year I placed some trash into it after they had dumped their rubbish into my can and there was this taffy candy all in it.  You know, those Starburst taffy’s?  I figured it must be their old Halloween candy that they threw in there last minute.  That would be when my trash wasn’t picked up for some reason that day, and I had that stuff melting in my container for the next few days that I had to then clean out.  

When we had Safelight to replace my car windshield a few months ago because of a large crack in it, the repairman was here and had placed his equipment draped over the top of our trashcan while he attempted to align the new window and to calibrate it.  He happened to come to fix my windshield on “Garbage Day.”  That is when the neighbor across the street had the audacity to walk over to our property and lift up the lid to look into our trash can while that expensive equipment was draped over top.  Who Does That!!!!???

I asked my husband why he didn’t say anything to him, and he said that it was because he was so surprised by that behavior that he didn’t know what to do?  You know, we should be used to this kind of behavior from our neighbors by now, but yet they still manage to surprise us.  We have just never known such selfish people before.

If we do find any of their trash in our containers from now on the first thing we will do is to weigh it.  The heavier, the more prison time, and then document and photograph it.  We may even open it up and look in it.  Anything personal I will photograph and put online.  Most likely in my Instagram account as well as my website.  After all, if they are dumping it on our property we will then have a right to it.  Another reason I don’t want anyone placing their trash or recycling in our cans is because for all we know it could be a dead animal or something illegal.  Luckily we do have our cameras to record the incidents to help protect us.

I do have to admit that I have been hesitant to call the police and file charges, but sometimes that is what you have to do.  I haven’t noticed him dumping his crap into our cans in a while now, but who is to say he won’t start that back up?  Which is why gathering evidence is so crucial.  All I have to do is to hand over a thumb drive of him to the police and let the law take it from there.

Julie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Typing with Julie in 1965, (I mean Blogging with Julie in 2025)  Dear Diary…

Typing with Julie in 1965, (I mean Blogging with Julie in 2025) Dear Diary…

        Dear Dairy… Olive Films (I just liked the logo.) Today I rearranged the cans in the pantry and dusted them off while wearing my new full skirt I sewed last week for the church picnic, and the pearls that my husband …

Southern Fried Shortcut

Southern Fried Shortcut

 

 

 

 

Hey Y’all!

Every now and then I need to go back home.  Oh, not literally. 

But with my Tongue Feelers.  You know, Taste Buds?

Growing up throughout the south you get a hankering for something Deep Fried, Black-eyed, Field Picked, and Green.

And all the other fun stuff in between.

That is what I want to put here.  I do hope to fill this page with some of my Old Southern Favorites that I miss so much.  So, come on in and sit a spell while I whip us up some good ol’ home cooking.

Holler if ya need me!

Julie

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Southern Wild Rice with Pecans and Dried Cherries

Don’t Forget The Hot Sauce

Chicken Gizzard Po’ Girls, Corn on the Cob, Catfish, and a Leftover Bowl of Brunswick Stew

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The Star Food on this Table is the Southern Wild Rice

Sometimes It’s The Sides That Shine

(Recipe Down Below)

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Julie’s Corn Pepper Muffins

With a Side of Lightening Bugs  🙂

(My recreation anyway.)

(Recipe Down Below)

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My Pepper Butter

Before Left, and Buttered, Right!

With Tabasco

(Recipe Down Below)

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If You Would Like To Check Out My Brunswick Stew:

Click Here For:  Brunswick Stew and Barbeque

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Southern Fried Recipes Start Right Here

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Southern Wild Rice with Pecans and Dried Cherries

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Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Wild Rice

2 Cups Water

2 1/4 Cups Vegetable Broth

1 T. Margarine or Butter

3/4 – 1 Cup Toasted Pecans

4 Garlic Cloves, Crushed

1 1/4 Cup Dried Cherries

3 T. Spicy Chili Onion Crisp

Table Salt and Pepper to Taste (This is the South after all, nothing fancy here.)

And, as much Fresh Parsley as you want.

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Gathering All My Utensils and Ingredients

You First Want To Rinse The Wild Rice Thoroughly, Then Allow To Drain

Place The Rice Into A Wok, or Large Sauce Pan, Add the Water, Vegetable Broth, and Butter.

Bring to a Boil over a Medium-High Heat.

When It Comes To A Boil, Turn Heat Down To Simmer

Cover, and Allow To Simmer for about 20-25 Minutes.

When the rice has absorbed all the water, keep it on a very low heat.

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Time To Crush The Garlic Cloves

Now, Add Them To The Rice

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The Pecans

Place the Pecans into a Skillet, and Toast them on a Medium Heat until a bit Browned, but not Burned.

The Pecans and the Rice

Time To Add Some Table Salt and Pepper to the Rice

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I Toasted The Pecans in my Cast Iron Skillet, Now I am Adding the Rice Overtop

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Time To Add The Dried Cherries, As Many As You Like

Now For The Spicy Chili Onion Crisp

Add As Much As You Like Per Your Personal Tastes

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Now It’s Time To Add The Fresh Parsley

And the Pepper Sauce (Hot Sauce)

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Beautiful Corn

I didn’t want anything fancy here.  Just some delicious Corn on the Cob as a nice addition to this meal.

Just boil some water and add the corn.  Cook on a medium-high heat until the cob is a bit tender.  You can follow package instructions.

When Done, Remove From the Water, Pat Dry, Add Corn Holders and some Butter!

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Chicken Gizzard Po’Girls

In the south we do so love the Chicken Gizzards.  You will even find them around the Salad Bars at some local restaurants.  I had been craving my old Chicken Gizzards, that’s when I decided to make this sandwich.  I really didn’t want to do any pickin’ or fryin’, so I visited a local restaurant that did all of that for me.  I knew it was a good place to eat given the amount of African-Americans in the restaurant.  They know Southern food!

My additions, are what goes into the Po’Girls.

Here We Go!

Ingredients:

You Will Need Some Sort of Hoagie Buns

Slaw, Raw or with the Fixin’s (Meaning, you can add Coleslaw plain, or with the dressing.)

Honey Dijon Dressing (Or any that you like to add over the top of the Po’Girl.)

Sliced Jalapeno Peppers

Chopped Pepper Salad

Fresh Chives, Snipped

Fresh Parsley, Over top

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Creating The Po’Girls With the Catfish on the Side

(The Catfish I also purchased at a local Southern restaurant here.)

Use a Bread Knife to Cut Out the Top of the Hoagie Buns

Now, Fill the Hoagie Buns with the Pepper Salad, and Raw Coleslaw

Then Add Your Chicken Gizzards, Chives, Jalapeno’s, and Dressing.

Top With Fresh Parsley

Look How Beautiful!  And Delicious!

Git Ta Eatin!

DIG IN!

Julie Barefoot

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My Corn Pepper Muffins

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Ingredients:

Peppers!

I Used Jalapeno, Poblano, and Chilaca, use as Many as you Like

Making Corn Bread

Half of the ingredients that you see above are listed on the container of Corn Meal. 

I am using that recipe to make my Cornbread, I’m just adding the additions that will make it my Corn Pepper Muffins.

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My Additions:

(The Peppers, Cleaned, Seeds Removed, and Cut into Short Strips)

Shallots, Chopped

1 Can of Mexicorn, Drained

Spices:

Tabasco Spicy Salt Blend

Onion Powder

Cajun’s Choice Blackened Seasoning

Cayenne Pepper

Chili Powder

Jalapeno Sea Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

(The amounts really are up to you.  I used about a 1/2 t. of each.)

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I Used Crisco To Grease My Large Muffin Tins

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Chopped All My Shallots Whether I Used All of Them or Not

(I will need them in the next recipe.)

———————————————————————————-

The Peppers

Slice each pepper, remove the seeds, rinse them out…

Like so…

Then you want to slice them into short strips.

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Making My Cornbread According to Package Directions.

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My Secret Ingredients:

Tabasco Spicy Salt, and Jalapeno Sea Salt

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Combining My Cornbread Ingredients:

The Dry Ingredients

The Wet Ingredients

Beating My Eggs

Adding Vegetable Oil…

Adding My Spices to the Cornbread Batter

Adding a Handful of my Shallots

Mix Together

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All My Beautiful Peppers

—————————————————————————————-

Time For The Assembly

Turn Your Oven on 400F

I placed a few of my Peppers into the bottom of the large muffin tin.

  I then added some of the Cornbread batter over them.

I then added more peppers over the top and pushed them down with my fingers to make sure they were covered with the batter.  Although I wanted many of the peppers to be on the top.

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Into The Oven They Go!

These Actually Took Around 20 Minutes To Bake

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Fresh Out of the Oven and Cooling on the Racks

(You can insert a toothpick to make sure they are done.  If the toothpick comes out clean, they are ready.)

I Love How They Look!  It Is Exactly How I Envisioned!

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Out of the Tins and Cooling Further

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Add a Few Squirts of Tabasco  🙂

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Leftover Peppers for my Pepper Butter

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The Potatoes Here Are Some of What My Butter Will Go On

(I just need to bake them.)

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My Pepper Butter

Ingredients:

3, 8 oz. Unsalted Butter

My Leftover Peppers From the Recipe Above:

Jalapeno, Poblano, and Chilaca

5-6 Fresh Garlic Cloves

Chopped Shallots, About a Handful

Spices:

Tabasco Spicy Salt Blend, (About 30 Shakes)

Onion Powder

Cajun’s Choice Blackened Seasoning

Cayenne Pepper

Chili Powder

Jalapeno Sea Salt

(I used a teaspoon of all of the above spices.)

Fresh Cilantro, a Bunch

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My Unsalted Butter Had Been Softening For About 2 Hours

I Then Cut It Into Cubes and Placed It Into My Blender Here

I Used a Medium Setting on the Blender To Mix The Butter

I Then Added All of My Spices, And Blended More

My Peppers, Shallots, Garlic Cloves, and Cilantro

I Used Most of the Peppers you see Above, but not All.  I did use all of the above Shallots.

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Adding My Garlic Cloves and Shallots

Blending Away, While Wiping Down the Sides with a Spatula

Time To Add The Green Stuff

(My Peppers and Cilantro)

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Looking so Good!

Decant Into A Bowl

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I Even Added Some Butter Into Jars To Freeze For Another Time

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I have to say that this is some of the best butter I have ever eaten!  I kept spreading it onto mini toasts and I had to stop myself from eating it because after all, it is butter!  I didn’t want a heart attack.  🙂  However, eaten in nice portions it is safe.

Baked Sweet Potato, Baked Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, and my Pepper Muffins, Before the Butter

(With a small side of Green Beans)

The Pepper Butter

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With The Butter

The Butter is very Spicy and Addictive, Along with the Tabasco

See Y’all Later!

Julie

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn Breakfasts

Autumn Breakfasts

    Autumn: The third season of the year, when crops and fruits are gathered and leaves fall in the northern hemisphere from September to November and in the southern hemisphere from March to May. The Countryside is Ablaze in Autumn —————————————————————— In Florida, the …

Our Mexicana Thanksgiving Dishes

Our Mexicana Thanksgiving Dishes

        Feliz Accion De Gracias (Happy Thanksgiving) 2023 Thanksgiving Day, After the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I have Miracle on 34th. Street on a Loop All Day Long This movie is the sounds of the day, blending with the smells of the …

Raglan Road, October, Disney Springs, Florida

Raglan Road, October, Disney Springs, Florida

 

(The men in the photo top left, are Gordon and our son-in-law Brian.)

 

 

Disney Springs, Orlando, Florida

(Gordon, Julie, Mackenzie, and Brodie)

Cheers to the Day!

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(Veronica and Brian)

They walked right by us without even noticing us sitting there!  🙂

Doing Some Shopping

“Look Gordon, just get in line and I will bring you things to pay for.  Trust me!  I’ll be right back!”

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Brochures with Maps to Help Navigate You

Notice the retaining wall?  That was done so that no one will sit on it.  They would much rather you sit in their eating establishments where you will spend money on food or drink.  But no, they don’t care how tired you are, or that you may need to rest.

Ah, any body of water invites those that love to throw away their money while making a wish.

Whoever invented a wishing well is a genius.  🙂

It is very beautiful here.

Disney Springs is located in Central Florida near all the Disney Parks.

It is a nice place to go and spend an afternoon, or an evening, enjoying the shopping and restaurants, strolling around and just taking in the beauty of it all.  There is a movie theater as well.

This was actually our first outing as a family (October 2022) since the Pandemic began.  This is also the first time that I hadn’t worn a mask in public since March, 2020.  It was important for all of us to get together and celebrate a bit.  And we did!

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Vintage Candy and Toys

I had put together Halloween Goodie Bags for everyone. 

Because our theme was Rear Window Scene 14, from the 1950’s, I purchased vintage candy.  Here, I put together the gifts to give to our children.  They seemed to enjoy it.

Cute Halloween Spatula’s Were Included

We Also Gave Them Some Halloween Cookbooks (Not Pictured)

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Cookies From Gideon’s at Disney Springs

(Love the Gargoyle)

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Raglan Road

Veronica and Brian chose the restaurant. 

And nothing could have been more perfect that Raglan Road, Irish Pub and Restaurant.

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Veronica, Mackenzie, Brodie, Brain and Gordon

Having a Cocktail While we Wait for our Table

Gordon and Julie

Our Gideon’s Cookies

(Compliments of Brodie and Mackenzie)

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My Pirate Queen Cocktail

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It is a really nice place with a great atmosphere.

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Inside Raglan Road

Love The Ceiling

Mona Lisa, Got Guinness?

Our Table

Studying The Menu

Eating Some Apps

(Soda Bread and Guinness Reduction)  🙂

So Good!

Sharing All of the Apps

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Fish and Chips, All MINE!

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The Entertainment Was Very Nice

We Were Right By The Stage

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Shop For Ireland

Brian, Trying on Celtic Rings

WHAN, Irish?

Some of the WHAN History

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Funny Story…

Brian lost his wedding ring.  So, Veronica wanted to buy him another one. 

That is why Brian was trying on rings in the Irish Store.  He chose a beautiful Celtic Knot and we told Veronica that she needed to put it on his finger all over again.  And she did….

Brian hates all this attention.  Especially when I whip out my camera and aim it his way.  🙂

Wedding Vows All Over Again

P.S.  Brian lost this ring too!

He is a fireman, so perhaps it just slips off his finger.  But, regardless, I wouldn’t buy him another.  🙂

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Watching the Balloon

We Are On Top Of The Parking Garage To Leave

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We all had such a great day.  Happy to be out and about and having some fun with the people that we love.  Great food and family.

I will tell you this.  Our Raglan Road dinner bill came to just over $350.00.  We used our Disney card to pay the bill.  We did that because we were in the Disney grounds and wanted the Disney Dollars that came with using the card. 

But, when our Disney credit card statement bill arrived a few weeks later, we noticed that Raglan Road had charged us over $600.00!

Because I saved the receipt, we sent a copy of it to our Disney Credit Card and they erased all the extra money that was charged on our card without our permission.  We were very generous to our waitress.  We always are because we know how hard they work.  However, we do not appreciate being taken advantaged of.

Will we ever go back?  Sure! 

We’ll just pay cash next time so that they can’t scam our credit card again.

Julie and Gordon

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To View Our Other St. Patrick’s Day Website Pages:

Click Here For:  St. Patrick’s Day

AND,

Click Here For:  St. Patty’s Day Snacks

AND,

The Luck of the Irish (St. Patrick’s Day)

AND,

Click Here For:  Raglan Road, October, Disney Springs, Florida

AND,

Click Here For:  How to Make Guinness Beer Reduction (W/ Recipes)

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Cornbread, Nuff Said

Cornbread, Nuff Said

          Currently Baking in Grandmother Keith’s Oven Deliciously Cooling… ————————————————————————– I LOVE Cornbread! If you were raised in the south, before the internet brought us all together culturally, then you grew up eating Cornbread religiously.  We loved it whether it was …

Middle Eastern Our Way

Middle Eastern Our Way

        Welcome to Middle Eastern Our Way (A.K.A. MEOW)  It’ll Catch On.  🙂 We are Gordon and Julie, and we love food of all kinds from all nations.  Arabic Coffee Beans Gordon has traveled to many Middle Eastern countries during his time …

Thanksgiving Lite, and Leftovers

Thanksgiving Lite, and Leftovers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Morning and Happy Thanksgiving! 

(2022)

Just in Time to Watch The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Oh Look!  It’s The Tarpon Springs High School Marching Band

From Tarpon Springs, Florida

They closed the parade! 

Actually, they performed right before Mariah Carey sang ‘All I Want For Christmas’, and then Santa Clause made his appearance to close the parade.

So very proud of them, they did such a great job!

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An Al Fresco Thanksgiving Lite

When it comes to Thanksgiving, I don’t think that we associate the word “Lite” with the holiday. 

But, perhaps we should start to think that way.

Eating a large Thanksgiving meal won’t hurt you but, eating all those Thanksgiving leftovers just might.  Eating one large meal is fine, but most American’s eat that large meal over, and over again, until the leftovers are gone.

Turkey Soup

A lot of us will then turn our leftovers into things like Turkey Soup, Turkey Casseroles, or Turkey Sandwiches/Panini’s, just to eat up the leftovers and yet have them taste differently at the same time.

Here are our Panini’s

(Kind of like a convenient Hand-Held Thanksgiving Lunch/Dinner)

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This particular Thanksgiving consisted of Turkey Soup and Panini’s. 

It was light (lite), delicious, and pretty easy.  We actually spent less time in the kitchen, and more time enjoying the day.

Oh, our Thanksgiving’s won’t always be like this.  It won’t always be just the two of us.

  But, when it is, meals like this are perfect!

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Souvenir’s From our Cross Country Trip out West in 1992

We saw many a Native Community and visited many Reservations.  I even started a charm bracelet.  I bought the chain and a few charms at one location.  And then continued to buy them as we visited other Native locations.  I should actually post it here.  I am quite proud of it.  It represents our 2 1/2 week cross country drive from Florida to California in 1992.  Veronica was 5, and I was pregnant with Brodie.

(I do have to confess that Thanksgiving to me has become more thoughtful.  I adore the Native American’s, and I know how horribly they have been mistreated by white people.  I also know that Thanksgiving is based on a slaughter of Natives.  Which is why I recognize that at every turn, but I also honor the idea of us all feasting and getting along together.  I love Thanksgiving and I have no desire to ever give up the holiday.  I will however, continue to honor the peace that I hope will eventually come from it.)

Fort Brodie

I save and cherish my children’s artwork from their youth.  This is something that Brodie drew while we were living in Maryland.  I found it and decided to post it here.  We are very proud of our children and their creativity.

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A Roasted Spatchcock Turkey Breast

This particular Thanksgiving Gordon roasted a Spatchcock Turkey Breast and it was perfect for us!

Look at all the Drippings!

(Recipe Down Below)

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An Excellent Use of Leftovers

Turkey Salad

I think that most people have their own Turkey/Chicken Salad recipe but I will give you mine.

Turkey Breast, Mayonnaise, Mustard, Hard Boiled Egg, Freshly Ground Black Pepper,Dashes of Tabasco Sauce, Chopped Onion, Pickle Relish, Chopped Celery.

You use the amounts that you prefer.  Excellent spread onto bread with Lettuce to make a Sandwich, or I like to blob it on Crackers and eat it that way.

Either way, welcome to our Thanksgiving Lite and Leftovers.

Hope you find something you like here.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Julie and Gordon Whann

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Turkey Soup

The Crock Pot Makes Cooking This Soup Easier

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This is a great way to use up those last bits of Turkey, and left over celery and onion that you used to make the dressing, and other recipes for Thanksgiving.

All of Our Ingredients

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List of Ingredients:

3-4 quarts Chicken Broth

4 or 5 Multi-colored Carrots

2-3 Celery Stalks – chopped

1/2 to 3/4 Medium Yellow Onion – chopped

1 Turkey Neck

2 Bay Leaves

1 Tbsp. Rubbed Sage

1/2 t.  Fresh Ground Pepper

1 t. Hawaiian Sea Salt

1 (4.7 oz..) Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil Pearled Couscous – Near East Brand

2-3 Cups Cooked Turkey – chopped

2 Cups Wide Egg Noodles – cooked

2 Cups Zucchette Pumpkin Shaped Noodles – Vegan (Sprouts Brand

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Start by peeling your carrots..

then cut them into 1 inch sections.

Place about 2 quarts of Chicken Stock into your slow cooker then add your sliced carrots and turn your Crock-Pot to High, and 4 hours cooking time.

Wash and chop your Celery as shown…

and add them to the cooker.

Now, chop your Onions and use as many as your like.  This recipe doesn’t have to be followed to the letter as you want to fill up the cooker with the listed ingredients.  We also like a thick and hearty soup.

Add your chopped Onion to the cooker.

Here is our Turkey Neck, which I will also add to the cooker and take out later when the meat falls off the bone.

I store our Bay Leaves in a canning jar to keep them well sealed.

Add two or three of them to the cooker.

Now, add the Rubbed Sage and freshly ground Black Pepper.

Now add your Sea Salt to the pot.  We like using Hawaiian Sea Salt.

Now add your Pearled Couscous to the cooker along with the seasoning packet.

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Add more Chicken Stock to fill the cooker.

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You Just Want to Cover and Continue to Cook

 

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Here we saved a good amount of Turkey Breast from our Thanksgiving Turkey.

Chop your Turkey into bite-sized pieces.

Add your Turkey to the Crock-Pot.

Here we cooked the Egg Noodles separately as per directions and then added them to the cooker.

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As you can see the Crock-Pot is getting quite full.

We can still add some Pumpkin Shaped pasta though so we cooked it as per the directions.

Our original intent was for this to be a colorful garnish, however, I Julie, went a bit heavy on the pasta.

After about 4 hours the soup should be good and hot.

Here we added the Pumpkin Pasta.

This soup is very hearty, full of nutrients and tastes great! 

It also freezes well……

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Also great for leftovers… simply place the frozen soup in a large pot and turn the heat to medium low.

Here you have once again the great Turkey Soup.

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Turkey Squash Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This is a Squash Casserole that we had leftover from Thanksgiving.  I Julie, got the idea to use it in Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.  The Squash were softened from the Casserole, but still had a bite to them that suited this sandwich well.

Ingredients:

Leftover Squash From Casserole

1/4 Cup Jack O Pumpkin Seed Cheese – Shredded

1/4 Cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese – Shredded

2 Tbsp. Butter

3-4 slices of Cooked Bacon

1/4 Cup Parsley

Bread Slices and/or…

2 slices of Brown Bread – Cheesecake Factory Brand

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We have used (Igourmet) to find many of our favorite cheeses.  This Jack O Pumpkin Seed we thought would go well in this sandwich.

Slice off the outer rind.

Then shred as much as you will need.  We also shredded some Sharp Cheddar Cheese to make a few of these sandwiches.

Spread some of the butter on one side of the bread.

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Heat your pan to medium high heat and place the buttered side down in the pan.  Then add your Pumpkin Seed shredded Cheese and cooked Squash slices.

Now, top the Squash with some cooked Bacon and Fresh Parsley.

Add your Shredded Cheddar Cheese to the Parsley.  It is fine if a little spills over as it is great when cooked.  Top the sandwich with another buttered slice of bread as shown.  Cook for sandwich for a few minutes or until you can move the sandwich and there a slight scraping noise.  That means the bread is getting toasted.  Flip the sandwich over using your spatula and cook on the other side for about another few minutes until browned.

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We hope you enjoy these unique and delicious grilled sandwiches!

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Spatchcock Turkey Breast

Nicely Carved

Gathering Our Ingredients

List of Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. Oregano

1 Tbsp.Thyme

1 Tbsp.Rubbed Sage

1 Tbsp.Marjoram

1 Tbsp.Onion Powder

2 t. Ground Allspice

2 t. Chili Powder

1 Tbsp. Ground Coriander

1 Tbsp. Ground Cumin

2 Tbsp. Raw Cane Sugar

2 Tbsp. Splenda Brown Sugar

1 Heaping Tbsp. Whole Grain Mustard

2 Tbsp. Chicken Stock

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Salt, and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

NOTE:  The Spices I am placing in the mixing bowl are specifically for the top of the Turkey Breast to give it a nice Crust.

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Here I am adding the spices into a medium sized bowl.

I am using my palm to measure the amounts.

Of course you can add as much or as little of these spices as you like.

I also like using a variety of sweeteners as it gives the flavor more depth.

This turned out to be a nice grainy mustard.  We used it again later in the next recipe below.

Now add your Chicken Stock…

then the Olive Oil.

Mix all the ingredients together to make sure there is enough liquid in the mixture to make it spread easily over the meat.

Add your Sea Salt, and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste…

then mix all the ingredients well using a whisk.

Now, Set Aside

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Here is the Turkey Breast I bought which is produced by Shady Brook Farms.  I have found their turkey’s are very nice and well priced!  With all poultry, rinse them well with running water to remove any old blood and particulates like stray bones and loose feathers.  Also, look it over and remove any feathers that may still be attached.

I began thawing this two days earlier and it still had some ice in the main cavity.  Rinsing it helped to remove this ice and thaw the meat.

Here I placed the Turkey Breast on a roasting rack on top of a roasting pan.

Pat the skin dry so the seasonings will adhere to them.

INITIALLY:  I was just going to season and roast the Turkey Breast like this.  However, it was as I was adding the spices that I realized the Turkey would cook much better, and the spices would adhere better, if I Spatchcocked it.

Not meaning to confuse you.  But, I am telling the story as it has happened.

Sometimes a recipe can evolve as it is being created.  Which happens with us sometimes.

———————————————————————————-

So, as it began….

Seeing how the meat was upright, I thought I would add some seasonings and olive oil to the cavity and outside of the breasts to help the spice mixture adhere to the meat.

I brushed the oil from the cavity onto the outside of the breasts.

Now, I am sprinkling a little of the spices I used before on the Turkey to help the spice mixture adhere to the dry surface.

————————————————————————–

Adding Some Spices….

…just winging it.

——————————————————————————–

Now, I am adding some Chicken Stock to the roasting pan so the fat drippings don’t burn on the bottom of the pan.

————————————————————————

It was at this point that I decided to Spatchcock the Turkey Breast.

I placed the breast on the cutting board.  I thought if I were to Spatchcock the breasts, the spices would simply lay on top of the meat.  Spatchcock means to split the breasts and remove the backbone to lay the meat flat.  Doing this will also help the meat to cook evenly.

—————————————————————————–

Start by splitting the breasts with your knife.  I stabbed the breast bone evenly…

then continued the cut with my knife. Now cut the breasts away from the backbone.

Here you can see the breasts and backbone almost separated.  Continue to flatten the breasts by pressing your hand down on them to finish breaking the breastbone.  I am using my right hand to do this.  In the next picture you can see the breasts are now fully split.  Using your left hand press down on the backbone then use your knife to cut the backbone away from the breasts.  If you want, you could save the backbone for soup stock.

———————————————————————-

Here is the Spatchcocked Turkey on the roasting rack.

Now, simply spread your spice mixture (that you had set aside from the mixing bowl above) over the top of the Turkey as shown, as they will spread more evenly during the cooking process.

I sprinkled some extra spices used in the mixture on the rest of the breasts for good measure.

Roast the breasts in a 350’F oven for about 45 min. or until the internal temperature reaches 160’F.

I removed the pan from the oven to add some water, as it was almost dry.

———————————————————————————

Place the meat back in the oven to finish the cooking.  Here you can see the light blue temperature indicator popped up to indicate the meat was done.  I also used my digital thermometer just to be sure.

—————————————————————————————–

 

Here is a great shot of the drippings in the bottom of the pan which would make a great gravy.

————————————————————————————————

Let the meat rest for about 15 min. to allow the super-heated outside juices to return to the center of the meat, making the meat juicy and raising the internal temperature to 165’F.  Cutting into the meat right out of the oven would disrupt the juice movement and the juices would spill out all over your cutting board.

Slice the meat down and away from the breastbone as shown.

Continue to do this on both sides of the breast.  The clumps of spices are delicious!

Enjoy!

————————————————————————————

Leftover Spatchcock Turkey

Using the leftover meat, we made pressed sandwiches using Julie’s Florida Jezebel Sauce… absolutely delicious!

To start, use some good crusty bread. 

These were perfect in size and thickness.

I love Swiss Cheese so we shredded a good amount of it.

I love to use our cast iron skillets as they hold the heat well and are great for frying.  I placed about 1 Tbsp. of olive oil into the pan and spread it around using a paper towel and turned up the temperature to medium.

Slice the bread in half then spread some grainy mustard and Julie’s Florida Jezebel Sauce on each slice.

Add your sliced turkey breast and grated Swiss piled high as shown.

Then we added some fresh Spinach leaves to the top of the cheese and used the top section of the bread to close the sandwich.

Place the sandwich off center in the pan as shown.

I quickly made another sandwich…

and placed it next to the one in the pan.

I then placed another cast iron skillet on top of the sandwiches…

then placed another as shown to increase the weight. 

I also pressed down on the sandwiches some to help them press evenly.

I am making another sandwich as I am sure they will be great!

After a few minutes, remove the pans and using a spatula turn the sandwiches over and cook for another few minutes until well browned and crusty.

———————————————————————————-

 

Time to dig in!

———————————————————————–

If you would like the recipe for:

An Old Florida Jezebel (Sauce)

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Julie and Gordon

 

Oktoberfest Lebensmittel

Oktoberfest Lebensmittel

      WILLKOMMEN! (Welcome) (Hardly fancy, but Cheese, Turkey Sausage, on Crackers with a good German Mustard is a nice little snack.) ———————————————————– Oktoberfest:  German Festival Held over a two week period ending the first Sunday in October. The festival originated on October 12, …

Autumn Lunches

Autumn Lunches

          Autumn Me, Rome, Georgia, mid 1960’s playing in the leaves.  (Love the cars.)  🙂 When I think of Autumn I always first think of leaves.  The Fall colors of the trees as the leaves fall off of them, and crunch …

Autumn Treats

Autumn Treats

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn

Once Labor Day is over with…..

There is just something special about the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn.

To most of us it’s having the kids go back to school.  Always a special time for me and Gordon when our children were young.  We would high-five each other that the kids were back in school and not at home anymore.  🙂  Although we were the only ones happy about it. 

While they were dragging their feet I was always up early on the 1st. day of school, full make up, hair done as if I would be strutting down a runway that very morning.  (Which was pretty much me walking my kids to school in Hawaii.  It was a happy strut.)  🙂

School supplies, back to school clothing, new shoes, Columbus Day/Discoverers Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Brodie’s Birthday….

It just got you in the mood for cooler weather and all the deliciousness that came with it.  Autumn is the time of year that we all tend to start to nest and that includes cooking/baking/eating all sorts of delicious TREATS.

It’s a time that we wear beautiful Autumn colors of Greens, Oranges, Reds, Golds, Browns and Tans.

It is also a time when we need to pay attention to what we eat so as not to put on tooooooo much weight over the holidays.  🙂

Hard to do, I know.  But we can do it!  Let’s just work on portions.

It’s all about maintaining the weight we have through the holidays and then we’ll work on getting it off after the New Year.  (Fingers crossed.)  🙂

————————————————————–

I believe in TREATS! 

Treats are good for your soul.  They are special.  They make our taste buds happy. 

And, Treats are also just that, Treats!

Eating a pie with a face on it is just much more fun!

I would like to present to you a few of our Autumn Treats.

Hope to tempt you into submission to enjoy something very easy and simple, but tasty and delicious.

Happy Autumn,

Julie and Gordon

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Halloween, Maryland, 2001

(I think)

Witches, Spiders, Monsters…

and Candles

Our Brodie Ready to go Trick-or-Treating

Brodie and Veronica Carving Their Pumpkins

I just wanted to share some old photos of our Halloween times from Maryland.

Wonderful Memories Being Made

That is also what Autumn is about.

Trick or Treat!

———————————————————–

Sliced Apples with Delicious Fondue Caramel

Trying to Decide Which Fondue Pot to Use

Granny Smith, Fuji Apple, Red Delicious, Gala Apples, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady Apple and Honeycrisp Apple

Dried Apples are Excellent Too!

Dipping Apples into Caramel

Make sure that when you slice your apples that you place them into a bowl or a baggie that has lemon or lime juice in it.  Apples will turn brown quickly so they need the acidity to stay fresh.

When ready, place the apples onto a plate for dipping into a Caramel Fondue.

(Caramel Recipe Down Below)

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Making Old Fashioned Caramel

Beautiful Brown Jars

Hot Moulton Lava Caramel

Pouring our Caramel Into Jars

(Recipe Down Below)

Ready to Give as Gifts or to Make Caramel Apples

Rolling the Apples in the Caramel and Dipping Them into Sweet Treats

This Caramel is Better as a Dip,

also a great topping for ice cream

 

Here We Used Our Caramel with Our Green Apples in Our Appletini’s

———————————————————

I Come Bearing Pies

We Made These For Our Kids and Their Partners

Apple and Pear with Apple Butter

Our Apple Tartlets

Caramel Base with Variety of Apples and Brushed with Middle Eastern Honey

Cooling on Racks

The Smell is Delicious

—————————————————————————

Julie’s Vintage Southern Caramel Cake

(Recipes are located at the bottom of this page.)

——————————————————————

Every Treat on this page has something in common. 

CARAMEL!

To be specific, HOMEMADE CARAMEL!

The CARMEL that we made for this cake, is also the CARAMEL…

that we are eating in this Fondue Pot, and….

is in our Apple Pies and Tartlets.

So, grab a fork and let’s get to it!

———————————————————————

Making Old Fashioned Caramel

Beautiful Brown Jars

Ingredients and Equipment

(We are doubling this recipe.)

You will Need Two Large Pots

Jars, Rings and Lids

——————————————————

4 Sticks of Butter/Margarine (2 Cups)

5 Cups Sugar

1 1/2 Cups of Buttermilk

3 Tablespoons of Corn Syrup

1 teaspoon Salt

2 1/2 teaspoons of Baking Soda

30 Marshmallows

2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract

—————————————————————

 

————————————————————–

Here We Have Our Two Large Pots

Placing Butter in One, and Margarine in the Other

The Pot is on a Medium-Low Heat, As the Butter/Margarine Melts we Add our Buttermilk

———————————————————————-

Ready To Add The Karo Syrup

The Thing About Making This Caramel Is That You Have To Constantly Stir It

Adding The Karo Syrup

Now To Add The 5 Cups of Sugar

(Stir Constantly Until Sugar is Dissolved)

Now Add The Salt and Baking Soda

Continue To Stir

—————————————————————————

Now We Add About 30-35 Marshmallows To Melt

Again, Stirring Constantly

It Will Expand As It Cooks

In order to make an icing you want the caramel to reach 238F.  However, as we were cooking this, and it took a very long time, it was spitting hot lava at us.  Gordon even got a 3rd. degree burn on his finger.  Therefore, we stopped at about 225F.  That way, the caramel is delicious and creamy, but not deadly.

—————————————————————————

When it reaches the temperature that you desire, then add the Vanilla Extract.

———————————————————————-

Hot Moulton Lava Caramel

Here Gordon is Adding the Caramel to Jars

Isn’t it Beautiful?

We wanted to can the Caramel but because of the Buttermilk it isn’t safe to do so.  However, we did give it as gifts to a few special people and they loved it!  It lasts about 2 weeks in your refrigerator.  Dollop it on everything!

———————————————————–

Our Halloween Pies of Apple/Pears/ and Apple Butter

Ingredients:

4 Ready made pie crusts – thawed

1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp. flour

1 1/2 Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Tbsp. Ground Cloves

1/2 tsp. Freshly Ground Nutmeg

1/2 tsp. Salt

2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter

1 Cup Musselman’s Apple butter (or any you prefer)

1/4 Cup Sugar

1 Pear – sliced thinly

7-8 Apples – (Gala, Granny Smith, Fuji, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady and Honeycrisp – sliced thinly

1/2 Cup Lemon Juice

1 egg

1 Tbsp. Water

3 Tbsp. Sugar in the Raw

——————————————————————–

Here you see all the pie crusts which we used for both the pies and tarts.

Here are all the ingredients we used for also both the pies and tarts.

——————————————————————–

—————————————————————————–

In a large bowl add your Flour, Ground Cinnamon and Ground Cloves.

Now add your Nutmeg which should be freshly ground as it has a more intense flavor.  Then add your Salt.

Lastly add your Butter

to the bowl.

Now, add your Apple Butter.

Mix the ingredients well with a rubber spatula.

———————————————————————–

Now add your Sugar to the mix, and again…

mix the ingredients well.

Slice your Pear just to the right of half to avoid the seeds.

Then slice it just to the left of the seeds.  Now, turn the Pear and slice off the smaller wedges avoiding the seeds in the center.

Slice the wedges into 1/8 inch slices and add the sliced Pear to the bowl.

I previously sliced the Apples in the same way and placed them in a bag with some of the Lemon Juice to prevent the Apples from turning brown as they do when they are exposed to air.  Mix the Apples with the other ingredients in the bowl and set aside.

———————————————————————-

Now for the Piecrusts.  You don’t have to pre-bake if you don’t want to and they will turn out just fine.  We wanted to just because we feel it ensures the crusts are crispy.  Using a fork, prick your crust all over as shown.  Pre-bake your pie crusts in a 350’F oven for about 5-8 min.

————————————————————-

Here are our baked crusts which are just slightly browned.

Pile in your Apple-Pear and Seasonings into each pie crust as shown.

Place them on a sheet pan just in case they spill during baking.

——————————————————————

Flour your counter or cutting board with flour.  Use a throwing motion to get the flour evenly dispersed.

Roll out your thawed but still cold pie dough onto the floured surface and using a sharp knife, cut out your pumpkin face shapes as shown. 

Be Creative!

Roll the dough into a tube as shown…

then unroll the dough over the top of the pie as shown.

Adjust and center the dough over the pie.

Crimp both edges together using a pinching motion.

Here you can see one of the pies ready for baking.

Cut the next pie dough in the same method.

Julie had the brilliant idea to take one of the pieces of apple making a tongue with it.

Crack one egg and one Tbsp. of water into a bowl and mix well.  This is an egg wash which will put a nice glaze on the pie and help with browning.

Brush a thin coat of the egg wash over the pie.

Evenly spread 1 1/2 Tbsp. of the Sugar in the Raw over each pie.

Here the pies are almost ready to be baked.

Use this strips of aluminum foil around the edges of the pie to protect them from burning.  Place the pies into a 350″F oven for ~30 min. or until browned.

Remove the foil and cook for another 5-10 min.  The tongue looks great!

Out of the Oven and Cooling

Ready to be Delivered to Our Children and Their Partners

—————————————————————

 

Apple Tartlet’s With Homemade Caramel, Apples, and Middle Eastern Honey

Slice your Apples into thin wedges.  This can be done in a variety of methods.  One method would be to slice the Apple in half then slice the wedges around the core turning the apple slightly for each slice.  I found if you sliced the Apple straight down just to the right of center avoiding the core twice, then slice off the two remaining thinner pieces using the same method, left me with four straight wedges.  Now, simply slice straight down through the wedges making even thin slices.

Place the cut Apple slices into a Zip Lock Bag with enough Lemon Juice to coat the wedges evenly to avoid the Apple from browning.

Here are the pie shells we used.

Keeping our Pie and Tartlet Dough Cool

Here is our very full refrigerator, stocked and ready for almost anything.

——————————————————–

Here are our tart shells.

Spray the tart shells with a little cooking spray.

(We bought these at a thrift store a few years ago and this is our first time to use them.)

Place one of the thawed but still cool pie shells into a tart shell.

Evenly move the dough into all the edges of the shell.

Here is our caramel icing sauce which is absolutely delicious.  This is leftover from our Caramel Cake that we made, recipe below.

Place a few Tbsp. of the caramel into the center of the pie and spread it all over the bottom of the tart dough.

Take your Apple slices and decoratively place them into the tart.  We used a fan method.

———————————————————————

Here is the finished design.

Take about 2 Tbsp. of Honey and place it into a microwave safe dish.  Microwave the Honey for about 15 seconds to make it more viscous.  Brush the Honey over the Apple slices to create a nice glaze.

(This honey is from The Middle East and it is heavenly!  It tastes like our honey but yet it also doesn’t.  You really have to try it to understand but it is really good.)

—————————————————————–

Here are our next tarts.

Again, spray the tart shells with cooking spray.

Spread your pie dough over the bottom of the tart shell then spread the caramel over the dough.

Here we simply placed the apple slices into the shells tightly next to each other.

Again, brush some honey over the top of the apple slices as done before.

Now, drizzle some caramel over the apple slices in a decorative motion.  I went back and forth diagonally for the longer tarts…

and used a round swirl motion over the round tart starting in the center and working my way out to the edge.

Into the Oven They go

Bake the tarts in your over at 350’F for about 35-40 min. or until browned.

Cooling and Drooling  🙂

—————————————————————-

Julie’s Old Fashioned Southern Caramel Cake

(Homemade Caramel Recipe Here)

I’m very proud of this cake.  It just reminds me of the south.

——————————————————————–

Ingredients:

2 1/2 Cups Cake Flour

3 Cups Sugar

2 Cups Butter

8 Eggs

1 Cup Milk

4 t. Baking Powder

1 T. Vanilla Extract

1/2 t. Almond Extract

1 t. Salt

————————————————

You will need an electric mixer for this.

You will also need some Parchment Paper and Cooking Oil Spray.

You want to use a pen or pencil and draw the shape of the cake pan onto it. 

Then cut out the shape.

I first sprayed some of the cooking oil spray into the pan bottom and sides.  I then placed the cut out parchment paper onto the bottom and then sprayed some more of the cooking oil spray.

—————————————————————

Time To Make The Cake

I cracked all the eggs into a small bowl.

I then added the Milk, Vanilla Extract, and Almond Extract to the Eggs. 

I mixed everything together and let it sit.

——————————————————————

Cake Flour, Sugar, and Baking Powder

Add to the Mixing Bowl

Blend the Dry Ingredients Together on Low

Slice Your Butter Into Tablespoon Chunks

You want to place your mixer on a low speed and add your butter one tablespoon at at time until it’s blended.

You Can See It Coming Along Here

You Want to Keep Blending the Dry Mixture and the Butter Together

I Then Add about Half of the Egg Mixture to the Butter and Dry Ingredients

When Blended I Add The Remaining Egg Mixture and Increase the Speed to Medium Until Blended

With the Batter Ready, It’s Time to Pour into the Cake Pans

Like So….

———————————————————————-

Pre-Heat Oven to 350F

Bake for 20-25 Minutes

To determine when the cake is done, place a toothpick or wooden skewer into the cake and if it comes out clean then the cakes are done.

Place Onto a Cooling Rack and Cool Thoroughly

————————————————————–

Preparing My Cake For The Icing

You Need a Cake Pedestal, Some Parchment Paper, and Your Cake

I cut some of the parchment into strips and placed all around the cake pedestal.

I then placed one of my cakes face down onto the parchment and removed the bottom layer of parchment that we cooked the cake in.

Now It Is Time To Make The Caramel Icing

This is a Caramel Icing Recipe.  You are about to make Caramel.  🙂

Ingredients:

2 Cups Butter

5 Cups Sugar

1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk

3 T. Corn Syrup

2 T. Vanilla Extract

2 1/2 t. Baking Soda

1 t. Salt

30 Marshmallows

You will need a Candy Thermometer

———————————————————————-

————————————————————————–

In a heavy saucepan….. over low heat.

Add Your Butter, and Buttermilk

Sugar….

Corn Syrup, Salt, and Baking Soda….

Stirring Constantly Until the Butter and Sugar is Dissolved

You Then Add Your Marshmallows

Werther’s Original Caramels and Hard Candy Caramels

(Thinking about these as accents.)

Marshmallows Melting

The Mixture Kept Expanding So We Transferred Into a Larger Pot

You need to constantly stir so the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.

In order to make the caramel icing you need for the candy thermometer to reach 238F.  We never reached it.  We even placed the burner on a medium-high.  The caramel was spitting hot lava at us and we were getting burned so we called it quits at 220F.

Gordon Had to Oven Mit Up in Order to Deal with the Hot Caramel

We then removed from the heat and added our Vanilla.

Place Your Caramel Into A Mixing Bowl

Now, Use a Mixer to Mix It!

You want the mixture to get cloudy. 

Just do the best you can.  We did!

Beat about 5 Minutes

Now It’s Time To Start Spreading The Icing

I would like to stress that we never allowed this caramel to reach the 238F temp that would have made it more firm.  However, it was still quite delicious as it is.

We also had other intentions where this caramel was concerned. 

We wanted it runny enough to use as a fondue dip.

————————————————————————

So, now we have our gorgeously delicious caramel icing/dip.

I do wish that I had placed my cake onto a cookie rack so that the icing could fall down into it, as a glaze.  But, instead I had to remove it from the parchment paper and place it back into my mixing bowl for later use.

It may have been a mess to make but it was one of the best cakes that Gordon and I had ever eaten.

This Was The Best Cake

I Added A Few Hard Candy Caramels To Accent

————————————————————————–

So Delicious

——————————————————————–

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julie’s Jezebel Sauce

Julie’s Jezebel Sauce

        Premiering at a Theater Near You! Starring Julie’s Jezebel Sauce, and a Cast of Supporting Foods For those of you outside The Bible Belt of America, you probably have never heard of Jezebel Sauce.  It’s exact Southern origins are a bit …

Spicy Hot Mexican Cranberries

Spicy Hot Mexican Cranberries

            Spicy Hot Mexican Cranberries Regalos Comestibles (Edible Gifts) We made a similar Cranberry Sauce last year for our Feliz Navidad. Click Here For:  Feliz Navidad a Casa Whann  You can find the recipe for our 2019 Cranberries on that …

ThanksGrillin’

ThanksGrillin’

 

 

 

 

 

 

THANKSGRILLIN’

2020

Welcome to our Home Renovations Thanksgiving

A.K.A. Our Thanksgiving During our Home Renovations

With our kitchen under construction, it fell to the outside grill to deliver us our turkey from evil.  (Or something to that affect.)

Check Out That Turkey!

Check Out Our Matching Thanksgiving Pajamas

And Check Out The Vase I Used, A Bucket

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(Keep Reading for our Recipes)

—————————————————————–

We managed to fit in a lovely Thanksgiving in spite of our Home Renovations. 

If you would like to take a look:

Click Here For:  Our Home Renovations

———————————————————————————-

Our The Money Pit/Home Renovations Thanksgiving

We based this excellent Thanksgiving on the movie, The Money Pit.

(I realize this is probably the strangest Thanksgiving we’ve ever had, and you’ve ever seen, but here we go!)

Mae Played a Very Important Role

She Added a Bit of Glamour and Held our Cupcakes

Hi!  Just Testing the Camera

I Loved our “Formal” Thanksgiving Table

Ready to Dig into That Turkey

Turkey in a Bucket

Just When You Think The Timer on the Camera Is Done

—————————————————————-

Our Den Bookcase Shelf Used For Storing our Thanksgiving Spices During our Reno

(At least we thought ahead on this one.)  🙂

——————————————————————

We may have cooked the turkey on Thanksgiving Day, but it wasn’t until that Saturday that we were able to have our Thanksgiving Dinner.

We wanted our Thanksgiving to be simple and easy. 

 We knew that we just wanted turkey sandwiches with the works!

So, Here We Go!

Our Thanksgiving Dinner consists of Turkey Sandwiches made on either Sour Dough Bread slices, or our Cornbread Dressing that we made into bread slices by spreading it out on a baking sheet and then baking it until done, then slicing it into sandwich sized bread, and then placed back into the oven to brown a little bit. 

Like so:

This is my Grandmother’s (Julie) Southern Cornbread Dressing

We simply spread it out onto a baking sheet that was sprayed with vegetable oil, and then baked it until it was done in a 350F oven for probably 25 -30 minutes.

When done we then used a pizza cutter to cut the Dressing into bread sized slices.  Then placed them onto a large baking sheet so that they could then toast up well enough to act as slices of bread in order to hold everything we were going to cram between those slices.

————————————————————

Here Gordon is fixing his sandwich using our Cornbread Dressing as the bread slices.

To build the sandwich Gordon first started with our homemade mustard.

Click Here For:  Pork, Sausage, and Mustard

If you would like to see how to make our mustard’s.

——————————————————————-

Gordon then Added some Turkey, Cheese Slices, and Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Then He Added Some Coleslaw, Bacon, and our Cranberry Sauce

Viola!

Thanksgiving Turkey, Bacon, our homemade Tarragon Mustard, White Cheddar Cheese slices, Grilled Yams, Grilled Onions, store bought Cole Slaw, and our last jar of homemade Florida Christmas Cranberry Sauce.

Gordon dolloping the last of our:

Florida Christmas Cranberries

An Excellent Recipe if you care to take a Look

————————————————————–

Our Sides are the Hasselback Potatoes cut into medallions to resemble Potato Chips. 

With a nice drizzle of Sour Cream and Chives.

Also, our homemade Dill Pickle slices and some store bought Salt Cured Olives.

Gordon’s Dinner Plate

(Recipes Down Below)

———————————————————

There is Always Room for Leftovers

The Last Taste of Thanksgiving

Try dipping your sandwich into a side of gravy.

————————————————————————

Now Time For The Recipes

—————————————————————-

Making The Cornbread

(See Gordon Peeking Around The Corner?)  🙂

The point of this isn’t to give you some unique recipe.  It is to demonstrate to you how we had to make our cornbread during renovations.  We probably did this on the day before Thanksgiving.  Normally, I Julie, would have made it two days prior.  But, we just had too much activity going on in this area that I couldn’t.

Here Gordon is Making our Cornbread

Honestly, the recipe is from a Martha White bag.  It is delicious though.  But, this is a great base for our Southern Cornbread Dressing.

Here Gordon is placing the batter into our Cast Iron Skillet.

Now, Into The Oven To Bake

Just Following The Package Instructions

Out of the Oven and Cooling

I Julie, placed the cornbread into a bowl and am venting it with some Aluminum Foil.  You want the Cornbread to dry out in order to make a great Cornbread Dressing.  I have it vented on my desk that we moved into our bedroom for renovations.  This is on a Wednesday evening.

Cornbread and the Dehumidifier

This is Thursday, Thanksgiving Day

That red thing is a dehumidifier.  It’s purpose is to suck the moisture out of the air to dry out our house because of all the moisture that we had due to our dishwasher leaking and ruining the kitchen walls and our living room carpet.

We could not have asked for a better way to dry out our cornbread.  That is why we placed it beside the dehumidifier.

Genius, huh?  🙂

——————————————————————

Time to Cook the Turkey

Even major renovations to our house due to a leaking dishwasher which leaked over a long period of time, won’t stop us from having our Thanksgiving.  I even got dressed for the occasion with my Thanksgiving overall pajamas. 🙂

Be sure to thaw your Turkey in the refrigerator days ahead of time.

We Have No Kitchen Sink So We Are Using Our Laundry Room Sink

Wash the blood and any residual feathers off the turkey.  Here you can see I am using our laundry room sink as we don’t have a kitchen sink.

This is Something of an Adventure

Drain the turkey well and be sure to remove the neck and giblets from the cavity.  These can be used to make a giblet gravy or nice soup.

We Will Be Grilling The Turkey

Here is our setting outside on our screened lanai.

Pat the turkey with paper towels to ensure the skin will accept the oil and get nice and crispy.

Pictured is the setup of my grill along with the smoking chips on the left and the spices to be used on the right.

———————————————————–

Ingredients:

~ 10 Lb. Butterball Turkey

~ 1/2 Cup Peanut Oil

~ 2 Tbsp. Thyme

~ 2 Tbsp. Ground Sage

~ 1 Tbsp. Hawaiian Alaea Sea Salt

~ 1 1/2 Tbsp. Sazon Complete Seasoning

~ 1 Tbsp. Black Garlic Powder

~ 1 Tbsp. Tarragon

~ 1 Tbsp. Onion Powder

Ground Pepper to taste

—————————————————————

Place your turkey in a roasting pan and pour your Peanut oil over it as shown.  Rub the oil all over the turkey’s skin to help it brown and become crispy.

———————————————————————-

The Turkey….

The Flowers in a Bucket….

Here I am dousing the Thyme and Sage spices over the turkey and placing some in the cavity as well.

This is a great salt that has a light flavor.  You don’t need much as the Sazon is also salty.

Sazon is a Spanish seasoning that has an herbaceous slightly salty unique flavor, which goes nicely with Turkey.

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Gordon Ready To Get Started

Here I am getting my Hickory wood chips ready using the side burner to heat the chips.  I place the smoking box directly on the burner turning it to medium temperature.  Once the chips start to smoke, I turn the temperature under the chips to low.

All Spiced and Ready for the Grill

Now, place the rack in your roasting pan and place the turkey on top of the rack.  Bend both wing tips behind the leg so they don’t burn.  My particular grill has four burners.  I turn the outside burners on medium and leave the middle burners off.  Place a bit of water in the roasting pan, so the turkey drippings don’t burn.

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Here you can see a wisp of smoke on the left as the turkey starts to brown.

After about 2 hours, at this point I like to cover the turkey with aluminum foil, so it doesn’t brown too much.

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After about 3 hours of cooking you can see the turkey is getting there and looking good.

Cooking the turkey is NOT a timed event as many factors come into play.  Your turkey is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165’F in the thickest part of the thigh.  This turkey cooked for around 4 hours and at the 3 1/2 hour point, I inserted my digital thermometer into the thigh being sure not to touch a bone.  You can see the internal temperature is at 161’F… Perfect.  I will now let the turkey rest for about 20 min.  Doing this will allow the turkeys super heated external juices (The juices near the skin heated to about 300’F) to sink back into and distribute evenly into the internal meat, which will bring the internal temperature up at least 5-10’F to 165’F.

Here, Julie and I are enjoying a beautiful day outside on our lanai as the turkey is cooking.  I love the smoke smell in the air.

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Cute Doggie Break

I’m pretty sure they are dog tired.  🙂

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This is Saturday, after Thanksgiving Thursday.

Our renovation crew came on Friday, after Thanksgiving, and took down all the plastic dividers.  Finally, we had more access to what kitchen that we had.  Still no sink, or dishwasher, but just more room.  They also removed all the dehumidifier’s.

This finally gave us more room to maneuver around our kitchen.

But, due to our home renovations, we may have cooked our turkey on Thanksgiving Day, but we didn’t actually eat our Thanksgiving Dinner until Saturday when we were able to better utilize our kitchen.

Here We Are Working on Our Thanksgiving Sides

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Making My Grandmother’s Southern Cornbread Dressing

We have given this recipe on so many Thanksgiving and Christmas pages of ours that I am not going to re-write it here.  But, you can now better see our kitchen.

Check Out Our New Island, Huh?  🙂

Gordon Cooking

Making the Cornbread Dressing

It’s Coming Together Nicely

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Here Gordon is Spreading our Cornbread Dressing Onto a Greased Sheet Pan

Now, we are going to cook it in a 350F oven for about 25 minutes, or so until done.

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Into The Oven It Goes

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When done, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Getting Ready for Another Recipe

When Cooled, use a pizza cutter to make slices the size of bread slices.

Then place the slices onto a larger baking sheet and then place back into the oven on 350F…..

for about 10-15 minutes.

Like So…..

Now We Have Our Bread Slices

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For our Sweet potatoes… we boiled three sweet potatoes for about 20 min. or until just softened.

I removed them then sliced them into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Grill the slices over medium temperature until cooked and softened.

Hasselback Potatoes.  Use two chopsticks placed on the sides of the potato, so your knife won’t slice all the way through the potato.  Make your slices all the way down the potato and about 1/4 inch thick.

Here Gordon is Grilling Our Sides

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Add some salt and pepper to taste and using the upper rack of your grill, bake the potatoes until done.  This will take about 45 min. depending upon the temperature of your grill.

The Beautiful Sweet Potatoes Grilling

Here you can see the potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Here is the before and after shot… nice Julie!

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Now It’s Just Time To Make The Sandwiches

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Decorations were simple.  A pumpkin with some flowers in a bucket.  🙂

Putting all the food away was actually quite easy because dinner was easy.

We hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving isn’t about some big and fancy dinner, it’s about you, and yours and whatever you have in store for it.

Julie and Gordon

 

 

 

 

Our Home Renovations

Our Home Renovations

        No Longer UNDER CONSTRUCTION!  🙂   The Money Pit New Entries are Down Below I Do Have A Very LOOOOOOOONG Introduction Until You Get There. ———————————————————— Welcome to Our Home Renovations   Ahh, Home Crap Home! Said by Tom Hanks character, …

Julie’s Chicken Knot Pies

Julie’s Chicken Knot Pies

            Welcome to the Recipe for Julie’s Chicken Knot Pies Ready to go into the Oven I have always loved Turkey Pot pies and actually grew up eating quite a few of them.  My mother wasn’t much of a cook, …

4 and 20 Blackbirds (Berries) Baked in a Pie

4 and 20 Blackbirds (Berries) Baked in a Pie

 

 

 

 

 

Julie’s Blackberry Pies

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Served with Kool-Whip mixed with Blackberry Jam and Topped with Blackberries

Perhaps Eaten with The Cranky Bastard Blackberry Wine

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When I think of a pie, Mother Goose always comes to mind:

Sing a Song of Sixpence

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened
The birds began to sing—
Wasn’t that a dainty dish
To set before the king?
The king was in the counting-house
Counting out his money,
The queen was in the parlor
Eating bread and honey,
The maid was in the garden
Hanging out the clothes.
Along came a blackbird
And snipped off her nose.

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Julie’s 4 and 20 Blackbirds Baked in a Pie

The Pie Ingredients

Ready Made Pie Crusts

I like to make things easy, and thawing out ready made pie crusts is one way that I do it.  I find that they are a tasty shortcut.  I just thaw them out until I am able to ply them easily from their aluminum pie pans without hopefully tearing the dough.  And if I do happen to rip the dough I can always smoosh it back together with my fingers. 

I first sprayed a little cooking oil spray into the bottom of my pie plates.  I then placed my pie crusts down into my pie plates and used my fingers to mold the dough to the plates.

I then used a fork to punch holes into the dough so that it won’t bubble up.

Now set them aside for now.

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Fresh Blackberries

Blackberries are in my blood. 

I cannot tell you how many blackberries that I have picked off bushes throughout my life, especially my youth.  But there were quite a few.  Growing up in Georgia I went with my family on many a vacation, trip, visit, outing, weekend getaway, Sunday drive, etc.  And on quite a few of those trips we would always come across wild blackberries growing on the sides of roads, hiking trails, camp sites, and even in our own backyards in some of the places that we lived.  We always used whatever we had with us in order to collect them.  Cups, bowls, napkins, hats, t-shirts….  and anything else we could find that would hold them.

We would then bring them home with us and my mother and step-father, usually the next day, would set to work baking a cobbler.  They didn’t make many pies, and neither do I, they were more cobbler people.  Same with me, except I don’t bake much of either anymore.  But, when I saw these delicious and huge blackberries I knew that I wanted to bake a pie, or two.  So, here is my recipe and I hope you enjoy it.

Julie

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THE RECIPE

I would like to state and I am making 2 pies here but I will only list the ingredients for 1 pie.

Ingredients:

(To Make One Pie)

Ready Made Pie Crust

(Found in the freezer section of your grocery store.)

A Few Cups of Fresh Blackberries (Or as many as you like.)

1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar

1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 t. Ground Cinnamon

Sugar Free Blackberry Jam (A few spoonfulls.)

Fresh Lime and Lemon Juice (A few Tablespoons.)

Zest of at least one Lemon or Lime

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Pie Topping:

Pre-made Pie Dough

(Found in the frozen food section of your grocery store.)

Some butter bits for the top of your pie.

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This was fun, easy, and delicious.

 

You will need a mixing bowl.

Place the dry ingredients into the bowl…..

the Sugar, All Purpose Flour, and Ground Cinnamon

Whisk the Dry Ingredients Together

Now add as much Blackberry Jam as you like to the dry ingredients.

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Now squeeze the juice of half a lemon or lime into the bowl…

Stir Together

Now add in as many Blackberries as you like to the mixture.

Stirring Together

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350F Oven

In a 350F oven I am placing my pie crusts in to cook for about 5 minutes.  I do this because I think the pie crusts won’t be as ‘doughy’ as I sometimes taste when I eat a pie.  You can omit this stage if you like.  This is just something that I prefer to do.

After 5 minutes I remove them from the oven.

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The Pie Filling Is Almost Ready to Place Into my Pie Plates

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It’s at this point that I am adding the zest of a lemon. 

You can also add more lime or lemon juice if you think it might need it.

Now Comes The Fun Creative Part

 

This is a ready made pie dough that you can buy in the frozen foods section of your grocery store.  It comes in a long rectangle box that has about 2 of these inside of it.  They come rolled up.  I thawed one out and I am using a tool that I found in a drawer to cut out whatever shapes or patterns that I want.  This will go on top of the pie.  You can use whatever tools that you like.  Cookie cutters, a knife, etc….

Scroll Down To See My Pie Patterns

(The rolling pin that you see in the photos above I didn’t need to use. 

I just got it out in case that I would have to rework the dough.)

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Now It’s Time To Place the Mixture Into the Pie Plate

Make Sure You Get Every Delicious Drop!

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Spreading Everything Around in the Pie Plate

Here is where I had some fun in placing the designs that I made in pie dough.

Oh, and be sure to add a few pieces of butter to the top of your pie.  Like I do above in photo right.

Microwave Selfie  🙂

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400F OVEN

I upped the oven to 400F and placed my pies inside to cook.

Place them onto a baking sheet.

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I cooked the pies for about 15 minutes to start.

I then removed them from the oven and covered each with foil and then placed them back into the oven to finish cooking for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Then I removed them from the oven to allow them to cool.

The total cooking time depends on your oven and perhaps how brown that you want your pie topping to be?

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When I was using that tool that I found in a drawer I loved the jagged edges of it and as I cut into the dough some of the extra pieces just looked like puzzle pieces to me.  I think a future pie that I may do, I would want to place all over the top what looked like puzzle pieces. 

Next time.  🙂

The pie came out so nice and clean.  Not runny at all.

  I credit that to the Blackberry Jam that I added.

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As always, I like some sort of topping whether it be Sugar Free Cool-Whip or Ice Cream.

Here I placed some lemon juice into the jar of Blackberry Jam to loosen it up.  I then placed a blob of the Jam in with some Cool-Whip and swirled it together.

Beautiful and Delicious! 

Now Dollop Atop a Slice of Pie…

and add a Blackberry.

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Julie Lancaster-Whann

 

 

 

 

Our Mexican Inspired Thanksgiving Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Our Mexican Inspired Thanksgiving Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

                Happy Thanksgiving or Feliz dia de Accion de Gracias My Corn Husk Dolls Our Mexican Inspired Roasted Chicken and Vegetables Because it was just going to be the two of us, Gordon and Myself for Thanksgiving this …

Pickled Purple Pearls

Pickled Purple Pearls

        ‘Tis The Season…. …For Making Delicious Edible Gifts Julie with Red Pearl Onions How About Pickling Some Purple Pearls? Actually, they are known as Red Pearl Onions, they just look Purple to me. I think they are beautiful.  Who wouldn’t be …

The Pot Thickens…  Musings of an Amateur Cook

The Pot Thickens… Musings of an Amateur Cook

 

 

 

 

 

Hi!  Welcome! 

So happy to have you here!

My name is Julie Lancaster-Whann and welcome to my:

The Pot Thickens…  Musings of an Amateur Cook

So, what makes me an ‘Amateur?’  Easy!  I don’t get paid!

And, because I don’t get paid you have every right to believe my words as being sincere because no one is paying me to sell you something.

I do not have a degree in the Culinary Arts like my husband, Gordon, but I do have a PHD in Life Experiences.  I’ve pretty much been eating for the past 60 years.  Well, there was that bout of anorexia that I had in high school where I was drop dead skinny gorgeous!  (From lack of food.)  But, that only lasted for a year or two.  And there was that eating disorder I had that lasted a few decades.

I hope to make this blog post fun and informative and I hope you will tune in occasionally to see what I have to say.

So, kick your shoes off and pull up a chair.  Wine is mandatory here btw, so fill that wine glass.  If you don’t have a wine glass and are using some regular kitchen glass?  OMG!  Then go out and buy one!  We have standards here, ya know!

Very sincerely,

Julie

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Me, with my Easy Bake Oven, age 5

What more proof do you need that I am qualified to blog about food?

I was also a Candy Cane aficionado for obvious reasons.

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I have been wanting to start some sort of blog post about food and kitchen related/food related interests that I have.  I never knew where to place in my website these things.  Which is why I created this post.  I am very excited to write about it here.  I hope you are too.  🙂

One of my favorite pizza’s I buy from Sprout’s. 

It’s an Italian Sausage.

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I Do Have A Thing For Italian

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Everyone Needs An Aloe Plant

If you cook, or do crafts with hot glue, or you are exposed to the sun or any kind of activity that will cause you to burn, then you need an Aloe Plant.  If you burn yourself while cooking just cut off a piece of the Aloe Plant and rub the salve over the burned area and it will immediately relieve the pain and start the healing process.

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A Pretty Jar of Bay Leaves

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Musings, and with Tea

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This is MY Irish Pot of Gold!

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The WOK Thickens,

Musing of a… Oh, never mind!

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Blog Post Musings Start Here

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CURRENTLY MARINATING IN MERLOT

(Myself, not some recipe.)

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A Favorite!

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September 19, 2026

Yet Another Pot Of Red Sauce,

This Time With A Wreath Of Micro-Greens

When The Pot Looks Like This…

Cleaned Out Our Pantry And Installed Lights Inside

Makes It Easier To Find Things  🙂

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September 24, 2023

Spice Lab

Whenever Gordon works overseas he always gathers up, and sends home, the nicest spices, which we then incorporate into our family meals from recipes he learned over there.  These spices pictured here, he sent a few years ago.  I don’t think that I ever got around to really talking about them.  But, I would then place them into jars to distribute to family and friends that were interested.

Homemade Authentic Hungarian Paprika

Gordon has the talent of making friends very easily.  The homemade Paprika you see above was given to Gordon by a Hungarian man that he befriended overseas.  His wife makes it, and happily sent Gordon some to then send to me.  It was the best Paprika we have ever tasted!

Gordon is back overseas and I am expecting the same delicious spices as before.  🙂

Looking Forward To It!

Julie

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Ribs and Sausage Food Porn

What are Ribs without a good Sausage?  🙂

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September 23, 2023

First Day of Autumn

and…

Forgot to tell you that ‘Julie’s got a brand new appliance!’

For those of you that know me, I tend to shun modern day appliances.  However, when I ruined my vintage mixer that my Grandmother bought for me, I was forced to buy a new one.  Hence, what you see above.  🙂

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August 20, 2022

Cordon Bleu From the Frozen Section of the Grocery Store

Some of them are pretty good actually.  Just bake according to the package instructions and then pair with some lovely sides and you have a very nice dinner.  This one was memorable.

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CHILI

August 19, 2022

In going through my photo files, I discovered some lovely delicious foods thickening in pots and bowls that I just had to share. 

Mostly involving CHILI!  🙂

We adore CHILI!  We eat it often.  It is always the same, but the toppings do vary. 

Here we topped our bowls with Sour Cream, Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Spring Onions, and Potato Sticks.

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Chili over Baked Potatoes, and of course, Chili Dogs!

(Topped with Sour Cream left, and Slaw and Onions, right.)

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Cornbread Topped Chili

(I’m sure I have these same photos somewhere on the website, but I wanted to group them all together here. 

Just different ways to eat Chili.)

Cornbread and Chili is a Favorite!

To make this all you have to do is to cook a big pot of chili, whatever your recipe may be.  Then, make a batch of cornbread, whatever your recipe may be.  Now, place a bit of oil in the bottom of a cast-iron skillet, spoon in heaping fulls of chili half way up the skillet, and then pour over the cornbread batter.

Place into a 350F oven for about 35-40 minutes or so. 

You want the cornbread cooked and a little brown on top.

The cornbread will rise a bit.  But, how delicious!

You could even add a few Corn Chips if you like. 

Perhaps even top with some Sour Cream of Cheddar Cheese.

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Chili Yet Another Way

Here I made a nice pot of Chili, placed it into a casserole dish, topped it with a browned Baguette and some Cheddar Cheese, and then baked it in the oven for cheese to melt.

It was actually quite easy, and tasty!

I only broiled the bread on one side.

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I placed the browned side of the baguette face down over the chili and then topped it with some cheese.

Then, I placed it onto a 350F oven for about 15 – 20 minutes until it was a bit brown and the cheese was melted.

Just Look How Delicious!

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CHEETOS, Mac N’ Cheese

I just wanted to say that we tried it, and we liked it!

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July 12, 2022

Sometimes, it takes the pot FOREVER to thicken. 

In which case, pull up a stool, pour a glass of wine, and just go with it.

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Found My Vintage Coupons

During the 1980/90’s I was the most organized person in the world.  Look at my little scissors that I kept in my little coupon file which I always had access to, and would carry around whenever I would go shopping.  (The color of the scissors and file even match.)  🙂

It was fun looking at the old coupons.

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December 25, 2021

Vesele Vanoce!

(Merry Christmas in Czech)

This is my brother’s Christmas tree in Ireland.  Isn’t it beautiful?  He lives here with his partner Sabina and their daughter Vivien.  This is their home.

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I Love Sabina’s Decorating, Especially All The Hearts Everywhere

(People that see hearts everywhere are the nicest people to know.)  🙂

Sabina is originally from The Czech Republic and it is the Slavic tradition to eat fish on the 24th.  Normally Carp or Fresh Water Fish. But, for my brother and his Irish/American children, Kate and Lola, Sabina will make an exception and cook Salmon.  The Slavic big day of celebrating is the 24th., not the 25th., like it is here in America.

The Wine Glasses are for Everyone, but the Wine Is Not

Vivien, Kate, Lola and Johnny Christmas Eve

Salmon, Potato Salad, etc.

According to my brother the Slavic’s have more in common ‘food wise’ with American’s, than we do with the British.  I’m thinking about having a Slavic Christmas next December 24, 2022.  Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

Nollaig Shona Dhuit!,

Merry Christmas in Ireland

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November 12, 2021

Frozen Baked Ziti

Happiness is cleaning out your garage freezer in order to make room for a Thanksgiving turkey, only to find a treasure of Baked Ziti at the very bottom.  Eating this gave us the room we needed.  🙂  We baked it and gave half to our son and his girlfriend.  Happiness is also sharing.

Add Fresh Herbs, and Really Good Bread

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August 4, 2021

Inherited some Goodies

A Vintage Capital Building, Washington, D.C. Commemorative Plate

(PINK and GREEN)

Gordon flew up to see his parents in Chesapeake, Virginia early in July.  His parents were moving into an Independent Living Facility Apartment and moving out of their home.  They were also downsizing and getting rid of quite a few of their possessions.  The plate above is a gift to me from my mother-in-law.  It is old, and it features the Capital Building.  I do have to say that had 1/6 not happened then I would gladly except the plate and then stash it into my China cabinet with no after thoughts whatsoever.  But, since 1/6 I’m now appreciating the plate more than I would have and I have it sitting out to look at and enjoy.  I guess I’m much more appreciative of it than I would have been normally.

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Antique Kitchen Torture Gadgets

We were just told these once belonged to Gordon’s Maternal Grandparents

We can only assume that these were for perhaps smooshing potatoes, or perhaps the contraption in the back is a giant garlic press?  🙂  Either way, we are very happy to own them.

Cutlery in All Shapes and Sizes

My mother-in-law also sent our way all of these antique, vintage, and modern cutlery.  Interestingly enough, there was only ONE knife among all these spoons and forks.

This will be great for our website projects that we do so I am very excited to have all of this.  Props!  I also love that they belonged to my In-Laws.  I love the passing down of family treasures.

Gordon Came Back With Many Boxes of Treasures

Here I am unpacking some of the goodies.

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Our Favorite Box So Far…

GR. Mutter, is Gordon’s Mother, (GR. Mutter = Grandmother),

and Frederick Alderfer is Gordon’s Grandfather, Norman Frederick Alderfer.  These cook booklets are from his side of the family.

Antique Cookbook Booklets and Pamplets

Some of these are over a century. 

Most are around 1924, and 1933, 1935.  So very exciting!

1919

I LOVE this!  You know it was hand typed by a secretary and not printed in mass.

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Food and Recipe Diary

I asked my Mother-In-Law who’s ‘Food and Recipe Diary’ this was and she didn’t know?  But it does belong to someone on her side of the family.

I absolutely love deciphering these recipes from 90 years ago.  🙂

This Contraption Belonged to Gordon’s Parents, a Clam and Oyster Shucker.

I ADORE All These Handwritten Recipes!

With Magnifying Glass in Hand, and my Cup of Tea, I am Ready to Decipher These Recipes.

One thing that I wanted from my Mother-In-Law was a cup and saucer that she would pick out for me.  I didn’t care what it looked like.  I didn’t care how expensive or special that it was.  I just wanted one that she wanted me to have.  We haven’t always gotten along, although I do have to say that I appreciate her more in my 60’s than I ever did in my 20, 30, 40, or 50.  She is sharp as a tack!  And a very interesting person.  I suppose that I am just not as judgemental as I once was.  I’m also more tolerant.  My Mother-In-Law is a very special person.  I’m finally starting to appreciate her.  Oh, she can offend people left and right, she isn’t perfect by any means.  However, I am starting to understand her and that softens all the edges.

The Pot Thickens,

Julie

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March 24, 2021

I like my Chili so thick that I can eat it with a fork.  🙂

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March 23, 2021

Cute Story

After my grandmother’s funeral in 2000 and we were all back at the First Christian Church in Rome, Georgia for the pot luck lunch in her honor, one of the ladies that I’ve known most of my life, Jane Slickman, asked me if she could take a plate home for her husband George?

I told her “Yes, of course”, and I turned to walk away.  That’s when I turned back around and I said to her, “What if I had said no?”  Then Jane looked at me with a straight face and said, “Then I would have waited for you to turn your head and fixed him a plate anyway.” 

I miss those ladies,  🙂

Julie

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March 22, 2021

Nothing puts a smile on my lips as much as money does. 

Oh, and a big pot of chili.

Especially on a cool Florida day.

So, the pot thickens….  yummm…..

Especially served over our Grilled Cabbage Slaw

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February 9, 2021

Death By Pantry

(A Real Fear)

Our kitchen pantry is a scary place.  It’s so packed full that we can’t find anything unless we just start to take it all out of the closet, which most of the time we don’t want to do.  If given the choice between finding chopped green peppers, or a can of tomato paste, I would rather just go out and buy what I need before searching through the pantry.

Whenever I make a shopping list for some staple ingredients Gordon will always ask, “Did you check the pantry?”

I will then usually look at him with horror on my face and lie and say, “Yes.  But I couldn’t find any in the pantry.”

That’s when Gordon will look at me and say, “No you didn’t.  You didn’t look in the pantry.  You just made that up.”

I will then pretend to hold my head in shame and admit to the lie and that is when Gordon will dive into the pantry looking for said items in order to save some money at the grocery store.

You see, this is how I get him to look through the pantry so that I don’t have to.  🙂

He will usually emerge with an AHA!  I found it!

Only to hear me say when I look at the cans, “EXPIRED.  EXPIRED.  EXPIRED.”

(Keep scrolling for one of our favorite commercials.)  🙂

We Also Have Death By Ladder Fears

(There are always ladders, everywhere!)

The shelves are collapsing onto each other.  I just know that one day I will open the pantry door only to have all the cans rain down on me, knocking me unconscious.  Gordon then comes home from work later in the day to find my lifeless body lying on the floor surrounded by expired foods.  That will probably be what upsets him the most.  🙁

 

 

One of our favorite commercials.  🙂

Expired!  Expired!  Expired!

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February 9, 2021

Julie’s Democratically Elected Pasta Bowl

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I also have this I Voted Pasta Salad recipe below:

Not to confuse you but I have 2 different pasta recipes here.

I added some of our Tabasco Peppers from our garden to this one.

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To Be Eaten Cold From the Fridge

I VOTED

A Nice Light Lunch

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Julie’s Democratically Elected Pasta Bowl

We VOTED!  It was Delicious!

It Even Tastes Good Cold

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The White House

Summer 2001, I Took These Photos

The Capital

We lived on Ft. Meade, in Maryland for about 4 years in the early 2000’s.  We were located between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.  I really did enjoy living there because of all the history and museums, different cultures, foods, restaurants…..

We sent our kids to Chess Camp and not sports camp’s like small town America does.  I am also happy that we had the privilege of living there before 9/11 when we were able to roam around without all the constraints that we have now.  Of course, we were also living there after 9/11.

We lived there during the end of the Bill Clinton Presidency, and the first few years of George W. Bush.

Therefore, in honor of the new Joseph R. Biden Jr. Presidency, I present to you….

Julie’s Democratically Elected Pasta Bowl

This was all my creation and creativity by simply raiding the pantry and the fridge.

Top with Grated Parmesano-Reggiano

And it all started with this bag of Democratic Pasta,

and the Inauguration of this Democratically Elected President and Vice-President,

Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Kamala Harris

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My Ingredients:

(I cannot give you precise ingredients as I just eyeballed everything and used as much of this or that that appeals to my personal tastes.)

14 oz. Democratic Pasta Shapes

1/2 lb. Linguine Pasta

6-8 Sweet Peppers (Deseeded and Sliced into Rings and Baked in the Oven.)

8 oz. Turkey Sausage (Sliced into rings and fried in Olive Oil, or not.)  🙂

Jars of Goodness Nearing Their Expiration Dates:

Sun Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil

De-pitted Kalamata Olives

Grilled Artichoke Hearts in Olive Oil

Roasted Red Bell Peppers in Olive Oil

Artichoke Bruschetta

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

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And Olive Oil for Cooking

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The first thing I did was to turn the oven on to 350F.

I then started slicing my Sweet Peppers into rings and careful not to have too many seeds in them.

I placed them into a bowl and poured a little bit of Olive Oil over top of them just to coat.

When the oven came up to Temperature….

I placed all the sliced Sweet Peppers onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.

I ended up baking these for near to 30 minutes, removing them every 8-10 minutes to stir them around a bit.

When Done Set Aside

(I did not season these peppers other than with Olive Oil because I am going to be adding so many flavors to this Pasta Bowl that I didn’t think I needed to.)

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Slicing up Our Turkey Sausage into Rounds

This Turkey Sausage is so sweet and delicious on it’s own and I could have left it as it was, but I wanted to fry it all up because I was afraid it would be a bit too mushy if I didn’t.

I just added some Olive Oil to the frying pan and let the slices brown up on a medium high heat.

When Done I Let Them Cool and Then Sliced Then into Quarters

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Time To Boil The Pasta

Use 2 different pots because you are boiling 2 different pastas that will require 2 different cooking times.

Boil to Al Dente and then Drain into Colander’s

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Now It’s Time To Add Our Pasta’s To a Large Bowl

Now I Added The Oven Roasted Sweet Peppers

(The Olive Oil coated peppers are helping me to coat my pasta as I stir it so it doesn’t stick together.)

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Time To Add a Little From Each Jar

Most every ingredient you see above in the jars is marinating in olive oil.  I didn’t want my salad bowl to be so oily so I drained the ingredients of the olive oil first before I placed them on top of my pastas.

Pick and Choose What You Want and How Much You Want of It.

Adding My Fried Turkey Sausage and Mixing All Together

Top With Some Grated Cheese

When Gordon came home from work I told him that I had made dinner and to tell me what he thinks about it? 

What he liked the most about this pasta bowl was that he tasted 3 different bites of it and each one tasted different from the other.  In one bite he is getting sun dried tomatoes and artichoke with the pasta.  And in another bite he is getting the roasted peppers and a Kalamata olive with the pasta.  And in another bite he is getting the pesto covered pasta with a bite of fried turkey sausage.

This will be on repeat.  We voted and it is decided!  🙂

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Julie’s I VOTED Pasta Salad

Great Eaten Cold and Perhaps with a Side of Bread

I VOTED!

This was pretty easy.  I just used items from the fridge and pantry.

Just cook your pasta until al dente, then drain and place into a bowl.

Now add whatever ingredients you like.  Here I added some sliced Baby Cucumber, Feta Cheese, crumbled, some Cream Cheese Stuffed Red Peppers, and an Olive Oil Salad Dressing.

My I Voted Pasta Salad along with some nice butter bread with some Roasted Garlic, Sun Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil, chunks of Feta Cheese, and some Red Peppers…..

A Nice Tasty Afternoon Pasta Salad

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October 29, 2020

The Pot Thickens…. Again!

Julie’s Chicken Knot Pies

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November 22, 2020

Nigella Lawson, ‘Cook, Eat, Repeat’

The many ‘Post It’s’ are just because those areas just feel so familiar. 

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Cook, eat, repeat, cook, eat, repeat, cook, eat, repeat……

NIGELLA.COM

The British cook, Nigella Lawson, has just released her 12th. book, Cook, Eat, Repeat.  She lives in London, England and her new book did just debut on October 29, 2020 in the United Kingdom.  Her book will not be released here in the states until April 2021.  She is someone that I have followed since the early 2000’s from when I first discovered her on The Style Network from when we were living in Maryland.  That is also when I discovered Rachel Ashwell and her Shabby Chic T.V. shows as well.  I’ve been a fan of both women since then.

My Nigella Collection

(My Rachel Ashwell Collection is just to the left on this shelf.)

As you can see I have every one of her books and most of her video’s.  When my friend Trish was living she would send me the New Zealand magazines and sometimes Nigella was in them.  I also have those above as well.  I do happen to love Nigella’s Christmas episode’s the best.  The photography/cinematography is excellent!  Her Christmas episode’s are very high quality.  (All the episode’s are.)  I also love the music.  Music really does make a show.  (One of my favorite movies is Twilight.  Only because of the music.  You take the music away and I could care less.)  Editing is also everything and whoever edits deserves great credit as well.  Nigella herself also deserves tremendous credit as these are her show’s that she stars in.

My favorite cookbook of hers is her Nigella Christmas.  It’s just so beautiful and festive.  Some of the recipe’s just get you very excited to make them and to share with others.  I know that we have in the past.  She has a recipe for excellent Bourbon Ribs and we adore her Drunken Devil’s on Horseback each year. 

But, I do have to say that this particular cookbook, Cook, Eat, Repeat, just has a different feel to it than her last ones.  First of all, the title, Cook, Eat, Repeat summons up to me something very easy, fun, and childlike.  Something Dr. Seuss would come up with.  But yet it isn’t anything he would come up with.  And then there is the ‘A for Anchovy’ chapter which comes first.  That also summons up a child like book, yet when you read the chapter, there is nothing childlike about it.  I have never heard anyone describe their love of anchovy’s the way that she does and all that I can think is that if I ever come back as a fish, PLEASE do not have me be an anchovy!  Nigella would eat me!  I want to be an unappetizing fish just so that I can have some sort of a life in the sea without fear of being eaten.

I also came to realize that she loves food way more than me.  And also, way more than I will ever.

But, I suppose that is what makes her the expert.

You know, I am not qualified to judge her cookbook as some expert, other than to give my personal opinion on it.  I am not a trained chef, or book writer critic.  My husband is the one with the culinary degree.  I cannot dare to tell you what ingredients go best with this food, or that.  I can only offer up my opinion of the foods themselves that are being presented to me.  Would I choose to cook them?  Do they taste how I would like?  Are they easy/hard enough that I am capable of making them?  That is about all that I am qualified to write about here.

I will start with this:

Cook, Eat, Repeat

Blue, White, Black and with Touches of Pink

And what is this?

When you open the book, this is what you see:  this has no rhyme or reason for being in this book.  The color scheme of the book is Blue, White, Black and with touches of Pink.  Where does this bold red and green pattern come into play right when you open the cover of the book?  In the front and in the back?

Grab a Magnifying Glass!  This is Cryptology!  If you look very closely you will see lots of lower case “n” and upper case “J”.  I can only assume that the lower case “n” is for Nigella.  But who is the upper case “J” that she see’s herself second fiddle to?  That is the question?  The flipping and flopping of the letters is key to this being cryptology.  Take a look for yourselves.

Perhaps I should enlist one of the last remaining Native American Code Talkers to decipher it?  🙂

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I would like to say that everyone has the right to name their book, or their website whatever they want.  I believe there is an audience for everyone whether that audience be 2 million or 2 hundred.  But when I first heard that Nigella’s new cookbook would be named ‘Cook, Eat, Repeat’ I didn’t like it.  It kind of sounded beneath her.  But I suppose that is her life and her mantra, Cook, Eat, Repeat as she insists.  It does conjure up that rhyme I first heard a few years ago of these two people in this boat, Pete and Repeat.  Pete and Repeat were in a boat.  Pete fell out, who’s left?  Repeat.  O.K., Pete and Repeat were in a boat, Pete fell out, who’s left?  Repeat……  I guess you get the picture.  🙂

She also has a Defense of Brown Food Chapter and I can only ask, ‘Why should anyone have to defend brown food?  Don’t most people love steak?  Hamburger?  Roast Beef?  Stews?  Or are they in some “Red” category that no one told me about?  We may not eat Red Meat ourselves anymore but we do recognize that many people do love all the brown food/red meat dishes that are out there.

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Cook, Eat, Repeat, does have a mood to it.  You can tell is was mostly written during lockdown in London.  It just has that feel to it.  But, I don’t mean a bad feel to it.  But there is a mood and a feeling that went along with it.  Similarly to all of us having a mood that has affected us during this Covid 19 era.  (Although truth be told we had a blast in lockdown!)  🙂

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Although I haven’t finished reading the book yet it does offer up more recipes than you realize.  Not all of them come with photos and are not necessarily written in the format of most recipe’s.  A lot of the recipes she just writes out in sentences.  (I too have been known to do that occasionally in my own website.)

Her T.V. series that goes with the release of her book is airing on one of the BBC channels in the UK, and from what I’ve read some of her audience has been critical of a few of her dishes.

Nigella’s Banana Skin Curry

I like the idea of no food waste in making this recipe.  Although this isn’t new to do, she was criticized for adding old banana peels to a curry and making it sound good.  This is the future of food.  There won’t be enough for everyone to eat so there will be no food waste.  It’s actually something our future generations will be struggling with.  So, recipes like this are a good idea. 

A few years ago on the BBC Food Twitter they had posted how they had deep fried the skins that were peeled from potatoes and found a useful way to eat them without throwing them away.  Those kinds of ideas are needed.

Nigella Buttering Toast

Ms. Lawson was also criticized for showing her audience how she butters her toast.  One layer of butter when the toast is nice and hot so the butter melts, then topped with another layer of butter.  People just didn’t know what to think about that and started saying things like ‘next she’ll be teaching us how to boil water.’

I believe that Nigella is misunderstood at times like these.  I think that she just wants to teach her audience how to get the maximum taste out of food, even something as simple as buttering bread.

I myself can give you instructions on how to open a jar lid because sometimes that is a difficult thing to do.  For example, if trying to open a jar lid seems impossible then just shake the jar around so that the air isn’t at the top anymore, creating a vacuum.  Then try opening it.  These are just hints and tips.  That’s all.  Oh, and do not try that with any sort of carbonated drink btw.

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Although Nigella isn’t very popular over here in the states, she is popular in Europe and Australasia.  Although I do believe that pockets of America are familiar with her and enjoy whatever she has to present.  My wish would be for her to do something different.  Her show is always the same format in the same sort of kitchen.  I would love to see her doing something different yet still maintaining the quality that does come from her and her shows.  I just don’t know what that different format would be?  That is something for her to figure out.  She is 60.  Not that there is anything in the world wrong with that but you don’t usually tend to grow an audience at 60. 

What you do hope to do is to maintain the audience that you have had for years to bring them along on the journey with you.  Someone like me.  Someone that has been there from the beginning.

I will say that this cookbook is more for a sophisticated audience and not your average American.  Not that she should dumb herself down to appeal to the average, but maintain that intelligence and bring your audience up to your level.  I believe we need more of that in all areas, not just cook books and cooking shows.  Having said that, her vocabulary will leave most people behind and confused.

So, am I enjoying the book?  Well, I find parts of it very interesting.  Is there anything that I would be interested in cooking?  Perhaps the Black Treacle (Molasses) Sausages, the Vegan Gingerbread, (I have a ton of Ginger that I need use up and was thinking about making lots of Gingerbread/Gingerbread cookies/etc. for this year), the Brown Butter Colcannon looks good too.  Just to name a few.

Would I recommend the book to an American audience?  No, it would be over their heads and most of the food they would not be interested in eating.  But, as I said above, there is an audience for everyone whether that audience be 2 million people or 2 hundred people. 

I know that I don’t cater my website to the average person.  It’s funny but my Indian guys that protect and work on the technical side of my website were trying to give me hints and tips on appealing to more people and one way they wanted me to do that is to not post as many photos when we do recipes.  I told them that that is just my way and I don’t want to do it differently.  You see, they are under the impression that I am trying to appeal to a large audience and that I want to grow some business, etc.  I don’t!  Although it would be nice to have reader’s to donate money here and there to help us keep the sight going, that just never happened.  (We had to remove the Paypal button on the website because it kept getting hacked but that didn’t matter because no one ever donated money anyway.) 

But, if I were to pick up some sponsor of our website the first thing they would probably tell me is to delete all my blogs in order to make my sight less personal and more professional.  Deleting all that would be like deleting myself.  Because here in America once you take money you lose your voice.  You are then beholden to whoever has the money.  That is just how it was in my family growing up.  My step-father always threw in my face that because he was paying that I had to do what he said.  The person who pays is always in charge.  I’ve heard that my whole life.  Which is why I like my website just as it is.  Because I am beholden to no one.  And that is how it should be for all of us.

Julie

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September 20, 2020

The Pot Thickens…. LITERALLY!

I couldn’t not post a recipe of ours cooked in a pot that was literally thickening without posting it here……

Thus, The Pot Thickens

This is a delicious Drunken Clam Chowder that Gordon and I created starring some Clam and Corn Fritters with an accent of Fried Clams topped with Bacon.

Clam and Corn Fritters

We created this Drunken Clam Chowder for our Family Guy Halloween post, in honor of The Drunken Clam.

The recipe will be on our Family Guy Halloween post. 

But until then, The Pot Thickens…..

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August 2, 2020

SALADS

I love salads! 

They are healthy, delicious, beautiful, crunchy, everything that I love about good food.

I love the alien looking Romanesco.

Salads are also very filling to me. 

I’m not one of these ‘salad with dinner’ kind of person. 

I am a’ Salad FOR Dinner’ kind of person.

I also love eating a variety of lettuce leaves.

The more the merrier. 

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Toasting some Pine Nuts….

Adding Hard Boiled Eggs and my favorite Manchego Cheese….

And lots of croutons.  My weakness.  These are Pumpernickel croutons.

But my biggest weakness is in the creamy salad dressings.  Oil and Vinegar just doesn’t cut it for me.  Sometimes it does when I am in an herby Italian kind of mood.  But most of the time I prefer the richer salad dressings.  I discovered this one and now it is a favorite.

My new favorite salad dressing. 

I had to get this image online because we ate ours so quickly I never got to photograph the jar.

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Whether in a bowl or a plate, I am so there!

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🙂

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Spaghetti and Meatballs

Our Beautiful Basil from our Herb Garden

Fresh Herbs for Dinner

Gordon’s Spaghetti Dinner on the Left, Mine on the Right

Eaten with our new favorite vegetarian meatballs.

I like to share products that we come across and enjoy.  We don’t eat red meat but we decided to try these and we love them!  Looks like now we can have meatballs with our spaghetti.

My Happy Dinner Plate

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July 21, 2020

Cheese Stuffed Pepperoncini

I love sharing delicious food products that I come across.

It was before July 4th. and I was looking for pickle/relish foods that we had not tried before when these cheese stuffed pepperoncini popped up on the screen when I was ordering online.  That red jar looked delicious so I ordered one.  I was so hooked!   So was Gordon!  So was Brodie!  That’s when the next time I did our grocery shopping online I ordered several more.  They are excellent to eat with our favorite roasted garlic/Feta Cheese/Italian rustic bread/sundried tomatoes/ etc.  A great addition to any time you would eat a pickle.  The oil is very hot and but so nice that I would love to fry and egg in that oil, or marinate some Feta Cheese in the oil to be eaten with some great chewy bread.

Our new favorite super-duper delicious food!

They taste great with a sandwich too:

p.s.  We love sending food items that we come across to people that we love for Christmas.  And sort of introduce them to it.  Most people that we know are only interested in food for Christmas.  This will make a nice addition.  Time to stock up!

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June 26, 2020

The Baconator, A Love Affair

My Baconator, not it’s real name, was purchased by me last year from an old favorite restaurant of mine in Tennessee through the mail.  It is a lovely piece of pottery, handmade by artisan’s from the area of Pigeon Forge.  I love it and we use it quite often.

The Old Mill Restaurant

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

The Baconator, and many other pottery and food items can be purchased here.  This is one of my most favorite restaurants in the south for good southern cooking.  Whenever I go I always order the Corn Chowder with Corn Fritters.

Dollywood

as in Dolly Parton’s, Dollywood

(This is from the mid 90’s when Dollywood wasn’t as grand as it is now and every employee in the park was related to Dolly Parton.  I even went to high school in Sevierville with a few Parton’s.  It’s a big family.)

Me on the water ride. 

We were visiting friends in Sevierville and we went to Dollywood one day.

That is little Veronica and I’m holding little Brodie.

I thought that since I was talking about the pottery and The Old Mill that I would post a few old photos.

I love making bacon in this thing.  I just drape the bacon all around it and place it into the microwave.  The cooking time depends on your microwave and the thickness of the bacon you are cooking.  My pottery also came with no instructions.  Typical on the south, we’re just supposed to know these things.  Well, I managed and all of us love it!

Potato Skins with Butter, Cheeses, and BACON!

🙂

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June 5, 2020

Bowls and Platters

These Remind me of St. Augustine, Florida

Gordon Brought ALL of These From Overseas

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June 2, 2020

“Is There Something Wrong With Your Food?”

Me:  “No.  It’s Just How I Eat.”

I suppose that I should have named this post ‘The Pot Thickens….  Musing of an Amateur Cook and Eater, but I didn’t so…..  I guess I just won’t worry about it then.  However, I would like to share with you something that I have heard quite often throughout my life where my eating is concerned.  “Is there something wrong with your food?”  And my answer is always, “No.  It’s just how I eat.”

I am a picky eater.  Not so much in what I eat, but how I eat it.

  1.  I usually don’t like the middle of a sandwich so I tend to eat around it.  To me the middle is just too thick with food.  I like a nice ratio of bread and filling and not a lot of filling and a little bit of bread.
  2.  I never bite against the grain of a Trisket cracker.  (Nothing to do with superstition.  I walk under ladders.  I open umbrellas in the house, etc. etc.  but I will NEVER bite against the grain of that cracker.

3.  Although Mackenzie seemed horrified when she saw me spreading peanut butter on potato chips, it is something I do quite often.  Peanut butter is my most favorite food in the entire world and I pretty much put it on many things.  Not just potato chips.  Although my favorite chip flavor that goes with peanut butter, is barbeque.  My mother would buy the largest tub of peanut butter when we were growing up.  It had to have been a good 5 pound bucket.  We would go through that 5 pound bucket in one week.  It was the cheapest brand of peanut butter too.  JFG was it’s name.  But, it was so cheap because it was real peanut butter and not loaded with sugar like all the other brands were.

4.  I only like to eat green bananas.  I will choke down a yellow one when I have to because I do get foot and leg cramps if I don’t eat one everyday.  But I am a happy camper when I sit down to eat my green banana.  (I started this habit in Hawaii.  I think because we had a banana tree in our backyard and all the bananas would go ripe at once.  All 60 of them!  So, I would try and eat as many as I could so that none went to waste so I started feasting on the green ones.)

5.  If given the choice of having something perfectly prepared for me to eat, or having it be a little charred, I’ll choose the charred one any day of the week.  You know, just like Mom used to make.

6.  I will NOT eat a runny egg!  Because they are gross.  When Gordon cooks me eggs if there is the least bit of “creamy” to them then I won’t eat them.  I also boil my eggs when making deviled eggs until they are powder.  Perfectly delicious powder.  🙂

7.  I don’t eat red meat.

8.  I mainly eat with a fork because I prefer to slide food into my mouth.  I hate using a spoon unless it is for soup.  I just don’t like the thought of inserting that spoon into my mouth and grasping it.  When I do use a spoon it’s mainly just to pour soup in my mouth and not embrace it the way so many people do.

9.  I tend to eat Top Ramen noodle soup uncooked.  We picked up that habit in Hawaii.  When the local children need a snack their mother’s will just give them one of the noodle packets and they eat it while they play outside.  So do I.  🙂

10.  Whenever we make mashed potatoes I always make sure we have green peas with them because I love it when they touch and I get peas stuck in my potatoes.  But not too many peas.  I prefer a ratio of 3/4 potatoes and 1/4 peas.  That’s important.

11.  I use two coffee mugs every morning.  I will not drink my two cups of coffee out of the same mug in the mornings.  I prefer a fresh mug.

12.  Soda just tastes better when you drink it out of plastic as opposed to glass.  Therefore, I won’t drink a soda if I don’t have a plastic glass to drink it out of.

13.  I wash my hands about 100 times a day which is why I rarely get sick.  (However during a highly contagious pandemic I don’t have as much control over my health right now as I would like.)

14.  I only like melted chocolate or creamy chocolate.  I don’t like hard chocolate and will pass a hard chocolate bar up in a second.

15.  Gordon “alleges” that I am like a roach when eating fried chicken.  I just pick all around the outside of it and leave the inside alone.

16.  I only drink red wine and I only drink it with a straw.  Me, Brodie and Mackenzie do that.  That way our teeth stay white and not stained.  And I only drink wine from a wine glass.  Brodie and Mackenzie aren’t as picky as me.  Gordon doesn’t drink much wine.  He tends to stick to beer.

17.  I LOVE Captain Crunch’s Peanut Butter Cereal and have since I first tasted it when I was about 9.

18.  I LOVE SPAM!!!!!!  (FRIED, OF COURSE)!

19.  I have a love/hate relationship with mayonnaise.  I rarely put it on a sandwich because to me it’s gross.  But, I do put it in my Deviled Eggs, Potato Salads, Macaroni Salads, etc.  (It’s because when we were young my step-brother knew mayonnaise grossed me out so he would put it on a knife and lick it off as if he were some mercenary out in the jungle and had just killed an enemy, then licking their blood off the knife.)  So you see, I have no choice but to hate it!  He also used to mix Mayonnaise with Peanut Butter.  Thank God he didn’t ruin peanut butter for me!

20.  I hate cracklin’.  My step-father grew up poor in Texas and they would put cracklin’ in cornbread so he would have my mother do it occasionally.  And when they did I would not eat it.  I don’t like gnawing on food, much less a piece of fat.

21.  I LOVE SALTINE CRACKERS!!!

22.  If I get hungry during the day but I don’t want to really eat something big then I will eat a fork full of peanut butter and that will satisfy my appetite until dinner.

23.  I also chew funny.  I found out last year from my dentist that my mouth is deformed.  That actually explains a lot.  I’ve always had dentists to get frustrated with me when they wanted me to bite down so they could try and fit a crown, or take x-rays, only to get upset with me because things didn’t line up like they should.  Therefore they blamed me for not doing it right.  Finally, I found a dentist that realized the problem and now works with me instead of against me when these things come up.

Well, I guess this is all for now.  If I think of something else I will list it here.  If you are just as weird as I am then obviously you are not alone.  🙂

Julie

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June 1, 2020

Make Ahead To Freeze

When the Coronavirus Pandemic was heading our way and we were entering into a lockdown as a society I worried about what would happen to our food supply.  Will there be enough eggs?  Milk?  Butter?  Meats?

It was at that time that I started baking for breakfast!

I just felt that I needed to make ahead breakfast foods to freeze for a later date.  Little quiche’s.  Perhaps with some sausage, spinach and cheeses.  So, I did!  I’m still keeping them frozen, for now.

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MAY 31, 2020

Brodie’s Foods

Our Son Brodie, The Amateur Cook

 Brodie Recreating and Even Exceeding Gordon’s Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

Brodie Making Gordon’s Hawaiian Potatoes

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Brodie and his Girlfriend Mackenzie Recreated This Ultimate Tots Recipe From one of their Favorite Restaurants.

Brodie and Mackenzie’s Fried Steak

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Brodie Making Carbonara

This is probably his most favorite food he likes to eat and cook.

This was so delicious!

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Mackenzie and Brodie Recreating a Favorite Pasta Salad Recipe

Brodie in the Kitchen and Me in the Background on my Computer

Brodie Did an Excellent Job on This Pasta Salad

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OMG!  THE Best Banana Pancakes!

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And Lastly, Brodie and Mackenzie’s Italian Chicken

These are but a few of their many delicious recipes!

The reason that I am posting these delicious foods that my son and his girlfriend are making, is because they are so very talented and creative where food is concerned.  Their foods are delicious!  But, It really is up to them to write down all these recipes.  I have enough to do with all that Gordon and I have going on. 

But what I wanted to point out to you is that Brodie can watch a video on Youtube on how to cook something and then he can cook it in the exact same way as the chef in the video, Brodie can also expand on that recipe making it into something better, and Brodie can make it look good all at the same time. 

Mackenzie has also really grown creatively and the two of them make such a great team.  Just like Gordon and I complement each other in our creativity.

These two really do have a food future.  I hope they expand on it and do something with it.  Perhaps some day I will write down their recipes.  But in the meantime, I’ve got plenty to do as it is.

I do love that Brodie seems to understand the importance of carrying on our recipes.

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Chopsticks Mandatory

Fried Noodles

Cascade of Noodles

Click Here For:  Whann Way Aloha

Just scroll down this post until you come to our noodle recipe.  It really is good and you can add whatever you like to it.  It is up to your own personal tastes.  That’s how all recipe’s should be.

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May 30, 2020

My Expired Casserole

Last May, 2019, I was going through our food pantry to try and clean it out and get rid of some expired foods.  BTW:  They didn’t used to put expiration dates on food.  Maybe they did for dairy and butcher products, but not for anything else.  It was more of a judgement call by the cooks preparing the foods.

So, as I was tossing all these food products into the trash and looking at all that money we spent on food being thrown away and wasted, I decided to try and cook with some of them just to see.  After all, how does anyone know the exact date that the food product is no good?  Do they consult a crystal ball?

I had some leftover rotisserie chicken and some steamed broccoli so I decided to throw together a casserole using some of my expired foods.  Not anything that had been expired for longer than a few days and even a few months.

Although you cannot see in the photo above, I cooked a box of Stove Top Stuffing and then when it was done I placed it in the bottom of the greased casserole dish above.  I then tore my leftover Rotisserie Chicken into pieces and placed on top of the stuffing mixture.  I then placed the broccoli flowerettes on top of the chicken.  In the meantime, I cooked up two expired Pasta Dinner’s in cheese sauce and when done I poured them over the top of my casserole.

It Looks Good, Huh?

I baked the casserole for about 25 minutes in a 350F oven.

Then I sprinkled some expired Durkee Onions over top and placed the casserole back into the oven for an additional 5 minutes just to brown the topping.

It was actually quite delicious!

Perhaps we should just use our own judgement when it comes to the foods in our pantry and when it’s time to throw them out and not just rely on some dated stamp.

(P.S.  In this era of Covid 19 I’m not so sure we should be throwing food out willy nilly.  No one knows when they may lose their job and thus their income.  Perhaps eating something expired is better than eating nothing at all.)

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Because I believe my computer spy’s on me……

I heard my son tossing items into the trash can from the pantry and I immediately asked, “Whadyah doing?”  He replied, “It’s expired.”  I then asked, “What’s expired?”  Brodie:  “These cans of soup.”  Me:  “Put them back.”  Brodie:  “But they are expired!”  Me:  “Put them back anyway.”

The very next day this article pops up on my computer for me to read.

THE FOOD EXPIRATION DATES YOU SHOULD ACTUALLY FOLLOW

https://www.nytimes.com/article/expiration-dates-coronavirus.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Don’t tell me someone’s not listening!

Just think twice before you start throwing food away.  Especially in this climate.  I don’t want anyone to be hungry.

Julie

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pork, Sausage and Mustard

Pork, Sausage and Mustard

        Welcome to Pork, Sausage and Mustard From the Kitchen of……. Gordon and Julie Today, we will be making MUSTARD, and lots of it! At this writing we are in the middle of a pandemic, the Coronavirus/Covid 19. Gordon and I decided …

Breakfast With Brodie and Mackenzie

Breakfast With Brodie and Mackenzie

          Good Morning Welcome to Breakfast with Brodie and Mackenzie  We have a few menu items you might enjoy. ———————————————————- Bagel and Lox Ingredients: One Bagel (I use the Everything or Egg style bagels.) Smoked Salmon (I use Fresh Market’s Nova …

Cooking With Brodie and Mackenzie, Onion Soup

Cooking With Brodie and Mackenzie, Onion Soup

 

 

 

 

 

Onion Soup Topped with Toasted Bread and Melted Crusty Cheese

(Pork Tenderloins and Grilled Asparagus compliments of Gordon. 

Recipe write up at the bottom of this post.)

We would like to introduce to you our son Brodie and his girlfriend Mackenzie.

They are the new cooking dynamic duo in our family that have discovered the joys of cooking and trying new foods while discovering the talents and creativity that they never knew existed inside of them.  They have certainly been a ‘shot in the arm’ for Gordon and myself as their foods differ from ours and they are becoming something of an inspiration to us as they like to try and recreate some of their favorite foods they eat in restaurants, as well as to create new dishes on their own.

Of course Brodie having grown up with a culinary father has been something of an inspiration to him.  And as his mother I do have to brag that Brodie’s Teriyaki Chicken has surpassed Gordon’s in taste and texture.  But isn’t that the mark of a great teacher when the student goes on to surpass you?  But shh… let’s not tell Gordon quite yet.  🙂

And Mackenzie is quite creative on her own.  She has just discovered by taste, the ingredients needed in a recent recipe she and Brodie were working on from a restaurant they would frequent.

This post represents their debut as a cooking couple. 

We are very happy to have them join our website and we hope that you will give their recipes a try.

See you in the Kitchen,

Julie and Gordon

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Here they recreated an Onion Soup. 

They have also started a new blog post on breakfasts, something they are quite good at.  If you would like to take a look….

Click Here For:  Breakfast with Brodie and Mackenzie

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ONION SOUP

The Smell is Magnificent!

These Ramekin’s are Perfect for the Soup

(Gordon and Brodie had actually gone out shopping at a thrift store that morning and found them for this food project.)

The Broiled Sourdough

Right Out of the Oven

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Ingredients:

1 Red Onion, sliced

1 Vidalia Onion, sliced

1 White Onion, sliced

6 Shallots, sliced

Purple Pearl Onions, about 12 in a package, sliced

Cipollini Onions, package count was 9, sliced

Butter/Margarine, 1 stick

Beef Stock, 8 Cups

Olive Oil (about 4 T.)

Fresh Thyme, a few sprigs

Bay Leaves, 2-3

Salt

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1 Cup Port Wine

1 Cup Madeira Wine

1 Cup Sherry Wine

BREAD, any of your choice.

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Slicing the Onions and Adding them to a Large Bowl.

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Mackenzie and Brodie Chopping, and Cooking Down the Onions

After slicing the Red, Vidalia and White Onions, they added them to this cast iron pot.  But first they placed about 4 T. of Butter and 2 glugs of Olive Oil on a Medium Heat.

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Shallots to be Chopped

Sliced Shallots Added to a Pot with some Butter (1-2 T.) and Olive Oil to Soften on Medium Heat in a separate pot.

Pour the original pot of cooked down onions into a colander in order to drain the liquid from the pot.

The extra liquid that is removed will be reserved for later use.  Now the onions need to caramelize in the pot to create the brown color.  You will be adding the onion juice later to the soup.  Try a spoonful or two as the juice is quite tasty.  Continue to cook down/caramelize the onions to the doneness your prefer, which will give them even more great flavor.

When browned to your liking, add One Cup Port, and One Cup Madeira and One Cup Sherry to the original pot of onions.

Reduce by half for around 2 hours and add the Cippolini and Pearls Onions about an hour into reducing.

Cipollini and Purple Pearl Onions

Test your knife skills by slicing all the onions evenly.  The varied onion within this recipe, give the soup a well balanced and rounded flavor.

Adding your sliced Cipollini and Purple Pearl Onions to the main pot of onions and then add the Beef Broth, about 8 cups which is 2, 32 ounce containers.

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Stir the soup well and continue to cook over high heat to slightly tenderize the Cipollini and Purple Pearl Onions.  The varying textures of the onions will give the soup a little bite.

Add a little Thyme, Bay Leaves, and Salt, and bring it all to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 min.

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To make the crostini, coat the crostini slices lightly in butter and toast in a cast iron skillet over low to medium heat.  Make them nice and crispy.

Ladle the soup into a bowl or a crock as shown, which is ideal for French Onion Soup.

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Place the Crostini slices directly on top of the Soup.

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Mackenzie, Hand grated Gruyere,

and some Manchego.

Pile It ON!

Melt the cheese using the broiler until the cheese browns and forms a crust.

Be careful it’s piping hot!

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On the left are three previously three inch thick marinated pork tenderloins which were grilled using the following simple steps.  Light your grill and place three burners on high for ~five minutes.  Remove the tenderloins from their packages, turn the grill down to medium and place on the grill, one on top of each burner.  After five minutes of grilling, turn the tenderloin onto it’s opposite side and grill for another five minutes.  Once that five minutes has passed, turn the tenderloin over to a third side previously not grilled.  When completed, move all three tenderloins to a part of the grill which has no heat underneath it, place it down on a side not yet grilled.  If needed, turn off one of the burners to provide room for all three tenderloins.  Let them sit without flame underneath them for yes, another five min.  Now, when done, remove the tenderloins and let them rest for at least 10-15 min. to allow the juices to return to the center of the meat, creating a juicy cut of meat.

On the right are our grilled asparagus.  This is easily done by first placing a cooling rack on the grill so as not to allow the asparagus from falling through.  It is difficult to see in the photo above but it is a black rack placed on the grill and then the asparagus is placed on top of it. 

To prepare the asparagus for the grill, place them on a sheet pan, then douse with a good helping of olive oil and a good sprinkling of lemon pepper.  Mix all the ingredients around well then place and your pre-heated medium high grill.  Grill the asparagus for ~ eight minutes, then turn over and grill for another eight minutes.

NOTE:  Due to the size and thickness of the asparagus some may need to be removed sooner, or cooked longer than others.

  Remove and eat!

A Perfect Accompaniment to Brodie and Mackenzie’s Onion Soup

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Spooky and Sparky

(Waiting for scraps to fall off the table and making our lives a little better.)  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Black and White Pearls

Black and White Pearls

        Black and White Pearls Our Very Elegant Pickled Pearl Onions and Balsamic Pearls How About An Elegant Edible Gift? Welcome to The Recipe, Gordon and Julie ——————————————————————- Be Sure To Also Check Out Our: Pickled Purple Pearls Also Check Out Our: …

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