The Hummingbird and the Bumble Bee

We've noticed the last couple of days that the bumble bees have discovered the hummingbird feeder. I'm a little concerned because the hummingbirds have been hovering nearby but not feeding from it.

I don't want to harm the bees. Bee populations are declining which is not good for the delicate balance of the ecosystem (that'll be another post - perhaps on another blog) for a variety of reasons. In any case, the hummingbirds have been just a joy to watch this year. I want them to have their feeder just to themselves.

So I'm watching through the front door and I see this sequence of events...hummingbird and bee approach the feeder from opposite sides. They notice each other. They decide to share the feeder.

How cool is that? There's surely a lesson or two there.

NOTE: You have to look closely at these pics to see the bumble bee...tried to post larger photos but it wouldn't work. To see them close-up go to my Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/razzmataz/ and click on each individual photo for a close-up view.

Quick & Easy Croutons

Here's a great way to use leftover bread. Any kind of bread is good but leftover artisan breads are the best. I think I found this easy recipe in an old Martha Stewart Living magazine. I tore it out and don't have the info on it but the picture looks totally Martha. Anyway, here's the scoop:

Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and freeze them. Then when you want to make croutons just toss about 1-1/2 cups of cubes (no need to thaw) in a skillet with 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil; season with salt and pepper and cook on medium-high until golden brown (about 3 or 4 minutes).

You could vary this lots of ways by throwing in some herbs or garlic powder. Just a thought.

How to Make Spreadable Butter

I have Jenny Jones' Look Good, Feel Great Cookbook. It's actually fun to read as she just chatters on about her recipes as she writes them.

Plus she took every single photograph herself. They're nice pictures. She captions each one with a little information about how long it took her to get just the right shot or where she got the napkin or tablecloth that she used in the photo, etc.

There's a picture of her Four Grain Pancakes (which I have not tried, yet, but I will) and she says that she got the placemat at a T.J. Maxx store in Chicago and the plate at Ace Hardware!

However, I just wanted to let you know about the Soft Spread Butter. It's to cut down on saturated fat without sacrificing the taste of real butter. It's really good. Here's how you do it:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup canola oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix the ingredients well - she uses an electric mixer but I just used a whisk. Put in a plastic tub or dish and cover. You do have to keep this in the refrigerator or it will get really soft but it's spreadable cold so not a problem.

Jenny Jones did not take a photo of this but I did. The problem is that in my picture the butter looks white...it's not. It's yellow.

So not only will you be cutting back on saturated fat, you'll also be getting double the butter! Give it a try.

The County Fair - 2009

Once again we are selling our smoothies at the county fair. It's going well although the weather, until today, has been less than perfect. Quite a bit less than perfect, actually. But there are diehard smoothie lovers out there who wouldn't miss their annual county fair smoothie for anything. Thank goodness.

Today and tomorrow are supposed to be much warmer so we'll be busy. I've got about an hour to get there before Jack starts wondering where I am...

Rocket Moms Update

This past eight weeks has flown by and I've managed to complete the eight projects that we were assigned as Rocket Moms this session. It's been a really enriching experience. No surprise. Everything about Squidoo has been an enriching experience.

In any case, if you'd like to check out my weekly projects, here's a list of the projects we were asked to complete with links.

Week 1 (About Me): My Camera and Me - A Travelogue

Week 2 (Niche lens): All About Salt

Week 3 (Top Ten List): Top Ten "Make Your Own Products" Recipes

Week 4 (Holiday): Simplify Christmas - Five Good Ideas

Week 5 (Recipe): Homemade Honey Granola Bars

Week 6 (Travel): Dale Chihuly Exhibit - Desert Botanical Garden

Week 7 (Charity-I chose the Humane Society): Pets At Risk in an Economic Crisis

Week 8 (Lensography - A list of Squidoo lenses, either our own or a group of lenses specific to something): My Favorite Squidoo References - A Lensography

So there you go...some reading material. Some of the assignments took some thinking; I had a difficult time choosing a charity, for example. So many worthy causes. But I'd read about how so many pets are suffering from the current economic crisis and their families losing their homes. It just seemed right to me.

Am planning to be a "part-time" Rocket Mom this next session and have until September 30th to complete my 50 lenses for Giant Squid. Busy, Busy, Busy...

The Rites of Summer

Just a quick post...

A day or so ago I glanced out the dining room window and caught sight of two monarch butterflies. They landed on a branch in the cranberry bush and much to my surprise appeared to be mating! So I took this picture. Luckily, it's a respectable view.

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

~Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Raspberry Sauce Recipe

Actually, I'm going to post two recipes. The sauce in the picture above is Raspberry Rhubarb Sauce and I got the recipe from RecipeZaar. It's sweet-tart and a perfect complement for ice cream. Jack loved it so it's a keeper.

The problem is that you have to have rhubarb. It's generally accepted that you can't harvest rhubarb after the 4th of July because it's just not good, anymore. Don't quote me on that but I think that's what "they" say. I did pull rhubarb for this recipe and it was just fine. So either we have exceptional rhubarb or "they're" wrong...old wives tale, perhaps.

You can also buy frozen rhubarb. I made a rhubarb pie a couple of years ago in Phoenix and found frozen rhubarb. It was just fine.

This recipe takes about 30 minutes to prepare and it makes about 3 cups.

Raspberry Rhubarb Sauce

2-1/2 cups sliced rhubarb (fresh or frozen)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 lemon, juice and zest of
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups raspberries (fresh or previously frozen, unsweetened)

1. Combine rhubarb, water, sugar & lemon zest in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Reduce heat and simmer until rhubarb is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, cinnamon and raspberries and let cool.

It thickens some when it cools.

If you don't have rhubarb you can still make a nice raspberry sauce - in fact, you might like it better. It's simply this:

2 pints raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine raspberries and sugar in a saucepan and simmer gently for about 10 minutes until raspberries break down. Remove from the heat and cool. You can strain the sauce if you want to eliminate the seeds but I kind of like them.

Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) puts a little framboise in her raspberry sauce. That would be elegant. And tasty.

So there you have it. Enjoy.