The End of Blogger

Today is the day:  the Flynns are moving.

Not out of my parent's house quite yet, but we are moving our blog to a new address.

We would like to cordially invite all of you to follow our goings on at our new address:

http://huckleberrystew.wordpress.com/

Huckleberry Stew!

Blogger has been good to us, we've learned a lot, but it was time to move to a platform with a bit more room for growth and personalization.

So, change your links and reader lists from this address to our new one, and come enjoy some stew!

And the winner is...

I got quite a few guesses, and no, I am not eating pork, to my knowledge, at any time in the immediate future.

The winner?

Angie Kennington!

For those of you who didn't read the comments that were posted on Facebook (some people couldn't figure out to post here so there were several comments there), hers read "I can't figure out the pic very well, but I think you are going to become a famous recipe writing blogger. And your pizza post was awesome, funny and delicious looking and I want to eat some."

I suppose it was closest, in a way.

The answer to my picture riddle? Huckleberry Stew!!!

Huh?

That's right, Huckleberry Stew. My blog will soon be moving, changing its format and NAME. It will be easier to navigate between photos, recipes, crafts, etc.

The change is nearly up and running, as soon as I figure out how to make it a little... prettier... it will be ready to go. Stay tuned!!

Oh, and Angie, about your prize... as soon as I figure out what it is it will be in the mail and I'll update this post. Sorry, I know thats lame, but I know you'll forgive me.

Apology to all my loyal fans

I know my last post was rather boring, so I just wanted to apologize.

That post was only half of what I meant it to be. After what you see there I was going to post "This is what Steve did tonight" and show you the video of him using his new Neti Pot.

Unfortunately, the video wouldn't upload and I ended up with half of a post.

Sigh.

Not that you want to watch water dripping from my husband's nose anyway.

Basket Cake

This is what I did tonight. I decorated this pretty cake. In case you can't tell from the picture, it is a basket of flowers. I made the flowers over the last 2 weeks. Inside are 4 layers of chocolate cake sandwiched together with cherry filling. It is going to be delicious when I get tired of looking at it.

Pizza Time!

Looking for a tasty substitute for traditional pizza sauce? Try this incredible cheesy version and you may never go back!

First things first, toss out your favorite pizza crust recipe into a disk to form your crust.


Thanks, Steve, what a fantastic demonstrator you are. And that apron makes you look as good as this pizza is going to taste.

Next you'll want to fill your food processor with some fresh spinach and pulse until its finely chopped. Throw in about 3/4 cup of cottage cheese, along with some minced garlic, basil, and oregano. You know how much you like these, add to your own preference.


Pulse until you get a smooth pale green sauce. The cottage cheese will have become more of a ricotta texture. Spread on your crust, but leave a fairly wide edge.

If you want to add some portabellas to your pizza, now is a good time to remove the stems and chop them to your desired size.

Brush the fungi with some olive oil, and while you're at it brush some on that edge of your crust you left bare.

Sprinkle heartily with mozzerella cheese, top with a little chedder and asiago if your heart desires. When it comes to cheese my heart always desires.

Sprinkle some finely grated asiago or parmesan cheese on the oiled edges of your crust. If you have any doubts about how fantastic this will be please throw them out the window and try it. Trust me.

Add your mushrooms, a little more cheese, perhaps, and some coarsly ground black pepper. Sniff and enjoy the aroma.

Bake in a preheated oven at 400° for 10-14 minutes. When the cheese is melted and the crust is lightly browned and your house smells like heaven it is done. Remove, slice, wait 2-3 minutes so you don't burn the roof of your mouth.

Enjoy! Tell me how you like it so I know if I should keep creating recipes for your personal enjoyment.

But I will, anyway... for mine.

Whoa, not what I meant!

Apparently my last post caused quite a bit of confusion. 

No, the picture has nothing to do with pregnancy. 

What I meant by big changes coming is that there are some big changes coming to my BLOG. As in, new name, new address, new format.  Capisce?

You have, however, inspired me, so lets have a contest! 

Anyone want to guess what the picture means? And I know who knows, they are exempt from the contest, so don't try to get away with anything!  

There will be a prize to the person who comes closest to the correct answer.  

It will not be a ride in a mine shaft or ice cream sandwiches.  But it will be fantastic!  

Any guesses? Leave a comment!! 

Coming Soon...

There are some big changes coming soon. Above is a hint of what is to come. Stay tuned!

Introduction to Lying

When we were little we had a toy pot.  It wasn't like the one in the picture. The sides were made of clear plastic, and there were two layers with water in between, so it looked like the pot was full of water.

You know that game where you try and make the other person "flinch"? We would often pretend to douse each other with the "water" in that toy pot and then say "Made you flinch!"  

I always flinched.

Ben never flinched.

Being a much older and wiser sister, I knew it was time to get creative.

One unsuspecting day, I put water in the pot. Ben didn't flinch, but he got wet!

Unfortunately for me, this was back in the day when "I'm telling on you!" invoked a lot more fear than it would now.  But I had a solution.

I doused myself with water too.

When mom came up the stairs to ask me why I dumped water all over my brother I had a quick answer.

"Ben tricked me and dumped water on me from this pot and when I said I was going to tell on him he got himself all wet and ran downstairs to tell on me but I didn't do anything!"

Ben got in trouble.

He still reminds me of this incident at least once a year.

I taught my brother how to lie. 

Raising a Large Family

A few months ago I was reading a magazine article on organization, and it referenced a book titled A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family. As I've always wanted to be just that, and as I had some time on my hands, I decided to check it out. It turned out the book hadn't been published yet (it will be on April 5), but at the bottom of the book description it had a link to the author's blog, Owlhaven.

Thus began my new hobby/obsession of following stranger's blogs. I've really enjoyed reading Mary's stories of her life raising 10 kids, several of which were adopted. I'm excited to read her book when it comes out, and right now she is giving away some free copies! To be honest, that is why I'm telling you all this- so I'll be entered into the contest for a free copy. But don't worry, I wouldn't do it if Mary didn't deserve the plug.  So check out the book, and if you buy a copy and I don't win one, let me know and I'll steal it from you. Happy reading!

More Replacing Electronics

See that, up there? That is a beautiful camera. It will be mine soon. Steve and I replaced our dinky and great-up-until-I-found-out-I-could-replace-it camera that was stolen. It will arrive in the mail in a few days, so I decided I should give everyone so warning, because PICTURES ARE COMING SOON!! Blog posts are just so much better with pictures, you know? I'm still not happy our house was broken into... but.... Well, you know.

Rain

This morning it is raining.

Not the usual Yakima rain where you go outside and realize everything is wet- a loud, windy, hard rain that beats on your roof and lashes against your windows.

The type of rain that drives you to sit and listen and wish there weren't any other sounds to distract you from the beautiful sound of the rain.

The type of rain that calls you to come outside and jump in puddles.

The type of rain that invites you to curl up (in your comfy red robe) in the coziest chair you have, and read a book while listening to the rain- instead of getting ready for the day.

The type of rain that seems like it will never end- as if the sky has torn itself open, never to be repaired. Then suddenly, it does.

I love the rain.