A Drive on Tuesday ...

I had some business in Lancaster County on Tuesday and snapped a couple of photos.




This church steeple was so interesting!

In four hours it will be autumn!

It is now 1:16 PM on Sept. 22. Fall begins on September 22, 2009 at 5:18 pm EDT. Thus, we are about 4 hours from the beginning of autumn.




Today I noticed the first tree in my yard which has begun to change colors.




This is an exciting time of year as each day, the colors are more spectacular! Thank you Lord for the beauty of the earth!




I decided my front entrance needed a yellow mum!




On Sept. 9, 2009, my espaliered blue spruce needed trimming!




Today you can see the results of the trim which took place last Friday.

Happy Birthday Bonnie!

On Saturday, September 12, Uncle David helped Kyle finish up the Creme Brulee. Aunt Helen had not read the box that the torch came in so she had not bought the butane so that it could be used! Move to plan B! We decided to use the broiler of the stove! (Why did I waste money on that torch! Hopefully, I will use it another time!) Uncle David and Kyle sprinkled the vanilla sugar on the top of each of the custards.



Uncle David is to talented and figured that a very thick even coat of sugar would make a nice crust.



So, we all sat around with lots of black coffee to enjoy Kyle's very rich dessert!




It was wonderful to be together with the whole Martin Family. We had not done that for perhaps over a year.



We should do this more often! Did I tell you the menu? Pizza, Crudités, Fruit and Creme Brulee. There was something there for everyone. The only exception was Iain (whose face is hidden behind Kyle at the table.) He said he was tired of pizza! No matter what you serve this family, you can never please everyone! But, we had a WONDERFUL TIME and I do hope that Bonnie had a very happy birthday!

Kyle and the Case of the Creme Brulee

For his cooking day, Kyle wanted to make Creme Brulee! Why? He had heard it was good and he wanted to know what it tasted like. That is a good enough reason. So, Kyle and I went shopping for the torch on his first cooking day. (part of day that is!)




We decided to make the dessert for Bonnie's birthday and have a family gathering so that all could taste Kyle's work. The night before the party, Kyle came to my home and we began by washing our hands.




Since we were making it for 11 people, we had to separate 8 eggs perfectly! Well, it took us 11 eggs to get 8 perfect separations. The whites were frozen for an angel food cake later. The 3 eggs that were not perfectly separated were meant to be scrambled eggs but yours truly forgot they were in the refrigerator for a couple of days so sadly, they went the way of all bad eggs.




Kyle then added the sugar and cream and the other ingredients and mixed them.




Due to the timing, I had to make the vanilla sugar on my own and Kyle examined it and ...



then had to taste it of course. We baked the custard and finished the production the next day.

In August...

In August, I went to a convention at the Convention Center in Philadelphia. As I wandered under a stairway toward the door to exit the building, I saw what at first looked like pebbles lining the underneath part of a stairway. However, as I got closer, I realized that they were not pebbles but ...



CUPS and SAUCERS!



That is one way to use china -- and it is not even broken into bits! I still recall the lovely little chapel on Guernsey made entirely of broken bits of china during or right after WWII.

Cooking with Iain...

Every good cook begins by washing his hands.




Upon discovering my spice and herb drawer, Iain began to smell each one to determine which ones he liked.




Iain wanted to make a black cake with black icing. (He told me later that he meant chocolate.) He really enjoyed using the electric mixer.




He wanted to put icing on only part of the cake as "Rhia does not like icing," he told me. How thoughtful! He also wanted to write "I love you" on the cake for his family. Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes, Watch out! Here comes Iain!




Iain made pizza from scratch, cut cucumbers to eat with the pizza and made black cake with black frosting for dessert. He was so proud of all that he made and so was I.

Now it is September...

I have been trying to remember to take a photo of my home with the yellow flowers out. I will need to look up the name. Are they black-eyed-Susans?




Yesterday the sky was overcast. It was so spectacularly beautiful last week. Why did I not take the photo last week?





Yesterday Lou plowed the field behind my home.