Is this really Mississippi? Like really southern Mississippi? We’re less than 3 hours from Coastal Mississippi or the Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of America….
They predicted snow and were right.
We started renovations on the porch back in October, so excuse the tools and boards in the pic. The elephant was my mother’s. The base of the bird bath was, too. I put the pretty blue gazing ball on top after the birdbath bowl was broken. The elephant hasn’t complained about the cold weather. It was 10° F yesterday.
Marigold didn’t want anything to do with the snow while we were in blizzard conditions on Tuesday. (Yeah, the weather people called it a blizzard!) Anyway, Wednesday, Marigold didn’t want to come in. Yes, I have a warm place up on the new porch for her. Here she is in front of that wonderful mayhaw tree. I’m hoping this cold weather will set record fruit yields in the spring. Ah, spring…
The camellias got bitten pretty hard, so their season is probably over for the year.
Herman and Tex were turned into snowmen.
I’m looking forward to spring, but I understand that in every life, a little snow must fall. Really, I’m enjoying the different seasons.
The new porch; I’m looking forward to sipping tea there in warmer days.
Have you ever been junking and come across a glass or ceramic disc with holes in it and wondered, ‘What is this thing?’ Well, it’s a flower frog. It can turn any shallow dish into a flower vessel.
Some moan about there being no flowers in winter. I beg to differ. Plant camellias. If azaleas are the Fun Girls from Mt Pilot who come bursting onto the scene every spring, camellias are the steady and elegant Helen and Thelma Lou. They never demand attention but command your attention.
I took a walk around my camellia garden; they are loaded with buds and beginning to bloom. A big handful of ruffled blooms came back to the house. In the kitchen, I snipped and began to arrange the blooms, but they tumbled out of my flower bowl. I remembered I had a flower frog and no more tumbling flowers. It’s a very handy flower arranging tool.
So, the next time you see one, grab it.
#flowerfrog
#flowersproper
#camellias
#winterflowers
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DELl99AxaoTq1FLvXo2O8Kn7JE6Sfqrij0GYZ00/?igsh=NjN1MGVrZW4wbHZ2
Do you want an easy breakfast recipe for Christmas morning? Prep time is 15 minutes and bake time is 30 minutes. What am I talking about? Well, its store-bought croissants, chocolate chips and a baked custard. I’m not sure what to call it. Delicious, I’ll just say it’s delicious.
Here’s what to do:
In a small oven proof skillet, melt 3 pats of butter, while the oven preheats to 350°.
Split lengthwise 5 to 6 small croissants and set aside.
Crack two eggs into a small bowl and whisk them well. Set aside.
Making the custard:
On the stove, in a one quart pot, combine 1 cup half-and-half, a scant half cup of granulated sugar and a teaspoon of pure vanilla. Heat over medium heat till it just begins to boil.
Now, pour just a little of the hot half-and-half mixture into the eggs and quickly whisk them together to temper the eggs. Repeat. Then, when the eggs are tempered, pour them into the pot with the rest of the half-and-half mixture, whisking to incorporate. Turn off the stove.
Putting it together:
Next, take the hot skillet from the oven and place it on the stove. Be careful. Arrange the bottom halves of the croissants in the buttered skillet. Top each half with a sprinkling of granulated sugar and chocolate chips. Place the croissant tops over each. Then, pour the custard over the prepared croissants. Sprinkle the top with additional sugar. Just a little. The sugar will caramelize and make the tops crunch.
Bake it:
Place croisssant custard in the preheated 350° oven in the middle. Fill a shallow, oven proof dish with water and place on a lower rack. This will help to evenly cook the custard. Bake for 30 minutes or until a case knife put in the center comes out clean.
Chocolate chip croissant custardThe tops have a nice caramelized crunch.
Serve with your breakfast favorites; mine are coffee and bacon… I hope you try this recipe.
What to do with the leftovers from Thanksgiving ? Of course, some of the remaining turkey and dressing were placed in containers, labeled and tucked into the freezer. They’ll be pulled out for easy meals later in the new year.
Breakfast Biscuits were made with leftover ham and cheese this weekend. Waste not, want not, ya know?
Here’s what I did:
I preheated the oven to 350°. In an iron skillet, I melted a pat of butter by placing it in the oven as it heated up.
I then measured Pioneer Baking Mix, according to the directions on the box, into a medium-sized bowl. One cup of Dubliner cheese chopped small, one cup of chopped ham and half a stick of melted butter were added to the bowl.
Then, I added enough 2% milk to bring everything together. Using an oven mitt, I retrieved the hot skillet and placed it on the stove and dropped my batter into cathead biscuits. Then the skillet was returned to the oven and the biscuits baked till their tops were a light golden brown. About 20 minutes.
A side of Two Brooks Grits (a Mississippi company) and leftover cranberry sauce accompanied the ham and cheese biscuits.
Let me know if you try this recipe.
Blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen.
We also had some silly fun with a big pack of kazoo.
I’ve been feeling nostalgic lately. This time of year has me remembering all kinds of things. Nat King Cole has been featured a lot on my playlists. He was a favorite of my Daddy’s.
I’m trying to watch LSU play (?) Bama, right now. We just cannot manage a touchdown. Yeesh… Daddy graduated from LSU with a degree in mechanical engineering. I miss my Daddy.
The other week, two of my sons worked on Tilly, my Daddy’s Kubota tractor. She needed a new radiator and battery cables, so Lee and George fixed her up, and now she starts on the first try. Good job, guys! You’re Mama appreciates you. I know in my heart that my father would be proud to know that his grandsons are keeping the old girl going.
Here’s a nostalgic recipe for you, one I learned to make way back in Mrs. Deaton’s 8th grade home-ec class. Home Economics: Is that taught anywhere anymore? It should be. We’d all be healthier. I digress.
Old Fashioned No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies
Here’s what to do:
Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a 2 qt pot, cook 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup milk, and a 1/4 cup cocoa powder over medium high heat. Stir till the butter is melted and these ingredients are mixed well. Bring to a boil that can’t be stirred down. Continue to cook for another 2 minutes. You’re basically making a fudge base.
Next, take the fudge mixture off the hot burner. Stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1/2 cup of Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter, and 1/2 cup of allergen free chocolate chips. Stir until peanut butter and chocolate chips are melted. Then, fold in 3 cups quick cook oatmeal.
Using a spoon, drop cookie mixture onto prepared cookie sheets. The size of your spoon will determine how big your cookies will turn out. Big spoon, bigger cookies. Smaller spoon, yadayada.
It’s halftime and LSU is pitiful tonight. A cup of Community Coffee and Old -Fashioned No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies have been the highlight of this Saturday night.
I’m trying to watch the LSU Football game against South Carolina. It’s been a rough one. So, I thought I’d make brownies….
Ingredients:
1 stick of salted butter
3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1/2 cup allergen free chocolate chips
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup self-rising flour
Sprinkles, if desired
What to do:
Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9×9 pan.
In a 2 quart pot, over medium heat, melt butter, cocoa powder and chocolate chips, stirring to combine. Remove from heat. Add in sugar. Next, add the eggs one at a time, stirring each in quickly so they don’t curdle. Next, add in the vanilla. Lastly, stir in the self-rising flour until it combined; don’t over beat. Pour batter into prepared pan and place in the center of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and cut into squares. The chocolate chips make these brownies nice and fudge-like.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350°
The second half has been better. I think I can say so because of the brownie ala mode.
Desert Rose cup and saucer for holding dessert
It’s the third quarter and LSU is down by one point. We’ll, no, now they’re down by four points. The brownie ala mode makes things better.
In the 7 o’clock hour this morning, I gathered zinnias from the flower patch. The pail filled up and the butterflies waved their wings at me.
To the open car trunk, the flowers, a jug of water, a broom and the string trimmer were put. Off to Baton Rouge, I went to tend to the cemetery plots of some of my family members.
A stop in Denham Springs at their big Rouses is a must for pit stop and a snack and filler flowers. I chose alstromeria for bouquet making this trip. And a bag of Candy Apple Caramel corn cousins came along for the ride… Yep!
I drove way down Florida Blvd to North Foster and took the first left. Roselawn Cemetery is on the right. The ancient oaks were beautiful, majestic, as always. But it’s an historic cemetery and I guess the owners have a difficult time keeping enough staff to maintain all of the grounds. In recent years, I’ve learned to bring my trimmer and a broom.
The ancient oaks are beautiful, even through a cracked windshield. Ha!
I followed the narrow road the way my Mama taught me. The Baby’s grave was first. He sadly died in utero years before there were ultrasounds and sonograms. His parents were my Aunt Mary Margaret and Uncle Louis Boudreaux. Uncle Louis never said much, maybe because Aunt Mary Magaret kept the conversation lively. She had a friendly smile and spoke with a lisp.
“Mandy, would like a Co-Cola? There’th thum in the frig. Get yourthelf one.”
Did I ever tell y’all the story of Aunt Mary Margaret and Wide, Wide Main Thweet? Well, here goes:
Mary Margaret was the baby of her sibling group, coming way after her brother and three sisters. She put up a fuss one afternoon to ride with her brother Oscar, who was going to town on an errand. Riding along Main Street in Baton Rouge, Oscar completed his errand and started to head home. In the back seat of the family car that winter day, Mary Margaret wanted him to stop and get her some ice cream.
“It’s too cold,” Oscar told his baby sister, meaning the weather was too cold.
“I like it that way,” said Mary Margaret, meaning the ice cream.
“No, Mary Margaret.”
“But I’m hot. I want ithe cream.”
“I’m not getting you any ice, Mary Margaret, and roll up that window. It’s too cold to ride with the window down, and it’s too cold for ice cream!”
They continued the drive home in stoney silence. Opening the car door to get his pouting baby sister from the back seat, Oscar saw that his hat was missing.
“Mary Margaret, where is my hat?”
“Wide, Wide Main Thweet!”
Sweet Aunt Margaret.
After tending Aunt Mary Margaret’s and Uncle Louis’ grave, I made the big loop through the cemetery to the front where my grandmother and her two older siblings are buried. I really had to employ my string trimmer and broom in this part of the cemetery. Roselawn needs to hire more grounds keepers.
Let’s see; Oscar Bueto, the older brother in the above story, and his wife Ollie, Berenice Madoline Bueto (my mother is named for her) and my grandmother Irma Mae Bueto Austin are buried on the same row.
Grandma was a tough lady. When she was born, the doctor said this baby’s not breathing, it’s dead and laid my grandmother off to the side. Her mother snatched her up and shook her till my grandmother started breathing. I’m so glad my great grandmother didn’t take the doctor at his word… Grandma was scrappy, intelligent and, yes, always a lady. A great combination.
This is my great grandmother’s grave, before I cleared it l. I neglected to take a pic of it afterward. Her name was Maggie.My grandmother’s grave. I miss her.
The last grave in Roselawn to tend was of my cousin Mary Lou Boudreaux Spencer. She was another sweet soul and one of Aunt Mary Margaret’s daughters. I remember her coming to our house the night my father died. She was standing near the kitchen and I went and stood next to her and started to take her hand, but then I didn’t. Mary Lou said, “No, take it.” And she offered her hand and she held on tight to mine for the longest time. I’m crying as I write this now. I’m so thankful for the tenderness of a cousin.
Before heading to Resthaven Cemetery, I decided to take a respite from the heat and get a repast. Coffee Call, a Baton Rouge landmark, was doing just that; calling me. So, a nice cup of coffee and fresh beignets hit the spot. If you’re in Baton Rouge, you’ll find them on College Drive. You won’t be disappointed.
My last stop, when I do the cemetery tour, is always the grave of my parents. I only had my Daddy for sixteen short years. He was 47 when he died quite suddenly on a late Friday night. But Daddy gave my brothers and me so many fun memories and conversations around the supper table packed with wisdom. He’d tell us that he was the last of the good guys, straighten his cowboy hat and then light a cigarette. I believed him then; I know it to be true now. Sunday, August 11th would have been his 91st birthday.
How I miss him. He shows up in the faces of my sons and grandchildren and in the little nuances of their personalities. Isn’t that funny and wonderful at the same time?
So, why make the pilgrimage to Baton Rouge every few months and do the cemetery tour? I go because Mama went with her mother and she with hers. It’s tradition, of course, but deeper also. I go because I knew these wonderfully kind, compassionate people or I know the stories told about them, which makes me feel like I knew them personally. I go because it would make my mother happy.
Just some pictures of some things that make me smile. The little elephant cream pitcher was my mother’s. The flowers are from my scaled down flower patch.
The kitchen window ledge: my mother’s cream pitcher and a collection of vintage cream and sugar bowls.
theexileskitchen 