Friday, May 30, 2014

Foodie Friday: Ruminations on Rhubarb

Hot_Dawg-smallI had a load of fun putting together y little cookbook RECIPES TO DIE FOR: A Victoria Square Cookbook together. The odd thing is, most of the recipes are ones I really do use over and over again. (It's kind of nice to have them all in one place.)

It's springtime and for me that means fresh rhubarb. What an odd vegetable.  I never thought about it as a vegetable, since the only thing I use it for is desserts and chutney, but it really is a veggie, and the leaves are very, very poisonous.  (If you value your liver, never, EVER eat them.)  But the stalks are just fine to eat--and EXTEMELY tart! We've got rhubarb up the wazoo and I've been even tossing it in my green smoothies.  (Yes, VERY TART indeed.)

Mr. L is partial to rhubarb crisp. Here's my favorite recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats
½ cup melted butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups sliced rhubarb
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°. In mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, oats, butter, and cinnamon; mix together until crumbly. Press half of the brown sugar and oats mixture into a buttered 8-inch square baking dish. Top with the sliced rhubarb. In a saucepan combine 1 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, and the 1 cup of water and vanilla. Cook together until the liquid is clear, then pour over the rhubarb. Top the rhubarb with remaining crumb mixture and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Serve warm, and if desired, with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Yield:  4-6 servings.

Mmm-mmm good!

To_Die_For.smAnd in case you are interested in RECIPES TO DIE FOR, here are a few links.

Watch the video!  (Made by Ellery Adams and me!)

Trade PaperbackKindle US
Kindle Worldwide
Nook
iBooks
Kobo
Smashwords

P.S.  New recipe up on my Lorna Barrett Website from Bookmarked for DeathFind it here!

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Teacup Tuesday: Readers share their beautiful teacups and dishes

Pink Teacup Tuesday
Well, I missed a week.  Then I thought I had written the blog post and would just post it this week.  Hello, I got the pictures ready, but forgot to write the post.  Oy.  (My excuse:  I've been writing up a storm!)

Last time out, I invited readers to submit pictures of their own china cabinets.  Two readers took me up on the challenge.  First up, is Diane L. from Manchester, CT submitted two pictures.  Here's her curio cabinet.

Diane's curio cabinet

and here's a view of her dining room.  Just lovely, Diane!

Diane's dining room

Suzann F. from Bethlehem, PA is a collector after my own heart.  She has a lot of really neat collectibles she keeps in a number of cabinets and shelves.

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Look at the detail on that drawer!  Beautiful.

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Don't you just love those turkey plates?  I have a turkey platter with a similar design.

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Pretty, pretty, pretty!

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Thanks Diane and Suzann for sharing your lovely cups and plates with us.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Teacup Tuesday: I love you lovely china cabinet

Pink Teacup Tuesday

China cabinets are a lot of fun. You don't think so? I think of them as an adventure, and I love to snoop in other people's china cabinets.

My china cabinet (well, all of them, really) is pretty much bursting at the seams. In fact, I've now got four or five of my bone china tea cups living on top. (Although not in this picture which I dug up to show you.)

China cabinet

Those are Russian tea glasses on top of the cabinet, along with a few soapstone vases.  (The red one was a wedding gift to my inlaws when they got married in 1939.)

Would you like to share a picture of your china cabinet for others to see?  If so, send them to me at LLB(at)LLBartlett.com -- I know I'd love to see them.
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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

It's for a great cause!

Want to help a great cause AND get some cool stuff, too? Check out my donation to the Brenda Novak Online Auction for Diabetes.

Charity-2-sm

DEAD IN RED (Hardcover) by LL Bartlett
RECIPES TO DIE FOR (Trade Paper) by Lorraine Bartlett
BOOKPLATE SPECIAL (Paperback) by Lorna Barrett
A Jeff Resnick Shot Glass
Bone China Teacup
Sample of Tea
and 3 Badges

All valued at around $60.

You can bid on my donation by clicking this link!  

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Teacup Tuesday: Do I love this little teacup?

Usually in my part of the woods, we see yard sales happening in early April, but this year after THE LONG WINTER, there were very few yard sales in April. In fact, I didn't see ANY.  But last weekend it was almost warm (in the mid-50s) and not raining. (YAY!)

So, I was terribly pleased that at the first yard sale I stopped at I found a wonderful bone china teacup with ROSES.  Yellow and pink.  My FAVORITES.

Yellow pink teacup

The question for me is ... will I keep this little beauty, or will it end up as a giveaway sometime in the future here on this blog?  I don't know. I really don't have room for many (any?) more cups. I have to decide if I really love it or now. That will take a few weeks of living with it to know for sure.

In the meantime, do YOU love this little cup?

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