Valentine’s Day Freebie

heart borderIf you love designing as much as I do, you actually enjoy the winter season.  You are inside and have a reason not to venture out into the snowy weather. With winter in full force, for me it means staying toasty warm and designing. I  get so into the design, I look up and find everyone has gone to bed and I am still putting one more finishing touch on it…  With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I wanted to share a freebie  Download Here. .  It is a cute valentine circle of hearts that can be used in bordering a monogram, name or even one initial.  This design  works well on cardstock and digital scrapbooking and I added a svg file, so you can use it in labeling a jazzy tumbler for your special teacher and friends.  I’m using it on a pink sweatshirt, adding my granddaughter’s monogram with dark pink flocked heat transfer vinylIr?t=msbeebeeinnc 20&l=as2&o=1&a=B005H3T8GM.  You use an iron to press the decal onto the sweatshirt.  Enjoy this design and if you like, please share a picture of your creation in the comments or share on your Pinterest page. My Pinterest has a board of Silhouette Hacks .  Take a look for more ideas. .I added one more surprise in the download.  Get a headstart for your St Patrick’s Day party. The surprise freebie can be used with either photoshop and/or  silhouette..Time to create! st Patrickk

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North Carolina BarbeCue

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  Every southern state has its own special way of making bbq and its sauces.  In fact, every state declares their sauce is the best and pig cooking too.  Of course a challenge of who makes the best bbq had to be in questioned. The competition was fierce and after it was all tasted and done,  North Carolina was named the bbq capital of the world.    That wasn’t going to satisfy the natives. We each know where the best bbq is in the state and so we take it to the next level.  We  taste tested  and voted  and here is the outcome. The  best bbq  eatin’ places  
in North Carolina.    By goodness, you can even download an app and decide yourself.

  I grew up eating pork cooked on an open grill.    My Daddy had an open grill and smoker he made himself. I am sure the design was passed down from an uncle or friend. What I do know, it was an all day affair to cook the pig and with it came games of checkers by the pit, along with roasting some marshmallows and even the men playing cards through the night after the children went inside for bed.

I remember my Daddy using hickory wood and there was about a half cord stacked by a burn  barrel. This burn barrel had a grate inside and a pipe for a chimney. The wood sat on top of the  grate. Embers would fall through the grate to the bottom of the barrel. It would take about a hour to have coals. The beautiful hickory smoke filled the air . Daddy would say,   “you can’t  get this  from  a bag of charcoal at the grocer “. Dad would spread the coals in two piles under the grill. He said, ” Don’t put too many coals in the middle. The belly and tenderloin cook quicker.”  And so we piled the coal on the edges. This would go on all day and night. I can see Mom and Dad’s friends now , turning the pig after 8 hours, shoveling more coals and the ladies in the kitchen making their sauces.   And that is what I know about BarBeCue with a squeal in North Carolina.

I still attend  pig cookings now and then. They call them pig pickings now.  And  when I  want a sandwich and want it quick, I just used my app bb  and   hope the restaurant  has slaw and fries, plus some vinegar based sauce sitting on the table to go along with their famous bbq. Q? Encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B007VXSSOE&Format= SL110 &ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=msbeebeeinnc 20Ir?t=msbeebeeinnc 20&l=as2&o=1&a=B007VXSSOE

Before is my Mom’s special recipe of sauce and also the rub.   While the pig is on the grill, they rubbed it down .. The recipe is called simply  “The Rub.” And they used it generously…

 

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BBQ Sauce Vinegar Based
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Vinegar based sauce used on pork and chicken and ribs in the South
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Ingredients
  1. 2 cups apple cider vinegar
  2. 2 tablespoon brown sugar
  3. 1 tablespoon ketchup
  4. 1 tablespoon Texas Pete, made in Carolina
  5. 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
  6. 1 teaspoons of black pepper
  7. 1 teaspoon of salt
  8. Also you need the The Rub recipe to rub over the pork or beef before cooking.
  9. Kosher Salt 1 cup
  10. Granulated Sugar ½ cup
  11. Brown Sugar ½ cup
  12. Paprika ½ cup
  13. Black Pepper 2 Tablespoons
  14. Cayenne Pepper 1 teaspoon
Instructions
  1. You mix the sauce ingredients all together. Store . The longer it sits , the better it taste
  2. For The Rub
  3. mix the ingredients together and just rub on meat before cooking.
https://thepamperedintrovert.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: Ponderings

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Love and Valentines

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Valentine’s Day! Such a special day. It is the time the florist phone is ringing , right up to closing. Extended hours could go to 11:59 pm and there will be the one who just needs a few rose petals to layer the bath by midnight. It is a fun celebration and love is in the air. The many ways we love someone gives us ideas to be unique in how we really show it. I have seen tickets to concerts, spa gift cards, weekend getaways and yes, it is the best time to ask, will you marry me. What always accompanies the special idea is  flowersIr?t=msbeebeeinnc 20&l=ur2&o=1 . I enjoy creating floral designs for sweethearts. It is much like a wedding. A young man comes in to order flowers for a new girlfriend. He tells how special she is, her beauty, her smile,and her love . You know as a designer your design reflects his love. You personalized it  with her in mind. Valentine svg fileMoments later, you look up and an older gentleman is ordering his flowers. He has been with his wife who he calls his sweetheart for fifty years. He talks of her smile, her beauty and her love for him. And you know his love must shine through the design. You personalized it with his love for her in your thoughts. A favorite story I must share happened 15 years ago. I was busy working on arrangements . I finished most of my orders and one of the coworkers gave me a message. A customer had requested for me to design an arrangement for his wife. He didn’t care about the cost. He said she was the puzzle piece he had looked for. He felt like the day he meet her he had come home. I asked , what is her age, how long have they been married, what are her favorite colors and flowers. He hadn’t given that information and he hadn’t left a number to call back. He just said he would pick them up at five. I was nervous. He had said the cost wasn’t an issue. I started creating and then hesitated, wishing, I knew more about this lady. I took a deep breath and thought, what would I want for Valentines flowers. I started again and thought of my husband, and created the design of my dreams. Finished, it sat on the case all afternoon. Customers ooh and aah for it. Five o clock and we are closing and still no man shows to pick up the arrangement. I’m worried. I know it is closing time. It had been a very long day and yet, I couldn’t leave without delivering this arrangement. I called my husband and told him I would be late. He said, I’ll come down and wait with you and later we can celebrate with dinner. Thirty minutes later, still no customer pickup. I opened the shop door to my husband and he said Happy Valentine’s Day Sweetheart. And he smiled with his eyes. And then I realized the man who made the call had been my husband.

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Homemade Chocolate Pie

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chocolate pie

In Carolina, we take any reason to visit a neighbor and share food.  The place to meet someone for a chat is around the eatin’ table.   We don’t take a full meal .  We do that when someone loses a loved one.  Just to visit, we bring a bowl of chicken salad, pimento cheese wedgies, sausage balls and top it off, always with a dessert  A friend of mine has been under the weather  and I have checking on her by phone. Today after talking, I knew my friend needed more than a phone call. The weather today was perfect for making meringue  and so I went to my trusty old recipe file and pull my mama’s handwritten recipe for homemade chocolate pie.  It is stained and yellowed, but you can read it. She handed it down from her mother.  If you look at it close enough, you can see my mother’s  floured fingerprint on the corner.    Now I know Pinterest , All Recipes , Betty Crocker and Southern Living all claim their chocolate pie is the best. But my mother didn’t have a Pinterest page. Her recipe was past down from generations of great Southern cooks and most of these recipes were a dab of this or pinch of that.  What I can guarantee is that this  Homemade Chocolate Pie  will fix just about anything and if you add a hot cup of perked coffee, you can face the world. chocolate pie 

First I get all my ingredients together. There are two ingredients you can not substitute and they are Hersey’s Chocolate unsweetened cocoa and Carnation evaporated milk.  My mother used Watkins vanilla extract. I could not find it. I hope Sauer’s vanilla will work. Mother always said that Watkins was double strength. My fingers are crossed with Sauer’s.  My mother’s recipe  calls for a homemade pie crust, but I don’t make them. I buy it from the grocer.  I know. Please forgive me, Mama.  I learned this from Sandra Lee, Semi-Homemade.

You need to use a double boiler for the pudding. I have my water really hot, simmering when I add the top boiler on to start cooking. I have attached the recipe and please save or print. 

Remember to put toothpicks through the meringue to the pudding to hold it on your pie after cooking. The meringue is so light and airy.  I’ve seen the meringue take to traveling with an entire slice of pie. The best time to eat this yummy pie is while it is hot.  Serve with a glass of milk or cup of coffee. Put the leftovers, if there is any in the fridge.  Later it will taste just like a fudgesicle.   

I hope you make plans to try this hand me down recipe. It never stays around long. That is why I always make two. I never double the recipe. I make two batches. It seems the pudding doesn’t set as well when you double it.   

Now it is out the door to chat with my friend and share this pie.  It’s eatin’ table time.

 


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Homemade Chocolate Pie
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Serves 8
Old Fashioned Chocolate Pie with Meringue
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Ingredients
  1. Chocolate Pudding
  2. 1 cup sugar
  3. 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  4. 1/4 cup Herseys unsweetened chocolate
  5. 1/4 teaspoon salt
  6. 11/2 cup of whole milk
  7. 1/2 cup of Carnation evaporated milk
  8. 4 extra large egg yolk, already whisked gently
  9. 2 tablespoon butter
  10. 1 tablespoon Watkins vanilla extract
  11. Meringue
  12. 5 extra large egg white be sure they are at room temperature
  13. 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  14. 1/4 cup of sugar
  15. Pie Crust
  16. Store bought
Instructions
  1. Bake your pie crust as directed while your double boiler water is simmering.
  2. Prepare the chocolate pudding by combining sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt. Then whisk in both milks gradually. Stirring constantly over medium high heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Continue to boil for a minute.
  3. Remove from heat. Pour a small amount of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks. Stir constantly and mix it well. Now pour the egg mixture back into chocolate in saucepan. Put back in double boiler and bring back up to boil. Simmer for 3 minutes. Take off heat and set aside to cool.
  4. Meringue
  5. Using a mixing bowl and electric mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar at highest speed. As it forms peaks, you can add the sugar in small amounts gradually. Continue to beat until meringue is peaked .
  6. Pour the chocolate mixture into the now cooled pie crust. Spread the meringue on top of pudding. Remember to add your swirls . Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until meringue is lightly golden... Let it cool before slicing. ....
Notes
  1. I never can wait for it to cool. I slice it warm and have it with a big glass of milk . Enjoy!!
https://thepamperedintrovert.com/

 

Categories: Ponderings

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Relax .. Massage.. Spa

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What better than to begin this new year but to pamper myself. One way of slowing the pace is a massage and spa moment. I found while traveling abroad to include this moment. One of my favorite spas is Jean Louis David  in Doha, Qatar. The spa offers many ways to relax and de-stress after an 18 hour flight. I tried the  Swedish Massage first and later Thai and aromatherapy. The essentials oils are amazing. I fell in love with the scents. jeanlouis

While traveling abroad , I had the opportunity to enjoy their many luxuries. It is amazing what you see and read  in a travel magazine, is nothing like the personal experience of allowing the locals to share their world with you. Doha, Qatar was my first stop . As the plane hit the runway, I saw lights, sea and sand. Lots of sand. Being an American and not knowing their language, I was afraid it would be a barrier. It was unfounded. The people of Qatar pride themselves in knowing several languages. Their English is excellent. I soon found out they are proud their country and heritage and enjoy sharing their culture.

I settled into a luxury room, complete with fruits, beverages, chocolates, and hot foods that were waiting on a table by a window . After enjoying their special made mango juice and chocolates, I relaxed just watching the city’s movement. This is a city of movement even when you reach the sands of the desert . Once in the desert, you feel the wind. You look upward and see the starry sky at night. And then you look beyond and the magical Arabian Sea reflects the moon . It is calming. If you ever put Qatar on your travel bucket list, the souq is the visit worth taking. And plan to attend a falcon flight . Be prepared for beauty in flight.

 

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Hoppin’ Johns …Happy New Year!

Peas

 

Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s has been considered good luck for at least 1,500 years.

According the Talmud written around 500 A.D., it was Jewish custom at the time to eat black-eyed peas in celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Possibly the tradition arrived in America with Sephardic Jews, who first settled in Georgia in the 1730s. What we do know is that peas and cornbread still grace the tables of Southerners on the first day of every year.

The humble nature of the black-eyed pea is echoed by the old expression, “Eat poor on New Year’s, and eat fat the rest of the year.” Another tradition to eat black eyed peas on News Year is that the dried beans loosely resemble coins, and as the dried beans greatly increase in volume, they symbolize increasing wealth. A lot of people closely associate good luck with monetary gain. That’s where the greens come in. You always eat a side helping of greens with your peas . Cornbread is added to the Southern New Year’s meal, and a well-known phrase is, “Peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold.”  Grandma tells her version of Black Eyed Peas and shares her recipe.Take a look.

For this Carolina Girl, black eyed peas and cornbread are just plain good eating . And tradition in our home is I add a dime in the pot and whoever has the dime in their bowl can expect very good luck in the coming year. And to keep the festive spirit of New Year’s Eve into the new year, mimosas are served . Toast to 2016. May you have happiness, wealth, luck and know the Grace of God! Cheers!

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  Pour a little of the juice of those delicious peas  over your cornbread or onto your plate to sop up with your cornbread because this is delicious! The juice is known as “potlikker” or “pot liquor” by the fancy folks!

 

 

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Carolina Hospitality

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994347_10201337492091919_1209636158_nIt is pleasure of mine to be able to stage homes for events.  One of my favorite rooms is the dining area. There is just  something inviting about a table.  It invokes memories of family gatherings, coffee inspired chit chat, homework with snacks while mom does the dishes.  This dining room graces  a beautiful home on the Perquimans River of Hertford NC .

 

 

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Cameo Silhouette Designs

Working with Cameo Silhouette Designs Free Designs Weekly is so easy. I just found a tip and it is so useful. If you right click on a design you have downloaded from the Silhouette Library and click “show properties”, it gives you the instructions and tips of how to use the design.

Categories: Ponderings