Let's Try This Again..Chocolate Martini's For Your Guzzling Pleasure.

I have run across more than one libation lately using Everclear which struck me as odd because other than Moonshine, you rarely see it much less hear of it unless you are being subjected to the re-telling of someones epic college/single life Epic drunken binge adventure where they are totally fucked up on jungle juice..don't look at me like that ..we called it jungle juice in Virginia Beach.

Anyhoo..Chocolate Martini's ?

Sign me up.


Ingredients:

4 Ounces of high quality dark chocolate ( 60% cocoa - The best brand you can get your hands on)
1 pint cream ( heavy and light both can work for this )
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1/3 to 1/2 cup grain alcohol ( 151 proof)

Instructions:

1. Break up the chocolate into small pieces.
2.In a small saucepan over medium heat , combine the chocolate, cream and sugar. Stir until the chocolate is smooth .
3.Add the water and vanilla, stiring until combined.
4.Remove from heat and allow to cool for  aprox. 15 minutes.
5.Add in the grain alcohol, statring at 1/3 cup, adjusting for taste.
6. Strain it through a mesh strainer and then pour into whatever container you choose.
7. Store in fridge up to 2 weeks or until the expiration date of the cream you used.

And...I just realized that this is the duplicate of the other chocolate everclear recipe I posted...lmao.

More for me.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Life Lessons

Throughout my life I have been fortunate enough to work with ladies that taught me important life lessons even if they were unaware of it at the time. They were all older than I was and even if I was a punk ass kid at the time, I was smart enough to realize that I was given a gift and that I needed to pay attention.

No matter how long I wear the proverbial rose colored glasses, my relationship with my late mother was severely damaged . Damaging to me and most likely her. Between ego, bourbon, anger and the fact that we both knew she really had no use for a daughter, it was fucked up to say the least. Did I push her buttons ? Every damn day, and I enjoyed every minute. A child's anger , hurt and angst at not being good enough to love is a powerful motivation. It is a deadly weapon and I delighted much to my adult shame in using it.

Did I love her ? Yes, in the ever hopeful way the wallflower hopes that the cute boy will finally notice her and ask HER to dance.

Did she love me ? I doubt I will ever know , really know in the way that matters to each and every human being.

To get out of the house, I married my worst possible choice and paid the price. My take away was the gift of a mother in law that I revere to this day. She was kinder to me than any other female had ever been . Was my own mother jealous ? Possibly, but I will never know.

My mother died in 1981 when I was 26, and even though we had been estranged by both geography and emotional IOU's, in my heart I tried to break through to her on that last Easter conversation when she was coherent before her death at the age of 52.

I tried.

Bu being a grown ass married lady, I thought I knew it all.

I went to work at WSU and met three older women, Doty, Virgie and Nadine.They all taught me something .

Doty taught me that  pretension and insecurity was not limited to my mother and thus , how not to behave .

Virgie , bless her soul, tied to teach me common sense and showed me that a good mom was there for her kids , no matter the cost or schedule. Family mattered.

Nadine...ah Nadine. I knew her least of all, she was a quiet survivor of some of the worst thing that a mother could go through. In her way he helped my deal with my losses and how to hold your head up.She also taught me that a lady ALWAYS wears lipstick. I'm trying Nadine, I am.

The baby punk ass princess paid attention.

I had to finally leave Washington state in order to survive and so I came to Texas, the only place I have ever felt at home. I grew up moving in the military so this feeling of finally finding home was profound to say the least.


Once again, I got a job where I was the youngest..sense a pattern ?

Dru, Kaye and I all started at the firm in 1982, within 3 months of each other as receptionists at the firm where I am still employed  .


And I was again the punk ass kid .

Drusilla, I miss you to this day. You tried, at times in vain to teach and show me how to be a professional and a lady much as Nadine did. You to everyone who knew you personified elegance and grace. I will never meet your standard but that's okay because you showed me how to have my own style and standard.


Kaye, the news of your passing hit us all hard . You were so like Virgie, You were again one of the kindest ladies I have ever known and your devotion to your family and all of the heart break that you all suffered with Brian's issues ,  blossomed into you being one of the fiercest advocates for the Mental Health support system here in the Gulf Coast .I wish I had been able to reach out to you when I was dealing with Carl's paranoid schizophrenia .

Pride is an awful thing.



To all of the ladies I have mentioned above, I love you all and appreciate the time you took to try to guide a punk ass kid even if you weren't aware of it at the time.

 I am presently at least 10 years older than you were when I entered your lives as we began to work together and the biggest take I have from all of this is the drive to show the ladies that I work with ,who are frankly much younger than I am (Karma ? Irony ? ) , the kind of grace and kindness you all showed to me.


The Punk ass listened.

EACH of you gave me the life lessons that my mother was incapable of doing and for that , I will always be grateful.


I love you all.


Blessed Be.


Jane

Cranberry Butter Cake

for the cake:

4-5 cups fresh cranberries

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

1 can (12-oz) evaporated milk

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 Tablespoons baking powder





for the sauce:

2 sticks butter

2 cups sugar

1 cup cream

2 teaspoons vanilla





Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a standard bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, preferably the kind with flour in it, especially for baking. Wash the cranberries and set them aside to dry. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugar until fluffy. Add milk and beat until combined. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to mixer and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the cranberries, spread batter in prepared pan, and bake for 40-50 minutes, until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan.





In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in sugar and cream, and heat until sugar is melted and sauce is hot. Do not boil! Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve hot sauce over cake. The cake can be served warm or at room temperature.



I never thought about using cranberries in a butter cake before. I love cranberries on salad with Ranch dressing, yes , weird I know and I drink cranberry juice.....yes with vodka..but this looks worth exploring.

Enjoy,
Aunty Pol



Shai Halud .

I must not fear .
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the  little death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it is past, I will turn my inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone through, there will be nothing.

Only I will remain.

Shai halud.

Aunty Pol .

Progress AKA It's Not All A Lost Cause Yet .

We did a little survey of the yard this weekend when I had to show him exactly where I wanted the three rose bushes planted. Seems that there are more that need to be replaced, I am weary of giving these sorry shrubs " one more chance/year."

There have been years where I have not been as diligent with the Miracle Grow for roses as I should have but overall , they are all fed on a pretty structured basis. They were pretty when SIstah and double Oh came out for my 50'th birthday but since we haven't been exactly spot on about amending the soil itself..there are time you just have to say buh bye. I have had some partial luck with the Jackson Perkins but I want to see the damn things, I have zero , zip , nada luck with bare root and it is only in the last couple of years that JP has begun to sell container roses. We had some that we found years ago at Sams that came in a biodegradable box but those have disappeared . I need to go out soon before Mr. Trejo remulches but I guess if I have to , we can get another couple of bags of red mulch and re fluff new plantings.


I am happy about the Jasmine being okay, hopeful about Andy's Plumbago and praying that the Tree Of India comes back. We are going to have some cooler weather but not freezing soon ( Rodeo an all ) so I am hopeful. I need Geraniums, Pentas, Rosemary, Coleus, and so on for the pots and I want to get out there before Easter and or the next pretty weekend. I think Easter is later on in April and I am usually fully insane by then so...I am taking the first week of April off and really hope to play in the yard, weather permitting. All I have to do is stay off the lap top on the dining room table..lol.

Ans yes....he is still home sick with this cold. NyQuil dropped his ass like a bad habit so he did get some sleep...yeah.


Gonna be a LONG week.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Just Another Manic Monday.

Yep...he's at home with the crud.

Poor thing really felt puny.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Sleepy Sunday

It's one of those rainy wonderful Sundays where it's kinda quiet here at the Casa. Hisself thinks ( I know ) that he has come down with a cold , sounds like el crapo and is ZZZ on the sofa so I am putzing here for a bit before I do quiet work.

He got the 3 rose bushes he bought me for V day planted and the old ones cut up and bagged so all is pretty good in the garden thus far. He did do some pruning and I have to sit on my hands because even though I doubt it at this point , we could get one more batch of cold weather . The Jasmine held up fairly well through all of the freezes we had which makes me really happy and I hope that Andy's Plumbago makes it , but if not it's easy to replace.

I got a wild hair yesterday when  I got really frustrated with my  closets so I sorted them out which was really necessary and bagged up 2 big bags for the local women's  crisis center. I have a rather firm rule that if I haven't  worn something in 2 or 3 years that it will be donated. It keeps things organized and is a good thing to do regardless so if I can get off my ass, I have purses to clean out .

The ladies are joining us for dinner so I'd better get it in gear..laundry calls and I can waste way too much time on the laptop so off I goes....



Have a good week.

Ciao,

Aunty Pol

Happy Friday ~ Bruce Of The Day ~ !

It's been one of those weird weeks.

The weather has been insanely nice and while it is true that this is a nice change, it makes me wonder if it;s goign to be in the mid 70's this weekend, dear God what will August be like. ?

Shudder.

I saw the silliest dam thing on the netg today and on the captivate screens in the elevators here at the office ( yes, the hamsters have tv in the metal boxes they ride to and from the cube farm.)...There is s proposition or proposal or bong hit dream out in California to split the state into 6 parts ?

Whiskey.

Tango .

Foxtrot ?


Whuhhhhh ?


I mean really..wouldn't a huge time out be easier ? Give them a nap , animal crackers, a sippy  cup and a clean dry diaper and they'll calm down

Just think about this for a minute.

They hae to split up because they are too big ?

Um..hello..? Texas ?

Heard  of it ?

BAM !

I can't begin to imagine how they would accomplish this. Who decides ? Who sets up the sate laws and charters, the income and business tas formats. Who maintains the roads, infrastructure and state police ?

Dear California: , you're bankrupt , out of water and at a point where Moonbeam is the best Governor you've had since Ronnie Rayguns.

Splitting into 6 won't fix this.

Can't cure stupid.

Here's your sign .

Have a great weekend.

Ciao,

Aunty Pol

When Did Daylilys Get So $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I know it's my fault.

I KNOW , I KNOW , I KNOW .

We are having our false spring right now, at least I think it's false because we are still a week away or more from Rodeo and it's always rainy and cold down here for that not to mention we are a month away from Mardi Gras, so temps, in the mid 70's are nothing if not bizarre.

But.....................


I have this idea that THIS year I am going to introduce daylilies other than the standard everyone has them orange to the dedicated bed built around the bird bath ( note to selves , yes dear plural...we need to scrub that sucker out ....it's nasty).....so me being me, I have been looking for new pretty daylilies.

Is that even the proper plural of the animal ?

I hate blogger spell check...it sux.

Anyhoo..I started to look on the interwebs and OMG !

The really pretty variegated ones are starting at $21.00 for one friggan bulb.

ONE.

UNO .

A singleton.


BITE ME !



I know they come back and a lot of them ree-bloom but shite . I guess I need to pony up and decide a budget for this and pull the trigger on it , then step back , breathe and figure out what I need to replace in the pots on the deck.

SO far off the top of the ol noggin I know that I need the following :

Geraniums
Angelonias
Pentas
Coleus
Oxaia
Blooming Sage
Rosemary x 2 ( the smaller one is for Quintykins..my puppy nephew loves his rosemary)
Jasmine
Lavender


What I hope and pray will come back is :

Andy's Plumbago
Night Blooming Jasmine
Hibiscus
Mexican Flame Bush
Calla Lillies
Duranta
Gardenia
Swedish Ivy


And we still have roses to re-plant.


Huge Le Friggan Sigh.

At least tomorrow is Friday Eve.

Peace Out Y'all.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Grown Up Chocolate Milk

Go over to Souffle Bombay for the recipe.

Damn this looks good.

http://soufflebombay.blogspot.com/2014/02/creamy-homemade-chocolate-liquor.html

Really..go check out her blog, it's wondereful , pretty pictures , easy to follow directions and home to that lil ol recipe for Hot Apple Pie Moonshine.

What more does a girl need ?

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

I Seen To Be On A Chocolate And Coconut Binge

Ingredients

1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped into smaller pieces

2 cups shredded coconut (I used sweetened)

1 cup pecan pieces

1 teaspoon vanilla

dash of salt



Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl place over a small saucepan of simmering water, combine the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate. Stir constantly over heat until chocolate is completely melted.

Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Do not over bake, chocolate may burn.

I seem to be on a chocolate and coconut binge right now . You know how some times when you are looking at different recipes they are all the fad of the moment ? Quinoa, leeks, kale, browned butter and a new one I have to try...caramelized white chocolate ? Well, I seem to be finding chocolate and coconut .

Rough  life I know. These seem to be a lot like the homemade mounds recipe that I found on Janet Randolph's blog " Dying for Chocolate " but less work as they are a basic drop cookie.

Hmmm.....caramelized white chocolate...sounds pretty damn close to the seasonal white Frerre ( sp) Roche that I love..

I may have to play with this.

Ciao,

Aunty Pol

It's Been A Long Year Without You My Wooby Diddums .

Oh sweetie, I miss you so very much , so does your Daddy. It's so very hard to believe that it's been a year now since you went to the bridge. the only thing that keeps my heart from completely breaking is that Loki and the baby are with you . I am sure that Andy Panda Pants and Nee Nee Puddins are making sure that you three are okay so you all play nicely..cause Mama said so !

Be good now.

Love you always and forever,

Mama, Daddy and Gracie Marie .

Just Another Manic Monday .

Yep...this says it all.

Have a great week.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

This Could SO Be Our House !

" I tore open the catnip and I'm too stoned to move ".

Bwahahahah !

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

And I Don't Even Like Zombies !

Enjoy !

Ciao,

Aunty Pol

Happy Friday ~ Bruce Of The Day ~ !

TG ~ Oh Hell yeah ~ IF !

It's finally a bit warmer out here so Gracie ran like a bat out of hell this morning and as we left we saw her over by Jere Lees car next door . No worries though, she may be ding bat but she does have a bit of car sense and Jere Lee knows she likes to hang out there so she ( Jere Lee ) checks before she goes into work .
And of course if Gracie makes too much of a pest of herself ( we assume she will trot into the girls house via the open doggy door at will as is her custom ) , Aunty Cindy Loo Who will trot her happy ass home and let her in the back door.

It's supposed to be pretty this weekend but I don't know how much time I will actually venture out side. When the weather first changes and gives us a false spring mayhem ensues. No matter how often we tell ourselves that it's before Mardi Gras ( often rainy) and Rodeo ( also often cold and rainy) ...our eyes glaze over at the prospect of the amount of cleanup we all need not to mention all of the plants that may or may not make it after an  unusual and repeated freeze period down here on the third coast. We might kid ourselves with glorious technicolor daydreams with the gardening/nursery catalogs, especially Jackson and Perkins but the reality is that it is gonna be more than one weekend to clear all the debris. I am going to talk to Mr. Trejo about certain things tho bless him, he has already trimmed the Crepes..fingers crossed about the above mentioned freezes..it ain't over till it's over.

And then there is the run to Geek Squad....mouse fall down go boom ! For whatever reason , my laptop won't recognize the wireless mouse now like it had before. I have to assume that the laptop is showing a bit of a 'tude since I haven't played with  her in over a week...somehow cranky electronics make sense in our house.

I found a recipe in my archives here so I feel a baking Jones coming on.....wheeeeee....

Have a great weekend.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Just Because Who Doesn't Need A Recipe With The Word Twinkie In It ?

Ingredients




Cake:

1 box yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

5.1 oz box instant vanilla pudding (the large box)

1 cup water

1 stick salted butter, melted and cooled slightly

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

Filling/Frosting:

1 stick salted butter, slightly softened

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla

7 oz jar marshmallow creme

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar





Instructions



Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour 2 (8 inch) round cake pans and set aside.

In the bowl of your mixer, combine eggs and butter. Add water, pudding mix, and cake mix and beat on medium for about a minute, until batter is smooth and thick. Spread evenly in prepared pans and bake for about 20 -25 mins or until tops spring back when lightly touched, or a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

Cool cakes for a few minutes in the pans, then turn out on to wire racks to finish cooling.

For frosting/filling: Beat butter and vanilla in your mixer until combined. Add marshmallow cream and beat until smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar until just combined. Add heavy cream, Increase speed to high, and beat for one minute, until light, smooth and fluffy. Spread on cake layers and serve.

Notes

A Memo To The Staff

                                            ( Unpaid Celebrity Spokes cat Model )

Dear teh Mama and teh Daddy ,

I has been a very gud kitteh Dingbat so you needs to give me mah treatios first before stinky goodness and then again after.  I has been not screaming at the door and I has been sleeping in the bed that the Mama got for me so I deserbs treatios at all times.
'
Amen,
Your Dingbat



Gracie Marie did something that I have never , ever seen her do last night. Normally she is pretty laid back and will indulge her Uncle when he wants to play " Spin the kitty ." She actually encourages him by running back to him for " again . "

Anyhoo, Miss Thang was lying on the nip rug and all of a sudden....

She discovered her TAIL.

Mind you , there was little if any nip left onteh rug as I had hoovered Sunday so that was not the cause. She absolutely got bug eyed when she discovered it and I have never seen a cat funnier laying on her side doing a curly spin as she tried to grab her tail.


I think my daughter has od'd on cabin fever and discovered her inner kittenhood...or she's just plain batshit nut.

Could go either way.

Happy Friday Eve.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

This Is Gonna Be A Trip And Then Some

When Southside Johnny went on his road trip last year , he discovered Mr. Buffet courtesy of our step brother Jim. Now SU and Jim go way back as in " We don't need to graduate High School, we can just fire up and hang.

Well, my parents almost hung SU , thus began his brief career in the Army. After Mom died in 1981, nothing was heard from SOuthside for a long time and it wasn't until our stepmother died 2 years ago that SU and brother from another mother reconnected.

He returned from the East Coast with the brief beginnings of a yen to embrace all things Parrothead.

When SU and he met up in Nola as he made his way home , they partied as I knew they would and SU surprised both SU and myself with a taste for among other things Landshark beer.He had at this point gotten a tee shirt or 2 and a cd..if they ever post anything Buffet related as a Jeopardy category..boy howdy, he is set.

Fast forward to last week.

SU saw the ad , I did not for Jimmy's 2014 tour.He doesn't always hit H town but we do try when he does.

Let me out this another way.

SU has been going when ever possible since Jimmy played at Liberty Hall....his quote , not mine. I have only been going since 1988. I can only think of one time we actually walked Little House On The Prairie because the sound was so bad. Yes, I have missed concerts due to miss hap but over all , I am right up there .

I called Southside to see if he wanted to go and explained that we sit on the lawn on the hill, not the covered and he thought that was a great idea...then he proceeded to firmly advise me to not let this opportunity slip away.

" Dude..., Not our first rodeo."

He came over Sunday and started to yap as younger brothers are wont to do so SU simply went over to the bookcase in the living room and picked up all of the Buffet cs's that we had out and that hand full was a partial selection. We didn't ask if Southside wanted to see the books we have...why rub it in.

I pulled the trigger on the tickets pre-sale yesterdays online and it will be interesting to watch Southside.

Baby brothers can be a real pain in the ass..love them anyway .

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

*****

I just caught this error..sorry hon.

Our parents were  going to hang Southside and Jim..not SU as in Spousal Unit as in Husband..sorry 'bout dat.

The Sun Is Actually Shining ~ Huzzah ! ~

I guess in a lot of ways it's time for me to pull my head out of the sand....okay..that does in fact sound better than out of my ass...just saying y'all..just saying.

I really had not put it all together even as an abstract how much  I have let my lil blog go.

This last 16 months or  so have been the insanity of the in place renovation and then the Bridge issues so I guess in more than one way I just shut down.

I did go back into the archives of the blog because I was looking for that damn orange yogurt quick bread recipe and as I surfed , I realized how much fun I had. Yeah, there were times like now when the weather has just been awful..okay..yes , I know that it has been no where as bad as either of the coasts but we have had freezing weather for 3 damn months people.

THIS IS THE FRIGGAN GULF COAST Y'ALL !

We get hurricanes and so on...not this crap.

I never used to understand how it really used to affect SU....but I do now if not completely, at least in a largely better way. In part because I have been sick for 2 ( TWO ) damn months with sinus issues and just the over all fall out of losing all three of them last year.

BASTA !

Enough I say.


I will find that recipe and start making messes in the kitchen.
I will blog when I want to blog and I miss it so lookout . I will tell you that you will see photos that have been copied/pasted used again , possibly with new topics and hilarity...if it's good enough for Truedeau to re-run stuff...I can tweak stuff too.

I will actively look for stuff for the garden and not faint at the thought of labor it will take .

I will remind myself that spring will come and all will be well.

It's gonna be just fine.


Ciao,
Aunty Pol


Spell check is still f'd up so just go with it.