Bat Man Returns

After several sightings at dusk and in the wee hours of the morning we knew it was time to get Bat Man back. No, I am not referring to the caped crusader from the 1989 movie but the real bat man who drives a bat mobile. His job is to eradicate bats from homes. Bat Man had visited us seven years ago and true to his word: my work is guaranteed, our call for help was answered promptly. We knew of at least three bats who had taken up residence in the soffits near the roof line.

Bats often are a misunderstood species. They are an important part of ecology since they do eat pesky insects such as beetles, mosquitoes and moths. In fact bats can eat around some 600 mosquitoes an hour which is good but on the other hand taking up residence on our property is another matter. In Minnesota there are seven species of bats and there are a total of 1,000 species that live on every continent of the world except Antarctica. Bats are mammals and the only mammals that can fly. Note there is a public health concern since bats can carry rabies.

Bat Man arrived early in the evening and got right to work. We were impressed with his strength as he nimbly moved a 32 foot ladder around the yard and it was windy. His plan: put The Excluder into place. First Bat Man covers the place where the bats are going in and out of with a small screen. Then he installs a one way device called The Excluder which is a long pipe that fits into the screen. Bats can get out but can not crawl back up the tube. Bat Man went around the house looking for other sites to seal up to prevent them from finding a new way in.

Did you know that Austin, Texas has the distinction holding the official International Bat Night called Batfest? It hosts over 150 booths with crafts and food, several bands, awards for bat costumes and yes spectator bat watching.

Well my husband checked this evening at dusk and so far so good... no bats flying around the yard. But will keep you posted with any new developments. For me I felt safer inside looking at recipes. The following looked like a great possibility to try with kids. It looks quite easy.

Bat Cupcakes from The Daily Southern

Bat Cupcakes make a great Halloween dessert. They are so quick and easy to make, but the kids seem to really love them.

Ingredients needed:

• 1 package of chocolate cake mix (or your own favorite recipe - I like to add a packet of chocolate pudding into the mix to make it extra tasty and moist)
  
  
• 1 container of chocolate frosting
  
  
• 1 package of fudge striped cookies
  
  
• 1 package of Hershey's kisses
  
  
• 1 tube of red gel decorator icing
  
  

1. Prepare the cake mix according to directions on the package (throw in the pudding if you like). Pour into muffin tins and bake. For added fun, use Halloween paper liners.
   
   
2. Allow cupcakes to completely cool. They can even be prepared ahead of time and then decorated when you are ready.
   
   
3. Ice the cupcakes with the chocolate frosting.
   
   
4. Break the fudge striped cookies in half and place them on the cupcake with the stripe sides down. If you want the bats to be 'in flight' you can poke the wings into the cupcake with the striped side facing the back.
   
   
5. Place an unwrapped chocolate kiss on each cupcake laying on it's side with the point facing forward to form the body of the bat.
   
   
6. Use the red gel icing to make two beady eyes on the pointy end of the kiss.

Remembering

See how nature-trees, flowers and grass grow in silence,

see the stars, the moon, the sun, how they move in silence,

we need silence to be able to touch souls.

by Mother Teresa

Slowly, silently, now the moon

walks the night in her silver shoon.

by Walter de La Mare

Tuesday September 13th will be the official Harvest Moon, but today on September 11th the moon will be virtually full.

The events of September 11th a decade ago are commemorated today. Add a moment of silence in your life to remember all those who lost their lives and to those who helped after the tragic event on 9/11.

A Sweet Treat

A recent trip to the grocery store put my imagination into overdrive. I discovered waffle bowls! They are an upgrade from the traditional waffle cone. I did some GOOGLE sleuthing and found out they have been around since 2007. But to me it was a brand new product. The possibilities seem limitless filling the waffle bowl with some dessert item.

For my first try I decided to modify a previous posted dessert item from August 17th Ultimate Summertime Dessert.

First I made the Best Ever Chocolate Cake recipe below but baked cake in a large muffin tin. After the individual cakes cooled on a wire rack I placed one in the waffle bowl. Then topped the cake with a small scoop of chocolate mint ice cream. And lastly for the piece de resistance (French term for highlight) drizzled bittersweet ganache.

As I think of other dessert ideas using waffle bowls will pass along.

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Best Ever Chocolate Cake

This recipe makes a dense, moist cake

Ingredients:

• 2-1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened ccoca
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup strong hot coffee
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 jumbo egg
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 TB. Kahula

Directions:

• Beat all ingredients for 2 minutes-if batter has air bubbles gently bang bowl on counter
• PAM spray muffin tin and fill 1/2 full
• Bake @ 350 for 15-20 minutes
• Cool in pan 10 minutes and then place on wire rack
• Place cake muffin in waffle bowl, add small scoop of ice-cream-drizzle with ganache

Ganache

• Melt 4 squares of baking bittersweet chocolate
• Add 4 TB whip cream to chocolate and microwave 40 sec, stir and then 30 sec.more till smooth add more whip cream if needed
• Optional adding 2 TB Kahlua

Armed and Frazzled

I was on a mission driving into a nearby small town on a recent sunny afternoon. I was armed with quarters, bills, reading material and plenty of soap. As I entered the building I stopped dead in my tracks. The $7.50 sign glared above the huge oversize washer that I need to use for my quilts.

Quickly calculating just how many quarters that would be I knew it would be close for my cash cache to cover three washers. I cringed changing a $10.00 bill into quarters. Do the math: two large washers @$7.50=30 quarters and a smaller washer @ $3.50=14 coins. My head was getting dizzy at how quickly these machines ate up my quarters and the worst is I still had to dry.

I poured soap into each dispenser but because it was so high up on top of machine which was sitting on a concrete block my short size hampered a good view for pouring. Finally I had all three machines humming along when I heard this WHOOSH of water like Niagara Falls! As each machine moved to the next cycle the water was draining from the machine into a trough behind all the washers. I began to panic when I saw a huge mound of soap bubbling and getting higher and higher in the trough. Seems I guessed wrong and had added too much soap into each machine. Looking in the window of the washer I could see it was still full of soap and the cycle almost done.

I was in trouble! Now I am out of quarters and all three quilts needed to go through a whole cycle again just to get the soap off. So leaving all this mess ran off to a nearby coffee shop begging for quarters using all my miscellaneous change. Then I ran the washers again but in smaller ones to save some money yet now I am still short on quarters for drying. The sign DRY $.25 is so misleading!! It takes many quarters to keep that machine going. At this point I am totally out of money with just a checkbook so went to another store and begged a clerk to cash a check. She was most accommodating giving me a roll of quarters. YEAH! I was back in business.

Needless to say when I had finished the quilts washing and drying I hadn't even touched the reading material I had brought in. I had wanted to finish this article The New Laundromat. It was interesting to note that the coin operated laundry industry has undergone a revolution these past years. Gone are dingy, unsafe, boring places but now places where there are snack bars, dry cleaning services and even video games. But the best part some don't even use coins, you swipe a card just like at a coffee shop. I wonder how long it will be before this town's laundromat catches on to this new revolution!

Since losing so many quarters in one afternoon sapped my energy I was happy dinner had been made earlier in the day. It was a new recipe with some of my own adaptions from a BHG publication called Best Comfort Food.

Baked Ravioli with Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 bag frozen ravioli 25 oz.
• 1 can chunky Italian tomatoes with garlic and oregano
• 1/2 can (1/3 cup) tomato paste
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup tomato juice
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• grated Parmesan cheese 1 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Cook pasta according to package directions but al dente about 4-5 minutes
• Drain
• Spray a casserole dish with PAM
• Place drained ravioli in bottom of casserole dish and grate Parmesan cheese over the top
• In a food processor add tomatoes, wine, tomato paste, juice, spices and puree
• Brown beef with onion salt and pepper, crumble and drain
• In same fry pan add cooked drained beef and puree sauce cook on low heat about 15 minutes-uncovered
• Pour sauce with beef over ravioli and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top
• Bake covered 350 about 20 minutes

Walking the World for Diabetes and a taco recipe

Recently on one of my frequent trips between the cities and Up North I couldn't believe what I saw. My first thought I was just tired from the drive and beginning to imagine things but as I got closer sure enough I was correct in my observation. A man wearing a backpack was holding a dog on a leash and rolling a huge 6 foot inflatable world globe on a rope in his other hand down the side of the road. He was heading north in my direction. When I told my husband about this unusual sight he recalled seeing this man some 100 miles back the previous week.

Well the mystery has been solved after reading about Erik Bendl's journey in the local newspaper. He is a 49 year old retired Kentucky carpenter who is rolling a large canvas inflated globe to promote diabetes. The globe is a symbol that diabetes has a world wide impact with some 350,000 people affected by the illness. He has covered some 26 states thousands of miles in 5 different trips over the years during the summer. This recent trek began in Sheboygan,Wisconsin, moved across Minnesota to Lake Itasca and onward toward the Dakotas. On his last blog he had reached the State Park of Lake Itasca on Sunday. Erik's mission certainly is challenging in terms of the pace walking each day with his only companion Nice, his dog. But his goal is simple to promote diabetes awareness.

Check out his daily blog at this linkhttp://www.worldguy.org/

I think his efforts are quite noteworthy.

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If all this talk about walking has made you think about how good exercise is for you what about a healthy recipe too?

Generally, I do not eat a lot of seafood but I do enjoy mahi-mahi. Once having had it in Hawaii I've never been able to find a recipe that comes close to what I had except for this one.

This recipe has been adapted from a BHG recipe. Other fish like swordfish or halibut steaks can be used in place of mahi-mahi fillets. Note shrimp or chicken can be substituted for fish in the taco.

Fish Tacos with Tropical Fruit Salsa

4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. fresh or frozen swordfish, halibut or mahi mahi steaks cut 1 inch thick
• 1 mango, peeled and chopped
• 2/3 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 small cucumber seeded and chopped
• 2 TB. green onion diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• flour or corn tortillas
• 2 cups fresh spinach or leaf lettuce chopped
• 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
• 2-4 TB. snipped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup margarita drink mix (no alcohol)
• 1 tsp. Jamaican jerk seasoning (found in spice aisle grocery store)
• 1 TB. lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ancho chili powder or regular chili powder

Directions:

Thaw fish and pat dry with a paper towel and cut fish into 3/4 inch strips

Marinade

In a shallow bowl stir margarita mix and jerk seasoning, add fish strips and coat in juice, cover and marinate in refrigerator 15 minutes, turn once or twice

Salsa

In a large bowl stir together beans, mango, tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro, onion, pepper, lime juice, ancho powder and salt set aside.

Cooking

Drain fish and discard marinade

On a large piece of foil spray with PAM and grill fish strips till flaky about 8 -10 minutes

To serve:Warm tortillas and place 2 TB mango salsa inside with chopped lettuce/spinach and fish strips

Serve with Spanish rice pilaf

Bundt Pan Revival

In 1966 the bundt pan surpassed the popular Jello mold to become the most sold pan in the US. In the 70's and 80's its popularity peaked but in the last few years there seems to be a resurgence of cake baking and decorating using the new Nordic ware bundt pans. Shopping kitchen ware speciality shops can be fun looking at what is new in the field of cake making pans.

I have posted a photo of yesterday's chocolate bundt cake recipe, an apple bundt cake recipe and a decorating idea.

Apple Bundt Cake

Note: moist and easy to prepare

Ingredients:

• 2 cups peeled and diced apples
• 2 TB. sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 cups flour
• 1 TB. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup safflower oil
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1-1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

• Mix diced apples with cinnamon and 2 TB. sugar-set aside
• Sift flour, baking powder and salt
• In large bowl combine sugar, oil, juice, vanilla and eggs
• Beat till fluffy
• Stir in flour and blend
• Add apples and walnuts
• Bake in a greased bundt pan @ 350 for 55 minutes

Praline Frosting

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 TB. milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Bring 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter and 3 TB. milk to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, boil l minute

Remove from heat, add vanilla and whisk in powdered sugar till smooth

Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 TB. sugar
• 1 box of chocolate cake mix with pudding
• 1 cup cherry pie filling
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2-3 TB. cherry brandy or 1 tsp. almond extract

Directions:

• Add all ingredients and beat till smooth
• Grease bundt pan and sprinkle with 1 TB sugar shake well to coat
• Bake at 350 for 50 minutes check at that time to see if done

Frosting:

• 1- 3 oz. package of softened cream cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp milk
• 1-1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 TB. softened butter

The Versatile Pan

Just like the thrift shop you never know what treasures you might find at an art crawl. My friend and I spent almost 8 hours on an up north art crawl that covered some 34 miles with 13 stops on outside yards. There was a huge variety of art medium ranging from pottery, photography, fibers, jewelry, wood carving and many more types. Local artists were selling their wares. I was drawn to the whimsical lawn ornaments and wanted to capture a few snapshots but knew that it would be a " no, no" and frowned upon by the artists. One metal lawn ornament was quite unique. It was 6 feet high petal like flower with a bundt pan turned upside down as the center. And it looked just like the bundt pan I own. It was quite a creative design!

Looking online I also discovered that my bundt pan now comes under the category of vintage. Bundt pans have been around since the 50's but in the late 60's they really came into popularity when recipes using these pans won the Pillsbury Bake-Off contests. The founder of Nordic Ware in St. Louis Park, MN was responsible for designing this bundt pan fashioned after a German version of a bund pan. Bund means gathering in German. David Dalquist added the t to the word bund and his creation has taken off. Nordic Ware estimates more than 40 million original pans are in use. Today manufactures have taken bundt pans to new heights with various patterns in the pan and different sizes.

I decided to post my all time favorite bundt cake recipe that I took off the back of Pillsbury flour wrapper many years ago. I also posted another unique way to use a bundt cake if into cake decorating.

Please note on previous blog 2 photos are only available when you click on the symbol. I am not sure how to fix this and have tried a variety of things. These are my own photos and I would take suggestions from anyone who has used blogger site on how to remedy the situation.

Ring Of Coconut Fudge Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup cooking oil
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup hot coffee
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• optional: 2-3 TB. Kahlua

Filling

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1-8oz softened cream cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup coconut
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

• Grease well a bundt pan
• In a large bowl beat oil, sugar and eggs
• Add rest of ingredients BUT not the filling ingredients
• In separate bowl add filling ingredients and beat well
• Pour one half of batter in pan
• By spoonfuls drop cream cheese mixture over batter
• Add remaining batter
• Bake 350 for 60-65 minutes use a long toothpick/skewer to check for doneness
• Cool in pan 15 minutes take butter knife and go around edges for easier removal
• Invert onto a wire rack to cool

Frosting

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 TB. cocoa
• 2 TB. butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla and 1-3 TB. hot coffee
• Beat and drizzle over cake

Check back tomorrow for two more tried and true bundt recipes