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October 10, 2007

i heart passion fruit

When we went to Funchal– Portugal we rode on a bus to the market to check out the local produce. We went off on our own and found this man who was selling these wonderful passion fruits. I had no idea there were soo many different types. There were some that tasted like bananas and others that tasted like pineapple. We sampled a few and HAD to have some. 3 minutes later….we walked away with a huge bag full of them. We cut them open later on to find that they weren’t as sweet as the samples the guy gave us. I figured he put sugar on them so they would taste ripe. Oh well! They weren’t the cheapest fruit I’ve ever had. But, the high sticker price was worth it. I would not have these photos if we didn’t have that experience. Adding sugar made them yummy.

my favorite passion fruit

 

passion fruits we picked up at the market added a bit of sugar on top mix that with a little bit of rum banana passionfruit

if you can’t find passion fruit BUT you have a local Trader Joes near you- try their Passion Fruit- Fruit Leathers. They are SOOO good! The seeds are the best part.

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October 8, 2007

Early Riser

so where’s my vacation photos? well… I went through all 700 and narrowed down 370 that i love. I spent all Friday night doing so. I know i should edit them even more….How could anyone sit through looking at 370 pictures??? But how could I not include photos i find so dear? I’m the worst at editing!

the weekend was spent catching up on sleep (at least TRYING to). I keep waking up when it’s dark outside. THANKS JET-LAG! Saturday I woke up at 7AM. Sunday I woke up at 6am. Today I woke up at 5:38AM. What’s with that?? Although… it’s actually nice to watch the sun come up. I never get the chance to do that. I don’t know my house well at that time of day. It’s fun to experience. My sleep usually comes before watching the trees light up with the sun.

glimpse of my weekend:

ash tree changing color brandt new bundt choc with cream cheese frosting let me fuel you for the red sox game mantle decoration cindy made me this cat

-we watched Knocked Up on dvd

-short trip to Ikea for planters

-grocery shopping for Red Sox game on Sunday

-bought a bundt cake mold & made my first bundt cake.

-caught up on all the mail from being away

-made grilled cheese & tomato soup

-helped Casey to get better (he’s sick)

-made part of my halloween costume

-straightened up the house for company

-decorated the mantle in the living room for Halloween (pictures above)

-relaxed & enjoyed being home

After spending 10 days away, I hope to take things easier and enjoy all the things I have.

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October 7, 2007

Prune Bundt Cake

why do prunes have a bad rap?

inside the prune abyss

prune cake! don't be a hatin' on my prunes

Spiced Prune Cake from this month’s issue of EVERYDAY FOOD:

-2 cups all purpose flour (spooned & leveled)

-1 cup pitted prunes

-2 cups sugar

-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1 cup of vegetable oil

-1 teaspoon ground cloves

-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

-1 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1 cup plain yogurt (recipe called for buttermilk, but i used yogurt instead)

-3 large eggs

-1 cup coarse chopped walnuts

-powdered sugar for dusting.

Oven Temp: 325 degrees

Butter & Flour a nonstick Bundt Pan (12 cup capacity). Add some flour to cover- tap out excess.

Boil some water-pour over the prunes to cover & let sit for 10 minutes. Drain & chop. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour/sugar/cinnamon/cloves/nutmeg/salt/baking soda- Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk oil/eggs/yogurt & eggs.

Add wet contents to dry contents. Add the prunes & walnuts.

Spoon into pan- bake until toothpick is clean. (1 hour 45 minutes- 2 hours).

Immediately invert onto baking rake. Dust with powdered sugar when cooled.

***this was delightful! A wonderful Autumn treat. I think it would be great paired with vanilla ice cream & a caramel sauce. My husband ate a piece while sipping his Honey Rum we got in the Canary Islands.  Don’t hate prunes. They didn’t kill anyone.***

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October 4, 2007

jet lagged

fish in the sky

we’re baaaaack! Casey & I went on a trip with my family. We spent 10 days away. It was wonderful, relaxing, amazing, magical, interesting & overwhelming! So much to see, so much to do! I took over 400 pics while away. It’s going to take me a long time to edit them….. But right now I leave you with this one above. We spent the last day of our trip in Las Palmas- in the Canary Islands. We walked around and found these pretty fish!

More about the trip later. I’m still recovering from having spent 27 hours traveling. It’s good to be home. Time to catch up on all my recorded shows & snuggle with my two kitties.

I’ve spent the past 10 days curbing my internet usage. Damn….It felt pretty good. I’m trying sooo hard not to get sucked back in!

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September 17, 2007

lately:

on friday night I had a birthday dinner at my house for my favorite neighbor: meat loaf, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach & apple pie (too busy to take pictures!)

we occasionally encountered some misbehaving cats over the weekend:

this is why there's a note on the door to keep it closed this is what happens when we eat outside.  constant mewing.

i baked a loaf of bread & made whoopie pies:

decided to make some bread- at 2:30AM whoopie! i made whoopie pies.

we enjoyed the bread on the patio during an overcast morning:

overcast breakfast i could eat you always.

i bought two new lamps for our bedroom and put existing lamps in the guest room (new lamps not shown):

for guests- new lights. this door needs painting

spent a lot of time in my office/work room:

my work room in between rooms

we went to Pacifica to watch the Red Sox vs. Yankees as well as the Patriots game. We stopped at the beach along the way….

must have been an important call surfs up off of devils slide someone else enjoys the view

we ate turkey chili & cornbread muffins

turkey chilli- while watching Patriots & Red Sox games turkey chilli- while watching Patriots & Red Sox games

-we watched Fargo

-i went for a hike

-i played on the internet (til 3am!)

-i tried clothes on for our trip

-we went shopping for a jacket

-i bought some magazines

-i didn’t sleep as much as i wanted to

Now I’m off to make one of my favorite soups & watch Martha on my TIVO. Happy Monday!

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September 14, 2007

***happy birthday, sandy!!!***

had a little help from my 13 year old baking buddy:

making cream cheese frosting first time using this tip sprinkles putting in the red to make pink

xoxoxoxoxo, tracy

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September 12, 2007

:::two new furry friends:::

smile for the camera siena this is madison siena waits for her toy to be thrown he's got his eye on you

today at work I went to my coworker’s house to take pictures for her Real Estate brochure. The best part (besides getting away from work) was meeting her “kids.” The dog is Siena Cha-Cha and the cat is Madison. It’s the first Scottish Fold cat I’ve met. Their ears are silly.

i also fell in love with this flowery plant. It’s a Jewels of Opar plant.  Perhaps one day I’ll have one in my backyard….

prettie little things