Last Day of 2013

Morning y’all,

It’s New Year’s eve, the last day of 2013 and it’s another gorgeous morning on the mountain. The high yesterday reached 47 degrees with the overnight low hitting 34 degrees. It’s currently 37 degrees and clear at 7am. By Friday it is suppose to be in the low 20’s and with a high around 30 and a chance of snow. It would be nice to see a little snow.

Are you celebrating this evening? How will you welcome the arrival of 2014? Perhaps a night out at your favorite restaurant for delicious food, a movie, fancy dress and a little champagne. Watch the ball drop, fireworks and the elusive promise of a kiss at the end of the night!

Wherever you may be today,
I hope you have a fun and safe evening.
I want to wish you and your loved ones a
Happy New Year!

American Black Vulture

I rarely see the American Black Vultures but today I spotted five sitting in several trees about 20 feet from each other. The American Black Vultures are scavengers and like to feed on carrion. I didn’t find anything dead so maybe they were just resting.

I read that in the United States the American Black Vulture is legally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

Check out my new oval shaped cutting boards

Blueberry Muffins

Everyone in our family loves Blueberry Muffins! So, anytime the family is together for breakfast or brunch we always include Blueberry Muffins. This recipe is very easy, they are great for breakfast, snacks or anytime. They are, without a doubt, the most amazing, the most perfect blueberry muffins I have ever eaten, you won’t want to stop eating them!

If you have the large muffin pans, this recipe will make 24 large muffins.

Recipe

4 eggs 1 box Duncan Hines white cake mix
1 small box of vanilla instant pudding
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup of fresh blueberries or more, frozen or can of blueberries pie filling drained and rinsed
* This recipe will makes 24 regular size muffins or 12 large muffins.

Preheat oven at 350

I always rinse the fresh blueberries, place on wax paper on a cookie sheet, pat with paper towel to remove and excess water. If the blueberries are not fresh, I place them in freezer for freezing, make sure they are frozen before making the mix. If you freeze the blueberries this will insure you don’t get the blueberry juices in the mix.

Beat the 4 eggs until lite, approx. 2 – 3 minutes depending on mixer.

Add all other ingredients except do not add the blueberries yet. Mix until blended, it’s important not to over mix.

Prepare muffin pan with paper liners.

I will fill the muffin papers half full of mix, then remove frozen blueberries and add by hand blueberries to the mix. Add more batter on top of the blueberries, then add more blueberries to the top of the mix. Now they are ready to put into the oven.

Bake at 350 for 20 – 22 minutes depending on oven.

I hope you enjoy the blueberry muffing recipe!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Michael

 

Oval Cutting Board

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Well its been a hectic week to say the least between catching up in the shop, Christmas shopping, grocery shopping, cooking for a couple parties and planning for Christmas. Tomorrow evening and Tuesday morning I will start cooking desserts for Christmas day which includes two cakes, carrot and coconut cake, blueberry muffins, chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter pie.

I completed all of the boards I promised and got them shipped. Most all of them will arrive before Christmas. I also found some time to work on a new prototype oval cutting board. The board in the pictures is made of Walnut. After making 4 different patterns and sizes I settled on this design.

This board dimensions are 15 1/4″ long x 11 3/4″ wide x 3/4″ thick. It’s handmade just like all my other boards. I then hand sand to a smooth finish, apply numerous coats of food safe mineral oil and then I add a top coat of my special mixture of mineral oil and beeswax. The picture is of my new Walnut wood oval cutting board .

Oval Walnut Cutting Board

Please give me feedback my new oval board as well as the size of the board?

Wood Conditioner helps to keep your cutting board in good condition.

Colorful Sunrise

As I scan thru all the photographs I took today, I picked out my third photograph that I took of our beautiful and colorful sunrise. There were several photographs of our sunrise but this one was the best.

As you look at this picture, your eyes will focus on the sunrise, then the tree branches. If you look again, you will see that the mountain fog has started lifting. Then I noticed the blue sky and all the clouds. Wow, our sunrise today was spectacular!

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Christmas gift for the cook in your family…….

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This week was a challenge to finish getting all the boards done that I needed to complete. I am finally caught up which gives me spare time to clean, organize the shop and start a few new boards. There are only eight days left that I can make boards and get them shipped so that everyone receives their board before Christmas. Looks likes next week will be very busy!

I purchased more walnut this week and when it arrived I was very happy 🙂 . There is so much character in this walnut, the colors and grain patterns are beautiful. I can’t wait to work with this walnut.

For the cook, food preparer or the one that likes to entertain in your family that LOVES wood, I have some really beautiful one of a kind handmade cutting boards. If you are looking for a special gift that is personal and useful, which makes more of a treasured gift, look at my cutting and serving boards. All of my boards are handmade and are both beautiful and functional.

The above picture was taken by Julie @ cookiecrumbstoliveby

A good cutting board belongs in every kitchen. It helps if one has at least two cutting boards in the kitchen.  Use one for savory food preparation and one for baking & desserts. However, if you enjoy entertaining guests on a regular basis, you may want to have multiple boards for cheese tastings, hors d’oeuvres, wine tastings and dessert displays.

All of my boards are crafted of individually selected pieces of lumber. The quality of each board can be attributed to its sleek design, invisible joints, rounded edges and smoothness. The surfaces of the wood are hand-sanded to a smooth finish. When completed, each board is treated with a blend of beeswax and food-safe mineral oil.

Round Cutting Boards with Paddle Handle

Look at the character in these boards! The round cutting boards with the paddle handle are available in several sizes. Perfect for a Sandwich or Breakfast Board.

As you can see in the pictures, please note that each board is slightly unique in grain and color.

Each order will receive a tin of my Wood Conditioner, sometimes call Board Butter to help you maintain the beauty of your board.

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Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cake

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Chocolate Chip Cake using a Tube Pan

Let me tell you that this chocolate chip cake has 14 ounces of chocolate!!  It is so moist and full of chocolate and so very easy to make. I have been making this cake for over 15 years and from the very first time I made it my children immediately said it was their favorite. They are now grown and it is still their favorite! I get request to make this cake from everyone I know because it is that good.

You can also make this cake using a bundt cake pan instead of a tube pan.

Chocolate Chip Cake using a Bundt Pan

I modified the original recipe many years ago so that I could use more chocolate and to make it really moist. In 2004 I won first place with the cake in a local baking contest.

Above are my ingredients. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees or 325 for confection oven.

Start by grating your semi-sweet chocolate squares, the picture above shows the remaining grating chocolate after mixing the batter. This grated chocolate will be used on top of the cake after baking.

Mix cake mix, pudding, oil and milk. Add eggs one at a time, beat throughly but be sure not to over beat. Stir in chocolate chips and all but 2/3 cups of grated chocolate.

Above is the batter after adding the grated semi-sweet chocolate. Once the cake batter is ready, pour into your prepared pan. You can bake this cake in either a bundt pan or tube pan. This time I used a tube pan but either will work fine. Be sure to prepare your pan with a good spray of Bakers Joy. If you miss this step you will not be able to remove the cake from the pan. Bake for about 50 – 55 minutes or until done depending on your oven.

After the cake has cooled approximately 10-12 minutes, I remove from the pan and then top with the remaining grated semi-sweet chocolate. Once the cake has completely cooled I dust with 10x sugar.

I almost didn’t get a picture of the cake after it was cut, it gets eaten so fast because it is sooo good!!

Give this recipe a try, I promise you will love it! Here is my recipe.

1 -box Duncan Hine Deluxe Yellow Cake Mix
1 – 3 oz box instant vanilla pudding
1 – cup cooking oil
1 – cup milk 2% or higher
4 large eggs
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate squares – grated
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

This is the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cake!

From my home to yours, I want to wish everyone 

a very Happy & Joyous Holiday Season!

Happy Baking!

Michael

Ultimate Southern Pound Cake

Other recipes

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Do You Like Pizza?

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A good friend of mine owns Torrelli’s pizza that is located in Greenville, SC near Furman University. I love pizza, especially New York style pizza like they make. We don’t eat pizza often but when we do, this is where we go. This pizza here is absolutely delicious!

They sell pizza by the slice and whole pizza’s starting from 12 inch up to 28 inch size pizza’s. The slices they sell are cut from the 28 inch pizza so the slices are huge.

Are you hungry yet?  What is your favorite kind of pizza? Cheese, pepperoni, veggie?

Here is the 28 inch pizza! This box is nearly impossible to get into a small car it’s so huge.

So what kind of pizza do you like?

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Red Fox

Saturday, December 7, 2013

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We have alot of Red Fox that roam the moutain, many of them we will see in the evening just before sunset. Here are two pictures of red fox that my Reconyx Hyperfire HC600 trail camera caught the last day of October this year around 10:42 PM. The pictures are seconds apart, be sure to double click the pictures to see a full view.

The lights you see in the back ground is our driveway gate.

 

As I hike the mountain around our home I am always on the lookout for fox and coyote dens but I have not found any yet. I am sure there are more than one fox den becuase I have seen at least seven different red fox. If you have never seen a red fox they are really beautiful animals. They are the size of a large dog with a beautiful red fur with cream color on the underside. The Winter fur is dense, soft, silky and relatively long.

The red fox is not always the classic red color. There are many different phase and color variations which give the red fox many different names such as the black fox, the silver fox, cross fox, the samson fox and there are also albinos. Occasionally we will see a gray fox but only about 2-3 times a year.

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Be sure to check some of the letters and emails from wonderful people who have purchased from me.

 

Best Ever Peanut Butter Cookies

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Peanut butter cookies are one of my favorite cookies after chocolate chip cookies. This is the best ever Peanut Butter Cookie recipe! If you like peanut butter cookies, this recipe is for you, I promise you will love them. The recipe is a very simple recipe too.  I’ll share a secret to these cookies, you have to use a wooden spoon, don’t use your mixer and don’t use a metal spoon. Using the metal seems to change the recipe.

Here are my ingredients. The tall bottle is bourbon vanilla extract that was a gift from Julie! 🙂

I have the brown sugar, peanut butter, Crisco butter shortening, vanilla in bowl. Mix by hand using a wooden spoon.

Above, I have mixed those ingredients, including the egg.

I slowly add the flour to the mix. Continue mixing by hand using a wooden spoon.

Add the Reeses peanut butter chips.

Peanut Butter Cookie dough is ready to chill!

Ready to eat!!

RECIPE:
1-1/2 cup firmly packed light bronw sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter (Jiff is the best)
1/2 stick (or 1/2 cup) Crisco butter flavored
3 tablespoons of milk
1 table spoon vanilla
1 egg
1-1/2 all purpost flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 – 10 oz bag of Reeses peannut butter chips

Yield is about 2 dozen cookies

Combine brown sugar, peanut butter, Crisco, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat with wooden spoon until blended, add egg, mix until blended.

Sift flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add to cream mixture a little at a time until blended. Add bag of Reeses peanut butter chips.

Set in fridge for two hours before cooking…. I know, I know… you can’t wait!!  Go ahead and bake a batch, it will be hard to flatten with the fork but they will be ok.

Heat oven to 350 degrees or 325 for confection oven.

I use parchment paper to make clean up easier, but you can place directly on the cookie sheet. Round into balls and drop on baking sheet two inches apart. Try ot make all the balls the same size so they cook evenly. Flatten with a fork.

Bake one cookie sheet at a time, in my oven I bake for 3-1/2 minutes, then rotate pan and cook for another 3-1/2 minutes. Cook just until browning starts and remove from oven. Once you see browning, the cookies are done.

Enjoy!!!  They are really good, especially when they are warm!!

Please share with your friends a link back to these cookies, they will thank you.  Don’t they look good?

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