Wednesday, August 28, 2013

A recipe and more flowers

Good morning Friends ~ Today is a new day and I wish to look for the good in it, to do what I can and be thankful.

We did have a truly great rain from that thunderstorm the other night. It made all growing things happy.

Yesterday I puttered indoors. I cooked a pot of Navy pea beans with diced ham, chopped onion and green pepper, sliced carrots, minced garlic, concentrated vegetable broth and water. This was in the crockpot and made the place smell so good and comforting.  Then I made a delicious Ricotta Coffee Cake that I made for the first time last September and I wrote on the recipe that it was great. It is and rich.

08-28-ricotta-coffee-cake

Ricotta Coffee Cake

Ingredients

    2 cups flour
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon salt
    1-1/2 cup butter (room temp.)
    3/4 cups sugar
    2 eggs
    1 cup ricotta cheese
 
    1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
    1/2 cup chopped walnuts
    1 tablespoon cinnamon
    1 tablespoon nutmeg

Directions

    Grease 13x9 cake pan. In small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Beat the butter and sugar well until fluffy. Add the eggs and ricotta. Beat in the flour mixture. Scrape sides and beat briefly again. Batter will be thick. Spread batter into pan.
    Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over top. Refrigerate uncovered overnight. In morning, preheat oven to 350° and bake for 40 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

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Instead of the cinnamon nut topping I left it off and spread on some Smucker’s orange marmalade. I had added orange extract to the mix too, and this was oh so yummy.  I had a slice last night and then one this morning with coffee. Very nice.

Today I want to do more ‘home-caring’ inside. One blog that really inspires me to get my act together is Leslie’s, Spruce Pine Cottage. She lives in northern FL and her home is so lovely and decorated so nicely and is so orderly. Something for FlowerLady aspires to.

Below are some blooms from this morning.  It looks like we may get more rain today.  We had a little yesterday. The other day when I had done the driveway work, I had mowed before that, so I got that all done just in time as we had a whopper thunderstorm that evening with LOTS of rain.

Rain lilies growing up in the crack between side patio and step up to front patio.

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Rubber vine ~ this can be very invasive so I keep it cut back. 

The blooms are very pretty though, but the sap is not nice at all.


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Another unknown rose.

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Today I also want to take photos of several more crocheted needle cases and get them uploaded and listed in my little Etsy shop.

Hope you all have a good day or evening wherever you are.

FlowerLady

24 comments:

Southern Lady said...

Good morning. Thanks for your sweet response to my comment. I am so sorry to hear of your husband's passing. I know that must have been very difficult for you. I fully believe that during times of sorrow, God is holding you closer. I pray that he will continue to hold you and bless you. -Carla

tina said...

Your cooking is always so delightful! Just the name of the coffee cake inspires. My aunt lives in central Florida and she had a HUGE oak tree come down. She said due to all the rains. It has been a bit rough from what I hear. Stay dry and cool!

Betty said...

If My Hubby knew you were going to making a pot of beans he would be over there right now. HA! HA! The Cake looks good. Will give it a try. Thanks

Nancy J said...

Great recipe, and as always super flower pics, love the pale mauve colours. Your motivation inspires me, I'm sure your goodies in the Etsy shop will be so admired and sell well. Greetings from Jean.

June said...

I always love your flower photos Lorraine. I loved the ones in your previous post as well. This recipe sounds so delicious and I really love the idea of the marmalade for a topping. YUM!
sending hugs...

Ruth Hiebert said...

I can almost smell that yummy aroma in your house. The flowers are lovely.

Sandy said...

I am definitely going to try your recipe! Looks so delicious.
And, as always, I have enjoyed seeing your beautiful flowers.
Hugs~

Balisha said...

Hi Lorraine...You and I must be on the same wave length. I made split pea soup today. We enjoy soups no matter what the weather is. I'm going to have to try that coffee cake.Clever of you to change it up with the marmalade.
Balisha

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

The rain lilies and rubber vine are new to me and each have very beautiful flowers. Your slice looks delicious!

Annie said...

Beautiful blooms again...love!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hello, That coffee cake looks delicious --especially since you add the orange to it. Yum.. I'm not a huge cinnamon lover---so I never like much of it on anything. (A little goes a long way! ha)

Your soup sounds good also. I am always trying to get enough fiber into me (since I don't eat much bread) ---so bean soup is great for that. YUM.

Beautiful flowers. The Rubber Vine blooms are so pretty.

Hugs,
Betsy

Jean Campbell said...

Coffee Cake on a Desert Rose plate!

His Granny's Desert Rose dishes went to live at my son's house.

Thanks for visiting my wild Wildflower gardens. They're the only part that I don't have to tend.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Oh my
the cake looks so good.
I will have to make it :)
As always
your flowers are beautiful.
At the moment
very hot and dry here in the country.

Rose ~ from Oz said...

Wishing you a lovely weekend Lorraine!
Mmmm, there is nothing quite like the aroma of a good pot of (what we call) Pea and Ham soup on the simmer!
x

Andrea said...

Hello Lorraine, i am not so much into cooking so i will just look at your garden and photos. We all love rain so much, but we don't get them without typhoons. The last two consecutive typhoons render many places here flooded, but because i am not affected i feel guilty for being happy since my plants are happy! hahaha

Julie said...

I had the same sort of idea as you with the rain storm! Made split pea soup!!! LOL

HolleyGarden said...

Pretty blooms. Love the rain lilies growing in the crack. It's amazing to see how some plants can survive in the worst conditions. And how wonderful to be getting some rain! We haven't gotten any rain the entire month of August. I am keeping my fingers crossed that September will be different. I have been thinking lately that I need to do a bit more 'home caring', too. I think part of my problem is the fact that I am not very good at organizing!

Susan said...

Hi Lorraine...I adore coffee cake and yours sounds quite delicious. You are totally right about Leslie's blog and her home...very neat and orderly and best of all clutterless.

Love the rain lily. It's always a good sign when they're blooming in the garden. Have a wonderful weekend!

Rebecca said...

The coffee cake sounds wonderful! I've copied it into my recipe file and hope to try it soon. I think I'll take it to a friend who is spending her first week at home after cancer surgery!

I've been away for a few days caring for my mother. She has dementia and got a severe bladder infection and ended up in hospital. It was quite a challenge there for a few days! Thankfully she is home and returning to her "normal". My sister is there now for a few days to help our father in his care for her.....

Leslie Kimel said...

Oh, wow, thank you so much for the sweet compliment about my house! That really made my day!

I just love the new things in your Etsy shop. The sachets are soooo pretty, and the needle cases are in such great colors.

The coffee cake sounds delicious!

RURAL said...

Oh so good to see the colorful flowers, I bet they loved the rain.

I just made my own homemade riccotta today...it's delish.

Jen

Barbara Barth said...

Yum. All this food sounds so wonderful. Now I am hungry before my morning coffee. Have a great Labor Day! Came on to catch up on your posts. Hugs Barbara

Terra said...

That coffee cake looks yummy, and your flowers and photos of them are gorgeous.

L. D. said...

Your cake looks so delicious.