Monday, October 30, 2017

From Failure Comes Success…




If it’s true that you learn from your failures, then I practically got a degree this weekend.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that I am not a master baker, but am a huge fan of “The Great British Bake-off,” and always watch the Master Classes with Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry. Though I’ve learned a lot, apparently I still have a long way to go before I even reach amateur status.

Friday afternoon I decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies for my church’s prison ministry (Kairos). This is something I’ve done from time to time – always with mixed results, which is why I don’t volunteer for it every time.

Here’s what happened this time…
We have a small oven, one which is built into the wall (like the Brady’s had) so we can only fit in two trays at a time (vertically). I was also cooking a pan of scalloped potatoes for our dinner, so I placed that on the bottom rack while rotating trays of cookies on the top rack. None of the trays of cookies ever got completely baked (though they were soft and lovely!) as you could tell from a lack of a bottom layer on each cookie. My husband, Andrew, who definitely knows his way around the kitchen and usually has far better luck than me with most things culinary, figured the tray of scalloped potatoes absorbed all the heat and I would have been far better off putting that on the top rack. Also, I burned the bottom layer of my potatoes since they were in the oven far too long (2 hours + last hour on low).


Final result: kept the cookies since trying to keep 2 dozen soft cookies from forming one giant lump of a cookie seemed futile. Most of the scalloped potatoes were still edible, and I extend my gratitude to Andrew for cleaning the burnt pan for me (which we soaked overnight).

The apple tart dilemma…

In early/mid September Andrew and I went apple picking at a local farm. After making several containers of apple sauce, and eating an apple or two occasionally, we still have an entire drawer (and then some) leftover. I borrowed my sister’s Kitchen Aid blender to assist with making an apple tart in the ceramic tart pan I bought many, many years ago at a garage sale and have never used.


Sunday morning I got on my laptop to look up baking instructions since my tart pan was ceramic and not metal like most of them. It was while doing that, that I learned what I actually have is a quiche pan. I acknowledged that, shrugged, then carried on with making my recipe for the crust (copied directly from a Master Class episode). Since the dough was so sticky (as it was supposed to be) and apparently I was over-flouring it, my husband stepped in and rolled it out for me. Once he did that and then looked at the size of the quiche pan, we both determined that was going to be a no go in terms of fitting properly. His circle would adequately fit the bottom, but there wasn’t enough dough to reach up to the sides. Rather than make more dough, we just decided to carry on and use a pie tin instead, so we did the blind bake and then added our apples. The crust got a little overdone so Andrew covered it with tin foil to allow the apples to bake properly. The end result – a sad little pie that tasted alright, but a lot of work for just a mediocre result. However, the crust (even though over baked) didn’t stick like it normally does because of using a different recipe (and doing a blind bake, etc.).


At least I got good results after making some cupcakes to donate to the food pantry tomorrow (though I still have to make the frosting using a dry powder mix). Fingers crossed!

Monday, October 23, 2017

The Mays in the Maze of Maize….



Saturday October 21, 2017 
Saturday afternoon I attended the second annual B.R.E.A.D. (Bake, Reconnect, Educate, make Art, celebrate Diversity) Festival held in downtown Dublin. Like last year, they lucked out with really nice weather – sunshine with temperatures in the high 70s (which certainly brought out the bees everyone kept swatting at).

Although I hadn’t necessarily planned on spending the whole afternoon there, I figured I would take my time to walk around and check out all the booths at a leisurely pace. My first order of business was grabbing some lunch. I considered buying one of the many bread products for lunch, but the lure of the food trucks was too strong so I ended up buying a bowl of noodles from the Mixing Bowl Asian Grill.com. [Next year I think I’ll stick to just trying just a few free samples and perhaps buy one of the bread products.] In spite of sucking down a sizeable bowl of noodles, I bought an iced mocha and a couple small chocolates from my favorite downtown coffee shop, Winan’s. I just hope I burned off a few calories while walking around.


The SWACO (Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio) table was near the food trucks, so I stopped over to say hello to the employee working there (a vegan named Alex) and picked up a couple sheets with the recycling arrows on them to color in. I also grabbed a couple free pins that said, “Bring me Back – Return or Reuse your Bags.” Alex told me that envelopes, even the ones with wax windows, can be put in your recycling bin completely intact. I told her I always take the time to cut out the wax windows as I was taught back in college. I’m glad she told me. That will certainly save me a bit of time, and my husband will no longer need to put them in the trash as he’s been doing.

From what I could gather, there were at least half a dozen countries strongly represented. Japan had an origami booth
and a tea ceremony booth; the German booth was handing out samples of meat & cheese;
the Ukranian booth was coloring Pysanky eggs;
Henna tattoos were being given at the India booth; the Polish booth had tasty samples of Babka and Paczki; Irish music was being played at the Ireland booth
(didn’t see any soda bread samples though); almost bought some Turkish coffee from the TASO (Turkish American Society of Ohio) booth.

Although I told Andrew I wouldn’t buy any bread since we already have a freezer full of various kinds, I couldn’t resist the budget friendly bargains. Among other things, I bought a peanut butter roll,
a cheese roll,
a Tomato, Basil & Garlic loaf,
and a chocolate pudding dessert (not bread, but really tasty!). My non-bread purchases included a rainbow colored beaded bracelet and a Christmas ornament.

As I was standing around watching the Richens/Timms Irish dancers (they’re pretty big here in Dublin) a lady came over and said hello and we started chatting. I just assumed I knew her from St. Brendan’s since that’s where I know most people. Her name was Sue Ellen and she’s actually one of the volunteers at UALC (Upper Arlington Lutheran Church)/SON Ministries (Serving Our Neighbors) whom I had met on Thursday. I told Sue Ellen I’ve definitely heard more Irish music here (living so close to Dublin) than the two times I’ve actually been to (the Republic of) Ireland and Northern Ireland. We had a nice chat, but as it was getting late I remembered that I needed to get home since Andrew and I were attending his Leading Edje Fall Fest at Little Darby Creek farm (where I had been a couple weekends ago).

The MAYS in the MAZE of MAIZE….


In spite of me running a bit late, we arrived in plenty of time as the fire (for roasting hot dogs) had only just got started. Unfortunately I was still a bit full from lunch, so I watched as Andrew and the others ate, but then decided to grab some dinner so I wouldn’t be hungry later.



Since our passes included some free shots with the corn cannon, we each had a go with that. Andrew used his token to try the pumpkin cannon, but I saved mine to get a pumpkin to take home.


Of course Andrew wanted to have a go at the maze, so we each chose a passport. He chose the Corny questions, while I selected the Scriptural one. If you go in as a pair (which I would recommend), it’s a good idea to select two different passports so you can compare questions & answers. Overall, I think my scriptural questions were a lot easier than his corn trivia. Although it was more fun going around with my mom and sister, I definitely made better time going around with Andrew. I think it’s because he’s so methodical - when the passport said to go left, he made sure to make every left turn until we got to another passport stop. I think we made it out in around 45 minutes, compared to the well over an hour it took my mom, sister and I.


Andrew wasn’t too bothered to feed the goats, pet the bunnies, or throw the baseballs through the holes, and we certainly didn’t want to wait in the mile long line for the haunted hayride, so we left shortly thereafter. I kind of wish marshmallow roasting had been on the agenda, but since this was a family event (and so many things for kids to do), the communal dinner in the pavilion was about it. At least we spent just over an hour, just about making the half hour drive there worth it.


Sunday October 22, 2017

LOVING VINCENT...

On Sunday we went to the Gateway Film Center to see what has been described as “the world’s first fully painted feature film” called “Loving Vincent.” http://lovingvincent.com/

According to the description of the film, “The man was carrying nothing; his hands clasped to a fresh bullet wound leaking blood from his belly. This was Vincent van Gogh, then a little known artist; now the most famous artist in the world. His tragic death has long been known, what has remained a mystery is how and why he came to be shot. Loving Vincent tells that story.”


The movie definitely lives up to its description as a painting in motion. Both Andrew and I agreed we had never seen anything quite like it and both of us were more than a little impressed (and perhaps a little depressed due to the melancholy plot line) with the whole technique. Andrew said at times it felt like a bit of a whodunit. I agree. I also think the plot was a bit slow moving at times. Even though the movie was only an hour and a half long, it felt a bit longer. I love the end where they showed pictures of the actors as they were painted into the film all while the song “Starry, Starry Night” played in the background. Overall, it’s an excellent film, but just know that it’s certainly not a cheerful plot line. I read that in one showing over in Europe it got a standing ovation.

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Afternoon Tea Party at St. Brendan's



Though I’m not a tea drinker, or maybe because I’m not a tea drinker I thought this would be a good event to help out with (since they were looking for volunteers). I’m not sure if this is only the second year they’ve held it, but I definitely didn’t attend last year. Fr. Bob (who is British) stopped in while we were setting up and reminded us the proper way to clean out a teapot when you’re done with it, is to just rinse it out since any residual matter just adds to the taste of future pots of tea. Also, it’s proper to heat up the teapot before making tea inside it so the water doesn’t go cold quite so quickly. I told Fr. Bob I had to learn all these nuances when making tea for my bosses at Pearson May (in Bath, England) when I used to have to assist with catering meetings at work.

We had pretty good attendance at around 45 people total (including children and those of us who were assisting as well). The only snag to the plan was the fact that there weren’t (round?) tables set up for us, so we just borrowed some of the cafeteria tables and the show went on!


How this whole thing worked was we provided tea pots with boiling water for each table (which was heated inside the school kitchen), a tray of assorted cookies & pastries (I made lemon blueberry scones, so those were the pastries), tea bags, sugar cubes, and creamers. People were asked to bring their own teacups (saucers optional). For those who didn’t we had a table with extras people could borrow. There was also a table with paper and crayons to keep the little girls occupied. 

The only thing we didn’t have was music, but maybe next year I’ll offer to bring my boom box and CD of Music for an English Country Garden. People are happy to chat to one another so I know music isn’t necessary, but might be a nice touch as long as it’s not too loud. Yesterday morning we made centerpieces using pie pumpkins and artificial flowers stuck into them. We gave them away to anyone who had a September, October or November birthday (not many people did).
my lemon blueberry scones

 After we made sure everyone had been served and had enough hot water, we sat down next to friends, neighbors, and acquaintances and had a chat while enjoying some tea and refreshments ourselves. I admit I had a couple chocolate chip cookies and a tiny cupcake while enjoying the lemonade meant for the children. I probably should have brought some of my cold Chai Tea drinks I have in my refrigerator, but I didn’t think of it.

With about a half an hour left to go Donna, the one who organized the tea party, stood up and spoke about the various ministries (clubs/organizations) at St. Brendan and the contact details for each, which were listed on sheets distributed amongst the various tables. If any representative from any particular ministry were present they were asked to speak about it. Since I am the unofficial co-chair of the Arts & Environment Committee I stood up and spoke about that.

Probably the best part of the afternoon was meeting new people and getting further acquainted with others I only know casually. I met a lady named Rose who I think is from Dundalk, Ireland (she said she was from a city north of Dublin near the border of Northern Ireland, and the city started with a ‘D’). Rose told me the only restaurant that actually serves boiling water adequate for enjoying a good cup of tea is, funnily enough, McDonald’s. I told her I’m not surprised. After all, they once had a lawsuit on their hands when someone spilled hot coffee on him/herself and got scalded. 

I told Rose I hoped to someday have proper afternoon tea at a tea house with my husband, Andrew. Our best option is the Cambridge Tea House in Grandview, but you need to get there early (not sure if they take reservations) on a Sunday and definitely dress up. We were going to go there on my birthday weekend, but we weren't dressed up and there was no parking (so we went to the Chocolate Cafe instead where I had a chocolate tea drink that I'm sure I probably liked more than if I had had a proper tea).

The next best part was the easy clean-up. It’s true what they say, ‘Many hands make for light work.’ All I did was organize the leftover cookies so they got returned to whomever baked/bought them if they so wished. This is how I got to take home a few leftovers (quite a few actually). We were done and dusted in less than 15 minutes after the event was over. I will definitely pencil in this event for next year since it was really fun and not really that much work (one short meeting to make plans, one even shorter meeting to make the centerpieces, and then the event itself), less than five hours in its entirety.

Have a great week everyone!

Monday, October 9, 2017

An Afternoon at the MAiZE at Little Darby Creek



Saturday afternoon my mom, sister, my nephew and his friend and his friend’s mother and I drove out to the MAiZE at Little Darby Creek. This MAiZE is like one of those mysterious crop circles and equally as ornate with a pattern only discernable from the sky. This year’s design was the Columbus Blue Jackets (hockey team) logo.


There are two paths you can explore in the maze and ten signs scattered amongst various junctions. To choose your path you can either wing it, or take a Passport containing 10 questions related to the theme of the Passport. I chose the Girl Scout passport and my sister chose the TV/Movie passport. When you choose an answer there are directions (like take a left or a right) to help steer you to the exit. The TV/Movie passport didn’t seem too difficult, but I probably only knew maybe 50% of the Girl Scout questions.
We didn’t have too much trouble with the first path, but the second one was a lot harder as we kept doubling back on ourselves. Suddenly the idea of leaving a kettle corn trail didn’t seem like such a bad idea. At least it was a nice sunny (and very breezy!) day so the idea of spending time wandering around in a corn maze was a nice way to pass the time.


There’s also lots of family activities to do around the grounds as well as a couple lop eared rabbits you can pet, some goats you can feed and a couple pigs to look at (not sure what other purpose they served).


Not only was it an entertaining afternoon, but an educational one too as there were signs scattered about the property containing fun facts about animals. For instance, did you know that cats aren’t the only animals that purr? Apparently rabbits do too. Horses have the largest eyes of any land animal. I forget what they said about goats.

For an additional $3 you can ride the hay wagon out to the field and pick out your own pie pumpkin to take home. I opted to skip that figuring I’d probably be doing that in a couple weeks when I go again when I attend my husband’s Fall Fest activity there.


They have a pretty good selection of snacks and treats as we discovered when we went to the concession stand for cool drinks and popcorn (I got a pumpkin cappuccino that really hit the spot & burned my tongue, but no biggie).

Have a good week everyone!