In the Hive

He tried these recipes from the Smitten Kitchen blog - they came out great! Olive Oil Muffins 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 4 large eggs 2 teaspoons orange zest 2 teaspoons lemon zest 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons whole milk ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil ⅔ cup sliced almonds, toasted Powdered sugar, for sifting Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Blend together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer beat the sugar, eggs, and zests in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vinegar and milk. Gradually beat in the oil. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Crush the almonds with your hands as you add them to the batter and stir until mixed. Fill the muffin tin almost to the top of the paper liners. Bake until golden on top and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs...

Boy oh boy, do I feel like a fish out of water!! It's been a long time since I was in the classroom - I graduated in 1987 and only had one college course since then.... Lots of interesting folks on campus!

My bread is almost gone - boy these kids can eat!! Mike took over cooking duties tonight! Hurrah! Beef and Vegetable Fried Rice 1 lb. wegmans 90/10 lean ground beef, lean 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger OR ¼ teaspoon ground ginger 2 tablespoons water 1 red bell pepper, cut 1/2 inch pieces 6 ounces pea pods, frozen 3 cups cooked rice, cold 3 tablespoons soy sauce 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil ¼ cup green onion, thinly sliced In large nonstick skillet, brown ground beef, garlic and ginger over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking up into 3/4 inch crumbles. Remove with slotted spoon; pour off drippings. In same skillet, heat water over medium-high heat until hot. Add bell pepper and pea pods; cook 3 minutes or until bell pepper is crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Add rice, soy sauce and sesame oil; mix well. Return beef to skillet; heat through, about 5 minutes. Stir in green onions before serving. Notes 8 WW points per serving ...

Rosemary - Garlic Focaccia Ingredients ¼ ounce active dry yeast (one envelope) 1 ½ teaspoons sugar 4 cups all-purpose flour, (4 to 4 1/2) ½ teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 ½ tablespoons dried rosemary, crumbled 3 garlic cloves, minced very fine (depending on how garlicky you want it, I go all the way!) (3 to 5) 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt Method In a bowl, stir together yeast, sugar and 1 ¾ cups lukewarm water and proof yeast for 10-15 minutes, or until foamy. Stir in 4 cup of flour, 1 tblsps of the olive oil and the salt, adding as much of the remaining flour as necessary to form a soft and slightly sticky dough. Transfer to a lightly-oiled bowl, turn to coat, and let rise, covered, in a warm place for 1 hour, or until double in size. Knead dough down and press with lightly-oiled hands into a well-oiled 15 ½ x 10 ½ inch jelly-roll pan and let it rise, covered loosely, for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Set rack in center of oven. Dimple dough with...

Boy oh boy, does our living room look different than at the beginning of summer!

Michael spotted this sunflower the other night - he thought it looked like it was laughing and covering its mouth with its hands! Maybe it was laughing at the rain storm moving in behind it - after all, it is a sunflower!

I did manage to piece a block yesterday, but I can't post a picture since it is for a challenge I am doing!! I took Thomas fabric shopping for a school project and while I was at there, I came across another cute bee print!!!

Marinated Baked Pork Chops 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons ketchup 6 pork chops, trimmed 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 2. In a small bowl, thoroughly blend soy sauce, vegetable oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, and ketchup. 3. Place pork chops in a medium baking dish, and spread with 1/2 the sauce. 4. Bake pork chops 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Turn, and spread with remaining sauce. Continue baking 30 minutes, or until internal temperature of the chops has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Prep - Prep: 15 Minutes - Cook: 1 Hour - Ready in: 75 Minutes Source: Allrecipes.com (6 servings)

I love this quote I found inside a chocolate bar wrapper! - "Laugh uncontrollably, it clears the mind."

I picked up some of these EPP pieces while on vacation. They are made by Paper Pieces! I love the shape!

We haven't stopped running around since we got home! I am getting tired! I hope to get some sewing done today!! This was our dinner the other night: Spiced Chicken With Couscous Pilaf 2 ½ teaspoons paprika 1 teaspoon dried thyme ¾ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon dried oregano ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper ⅛ teaspoon ground red pepper 16 ounces boned and skinned chicken breast halves 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided ½ cup chopped onion 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup uncooked couscous 1 cup fat-free chicken broth, less sodium 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro 1 tablespoon lime juice cilantro sprigs, optional Combine first 7 ingredients in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in paprika mixture. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove the chicken from pan. Keep warm. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 1 minut...

We came home Saturday from North Carolina. While we were gone, I was worried my sunflowers would topple over, but they were fine! My friend Karen came by and you can see my flowers are towering over her! She tried to get taller than them by climbing on the table, but that did not work!

So beautiful! Do I really have to come home?

The Old Salem community (and Winston-Salem as a whole) is popularly represented by a tin coffee pot, originally built by Moravian Julius Mickey in 1858 as an advertisement for his tinsmith shop. Traditionally said to hold "740 gallons of coffee", it was originally located at the intersection of Belews Street and Main Street in front of his shop.

Morning view from the loft ... You can just see our house a little further down the road on the left... TURKEYS!!!

Mrs. Hane's in Clemmons, NC is the largest handmade cookie company in the world! Every cookie is hand-rolled, hand-cut, and hand-packaged. They taste great!

Right by the Biltmore Estate is the "classiest" McDonald's in America!

Biltmore Estate is stunning! We want to come back. It took 3 hours to tour the house! We skipped the gardens due to the heat and approaching storm. We did stop at the Biltmore Winery down the road for a tour and wine tasting. We did not get to see the working farm on Biltmore because of the weather and the kids were tired!

From our deck in North Carolina. -- Honeybee Quilter on the road

Michael spotted my sleepy sunflower as he left for work today! Sometimes, it is tough to get going in the morning. But, not for the bees!