Yorkshire Pudding

 According to my husband, I have mastered the art of Yorkshire pudding.  His parents are from the UK, and Yorkshire pudding was a staple in their home.  I don't think I will ever be able to create them as well as my mother-in-law, but I'm doing a pretty good job.

What is Yorkshire pudding?  If you are American, like me, you think of pudding as a sweet, creamy dessert.  This is not that at all.  It is a savory bread-like popover into which you can pour gravy and eat with your roast beef if you are making the traditional meal.  The recipe dates back to 1737.  The British like tradition.

The perfect vessel for gravy!

I've tried several recipes and methods, and this is the way I am making them from now on.

Ingredients:
4 eggs
6 ounces of whole milk
2 teaspoons (and later 1 tablespoon) of water
1 cup plus 2 tabelspoons of flour
a healthy pinch of salt (at least half a teaspoon)
bacon grease
avocado oil
12 cup muffin pan

1-Make the batter by whisking the eggs, milk, 2 teaspoons of water, flour, and salt.  Cover and refrigerate for 2-6 hours.  You can even refrigerate it overnight.

2-Half an hour prior to cooking, remove the batter.  Add a tablespoon of cool water and whisk again.

3-Heat your oven to 450 degrees.

4-Place about 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoons of bacon grease in each cup of the muffin tin.  Also place 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon of avocado oil in each cup.  Place the tray in the oven for approximately 10 minutes.  You want the fat to get piping hot.

5-When the oil is sizzling (and maybe even smoking a little bit), pull it out of the oven and set it on hot pads.  Carefully pour batter into each muffin cup till they are all about 3/4 full.  

6-Place the muffin pan back in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes depending on how crispy you want them to be.  Try not to open the oven door as they are cooking.  You want to maintain the temperature as much as possible.

7-When they are finished cooking, remove from oven.  Let them sit about a minute, then remove them from the pan into a serving dish and enjoy!

Notes:

Some recipes call for using roast drippings instead of or in addition to oil.  This will only work if you have fatty drippings.  If there is not enough fat due to using a lean cut of meat, your puddings will taste okay, but they will not get crispy or fluffy or form cups in the middle, and they will stick to the pan.  Trust me... this happened to me.

If you don't have avocado oil, make sure you are using fat or oil that can survive at 450 degrees without burning.  It is perfectly okay to use only bacon grease or you could try using lard.  Butter is not a good substitute for oil.

They would also taste great eaten on the side with butter like a traditional roll.

I hope you can use this recipe (which is a culmination of trying several recipes to see what worked best).  Have a great weekend!

Meet up with more foodies, crafters, and creators at Crafty Creators and Friendship Friday.

Online Shopping (Thursday Thirteen)

For me, one of the positive things that has come out of this whole pandemic situation is that it is now more than acceptable to prefer online shopping to shopping in person.  That suits me just fine!  Here are some of the retailers I visit on the regular (even if I don't buy every time). 

1.  Amazon. Who doesn't love Amazon?  Free 2 day shipping!  They have literally everything.  I have never searched for something and come up completely empty.  Home goods, clothes, kitchen items, not to mention Kindle books!

2.  Hobby Lobby.  I like to buy all kinds of craft items and home decor.  Wood crafts, deco mesh, ribbon, scrapbook paper, stamps, fabric, and so on. They have great sales, and if it's not on sale this week, it will be next week.

3.  Michaels.  Same as with Hobby Lobby.  I look to see who has better prices, but at Michaels it's usually scrapbooking supplies or floral items.

4.  Walgreens.  I go in to Walgreens if I am picking up a prescription, but I shop online for other things like cotton rounds and vitamins.

5.  CVS.  Same as Walgreens.  I check to see who is having a better sale.

6.  Target.  Clothing, gifts, home goods, even groceries.  They don't have everything like Amazon, but close!

7.  Bath and Body Works.  Lotion, shower gel, home fragrance, car fragrance, hand sanitizer, and so on. Big sale going on now.

8.  Blick Art.  This place has GREAT prices on art supplies.  I mostly use it for colored pencils.  I can get them elsewhere, but they're cheaper here, and I love to color.

9.  Scrapbook.com.  The best place to shop for unique papercrafting items such as paper, adhesive, embellishments, stamps, and so on. Christmas in July sale!

10. Jo Ann.  This is the best place to get fabric because they have such a great selection, and they have good sales and coupons.  I've also purchased other crafting items here, but it's my favorite for fabric.

11. Chewy.   For all your pet needs.  I have a sweet kitty cat, and I also buy food and litter for my mom's two cats.  They usually have good prices.

12. Creative Fabrica.  This is where I go when I want to purchase cheap (sometimes free) designs and fonts for use with the Cricut.  They also have articles, classes, needlecraft supplies and other tools.  

13. Kohls.  Obviously clothing, but they also have shoes, bedding, and appliances.

Ca-ching! I get cash back with Rakuten from a lot of these places!  If you've never checked it out, what are you waiting for?  Cash back from your favorite places!

What are your favorite stores?

Visit Thursday Thirteen for more fun lists!

Happy Random Tuesday

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. 

My husband cooked burgers and hot dogs in the backyard, but we just stayed home.  We didn't even watch the fireworks on TV this year, but we sure heard all the fireworks in the neighborhood!

I didn't actually have any desire to go anywhere, especially after the news of the mass shooting in Illinois. Thankfully, they have the suspect in custody.  There is a picture of him on the link, in case you're interested.  Senseless, sad, and scary.😿

I was going to talk about the expression "up in arms" today because I've been hearing it on TV a lot lately, but now that seems inappropriate...

So... I've been watching a lot of Dateline lately.  I think I have discovered how to keep yourself from becoming the victim of a rapist killer, so pay attention!

On almost every episode, the families describe the victim this way... 

• "She had a smile that lit up the room."
• "Her laughter was contagious."
• "She loved life and loved her family."
• "Everyone wanted to be around her."
• "Smart, optimistic, ambitious, determined."

There you have it, folks!  They never say, "No one liked her.  She was always in a bad mood.  She was not a fun person to hang around."

So here is the key -  Have a creepy smile, rarely laugh, act standoffish, have few friends, be pessimistic, be on poor terms with your family, and have no life goals.  There you go!  Follow these steps and you will not be the victim of a homicide. 

And in case you don't recognize sarcasm or satire, please know that this is just for fun!

So moving right along...

So true! Hahaha!

Actually looks like a bird right?

Hahahaha!!!!!!

I love a good pun!

I agree with that!

And last, but not least...

Have a great week, and don't forget to link up with Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts!

Happy Independence Day!

 

July 4th is a special day for Americans because it is the day we became a nation.

In June of 1776, the founding fathers began planning how they would seek independence. They were tired of paying taxes to a government that gave them no say in any matters.

On July 2, the Second Continental Congress voted in favor of independence from Great Brittain, declaring that the 13 colonies were free, united, and independent.  

The formal, written Declaration of Independence (authored by 5 participants in the Second Continental Congress) explained the reasons for independence. Congress revised it until it was unanimously ratified on July 4th.  

There is a slight technicality about whether Independence was achieved on July 2nd or 4th.  It was declared on the 2nd but not officially signed and approved until the 4th.  John Adams strongly believed it should be celebrated on the 2nd.  But almost everyone else wanted it to be the 4th.

Independence Day has been celebrated in the USA every year since 1776, but it was not declared a federal holiday until 1870 and it wasn't a PAID federal holiday until 1941.

The USA celebrates with parades, parties, flags, hot dogs, backyard barbecues, sparklers, and fireworks.  (And don't forget the 4th of July sales!)  My husband and I keep it low-key, so we will probably grill in the backyard and watch the fireworks on TV.

Let freedom ring!

Sources - Reader's Digest and Wikipedia and Clip Art

Sunday Synopsis

 

Once Gone by Blake Pierce
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you enjoy psychological thrillers, you might enjoy the Riley Paige series. This is book one. Riley Paige is on a leave of absence from the FBI at the beginning of the book due to her own encounter with a serial killer where she was held captive after freeing another victim. I feel like they should have started with that event, actually showing her in captivity, instead of just telling the reader what she dealt with during the few flashbacks in the book.

Needless to say, she is traumatized by the experience, which gives some insight to her character. Her relationship with her ex-husband, her father, and even her own daughter are suffering. However, she is approached by her partner Bill who asks her to consider cutting her leave short. The Bureau could really use her "expertise."

A serial killer is torturing and then murdering women and posing them in hideous ways in places they will be seen. Riley reluctantly agrees to team up with Bill on this case feeling that her instincts are "off" and her mind is still too fragile, which they are, and it is. After a few false starts, her instincts return and they are able to capture a criminal even though there are people in government and the Bureau itself working against her.

(Small spoiler) She gets caught by the killer again in this case! There's something wrong with a heroine who becomes the victim of two different serial killers. In my opinion, that shows poor instincts, and the author goes on and on about how her instincts are stellar. Yet she portrays her as wishy-washy. Is she a rogue agent who doesn't follow protocols thereby getting herself into avoidable trouble, or is she this gifted agent who can get in the minds of serial killers enough to get them caught? I think Blake Pierce was trying to write the character as being both of those descriptions, but reality doesn't actually work that way. The story is only somewhat believable.

The main storyline as well as subplots came to satisfying conclusions, and the ending of the book sets the scene for book 2 in the series, but I'm not ready to rush out and read it. I liked the book better than the previous one I read (The Secret Witness) but not nearly as much as the one I am currently reading.

View all my reviews