Dick's Recipe's and Archived Peddler Newsletters
The following Newsletters are intended for Bayleaf Peddler customers. Many letters contain recipes while others focus on stories. Click on one of the following numbers to view the newsletter you wish to see, or scroll down to browse.
Saturday, August 26, 2000 1:32 PM
Subject: # 1 From the Bayleaf Peddler on Rt 98
This week we're going to share a recipe.
Since we all work hard every day (well, everybody but me anyway) we like to enjoy good, wholesome meals that are also easy and quick. Yes, such meals do exist. One of the most popular recipes we've shared in the past is our pork chop recipe. Since that one is also requested a lot we'll give you that one first.
When I was growing up at home I'll always remember my grandmothers pork chops. They were as tough as shoe leather and dry as dirt. We're not going to give you that recipe. They were so bad that I didn't even think I liked pork chops until I found this recipe. Now it's one of our favorites. Goes well with fresh steamed broccoli and rice.
Ingredients;
4 good sized pork chops, about 3/4" to 1" thick
(also, sometimes a good pork roast is much cheaper than chops, so you
can just buy a small pork roast and slice it into 3/4" to 1" slices)
2 large onions, sliced nice and thick (about 1/2") Vidalias are great for this recipe.
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup (or catsup)
1 cup water
a little olive oil or spray cooking oil if you like
Start by mixing the brown sugar and ketchup together to make a sauce. Set aside.
Then heat a large skillet and add the olive oil or cooking spray.
Brown the chops lightly on both sides. Remove the skillet from the heat.
Pour off any excess fat.
Add the cup of water and return to the heat.
Put the onion slices on the chops and spoon the ketchup/sugar mix on top of each chop.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
Cover and simmer for one hour or until tender. Check once or twice to make sure you don't run out of water.
Enjoy!
Take care and God bless.
Dick, Sandy, Anne,
Bayleaf Peddler, Rt 98
#2 from the Bayleaf Peddler
Hello all,
This week we had our first touch of cool weather one morning. I have to say it felt kind of nice after such a long, hot, WET Summer. Lots of cobwebs out there covered with dew, Fall is definitely coming.
Now for a fun recipe. I came up with this one myself and I have named it....
SPAM
You'll need;
1 can of Spam
2 large cans of Pillsbury crescent rolls (from the fridge section)
1 small block of cheese, about 1/2 lb. (I used Colby Jack but you could use any cheese)
1 egg, beaten
Preheat the oven to about 375 or as directed on the crescent roll package.
Open the crescent roll packs and roll out the dough on a cutting board, separate into triangles.
Slice the Spam into 1/2" slices and cut the slices diagonally to form triangles.
Place the Spam triangles on the dough triangles.
Cut the cheese into triangles and place them on top of the Spam.
Cover each with another dough triangle and pinch the dough together around the sides to seal.
Place the completed Spam Wellington triangles on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Brush them on top with the beaten egg.
Bake for about 10 minutes or until the triangles are a nice golden brown. (per the crescent roll package)
These are quick to make and they're really good! The kids really like them and we even had them for dinner one night last week. Served them with plain white rice and a fresh veggie.
And a quick tip!
If you make them for dinner you might want to make some quick sauce. I just use a can of
Dick, Sandy, Mom,
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 11:59:09 -0400
Subject: #3 From the Bayleaf Peddler, Rt 98
Hello everybody!
Today is the First Day of Fall! Also known as the Autumnal Equinox, the day that is equal parts daytime and darkness. We've had a couple of cool days already and I have to say that we're all looking forward to Fall this year.
This is my time to get out into the garage and get the Jensen-Healey in shape for top-down driving.
Now for a recipe! Last night we had an old favorite, spaghetti. Of course nowadays most folks just buy a jar of spaghetti sauce and some regular pasta and that's it. Boring! This is spaghetti with character! Spaghetti you can serve to company! Try it!
Bayleaf Peddler Spaghetti with Character
Start with;
a little olive oil (about 2 tablespoons)
1 lb. package of sausage, I like Jimmy Dean-Hot sausage but you can use any brand you like
1 medium onion, chopped or minced (ok, cut into small pieces)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I like a new brand, Sutter home, in any one of their varieties)
1 large can (29 oz) diced tomatoes, or three cups of diced fresh tomatoes if you have the time and tomatoes
2 small jars of button mushrooms (drained)
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 lb of pasta, I like to use Linguine (spaghetti that's been flattened) or Rotini (twists)
In a really large saucepan add the olive oil, sausage, and onion. Cook on medium heat until the sausage is done (the sausage will crumble as you cook, but don't crumble it too small, bite size is nice.) When sausage is
done, pour off or spoon off all the grease. (Also now's a good time to start a big pot of water boiling for the pasta.)
Add the spaghetti sauce and the can of diced tomatoes, bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Add the mushrooms and sugar. Simmer while the pasta is cooking, about 10 minutes.
Spaghetti Tips:
We had company last night so this is a recipe that will feed 5 - 6 people easily. If your family is smaller you can reduce the recipe of just freeze the sauce for the next time. If you do want to reduce the recipe use a small jar of diced tomatoes instead of large, only one jar of mushrooms, half a jar of sauce, and just 1 tsp of sugar.
If you use fresh diced tomatoes the water content will vary. If the sauce is too thin you can thicken with a small can of tomato paste. If it's too thick you can just add a little wine or water of you drank all the wine already.
When you make your pasta you should use the biggest pan you have. You can't mess up by using too much water, but if you use too little your pasta will be too starchy. I drain mine through a regular pasta strainer. Some folks recommend rinsing with hot water to remove excess starch. You can do that if you like but rinsed pasta is a little harder to wrap onto your fork! Remember that pasta continues to cook for a minute after you take it off the heat so you should remove it while it's still a little on the firm side.
Add a tablespoon of butter to the water before adding the pasta. It will help to keep the pasta from sticking together while its cooking.
You'll notice that I don't add salt. There's already plenty of salt in the sausage and the tomatoes and the sauce. Most of the time I never add salt while cooking with prepared ingredients. Just leave salt on the table for those who like their food too salty.
Serve with a good Italian bread, that you can warm for 3 - 5 minutes in the oven wrapped in foil. Try serving a little Italian dressing on a saucer to dip your bread in, very tasty.
Thanks again for your patronage and God Bless.
Dick Sandy, Anne
#4 from the Bayleaf Peddler on Rt 98,
Well, Summer is hanging on, but this weekend is supposed to get cool and then we'll start to see some leaves changing. They say the Fall colors are brighter when you have a lot of rain during the Summer. Well, we certainly had enough rain this Summer!
I have a little story to share, and another fun recipe.
The other morning I walked up to the end of the driveway to pick up the occasional trash that gets thrown out of cars. (One day somebody is going to throw out a can or bottle and their watch is going to come with it. I'm waiting!)
But this morning I found something very interesting, a little miracle of sorts.
There in the woods sticking out of the dirt was the bottom of a small glass bottle. I brushed away the leaves and saw that the bottle was half filled with dirt, and growing inside were several tiny ferns, perfectly formed, but only an inch or so across. Nature had apparently made a tiny terrarium in this discarded bottle!
I pulled it from the dirt and took it back to the house to show it to Mom and
So I left it sitting outside on small white paper towel while I thought about where to keep this little treasure, maybe on the kitchen window sill or out in the garden. But when I went back outside I picked up the bottle to find lots of ants, carrying eggs from the bottle! This time I took a really close look at the contents of the bottle and it was clear that all the dirt inside was in small grains of sand and soil.
The ants were not simply the inhabitants of this little world, they were the builders! Each piece of soil carefully carried into this little bottle to build their own little world.
I took it back to where I had found it, and put it carefully back in the same place. The puzzle had been solved, but I don't know if the understanding makes it less of a little miracle or more.
Now for a fun recipe!
We always enjoyed eggplant parmigian but there was always the pan to clean up, so we eliminated the pan!
Bayleaf Peddler Personal Eggplant Parmigian
You'll need;
1 large (or two small) eggplant
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup of flour
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 package of mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
1/2 cup parmigian cheese
about 1/2 cup of olive oil
Wash the eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch slices. Don't peel them, the purple skins add taste, texture, and appearance. Dip each slice first in egg, then in flour. In a large fry pan heat the olive oil and fry the eggplant slices, turning once. Cook to a nice golden brown and when you remove the slices place them on a paper towel to soak up excess oil.
Preheat your oven to about 375. Place the fried eggplant slices on a cookie sheet. (Tip: I like to cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil for instant cleanup.) Put a generous tablespoonful of spaghetti sauce on top of each eggplant slice, then top with a slice of mozzarella. Put them in the oven and cook for about 5 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted (but not brown.)
Remove and sprinkle top with the fresh parmigian. What we like about this variety of eggplant parmigian is it's nice crispy texture.
Enjoy and God Bless,
Dick, Sandy, Anne
#5 from the Bayleaf Peddler
Well, Summer is hanging on, but this weekend is supposed to get cool and then we'll start to see some leaves changing. They say the Fall colors are brighter when you have a lot of rain during the Summer. Well, we certainly had enough rain this Summer!
I have a little story to share, and another fun recipe.
The other morning I walked up to the end of the driveway to pick up the occasional trash that gets thrown out of cars. (One day somebody is going to throw out a can or bottle and their watch is going to come with it. I'm waiting!)
But this morning I found something very interesting, a little miracle of sorts.
There in the woods sticking out of the dirt was the bottom of a small glass bottle. I brushed away the leaves and saw that the bottle was half filled with dirt, and growing inside were several tiny ferns, perfectly formed, but only an inch or so across. Nature had apparently made a tiny terrarium in this discarded bottle!
I pulled it from the dirt and took it back to the house to show it to Mom and
So I left it sitting outside on small white paper towel while I thought about where to keep this little treasure, maybe on the kitchen window sill or out in the garden. But when I went back outside I picked up the bottle to find lots of ants, carrying eggs from the bottle! This time I took a really close look at the contents of the bottle and it was clear that all the dirt inside was in small grains of sand and soil.
The ants were not simply the inhabitants of this little world, they were the builders! Each piece of soil carefully carried into this little bottle to build their own little world.
I took it back to where I had found it, and put it carefully back in the same place. The puzzle had been solved, but I don't know if the understanding makes it less of a little miracle or more.
Now for a fun recipe!
We always enjoyed eggplant parmigiana but there was always the pan to clean up, so we eliminated the pan!
Bayleaf Peddler Personal Eggplant Parmigiana
You'll need;
1 large (or two small) eggplant
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup of flour
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 package of mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
1/2 cup parmigiana cheese
about 1/2 cup of olive oil
Wash the eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch slices. Don't peel them, the purple skins add taste, texture, and appearance. Dip each slice first in egg, then in flour. In a large fry pan heat the olive oil and fry the eggplant slices, turning once. Cook to a nice golden brown and when you remove the slices place them on a paper towel to soak up excess oil.
Preheat your oven to about 375. Place the fried eggplant slices on a cookie sheet. (Tip: I like to cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil for instant cleanup.) Put a generous tablespoonful of spaghetti sauce on top of each eggplant slice, then top with a slice of mozzarella. Put them in the oven and cook for about 5 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted (but not brown.)
Remove and sprinkle top with the fresh parmigiana. What we like about this variety of eggplant parmigiana is it's nice crispy texture.
Enjoy and God Bless,
Dick, Sandy, Anne
#6
Hello all,
Lots to talk about today, and a recipe to share and a ghost story to tell.
Yep, a real ghost story.
First of all, Mom is back from her visit to her sister and boy are we glad.
With the weather nice and brisk the shop is getting busier and we're now
serving hot spiced apple cider on Saturday and maybe Sundays also. We all
enjoy the
Winter drink.
Last week we had one of those Honey baked hams, you know the already sliced
hams with the nice crisp honey flavor on the outside. The ham is great but
the best part is the hambone that you have left when the slices are all
eaten. I use that for a base for soup. There are a couple of tips to making
this great soup and I'll include those. The first and most important secret
I've found is that you make the best soup without water! So this recipe is
for;
Bayleaf Peddler Waterless Ham Soup
Start with;
1 Honey baked Ham bone (with about a cup of meat still on the bone, and all
of the drippings and trimmings that are left over also)
3-4 medium potatoes cut into soup sized (about 1") chunks (I use the red
ones, remove the eyes and leave the skins on.)
1 medium onion, diced
1 large can ( about 32 oz.) of tomato sauce
2-3 medium tomatoes, diced (or a large can of diced tomatoes if the fresh
ones don't look good)
1 lb package of frozen lima beans
1 lb package of frozen peas
1 cup of wine, red or white (I used to use red wine but last time I used
white wine and it was just as good or maybe better)
2 or 3 cans of beer (O.K., this is how we get around the water thing.
Budweiser is fine.)
(Also it seems that they sell beer in packs of six, and we only need 2 or
3, I'll let you decide what to do with the remainder.)
Score the ham deeply with a sharp knife, in a crisscross pattern down to
the bone. Cut as much as you can off the bone, the rest will fall away as
it cooks. One tip here, if you don't ever get the Honey baked hams you can
use a regular hambone. Just be sure there's about a cup of ham left on the
bone and add 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar for the
same taste. Put the hambone, cut-up ham pieces and any liquid and trimmings
into a large Dutch oven or soup pot. This makes a lot of soup so use a big
one.
Add the cup of wine and two cans of beer. Bring to a boil and reduce to a
simmer or slow boil for about 30 - 40 minutes. This boils all the alcohol
out and starts to cook the meat off the bone. If there's too much fat on
the surface you can skim a bit off the top with a tablespoon. Don't try to
get it all. A little bit of fat gives flavor and nutrition. Add the
potatoes and onion and cook for another 30 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes.
cook for another 20 minutes. Note here; if you use canned diced tomatoes
there is plenty of extra liquid. If you use fresh diced tomatoes you will
need to use the third can of beer for extra liquid. For some reason this is
one soup where everybody wants lots of broth. Also if you use fresh
tomatoes you will need to add about another 10 minutes of cooking time.
Add the frozen lima beans and bring back to a boil for a few minutes. Add
the peas last, they only take about 5-6 minutes to cook and you don't want
them to get overcooked. One of the important things about making a good
soup is to add the ingredients at the right time so that everything is
cooked just enough, but not too much.
This recipe makes enough soup to be a main course for our family of four
for two nights. When you reheat the soup you will need to add more liquid,
water is O.K.. Last night just at dinnertime we had a friend stop in and
we gave him a sample and a big container for him to take home so we didn't
have any leftovers. Guess I'll have to get another ham!
Enjoy!
Now for the ghost story. It's Halloween and it's a good time for a good ghost story.
Before we moved here 12 years ago we lived up in the hills of
for a few years (our original home is
country, in a small neighborhood with homes well spaced apart, in fact we
almost never saw any neighbors. The back yard connected to a 500 acre
forest, and neighbors were, well, within hollerin' distance at best.
We were moving from
in the house for a few days with the house vacant, so we could paint and
wallpaper before all our stuff got there. We arrived on the first night
with sleeping bags, paint supplies, and our three cats ready for a good
weeks work. It was not to be.
Now, a vacant house is always a little spooky, and we had never lived in a
place quite so isolated, so we understandably felt a little apprehensive on
our first night to sleep in the house. Did I say sleep? Wrong word. No
sleep was had on that first night. Almost immediately as we went to bed,
comfortably warm in a big sleeping bag with all the cats, we started to
hear noises upstairs. You know the kind of noises, sounds like footsteps,
doors opening and closing, things being dropped.
check upstairs, where there was nothing to be found. After going back to
bed the noises resumed, and successive trips (LOTS of successive trips) had
me checking everything from the attic storage to going outside to look on
the roof, only to find nothing at all.
A few more hours of trying to get to sleep ended when we heard a loud crash
from the kitchen.
that?". I replied, "One of the cats must have knocked something over." As I
quickly turned on the light it was immediately noted that all three cats
were still lying on the sleeping bag, all of them with same wide-eyed
frightened look that Sandy and I had. A check in the kitchen showed that
one of the jars on the counter had fallen(?) off the counter and broken on
the floor.
There was no more use in even attempting to get to sleep that night, and we
just spent the night listening to the almost constant noises in the house.
At daylight I had to go to work and when I called home to check on
she let me know that there was not enough money in the world to make her
spend the second night in the house. I tended to agree, since I really
wanted to get some sleep. We moved to a hotel. Each day we went back to the
house to paint and fix up, and we didn't even speak about the fact that we
both knew we had just bought a house that was haunted and we had no way of
getting out of it. The cats stayed in the house by themselves, and they
were fine, but they all had this strange wide eyed look in their eyes each
morning, and I don't think they slept at night.
After we moved all our stuff into the house it felt more comfortable, and
the noises seemed to get somewhat less frequent, never completely going
away. We got used to it, and when we heard a strange noise we just said
"The ghost is busy again."
There were lots of stories about the house during the years we lived there.
The most annoying was the fact that even though we didn't use the upstairs
bedrooms, every time we went upstairs the bedroom doors had been opened.
Also when we used to go away for a day, or just out for the evening for
dinner, when we came home there would be lights on. One night just at dusk
I said "We are going to make sure this time that we don't leave any lights
on." I went through the house to each room and made sure the lights were
off. We got in the car and drove down to the end of the road, only to look
back at our house, which now had lights on in two or three rooms.
Our son was in college at the time, and on his first trip home to our new
house he got to stay by himself while Sandy and I made an overnight book
buying trip. I guess I must have forgotten to tell him about the ghost, but
it all worked out since he found out for himself. We came home the next day
to find him extremely tired but very alert, with the same look that we had
seen on the face of the cats not long before. He was quite vocal about
never spending a night alone in the house again. Kids.
There were a lot of little stories over the years we lived in that house,
and I don't have time to tell them all here. And for all the years we never
saw the ghost......., until the week before we moved. But that's another
story. And since this is the Internet, I don't want to scare any of the
kids out there. I'll tell you what. I'll type up the rest of the story and
print some copies to have at the store. If you're interested in the rest of
the story just ask Mom at the store this weekend and she'll give you a
copy. ;-)
In the store this weekend we'll have some neat stuff. Some of the Boyd's
resin figurines are still on sale, but not for much longer. Sonja has made
up some great little gift ideas by adding a jar of jam or jelly (made here
in
from Park (another
personal gift for a teacher or a good friend. Priced starting at $8.95 and
up (but not too far up.)
We also have some very interesting new decorative plates, and nice teacup
and saucer gift sets in the same price range. Oh yes, also we just got in a
lot of new lamps from Homestead Co. including some floor and tabletop
basket lamps and Christmas lamps. Lots of folks have been asking when we
would be getting them in. Stop and see what we have.
Thanks again for being our great customers, and God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Anne
GHOST STORY, PART 2
O.K., lots of folks have asked for the rest of the ghost story so here it is.
As you know, we found out about the house being haunted from the first night we moved in. From that day on we had lots of interesting things happening. Lights were turned on when we knew we had turned then off, doors opened when we had left them closed, sometimes even locked! On one occasion we got a call from the previous owner who asked in a strange tone if everything was ‘alright’ with the house. Nothing in particular, he said, just wondering if everything was O.K. I told him everything was fine.
When we came from a late trip to
Mom was visiting us and we hadn’t told her about the ghost yet, and in the morning she asked if we had company during the night because she had heard people walking around in the hall. Nope, no company of the normal sort anyway. We told Mom and she adapted right away, and when she visited she always liked to hear the ghost making noises.
When Kim (our future but not yet daughter-in-law) came to visit once she was taking a shower in the upstairs bath. There was a linen closet that could be accessed from the hall or from the inside of the bathroom and Kim kept hearing somewhat fiddling around with the linen closet door. Boys will be boys, and she just figured it was Richard trying to tease her while she was showering. When she mentioned it to us we had to say, “Sorry Kim, Richard wasn’t even in the house, he had gotten up and gone to the store early. “
Another chilling experience I had was one night when
I was pretty engrossed in the car and the music but something seemed to be somehow wrong. I stopped working and turned down the radio to listen to the night sounds. If you live in the country you know that while night can be dark, it is rarely quiet. There are always sound of the crickets and cicadas, great night bullfrogs and small peep frogs. All were out that evening, and I stopped to listen and enjoy and try to separate and identify some of the sounds.
After a few minutes I decided that there was nothing really out of the ordinary and I turned the radio back on and got back to the car. I turned up the radio a bit so that I could hear the music a little better over the night sounds.
But over the next 15 or 20 minutes the night sounds got louder, and louder, and louder. Again I stopped work and turned down the radio. It didn’t make a lot of difference anyway, the night sounds had gotten so loud that I could barely hear the radio! It was a cacophony of sounds! The sounds of small frogs, and large frogs, and insects of all sorts, and even the sound of an owl in the distance, all were so loud that I almost had to cover my ears! And then, instantly, as if someone had turned off a switch, there was complete and total silence!
No sound came from any living thing, and for the first time in memory, I could hear the burbling of the water in the small stream that ran behind the house. All sounds from living things had stopped, only the sound of the water was left. My blood turned to ice and I could do nothing except stand and wait to see was to happen next. Slowly, there was a chirp of an insect, the peep of a frog, and in a few minutes there was a normal amount of noise. I decided that it might be a good idea to finish working on the car in the morning.
So we lived there for almost six years, and we became used to the ghost, and the ghost apparently got used to us. The noises were less frequent, but never entirely gone for long, and there were always more noises when one of us was home alone, less when we were all home. We had finally decided that we would never see the ghost, and then one day I got my chance to move to
It was Christmas, and Sandy had gotten me a great little unusual scientific gadget that you might have seen advertised on TV or in some newspapers and magazines, a gadget called the ‘Eye of the Storm’. It’s a clear glass globe, about 10” across with a metal ball in the center, and when you plug it in it generates static electricity. When you run your hand over it the electricity follows your hand, with the little miniature ‘lightning’ casting a bright blue glow around the room.
It was great fun when we had company, but
That night, out of a sound sleep, I woke up to a room filled with the familiar blue glow, and I sat up in bed to see the ball glowing brightly, and a little boy of about 8 or 9 years old with his hand on the globe! He was dressed in a plaid shirt and khaki pants, and the impression was that his outfit was something from the ‘50’s.
I didn’t know what to think, and the first thought to come to mind was that perhaps one of the neighbors has some sort of emergency, and they had brought the boy over. But I looked to my left, and
He took his hand off the globe instantly, and as the light slowly faded he stepped back into the darkness of the corner of the bedroom. I switched on the light next to the bed immediately and he was gone. When I switched on the light
We got up and checked around the house, nothing was amiss, all the doors were still locked, and there was no one, not that we expected there to be. For some reason we got right back to sleep. After all, we had lived with the ghost for years, and now we knew more about him. I never saw him again, somewhat sadly. And I have always wondered if I called up the new owners to see how everything was, what their response might be.
And that’s the end of the story.
#7
Hello everyone,
Just a short note this week.
It's been a quiet week, nice crisp mornings and leaves falling every day.
This is a great time of year.
Apples are in already at the stores and we had a great apple dessert the
other night. Real quick and easy but most people think it's a very fancy
dessert. I don't have a name for this recipe, but
it French Apples. Sounds OK to me.
Bayleaf Peddler French Apples
You'll need;
1 large Macintosh or
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 jigger dark rum (optional but highly recommended)
1 pint vanilla Ice cream (French Vanilla is best, good and rich)
Peel, core and slice the apple into 4 nice thick slices.
Melt the butter in a fry pan, add brown sugar and dark rum. Place the apple
slices in the pan and cook for about 3 minutes over low heat, turning once.
Remove the apple slices to dessert bowls and put a scoop of vanilla ice
cream on each slice, top each with a spoonful of the sugar sauce from the
pan. (Use it all!) The sugar will harden on the ice cream to form a nice
crispy, chewy top. Serve immediately. This is a super dessert and it's so
easy you won't want to tell anybody how you made it. Enjoy!
We had some excitement this week when O.B. (that's our orange tabby cat)
got stuck in the picket fence. Maybe I should give just a little bit of
background.
O.B. is the volunteer of our small bunch of cats. He showed up a couple of
years ago out in the back yard and since he had a collar we found his
owners, who live just a couple of blocks away, and we took him home. He
came back. The owners came and got him and took him home the next day.
Again he came back.
our home was not where he belonged, and sometimes she took him home twice a
day. He got so used to the routine that he could get back faster on foot
than she could in the car. He found a shortcut of some sort. The owners
used to come and get him every couple of days, especially when the weather
got cold.
Eventually the owners stopped coming. The weather started getting colder
and I couldn't stand to see him out in the cold chasing mice so I put him
in the garage at night and let him out each morning. He slept in the old
MG. Then as the weather got colder,
good place for him and he got to come inside. And he decided on his own
that he should sleep on the bed.
Anyway, the life of a retired cat has seemed to suit him well, and since he
doesn't have to chase mice and the food bowl is always full, he has, well,
'rounded out' a bit.
Now you see, we have a small piece of folding picket fence that we use to
keep the dog in the kitchen when he's dirty, and the cats just come and go
as they please. Even O.B. had no trouble squeezing through at first.
However, lately it has been a tighter and tighter squeeze, and the other
day I was in the kitchen when I heard a terrible racket behind me. O.B. had
squeezed exactly halfway through the gate, and was now stuck. He pulled and
pushed, and the gate moved back and forth with him. Oddly enough, he didn't
seem to be panicked, just real irritated.
So I called
whatever would work as a 'jaws of life' to separate the cat from the fence.
Best thing I could come up with was a hammer, which worked to knock one of
the pickets loose. Cat was free and he just kind of shook himself and
wandered off to get something to eat. Cats.
Last weekend was busy at the shop and lots of folks stopped in to get their
part 2 of the ghost story. We're serving hot spiced cider now on the
weekends, come on in and enjoy.
We just got in a dozen of the real nice collectible perfume bottles. Some
folks have been asking if we would get them again so if you're one of those
folks, stop in and get one while they last, probably not long. These are
sure to gone before Christmas so don't wait too long.
Halloween is here today and that means any Halloween stuff we have left
tomorrow will be on sale also.
Stop and see us!
Thanks for being our customers and God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Anne
#8
Hello from the Bayleaf Peddler on Rt 98.
We don't eat breakfast every day, though we probably should. Breakfast is a weekend meal around
our house, and we have some favorites.
Back when I was growing up, my grandmother often made creamed chipped beef
on toast. For a long time we never saw the dried beef that you need for
this great meal in the stores, but finally I found it and we've made this a
regular part of the menu. Quick and easy.
Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast
3 oz. package of dried beef
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
2 1/2 cups of milk
Melt the butter in a large fry pan over low heat. Shred the beef into
small pieces and add to the pan (you can remove from the heat to keep the
butter from burning). Add the flour and mix well. (You'll have a very dry
mixture.) Add about a cup of the milk and bring to a boil, stirring
constantly. Add the remaining milk and again bring to a slow boil, stirring
constantly. Serve over toast. This will probably be salty enough so don't
add salt before you taste it. Oh and by the way, the only store that I've
found with the good old-fashioned dried beef is Kroger. I make a special
trip just for this one item.
Of course this basic recipe can be changed in a lot of ways. If dried beef
isn't available you can use hamburger, just brown about 1/2 pound of
hamburger in a fry pan, drain off the grease, then add the butter, flour,
and milk in the same way. You'll need to add a lot of salt and pepper to
this one for the best flavor. And I think this is best over toasted English
muffins instead of toast.
Around the house we've been busy, but we have a new addition that we have
enjoyed. Out on the front porch
furniture and we have a porch swing that we don't take the time to enjoy
often enough. Anyway, the other night I looked out the window to see a
small dark shape up in the corner of the roof over the porch. When I turned
on the porch light I saw that it was a small brown bird, perched in the
corner on the small ledge with head tucked in and tail pointed down. In the
morning he was gone, but he returned the next night and I showed
the family.
pointed down, but two tails.
So now we have a pair, a couple, that come each night and huddle up in a
warm corner of the porch. I get up early, often before the sun comes up,
and when it's dark the birds are still there, but they're gone at the first
sign of daylight, only to return each evening. I haven't been able to see
them in the act of coming or going so I'm not sure exactly what kind of
birds they are. I'm sure they won't stay forever, but it gives us a warm
feeling when we see them out there each evening. And I remember to fill the
bird feeder each day.
That's all for now, hope we see you in the shop this weekend, we'll have
hot cider for you!
Thanks for being our customers, and God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Anne
#9
Hello everyone,
Well, Sunday afternoon I was sitting at the desk watching snowflakes as big
as dinner plates outside. It's just not supposed to do this in North
who fly South have already done so, those who didn't are probably already
making new plans for next year. It is pretty, though.
We're all back in town,
drove up to pick her up on Friday. This was so that we could drive back and
take a side trip over to
and granddaughter Rowan. Nice trip but a short visit since we'll be seeing
them for Thanksgiving.
I wanted to get this note out before Thanksgiving (hard to believe that
it's almost Thanksgiving already, isn't it?) Anyway, we have this recipe
for leftover turkey that is so good, you'll want to make a turkey just to
have leftovers! Of course we don't have many leftovers since Mom started
feeding the foxes in the back yard, but I will fight for the turkey leftovers.
I remember the turkey that
together. We were just 18 and just married.
before and she was determined to do her best on this turkey. I was given
the job to go and get croutons for the dressing while she got everything
ready.
home some that were already seasoned. Now, I really didn't think this was a
big enough difference to tell
dressing like her Mom told her to. Only difference was that she always
liked good spicy dressing so she added an extra measure or two of spices.
And who could have known that tsp meant teaspoon and not tablespoon?
Anyway, the dressing went inside the turkey and the turkey went in the
oven.
well cooked or we'd all get food poisoning, so we ended up cooking the
turkey for about an hour more than it needed just to be safe. Also we
wrapped it a paper bag to cook it, which we have done since but we didn't
know that if you do that, you should cook it a little less time.
O.K., so at dinnertime we took the turkey out of the oven and I tried to
get it out of the pan. The Betty Crocker cookbook had a great picture of
how you just put a couple of large forks under the turkey and lift it out.
Of course Betty Crocker never cooked a turkey 2 hours more than she should
have. Those large forks just lifted straight up through the turkey and left
the whole bottom stuck to the pan!
It was certainly crispy, but neither of us could swallow more than a taste
of it or the dressing. There were no leftovers, since after we each ate a
few bites of turkey and lots of mashed potatoes we put the rest out in the
trash can. The trash men picked it up the next day but they approached the
can very cautiously, the dressing was pungent for about 30 ft around the can.
our closest friends so I don't think she'd mind.
Now for the good recipe:
Turkey & Broccoli Casserole
You'll need;
8-10 slices of turkey (white meat preferred but dark meat is OK.)
1 large head of broccoli, cut into strips or just use the florets if you like.
1 12 oz package of Pillsbury Country Buttermilk Biscuits (the canned ones
in the refrigerator section.)
3 cans
1 egg
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 can jellied cranberry sauce (optional)
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl, mix 1 can of the cream of chicken soup with the egg,
poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.
Separate the biscuits and cut each biscuit into 6 pieces, then fold the
pieces into the soup/egg mixture.
Steam the broccoli for about 2 - 3 minutes. (We like our broccoli on the
crunchy side so we skip this step.)
In a 3 qt casserole dish arrange the turkey slices first, then the
broccoli, then spoon a can of cream of chicken soup over the broccoli.
Pour the soup/biscuit mix over everything.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 for about 35 - 45 minutes or until the top is
golden brown and the biscuits are no longer doughy.
For a sauce to top with, warm the last can of soup with 1/2 can of water,
just serve this at the table.
And don't forget the cranberry sauce!
Thanks to all for being our customers. Hope you all have a good Thanksgiving
and God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Anne
Bayleaf Peddler, Rt 98
#10
Hello everyone,
Lots of little things to talk about today, and lots going on at the shop.
It's REALLY been busy, as you know if you've been in recently.
All the wildlife around the house has been busy as well. Mom is still
feeding the foxes, but we don't see them every night. I suspect that they
have other stops to make in the neighborhood. It's still interesting to see
who shows up first, including the raccoons and possums and one little
feral cat that Mom would like to capture. It's liable to end up in the
garage before this winter is over.
On the way back from the shop to the house last week I saw a large bird
circling overhead and I pulled off the get a closer look. I was on Six
Forks Road just about 1/2 mile from the shop, on the little bridge near the
boat ramp. Turned out to be an American Bald Eagle hunting on the lake.
Really a beautiful sight as he (she?) swooped down repeatedly to the
surface of the lake. Nice to know that they're here. I had heard that they
were around but I had never seen one before.
This morning at the same place, crossing the lake I saw a pelican flying
low over the water. It's the second time I've seen a pelican here and it's
still a very unusual sight. These are huge birds and I think it's really
interesting to watch them fly. It's surely worth the time to stop and watch
the lake once in awhile.
I found out that Mom is thinking about getting me a metal detector for
Christmas. This is much like me getting
hidden agenda here. Mom's always thought those things were neat gadgets and
this might give her something to do when Sonja takes her to the beach next
Summer.
Our recipe for this newsletter is for Mom's Favorite Date Cookies. Now, Mom
doesn't make cookies, Mom just eats cookies.
Mom's favorite cookie so she gets the name for them.
Mom's Favorite Date Cookies
1/4 cup (which is 1/2 a stick) softened butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg (large or jumbo is best)
2 tsps vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
1 and 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 lb soft pitted dates (cut each one in half)
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix butter, sugar, egg and vanilla and mix until it gets a little fluffy.
Stir in sour cream.
Blend together the dry ingredients (flour, soda and baking powder.)
Mix into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in dates and walnuts.
Drop by teaspoonful onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake for 7-8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
A couple of tips. First, the new air-cooled baking sheets are great! These
are like two cookie sheets together with an air space in between. It's
amazing that your cookies don't burn easily on these cookie sheets. Second,
since these are a nice moist cookie be sure to let them cool completely
before you put them in the cookie jar or tin or they'll all stick together.
Only thing wrong with these cookies is that one batch won't be enough. Plan
on making two batches at least.
Just four days till Christmas! Is everybody ready? We're going to be open a
few extra hours this weekend since it's the traditional Men's shopping
season (which starts on Dec 23rd and ends on Dec 24th.) We'll be open from
9:00 AM till 6:00 PM on Saturday, opening at 10:00 AM on Sunday but we'll
probably close early.
Blown glass Christmas ornaments are on special, buy one and get the second
one (of equal or lesser value) for 1/2 price. These are great teacher
gifts, or family gifts, or nice as a small gift to take when you visit
friends and neighbors this Christmas season. We also still have a few cloth
nativity Advent calendars left at $10 off. And if you don't need anything
just stop in and have a cup of hot cider with us.
Have a very Merry Christmas and God Bless,
Dick, Sandy, Mom
#11
Hello All,
Can you believe that December is here already? We have lots to talk about,
and a recipe, so read on!
The leaves are all off the trees, and
of year to go for a drive, so that I can look for old cars back in the
woods. O.K, maybe she's partly right. One little secret to share about the
Peddler, now that the leaves are off the trees. We all know the traditional
meaning of mistletoe. Catching someone under a sprig of mistletoe at
Christmas time gets one a kiss. Mistletoe grows in the wild over much of
Well, if you pull up to the Peddler and park on the left side of the
building, or just walk over there by the picnic table, look up. In the bare
tree above there is a big round ball of greenery. This is mistletoe in the
wild. Walk over there with someone special.
The cold weather has the squirrels busy. Long ago we put up a squirrel
feeder to keep the squirrels off the bird feeder. Not that it did a lot of
good. Now we just have more, and fatter squirrels. We got one of those
little wooden chair and table feeders that you nail to a suitable tree,
then put an ear of dried corn there for the squirrels. They actually sit at
the chair and eat the corn at the table, which is kind of cute.
Anyway, the gray squirrels don't eat the kernels completely, they just take
a bite and drop the rest of the kernel at the table, leaving a big pile at
the end of the day. But we noticed that each morning the pile of corn was
cleaned up, and we wondered what kind of nighttime animal was finishing off
the corn. So one night we left the porch light on and watched. Soon, we saw
a flash of fur and there was a small furry creature at the feeder, grabbing
a kernel of corn and disappearing in a flash up the tree. For a long time
we just called them Unidentified Fast Little Animals, till we found out
that these elusive little critters are flying squirrels! Flying squirrels
can be found in a lot of places around the state, but they are endangered
in many areas. They are about the size of chipmunks, except that they are
strictly nocturnal, so you have to go out at night to look for them. Once
you've discovered them, you can go out with a flashlight and see them
gliding from tree to tree. Takes patience, don't give up. We now see ours
almost any night we look for them.
Now for a quick recipe. This one is a real gourmet meal that is quick and
easy (my favorite kind.)
Chicken in White Wine with Mushrooms and Artichoke Hearts (Doesn't that
sound great?)
You'll need;
a little olive oil,
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups of white wine
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 large jar (about 9 oz.) of button mushrooms, drained
1 small jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained
In a large frying pan, heat a little olive oil and then add the chicken
breasts. Cook for just a few minutes on each side to seal in the natural
juices of the chicken. Add the white wine and the bouillon cubes and bring
to a slow boil. Cover and steam for about 25 - 30 minutes or until the
chicken is done. (A knife inserted into the chicken breast should yield a
clear juice, not pink.)
Add the cream of chicken soup and mix well with the wine. (This can be done
easier by removing the chicken to a plate first, then mix in the soup and
re-add the chicken.)
Bring to a slow boil, then add the mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add
the artichoke hearts last and heat for just a couple more minutes until
they are good and hot.
Serve with rice or egg noodles.
One more tip, if you're serving rice, add a chicken bouillon cube (or even
two) to the water that you cook the rice in for extra flavor.
That's all for now, thanks for being our customers and God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Anne
#12
Hello everyone, and a Happy New Year to all. I hope everyone had a great
Christmas.
We have some things to talk about, and a fun recipe, and a story I was
asked to tell so please read on!
Year before last we had some cold weather also, and one cold day that
winter we will always remember as 'the day we saved the mouse.' There was
snow on the ground, and since it was early in the Christmas season we were
busy every day keeping the store well stocked. Sonja and I went down to the
barn to bring some new things. I had seen the day before that there a mouse
had found his way into our packing blankets, and I had set a trap for him.
Of course we don't hurt mice, we use a Hav-a-heart cage trap to catch them
and I drive them down to the park to let them loose.
On this morning I went to the trap and there was a mouse. Sadly, it looked
like the cold had been too much for him, and there was no movement. I took
the trap over to the barn door and tossed him into the snow. I turned to
come back into the barn, but out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a
twitch as he hit the snow. I probably should have let nature take it's
course, but I had to go out and take a closer look. Was there a slight
movement or just my imagination?
I picked the mouse from the snow and carried him inside, where I took off
my gloves and held the mouse in my hands. He was cold, but not frozen, and
Sonja asked if we could save him. I held him in the palm of my hand and
warmed him with my breath, and even pressed on his belly to see if we could
get any sign of life. (Kind of like mouse CPR.) It seemed like a very long
time, but it was only about five minutes, and then there was a slight
movement. He was alive! We took a bit of snow and let it melt, then gave it
to the mouse, who actually drank it.
So I took him down to the park and put him out, and that should have been
the end of the story, but it wasn't quite. I just had some curiosity and
after we got the shop open I went back to the park to see that the mouse
had gone. He had not. And worse yet, there were ants all around him. Once
again, I picked him up, dusted the ants away, and took him home in my
pocket. This time I found a big old glass pickle jar in the barn and I put
him in it with some newspapers. (This was one of those big delicatessen
pickle jars, more than 12" deep.) I took my car trouble light and mounted
it on the jar to provide plenty of heat, and put some water and seeds in
there as well. I was not going to lose this mouse without a fight.
Sandy and I checked on him periodically during the day, and he was clearly
making a great recovery. By the end of the day he was pretty much a normal
mouse again, burrowing in the newspapers and eating the seeds. I had
decided to let him out in the morning but he actually recovered faster than
I expected, and by morning he had jumped the foot or more out of the jar.
In the following days the weather got warmer, and I like to think that he
made it to the Spring. And that was the day we saved the mouse.
Now we've got a fun recipe! Taco Pizza !
If the kids (or anyone else in the family) like pizza, or if they like
tacos, you'll like this one. It's one of our favorites. It's quick, it's
easy, and it's also a great way to get a lot of fresh salad into kids that
normally wouldn't touch it. This is actually a very healthy meal.
Taco Pizza
You'll need:
two 10" or 12" frozen plain cheese pizzas
1 lb of ground beef
1 package taco seasonings
1 jar of salsa (Bayleaf Peddler brand is the best, of course)
2 cups of diced fresh tomatoes
2 cups of shredded fresh lettuce
1 cup of grated or shredded cheese, the prepackaged kind works fine
Start by dicing the tomatoes and shredding the lettuce. Grate your cheese
also.
Preheat the oven to the temperature recommended on the pizza.
Brown the ground beef in a little olive oil. When browned, pour off the
grease and add the package of taco seasoning, add water per the directions,
usually 1/2 cup of water, and mix well. (I like to use 1/3 cup of water and
1/3 cup of salsa for a little extra flavor.)
While the beef is browning you can cook the pizzas per the box directions.
When the pizzas are done just add the taco beef, the diced tomatoes,
lettuce, cheese and top with some Bayleaf Peddler salsa. Slice and serve.
You can also just slice the pizza first, after it comes from the oven, and
put the toppings on the table for every one to make their own. (That's how
we like to do it at home.)
Tips:
This recipe serves the four of us. If you have hungry kids at home be
prepared for requests for more. Have some extra ingredients and maybe an
extra frozen pizza on hand.
Most of the tomatoes in the stores right now are hothouse, but the small
plum tomatoes are pretty good, and the ones that come 'on the vine' are
actually fresh from
For a low fat meal, you can use ground turkey instead of ground beef.
If you're really feeling energetic, you can of course make your own pizza
shell fresh and top with a little spaghetti sauce and cheese.
In a pinch, you can use any brand of salsa. If you use Bayleaf Peddler
brand you should get two jars! And try some of the different flavors.
So that's all for now. Thanks for listening, don't forget to send us your
suggestions on what you'd like to see most in the store.
Have a most Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year and God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Mom,
#13
Hello All from the Bayleaf Peddler on Rt 98,
Well, Summer is hanging on, but this weekend is supposed to get cool and then we'll start to see some leaves changing. They say the Fall colors are brighter when you have a lot of rain during the Summer. Well, we certainly had enough rain this Summer!
Things are a little quiet around here. I have a little story to share, and another fun recipe.
The other morning I walked up to the end of the driveway to pick up the occasional trash that gets thrown out of cars. (One day somebody is going to throw out a can or bottle and their watch is going to come with it. I'm waiting!)
But this morning I found something very interesting, a little miracle of sorts.
There in the woods sticking out of the dirt was the bottom of a small glass bottle. I brushed away the leaves and saw that the bottle was half filled with dirt, and growing inside were several tiny ferns, perfectly formed, but only an inch or so across. Nature had apparently made a tiny terrarium in this discarded bottle!
I pulled it from the dirt and took it back to the house to show it to Mom and
So I left it sitting outside on small white paper towel while I thought about where to keep this little treasure, maybe on the kitchen window sill or out in the garden. But when I went back outside I picked up the bottle to find lots of ants, carrying eggs from the bottle! This time I took a really close look at the contents of the bottle and it was clear that all the dirt inside was in small grains of sand and soil.
The ants were not simply the inhabitants of this little world, they were the builders! Each piece of soil carefully carried into this little bottle to build their own little world.
I took it back to where I had found it, and put it carefully back in the same place. The puzzle had been solved, but I don't know if the understanding makes it less of a little miracle or more.
Now for a fun recipe!
We always enjoyed eggplant parmigiana but there was always the pan to clean up, so we eliminated the pan!
Bayleaf Peddler Personal Eggplant Parmigiana
You'll need;
1 large (or two small) eggplant
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup of flour
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 package of mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
1/2 cup parmigiana cheese
about 1/2 cup of olive oil
Wash the eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch slices. Don't peel them, the purple skins add taste, texture, and appearance. Dip each slice first in egg, then in flour. In a large fry pan heat the olive oil and fry the eggplant slices, turning once. Cook to a nice golden brown and when you remove the slices place them on a paper towel to soak up excess oil.
Preheat your oven to about 375. Place the fried eggplant slices on a cookie sheet. (Tip: I like to cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil for instant cleanup.) Put a generous tablespoonful of spaghetti sauce on top of each eggplant slice, then top with a slice of mozzarella. Put them in the oven and cook for about 5 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted (but not brown.)
Remove and sprinkle top with the fresh parmigiana. What we like about this variety of eggplant parmigiana is it's nice crispy texture.
Enjoy and God Bless,
Dick, Sandy, Anne
#14
Hello all,
It's Spring! Well, alright, it's not quite Spring outside, but it's looking good.
Sandy and I got back from the gift show, she and Mom have been busy
getting the new Spring things out. Stop and see us.
It's been a bit hectic around here. One of the cats, B.J., started smoking.
Well, no, he didn't take up tobacco. He got too close to a votive candle
that
ground. Also too close to the cat food. And when
smell she turned to see the tip of B.J.'s tail smoking like a road flare.
She clapped it between her hands real quick, which had the expected
'surprise' effect on the cat, but it did extinguish the fire and B.J. is
fine, albeit still a little ruffled after
of the closet. Remember to burn your candles in a safe place, and never
close to the cat food.
Remember the old saying "Be careful what you wish for."? Well, we had one
of those things happen to us down in
those 'suite' hotels, with a kitchen and sitting room area. The first night
there
have a cat in the bed to keep your feet warm. God must listen to small
prayers, and the next night we heard a cat crying at the door. We opened
the door and he ran away when he saw us. At about 3:30 in the morning we
heard the cat crying again, and this time when we opened the door, in ran
this pretty young tabby cat. He ran all over the room, but then settled
onto the bed. When I woke up in the morning
had spent the night under the covers.
I tried to put him out when we left in the morning for the show but he
would have no part of it. It seemed pretty clear that he was a pet that had
escaped. We fed him and bought a cheap litter pan and kept him for the day.
Fortunately, when we asked at the front desk if anyone had pets in the
complex they said that a young lady had a cat and a dog. Turned out to be
hers and he had gotten out by accident. She had been up all night looking
for him and she was really glad to get him back. I was even more glad to
give him back since
God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Mom
#15
Hello all,
Well, Friday was Groundhog Day and the results were inconclusive. I for one
believe that Spring is almost here. Looking back at some of the old
newsletters I was looking forward to Fall. I suppose that's why we like to
see the change of seasons.
Now is the time to prune back the butterfly bushes, or to plant some if you
don't have any. They're really great, and we have butterflies by the
hundreds in the Summer. Mom is going to hold me to my promise that I will
help her put in a big garden this year. I'm sure we'll plant tomatoes, and
some squash, and probably cucumbers. I might even get ambitious and put in
an asparagus patch. Of course we won't get an asparagus harvest for a
couple of years, but it's worth the wait.
We expect to see the birds this Spring, as usual. Way back when we first
opened the store, we forgot to take down the Christmas wreath on the front
door of the shop. Well O.K., it was one of those things I didn't get around
to. Anyway, come early Spring, we arrived to open the shop and there was a
birds nest in the wreath on the front door! Not finished yet, but well
along the way. I probably should have taken it down right away but I
didn't. During the day Mom watched the birds, a pair of purple finches, as
they built their nest in the middle of the wreath on the front door.
I knew this would be a futile effort, with people coming and going every
day, and I expected that the birds would get discouraged and find another,
more suitable place for their nest. But that was a slow year for the shop,
and the birds just kept on building. I decided that it was not a place for
a nest and I threw it away, but left the wreath. Within a couple of days
the persistent finches had built it again. Back then we were closed on
Monday, and when we came in on Tuesday the nest was finished, and it held
four small eggs.
Mother finch sat on the nest each day, and people came and went. When
someone came to the door she would fly off, then return right away. This
went on until the baby birds hatched, and she continued to take care of
them in spite of the people coming and going. The baby birds grew larger
and larger, and their natural defense of freezing into little statues
worked well. Each time a customer came in the door they would freeze, and
everyone thought they were artificial birds!
A few people (our regular customers) we told about the birds, and many
folks had to take a closer look to be convinced, and the birds stayed
there. It was suggested that we should call the newspaper to take some
pictures as a special interest story, but that would have probably brought
us more people, and the birds probably wouldn't have liked that. Finally
they got so big that we thought they would fall out, but still they stayed.
And one morning they must have gotten their flying lessons, and they were
gone. If you happened to be one of the people who took pictures, would you
please see if you still have a picture? We never did take any.
Next year the finches returned and tried to build their nest on the door,
but I knew that their luck might not be as good and I discouraged them.
They ended up building their nest under the awning in front of the shop,
and they have done so for several years since. They are more than welcome.
First I have to talk a bit about eggs. I never used to be able to make
good, light, fluffy scrambled eggs. It used to frustrate me that we would
go out to a diner for breakfast and the eggs were always nice and fluffy,
and mine were flat and stiff. Finally I realized that I was trying too
hard, while the cook at the diner just didn't mess with them. So now I have
it figured out. First you break the eggs into a bowl and whip well with a
fork. Put about a tablespoon of butter in a small skillet and when it
starts to bubble, add the eggs. DO NOT scramble the eggs in the pan! Let
them cook, and as they start to get done pull the sides into the center
using a fork. Do this only once or twice before the eggs are done. Turn
once with a spatula if you like them real done.
Pepperoni Eggs (scrambled)
In a small fry pan, put about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add about 10 - 12
slices of pepperoni and heat till done. Add the eggs that you've whipped in
a small bowl and cook as above. VERY tasty!
You can also make these pepperoni eggs sunny side up, which is great. As
above, you start with a tablespoon of olive oil and 10-12 slices of
pepperoni. When the pepperoni is about done you add the eggs. (Always break
your eggs first into a bowl, then transfer to the pan.) Cover the pan and
cook over low heat till done as you like 'em. Enjoy! Let me know if you try
'em.
Hope we see you real soon. Thanks for being our customers and God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Mom
#16
Hello all,
Rainy weather outside, and not too much to do, but there's a lot new at the
shop, and a recipe to share today so please read on.
It's been quiet around the house, but those of you who have been getting
the newsletter for awhile know that we get a lot of transient wildlife
here. We've had everything from foxes to raccoons and possums, and lots of
different birds. Now we have something new, a bat! Now I know that most
folks are not real bat-lovers, and to my knowledge there are even fewer
people who encourage them to stay when they come around, but maybe you
should reconsider.
We like the fact that the little winged rodents eat such great quantities
of bugs, especially mosquitoes. We have even mounted a formal 'bat-house' on
a big tree in the yard, and we watch the bats catching bugs on Summer
evenings.
Last Fall I was out in the garage one day and happened to look up at the
vent at the roof peak. Hanging there on the bug-screen there was a small
brown lump of fur that turned out, on closer inspection, to be a small bat.
He was only about 2 1/2 inches long, and he was hanging in the usual
upside-down bat position, looking much like a little hamster with wings.
This was, of course, in the middle of the day. Later in the evening I went
out to the garage again and he had left to go hunting.
The next day I was pleased to see that he had returned, and he made a
regular home up there. He was quite tolerant of interruptions, and I took
our granddaughter (Rowan) up there to see him several times. Then when the
coldest part of Winter came he disappeared and he was not seen again, till
this week that is. With the nicer weather he has returned from wherever he
wintered and he sleeps in the same place that he staked out last year.
Nothing seems to bother him, even the air compressor in the garage. We have
named him Radar.
That's about all, but there's time for a quick and delicious (my favorite
kind) recipe. Sandy and I had this while we were visiting
years ago and they cooked it at tableside, so I could see how it was done!
I've changed it a bit over the years.
Steak Diane (Peddler style)
4 small steaks (your choice but I like a nice rib-eye)
8 tablespoons
a little olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon Worcester sauce
1 cup beef bouillon
1 jar of sliced mushrooms - 8 oz., drained
Start with your large frying pan, add a little olive oil and allow to heat
a little.
Coat each steak with a tablespoon of
mustard side down.
Now coat the top of each steak with a tablespoon of
Cook at a medium heat to the way you like 'em, turning once.
While the steaks are cooking;
In a small saucepan melt the butter and add the flour to make a roux, add
the beef bouillon and stir till it comes to a boil. Add the
sauce. (For beef bouillon I just add two beef bouillon cubes to a cup of
water and microwave for a couple of minutes, then stir to make sure the
cubes are well dissolved.)
When steaks are about done, remove the steaks to a spare dish and pour off
any excess grease but DON'T pour off the
are in the pan, then return the steaks to the pan. If it's a small amount
of grease you can probably just spoon it off and leave all the browning and
Pour the sauce that you've made over the steaks, add the mushrooms and stir
to mix in the good
Best served with a nice green veggie like string beans and maybe some small
parsley potatoes.
Enjoy. Hope we see you in the shop soon.
Thanks for being our customers and God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Mom
#17
Hello all,
are loaded with buds and flowers. I think we can say that Spring is here even
though the official start (the Vernal Equinox) isn't here till next Tuesday,
the 20th.
Speaking of trees, we decided to add to our little orchard (4 apple trees, all
of the fruit that drops gets eaten by the deer anyway.) We went out to find
some nice cherry trees and while we didn't find the Royal Anne cherry that we
were looking for, we found a nice red cherry (Bing, I think) down at the
Southern States on
36" high, from a friend who had a few volunteers springing up from his compost
heap. Don't know if it'll take, but we'll give it a try.
I didn't know how tough it would be to find fruit trees, and I suppose I should
have checked down at Southern States first. Of course you always find something
the last place you look. I always used to wonder about that until a friend
said, "That's because when you find it, you stop looking." I suppose that makes
sense.
Anyway, years ago everyone had fruit trees. Nowadays, very few people plant
fruit trees. Lots of reasons, but mostly people don't settle down long enough,
and they figure "Why should I plant a tree that won't bear fruit for 8 - 10
years when I'll probably move before that." There's something sad about that,
and even though we've moved a lot before settling down here, we planted fruit
trees whenever we could, and I hope that the owners of our former homes think
about the former owners when they harvest the fruits of our labors. (Ouch.)
Anyway, even if we don't eat the fruit, it provides for natural food source for
all the animals, and that in itself is a good reason.
Speaking of animals, I told you about 'Radar', our garage bat, in the last
newsletter. He's still doing well, and waiting for the early Spring bugs. But
when we went to the barn the other day we saw a second bat, just a little
smaller than Radar, so now we have two! Not sure if the second one is a girl
bat or not, but at least Radar has a buddy. The new bat's name, Sonar. I will
keep you posted.
I hope some of you tried the Steak Diane recipe from last newsletter. Several
of my friends have tried it in the past and they love it. We had some customers
in the shop a couple of weeks ago and I had a chance to talk about cooking
steaks with them. I really like the Steak Diane recipe but sometimes, if I just
want a good tasty steak I like to cook it the old fashioned way, I pan-fry it.
Now, we men like to grill steaks outdoors, and I have done that a few times.
But birds always nested in our grill (that's another story for later) and by
the time I got around to cleaning it out it was usually Fall.
Anyway, pan-frying a steak can give you some delicious results, and there are a
few tips to make it even better. I like to use a little oil, heat to a good
temperature but not so hot as to smoke. Add the steaks and cook to the desired
doneness, turning once. When you turn the steak over add a pat of butter and
allow to melt over the steak for an extra bunch of flavor. Yes, there is some
cholesterol involved here, eat salad another day.
Now for the best tip of all.
like mine rare to medium rare. (Mom's mostly a vegetarian, I make her a
turkey-burger.) Now, a rare to medium-rare steak was always difficult for me to
get right, and they tend to cook through too much before getting nicely browned
on the outside. But up north they have a way of cooking steak that they call a
'Pittsburgh Char', which is well done almost blackened on the outside, but still
rare to medium rare in the center. A friend once told me the secret, which is
to start with a frozen steak! This works on the grill just as well as in the
pan or in the broiler.
There are a couple of advantages, like for instance I can cook
properly (too done for me) on one side, then add my frozen steak and cook both
together and mine won't be overdone. But the nicest thing is that since you
sear the frozen steak by putting it in the pan (or on the grill) when very hot,
you seal in the natural juices. So now instead of waiting for my steak to thaw
out, I sometimes am waiting for it to freeze before I can cook it. In fact, I
now start with
longer. The sealing in of the juices will even make a well done steak taste
better! Let me know if you like it.
That's all for now.
Thanks for being our customers and God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Mom
#18
Hello all,
Not too much to talk about today, and the weather is looking great outside
anyway so I plan on playing in the garage this afternoon. I have a good
recipe to share anyway, and there's a lot of new things at the shop to talk
about.
Those of you who have been getting the newsletter for awhile know that we
get a lot of transient wildlife here. We've had everything from foxes to
raccoons and possums, and lots of different birds. Now we have something
new, a bat! Now I know that most folks are not real bat-lovers, and to my
knowledge there are even fewer people who encourage them to stay when they
come around, but maybe you should reconsider.
We like the fact that the little winged rodents eat such great quantities
of bugs, especially mosquitoes. We have even mounted a formal 'bat-house' on
a big tree in the yard, and we watch the bats catching bugs on Summer
evenings.
Last Fall I was out in the garage one day and happened to look up at the
vent at the roof peak. Hanging there on the bug-screen there was a small
brown lump of fur that turned out, on closer inspection, to be a small bat.
He was only about 2 1/2 inches long, and he was hanging in the usual
upside-down bat position, looking much like a little hamster with wings.
This was, of course, in the middle of the day. Later in the evening I went
out to the garage again and he had left to go hunting.
The next day I was pleased to see that he had returned, and he made a
regular home up there. He was quite tolerant of interruptions, and I took
our granddaughter (Rowan) up there to see him several times. Then when the
coldest part of Winter came he disappeared and he was not seen again, till
this week that is. With the nicer weather he has returned from wherever he
wintered and he sleeps in the same place that he staked out last year.
Nothing seems to bother him, even the air compressor in the garage. We have
named him Radar.
That's about all, but there's time for a quick and delicious (my favorite
kind) recipe.
Steak Diane (Peddler style)
4 small steaks (your choice but I like a nice rib-eye)
8 tablespoons
a little olive oil
1 cup beef bouillon
1 jar of sliced mushrooms - 8 oz.
#19
Hello all,
What a month! I have been counting on getting all four seasons in this year
and here we went from Winter to Summer! Two things we
don't like to see in April are temperatures under 30 and temperatures over
90 and here we've seen both!
like temperate temperatures! And then there's the rain. Somebody asked me
the other day how much rain we've had and I told them that we've had so
much rain that the lake was under water! Truth! If you don't believe it
just go down
The only thing you should launch from that boat ramp today is a submarine.
As always, we do need the rain for all the Spring plants, it's just that we
like to have it spread out, not all at once.
The birds seem to be prepared anyway. Out in the front yard we've had a
bluebird house for several years but it's never had a nest in it. Now for
the first time, this year we have been blessed with bluebirds who have set
up housekeeping over the past week or so. My office here at home is
upstairs and I am usually up very early to drink my coffee, read my email
and catch up on all the newspapers on the Internet. I also have a great
view of the outside woods and all the birds. And this past week I've been
able to watch the bluebirds carrying bits of straw and pine needles into
the nest. I've had a great view.
But the other morning I had some cause for concern. It was still very early
in the morning, just a little after dawn, and watching out the window the
bluebird couple were both sitting on a branch close to my window and they
were not flying in and out of the nest. The rain was very heavy and they
birds were soaking wet, but they just flew around and came back to sit on
the branch and not into the bluebird house.
Taking a look down to the nest area, I saw that
of large, potted, hydrangea bushes there for me to plant. It just occurred
to me that the bluebirds might be afraid of this new greenery, newly placed
right under the nest. O.K., after watching for awhile I was convinced that
this was the case and I had to go out there and move those plants. Only
thing I forgot to mention is that I was just sitting, quietly sipping my
coffee while still in my robe and slippers. But having decided that the
bushes had to be moved, and moved quickly, I figured that I could just ruin
out real quick and get back without getting too wet. Wrong.
As soon as I got to the end of the driveway the skies opened up just like
someone flipped a switch. If you can imagine some fool in a robe and
slippers in the torrential rain carrying two big hydrangea bushes then you
can understand why I'm glad we don't live anywhere with neighbors!
Anyway, the story ends well. The bluebirds came back and started making
their trip into the nest again. (They probably would have anyway and I just
provided them with a bit of amusement.)
I checked the nest yesterday and there are two tiny blue eggs. I feel like
I should be an Uncle, or at least a Godparent.
A couple of quick notes about the shop and then a recipe. Lots of new
things at the shop, including lots of great tea sets, and individual cups
and saucers. There were a lot of folks who asked for these and I don't have
everyone's phone number so you know who you are! Lots of new kitchen linens
(
dishrags. O.K.) And a lot of old, antique, linens as well that
in the attic. And we're having a drawing, free, just drop your entry in the
bowl when you come in and get a chance on a great teddy bear
scissor-cutting. Winner will be announced in the next newsletter.
like good spicy dishes then you will love it.
1 lb of freshly steamed shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 small box of fresh mushrooms, sliced thick
1 small onion, diced
2 - 3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 jar (25 oz or so) spaghetti sauce (we use Sutter Home, and I highly
recommend it)
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
2 level tablespoons Bayleaf Peddler Picante Salsa (NO substitutions!)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
a little salt and pepper to taste
Rice
1 cup Uncle Ben's rice (NOT instant rice)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
You should actually start the rice first, and it'll be done at the same
time as the other dish.
Just make the rice per the directions on the box. Two cups of water in a
saucepan, add the butter and bring to a boil, add 1 cup uncooked rice and
cover. Reduce heat and cook over low heat, stir once or twice to avoid
sticking and you're done.
While the rice is cooking, in your BIG frying pan, heat the olive oil and
cook the diced onion till it starts to get a bit translucent (about 5
minutes on low to medium.)
Add the sliced fresh mushrooms and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Add the
spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, BP Picante Salsa, Worcestershire sauce,
sugar, and a bit of salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and bring the whole
thing to a slow boil. It's done. Serves 4-5.
A couple of tips.
You can serve this several ways. For family style, you can just fold the
cooked rice into the shrimp Creole mixture and mix before serving. You can
also just serve the rice onto each plate and then top with the shrimp
Creole. I like this second method for a couple of reasons. One, it just
looks more attractive with the shrimp Creole on top of that nice white rice
(I always remember the three things that a good meal will have, taste,
texture, and appearance.) Second, it allows for people to choose the ratio
of sauce to rice. We adults with spicy tastes might like it heavier on the
sauce, kids might like it a bit milder, with more rice. Also, this is a
great dish for company, and then I would make a little extra rice for good
measure, maybe even double, and serve at the table in nice big serving bowls.
Other tips.
Those handy little shrimp deveiners are great! Get one if you don't have one.
Remember that fresh mushrooms are really like little sponges. If you wash
them they soak up a
dirt, it's organic anyway. Canned mushrooms are allowed if the fresh ones
don't look good.
Enjoy the recipe, enjoy the weather, and come on by to enjoy the Bayleaf
Peddler. (Mom had a birthday today but she didn't want me to tell anyone.)
Thanks for being our customers, and God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Mom,
#20
Hello all,
Well, the weather is near perfect this week, and I did finally get finished
with Mom's garden. I built a raised box garden 8' by 16', ringed with
wooden beams and filled with new topsoil. Whoever used that old expression,
"dirt cheap", hasn't bought topsoil lately.
Anyway, Mom put in some Big Boy tomatoes, some cherry tomatoes, and some
white squash. She filled in a couple of rows with flowers but I don't know
what kind so you'll have to ask her next time you come in. Mom's been busy
keeping a watchful eye on the red finches that have nested under the awning
in front of the shop front door. They're doing well even though some people
have commented that it's a funny place for a bird to build a nest. Then
again, birds do that.
A couple of years ago Mom came into the house after walking through the
back yard. She said to me,
"Dick, there are birds in the barbecue grill."
"Yeah, sure Mom." I said.
"No, really. There are birds in the barbecue grill."
I have to confess that I didn't believe her but she insisted and I had to
go outside to see what the story was. The barbecue grill was one of those
big old iron grills with a hinged top and a glass plate on the front so
that you can see how burnt your food is (I'm not much of an outside cook.)
I approached the grill cautiously and got startled when a bird actually
flew up against the glass. It was already a hot day in early Spring and
while I had no idea how the bird got in there, it was clear that he wanted
to get out!
So I just opened up the top of the grill and suddenly there was an
explosion of birds! Five or six full grown Carolina Wrens came flying out
in all directions! Inside the grill was a nest big enough to hold that big
a bunch of birds and it was clear that the mother bird had come in through
the small grease drain hole in the bottom of the grill to build the nest. A
nice safe place away from predators and certain to be plenty warm. Mothers
always know best.
And don't forget Grandmother on Mothers Day! One of our favorite things at
home was when grandmother made egg custard and
recipe that is both quick and simple for this special desert. We have it
often.
Grandma's Egg Custard
2 eggs
1/3 cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 cups plus 4 tablespoons of milk (scalded)
1 tablespoon of vanilla
nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350.
Beat eggs, sugar and salt slightly with a fork or whisk until well mixed.
Stir in scalded milk. (Tip: To easily scald milk, put it into a Pyrex
pitcher, place in microwave for 2 minutes or until it forms a film on the
surface, but don't let it boil. It might take a bit longer depending on
your microwave. Remove the film carefully and discard.)
Add vanilla, stir slightly. Pour into six custard cups. Top with a light
dusting of nutmeg.
In a deep cake pan put about 1" of hot water (hot water from the tap is fine.)
Carefully place the custard cups in the water and put them in the oven.
Bake for 60 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a silver knife about
1" from the edge, it should come out clean.
Remove from oven and remove custard cups from the hot water to cool.
Allow to cool for awhile before eating, I like it best while still a little
warm.
Thanks for being our customers and God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Anne
#21
Hello all,
Mom's garden has been growing well, the squash is up and the pole beans and
the cantaloupe and the radishes. The rabbits and deer haven't bothered the
garden yet so we'll keep our fingers crossed. Mom did plant some Marigolds,
which are supposed to keep the rabbits out. So far something has eaten one
of the Marigolds but nothing else.
Mom came in the other day to Sandy, who was busy making a pie, and she said
"
department. He's out in the garage."
So Mom came out and told me the same thing and I went out to look. Sure
enough, there was a great, brown lizard that had gotten stuck in the old
railroad tie by the shed. He'd apparently tried to get through and he's
fattened up a bit more than he expected. Kind of reminded me of when I
tried to put on last year's shorts, so I felt some empathy for him. I
managed to get my fingers in between the cracks and spread the beam apart
and the lizard wriggled free. I made a personal resolution to cut back on
desserts.
4 nice pork chops
1 large onion, sliced (Vidalia's are in season)
1 jar of Bayleaf Peddler peach salsa
Preheated oven to 400 degrees.
Wash and dry four good pork chops, place on a sheet of heavy aluminum foil.
Top each chop with a slice of onion and a couple of tablespoons of Bayleaf
Peddler peach salsa and place in the oven. We use a whole jar for this recipe.
Wrap and seal the foil around the chops to be airtight. Cook for about one
hour until it's really tender.
You can also cook this on the grill if you're cooking out, and you can use
chicken instead of pork chops in the same way. Enjoy!
That’s all for now. Thanks for being our customers and God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Mom,
#22
Hello all,
The big event here over the last week was the blooming of the Magnolia
tree. Sandy and I planted the tree when we first moved in 12 years ago and
even though it's now about 20 feet tall, this is the first time it's
bloomed. The last few years
and we found out that the new variety of Magnolia start to bloom in 3 to 4
years, the older variety takes 10 to 12 years, which must be what we have.
In the Spring,
this would be the year for blooms.
I suggested that she might try talking to it. After all, it's supposed to
be good to talk to your house plants to get them to bloom. So
fact, trudge out to talk to the tree. Well, here it is a couple of months
later and we get blooms! I had to tell her that it was talking to the tree
that did it. So I said, "Talking to your tree must have worked. What did
you say to it anyway?" And
bigger than me but this is your last chance. If you don't bloom this year
you are firewood!"
Now this is not exactly what I had in mind to say, but we do have blooms
and I guess you can't argue with success.
Speaking of recipes, the weather has been so hot that we haven't been
cooking as much as usual. I'll tell you about a nice easy side dish for
summer.
Back in
the Eichenkranz, no longer there I'm sorry to say, but we do have memories
of their traditional dishes and I've been able to copy them. When the
weather is cooler I'll give you the Schnitzel recipe. For right now one of
the side dishes that's perfect for summer is cucumber salad. You just need
2 or 3 medium cucumbers, a tomato, an onion, and bottle of your favorite
Italian dressing. O.K., I know it's a German dish but Italian dressing
works so trust me.
If you get your cucumbers at the store then you'll need to peel them since
they will probably be waxed. If you use your own garden cucumbers just wash
them well, peeling is optional. Slice into about 1/4 inch pieces and put in
a large bowl. Then slice the onion (a little thinner, I make them about 1/8
inch) and add to the bowl. Cut the tomato in half and discard the seeds and
juice, then slice it as well and add to the bowl. Add Italian dressing to
cover and place in refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours before serving. Stir once
or twice while you're waiting. This is a great Summer dish, and it goes
well with bar-b-qued anything.
Thanks for being our customers and God Bless.
Dick, Sandy, Mom,
Bayleaf Peddler on Rt 98