September Acres

I spent too many years in retail to ever want to spend the Friday after Thanksgiving shopping.  All that traffic and pushing and waiting in line is great for retailers but not for me.  I actually went to W@lmart one Black Friday about 15 years ago.  I figured I'd zip in at 5 am, pick up the vacuum and TV and be back at home before my husband woke up.  This was before the days of being open on Thanksgiving day and even at 5 am, the store was packed.   Packed with mean, pushy, cart ramming shoppers.  I picked up the two things I came for as fast as I could (which wasn't all that fast) and vowed never to do that again.  Never.  Ever. These days my Black Fridays are more relaxing and fun.  If you're looking for something to do this year besides hitting the mall, consider one of these activities: Put up your Christmas Tree.   This can be a fun family event and if you have relatives in town you even get some extra help!  Tak...

The smell of something yummy baking is always welcoming.  My most often baked recipe is banana bread.  I've always got bananas that I need to use.  After years of searching for just the right  recipe I found one in the Martha Stewart cookbook that is perfect. You can find this yummy recipe here . Enjoy!

   I was watching a local lifestyle show the other day and saw a segment about Valentine's Day gift giving.  The first gift shown was a diamond necklace for $100 - very pretty but a bit pricey for a Valentine's Day gift.  Next up was a Bose iPod docking station for the man in your life for - get this - $299.  ( note: my husband thought this sounded like a great gift for him! )  These are both lovely gifts but it got me thinking about Valentine's Day and how it's almost turned into a mini-Christmas. I've always thought of February 14 as a day to show those we love a little extra affection, not buy them another huge gift.  If you are young without a mortgage and college tuition to pay, it's one thing, but for the rest of us I think it's really easy to go overboard and try to keep up with the masses. So, what's a girl to do if she doesn't want to spend a king's ransom on the one she loves? I'm a fan of some good old 'lovi...

We spent all week getting our kitchens in order so I thought it would be fun to take a break from organizing and enjoy our newly arranged spaces.  We got some limes in our last Bountiful Basket and I wanted to use them in a yummy desert recipe.  I found Neely's Lime Bars (very similar to Lemon Bars but made with limes) and decided to give them a try.  They were super easy and really delicious. You may know the Neely's, Pat & Gina, from the Food Network show "Down Home with the Neely's" .  Not only is their show one of my favorites to watch on the Food Network, their recipes are fun and tasty, with that special southern flare that I love.  They film their show in their home kitchen.   We could all do that now that we've got our kitchens organized, right? You can find the recipe for Neely's Lime Bars here . I loved these lime bars and will definitely make them again.  And again.  And again. I am taking part in The Nester's 31 D...

One of my favorite cookbooks is " The Martha Stewart Cookbook" .  I've had it well over 15 years and it's very well used.   One of my favorite and most used recipes is her banana bread recipe (that paper clip makes it easy to find, too).  It's super easy and really tasty.  Even with the 'changes' I make sometimes... As I was trying to use up alot of what I had in my fridge the past couple of weeks, I knew I would be making this recipe because of the bananas that were ripe enough for bread.  I thought I needed to finish some sour cream too but upon further inspection I realized that the sour cream was not usable.  I still wanted to make this bread though and wasn't planning a trip to the market for sour cream. This is why I love this recipe:  while the sour cream is great I have found a few substitutions that work well.  They are:  1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (greek or regular) OR 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt...

As with most plans here at September Acres, they change a bit. I had planned to spend the weekend making test cakes for LM's first communion. On Saturday morning I realized I needed to run to Michaels to get a couple of cake decorating supplies. I planned to go while the hubby and LM were at hockey but the banana muffins I was making were not finished in time for me to sneak out before they got home. So, my quiet little trip by myself turned into a 3 hour tour with the family. We ended up going to Big 5, Home Depot, Michaels and Walmart. Fun times. So I ended up not baking cake until today. I have a few weeks until communion so it's okay. LM requested a marble cake so I did that today. Full disclosure - I used a mix and it turned out pretty darn good. We spent some time talking to the Wilton specialist at Michaels about fondant. I just love the look but I wasn't sure if that's the way I wanted to go or not. After talking to her I don't think it is. We have a tub o...

Well, not exactly. But I can bake and I can decorate a cake and I like it. LM's first communion is coming up and we are having a reception after mass at our house. We did talk about ordering cupcakes from my friend's new cupcake shop. After a few episodes of cake boss LM has decided she'd rather have a cake. Something like this: Sure, if you don't want to go to college! I was thinking something less ornate, like this: Something I can make with no problem. I told LM that this weekend we will have a cake tasting. We'll make a couple of cake flavors and see what she likes, decorate a couple 'mini' cakes and she can make her decision. I am thinking of making a red velvet (of course) and a marble cake and she can pick what she likes best. It should be a sweet weekend...