Thursday, April 10, 2014

Being Thankful


This morning I woke up grumpy. I don't like waking up grumpy or being out of sorts. Then I went outside.
Though it was still dark, but the sun was turning the sky pink and the light was shining over the mountains. A mockingbird was singing his happy song, because as I imagine, his wife is on the nest and there are eggs in that nest. The air smelled fresh and clean and the dew was heavy on the grass. The trees are all covered in new leaves of different shades of green.


Now this is a funny thing to be thankful for but  I just had to tell you. Every time I walk by this, ( On the way to my chicken coop.) I pass the swimming pool. I will stand and stare at it. Because it is so blue. So blue. After last summer and my eyes would tell me it was green as grass. I still keep asking Ron when we walk by, why is it so blue. It is like my mind can't take it in yet.  I do have to tell you my one job that is on my summer list. Which I don't mind in the least. I have to scrub all of that tile. With a pumice stone. We have really hard water here so I will be scrubbing the line. I like doing that because I have to go swimming.

I finished up on little thing for my "Dreaming in the Attic" box this week. I am having so much fun making things for it. This design is from Pineberry Lane.


I need to make a couple more things for it. I really have a hankering to go visit some antique stores. I have a favorite one I like to go visit. It is in the old Woolworth's building down town. I love that place. There is one called the Old Curiosity Shop I have been meaning to visit and haven't had a chance.  


I have been walking out dreaming of this a lot this week. It has been so warm I am sure that every thing would come up so fast.

I don't do recipes very much, only ones that I think are the best I have found. When I had my son William, it was June and the sweet ladies in our church who brought us dinner, all made us apricot cobblers. It must have been a good year for apricots. So we tasted lots of different recipes. The last person to bring us dinner was my grandparents. In the summer they only ate out of the garden. So they brought us fried squash, black-eyed peas, okra and sliced tomatoes. We sat down and we ate and ate and to this day it stands out as the best meal I have ever eaten. My grand parents cooked with bacon grease so the fried squash and okra were just the best.
My Mama  and Papa brought apricot cobbler. Which also was the best I we ever ate even after six previous ones. I asked her and asked her for her recipe. She was real dogy about it and wouldn't tell me. Then she got sick and I never got it. For 30 years now I have been on a quest.

I get a letter from Charles Stanley once a month and this month they had a recipe in it.  It said,
Dr. Stanley's Mother's Blackberry Cobbler. I decide to make it as I read through it and I think this is the one I have search for so long. Dr. Stanley's Mother and my Mama would have been close to the same age.

So here it is with out further ado.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Melt 1 stick of butter in a baking dish.

Make batter as follows:
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pour batter into melted butter~ do not stir.
Add 1 pint of blackberries. Cut in small pieces and sweeten with a little sugar.
Pour blackberries over batter~ do not stir. Bake 45 minutes until nice and brown.


 This was the last piece I was able to take a picture of before it was all gone.  I can't wait to make it again and I think I will try different berries and peaches and of course apricots when they get ripe.

Oh, I doubled the recipe and used a 9x13 pan. I also added 2 eggs to the batter. I can never leave a recipe alone.
Self-Rising flour can be made by using 1 cup sifted flour with 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

It is quick and easy and is a keeper kind of recipe. I think after a day of working in the garden and having a dinner eating only from the garden and having a glass of iced tea in a quart jar with cobbler for dessert is my favorite part about summer. Sitting on the porch. That is when I sit and think to myself of  my blessings and count them one by one.

Have a wonderful day. Thanks for reading my ramblings. There are so many things to be thankful for today.

~Kim~

For Rose who wanted to see Zinnias.
" For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease, Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; yet though the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant."
---The book of Job---
Taken from the Scent of Water, by Elisabeth Goudge.




20 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

the cobbler looks yummy! our mockers have been singing a lot, too. love that.

have a great day!

Willow said...

What a lovely serene post ~ I am so glad you can see beautiful blue again .

Debbie said...

That cobbler looks really good and would be perfect for any fruit!! Those sunflowers are just gorgeous Kim and the yellow rosé in your header, WoW!!

Pom Pom said...

Wow! The pool! I think you need a duck swim ring and then you should tell yourself, "Self, before you can do ANY scrubbing, you must paddle around for ten minutes, face to the sun, and be a kid." I'm sorry you felt grumpy when you woke up. It sounds like you are better now!
xo

Susan Kane said...

Willow said it well: What a lovely serene post!

The blackberry cobbler will find its way into our house.

Mary Ann said...

Kim, I have been in the throes of moving, and have missed reading blogs... I'm so glad I sat down to read yours today! Great post!

Nellie said...

Your roses are absolutely gorgeous! You are right! The pool is very blue! The recipe is very versatile, and it sounds like one I have. Very tasty results! xo Nellie

simply bev said...

Yummy cobbler and such happy sunflowers!

Gail said...

That is what I call my lazy cobbler. No dough to knead or roll out. I love these!!!

moosecraft said...

Ahhhh... that pool is sooo inviting!!! Happy to see you stitching again (and doing a fine job of it too!). Zinnias, marigolds and hydrangeas are my favorites... along with morning glories... yah... that's what you need is a fence full of morning glories... then you'll never wake up grumpy again! lol! ;-)

Julia said...

I love Cobblers, especially with blueberries, they are so quick and easy to make.

Mama's food always tastes best because that's what we were raised on.

Love that blue pool too. You are so lucky to have a nice big pool. Enjoy all the colors...
Hugs,
JB

Miss Debbie said...

Been making that recipe for years ...usually with fresh peaches and it is DELISH!! Roses are lovely!

annie said...

I really enjoyed this post!
Can taste that cobbler, now!!!
I have last years fruits still in the freezer, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and red raspberries, they are calling out to me, now! My fellows will love you for this, have a great colorful weekend! I am so thankful you can see!!!

Anonymous said...

That cobbler looks yummy! It will suit for any berries!
What a neat and cute swimming pool! Nice work for you to keep it clean!
Have a good weekend!

Three Sheep Studio said...

Your 'Dreaming In The Attic' project is grand !
I love recipes like this one. I also make a Blueberry Cherry Cobbler, using this technique.
Your Zinnia picture just made my day ;)
One year, for Mother's Day, one of my daughters gave me an entire flat of zinnia. It was a gift that kept giving !
Rose

Buttons Thoughts said...

Wow that is a lot of pumicing:) yikes. Oh I do hope you find that apricot cobbler recipe that is sad but the memories are always good my Grandma was the same a great cook and I have not found some of her recipes. Have a nice weekend. Hug B

Debbie said...

Not sure how I missed this yesterday but what a nice post! Your cobbler looks sooo good. I LOVE apricot pie, so know I would love apricot cobbler. Hope it cools off some, been pretty warm here. Enjoy your week-end!

Manzanita said...

I gather you must live in the south, from the foods you cook. They were all my husband's favorites. I really like your blog. It's filled with interesting accounts of nature. I have baby chicks in the house now as it's too cold to put them out. I love it that they are getting so tame. That blueberry cobbler looks like a dessert you'd want to eat before the meal, just in case you got too full. Ha

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

I think I have that recipe- I do love cobbler! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

Indeed, there are so many things to be thankful for. Blackberry cobbler is my favorite dessert ... I don't make it very often as I wouldn't have any will power! ha!