Gone With The Wind Gala Blog Party

Hosted by Nikki of The Scarlett Rose Garden Blog.

Welcome as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of this spectacular movie.

Let's have some cake specially made for this occasion...

Deep in plantation country in Louisiana is a traditional recipe that is as rich and beautiful as Scarlett O'Hara.

SCARLETT RED VELVET CUPCAKES

Recipe:

Cake (or cupcakes) Ingredients:

1/2 ounce red food coloring (optional)
2 heaping teaspoons cocoa
1/2 cup shortening
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 and 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon white vinegar (cider vinegar would be too strong)

Make a paste of red food coloring and cocoa in a small bowl. Cream shortening and sugar thoroughly. Add eggs and mix well, then add the cocoa paste (or the cocoa if omitting the red food coloring). Add butermilk alternately with the flour and salt. Beat well after each addition (important to do this step to get a light, fluffy cake texture). Then add the vanilla. Mix soda and vinegar in a small bowl and fold into the cake batter. Pour batter into a greased and floured cake pan or into cupcake pan with paper liners.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 - 30 minutes. Watch carefully and test with an inserted toothpick. Let cool completely before frosting.



Icing:

This is an old fashioned roux icing. Rouxs are the basis of much cookery in Louisiana plantation territory. This is a rich buttercream icing that is cooked.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup room temperature butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

Cook flour and milk until thick while stirring constantly.



Then thoroughly cool. In separate bowl cream together butter and sugar. Add vanilla. Beat the two mixtures together until the consistency is that of whipped cream. Refrigerate to cool completely before frosting cake or cupcakes.

Note: I did add a small amount of red food coloring - most modernized recipes use a bottle of red food coloring. You get a natural red color with the mixture of the vinegar, buttermilk and cocoa.

A Scarlett Red Velvet Cupcake Tower:



I printed up Scarlet in her famous red velvet gown and glued the picture to a toothpick (making sure to apply glue only to the very top of the toothpick). This cute little toothpick paperdoll is useful to adorn cupcakes or other food items.



This was a lot of fun to make a classic Southern cake for such a wonderful celebration. I truly anticipated having half a cupcake with total excitement.

Thank you Nikki for hosting this and I can't wait to find out what the other blog partygoers put together!

The Wizard of Oz Blogparty

How wonderful that Twyla and Lindsey of Two Crazy Crafters would host a celebration of this great movie.

All the dogs got so excited and well...let's let Stuart type from here on out...

Mommy told us about the Wizard of Oz Blogparty.

I was excited!

We have been working hard and having fun homeschooling this summer. I overheard Mommy tell Daddy that we will continue to do so - she said it is cost e-fish-ent - whatever that means. All I know is that I am having lots of fun to miss the doggie daycare.

The Lesson Plans for this week were about The Wizard of Oz.

We worked on menu planning, thinking up creative dishes of a Wizard of Oz theme.

WIZARD OF OZ MENU

These are all CERTIFIED and
Toto-ally APPROVED:

Tree Thrown Apple Fritters

Poppy Seed Muffins

Relish the Adventure Relish Tray

Witch's Wicked Beef Stew Brew

Aunti M's Biscuits and Gravy

Glenda the Good (for you) Witch's Vegetarian Stew

Lions and Tigers and a Bear Claw Pastry

Ruby Slipper Red Velvet Cake

For snack time we had a Relish the Adventure Relish Tray.



My favorite was the doggie relish tray which consisted of chicken and crackers - mmmmmmm.



After eating it was time to do our Theater Arts segment. We got to get in the fabric box and decide who would be who in the Wizard of Oz dress up.

Confusion ensued! Toto wanted to play the Good Witch. I wanted to play Toto. Ariel did not really mind who she played.

We settled this by having Toto play Toto (a logical fit and no costume needed) and Ariel play the Wicked Witch (not a logical fit) and me play Glinda the Good Witch (a perfect fit).

Here I am (Stuart) as Glinda the Good Witch



Here is Ariel:



Here is Toto:



We had fun but the day's lessons were still not done.

We had computer time and found these facts about The Wizard of Oz movie:

Toto was a rescue (she barked too much and was not wanted).
Toto was a girl.
Toto should have won an academy award.

Next it was craft time.

Mommy is working on a book called "How to Homeschool Your Dogs". She is almost done with the chapter on 'crafts from throw away items'. For this project she took some scrap paper destined for the recycle bin and traced each of our paws on the paper. We colored it in with a little help. We rolled up some paper to form the stick.

And we had a paper Lolli-paw-p (pronounced Lollipop). The Lollipop Guild is our favorite song.



Whew, what a day!

Mommy is going to read to me "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" tonight as my bedtime story. It was a busy day and we are tired - thank you Twyla and Lindsey for hosting this fun blogparty - It was pawsitively the best!

There really is no place like home...

Toto says she is feeling much better. She had a great cozy set up today to relax in - a big, soft, comfy quilt with her favorite stuffed dog toys. She loved this and relaxed all afternoon while watching tv and eating chicken dinner. When she got tired of watching tv I read to her from - you guessed it - her favorite story:
"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"!

Mycotoxicosis again

Just disbelief as I saw Toto come in jump on the bed and I noticed mild shaking.

I told my husband she was shaking and he thought it was just too cold in the house.

I put her down on the floor and she had that walk where she was stumbling around.

And I just flat out have to admit I just freaked out panicked.

Then of course the fast dash to the emergency clinic.

Warning: for other pet owners. Mycotoxicosis is a mold toxin that can form in a compost (dogs can still get to this with a secure lid on it), on food in garbage or food left out (in another case someone had left out a pan with leavings from a roast outside), on grains (put in a compost or in your garbage/kitchen trash), and, as we learned, mulch - the list goes on - leaves, average garden debris, almost anything.

Although a lot of vets are aware of this, some are not, or it can be misdiagnosed or not diagnosed in time or the person could be gone and not realize their dog has this. There is a small window of time to get your dog to the vet and get treatment.

Toto had been in the backyard and I thought it was safe back there - we had dismantled the compost bin months ago when this had happened. Now we found out this toxin can form on mulch, leaves left on the ground, hay used as mulch, basically anything. I am still researching this - pea gravel and plain dirt my be less likely to have this.

I spent the weekend redoing my garden. I am removing the mulch we had.

She had had a full 'dinner' of chicken breast, a bit of pasta and a small amount of prescription diet id. She went outside and I noticed her exploring and nosing in a particular spot around some mulch. The vet said some dogs will put mulch in their mouths.

She was kept for 20 hours at the emergency clinic on an iv. I had told them I would call often and most certainly did.

We went out to the yard and even in the hot southern sun we found mold on the mulch she was nosing around in. Mold forms on moist wood in the enclosed plastic bag you buy at garden centers - so check very carefully and follow up with more checks as it can form underneath the top layer.

Toto is resting comfortably and doing fine. No walks today and she will be getting lots of cozies (when you pile the quilts and comforters in a big pile - dogs love this), pettings, love and chicken dinners (her favorite) - and a good dog movie - the cute Hotel for Dogs.

I will be doing a mold check daily in the backyard on everything and supervising her quite carefully.

A Garden Party hosted by

Susan of Savoring Time in the Kitchen , who not only has a spectacular garden but also has a some wonderful cooking recipes and photos. I got excited when I read she would be having this garden party.

I planned my garden menu around herbs.



The al fresco menu:

Basil with cream cheese sandwiches with rosemary garnish.



Some strawberries and



A strawberry drink I made by taking organic strawberries and simply crushing some into some ice water. Strawberries always make a great garnish.



And some green tiered cupcakes. Piled really high with gloppy icing and lots of sprinkles.



The best for last: homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream - fantastic.




Now off to visit the other Garden Partygoers.

Just got to everyone on the list and I tell you - the gardens and produce are spectacular! A lot of people do not realize the work that goes into gardens (that is why I stick with herbs which are a bit less work). Such beautiful, well tended gardens at all the blogs. It was actually like reading a gardening magazine.

What a fun garden party - thanks Susan for hosting this!

Swap defautlers

I also feel quite freely to speak my mind about all the people that sign up for swaps and then just flat out give an anemic response and then don't respond much less send their package.

Sadly this is a recurring thing in a lot of swaps. I would hate to think of a beginner blogger being excited and signing up for a swap and running into this.

It has happened to me. The wicked witch swap last year netted me a lady who flat out took my package and I received nada, not even a thank you or that she had received it.

Some swaps I have read about have super strict rules. Some apron swaps even require a reference! And a copy of the mailing receipt to the hostess. Some little children had been involved with their moms in receiving a little apron and in more than one instance these little kids sat waiting for their little aprons that never arrived.

Is this what our fun friendly innocent swaps are evolving into.

I do know I am not the only one going through this and happily I feel compelled to write about this problem so that others do not think they are alone in this!

Update:
Well, better late than never and surely better than being a defaulter - my package did come in! And it is quite wonderful.

But still, though, giveways and blog parties seem more of a sure deal.

A Very Sad Day

I know I talk on about all my wonderful pets. Well, two of the oldest ones were having health problems. They had been going to the vet to take care of these things.

One dog, my beloved Silkey (a puppy mill rescue) had some problems and I had to put her to sleep this past Tuesday.

The next morning I sat in the backyard with my dogs who were missing her and my other oldest dog, Sprout (Little Sprout when younger) went outside with us and then asked to go back in quite quickly. We lingered outside for not more than a few minutes and I went in expecting to find her on the pile of comforters I keep on the den floor for her.

She was missing. I went searching through the house fearful she may have fallen (she had bad arthritis) and could not find her.

I then looked more carefully and found her dead in a place (behind the stairs) that she had never been to. She lay peacefully dead.

I am just heartbroken to lose two of my most precious dogs each day.

My littlest Ariel is taking it really hard as Sprout was the 'mom' dog to them all.

I am so grateful to all the blogworld and all of you ladies because I already have something to look forward to: the blog garden party hosted by Savoring Time in the Garden. I would be just hysterical with grief but at least I have something to plan for.

I really do love all you fellow bloggers and feel we do help each other through these trying times.

Update: my poor little delicate Ariel is taking this hard and had to go to the vet for not eating. Dogs really grieve for other dogs.

It is good that I had something to plan for this week (the blog garden party) -that has helped - but this has been a really tough week. Thanks to all of your who have commented and emailed... - I love all you 'url friends'!

Valerie