A YUMMY MISTAKE & A FABULOUS ONLINE COOKBOOK.

Some of my best baking has come from a mistake. These for example.

I thought I had bought frozen puff pastry because I wanted to make some Elephant Ear Cookies which I love. When I opened it I had bought Phyllo Dough. Well, I have never had a good experience with this but I did not want to waste it so I thought I would try my version of Baklava.

Now I know that this is a difficult dessert but I had walnuts and a can of delicious Chesnut Puree I bought a while ago just to see what it tasted like. At worst it would turn out awful but it did not cost much anyway. I crushed the walnuts and put them in the puree with some butter and heated it so it would be more spreadable. Then I just started layering the Phyllo dough, four layers together, with melted butter and then the puree. I got three full layers with four layers of Phyllo inbetween. Then I baked it at 325F. for about 35 minutes. Meanwhile I remembered that Baklava has a syrup put on it so I checked the computer for a recipe. I found that you have to cut the unbaked Baklava first then when it comes out of the oven soak it with a syrup of sugar, water and honey.

I went downstairs and took out the almost baked Baklava and cut it. Now I know why you cut it unbaked because it crumbles. Well, I soaked it with they syrup when it was done. When it cooled I cut it into smaller pieces and I must say it was delicious. Not like the real Baklava but kind of a chesnut, walnuty butter tart version. Now that I have done okay with the Phyllo dough I will try the real thing but for now this was pretty good.

Now, some of you may already heard of this fantastic recipe site. I discovered it through a recipe I saw on PINTEREST. I signed into this site for some cupcake recipes and got an e-mail that I was now a member of ZIPLIST.

I have not had time to really look at it all but the way it works is you have your own RECIPE LIST and when you see the recipes you like you add them to the list. They give you a shopping list and there is something about coupons but I have not read that yet. This Crab Cake recipe looks delicous.

You get daily e-mails with some of the latest new recipes like this Asian Edamame Fried Rice.

These Fresno Potatoes are going to be eaten in my house this week. Each recipe is linked back to the source which is a great way to visit new blogs and website.

They have recipes for everything even iced coffee. I have seen many of them on PINTEREST. It is nice because the recipes are set up on a big recipe board with lovely, clear pictures. So if you get some time pop over and sign up. It is so great to have everything you need on on site. Visit ZIPLIST today.

BRINGING BACK THE OLD!

Just a quick post. It is so cold and dull here today, not very nice for gardening so my husband and I were talking and decided how much we missed making furniture.

We had a business called "13 Mockingbirds" a few years ago and when it slowed down we stopped making pieces. Now that I have gotten so good at creating my blogs I decided to do one for our business and start back up again. I will be slowly adding pieces as we create them. I always loved making furniture, we combine the old with the new. We make small, large and in between.

There is not that much on there right now but if you get time stop on by and have a look at 13 MOCKIINGBIRDS new blog.

COME AND SIT AND SWING!

Every morning, I get up have my tea or coffee, kiss my husband and the dog ( sometimes not in that order!) and check my blog. I love to read all of your posts and see what is going on in your parts of the world. I follow many Scandinavian, British and other Europeon blogs so it is nice to see what the weather is like there. I have noticed how my American friends are having such great weather already. I live in Southern Ontario and our weather, although nice at the end of March, has not been that great.

The garden is slowly growing but wet and cold has prevented me from being able to accomplish much outside. Instead I have been planning. There is so much I want to get done this summer, ours are quite short so I cannot wait to get started. The sun makes me think of the garden and the garden makes me think of outdoor seating which brings me to todays post........PORCH SWINGS!

How I would love a Porch Swing. As you know I do have a lot of porches but the only one that has a roof where I could put a swing, my husband says would not support one. I am not giving up! I love the look of them. They make some nice new ones but I do love the idea of making one out of architectual finds or from old chair and benches like these two.

This is a gorgeous wicker porch swing. There is just something about them that reminds me of the Old South. Swinging on the porch on a sizzling summer day sipping iced tea.

How wonderful it would be to listen to the birds sing as you swing away. I love the idea of this refurbished door swing, who doesn't have an old door around. And this beauty beckons me to sit.

Oh look at this one! It is like being up in the trees. A Porch Swing you could sleep on......heaven!

When I saw this I thought "Well, I could always have a swing in the trees, I have a lot of those." So if I do not get my porch swing this summer perhaps I can talk my husband into one of these.....at the very least I will get one of these!

Images from PINTEREST. Drop by LUCYS GARDEN today for my "LET THEM EAT CAKE" extravaganza!

AHHHH.....THE PORCH!

Nothing says summer like a porch.

We live in a 235 year old farmhouse which originally only had one porch.

Over the years we had added a porch to each side of the house and a large wrap around all the way to the back ending with a large summer porch and going into our screened-in room.

I love porches so much I keep looking for another spot to add one.

I treat my porches like rooms in my house. They all have lovely seating areas, very comfy. I really like these ones, so lovely they just say "Come and sit a while".

Whether it is tiny are wraps around a house a porch just adds a finishing touch. We will drive past a house and I always say it would look so much more welcoming with a porch.

Now wouldn't you want to sit on one of these porches for an afternoon? The sun shining, the birds singing and nothing to do but sip ice tea, read a good book and do nothing.

Oh, aren't these just breathtaking! I can just see myself sitting overlooking a cool lake on a hot day. I just love the second house, heaven.

If you do not have a porch on your house you might just want one after seeing these gorgeous sitting spots. I especially like this little beauty. Screened in and just big enough for a nice chair for me!

The first four pictures are mine the rest are from PINTEREST. Stop by my blog LUCYS GARDEN today for some lovely Geraniums.

FEELING BETTER & I WENT TO PARIS!

I am feeling better today although my ribs on my left side are still really sore as is my back. I don't know what I did but I hope it gets better soon. Thank you for your Get Well wishes. I rested yesterday and caught up on some of my PVR programs. One I have to waiting to see was Woody Allen's "MIDNIGHT IN PARIS".

I quite enjoyed this film mostly because it is partly set in Paris in the 1920's. Woody Allen has done a wonderful job of taking you on a journey through Paris and meeting the writers and artist of that Bohemian era. Owen Wilson is very good as Gil, an engaged writer in Paris with his fiancee and her parents. He is writing his first novel ( he is a screen writer) and loves Paris. He has a romance with 1920's Paris.

Without giving too much away I will say that Gils's journey back to the 1920's starts every night at midnight with the ride in a vintage Rolls Royce. Woody Allen has done a wonderful job with the casting of people like Zelda and F.Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Salvatore Dali and Ernest Hemingway.

I particularly liked Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway. I did not recognize him and he played a young Hemingway very well. Marion Cotillard was lovely as Adriana a lover of Picasso and someone who catches Gil's eye. I really enjoyed the 1920's part of this film. The rest which takes place in our time I could have done without. The characters were typical Woody Allen, shallow and self absorbed. Although I really love Woody Allen films and the concept of this one I think he could have just made a film set in the 1920' about these characters because I could not get enough of the scenes.

This is a great film to watch on a rainy afternoon. You will love the Paris scenes and the richness of the 1920's characters makes you want to spend an evening with them.

One last thing. I want to wish my beautiful daughter-in-law, Natasha (CLOSET OF AN ECLECTIC GYPSY) a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY today.

FEELING UNDER THE WEATHER & THE WEATHER.

Just a quick post today. I am feeling under the weather. I don't know if I had food poisoning last night but it was an awful night, I did not get to sleep until 4:00 and my ribs hurt so much today I feel like I have been punched.

It is so horrible, wet, cold outside today. We even had a little snow. That does not help the way I feel. If I could sit in the sun I am sure it would help. I think I am just going to go to bed and read and sleep and hope I feel better tomorrow. I hope you are all well and have sunny weather.

Images from PINTEREST.

TENTS.......NOT JUST FOR CAMPING.

When I was a little girl, my grandparents would take us up North for 2 weeks every summer. The first week was in a cottage the second was camping in a tent. I loved the tent. My grandfather would get one of those big, army-like canvas tents, you know the ones that filled the roof with buckets of rain and leaked. It came with a bag of poles and ropes and we waited patiently for what seemed like hours, for him to set it up. I remember the day we would go home was a full day of taking down and packing. It is one of my fondess memories.

I still love the idea of a tent. Not for camping but as a little retreat on our farm. I would absolutely adore an old circus tent, must be the gypsy in me. Of course these beauties would do just fine too.

Oh, look at these gorgeous things. I love that white one, just like a circus tent but more practical. And this fabulous striped on you can actually buy. I found it online at the THE GLAM CAMPING COMPANY

I have wanted a Yurt for a long time. It is tent-like but can be left up all year. Yurt means "Home". It is home for many Mongolian and Turkic people. I have watched programs where they have constucted Yurts and they go up quite easily. So roomy and comfortable.

I could really see myself with one of these at the back corner of our property. What a whimsical escape. I have an old brass bed just waiting for a place to be set up. That even looks like Rufus, it was meant to be. You can buy Yurts online.

Whether I go with a Yurt, an upscale canvas tent or a bohemian gypsy tent, I think I see a tent in my horizon.

Images from PINTEREST. Stop by my blog LUCYS GARDEN today to see some amazing Birdhouses. P.S. My Dashboard for Blogger has changed. Is it just me or has that happened to everyone? I don't like it and I would like the old version back, does anyone know if I can do that? I would appreciate any help.