Sunday, July 21, 2013

Brain Puke XVIII

Lots o shit swirling around in the toilet bowl that is my brain. Let's capture some of it here.

It's been hot as fucking hell for a fucking week now.  My energy is zapped.  Fuck you, global warming!

My boss gave me a 5% raise!  Spouse's boss gave him a 4.5% raise!  Yeah, we still in the 47% though.  Fuck you, Mittens Romney!

I still wanna punch George Zimmerman in his ugly face over and over and over again.  Fuck you, Florida!

OK, enough rants; on to happy things!

I just had vanilla frozen yogurt with fresh berries (straw, blue, black, rasp) for lunch at menchie's.


Miss Nyla sitting pretty on the sunporch.  She has her eye on some squirrels.

  
Thanks to Ron and RJ, I can now label this as a butterfly bush  (heh heh heh, I said "bush").




Wild strawberries.



 Belladonna (no sign of Stevie Nicks though).


 Black-eyed Susans (why not Gertrudes?  or Millicents?)

Spouse's first garden pickings; cherry tomatoes!  45 of them so far!


And it would not be a blog entry without something from the kitchen, right?


Since NJ (pronounced joisey or joy-zee) blueberries are in season (and cheap) right now, I made a blueberry cake.  Spouse doesn't really like blueberries, but he loved this cake!  And damn if blueberries are not good for ya too!

What's in it?  Flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, milk, eggs, butter, blueberries.

What's NOT in it?  High fructose corn syrup, artificial anything, preservatives, additives.  You can pronounce all the ingredients without needing a degree in chemistry.  BOO YAH!

Here is the recipe for all my devoted followers (you know who you are):

1-1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup + 2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 stick butter (melted)
1 pint blueberries (or raspberries or blackberries)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.   Spray an 8 x 8 pan with cooking spray.

Dump all ingredients (except berries) into a bowl and mix well.

Gently fold berries into batter.  Pour batter into pan.  Sprinkle batter with 1/4 cup sugar.

Bake 45 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Your oven, YMMV.

29 comments:

  1. You know that I just cannot resist any pussy pics, so I was forced to open up your post here - though I'm not complaining.
    Bet Nyla is wishing she could take her coat off.

    We've also been enduring TWO weeks of sky-high temps, though by your standards they are probably temperate. Nights are the worst - in the high teens or even 20F. I've been getting out of bed at 4 a.m. for the last few days to give all the pussies (five at the moment) early brekkers. But they don't mind. there's no point in lying longer in bed sweltering, while wishing one could sleep when that only makes it worse.
    I can't remember a hot spell like this since 1976 - when you were just a wee little bonny child.

    Not sure if you're cheering or moaning at you salary rise(s). All public sector increases have been limited to a max of 1% for three years now over here - and the private sector is asked to follow suit. (And do they? You guess!)

    Wild strawberries? Ah, Ingmar Bergman. Now you're talking!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was 22 years old in 1976, out country's bicentennial year. no child I!

      cheering the salaries; norm over here is 2-3%. but increases do not make us part of the rich 1%. just gives us a bit more for groceries/petrol.

      this past week, days have been over 95F, nights have been between 85-89F. over 70% humidity also. I have been having trouble breathing the bad air, so I stay inside the air conditioned car/home/office.

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    2. OMG! Such heat that Satan himself would have approved. We've been basking in a balmy 85F here today - tomorrow supposed to be even hotter, then possibly a welcome breakdown, with thunderstorms. No way do I envy you.

      Btw: I was trying to flatter you re your age. I'd calculated myself what you were in 1976 but I like to imagine you running around with ribbons in your hair and being mischievous, though lovable.

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    3. I graduated college may 1976. I had dyed my hair blond, I was 120 pounds, and I had been known to smoke a cigarette or two. now I dye the hair red, I am more than 120 pounds, and I don't smoke. time...marches...on! :)

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    4. Shush! You're spoiling my dreams of your 'innocent' past!

      Btw: It probably doesn't matter now as you'll have forgotten about it, but in my first comment above, night-time temps have been 20C, which = 70F. Confused my Cels with Fahrs!

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    5. morning lovey! 3:30a here, 78F degrees, about to go back to bed for a few more hours. smooches!

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  2. MMMMMMM cake....mmmmm

    Yes, we are baking here in RVA too...arghh

    Smooches!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will post the recipe, since I know you and jeff like to cook. so does bob. smooches, honey! :)

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  3. Yes, that cake must be really, really good. Ms Nyla sure is beautiful!

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    Replies
    1. MEOW PURR says nyla. ~^^~

      as I just said to kelly above, I will post the recipe for my adoring fans!

      Delete
  4. It is hot here, too. I spend my time slowly walking between air conditioned spaces: office, truck, house. And I am parking as close to stores as I can so as not to melt into the asphalt on approach! HAHAHAHA

    I've gotten one 2% raise in 5 years. It sucks, but at least I have a job that is pretty secure.

    The tomatoes here are awful in the stores. Need to brave the heat and go to a farmers market. The cake looks AWESOME!!!

    Peace <3
    Jay

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. home grown is better than store bought. spouse has peppers growing also, but no ripe ones yet.

      I will publish the cake recipe for my baking public! smooches; don't melt!

      Delete
  5. I like the happier Brain Pukes!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. doesn't everyone?!? but I just HAD to let the rants out! blame it on the heat!

      keep watching this space for the cake recipe!

      Delete
  6. Blueberries now? When I lived in midwest I thought I recall them as a Memorial Day thing. Maybe I am remembering incorrectly. It's easy to lose track of season in the desert.

    I empathize with everyone back east on the killer temps. We are kind of used to the heat so it is not as much a struggle. Now that monsoons are in full display the temps have softened a bit. Humidity is up in the 70% range now; more comfortably than yours I imagine, (though it feels like breathing pudding to us).This is a rare summer when I'd rather be here,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. for us, strawberries around memorial day, blueberries for 4th of july. all from joy-zee! peaches will be next, then apples.

      yep, you are better off in phoenix. sux to be us right now. :(

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  7. How about this heat wave? I've had enough. Trapped in the house. Outside feels like someone left the oven door open after baking a cake.
    That delicate lavender flower in your garden dear is a butterfly bush. They seed easily. Perhaps your neighbor had a butterfly bush and some of the seeds ended up in your backyard.
    That blueberry buckles looks mighty good as does Nyla. I just made me a batch of cream of zucchini soup. I would make zucchini bread but it's too damn hot!

    Have a great week.

    Ron

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks, ron, for identifying the mystery flower of the day.

      SOUP?!? on a hot day?!? you is crazy you is! :)

      PURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR says nyla. ~^^~

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  8. Its been super hot here too, dahling. Love spouse's cherry tomatoes! Your blueberry cake looked really good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. more cherry maters a-comin' on the single plant! he has gotten more cherry tomatoes than large tomatoes so far (45 to 2). and no peppers yet.

      so I posted the recipe; your spouse should bake some for you! (hint hint) ;-)

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  9. I think that plant is a butterfly bush.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ron said the same thig, so it MUST be true! I feex! :)

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  10. I can always count on your for sublety and circumlocution. hohoho

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Is "hohoho" one of your newly learned words?

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    2. spo's "hohoho" reminds me of the jolly green giant.

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  11. Why are you guys north of the Mason-Dixon line so hot?? Here, in Wilmington NC, we have had a couple of 90 degree days, but most have been in the 80s. Lots of rain, though -- almost daily!

    We are still getting NC blueberries, and now getting SC peaches. Oh, they are so good this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. no rain honey. it either goes south or us or north of us. we need a damn good rainstorm to clear out the bad ozone.

      ummmmmmmmmmmmmm, blueberries and peaches! :)

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  12. congratulations on the pay rise, great photos and you sure are not alone in wanting to punch the lights out of that Zimmerman chap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. well well well, a new boyfriend! welcome; I love all my boyfriends equally!

      how did you find me? thanks for the compliments; check back here often!

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