Monday, April 6, 2009

Timely 17th century quote on taxation by Jean-Baptiste Colbert . . .

"The art of taxation consists of so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest amount of feathers while promoting the smallest amount of hissing."

A very timely quote by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, French Economist and Minister of Finance under King Louis XIV of France 1619-1683.

Some things never change, do they? I appreciate the humor of this man in tights!

Image from one of my antiquarian prints.



Content in a Cottage

Life's Little Instruction Book, pages 62 + 63 . . .

...To be continued...



Content in a Cottage

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Old original Hershey's Fudge Recipe . . .

Yesterday I made fudge and it turned out exactly like the stuff I used to make when I was 12. My car is in the shop and I needed a recipe using ingredients in my pantry. After a lot of internet hunting I located the original recipe that used to be printed on the Hershey's cocoa box. It is great because it uses 1/3 less sugar than any other fudge recipe on the web. Here goes:

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Hershey's)
2 cups white sugar (next time I will use even less)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (I used Maple Syrup)
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, stir together the cocoa powder, sugar and salt.
Mix in corn syrup and milk until well blended.
Add butter, and heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C) on candy thermometer, or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. Stir occasionally.
Remove from heat and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture is thick and loses its gloss. Stir in vanilla, and pour into a buttered 9x9 inch baking dish. Let cool until set. Cut into small squares to serve.

I beat it too long and it ended up in a mound but it was still delicious. Next time I am going to decrease the sugar to 1-3/4 cups or maybe even 1-1/2 cups. I didn't have any light corn syrup so I used real Maple syrup. Worked fine. I didn't even have any milk so I used powdered milk to make 1 cup. Worked fine. Next time I will use condensed milk. Next time I might add a glob of peanut butter at the end too. Yum!



Content in a Cottage

Willa Cather quote about land ownership . . .

Willa Cather, American Novelist 1873-1947



Content in a Cottage

Friday, April 3, 2009

Only Robinson Crusoe Had Everything Done By Friday

"Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday." Author Unknown



Content in a Cottage
Click orange square to subscribe via feed reader or email.

Garden Quote by Rudyard Kipling . . .

For my own purposes I am rewriting this quote by Rudyard Kipling.

"Gardens are not made
By sitting in the shade behind a computer."

I am getting behind in my outdoor work because of the rain. If the truth be known, I am behind in my inside work too. So it's off to the salt mines for me on Saturday.



Content in a Cottage

Alice Waters | The Art of Simple Food + Video . . .

If you missed the recent segment on 60 Minutes you can watch it here. Sorry about the advertisement at the beginning. Alice Waters has been preaching the virtues of cultivating fresh food for decades. As Lesley Stahl reports, this world-renowned chef and restaurateur hopes a slower approach to the food we eat will keep us healthier and greener.



Content in a Cottage

Thursday, April 2, 2009

My dog is worried about the economy . . .

My dog Webster is very worried about the economy.

His wet dog food is up to $1.00 a can.

That's $7.00 in dog money!




Content in a Cottage

UDDERLY Unstable American Ecomomy . . .


OLD AMERICAN ECONOMY

You had two cows.
You sold one and bought a bull.
Your herd multiplied, and the economy grew.
You sold them and retired on the income.



NEW AMERICAN ECONOMY (SINCE 2003)
You have two cows.
You force one of them to produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyze why the cow has dropped dead.
You sell the other cow, and start buying dead ‘bulls’ in the expectation that they will be reborn someday.


The solution seems pretty simple, doesn't it? I don't think it takes a genius to figure out how to fix it, do you?



Content in a Cottage

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Birthday Boy ~ He's no April Fool . . .


Happy Birthday Webster!

Today is Webster's approximate birthday. He was 9 weeks old when I adopted him from the animal shelter seven years ago. I had to work backwards for his birth date. Today he's 49 in people years but he still acts like a pup.

I "baked" some homemade treats for him. Made up the recipe and cooked these little "silver dollar pancakes" on the panini press. He would flip over backwards if he could. They are really good...like miniature hoe cakes.

I used 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup dry powdered milk, one egg, about 1/4 cup olive oil and enough soy milk to make a stiff batter. I dumped in some Bacos for flavor. I would have used beef or chicken broth for the liquid but I didn't have any on hand. I dropped small spoonfuls on the panini press preheated to its hottest setting. They were done in an instant ... watch the steam ... you'll know.

I ate a couple myself. They're quite good and organic too.



Content in a Cottage

Life's Little Instruction Book, pages 58 + 59 . . .



...To be continued...



Content in a Cottage

April Food Day -- Bloggers Fighting Hunger

Please help us fight hunger in the US by supporting either your local food bank, or Feeding America, a national food bank with 200 members across the United States.

Click on the April Food Day image above and you will be redirected to the page with a secure link for donating to the humanitarian organization FeedingAmerica.org


Every dollar you contribute provides 7 meals or 10 pounds of food. A $25 gift provides 175 meals. If each of us who has a blog writes something on April 1 and asks our readers to contribute, imagine the difference we could make in our communities.

If you would like to help, copy my post or write a similar article on your blog April lst, and ask your readers to donate to Feeding America.

Provide a link to the original blog, April Food Day
, and they will link back to your blog and to your post.

Thank you on behalf of America's hungry.




Content in a Cottage

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Push aside the curtain | Henry David Thoreau quote . . .



I thought the blue and white checked curtains in my bedroom were the perfect illustration for this quote by Henry David Thoreau. Most of the walls surrounding us we put there ourselves.



Content in a Cottage