Zissy's Zoo

 (More)

Crust

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Filling

1 1/2 cups solid pack pumpkin

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg, freshly grated

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

3 8-ounce packages cream cheese,cut into bits and softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. Maker's Mark

Topping

2 cups sour cream

2 tbsp. granulated sugar

1 tbsp. Maker's Mark

9 pecan halves for garnish

 (More)

it is extremely windy here tonight........well really all day and it is very cold. we refused to buy oil this year because it's just too damn expensive. my downstairs neighbors got it and it cost them over 600. and that is just like sticking a gun to our head to steal something from us. we were watching a news special tonight and electricity was the cheapest although it's still up there but it is the cheapest way to go this year but it's not always reliable so that has me a bit worried. because if the winds blow the electrical wires down then we are screwed. i guess i will have to look into another option hopefully before it happens.

keep warm all and thank you for stopping by and please comment.

Hugs, Zissy

reify
Pronunciation: /REE-uh-fy/
v : to treat or regard an abstraction as if it actually existed

 (More)

Maker's Mark Bread Pudding
Soak 12 slices of day-old white bread in 1 quart of milk.
Soak 1/4 cup of raisins in Maker's Mark
Beat 6 eggs, 2 cups of sugar, 2 tablespoons of vanilla, 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a baking dish. Add all the ingredients together and bake for 1 hour on 350 degrees.

 (More)

she is packing a punch around here today with rain and wind. i have several family members that was in her way and they suffered some property damage but thank goodness that all of them are physically safe and sound. i've heard a lot of fire trucks and sirens this morning so i can only image what is going on out there. on the news they are mentioning flood watches in various cities so please pray that every one gets through this storm without any drama. born and raised in florida i am truly used to all kinds of weather but this year is definitely something i have never experienced and i have more respect for mother nature than i ever had before. my thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by mother nature today.

, zissy

glenn and i vegged for a good part of the day yesterday and then we decided to get moving at around four pm hit the burlington mall. glenn wanted to pick up a few things and i'm always up to some window shopping and people watching. i think that people are so odd nowadays. when i am people watching i count how many times i make eye contact with someone and yesterday was a bust. for the time that i was people watching not one person's eyes met with mine. don't you think that is odd? i guess being from the south i take offense to this more than others and if that sounds arrogant then i apologize but that is my feeling on the matter. i like to greet folks with a smile and a hey but that ain't gonna get done in this day and time.

the only people that i caught greeting one another were the folks from the middle east. they walk through the mall with their hands locked behind their backs as they are taking a relaxing stroll. when another walker from the middle east passes by they nod at one another and i thought that to be so telling. i was raised on the butt end of that era and it saddens me that i have no one to share it with. my neighborhood was my family and we knew each other and i don't just mean as those folks down the street, no. i mean joe and edna up the street said hello today. we knew everything about one another because we cared about one anothers well being but that isn't the way today. i have lived in my neighborhood now for almost 4 years and i don't know half of my neighbors and that saddens me. i've tried but they are bitin' and i can't make them interact with me if they don't want it.

my son and i have touched on this subject and come to find out this is happening all over the country. my son moved away from the boston area to south carolina thinking that the south is friendlier but found out that isn't so. now we aren't sure if the ones he came into contact with are transplanted southerners or true southerners but they are just as nasty there as any big city.

forgive me but i want to know my neighbors. i want to neighbor and i think it's my god given right to do so............don't you? of course i have the right to want it and you have the right not to want it and that folks is what being an american is all about. FREEDOM

Hugs, Zissy

i just got done watching because of winn dixie and i can't get over how the writer described my younger childhood growing up in florida. it's like she was right there with me as i played and captured the way i was feeling then. of course the characters are different but some in the same. if you haven't seen the movie or read the book please check them out. i think i'm going to look for the book myself and bury myself in it for a weekend.

Hugs, Zissy

Makes 30 pieces

These wrapped candies are perfect treats for celebrating Halloween. Pepitas, or pumpkin seeds, are available hulled or unhulled at health-food stores. Paper candy cups are available at baking supply stores.

1 cup hulled pepitas 1/4 cup sugar 2/3 cup good-quality honey 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons melted for brushing 1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pepitas; toast, stirring constantly until seeds pop and become slightly golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. 2. Place sugar and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, about 3 minutes. Add pepitas, and continue cooking until temperature registers 285° on a candy thermometer, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in cold butter. 3. Let the mixture cool to 240°, about 4 minutes. Meanwhile, brush the inside of fifteen 1-inch-diameter black paper cups with melted butter, reserving 1 tablespoon. Spoon a scant tablespoon of the honey mixture into each cup. Brush a clean work surface with the remaining butter, and spoon the remaining honey mixture on it so mixture will continue to cool. 4. When remaining candy is stiff and cool enough to handle, about 6 minutes, cut into 3/4-inch pieces with a greased knife. Put one piece of candy in center of each of fifteen 4-by-4-inch pieces of orange cellophane wrap, gather cellophane at the top, and secure with a twist of a 4 1/2-inch piece of floral wire. Wrap the ends of floral wire around a skewer to form tendrils.

<this is just outside my office window>

it's such a beautiful day here in arlington but it's clouded by some troubles of our brothers and sisters in taunton about 50 miles away. if you haven't heard all of the reports then click on taunton here and it will take you to a news report. my prayers go out to all of them and hope that they will be able to go back to their homes soon. this has been a volatile weather season for the country so that worries me about our upcoming winter. i was hoping for a dry winter but who knows what is in store for us. well we can't worry about that right now let's just take it one day at a time and enjoy this beautiful fall season........my favorite time of year.

<bit sunny but you get the idea>

it's 8:50am and i have already been out and about. i had an early appointment so as usual i had to be even earlier because i don't like being late for anything. i was sitting there for a few minutes reading the paper when i heard the phone ring and the receptionist was saying well did you call her and then click was the next thing i heard. she went to her desk and put her things down and then came to the waiting room to ask if anyone was there to see jasmine and i said yes. she said well she just called in sick and if it would have been me i would have called you earlier at home so that you wouldn't have driven down here for nothing. i jumped up and said no problem and that things happen..........have a good day. hehehehe i bet she thought i was insane but truly things do happen and if your sick then your sick and there is no reason to get upset and ruin the rest of your day...........right?

well i'm off to have some breakfast and then get a few more z'sssss before my next appt. at 1pm. it's gorgeous out today with the sun shining and a nip in the air. others might say it's cold but i am loving it and wish it would stay just like this.

Hugs, Zissy

well it's mid october and most of the new line ups on tv have come and gone and yes i have my favorites. so far my tivo has been busy with these season passes: surface, invasion, criminal minds, ghost whisperer, curb your enthusiasm and medium. then of course while i'm in the other room playing on my pc i have in the background playing those shows that interest me but not enough to sit down in front of the tube to watch them. i'm a big law and order freak and i will watch them over and over no matter how many times i have seen them so with the new season i haven't been disappointed and i say keep em comin'.

 (More)

glenn and i went to mos today and had a ball. we've been here about 4 years and have never been and with all of this rain we figured it was the perfect day for it. we went to the hyden planetarium and watched countdown to supernova and it was fantastic. then we checked out a lot of the exhibits but you can't do it all in one day or atleast we couldn't. so we left at around 5pm and headed over to the cambridge galleria for an early dinner at the cheesecake factory and it was a fantastic meal. if nothing else you have to try the pumpkin-pecan cheesecake as it was to die for.

 (More)

 (More)

gosh if I don't get some sunshine soon i'm going to fall into the kingdom of gloom for sure. i think it's been a week now since we have seen the sun here and i for one miss it very much. of course i am enjoying the cool weather because we had a very hot summer but please let the sun peek through those clouds.

 (More)