Happy Halloween

October party

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came,—
The Ashes, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The sunshine spread a carpet,
And every thing was grand;
Miss Weather led the dancing;
Professor Wind, the band....
The sight was like a rainbow
New-fallen from the sky....
~George Cooper (1840–1927), "October's Party," c.1887

you decide

  Aeolian written instructions

HA

December Recipes

Festive Fonts

1. The North Pole/Sultan  

2. Dear St. Nick  

3. Clair De Lune  

4. KG Christmas Trees

5. Marshmallow World  

6. First Noel/Fontleroy  

7. Christmas Lights/Christmas Lightness   

8. Ribbons & Bows/KB Ribbons and Bows

9. Feliz Navidad/Navidad  

10. Frosty the Snowman/Weehah  

11. Holly & Berries/Holly & Barrie   

12. Christmas & Go

13. Christmas  

14. Candy Lane/Pippi  

15. Vintage Christmas

16. Happy New Year/Happy New One  

17. Ornaments/Ornamental 

1. Lane Cane 

2. Christmas Card 

3. Reindeer Games 

4. Christmas Eve 

5.Stars/Glitter Promo

6. Grand Hotel 

7. Mikie’s Christmas List 

8. Janda Christmas Doodles 

9.Snowflake Letters 

10. Kringley Christmas

11. Christmas Font 

12. DH Snowflake 

13. Xmas Cartoon 

14.  Noyeux Joel

15. DK Father Frost

Please remember, these are for personal use only. You’ll find the authors TOUs in the zip files when you download.

SNOW CREAM

SNOW CREAM RECIPE:

1 cup of milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 cups clean, freshly fallen snow
INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix all ingredients into a large bowl.
Freeze for several minutes, if desired.
Serve!

Can't wait for the snow...

November Recipes

Coconut Iced Coffee

To Make  Iced Coffee
5 ounces cold brewed coffee
2 tablespoons chocolate sauce (optional)
1/3 cup coconut sweetened condensed milk (or regular sweetened condensed milk)
2-3 tablespoons coconut milk (or regular cream/milk)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Coffee Ice Cubes
5 cups brewed cold coffee
Coconut Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 can full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Sauce
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey (use brown rice syrup if honey is an issue)
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Coffee ice cubes
Pour the cold coffee into ice cube trays and freeze overnight. Store in the freezer until ready to use.

Coconut Sweetened Condensed Milk
Add the coconut milk, sugar and vanilla to a small sauce pot. Bring to a low boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer on low for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours. Once the milk has thicken and reduced by half remove from the stove and allow to cool. Pour the milk into a glass jar and store in the fridge until ready to use or up to two weeks.

Chocolate Sauce
Add the cocoa powder, honey, coconut milk, salt, chocolate and coconut oil to a small pot and place over medium heat. Slowly melt the chocolate and milk into each other. Continue stirring until they become a smooth sauce. Remove from the heat and store in the fridge until ready to use. Re-warm on the stove or in the microwave.

To Make ONE Iced Coffee
Mix together the sweetened condensed coconut milk, coconut milk and vanilla until smooth. Dip a large tall glass into 1 tablespoon chocolate sauce. Drizzle the remaining chocolate up and down the sides of the glass. Place a few coffee iced cubes in the glass. Fill the glass with coffee. Pour in the milk mixture and use a spoon to mix it all together. Place a straw in the glass and drink the coffee!

Halloween

Halloween
[hal-uh-ween]
noun
the evening of October 31.....observed especially by children in costumes who solicit treats, often by threatening minor pranks.

October Recipes

Savory Slow Cooker Chicken

2 1/2 lbs chicken pieces, skinned

1 lb. fresh tomatoes, chopped or 15-oz. can stewed tomatoes
2 Tbsp. white wine
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

1. Combine all ingredients except broccoli in slow cooker.
2. Cover. Cook on Low 8-10 hours.
3. Add broccoli 30 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-5 quart

Per serving:
Calories - 230, Total Fat - 7g; Sodium - 427mg, Carbs - 3g, Sugars - 7g, Protein - 30g

from the Fix-It and Forget-It Diabetic Cookbook

A new day

Today is a new day.

Make the most of it.

Tell someone you love them.

Smile at someone.

Give a hug.

Hold a hand.

Or just listen for a moment and be a friend.”

                                                           ~unknown

Dill & Sea Salt Roasted Chickpeas

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
Dill, to taste

Heat oven to 400°F. Line cookie sheet with foil. Pat chick peas dry with paper towel; place on cookie sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
Roast 35 to 40 minutes or until crispy.
Pour chick peas into medium bowl. Sprinkle with more sea salt, and dill; toss to coat.

Easy Crock Pot Orange Chicken

4-5 Boneless Chicken Breasts - Thawed3/4 cup Orange Marmalade3/4 cup of BBQ sauce2 tbsp. Soy Sauce

Cook the Chicken in the crock pot for 3 hours - coveredDrain the Juice from the Crock PotMix the BBQ sauce, Orange Marmalade, and Soy SaucePour Mix over chicken, cover and cook on high for an additional 30 minutes.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups pumpkin seeds
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp seasoned salt

Remove seeds from pumpkin.
Wash completely.
Dry using paper towels.
Lay flat on cookie sheet and allow seeds to dry overnight.
Mix pumpkin seeds in bowl with olive oil and seasonings.
Stir until completely combined.
Pour seeds onto a cookie sheet and bake in a 250 degree oven for 60-90 minutes.
Turn seeds every 15 minutes.
Cook until desired brown-ness.
I like ours crispy!

 Enjoy!

8 things you didn't know about the autumnal equinox

If you've ever wondered what hamsters and the French Revolution have to do with the first day of fall, we've got the answers.

The Northern Hemisphere will bid an official farewell to summer on the evening of Sept. 22 and welcome in the fall. At precisely 10:29 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the sun will be directly in line with Earth's celestial equator (the equator projected onto the sky,) and day and night will last roughly the same amount of time. From there, the days will gradually grow shorter until the winter solstice, at which point they will begin their journey back in the unending cycle that marks our four seasons.

Welcome to the autumnal equinox.

While most of us realize that this special September day marks the start of sweaters-boots-and-pumkin season (known to some as “fall”), there’s much more to know about the date than first meets the eye. Consider the following facts:

1. The term equinox comes from the Latin “aequus” for "equal" and "nox" for "night," since the equinox (both in the spring and the fall) is the point where day and night are equal.

2. That said, day and night equality is not exactly the case. While the very center of the sun does indeed set 12 hours after it rises, the day begins when the upper edge of the sun reaches the horizon (which happens a little before the center rises), and it doesn't end until the entire sun has completely set, explains The Old Farmer’s Almanac — meaning that the days are still a bit longer. It is a few days after the September equinox when the span of equal day and night occurs.

3. While the autumnal equinox usually falls on Sept. 22 or Sept. 23 every year, sometimes it goes askew. In 1931, it fell on Sept. 24. Why? Because the planet takes 365.25 days to travel around the sun, meaning that every so often, the Gregorian calendar and the sun’s orbit collaborate to push the equinox back a day — but not very often. The next fall equinox slated to happen on Sept. 24 will not be until 2303.

4. The full moon nearest the autumnal equinox is known as the "harvest moon." During this time of year the moon rises earlier in the evening, allowing farmers to work further into the evening. In years when the harvest moon occurs in October, it is called the “full corn moon” because it often coincides with the corn harvest.

5. Along with the vibrant flood of fall leaves ushered in by the September equinox, the sky often has a colorful display of its own. According to NASA, during the fall, geomagnetic storms happen twice as frequently than the annual average, meaning that it is prime time for viewing the aurora borealis.

6. Brilliant leaves and geomagnetic storms aren’t the only things that ramp up around the time of the autumnal equinox. The creature world responds as well. Case in point? Animals at high latitudes go through biological changes with the change of seasons. Take for example the male Siberian hamster, a rodent that experiences a swelling of the testes up to almost 17 times their normal size when the days begin to get shorter.

7. Between the years of 1793 to 1805, the fall equinox was the official start of each new year according to the French Republican Calendar. The French monarchy was abolished one day prior to the equinox in 1972, so the revolutionaries designed their new calendar to kick off on the equinox. By law, the beginning of each year was set at midnight, beginning on the day the autumnal equinox fell at the Paris Observatory.

8. The spring and fall equinoxes are the only two instances during the year in which the sun rises due east and sets due west. So if you aren’t that sure which way is which, use the equinox to note where the sun is rising and setting, set your inner compass, and never get lost again!

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-weather/stories/8-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-autumnal-equinox

New peanut butter sniff test used to detect Alzheimer's

Researchers find that patients with Alzheimer's disease tend to lose their sense of smell in this nostril.

Think you may be in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease?  Crack open your cupboards and break into a jar of peanut butter.  It's the test that researchers have found may help to indicate early stages of the disease.

Researchers at the University of Florida used peanut butter in a recent study to determine patients’ loss of smell in one nostril compared to the other.  They found that patients who were experiencing the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease tend to lose their sense of smell in one nostril more frequently than the other.  Which one?  The left.  

It turns out, peanut butter is what researchers refer to as a "perfect odorant."  In other words, it's a scent that is detected exclusively by the olfactory nerve.  In contrast, most other smells are also noted by the trigeminal nerve.  This nerve plays a key role in sensations that are felt in the face.  But when it comes to Alzheimer's disease, it's all about the olfactory nerve.  Dysfunction in this nerve is a good indication of degradation occuring elsewhere in the brain.

In other words, a problem here indicates other problems that might be going on in the brain.

Read more: http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/blogs/new-peanut-butter-sniff-test-used-to-detect-alzheimers#ixzz3E5nhDjyD

Pancake Mix Recipe

The *Best* Instant Pancake Mix Recipe

yield: 8 CUPS OF MIX

prep time: 10 MINUTES

cook time: 0 MINUTES

total time: 10 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

6 1/3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1 1/3 cups instant dry milk powder
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Measure all ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to combine. Store in airtight containers before using.

Instant Pancake Recipe:
2 cups pancake mix
1 large egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup water

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Fry on lightly greased griddle until golden brown.

www.laurenslatest.com