...a September Birthday...

...we have a lot of September Birthdays in my family...and so the Man has one every year about this time...

...here he is opening his pressie...

...I may have mentioned here before that the Man does most of the vacuuming chez Affectioknit...I (sort of) joke that I can count on one hand the number of times I've vacuumed since I've been married...

...so Scout and I thought that a little robotic vacuum cleaner would be the perfect gift for him...here he is at his docking/recharging station in the guest room...he's so smart that he finds his way back there after cleaning...

...we've named him Wall-E...'cause he hugs the walls so well...isn't he cute...he beeps and tells you if he gets in a jam...his little screen says 'please clear my path'...basically we've only tried the 'clean house' function...but we'll get around to setting up specific time and area cleanings soon...

~Have a lovely day!

...clear the deck...

...we've been having absolutely gorgeous fall weather here...highs in the 60s and 70s...and crisp clear air...

...so we decided to tackle cleaning the deck...

...it was a partly cloudy day...so some of the photos are in sunshine and some are in shadow...

...first we cleared the deck...haha...

...then...following the directions on the deck cleaner...we rolled it on with a roller and let it sit for 20 minutes...

...then we scrubbed with brush...

...and broom...

...then we brought in the heavy equipment...a power washer borrowed from a dear friend...

...and started spraying...

...it was kinda fun...but a little bit tiring...as all things so repetitive are...

...so we took turns...maybe you can see the difference in the washed and the unwashed boards here...

...and in no time (several hours really)...we are all ready for a new coat of stain/paint...and I hope to devote about an hour a day to that project over the next week or so...

~Have a lovely day!

...Cheese and Pickle...

...y'all know how I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE my detective shows...

...ONE of my current faves is Endeavour...he's the young Inspector Morse...so we know his name...

...and his DI is Fred Thursday...and he has a predictable lunch packed each day by his wife...and at one point they are in a pub...where it must be (have been maybe) common to take your own sammie...that would never happen here...but apparently they buy a beer/ale to go with their sandwich and that's ok...and he makes the comment that it's Wednesday so his sandwich must be 'Cheese and Pickle'...

...well...I thought that was an odd combo...so of course I did a little research...and it's quite a common part of a ploughman's lunch...

...and since our local Kroger has an extensive International Foods section...I didn't want to risk using just any ole American pickle...so I got Branston Pickle...

...and some Daiya sliced cheddar...and a nice homemade rye...

...and spread on some Branston Pickle...

...and there you have it...my Cheese and Pickle lunch...and since you can probably count on one hand the number of beers/ales I've drank in my entire life...I had mine with ginger ale...haha...

...it was delicious...and I'll definitely have it again...

...have you ever had a Cheese and Pickle sammie?...

~Have a lovely weekend!

...Pumpkin Spice...so nice...

...it seems we're all about vegan fall food here...

...no idea why this flavor is limited...I'd sure buy it year round...

...with a single serving gingerbread for brekkie...

...what fall foods are you enjoying/craving?...

~Have a lovely day!

...Vegan 7 Up Biscuits...

...another one of the recipes in my box is for 7 Up Biscuits...and I use my Homemade Vegan Bisquick for it...it's a southern classic...and you'd think they'd be really sweet...but they're not...really...they're just lightly sweet...they are super easy to whip up...

...heat your oven to 425° and melt your Earth Balance in a 9 x 13 pan...

...measure out your homemade biscuit mix...

...pour in your 7 Up...

...and mix in your vegan sour cream...the dough will be soft and sticky...

...turn it out on a floured surface and knead it a few times...

...pat it into a rectangle...

...and cut into biscuit sized squares...you could...of course...cut these into circles...but we always leave them in squares to distinguish these from 'regular' biscuits...

...place them top side down in the melted Earth Balance in the pan...and then turn them over...

...bake about 15 minutes until golden...

...they're nice and light and fluffy...and they're so good hot from the oven for breakfast...but food doesn't really photograph all that well in the predawn...does it?...

...original recipe...

~~VEGAN 7 UP BISCUITS ~~

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups Bisquick...make your own recipe here
1 cup vegan sour cream...Tofutti brand is quite good in this recipe...or you can make your own...recipe here...
1 cup 7-up
1/2 cup melted Earth Balance

DIRECTIONS:

Melt Earth Balance in 9 x 13 pan. Preheat oven to 425°.
Mix Bisquick, vegan sour cream and 7-Up. Knead dough a few times, it will be soft. Pat or roll out. Cut biscuits into squares. Place top side down in melted Earth Balance, then turn over. Bake at 425° about 15 minutes until tops are golden brown.

...you can tell that the person writing this knew I was a new cook...

~Have a lovely day!

...Majorette Festival...

...we spent a chilly fall evening outside...

...watching some bands...

...our band is just awesome...

...I love all their perfect formations...

...a little video...

Previous years:

2012
2013

~Have a lovely day!

...Homemade Vegan Bisquick Recipe...

...before I was married...my sweet MIL had all of her friends write up recipe cards for me (just plain old 4 x 6 index cards actually)...and she gathered them into a box and gave them to me...I've shared a few of them here before...

Hot Fudge Cake
Golden Layer Cake...this one even has a photo of the box...
Celery Soup Chicken Casserole

...and this is one of the recipes...

...I don't do it exactly like the recipe...I usually use my trusty little Emmie...food processor...

...so I don't sift the ingredients together...I just put them directly into the processor...

...slice up some cold Earth Balance...or measure out the coconut oil if your using that...

...and put it on top of the flour...

...put on the lid...

...and give it a whirl...

...I store mine in a jar in the fridge...

Homemade Vegan Bisquick Recipe

6 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 cup cold coconut oil or Earth Balance

Measure flour, baking powder and salt and sift together

Cut in coconut oil or Earth Balance with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles lumpy cornmeal...but I often use the food processor for this step...

This stores well in the refrigerator for quite a while and it's handy to have for making biscuits in a hurry...

~Have a lovely day!

...drawer liners...

...I used this stripey cloth to make some neat drawer liners...

...no pattern....I just removed and cleaned the drawers...and did a rough fit cut by draping the fabric over the drawer and cutting around it...

...then I folded under and ironed two sides...

...and stitched those two sides...

...then I slipped that corner into the corner of the drawer...

...to get the final measurement...

...and then turned under and stitched the other two sides...for a perfect fit...

...and then put everything neatly back into the drawer...

...I just love accomplishing little things like that...and I love having washable drawer liners...

...what did you accomplish over the weekend?...

~Have a lovely day!

...go here for the original Spice Drawer Overhaul...that was in North Dakota...so you can see our 'system' is still in place...