Crumble or Bar - that is the question

Recently a friend treated us with chocolate chip crumbles and they were VERY good. Of course I ventured out on the net to find a recipe.

There was one saying:
Chocolate Chip Crumble Bar (> see here)

It even showed a photo of a square and it looked exactly like the one we ate. So far, so good.
The girl's recipe showed the following ingredients list:

2 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter
2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup for the topping, 1 cup for the batter)
1 egg
1 cup milk (I used fat free)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Way too much fluid, I thought. That could definitely NOT be a CRUMBLE.
True enough, when I tried, the batter turned out very soupy, so much that I added another cup of flour before pouring the mass into a pan.
The result was cake-like, though very tasty.
When I went back to her site, I found out that the girl had made the same experience: Soft texture, not a crumble.
It didn't say where she know she got the recipe from?
I should have red the text first...*-(
A bar it was. Not what I was looking for, NOT a CRUMBLE.

Next I did what I SHOULD have done in the first place, I went and asked my friend for her recipe: (see below)

NOW we were talking CRUMBLES ! 

Ingredients:

1 cup ( 2 sticks ) unsalted butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup walnuts, chopped fine

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Blend together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and flour in a bowl. ( a pasty blender works well). The mixture will be crumbly.

Stir in the chopped walnuts and chips. Pour into an ungreased 9''x9'' pan, and press it firmly into place, using the bottom of a glass or metal cup.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes in a 350° F oven until brown.
Cut, while still warm, into 24 - 30 squares. A pizza wheel or very sharp knife works best.

These squares are very rich and very good!

That's what we had this afternoon with coffee.

1 square ca 100 calories

Pickled Baby Corn and Nature's Work

I guessed right, the corn this year is not gonna get big and ripe in time. The best thing to do is to harvest the tender baby corn and pickle them like cucumber. My father did that, I remember, and they turned out very good. 

The smallest corn with the still soft core are best. Boil them for about 10 minutes in a brine made of water,  vinegar, sugar and herbs.
I used the leftover brine of an empty jar of "bread and butter chips".

 Within a couple of weeks they will be delicious.

This way nothing goes to waste!

When we walked the beach today I was amazed how it got changed from last year.
Sand is gone at one place and has piled up at another.
A collage shows the difference. The photos on the right are taken last year, the ones to the left are taken today.

Project: Square or Linear?

If you wonder what I have been up to lately - here is the my newest project: nothing more than the re-arrangement of my vegetable garden. 

We had some grey and cool days last week and they seemed perfect for heavy garden work. This is a view of my veggie garden taken in early July 2013.

Now the fence was been taken down and the wooden poles came out. 

While my dear hubby was busy making two new frames, I pondered if my square-formed garden was the thing to continue with. 

I moved the new frames around and looked at it from different angles.

Finally the decision was to arrange the new frames in one line with the old ones. 

If seen from the house, the street and from upstairs, it looks way nicer that way than having the garden plot "slap dap" sitting in the middle of the lawn.

The following photos show what I have in my mind. 

Right: the lay of the square garden, left: the lay with the future linear garden. Viewed from upstairs and from the road. 

No blockage, just open lines and views. That's my thought anyway. 

J.P. wondered who would ever look out of the window upstairs? 

Well, I do for example! 

To me it always looked odd and now I had the chance to do something about it and the new arrangement will look way more balanced. 

There.

Next came several days with pushing the wheel barrel to and fro between a heap of soil and the new frames until both were filled up.

No, this is not an alien, it is I, in my garden attire. :))

A peek into my tomato patch. There are still many green tomatoes coming up the next couple of weeks. The potato harvest was good. Enough for two month or until we go south again. Spring was too cold and the corn got a late start.
Well, worst case they will make a nice decoration for Thanksgiving Day.

I like to mix flowers and vegetables. As the harvesting goes on and the spaces open up there are still pretty flowers to look at until the frost takes them down.

If I am not here - I am in the garden!
Thanks for visiting!

Canine Body Language

While preparing dinner today there was a low whimpering nearby.

Turning my head I observed our dog Molly laying on the floor. 

-Dogs are laying on the floor all the time.-

Thinking nothing of it I turned back to my duties. 

Some minutes later, another whining. This time it was LOUDER! 

Finally, it hit me, Molly was trying to tell me something VERY IMPORTANT. 

Look at her body language....

In a perfect angle towards the empty food dish. 

"HEY - mom! Will you take a look. It is EMPTY!"

Obediently I went and filled the dish with her dog food. 

Molly went and checked it out.

"Naaah - that's not good enough, mom!"

I topped it up with some cooked potatoes and carrots.

Another check was made.  

"OK. That's fine, thanks." 

Happy dog.

Afterwards: Nap time. ZZZZZ

The End