Blizzard Not

We were not part of the Mid-Atlantic region that got blanketed with up to 2 feet of snow. Outside the F&P there was about 5 inches of fresh snow, enough to make for a beautiful winter scene, but thankfully not much to shovel. Unlike the snowfall from last weekend, this snow was wetter and glistened in the early Sunday morning sun. The penguins enjoyed the wintry weather more than the frogs who are awaiting the arrival of spring. We didn't tell them about the groundhog's prediction of 6 more weeks of winter because there's just no telling a frog anything.

Don't Like the Weather? Wait Awhile

SNOW - RAIN - WIND - SNOW

That's what's been happening outside the Frog and PenguINN over the past 24 hours. The weather here is changeable and that was really evident in the past 24 hours. Here's a rundown of our local weather: Friday morning and afternoon brought intermittent snow showers, then came the sleet and rain, overnight rain was accompanied by strong gusting winds which rattled windows through the night. When the wind subsided early Saturday, the rain continued. Parts of the F&P back yard flooded out after after 2 inches of rain.

The weather really got more interesting (some people would use a different term) about mid-day Saturday when light snow started to fall and fall - a wet and heavy snowfall that coated the trees, roadways, standing water and everything else.

It's still snowing at 6:30 p.m. Parts of the Mid-Atlantic area were slammed with up to 2 feet of snow from this storm. Last weekend was the first major snowfall in this area in years when over 9-1/2 inches fell and shut down local schools for 3 days (secondary roads are not plowed in this area).

Grenville and Beatrice have been hibernating all day - reading and enjoying hot chocolate and homemade soup and bread - it's what bears do best!

More weather updates to follow...

Soup's ON

This vegetable soup is light, hearty and flavorful with lots and lots (did I mention that?) of veggies. This recipe was perfect for a snowy day - like today with veggies from last season's F&P garden bounty. Some measurements are approximate based on other recipes. You can use your own best "guesses" and substitutions based on what's in your pantry or freezer.

Frog & PenguINN Vegetable Soup
Get out your favorite soup pot and put in 2-3 tbsp olive oil

Add and cook until tender
1 medium chopped onion
1 C carrots, cut up
1 C celery, cut up
2 C frozen tomatoes or a 28 oz can
1 C peeled and chopped potatoes
4 cans low sodium chicken and beef broth

Add seasonings to taste – some choices:
Salt & pepper
Oregano, Basil , Parsley, bay leaves

Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat, simmer until potatoes are tender (30 min.).

Extras to add – your choice(s):
Zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 C green beans cut into pieces or canned beans
Handful of spaghetti, broken up - any other short pasta

Simmer until pasta is cooked. Remove soup from heat. Stir in coarsely grated Parmesan cheese or grated Mozzarella - your choice.

Mangiare - Manger - Essen - EAT

When the Moon Hits Your Eye

Like a Big Pizza Pie...

Pizza is not easy to come by near the F&P. Sure there's a Pizza Hut on the nearby highway and a couple of other fast food places , but it's not really pizza. We like pizza and grew up eating real pizza, so the best thing is to make it fresh - including the dough. No, we didn't toss the dough in the air - maybe next time - as soon as Grenville practices a bit. This dough recipe makes two 12-inch crusts and is from Joy of Cooking.

Basic Pizza Dough
Combine in a large mixing bowl and let stand until yeast dissolves (about 5 min.)
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 1/3 C warm water
Add3 ½ to 3 ¾ C all-purpose flour
2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar (optional)
Mix by hand or slow speed for about 1 minute to blend ingredients. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or with dough hook on low to medium speed until dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer dough to bowl lightly coated with olive oil and turn once to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place (75° to 80° F) until doubled in volume (1 to 1 ½ hours).

1. Preheat oven to 475°F. Grease and dust 2 pizza pans with cornmeal.
2. Punch dough down and divide in half. Roll each piece into and ball, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 10-15 min. Prepare toppings.
3. Flatten each ball on lightly floured work surface into a 12-inch round, rolling and stretching dough. Place each dough circle on prepared sheet, dusted with cornmeal.
4. Lift edge and pinch to form a lip. Brush top of dough with olive oil - prevents toppings from making a soggy crust.Use fingertips to push dents in surface of dough to prevent bubbling and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
5. Top pizzas and bake for 15-20 minutes until crust is browned.

That's Amore...

Rise and Shine Campers!!!!!!

A new feature here at the F&P Farm is our oldest established floating contest. This contest will materialize now and then when we have something neat to ask or give away.

Today's contest is for a chance to plow snow with the tractor this Saturday, whether or not the weather permits. The question is in two parts:

The title of this post is a line from a movie staring Bill Murry and Andie MacDowell. When this line was spoken, what music was playing in the background, AND what time was it????????

REMEMBER, anyone connected with F&P Farm, F&P Productions, has ever seen, thought about seeing, or had nightmares about seeing this movie, whether directly, from an oblique angle, or if they snuck in the back door could be ineligible.....

Leave your answers in a comment.

Special Day

Birthdays are inevitable and unavoidable and that's a really good thing because the alternative is definitely not good news. As you may have read, Beatrice (that would be me) celebrated her birthday today. No need to mention which number. Today was a special day in many ways not because of candies, gifts, cake or candles - although we did light candles in the bedroom this morning with our coffee and will light more tonight. It was a special day because of the thoughtfulness of the many friends and family who sent cards and messages and sang over the phone. Special Thanks to one and all. It's nice to be remembered and very much appreciated. You are all loved.

The love of my life, Grenville, deserves a very special thanks because he makes me smile and laugh in spite of myself - not just on a birthday, but every day (not always an easy thing to do). He is always there with support, encouragement, and most of all his Love. Grenville is definitely the best friend and partner that any Princess could ever want. Every day with him is special and he is very loved very much by Beatrice who thinks he already knows that!

Live Blogging Part Duo

There is a minor detail about this "live blogging". You need a "live" net connection. But here on the Shore that is not always possible so here is our "Almost Live Blog" of Princess day.

9:00 am- On the road to Pocomoke for car service and other stuff.

9:45 am- We made it to Hertrich's and are waiting the verdict of why the gas pump nozzle doesn't shut off automatically. Not a good thing to have happen at the Explosive price of gas.

10.45 am- Service guy says that the tank stopper thing widget is messed up, and there is a "Technical Service Bulletin" on it. Now that in itself is not good. A regular Bulletin or even a Service Bulletin would be serious, but a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) is really not a good thing. Good news is the repair is covered by the warranty. Bad news is that it is covered for 3000 other folks ahead of us for the same problem, and the part is "unavailable" right now. BUT not all is lost. Our favorite dealer, Frostrom's, is right across the road and we have a discount coupon for an oil change. Off we go.

11:05 am- Got to Frostrom's a few minutes ago and they took the Liberty in for the oil change.

11:10 am- Service guy came out and said that it was time for the 30k mile service. We said "really?"!!!! He said YEP, they can do it right now and it will only be about $450 and about 2 hours. We said (gulp) OK, guess so.

1:30 pm- Service guy came out and said front end was out of alignment and wearing out the tires. Only $79 to fix that. We said, well I suppose we should, so go ahead.

2:15 pm- We are all done and after the discount coupons (remember the one for the oil change) our bill was $500+. We stepped back and reflected on this. We had started out this morning to have a problem, covered by warranty, taken care of. We didn't accomplish this. A $19.95 discount oil change has ended with a 30k mile checkup (Spring air put in tires, wipers lubed, muffler bearing greased) for just $500+. We were now safe for another 30K miles, except for the overflowing fuel problem which could be explosive and turn the just serviced car into a mass of molten metal and smoldering cinders. I hate reflections.

2:45 pm- Sitting down for lunner (lunch and dinner) at our favorite Chinese Buffet. Met Eden who is one year old and know how to feed himself. Only problem was hitting the moving mouth.

3:30 pm- Waddling out of our favorite Chinese Buffet. As always we have eaten to much so we need to walk to the Dollar Tree, Walmart, Lowes and from the feel of my stomach we may have to walk all the way home, ARRRRRUGGGGG!!!!

5:25 pm- Home at last. Lots of cards for the Princess to open and phone messages to listen to. Our favorite Possum Girl has dropped off fresh Baklava. All is well and good in the world (of the Frog and PenguINN at least).

Time for snuggies and then stuff we can't talk about.

******Live Blogging on Princess Day******

Welcome to our first attempt at "live blogging". I thought it appropriate to try this today so everyone could keep up with our doings on this very special day here at the Frog & PenguINN. So keep checking back during the day.

6:30 am- Woke to a horrible sound. Alarm clock going off. Got coffee for us. Beatrice opened cards and kissed Grenville.

6:46 am- Heard a "Happy Birthday to the Princess at the Frog & PenguINN" announced on the radio WOW!!!!!

7:43 am- Beatrice is opening gifts. Candle from Marshall's Island friend and sandals from Florida folks. We have to have an early breakfast and then off to Pocomoke for some car repairs and maybe lunner (lunch/dinner).

Not Possum Chili - Only Better

OK so the truth is there are no possums or muskrats in this chili recipe contrary to Grenville’s posting, just don't let him know; it will be our secret. The list of ingredients is long, but NO prepared chili seasonings here, just spices, peppers, tomatoes, chopped meat and sausage (optional). You can make it mild or as HOT as your taste buds can stand - add more chili power, crushed red pepper or maybe you like cayenne pepper or hot sauce - EXPERIMENT. This recipe serves 6-8 but that depends on HOW much chili is eaten. At the F&P we like leftovers cause there's nothing better than 2nd day chili...even without possums!

Note: When no fresh herbs are available, use dry herbs. Standard conversion is 2-3X amount of fresh to dry: 3 tbsp fresh for 1 tbsp dry. Add fresh herbs later in cooking, depending on the recipe. (Some fresh herbs, like rosemary, bay, sage are strong. Others, like tarragon, are best added near the end of cooking.)

Not Possum Chili - Only Better

3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chop coarsely
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, ¼ inch diced
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, ¼ inch diced
2 tbsp garlic, chop fine
1 lb sweet sausage, remove from casing (optional)
2 lb ground beef
½ C tomato paste
1 ½ tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more)
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 cans (20 oz each) canned tomatoes, drained - reserve juice
½ C dry red wine
1 tsp salt – or to taste
½ C chopped fresh parsley or cilantro – dry OK (see note)GarnishesGrated cheddar, Monterrey Jack, or whatever you prefer
Sour cream (plain yogurt if you prefer)
Thinly sliced scallions

1. Heat oil in large heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and bell peppers. Cook until soft (about 10 min.) Add garlic and cook 2 min. more.
2. Crumble sausage meat into pot and brown well. Stir to break up and cook 10-15 min. Add beef and cook until browned (15 min. more). Drain off most of fat.
3. Add tomato paste, cocoa powder, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Cook over low heat 2 min.
4. Add tomatoes with 1 C of reserved juices and red wine. Simmer uncovered over medium heat 15 min. Stir in salt and parsley/cilantro. Serve in bowls with choice of garnishes.

Candlemas Day 2010

Candlemas Day is finally here at the Frog and PenguINN. The day we find out IF winter is ended OR if we should keep those woollies ready. We trekked down to the beach on our beautiful creek only to find a surprising sight. Now we seldom find bears here on the Shore let alone one playing hockey. He told us that he hadn't seen the muskrats but if we found them, he was ready for breakfast. We decided to move on. Further down the creek we ran across a skating monkey. As you can see, our morning was going from strange to absurd.

The monkey told us the same story, but without the reference to breakfast.While it was a nice interesting walk, we had found no signs of our Muskrats, Mike and Mandy. On our arrival at the town beach all we found were ducks. Now everyone knows that talking to a duck is useless. All they can do is tell bad jokes and puns which just quacks them up.

Of course if you happen to have brought a cow along at least you could have some milk and quackers. So we dejectedly walked back knowing that we would have 6 more weeks of winter. On the bright side we had a big pot of 'Granny's' possum chili simmering (from the Clampett Family Cook Book), fresh Banana Bread, and the DVD of "Ground Hog Day" to watch all day long. But even better than that, tomorrow will be Princess Day!!!!!!!!