SIMPLY SWEET ROLLS!

If you feel daunted by baking, come to the Silver Tea and Bake Sale on November 10th at the Bolivar United Methodist Church.  We will feature these rolls as well as many other delicious treats like Cocoa Drops, fresh baked bread, crescent rolls, and a whole list of other items you may purchase and freeze so you can serve them up at your Thanksgiving feast!

Simply Sweet Rolls - fresh! Can you smell that cinnamon?

This recipe came from Bill and Vanessa. We made tons of these to sell when we were raising funds for the Youth Group Ski Trips – many years ago. They are as delicious as they are quick and easy to make. I always have the ingredients on hand so I can make and take these any time. Just recently, I baked some up to share with a grieving family; a small bit of comfort - fresh baked breakfast rolls.

Baking yeast rolls isn’t as difficult as some people make it out to be. First, gather your ingredients. Mix everything up – I use my Kitchen Aid Mixer. Let the dough rise. Roll out the dough and spread the butter, sugar, and cinnamon mixture. Roll it up into a log, the slice into rolls. I use a bit of cotton yarn or unflavored dental floss to easily cut the dough. Place the rolls in the pans. Let the dough rise again. Bake and then drizzle while they are still warm from the oven to make a nice glaze. I did learn the hard way that you can put too much sugar and frosting on a sweet roll. Who knew? Now you do!

SWEET ROLLSMakes 16 large 3 cups warm water
¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 tbl. yeast
2 tbl. dry mil
3 cups flour
Mix well. Then add
4 cups flour – one at a time.
Let double.
Roll into rectangle. Spread with:
½ cup margarine (melted and cooled)
1 cup white sugar

2 tbl. Cinnamon
Roll into a log, slice, place rolls in pans, let rise, bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.
Ice with powdered sugar icing while still fresh from the oven.

SMOKED TOMATO SALSA

Fall weather makes me want to warm up from the inside out! Makes me want to eat something spicy like my salsa! Or making soup or chili using some of my salsa instead of plain old tomatoes.

 
At the request of my kids, I tried a new twist with my salsa…actually I finally got on board with the fad of smoked and roasted vegetables! We sliced up our tomatoes and put them in the smoker. Wow! What a wonderful flavor that incorporated into the finished product.


Smoked tomatoes

Make sure you keep your smoker at the correct temperature.



Starting with the gardening process, a hobby I enjoy because I get to be OUTSIDE, we till, plant, water, weed, and anxiously wait for tomatoes, onions, and peppers to appear and ripen. Why does that seem to take sooooo long? When we finally get to harvest the produce, I set aside a couple of hours to cook and can.

Collecting my fee!

Homemade salsa is a labor of love…and I enjoy sharing my labors – for a fee of course! My fee varies depending on who is asking. ;-) I delivered my smoked salsa in person, to Portland, Oregon. That fee included several days of visiting, camping, one river float trip, and LOTS of hugs!


The first step of canning is to make sure everything is clean.  Sterilize the jars and lids you will be using. Place the jar lids and rings in boiling water just before you are ready to fill the jars.

Use a jar lifter to put the jars in boiling water and to put the filled jars back in to process.

SALSA
Thanks for this recipe goes to Joni my long, lost neighbor and friend!


4-5 onions
2 bell peppers
9-11 jalapeno peppers with seeds
¾ cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
8 to 12-oz tomato paste (depending on your preference for thick salsa)
Approximately 22 medium tomatoes un-peeled
Chop in food processor until chunky.
I put all these ingredients in a 6-quart pan and put the tomatoes in last to fill the pan.
Bring to a boil and gently simmer 30-40 minutes stirring ocassionally.
Fill jars to within 1/2 inch. Clean the jar rims and place lids on just finger tight.
Process filled jars in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.



Stir up all the chopped ingredients and gently simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. Then fill the sterilized jars.


If you would like more detailed information on canning, the internet is full of helpful tips or you can invite me to your kitchen for lessons.



Salsa!



Me and My Shadow

Me and my shadow, (or should say I, my shadow and I) also known as JoPapa Bear, have driven and pedaled our way from "sea to shining sea" this year. It wasn’t a plan in January, but that's how it turned out!

This spring we had an opportunity to go to Florida. We dipped our toes in the Atlantic Ocean.

Windy Daytona Beach with Dave Esser and JoPapa.

We visited Cousin Dave, toured Daytona Beach and had a great time thanks to Dave's hospitality.  We met up with Susan Morales our "angelita" foreign exchange student (whom we hadn’t see in 12 years). She was in Orlando starting a honeymoon cruise. What a sweet hubby she married ! He took time from a honeymoon for a visit with us!

Susan has a happy reunion with PapaJoel. Thanks for taking time, Arturo!

We then rode our bikes into the sunset in the Keys, in the Everglades with alligators, and stopped at every beach along the coast of Florida.  We were surpised when we ran into our friend Shelby from Bolivar when we stopped to watch the dolphins.



Sunset melting into the water in Key West, Florida.




My Shadow on 7 Mile Bridge



It's a small world, Shelby! Who knows when you'll run into someone from home

He's just a little alligator coming up to say hello to me on my bike!

Of course we've spent time on the Ozark Greenways Trail.  One perfect day in August (excluding that little bike crash at the beginning) we rode to Springfield and back.  



Can you see me and My Shadow looking over the edge into the Sac River? No alligators, just fish, turtles and snakes.

In September, we drove to the Pacific coast for a visit with Joel Jr. and Mary in Oregon. We biked and ate our way around Portland. While we were there, we stayed at a lovely AirBNB hosted by Ada.  Next time we go to Portland, we'll be staying there again! The acommodations were great. Contact Ada at orangeada@gmail.com if you plan to visit Portland. 

We got to join The Joel and Mary's friends for a float trip on the Clackamas River. It was a perfectly warm day...to help keeps us warm from the cold river. Rapids, a rope swing, laughter!

While The Joel & Mary were being great wedding photographers on Saturday, we drove to Seattle. We had a lovely visit with Doug, Rita and nephew Mike. We went to a festival and toured the Mukilteo Lighthouse. Back at Doug's grill, we enjoyed a fabulous salmon dinner. 
And a free car wash! Thanks, Doug!!



Then we spent three days camping on the Oregon coast with Joel Jr and Mary. They cook some amazing meals over a campfire! I highly recommend their smoked nachos!

Me and My Shadow camping in Oregon. 

Me and My Shadow with Joel Jr and Mary at our campsite on the Oregon Coast.

Joel Jr - kite sailing on the beach. The kite is WAAAY up there!

Watching the sunset on the ocean off the Oregon coast.

After our fun camping adventure, we had to say goodbye to the kids.  We then drove to South Dakota where we rode 109 miles on the Mikelson Trail Trek.

Me and My Shadow at a rest stop on the Mikelson Trail Trek.

Me and My Shadow on the Mikelson Trail. No alligators here either, but we saw a large herd of buffalo!

The following weekend and closer to home, we fought the cold and wind (no I’m not whining, I’m bragging) as we pedaled to raise money for a cure for Multiple Sclorosis. We did the Bike MS ride from Olathe to Lawrence and back again. This was Joel's 29th year of riding to raise money for MS research.

See the frost on my glove? Me and my shadow are in the mirror.  I took the photo while freezing and pedaling but we didn't wreck this time!

We are blessed to have had the time and health to ride across this beautiful country. What a blast we’ve had! It's a great day for a bike ride and I’m always ready for more. Next weekend, we get to do the Dam Stockton Ride. We love to find new places to ride and enjoy. Thank you, God for my shadow who finds fun, sun and bicycle trails for us to ride!