Red, Runners, Rodents and A Recipe!

Isn't he/she just the chubbiest?  I have a love/hate relationship with these creatures.  I find them very beautiful and I enjoy spying on them like this one right outside my den window (through a screenless window - you'll hear about that in a sec), watching them play like puppies with each other, their ears are adorable as are their bristly, curling tails - but man!  They are also driving me crazy!  I have tried every method I've read about on the internet to keep them out of bird feeders, bought so many "squirrel proof" bird feeders (yeah right), put hot pepper covered seed in feeders that they aren't supposed to be able to handle (they can and they do), given them their own feeders with corn cobs, moved most of my feeders up high on porches where they can't reach (which makes them climb the window screens poking holes in them with their sharp toenails in an attempt to find ways up whereby I have removed four screens and stored them for the winter), and yelled at them daily.  Nothing. Works.   My daughter called me yesterday to ask me how I keep squirrels out of her feeders - I. Don't. She even bought new feeders today and excitedly sent me pictures spewing optimism - I told her not to be too disappointed.   This post isn't even supposed to be about squirrels but rather cheerier subjects.  Like the paper whites and amaryllis that are blooming in the dining room and daisies that are over a month old and still looking fresh in vases.  And apple cider donut muffins.  And chocolate chip cookies.  And project results.  I am going to write out that cider donut recipe for you very shortly - it is a winner!!  It has also warmed up - like 60 degrees warmer than my last post from just a few days ago.  I went snow shoeing this week because much of the snow will be disappearing in the next few days (it's pretty much gone as I edit this post two days later).  And I finished a couple wee paintings and am pretty much done with the painted stair runner.   That we have now decided to cover with a pretty red/ivory cotton runner from Dash and Albert Co. for two reasons.  In spite of Frog Paint Tape's promise that paint won't bleed, it did and has every time I've used it for painting patterns and lines (so much for paint block technology!) and believe me, I pressed on that tape really hard and followed all instructions for success.  It was the black paint bleeding on to white that did me in. Second reason; yesterday I slipped down the last four stairs and slammed my arm.   Dan yelled out - "that's it, let's put a real stair runner on!"

 One more squirrel complaint before I go on, you see that open door?  Those are suet block feeders, squirrel proof of course and the squirrels chew off the wire that I use to keep those doors locked and hence eat all the suet.  Mad face emoji!

Yesterday while I painted stairs, Dan took on the assignment of trial-ling a new chocolate chip recipe we read about in the New York Times.  Sarah Kieffer, a baker, blogger and cookbook author has a CC cookie recipe that has gone viral whereby she preaches "pan banging" the cookie sheets a few times during the baking process so that the cookies pool and flatten, morphing into very large and thin cookies that are crisp for the outer third and chewy and meaty for the rest.  Here are the results of Dan's baking adventure.  If you are interested in trying them yourself, google Sarah Kieffer pan banging chocolate chip cookies - the NY Times and several bloggers have posted her recipe.  We love cookie adventures!

We moved that little hutch you see from the den in to the dining room to a spot it should have been in all along. My paper whites and amaryllis are very happy there.  That hutch is a piece I bought in an antique shop about 15 years ago that is made from one long piece of barn siding from a very old barn.

Those very bright mirroring abstract paintings I recently finished have been dubbed "Super Men" by my daughter Gabe because she thinks they resemble the superman logo.  I just like how they finish that wall with  colorful fun.  After the abstracts I've done lately, I'm ready to do some more "serious" and challenging works of art.

Those daisies in that vase you see are over a month old and still going strong.  That's value!  That desk is in the living room in a quiet corner where I go to drink my hot chocolate and read every morning.

I won't be doing this any time soon now that most of the snow is gone unless of course we get bombarded again - I certainly hope so!

Okay, now for the recipe many of you have asked for this week and it's a good one!  This recipe showed up in my email from Yankee.com.

CIDER DONUT MUFFINS

2 cups of sweet apple cider (not juice)
1 stick softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
optional - 1 large or two small peeled and cored chopped apples - I did add apples to mine but this was not in the original recipe and is not necessary for success but it sure made them even more delicious.  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease muffin tins - do not use paper muffin cups!

Put the apple cider in a large saucepan, turn on high heat and bring to a boil and keep it boiling until it is reduced by half.  It took mine about 8 minutes and I checked it a couple times by pouring the cider into a glass measuring cup to see how close it was.   When it's reduced, set aside and cool .  You cannot skip this step and just use 1 cup of unreduced cider and do not use apple juice.  The reduction results in an intense apple flavor that is a tad thicker as well.  While the reducing is going on, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy, about 4 minutes.  Add the eggs and blend and then the vanilla.   Mix the dry ingredients in another bowl and then add this in thirds with thirds of the apple cider reduction until it's just blended.  Fold in the apples if using.  Spoon into your greased muffin tins (the recipe said it makes 12, mine made 15 and I really filled those tins).  Bake 15-17 minutes (mine took 15).  Let cool for 10 minutes.  While they cool, make the topping for dipping.  

3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbl.  ground cinnamon 
Mix those two together in a good sized bowl.

Melt 1/2 stick salted butter in another bowl.

Brush each muffin over the butter bowl with the melted butter and then dip the tops and sides, dredging well in the sugar/cinn. mix.  That's it!  They taste like apple cider donuts without the frying mess.  Superb!

 That's a pic of the boiling apple cider.

 I used mini bundt tins instead of muffin just for fun.

 Brush muffins with plenty of butter - I held mine over the butter bowl while I did this.

 Dredge them well!

Now for a few pictures of the ill fated stair runner project.  Ill fated in that we will cover all the work I just did.  The stairs were a brownish color that came with the house when we bought it.  I had imagined a creamy white stair case with a black trimmed red painted runner like this:

I saw these stairs on the IG feed of fashion editor Marian McEvoy.   I did paint on the black stripes but that is where a lot of bleeding occurred and the touch up was a real pain so I decided on all red just to use the paint I had bought even as I knew we would cover it with a cotton runner.  We can enjoy this until the runner arrives and I install it.

I made a 6 inch red velvet cake for a birthday girl today and I thought I'd photo it with the fresh red stairs in the background!  And red fish bombs!

CHAO!