RoseCampion's Profile

Display Name: RoseCampion
Personal URL: http://rosecampion.blogspot.com/
Member Since: 9/14/07

Latest Comments...

So long as you know the basic 'theory' you can even disregard the rules when it comes to baking. I do it all the time. Okay, so I wouldn't just throw random stuff in a bowl for a proper cake. But brownies, muffins, even cookies are pretty agreeable when it comes to throwing ingredients in a bowl and getting something good. Probably not so much if you want a super specific result, but if you just want something yummy, how can you go wrong with some sugar, some flour, some kind of fat, some chocolate,, a little bit of salt, baking soda and flavorings? They're brownies, not science.


Do You Follow the Rules When You Cook?
2/10/13 5:02 PM

I also love my 'keep calm and carry on' poster. I have mine in the bedroom.


What Is Your Design Confession?
12/6/12 10:03 PM

My mom always made fresh cranberries, so that is what I prefer, but she always used to buy stuffing. Pepperidge Farm used to make a stovetop style stuffing and that is what we had. They don't seem to make that exact formulation anymore and I miss it. I've made several recipes, from Stovetop brand to ones that used bread I made myself but nothing tastes quite right to me, so I don't really eat stuffing any more.

Thanksgiving, out of any meal of the year, should be given over to tradition and what tastes 'right'. Even if it comes out of a can with lines still pressed on it.


Kicking the Can: A Move Towards A Fresh Food Thanksgiving
11/21/12 9:41 AM

Twinkies will probably not go away. One of the 'assets' of the company is its brands. They will most likely be sold off to someone and eventually, Twinkies will be back on the market.

Not that I care. I've always been more of a Zingers girl myself. Especially the raspberry coconut kind. Where is the recipe for the homemade ones pictured. They look so very good.


I Heart Hostess: An Appreciation for the Fallen Snack Cake Guest Post
11/20/12 1:23 PM

I would expect a guest to eat my fruit and drink my wine (though nice guests bring a bottle or two) and i guess I don't see the harm in someone using my hairdryer, but wanting socks and shampoo would be a little much.


When Is A Guest No Longer A Guest?
1/11/12 3:07 PM

I'm the only one in my family and acquaintances that likes champagne/sparkling wine, so getting a regular size bottle is a waste, because I only ever drink one glass at a time. I'm afraid I end up buying whatever I can find in a split. I also like the Sofia sparkling wine that comes in the soda cans. Not the best, but drinkable and just the right size serving.

My husband will sometimes drink a mimosa with me, but why put the expensive stuff in a mimosa?


Do You Splurge on Expensive Champagne?
12/9/11 1:08 PM

I might have to make this. I have a whole bottle of Sailor Jerry spiced rum someone talked me into buying and I have no clue what to do with it.


Recipe: Drunken Molasses Cookies With Ginger
11/9/11 2:11 PM

I love mah Jong too, but the problem I never seem to have the required four people around to play.

One favorite around my family is Fluxx, which kind of like if Calvinball were a card game. It's equally amusing with 2 people as it is with six or seven. Another good point is that it's also available as a Monty Python or Zombie edition. Oh, and unlike other games, one's game performance doesn't really suffer with the addition of a festive beverage or four.

http://calvinandhobbes.wikia.com/wiki/Calvinball


After Dinner: Best Party Games
11/3/11 2:30 PM

I only have room for one set of dishes. When we downsized to the condo, I kept the 'good' dishes and got rid of the everyday ones. I have Portmeirion Botantic Garden.


Do You Have Special Occasion Dinnerware?
11/2/11 1:45 PM

These are definitely not doughnuts. I'm sure they're very delicious mini bundt cakes, but they are not doughnuts. Cakes are baked, doughnuts are fried, end of story.

Just having a hole in something doesn't make it a doughnut any more than serving a sweet fruity cocktail in a 'martini' glass makes it a martini.

/end rant/


Cheater Recipe: Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts
11/2/11 1:27 PM

Yes, a martini is gin and vermouth. Anything else is not a martini. Death to chocotinis and appletinis and the rest of them. Some places seem to think that just because it is served in a martini glass, it's a martini. A cat can have kittens in an oven, but that doesn't make them biscuits.


Gloppy Cherry Pie to Heavy Bagels: 10 Crimes Against Food
CHOW

10/21/11 9:55 PM

Unpainted OSB always looks unfinished to me. Every time I see it used like this, it makes me think the kitchen is still under construction. As someone who spent much of her childhood in a house with a half finished kitchen, this is not a good thing.


Alan's Quirky Kitchen
Kitchen Spotlight

9/26/11 6:30 PM

I like to use a bib apron for protection but can't stand the feel of the halter tie around my neck. So I bought a vintage style h-back apron from this etsy seller. Kind of cute but not so precious that I'm afraid to wear it for real kitchen work. The one I bought is a lot more just like a calico and not so bright and obnoxious. Any way, it's more coverage and more comfortable than a regular bib apron.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/18644940/lavender-blue-dilly-dilly-h-back


Survey: What Style of Apron Do You Wear?
9/21/11 11:48 PM

If you really want to use the fruit cocktail rather than donate, you could always make dump cake like my grandma always used to make. Basically you put the fruit cocktail in a baking dish then dump a yellow cake mix on top and bake. There may be a bit more to it than that but not much. I'd google a recipe first just to be sure if I was going to make it.

Yeah. I know. Kind of gross but I get nostalgic for it sometimes.


Got Any Creative Ways to Use Up Canned Fruit?
Good Questions

9/21/11 11:30 PM

I don't know if it's possible on the gas grill, but you can always bake a pie in a Dutch oven outside using charcoal briquets like you use in a weber grill. Just google "pie Dutch oven". Oh, this would be the kind of Dutch oven with the plain cast iron and the little legs, not the fancy Le Creuset kind.


Cool Move: Put the Kitchen in the Basement
8/17/11 10:01 PM

Dishcloths only get moldy, smelly and gummy if you keep using them. We use a fresh cloth every time we clean, then it goes into a tote we keep just for the cloths. We wash them all at the end of the week.

If you use one, wring it out,then hang it over the faucet, then try to use it again tomorrow, then yes, that will be nasty. The beauty of the dish towel is they are cheap, so you have a ton of them. That way there is always a fresh one.

I guess if you don't want to get up close to waste food, you could scrape it off the dishes into the trash with a long handled rubber scraper first, which isn't a bad idea any way, to keep the water cleaner.


Sponge To Dishcloth: Our Dishwashing Dilemma
8/8/11 12:07 PM

I have to agree. I was hoping for more than a list of links.

I wear a watch because I like the look of them. I also work in a place where I'm not allowed to carry my cell phone, plus there are no really obvious clocks. Also, it'll always be easier to look at my wrist vs. digging out the cell phone, from a pocket if I'm so lucky to have one (most women's clothes don't) or otherwise my purse.


19 Good Reasons To Still Wear A Watch
8/1/11 6:05 PM

Also, you might just have bought them, but they could have been sitting on the shelf at the store a while.


Why Didn't My Split Peas Split?
Good Questions

7/26/11 3:03 PM

How old are the split peas? If they've been sitting around the shelf a while, dried beans (and split peas) can get dried out, so then they don't cook very well.


Why Didn't My Split Peas Split?
Good Questions

7/26/11 3:02 PM

My kitchen is a bit too small, 77sf (7'x11), but it's laid out about as well as it could be for being so small. It can be nice to be standing at the sink, then you turn around and you're staning at the stove, no steps. Still, who doesn't dream of a bigger kitchen?

One thing I haven't done is any large scale cooking, like full holiday meals, or canning. Counter space is quite scarce and I can't imagine where all the dishes required for a multi course meal would go while working on the meal.


Can a Kitchen Be Too Big?
7/6/11 10:36 PM