Denny Lyon Gifts: New Design: Too Happy Octopus

Too Happy Octopus Shower Curtain

Check out this happy octopus, a sci-fy thinker!

Denny Lyon Gifts: New Design: Too Happy Octopus:  From Denny:  It's summer and time to hit the beach!  Maybe if you are lucky enough to live in a place like Florida where the beach is year round, maybe not.  You can always bring the beach and the denizens of the ocean indoors with this fun design. 

This octopus is a real scify thinker and a happy guy sure to make you smile.  The design is on all manner of products at Cafe Press/DennyLyonGifts, from handbags and totes to t-shirts and bedding, posters too.  Take a look and enjoy browsing my Denny Lyon Gifts site.  All my profits go to two charities I really love:  St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital and the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank here in Louisiana (where they feed almost half of the state!)

Thanks for stopping by for a look and please be sure to pass the word on to your friends and relatives to help fund these charities!  Thank you!

Denny Lyon Gifts: New Design: Too Happy Octopus:  for more fun posts giving a shout out to newest designs!

Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  

 Subscribe to Dennys Lyon Gifts

Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  

* Check out Dennys News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food - a place where all my other many blogs link so you can choose from among the latest posts all in one place.  A free to read online newspaper from independent journalist blogger Denny Lyon. * 

*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

Home: Abandoned House with Cool Poem

Home Where Nobody Lives Photo by erix! @ flickr

From Denny: While researching for a recent poem I'm doing I ran across this photo and its wonderful poem. Enjoy!

From the photographer:

There's a house on my block
That's abandoned and cold
Folks moved out of it a
Long time ago
And they took all their things
And they never came back
Looks like it's haunted
With the windows all cracked
And everyone call it
The house, the house where
Nobody lives

Once it held laughter
Once it held dreams
Did they throw it away
Did they know what it means
Did someone's heart break
Or did someone do somebody wrong?

Well the paint was all cracked
It was peeled off of the wood
Papers were stacked on the porch
Where I stood
And the weeds had grown up
Just as high as the door
There were birds in the chimney
And an old chest of drawers
Looks like no one will ever
Come back to the
House were nobody lives

Once it held laughter
Once it held dreams
Did they throw it away
Did they know what it means
Did someone's heart break
Or did someone do someone wrong?
So if you find someone
Someone to have, someone to hold
Don't trade it for silver
Don't trade it for gold
I have all of life's treasures
And they are fine and they are good
They remind me that houses
Are just made of wood
What makes a house grand
Ain't the roof or the doors
If there's love in a house
It's a palace for sure
Without love...
It ain't nothin but a house
A house where nobody lives
Without love it ain't nothin
But a house, a house where
Nobody lives.


By Tom Waits
Mule Variations (1999)
House Where Nobody Lives

On the photographer's profile page of erix! who is a social worker:


Beauty may be hidden in shape
Truth may be hidden in words
Wisdom may be hidden in pictures
Love may be hidden in souls

Let us make things visible

Libations Friday! 9 October 2009

*** The Paradox Dilemma: Whether we own our house or the house owns us! :)

From Denny: Lately, I've been watching too much HGTV House Hunters International that I think I'm beginning to "channel" it. :) Seriously though, it did get me thinking overview wise of humanity in general when it comes to building a home.

Then I went cruising through the Flickr database and had too much fun finding these awesome and unusual photos. Try plugging in a search over there for "houses" and you will pull up over 300,000 photos. After wading through over 2,000 photos these were the winners for you today.

The poem was sparked by the house hunting programs and then refined as I found some most curious house photos that revealed the owners' desires and intent for what they wanted to create in the world and for their lives. Then the poem was off and running! Enjoy the wonderful art photos.


Hunting Our Home





It’s our nature to make a home for ourselves
Dividing the inner space for comfort
Designing the outer armor for show
Cultivating a garden to complement and rest





We wonder about what the other guy has...
Where do they live?
How do they live?
Why did they choose what they did?






We travel the world exploring
Opening doors and entering novel rooms





Crowding into our heads fresh ways to see
Different places and distinctive faces


Look at all the extraordinary people
Their houses speak their owners’ intent





The wealthy build grand gleaming palaces
Strutting their status in society and imagined worth





The homes point the way desire travels





Sometimes wealth can seep corruption





And old houses reflect unintended decay





Perversion builds a home destroyed by atom bomb tests





Old status homes descend down to the haunted
Playgrounds for today’s Halloween children





Some remain abandoned for centuries obsolete





Others live abundantly well-loved in lush fields





Still others thrive most elegantly aloof





While some cling to live ruggedly remote





Others perform the dance of the cliffs most modern





While others melt grinning into their environment





A few joyfully proclaim themselves, unabashed
While others choose another intentional life





One chooses outward memorials to those now gone





While another chooses inward Hopi contemplation





Some chose to cultivate isolated serenity





Some visit simplicity in the warming sun





Some blend home with garden in delight






Some soar their intellect with imagination





We continue walking through this thing called Life





Always poking through the hedges to see more





Remembering our houses, our homes, our creations





Are truly, while growing and changing, are but fishers of men


Denny Lyon
Copyright 9 October 2009
All Rights Reserved


Thanks for visiting, everyone! Have a great weekend!

*** For more poems with great photos visit the companion page I built to my poetry blog where I have all kinds of links like to friends who write poetry and much more. Check out the links to my poetry under Dennys Poems and Libations Friday! segments and enjoy laughing at the funny quotes on the Cheeky Quote Day! segments too, it's called The Social Poets Fav Links, go here.

*** I built yet another companion page to The Social Poets blog to stash links to my favorite blogs and bloggers(and growing, if you have any suggested sites or blogs to add, please email me: Denny Lyon, warriorspearl@gmail.com). To visit The Social Poets Fav Bloggers, go here.


***

Photo Credits

Houses in Vlissingen (Holland) photo by Pingu1963 @ flickr

Rococo-style stone house in Guadalajara Mexico photo by Wonderlane @ flickr

Ornate green door photo by Señor Codo @ flickr

Inner room photo by wili_hybrid @ flickr

New Orleans French Quarter "Miltenberger House" house photo by David Paul Ohmer @ flickr

Dragon weather vane photo by James Jordan @ flickr

Twilight storm photo by James Jordan @ flickr

Rundown house photo by just_a_name_thingi e @ flickr

Atomic bomb test house (Nevada, USA) photo by itjournalist @ flickr

Haunted house on the hill photo by country_boy_shane @ flickr

Lonely Ireland house Photo by dingbat2005 @ flickr

Canola fields house photo by Paraflyer @ flickr

Yellow Brazil house Photo by tipiro @ flickr

Trail house photo by bwhistler @ flickr

Modern west coast cliff house photo by pnwra @ flickr

Stone house in Portugal photo by Jsome1 @ flickr

Striped house in Portugal photo by pedrosimoes @ flickr

The Cross House on Chesnut Street (Chicago, Illinois, USA) photo by Señor Codo @ flickr

Hopi house photo by Al_HikesAZ @ flickr

Little isolated house photo by Fr Antunes @ flickr

A house on the beach photo by fotografar @ flickr

Town House, Chinon Photo by *Susie* @ flickr

Little Red House on Pine Planet Photo by visulogik @ flickr

Live oaks walkway at Oak Alley Plantation photo by David Paul Ohmer @ flickr

Garden walk photo by oseillo @ flickr

White House photo by dcJohn @ flickr

Fisherman from Portugal photo by pedrosimoes @ flickr

Joke: Smart Dog Goes Meat Shopping

Smart Dog

A dog walks into a butcher shop with a purse strapped around his neck. He walks up to the meat case and calmly sits there until it's his turn to be helped. A man, who was already in the butcher shop, finished his purchase and noticed the dog. The butcher leaned over the counter and asked the dog what it wanted today. The dog put its paw on the glass case in front of the ground beef, and the butcher said, "How many pounds?"
The dog barked twice, so the butcher made a package of two pounds ground beef.

He then said, "Anything else?"

The dog pointed to the pork chops, and the butcher said, "How many?"

The dog barked four times, and the butcher made up a package of four pork chops.

The dog then walked around behind the counter, so the butcher could get at the purse. The butcher took out the appropriate amount of money and tied two packages of meat around the dog's neck. The man, who had been watching all of this, decided to follow the dog. It walked for several blocks and then walked up to a house and began to scratch at the door to be let in. As the owner opened the door, the man said to the owner, "That's a really smart dog you have there."

The owner said, "He's not really all that smart. This is the second time this week he forgot his key."


Ground beef, Dogbert, Pork chop, Butcher, Home, Food, Cooking, Meat, Pork, smart dog, jokes, dog, dog joke, Dogbert

Libations Friday! 24 July 2009

Featured today: A Louisiana coffee recipe in the form of a coffee shake for this hot summer and an original dream sequence poem.

From Denny: Around here the famous Louisiana coffee company is known as "CC's" - short for Community Coffee. You can use your favorite coffee for this shake too. I'm a big fan of CC's New Orleans Blend with Chickory (which tamps down the acid level). Try this super simple easy recipe for your lazy weekend, so refreshing after a long work week!

CC's Coffee Banana Shake

Ingredients:

1 cup brewed and chilled Community Coffee's Louisiana Blend Coffee

2 medium-ripe bananas, sliced

1 pint good quality ice cream

3 tablespoons sugar

1 or 2 drops of almond flavoring

Directions:

Pour the coffee into a blender, then add the bananas, ice cream, sugar and almond flavoring. Cover and blend at high speed until thick and fluffy. Pour into chilled glasses. Serves 3 to 4 people.

On to the poetry section for this week...

From Denny: Those of you who read over at my quotes blog, Beautiful Illustrated Quotations, know I read some articles recently I found disturbing in their political vitriol. There is some seriously toxic stuff written without so much as a true fact to back up the rhetoric. It's pretty amazing how toxic and full of hate some people continue to choose to be, all in the name of identifying themselves as good Christians. Uh, do they read the same Bible I do? Last I checked, Jesus preached love and the digging out of our hearts all hatred for others.

Anyway, the recent event brought to mind a poem I wrote last year talking about toxic people. You know how it is; you get ready to go to sleep and go into a meditative state to process the day. Well, with that meditation I added a question prayer about how God views all this toxic squabbling on this planet. It wasn't long before I got an interesting answer. Of course, my spirit tends to be joyful and loves ironic humor and so, as God talks to us with our own private language, He framed the answer in my own personal code of humor. At first the dream was a bit disorienting and disconcerting as it felt like a smothering effect until I realized what was going on - and that I had the power to do something about what was happening.

When some other poet friends read this poem they thought it was a death and resurrection poem, something I never intended but hey! a cool extra double meaning works for me! What I intentionally wrote about - as this was written in the middle of the night upon getting this dream - was how life and toxic people throw dirt on us and its our job to dig our way out, knowing that we have helpers standing nearby, and, in the end, laugh at it all. Laughing off garbage seems to be a recurring theme for my writings.

I even created a little abstract drawing to go with the poem. The cheekbone area looks like a stairway. Dream sequences are such fun to draw! It's like "all bets are off" on the expected and you can insert the unexpected or unusual.



Flinging Dirt Drawing by Denny Lyon

Flinging Dirt

The muse guy smiled and beckoned
Directing my attention to a hill
Upon which I stood waiting

Suddenly huge mounds of dirt flew my way
Falling back surprised, fell down to the ground
The dirt filled the air, covering me quickly

Inside the dirt, perplexed, I blinked
The dirt was busy above, growing heavy
Groaned, stifled from the weight of it all

The dirt was not earthy and fresh or new
Smelling bad, stinking stale and worse it was
Deeper I sank, now a depression made a grave

Deeper into the earth I sank, the dirt mounded high
A shovel appeared, grabbed the smooth handle
Carved a space to sit and ponder dark, shovel propped

Why is this happening?
Why does this dirt smell so bad?
Why does no one notice this wrong?

Decided to fight, moving dirt behind
Determined, ascending faster than dirt above
Gratefully surfaced, peered up the narrow hole, light!

Climbed out onto the dirt, now highest mountain
The dirt throwers disappeared, evaporated, not known
Felt the sun on my face, warm, inviting, renewing

Looked around for trouble, looked long way down
At the bottom a long line of angels, tall, smiling
Approaching they all broke into cacophony applause

Who are you? I inquired
Why are you here? I continued
What is your purpose? I had to know

We are the Congratulations! Committee to greet you
We are here to assist your next decisions, eternally
Our purpose to walk by your side on your souls journey

I took it all in, delighted to meet them
They must have provided that shovel
Assuring my survival if only I would act

The dozen very tall men kindly bent down to my level
Dazzling smiles all, requesting how may they continue
I scratched my head, wiped the dirt off my face, shook my clothes

First things first, guys, I demanded, which way are the showers?
At that they all roared laughter, so loudly, it hurt my ears
Which way are the showers? They laughed and laughed more

One angel, raised his hand, laughing hard, sweeping right
My eyes looked up at his, tracking his directive to behold
Jesus Himself was laughing, waiting for me, clean towel in Hand


Denny Lyon
Copyright 12 July 2008
All Rights Reserved

Coffee Photo by once and future @ flickr

Have a great weekend, everyone; stay safe! Thanks for visiting!

Blender, Ice cream, coffee shake, coffee Recipes, poetry, New Orleans, Food, Cooking, Home, CC, Christian, Bible, Jesus, Cook, Denny Lyon, The Social Poets, Flinging Dirt, angels, humor

Libations Friday! 17 July 2009

Featured today: Cold spiked coffee recipe, funny video about getting a coffee in a recession and a poem about winning against the current recession.

Spiked Coffee

From: Giada De Laurentis

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups coffee liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)

• 1 cup dark creme de cacoa

• 1 1/2 cups vodka

• 1 cup espresso, cooled

• 1 orange wedge

• Orange sugar crystals

• 12 ice cubes

Directions:

Mix the coffee liqueur, creme de cacoa, vodka, and espresso in a small pitcher. Cover the pitcher with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer until the mixture is very cold, about 3 hours.

Meanwhile, rub the rims of 8 Martini glasses with the orange wedge. Dip the rims in the sugar crystals to coat lightly. Place the glasses in the freezer.
Add the ice cubes to the vodka mixture and briskly stir the mixture until the ice begins to melt. Strain the mixture into the prepared glasses, and serve.

From Denny: When searching for coffee recipes up popped this funny video about trying to get a coffee in a recession, enjoy!

COFFEE BIAAATCH!



On to the poetry section: As I was considering what to write in the form of an essay for Bloggers Unite Human Rights 2009, out popped a poem. When I sit down to write a poem, you guessed it, out pops an essay. "Do ya think?" my brain could get it straight?! :) Well, who cares how it arrives as long as it shows up...

I'd just got an email from a lovely friend who lives in Michigan and her husband is now out of work and they've also lost their home. To her credit she is writing to battle the stress. She is also one fine fantasy writer! As I looked at my reply to her one sentence stuck out and I knew it was destined to later become one of my quotes. It also inspired this poem.

Image by Esther_G via Flickr

Quote: "Keep smiling. Humor pushes your attitude up and your heart wide open to sight the new opportunities coming your way." - Denny Lyon, 16 July 2009

Poetry of Life

The economy in chaos
Job markets spiraling down
Home foreclosures rising
News is bleak

Why turn on the TV?

Marriages are rocky
Children are scared
Bosses are grumpy
Life is tense

Why turn on the TV?

Banks grab stingy
CEOs finger greedy
Markets careen wild
It is what it is

Why turn on the TV?

Focus on outward order
Work at the job there is
Make a home anywhere
Chart a new attitude

Turn the channel!

Keep smiling when it’s tough
Open your heart wide to sight
Opportunities coming your way
Laugh ‘til your sides hurt

Be mentally tough: Love long!


Denny Lyon
Copyright 16 July 2009
All Rights Reserved

Coffee Photo by once and future @ flickr

Libatons Friday! 26 June 2009

Photo by once and future @ flickr

From Denny: With the triple digit heat across the nation and summer has barely begun – whew! – I’m looking for cold drinks and coffee cold drinks are my favorite. Here are two interesting ones from Food Network.

This one is from Guy Fieri of Guy’s Big Bite who used to be a bartender/mixologist before starting up his restaurant, getting noticed, then offered one happy gig on the Food Network! He’s high intensity and fast forward all the way, definitely as entertaining as he is knowledgeable and talented.



Chai's Big Bite Cocktail

From: Chef Guy Fieri of Food Network
Prep Time: 15 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 1 drink

Guy Fieri Image by Laughing Squid via Flickr

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces coffee liquor

• 2 ounces Irish cream

• 1-ounce vanilla vodka

• 8 ounces Chai-tea concentrate (recommended: Oregon Chai Brand)

• 6 ounces milk or half-and-half

• Shaved chocolate, for garnish

• Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish

• Fresh mint sprig, for garnish

Directions:

Fill blender with ice, pour in all ingredients, and blend thoroughly. Pour into a tall iced tea glass
Garnish with shaved chocolate and fresh nutmeg and a mint sprig.

From Denny: This recipe is from the Ask Aida show over at Food Network. I’m not familiar with her and this recipe popped up on the search and looked so good it just had to be included! Besides, it included my favorite ingredient: expresso! If any of you watch her feel free to leave a comment about her.



Caffe Shakerato

From: Aida Mollenkamp of the Ask Aida Food Network show
Prep Time: 2 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 1 1/2 cups
Serves: 1 drink

Ingredients:

• Freshly brewed double shot espresso

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• Crushed Ice

• Coffee Whipped Cream, for garnish (Make this recipe before serving)

Directions:

In the base of a cocktail shaker, mix together espresso and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Fill shaker with crushed ice, close, and shake until shaker is frosted and mixture is foamy, about 20 seconds.

Strain into a martini glass, top with a dollop of Coffee Whipped Cream, and serve.

Coffee Whipped Cream:

• 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)

Directions:

Place very clean glass or metal bowl and metal whisk in freezer just until cold, about 5 minutes.

When everything is cold, place cream in bowl and begin to whisk until it froths up and starts to thicken, about 1 minute. Whisk vigorously until soft peaks form (the cream will hold a point when the whisk is lifted but will fall back into the bowl almost immediately), about 1 minute.

Add the liqueur and whisk until stiff peaks just form (the cream stays put on the whisk when it is lifted from the bowl), about 1 minute. Store covered in refrigerator until ready to use.



Word Cloud Photo by Denny Lyon - from playing over at Wordle.net! :)

From Denny: With the extremely hot temperatures of early summer heat you can expect anything! Instead of a poem, out popped this zany romp of a short story this week that started as a self-imposed writing exercise. I thought you might enjoy trying this idea for yourself to get the writing juices going. Maybe you just want an emotional and mental vacation from the heat or stress of everyday life. That'll work too! :)

Wrote this recently as a raucous fast-paced ridiculous short story. It's really a bit long to post here and when that happens I park those writes over at HubPages. Take a look and you will be amused!

Writing Exercise

Many times I will assign myself some kind of writing exercise to loosen up my mind to push it out of the usual day-to-day analytical mode of just plain dealing with life, you know, solving problems. You might need a break from everything you do, well, this is a great way to take a vacation without spending any money or leaving the house - how convenient! :)

Seriously though, writing like this is such a good idea to stretch your imagination, give you more ideas of what else you could write and most of all, no pressure of deadlines or expectations from yourself or others.

The idea is to forget most of what every writing teacher ever taught you. Sit down to the keyboard and start writing, literally, whatever silly thing comes to mind, the more ridiculous the better. Don't plan a thing; don't outline a plot, a theme, characters, nothing. It's strictly funny brain drivel!

The second idea to keep in mind as far as technique is to use a couple of "don'ts" like run-on sentences and cliches which usually are the kiss of death for a good write. But when it is a zany little romp like the short story here it actually is a fit! What I found is that the run-on sentences help increase the intensity of the action and create this fast pace that leaves you dizzy.

Try your hand at this kind of writing exercise, have some fun, and then laugh your socks off at what comes out! The only rule? It has to be utterly and completely ridiculous!

Here's an excerpt from my world of the ridiculous:

"Jack jumped over the electric blue fox - who was hunting down the orange cat - who was preying upon the stupid cockroach that was having an identity crisis - and believed he was a popular dragonfly down at the local Irish pub - because he sang Irish songs everyone loved and wrote some damn good poetry.

The orange cat circled back to chase the identity crisis cockroach - who just knew he was really Irish in a former life - while the blue fox preened and bathed in the fast-paced lights of the nightclub – this fox enthusiastically embraced blue as the new fashion neutral - it was Jack who was looking for the weird alien orange cat that kept eluding him - who was stalking the brave Irish-singing cockroach determined to make it to Broadway.

The powerful-singing cockroach drowned out the elegant Irish pub-singing dragonfly - and soon the people customers complained about the strange odd noises blaring from the rising platform – it was two ants standing on a leaf singing opera - and more ants joined them from the audience singing 49 Bottles of Guinness Beer on the Wall and Get Down Tonight! – and soon the nightclub was jumping and bumping - and the people were dancing and squishing and splatting the friendly ants - who got the place hopping on a Saturday night in the first place."

For the rest of the story just click on the story title link, go here! Thanks for visiting!

Libations Friday! 5 June 2009

Frozen expresso yogurt and ginger candied coffee cake recipes - and an original poem thrown in for good measure to start your weekend!

From Denny: Welcome to Libations Friday! This expresso frozen yogurt recipe looked so easy and cooling in the early summer heat. After you read the poem you will laugh a second time as to my choosing this frozen recipe. Some people get “after taste” when they dine; you will get “after chuckle” when you read! :)

Both recipes are quick and easy, perfect for the weekend! The coffee cake answered my question of what to do with all that crystallized candied ginger I buy from time to time during the holiday season – and then wonder what’s next…

Low-fat Expresso Coffee Frozen Yogurt

“Only lightly sweetened, this yogurt is good as is, but perhaps is better with a dash of chocolate syrup over the top. - John Kessler”

From: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Hands on time: 5 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Serves: 8

Ingredients:

1/2 cup strong espresso, cooled

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 quart plain yogurt


Instructions:

In a bowl, combine espresso, sugar and yogurt until smooth. Churn in ice cream maker until thick like soft-serve ice cream, about 20 minutes depending on the machine.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 124 calories (percent of calories from fat, 28), 4 grams protein, 18 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 4 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 16 milligrams cholesterol, 57 milligrams sodium.



Pear Ginger Coffee Cake

From: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Perfect for: Breakfasts, brunches, coffees, meetings, office gatherings.

Make and take: Bake ahead of time, cover pan with foil and serve at room temperature.

Made famous by Maralyn Christoffersen of Atlanta, who got it from the Penzeys’ Spices catalog. "I served it at my book club and everybody wanted the recipe," she said.

Candied ginger adds just a touch of zing to this tender cake.”

Hands on time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Serves: 15


Ingredients:

Granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups diced (1/4 to 1/2 inch) and peeled pears

1/4 cup cinnamon sugar (or 1/4 cup granulated sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon)

2 to 4 tablespoons crystallized (candied) ginger, finely chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray with cooking spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and dust with granulated sugar, if desired. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, salt and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Sift together the flour and baking soda. Alternately add the flour mixture in two parts with the buttermilk, beating a minute or two after each addition.

Fold in the pears. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon sugar and the ginger and sprinkle on top.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Cool at least 20 minutes before serving; serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes:
Total time includes 20 minutes of cooling time before serving.

Tip: Although pear goes especially well with candied ginger, you can also substitute apples or berries for the pears. For best flavor, says Christoffersen, use real butter and whole buttermilk.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 209 calories (percent of calories from fat, 29), 3 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 7 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 30 milligrams cholesterol, 184 milligrams sodium.

Now on to the poetry portion of Libations Friday!


Bitter Romance in the Garden

A parable about relationships and humor found after a bitter romance.



Moody twilight rolled down the hilly sky

Lush garden welcomed me softly.

The lover looked on in secret;

Seductively, he whispered on the wind.



He escaped my notice;

Perfumed rose breezes distracted.

Pleasant, ending of the day.



Not seen, he brushed lightly my wrist, more;

I turned to see whose touch, no one.

The twilight lay down to sleep deep night.

I retired to my curving bed, wondering,

Who was that secret lover, unseen?



Next day at first light, I awakened.

At once, I knew that bitter lover, his name:

Poison Ivy.

You, cad, you.



Two weeks later, remembering,

Wearing, enduring your caustic kiss.

Decadent baths three times daily,

Soak away your incendiary romance,

Cooling the passion of your

Whispered, burning kiss.



No summer’s friend,

Liar in the garden,

False promising, secret lover,

Nature’s sneaky misfit,

Poison Ivy,

You, cad, you.


Beware that bitter garden romance…



Denny Lyon
Copyright 4 June 2009
All Rights Reserved


Thanks for visiting, everyone! Have a great weekend; keep laughing!

Coffee Photo by once and future @ flickr
Garden Photo by Athena's Pix @ flickr