I know it's January and all ..

But I'm craving the hell outta these:

Brown-sugar fudge (sucre à la crème) (just reading that makes me drool)

Mix together (hand mixer):
¾ cups butter
2 cups brown sugar
¾ cups Carnation milk

Place in microwave-safe container (no lid) at high and “cook” for 3 min 20 sec.
Stir (with a spoon only).
Place in microwave for 3 min. 20 seconds.
Stir.
Place in microwave for a third time for 3 min. 20 seconds, and let sit for 5 minutes.

Add:
1 cup of icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together (hand mixer). Fold into “platter” (preferably glass container).

Let sit in the fridge for a little bit --- usually hardens pretty quickly. (and then is oh so very awesome)

Tomato Barley Soup

Tomato Barley Soup

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 40 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour
Servings: 6
"Onions, celery, carrots and garlic are cooked with tomatoes in this chicken broth based soup with barley."
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups water

2 tomatoes, diced
1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced
tomatoes with juice
1 (10.75 ounce) can chicken broth (or veggie broth)
1/4 cup uncooked barley
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the onions, celery, carrots, garlic and oil and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, or until all vegetables are almost tender.
2. Then add the water, fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, barley and ground black pepper.
3. Stir thoroughly and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, or until barley is tender.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 1/7/2010

Grandma Aura's Tourtiere ♥

Tourtiere Pie
Makes one pie

11/2 pounds lean pork finely grind
1/2 pound veal

l large onion chopped finely
3/4 tsp salt & 1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp mace (optional)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup chicken stock OR 1/2 cup stock and 1/4 cup white wine. (Do not use a chicken cube...too salty)
1/2 cup instant potato flakes...or 1 large potato grated or cooked and mashed finely with a fork.

Sauté onions
Add pork and veal and cook on med heat, breaking up the meat until it is in fine pieces.
While cooking and mixing add your spices...really measure
the spices carefully...scrape any spices off the top of the tsp with a knife. It has to be even.
Add stock or stock & wine
Add potato
Simmer for a few min...taste a little mixture and if you feel it need more salt add just a little at a time and keep tasting.

If there is a lot of juice add more potato ...again a small amount at a time until you see the mixture thicken up but not to much.

Cool to room temp...or if the mixture gets to cold...bring it to room temp for easy handling.

Place in prepared pastry shell and freeze...bake at 375 if frozen or 350 if not freezing. for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours if from the freezer.

To the new grandmother I met in Toronto airport Dec 7

Enjoy your new granddaughter !

The girl's name Aura \a(u)ra\ is pronounced AWR-ah. It is of Latin origin, and its meaning is "wind". Greek mythology: Aura was the goddess of breezes. The word is used to describe the atmosphere surrounding an individual.

Aura has 6 variant forms: Aure, Aurea, Auria, Auriana, Ora and Oria.

from: http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Aura

Meaning: The Latin name Aura means - golden
Variants: Ora

Star-gazing onlookers will relate this name to the word describing a person's presence, but you can quickly explain that the word also has different meanings. Free-spirited yet serious, it's a great, short choice.
http://www.parents.com/baby-names/aura/

Aura is a English girl name. The meaning of the name is `Soft Air, Breeze` Where is it used? The name Aura is mainly used In English. From Old English. Aura doesn`t appear In 2007`s top-1000 name list.The last time Aura appeared In the top-1000 was 118 years ago, In 1890. It ranked #946 In that year. . 1890 was a `top year` for the name Aura.

Leonid meteor showers tonight

from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20091116/sc_space/strongleonidmeteorshowerpeaksearlytuesdaymorning

One of the best annual meteor showers will peak in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday, and for some skywatchers the show could be quite impressive.

The best seats are in Asia, but North American observers should be treated to an above average performance of the Leonid meteor shower, weather permitting. The trick for all observers is to head outside in the wee hours of the morning – between 1 a.m. and dawn – regardless where you live.

The Leonids put on a solid show every year, if skies are clear and moonlight does not interfere. This year the moon is near its new phase, and not a factor. For anyone in the Northern Hemisphere with dark skies, away from urban and suburban lighting, the show should be worth getting up early to see.

"We're predicting 20 to 30 meteors per hour over the Americas, and as many as 200 to 300 per hour over Asia," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. Other astronomers who work in the nascent field of meteor shower prediction have put out similar forecasts.

Urban dwellers and suburbanites will see far fewer, as the fainter meteors will be drowned out by local lights.

Easy Tomato-Basil Pizza

Ingredients

2 tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1 red onion, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped (optional)

1/2 cup sliced black olives

1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup pizza sauce

2 (12 inch) pre-baked pizza crusts (or make your own pizza crust easily enough)

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Mix the tomatoes and salt in a mesh strainer. Let mixture sit and drain for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) & combine the drained tomatoes, 8 ounces of mozzarella cheese, onion, basil, pepper, olive oil, jalapenos, olives, and mushrooms in a bowl. Spread the pizza sauce evenly onto the pizza crusts. Distribute tomato mixture over the two pizza crusts evenly. Sprinkle 8 ounces of mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese over both pizzas.


This soup would be great with this on a cold night too ...

Hey World (Don't Give Up) - Michael Frenti & Spearhead

Hey World (Don't Give Up)

tell me why the grass was greener
year ago
I swear it used to grow here
but no more here

tell me why
on this hill
all the birds they used to come to fly here
come to die here

and tell my why i need to know
sometimes i wish i didn't have to know
all you show me

hey world
what you say
should i stick around for another day or two
don't give up on me
i won't give up on you
just believe in me like i believe in

tell me why on the corner
all the kids that used to come to run here
load the guns here
and tell me why
it's okay
to kill in the name of the gods we pray

tell me who said it's okay
to die in the name of the lies we say
tell me why there's child soldiers
tell me why they closed the borders
tell me how to fight disease
and tell me now won't you please

the only thing i want to do
is to be in the arms of someone who believes in me
like i believe in you
i try try try try
i try try try try for you
don't give up on me
and i cry cry cry cry
i cry cry cry cry for you
just believe in me
like i believe in you