Corn Fritter Confession Plus a Quick and Easy Corn Fritter Recipe

Looking back, I could not tell you how many times corn fritters were part of the meal on a cold winter day.  Mom often made these as a side dish to her stews.  She was an adventurish cook.  Mom was Welsh, but we ate the cuisine of Italy, Poland, Ireland, France, Russia, Spain, and so on.  So, where she got the idea to make a Southern favorite, Corn Fritters or Corn Pancakes, I couldn't say.  I'm just glad she did.

After eating them at the stove, I had two more on a plate!

I recently took the plunge and cooked some corn fritters.  Why, oh why, did I wait so long to make them?   Not sure what you do, but I don't taste test when I cook.  I don't sample, either.  But, I made an exception for the fritters.

Here's my confession:  Yep, I ate three as soon as they were not scalding hot.  Right there at the stove, I stood and ate. That's not perfectly round- Eat.  This edge is skewed- Eat.  That little one- Eat. Mind the drool as I type this.  You know what?  I'm not ashamed to admit that I ate them hot off the pan!!!  Overindulgence once in a while is a treat. ♥


Quick and Easy Corn Fritter Recipe  *See Notes

1 can of Creamed Corn
1/2 to 1 cup of Flour
1/2 to 1 Tsp of Baking Powder (Skip BP if you want a very flat fritter.)
1 Egg

Heat a pan on the stove with some oil, less than 1/4 cup unless you are comfortable with more oil.
Beat the egg in a bowl.
Put Flour and Baking Powder in a medium size bowl.
Add the entire can of Creamed Corn, liquid included, into the flour mixture.
Add the beaten egg to the mixture.
Blend until all combined, no need to beat.

Batter should be like a thick pancake, but not dry, heavy, or stiff.  If you need some moisture, add milk.

Test the oil first to see it is hot enough by dropping a little batter from the edge of your spoon into the oil, it's ready if the batter starts sizzling right away.
Drop by spoonful, whatever size you are comfortable with, into the Hot Oil. 
Let fritter cook for about 3-4 minutes until Golden Brown, then carefully turn to other side (flip) to cook.

Remove cooked fritter to a plate, line it with paper towel if you want to absorb some of the oil, otherwise, eat and enjoy!  Pour on maple syrup or honey or use a sweetened butter.  I use just a little plain butter, and even without butter, they are delish. ♥

For a fancier or more complete meal, add to batter:

Shrimp or Ham  (cooked and finely chopped)
Onions or Scallions (diced or chopped)

*Notes:  I am hesitant to specify exact amounts of Flour and Baking Powder as this will correspond to the size of the can of Creamed Corn.  For the small can, about 6 ounces, start with 1/2 cup Flour and 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder.  For the average size can, about 12 ounces, start with 3/4 cup and 3/4 Tsp.  You get the idea.  Over the past few years all sorts of food products in the USA have been downsized (but upped the prices), so originally this was a can of 16 ounces, but shrinking as we breathe.

Now that Winter is finally being warmed up by Spring, what Winter food or beverage are you going to shelve until it's all chilly and snowy again?  Hwyl fawr Hot Chocolate.  Hwyl fawr = Welsh  for Goodbye.

Crewel Work Crazy, Embroidery, and the Good Old Days

Here's a freehand flower embroidery I'm working on.  I had to stop to buy smaller needles for the beads.  I decided to embroider on colored felt for an almost 70's throwback look.  The felt is embossed and adds to the movement in the embroidery.  

I used to do embroidery and crewel work on a start to finish and frame way, but my auto immune diseases have taken away some of my visual and physical limits, so my enjoyment and attention to these pursuits have to be in measured amounts.   What I'm really trying to say is that for ten years I have been fighting to keep my eyesight and the auto immune and other diseases are digging in their

 heels and the fight is a tug of war all of the time.  But I digress.

Way back when, WHEN?, when I was doing embroidery on a regular basis, including for some friends from school and wearing it on my jeans, jackets, bags, and so on I was crewel work crazy.  I'd sew until I couldn't focus any longer.  Everything I wore did not have embrodiery though.  I also loved to raid my Mom's closet for her clothes from her younger days.  Wedges, Peeptoes, Pretty Belts, and Jewelery.  The good old days.   I wish I had photos of those designs and clothes.  Sometimes I buy a cute item just because it has embroidery.  Crazy, right?  You ought to see me with the MagEyes on trying to thread a needle and holding a magnifying mirror up to the sewing machine needle, too.  Now, that's crazy effort!

Do you go all out and extend yourself to the limit for your crafts and art?  Or something else you are committed to finish?

Sing to the Clouds

I'm going to show my piece for IA's theme week challenge.  The theme is, "needlework."   There are some beautiful examples of art inspiration for this theme in the post over at the blog.  My piece is a simple mixed media and watercolor, about 4.5 x 5.5 inches.









 I remember my Mom singing to my younger sisters, rocking them in the red rocking chair and watching her rhythm and singing in her Welsh accent.  For some reason this image of a bird guiding the thread in the clouds at the end of a kite came to my mind.  I added the cat for a bit more whimsy.    The background is a result of the vertigo I've come down with, it was supposed to be a different pattern, but the dizziness took hold.

I'm going to step away from the blog for a bit until the vertigo subsides.  With ear infections in both ears, the prescriptions have just started and I have to give them a few days to see if they're going to work.   I'm sorry I won't be able to visit and comment on your blogs.

Tuesday a recipe will be posted and two more posts are also setup to publish automatically.  I hope to be back soon.

Muse in a Brown Paper Package

I'd like to share this  beautiful shadowbox with you.  Hettienne is the artist and her blog  showcases her inspiring attitude, zest for life , and  beliefs in creative ways.  For a few months I've participated in the weekly art theme challenges at Inspiration Avenue.  The team members have Etsy shops, including Hettienne.   I don't have an Etsy shop, but the theme challenges  are open to anyone.  I was welcomed at IA's theme weeks even though I've only just started to try and make the things which flutter through my brain before they disappear.  They mostly don't turn out the way my mind's eye sees them, but I try.

Back to business, Inspiration Avenue celebrated their recent milestone, having 500 followers and the blog party included several giveaways.  I was surprised and very lucky to have received a winning draw and the shadowbox was my gift.  Yahoo!  (They didn't invent that expression. lol)

Brown Paper Package with Beautiful Image

South African stamps, I'm saving these to use in a project!

The first thing I see is the card and the blue bag.  Inside the bag is a detailed description of the shadowbox, the creative process, the components, and the love that went into making the box.

Carefully Opening the Box.

Here is the big TA DA!

It's beautiful, the little book in the corner is an actual little book with blank pages.  There's my teacup and saucer, a locket which opens, my pearls, Cinderella's shoe, and more.  The birds almost made me cry as my Mom had a love for birds and my Dad made birdhouses.  They have both passed away and this art box is a perfect reminder of some happy times with them.  

I've been lax with things and seeing this lovely Muse with all the soothing yet inspiring elements will keep me company.  For now she's on a shelf above my desk.  A perfect place.  Thank you very much Hettienne you have a creative gift and thank you so much for sharing.  Yahoo indeed.

Scary or Sweet? Your Halloween Costume

Vampire lady or Zombie some kind of combination that's me in the black dress, and a friend in gypsy costume some years back hamming it up before the Halloween party.  I was in exaggerated makeup, with painted moon and scar with toy spiders and worms.  Just faking an attitude on the phone and with my friend in her costume,  she's wearing a black wig.  I used My Memories Suite V2 to make this page.
 

When you were a kid, did you wear a  costume with a coat over it because it was so cold or rainy on Halloween?  We fussed about the coats because we  wouldn't get any candy if the people thought we didn't get dressed up!  Yes, some of the neighbors were sticklers costume=candy vs. no costume=empty pillowcase or treat bag.

I wanted to wear the coat open, but Mom said, no.  Once out of her sight I unbuttoned the coat, between all the layers and the mask, it was sweltering. Later at home, the tattletale told on me, so punished, no candy for 48  24 hours. (I've been corrected.) The agony of waiting for two days one day and the sisters waving their treats in front of me.

If you wear a costume for Halloween, do you go with store bought or something you put together?  Scary or Sweet?

Being There

I'm originally an East Coast girl.  Since I came here, to the Midwest, I've never really settled in and I dearly miss my Atlantic Ocean, Delaware River, and all of the other bays, inlets, streams, creeks, ponds, waterfalls, channels, and sounds of the wet shores several states to the east of where I currently reside.

Last week I heard a familiar sound.  This week I heard it again. The sound seemed out of place, out of order somehow.  It was the sound of geese flying south for the winter, you know, that "honking" sounds they make to one another while flying in "V" formation.

Back home in the East, I would regularly see and hear the geese fly by.  I'd look up and see one or two birds try to hurry and get in formation or watch the lead bird be replaced by another- it was nature's miracle in view.

So, in the six years since I've been here, this was the first time I've heard the geese fly overhead.  Lying in bed and hearing that honking is  a gift.  It stirred up the memories of how I use to spend time outdoors, unlike here.  We used to go for walks, visit gardens and arboretums; sit by the river, walk on the beach, have mini-hikes on mountain trails, etc.

I remember standing alone outside in the dark and the cold waiting to see meteor showers. Sometimes the cloud cover would disappoint my effort to stay awake and warm to wait and wait for the meteors, and to give up eventually.

Or, one night just before coming into the house, my Mom was opening the door for me and said to look at the sky.  We were treated to the Northern Lights- Aurora Borealis, delicate pastels flickering and pulsating to a foreign rhythm, teasing and delighting in the same moment.

Another time, Haley's Comet returned and wouldn't be back again for what is it, 150 years or so, I'm not sure.  We went out into the street and looked up and it was tiny, but we were able to watch it, it was amazing. 

And again, there I was standing in the backyard in the pitch black night with birds and bats flying at me while I watched the biggest meteor shower I had ever seen.  I was dizzy from turning and looking at the stars fizzling out- some mere flickers and others sparklers millions of miles away, almost within my arm's reach, everywhere flying by except for under my feet and I had the privilege of being there.

(Photo by audreyjm529 on everystockphoto.com.)

Thanking in Absentia

My family gets smaller instead of larger.  Losses weigh heavily on my heart and increase my isolation. 

I thank God for my Mom and Dad, though no longer here, they remain with me each and every day.  They blessed me greatly in very many ways.

Looking Forward and Not Backward

New End Studio blog begins.  Looking at a photograph from London.  That's my Mom in the foreground.  Happy Times!