But there are always exceptions to the rule and the highest compliment I can bestow upon Canadian singer Robert Larrabee’s Middle of Something is the fact I’m reviewing it.

And enjoying it. 

But then a good song is a good song, no matter the arrangement, and Robert Larrabee has his fair share of good songs on Middle of Something.

The bulk of the material was co-written by Larrabee and noted Nashville-born songwriter Jess Cates, who has written or co-written Billboard 100 hits for many artists.

Three other numbers were co-written with Chad Cates, brother of Jess.

Larrabee and the Cates brothers’ ear for melody and a well-crafted chorus is perhaps best exemplified by the title track, a great slice of melodic, mid-tempo country that tells the tale of trying to find time for the things that are all too easily interrupted. 

Geared for radio play, 'Middle of Something' is guaranteed to have the listener humming the chorus long after the song has faded from the dial.

Lyrically, the countrified soft rock of ‘Guy Thing’ is self-explanatory but the gal is going to love the twist in the chorus – and her guy.

And any song that contains the line “when we’re surfing them channels one by one and I see those helmets and jerseys on… I’m glued to the screen” is going to score a Touchdown here at FabricationsHQ.

Great line, pity about the grammar (but that’s Nashville country, y’all).

‘When You’re Gone’ is a missing you already ballad that succeeds where so many saccharine cookie cutter ballads fail because there’s a genuine sincerity to both the lyric and Larrabee’s vocal, complimented by an under-stated but perfectly weighted arrangement.

By contrast the light rock of ‘Courageous’ would not be out of place on melodic rock station playlists while ‘Godly Man’ works where so many Christian rock songs fail because not only is it a great light-rock ballad, Robert Larrabee sings of a personal declaration of Faith.

The latter makes for a more sincere number and is a welcome change from the usual preaching to the converted (or unconverted) approach. 

But it wouldn’t be a country album without a line-dancing, fiddle and banjo clap-a-long and ‘Round Here’ fits the bill right down the cry of “Woo-hoo!”

Too late to close the barn dance door, boys, this cowboy and his horse have already bolted.

But that’s the only song on the album I’m galloping away from.

Musically, Robert Larrabee is definitely in the Middle of Something.

But, based on the strength and quality of the tracks contained within, Robert Larrabee deserves to be at the Start of Something Big.

Let us know what you think!

The track is the second single from their upcoming LP release, due out in fall of 2013. “Maybe There's a Way” comes hot on the heels of their popular single track, “Man of Action,” which debuted in March of this year and immediately shot to the National Top 100 Airplay Chart.

“Maybe There's a Way” is unlike “Man of Action” in terms of tempo and groove, being a mellower romantic ballad in the tradition of artists like Phil Collins, Sting, and Yes, whereas “Man of Action” recalls the clean-channel, poppy orchestra rock of 80s favorite, Joe Jackson (“Is She Really Going Out With Him”). Where “Man of Action” stood up and shouted, “Maybe There's a Way” leans in and croons. It is a heartfelt, touching song with hints of country around its edges and rock 'n' roll in its great, big heart.

As usual, the flawless, earnest singing of Grammy Award winner Pat Hunt claims much of the song's spotlight. The soaring lead guitar work of Steffen Goeres is gloriously clarion and prominent. Fellow Grammy winner Randy Miller's bass is precise and flowing, in perfect harmony with drummer Raimund Breitfeld's subtle power, the keys lay way back and create a curtain of delicate sound against which everything else stands out.

In other words, WORLD5 has recorded another spotless, almost painfully perfect single. “Maybe There's a Way” manages to be sad and strong at the same time, powerful and genteel, a work of great artistry with rock and roll as a canvas and classic rock sensibilities for a paint palette. Viewed as a pairing with “Man of Action,” “Maybe There's a Way” continues to prove that music fans of the world have much to look forward to with WORLD5's forthcoming full-length album. With any luck, they won't have to wait long.

“Maybe There's a Way” by WORLD5 is available online worldwide 18 June 2013.

-S. McCauley
Staff Press Release Writer
MondoTunes

The single “Maybe There's a Way” is distributed globally by MondoTunes (www.MondoTunes.com) and is available at iTunes for convenient purchase and download
####
MondoTunes (www.mondotunes.com) supplies the largest music distribution in the world and provides upstream services for many major labels in search of breakout artists. While most independent distributors reach only 45-50 retailers despite charging needless monthly and yearly fees, MondoTunes reaches over 750 retailers and mobile partners in over 100 world regions without any monthly or yearly fees.

ARTIST CONTACT INFO:

eMail -
info@world5music.com

WORLD5 website -
http://www.world5music.com

For Mother's Day, we kids got my mom a hibiscus tree.  Her gardenia tree died from last year a few weeks before this Mother's Day, so she definitely needed another kind of tree!

When I was little, the tree I loved at our house was a willow in our backyard.  It was the biggest tree I'd ever seen.  I loved to go sit and read under it during the summer.  The branches made a canopy hanging over almost touching the ground. 

Speaking of trees, today's song refers to the willow tree.  Here's the jazz standard "Willow Weep for Me" sung by Ella Fitzgerald.

Ella Fitzgerald

At 11:20 PM yesterday, Erik poked his head into my doorway to ask me if I was watching the storm.  I hadn't been so he lowered my blinds (we have blinds that can go up from the bottom and down from the top).  Then he went back to his room to watch the storm from the west side of the house.

Eva Cassidy

From the time I was little, I remember loving to watch storms.  My brother and I would go in the living room and move the couch with our Dad and sit by the big front window.  We loved it!

In all of my baking I still haven't tackled pies.  I seem to have avoided making pie crusts.

We were hungry for pie today!  My brother's favorite pie is Marie Callender's Dutch Apple Pie.  It's very tasty!  It is probably the best freezer pie I have eaten that is baked at home!

Soon I will be trying my hand at pies...but until then I'll just keep listening to Don McLean's "American Pie!"

My family loves to play community softball.  I talked a little bit about it a week and a half ago in a blog post.  The first game was this week!

We may not have won, but we did have a lot of fun!  I take pictures of the team playing every year.  We have "High Hopes" (sung by Frank Sinatra) for a win in next week's game!  Yet even if we don't win, we will have some great photos and memories!

The ensuing weeks will have more softball and more pictures!

Life without Internet...stinks. 

I love raspberries!

When I was little my family had a raspberry patch in the backyard.  Erik and I loved eating the fresh raspberries right off the bushes!

The best crop we ever had was the year a pair of red-winged blackbirds made their nest in the middle of the raspberry patch.  Red-winged blackbirds are very territorial and protect their hatchlings...and the raspberries from other birds!

We called animal control after the birds actually started attacking us whenever we were in the backyard.  The suggested solution was to beat metal pans with metal spoons while standing on the back porch so that the birds would be momentarily scared away long enough so my dad could run to the raspberry patch and pick as many raspberries as he could before the birds came back.  It was really quite comical!

If you are a radio station that would like to interview our band please contact us at tramcarrevolution@gmail.com. We have been doing iquite a few nterviews and features lately and can arrange a May interview still if you contact us very soon. Once we have a confirmed date and time for a feature or interview, we will create a banner for the show to direct our fan base to tune in to.

I made my favorite chocolate cheesecake in my new silicone springform pan and it turned is superb!  The best part?  The springform just slid right away from the cake when I unhinged it!  I'm so pleased with easy my silicone bakeware makes baking!

I made a few ingredient adjustments to the Kraft recipe so I've included the altered recipe below.  You can access the original Kraft Chocolate Cheescake recipe, too.

To paraphrase, "I like chocolate cheesecake cold, how about you?"  So please take a listen to the classic Frank Sinatra tune, "How About You."

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

CRUST:

2 cups crushed Oreo Cookies, about 24 cookies

4 Tbl. melted butter

CAKE:

3 packages of cream cheese (8 oz. each)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

8 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped

Prepare a 9-inch metal springform pan by lining bottom and sides with parchment paper.  If using silicone, spray vegetable spray on bottom and sides.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Combine crumbs and melted butter in a medium bowl and mix.  Press evenly onto the bottom of the springform pan.  Bake for 15 minutes. 

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chopped chocolate in the microwave on power 4 for 45 seconds.  Stir.  Put in for another 45 seconds.  Stir.  Microwave until the chocolate is melted.  Let cool on the counter.

Whip the cream cheese until smooth and shiny, for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add sugar, vanilla, and eggs and beat just until incorporated. 

Add the cooled chocolate to the cream cheese and whip until completely mixed.  Pour on top of the baked crust.

Bake at 325 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes.  Center should be set, but may jiggle.  Don't over bake or cheesecake will be very dense and heavy.

Let cool in springform pan.  If in a silicone pan, let the cake cool and remove the silicone ring before placing in fridge or freezer.  Refrigerate for 4 hours or freeze for 2 hours before slicing and serving.

Muffin Ma'ams Basket

Today I got to try scones and biscotti from Muffin Ma'am's a local catering bakery in Dubuque, Iowa.  They were fantastic!  I wish I could make scones and biscotti like they do! 

If you're looking for a great tasting, personalized gift or need great pastry for a party, definitely call Muffin Ma'ams!  Check out their long list of flavors including Lemon Poppy Seed, Raspberry (muffins), Cinnamon Crunch, White Chocolate Raspberry (scones), Triple Berry, and Butter Pecan (biscotti).  Just about any flavor you can imagine they make!

These goodies were packaged in a "basket" lined with cheese cloth so I thought of the first lines in "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" sung by Ella Fitzgerald!  "A-Tisket, A-Tasket, a brown and yellow basket...."  Enjoy!

Cole is also the host of “People of Distinction," which has featured hundreds of the top experts, celebrities, NY Times bestselling authors as well as leading professionals in business, academia, sustainable energy, government and medicine. People of Distinction is a unique show giving high profile people the opportunity to talk not only about their great public accomplishments, but also notable aspects of themselves as individuals... what motivates them to create the things they do, their special goals and interests, their insights into life itself.

Al has brought to his own show such celebrities and thought luminaries as:
Dr. John Gray author of "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus” / Ken Corday Executive Producer of NBC's "Days of our Lives" / Carol Channing the immortal "Hello Dolly" / Dee Wallace star of Steven Spielberg's “ET: The Extraterrestrial” / Mickey Thomas lead singer of The Jefferson Starship.

Having worked in the music industry for more than 40 years, Pat Hunt is what you might call a veteran musician. He's contributed to four Grammy Award-nominated albums and one Grammy award-winning album, and has opened for well-known artists such as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and the Temptations in the 1980s.

Hunt is also the lead singer and keyboardist for the world concept band WORLD5, which consists of five members who collaborate from their homes in the United States, New Zealand, Sweden and Germany. The band's sophomore album, "Man of Action," is due to be released this fall, and the title track is currently in the Top 200 National Aiplay Chart.

The show will air Friday, Maj 17th and will be repeated from
2pm to 6pm of that day, EST. on the well known giant iTunes Radio Network and the Live365 Radio Network, the #1 Radio Network in Digital Media.(including its sister Stations Athena365 and MyGen365).

For optimum listener access
Al's Shows on The iTUNES RADIO NETWORK Can Be Accessed Through the iTunes Browser - then "News/Talk" - then "PEOPLE Of DISTINCTION".

The interview, at the time of airing, will be accessible through this link:
http://www.live365.com/stations/alcoleradio?play=1
http://wgrnradio.com/peopleofdistinction/

To learn more about World5, email info@world5music.com, visit www.world5music.com or connect with the band on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube and Google+.

Happy Mother's Day!  When I think of mothers, I think of comfort--which inevitably leads me to think of comfort food.  And a great comfort food is Pound Cake!

Now, I know I've highlighted this song before, but I love the way "I'm a Woman" sung by Peggy Lee "tells it like it is" for mothers who care for families around the clock!  Mothers have my highest regard!

POUND CAKE

CAKE:

1 cup butter, cut into Tablespoon-sized pieces, chilled

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

2 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cup cake flour (if don't have cake flour, all-purpose flour will work too)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cups sugar

RASPBERRY SAUCE:

1 lb. frozen raspberries

Let the butter sit out for about 20 minutes to slightly soften.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla with a fork until incorporated.  Set aside. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Use a paddle mixing attachment to whip the butter and salt together until they are smooth, for about 2 minutes.  Scrape down the bowl.

While mixing on medium speed, add the sugar to the butter mixture until light in color, for about 7 minutes.  Scrape down the bowl.

With the mixer on medium speed, add the egg mixture and beat for 3 minutes until the batter is fluffy.  The batter might have a curdled look, but that is okay.  Scrape down the bowl and make sure all the ingredients are fully incorporated. 

Gently hand mix the flour into the wet batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top out with a rubber spatula.  Bake for between 55 and 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean at the center.  Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for between 10-15 minutes.  Remove from pan and let cool for another 2 hours.

To make the raspberry sauce, put the frozen raspberries in a colander and let them defrost.  When softened, mash raspberries with a fork.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

So imagine my delight last December when I discovered a "from scratch" recipe for Lemon Whippersnappers in America's Test Kitchen Magazine!  I didn't even know these cookies could be made without the cake mix or the cool whip.  However, America's Test Kitchen calls them Lemon Snowflakes not Whippersnappers.

I, of course, have added my own adaptation and doubled the recipe.  They were such a big hit that I couldn't just make 2 dozen; I had to make 4 dozen!  These cookies are GREAT freezer cookies and keep very well...if they last that long.  Honestly, these cookies are addicting!

Lemon is so...sunny!  And these cookies are covered in powdered sugar, too.  So here's "Powder Your Face with Sunshine" sung by Dean Martin.

Lemon Snowflakes (Whippersnappers)

DRY MIX:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

WET MIX:

2-1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 Tbl plus 2 tsp grated lemon zest from about 6 lemons (you can substitute dried lemon peel)

6 Tbl lemon juice from about 2 lemons (you can substitute refrigerated lemon juice)

8 Tbl butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbl vegetable oil

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2 tsp vanilla

COATING:

1 cup powdered sugar

In a medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

Put granulated sugar and lemon zest in food processor and process for about 60 seconds.  The mixture should be finely ground.  Add the melted butter, vegetable oil, eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla.  Mix for about 60 seconds or until mixture is light in color and somewhat thick.  Pour into the dry mixture and mix by hand with a rubber spatula until fully incorporated. 

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Get out a wire cooling rack and place waxed paper underneath it.

Form dough into 1-1/2 inch balls and roll in powdered sugar.  Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart to allow the cookies room to spread.  Bake for between 10 to 12 minutes.  Cookies will look wet in cracks, but are done.  Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes to continue baking outside of the oven.  Remove to wire cooling rack.

Recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies.

The crust has pecans in it.  I like to buy whole pecans in bulk so I keep them in the freezer until I need them--then they don't go rancid.  Sometimes I chop up several cups (or use the food processor) and store them in the freezer in ziploc bags with the date written on them.

This little tip is essential: Always sort through bulk pecans to make sure no shells are still attached to the nut meat.  Just when I think I don't need to sort, I find a shell!  It never hurts to be careful!

Since these are one of Keith William's favorite desserts, here's "My Favorite Things" sung by Julie Andrews.  And since this song is immortalized by two greats--Julie Andrews and John Coltrane, I've included Coltrane's instrumental version of "My Favorite Things," too!

PISTACHIO PUDDING BARS

CRUST:

1 cup plus 2 Tbl. butter, room temperature

3/4 cup powdered sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 13 x 18 inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar together.  Add flour and mix until combined.  Mix in the pecans and vanilla.  The dough will be crumbly and slightly dry.

Press dough evenly into the lined jelly roll pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  Crust may puff up a little during baking, but will fall once out of the oven.  Allow to cool.

CREAM CHEESE LAYER:

2 - 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup heavy cream, whipped to make 2 cups

In a medium bowl, whip the cream cheese until smooth.  Add powdered sugar and beat until silky in texture.  Add vanilla and whip until incorporated.  Add a 1/3 cup of the whipped heavy cream to the bowl and whip.  Then fold the rest of the whipped cream in by hand.

Dollop onto the cooled crust and then spread until the whole crust is covered.

PISTACHIO PUDDING LAYER:

4 - 3.4 oz. boxes of instant pistachio pudding mix

4 cups skim milk

In a large mixing bowl combine pudding mix and milk and whip until thick.  Make sure to break any pockets of mix by scraping down the bowl and running a rubber spatula through the mixture.  If Mixture is too runny, put in the fridge for a couple of minutes to thicken.

Once thickened, dollop onto the cream cheese layer and spread until the cream cheese is covered. 

Put in the refrigerator or freezer to firm up.

To store, freeze the entire tray.  Remove the bars by picking up with the parchment paper and put on a large cutting board.  Let the bars sit at room temperature for a few minutes. 

With a large knife, cut into rectangles.  Line an air-tight container with waxed paper.  Put the bars in the container in one layer.  Put another piece of waxed paper on top of the first layer of bars and add another layer.  Repeat until the container is full.  Store in the freezer.

VARIATION:

Choose your favorite flavor of pudding mix and substitute it for the pistachio pudding mix.

Chocolate Raspberry Torte

As I looked for recipes to try in my new silicone bakeware, I came across a recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Torte.  I love chocolate and raspberries, so I had to try it!

And the silicone bakeware worked magnificently!  The cakes literally just slid out of the pans!  Perfect cakes without the hassle of sticking and breaking!

Time is very important in baking, perhaps even more-so than in cooking.  Over bake and cakes dry out.  Under bake and cakes are, well, not done.  So today's song is "Just in Time" sung by Dean Martin.

The recipe below is my adaption of a Cook's Illustrated recipe.

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TORTE

CAKE

4 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped

4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped

12 Tbl. butter, cut into pieces

2 1/2 tsp. vanilla (real, not imitation!)

2 cups sliced almonds, toasted

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

5 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

FILLING

12 oz. frozen raspberries, thawed

1/3 cup seedless raspberry jelly, heated until runny

GLAZE

4 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped

1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup and 1 Tbl. heavy cream

GARNISH

16 full raspberries, set aside

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and put the oven rack in the middle.  Line two 9-inch round pans with parchment paper and grease the paper.  If using silicone pans, spray with vegetable spray.

Melt the 4 oz. of semi-sweet and 4 oz. of unsweetened baking chocolates in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds on power 3.  Take out and stir.  Put in for another minute and 30 seconds.  The chocolate should be mostly melted.  Add the butter and put in microwave for another 30 seconds.  Stir the butter and chocolate together.  When combined, add vanilla.

Pulse 1 cup of sliced almonds coarsely in a food processor.  Set aside.

Put the rest of the almonds in the food processor and grind finely.  Add flour and salt until combined.  Put in a small bowl and set aside.

Put eggs in food processor and turn on for 2-3 minutes until light in color and slightly frothy.  Add the sugar and whip until combined.  Remove food processor bowl.  Hand whisk the almond-flour mixture and chocolate mixture together.

Evenly divide the batter into the prepared cake pans.  Bake for 14 minutes.  Let cool, in pans, on wire rack.

If using metal pans, loosen cake sides from pan with a knife.  Flip one cake onto the backside of a plate.  Then flip the cake to be right side up on the wire rack.  Put waxed paper under the rack.

To make the filling, mash the raspberries and add the liquified jelly to the mixture.

Spread the raspberry filling on the top of the first cake.  Flip the other cake directly onto the top of the first cake and filling.

To make the glaze, put the rest of the chocolate and heavy cream in a small saucepan.  Melt over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.  Be careful not to scald the cream or burn the chocolate.  Once combined, pour and spread over the cake, being sure the sides are covered by letting the chocolate go over the sides of the cake.

Using the remaining coarsely chopped almonds, pat onto the sides of the torte.

Place the 16 raspberries on top of the cake around the edge.

Throw away waxed paper under the cake rack.  Place the rack with the cake on a jelly roll pan.  Put in the freezer.

Two months ago after using a silicone bundt pan--which ironically is one-third the price of a metal bundt pan--I wondered if it were possible that other silicone bakeware could be superior to metal bakeware.

Fast forward to yesterday,  I just couldn't bring myself to make a chocolate cheesecake because the springform pan was completely rusted and even though I line the entire springform pan with parchment paper, I couldn't use it.  Plus, it was a bit bent and I was afraid it would leak.  So I looked online and found out that silicone springform pans exist!  They really do!

So I ordered one that will arrive tomorrow.  I'll let you know how well it works.

Now to this afternoon, I came downstairs to find the beautiful arrangement of silicone bakeware waiting to be discovered by me!  A graduation surprise!

I'm in heaven selecting recipes to try out in the new silicone bakeware!

Seriously, if I could do an infomercial for silicone baking products, I would.  I would also write a catchy jingle...! 

For now, here's a treat of a song, "Everything Happens to Me" sung by the jazz trumpeter Chet Baker in honor of the "baking" mood.  Chet Baker is more known as a trumpeter but as a great musician he puts emotion in his vocals, too!

Thank you for all of the well wishes for law school!  I'm excited to start this new chapter of my life.

And today is the beginning of Sherrill, Iowa, community softball season!  Every summer I take pictures of our team in action.  It's very fun!  Today Team Chaston did provided umpires and concession stand workers, so the top photo is of the last game of the night.  The concession stand photo is of Joe Baggot, left, Will Chemin, middle, and Katie Eastvedt on the right just as they were finishing cleaning up and stocking the shelves after a busy night!

You'd think I'd learn the rules of softball, as this is my fourth summer taking pictures of softball being played, but I still find myself asking other fans, "What just happened?"  Perhaps I'm too focused on getting my pictures in focus to figure out all the rules...I will get those for a future blog!

One of the lines of the song "Charade" from the theme for the movie Charade is "Playing at games..."  So here's Andy Williams singing "Charade," though my favorite rendition is the vocal-less soundtrack version.  Also, definitely check out the movie starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant.  It's an awesome thriller!

The instructions on the calla lilies even tell how save and store the lily bulb after the flowers stop blooming.  I can repot the bulb next spring!  Or I can even plant the bulb outside, however I don't think I live in the right temperature zone to do that.

Knowing that my calla lily plant goes dormant--but doesn't die--made me think of the song "Our Love is Here to Stay" sung by Ella Fitzgerald.  After all, love and flowers are definitely here to stay!

Photo at last week's semifinal game

Today BYU's Rugby team beat California-Berkeley to win the Varsity Cup National Championship!

It was a great game that ended with a BYU kick through the uprights to give BYU the 27-24 win!

Tonight, BYU is playing in the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship game against UC Irvine at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.  Watch it on ESPNU.  Erik mixed the live sound for last week's semifinal games in Provo that BYU won to get there!  As always, great sound for great volleyball!

Perhaps a little cliche, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to highlight Queen's "We Are the Champions."  As tribute to the BYU Rugby team and with high hopes for BYU's Men's Volleyball team, here it is!

It took us over a year, but everyone's schedules finally came together, we found a beautiful location, and we got to put on a show with our friends from Fadin' By 9!!!  They've been busy in the studio working on their new CD, but took time out to join us on a beautiful Spring evening to entertain a very enthusiastic and receptive crowd with their brand of fun - which is awfully simular to ours!  The Fadin' By 9 "Proud Mary" finale had KBPR banjo player Tom in such tears of laughter that we weren't sure he'd be able to carry on with our part of the show!  After a short intermission we pumped out a high power set and then brought our friends back up for a rousing finale that swung in all the best ways possible.  The audience literally hollered for more!!!  (We're both performing at the Eastside Bluegrass Series in November - so come see us for an encore!).  After the show it became a marathon caravan through Portland to find a restaurant that was still open to fill our starving tummies.  Facebook friends sent suggestions and guided us down I-5 until we finally found an Applebee's that had. . . . . PHOTO CARDS!!  (What a great idea for tired musicians - just hold up the picture of what you want to eat!).  Fun was had.  We can't wait for the opportunity to hang with our Fadin' By 9 friends at the Tygh Valley Bluegrass Festival in September!!

We were asked to represent the Portland Rock 'n' Roll Marathon on KPTV/FOX 12's morning program "Good Day Oregon" - and we were thrilled to accept!  Our first date was unfortunately postponed due to the tragedy at The Boston Marathon - but it all worked out as the new date was one of those glorious Spring mornings in the Northwest where the sun makes everything glow (including Tom Tower's hair - we had a record amount of social media posts about that!).  Most of us behaved and went to bed VERY early the night before so we could make that morning wake up call and get ourselves down to the Salmon Street Fountain at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland Oregon at the required hour.  As we staggered out of the van it immediately became apparent that to our hosts it was just about lunch time!  They were kind, great fun, and knew exactly where they wanted us . . . . but seemed to be a bit surprised at what they got!  After a quick mental shift, they embraced the fact that we had a bit of experience with this sort of thing and the morning turned into a hilarious hour of witty banter, fun music, total strangers taking some AMAZING pictures (just go through this photo album for proof of that!), a surprise visit by Rick from the Rose Festival Association, and more impromptu banter than anyone had planned on!  Oh, and did we mention the giggles and laughter?  (Is is legal to giggle before 7 in the morning??)  All-in-all a wonderful experience.  THANK YOU Competitor Group in Arizona for asking us to take part in this.  THANK YOU KPTV/FOX 12 and Good Day Oregon for making us a part of your program.  THANK YOU to everyone who sent the nice comments about seeing us on your television and various electronic devices!!

The Ink Spots

I have never experienced so much rain in my life!  It seems rain is everywhere I am...

Below is my favorite preparation.  It's fast and easy.  The hard part is finding couscous in the grocery store.  I buy Rice Select Original Couscous.  You can buy it online or put in your zip code and find a store near you that sells it.

Since couscous is a staple in Tunisia, I felt the jazz song "Night in Tunisia" sung live by Chaka Khan was especially appropriate for today's song!

But where to find a good orange filling and glaze?  There are tons of recipes for cinnamon, but not so many for orange.  So here's what I use!

And what would a sweet roll be without a song?  Well, I guess there's no answer for that, but here's Nat King Cole singing "Orange Colored Sky."

Blueberries are a great fruit.  My family has five blueberry bushes in our backyard!  They do not grow superbly in the Midwest but they do grow with a lot of the right mulch and fertilizer!  Our crop for two years has been about a cup!  So it's a good thing frozen blueberries are always available!

Speaking of blue, here's "Blue Moon" sung by Frank Sinatra.

For graduation, I got a beautiful bouquet of white lilies and orange burst flowers (I made that name up), plus a sleek, tall vase!  As much as I love bouquets with lots of colorful and varied flowers, white lilies are definitely my favorite.  I fell in love with their simple beauty years ago.

This is a short--but sweet--blog post about falling in love!  Today's song is "I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling" sung by Louis Armstrong.  It's a great tune!

The band is picking up steam! Starting today we are going to be aired starting off the 2nd hour on the New Driven- Torqued radio show which is syndicated to several other stations...see http://bit.ly/YmTXFo    for a list of stations it will be aired.

Throwing away homework does not mean I don't love my classes.  I do.  I just love the sense of completion when I can throw away class notes that I'll never look at again!  And, yes, I do recycle!

I am a saver so I tear out the used pages of notebooks and save the unused portions for future use!  In other words, I salvage partially used notebooks the next semester or I use them as lyric books for either writing original lyrics or memorizing jazz standards.

Anyway, it was a great feeling to sort through my notes today!  By cleaning out and organizing, I remind myself that I have a little bit of control over my immediate environment!

Regarding environment, the spring weather has been really strange and unpredictable of late.  So here's the jazz standard "Stormy Weather" sung by Etta James.  I think I should add "Stormy Weather" to my chart books so I can sing it at my next jazz performance.

A couple of years ago, I started going to rugby games because frankly, the game is fascinating to watch!  I have even been acquainted with a few players who were in my classes.  I really do love to watch rugby games.

I don't understand all the rules.  These are a few things I do know about rugby: (1) the ball can only be passed backwards; (2) points are scored only if the ball touches the ground across the end line; and (3) the word "scrum!"

With today's win, I'm rooting for BYU to win the championship game against California-Berkeley next week!

So in honor of BYU's rugby team winning today, I've highlighted "Alright, Okay, You Win" sung by Peggy Lee even though I have shared it before.  But I LOVE this song and feel that "winning" needs to be highlighted often!

PS If you are a high rolling vinyl record collector, his psychedelic classic with the Night Shadows, "The Square Root of Two", is trading for around $2000 a copy in mint condition.

This is me doing vocals last year...I didn't take any photos today...

Yesterday was commencement and today each college had its own convocation.  You might wonder what I was doing during my convocation since I didn't walk?  Recording vocals, of course! 

I've almost finished all the vocal tracks for my Jazzy Christmas to You III coming out this fall and vocal tracks for some future projects.  I love getting so much done!

So the next stage will be the mixing and mastering!

I realized today I've never highlighted the classic "Fly Me to The Moon" sung by Frank Sinatra.  Since the song lyrics talk about singing, I felt it was appropriate!

This is an altered double recipe, so I wouldn't recommend halving it.  It makes about 70 cookies, but trust me, you'll need that many.  As with all the recipes I make, these cookies are freezer-friendly!

I specified the butter and peanut butter brands that I use.  If anything, the peanut butter makes the greatest difference.  I used to use crunchy peanut butter, but creamy works best.  I like the flavor of the Adams Natural Creamy peanut butter.  I'd recommend pouring off a little of the oil before stirring it into the peanut butter.

Today's song is from Mary Poppins, "A Spoonful of Sugar" sung by Julie Andrews.  There's a lot of sugar in these cookies, but well worth it!

Peanut Butter Cloud Cookies

1 cup Land O' Lakes salted butter

1 1/4 cup Adams Natural Creamy peanut butter (very important to use this brand)

1 cup sugar, plus another 1/2 cup for rolling

1 cup powdered sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp real vanilla extract (don't substitute imitation)

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter, use a full tsp)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place parchment paper on uninsulated cookie sheet.  Set aside.

Cream butter and peanut butter until light in color.  Mixture will look grainy from the natural peanut butter.  Gradually add 1 cup sugar and powdered sugar. 

Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a separate small bowl, stir dry ingredients together.  Gradually add to creamed mixture.

Shape into one-inch balls and roll in sugar.  Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake 10-12 minutes.  Cookies will look shiny in the cracks even when done.  Remove cookie sheets from oven letting the cookies cool on the sheets for 1-2 minutes then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.  Note: these cookies brown extremely fast on the bottom so don't leave the cookies in the oven too long.

Makes about 70 cookies.  I make very small cookies, so if you make bigger cookies, you'll get about 50 and bake them a little longer.

Variation: To make "blossom" cookies, place an unwrapped Hershey's Kisses or Hershey's Baking Melts on each cookie during the last minute of baking time.  To store, place cookies on cooled baking sheet and place in freezer until frozen.  Then layer cookies between waxed paper in a food container to prevent cookies from sticking to each other.

Rice Krispie Treats made the Chaston way are the gooiest, most flavorful ones I've ever eaten!  Try this recipe.  You won't be sorry!  Erik even took them to his final project presentation for a business innovations class today.  They were a hit! 

Today's song is a bit of a stretch.  When I don't associate rice with food, I think of weddings.  And when I think of weddings I think, naturally, of love.  So here's Etta James singing her classic "At Last."  I love rice for food and at weddings...and in the Chaston Rice Krispie Treats! 

Don't Call Me A Hero is Don's way of coming to terms with the emotions that have haunted him since that night almost 28 years ago. For years Don rode the rescue truck with the Fire Department. During that time he witnessed many accidents that included loss of life. The horrific events of that night are the kind of things that can haunt a firefighter for years. That night has weighed heavy on Don's mind ever since it happened.

The call came shortly after midnight. When Don and the rescue crew arrived, flames and smoke were already billowing from the building. A young female at the scene yelled out there were babies still inside. Don and fellow firefighter entered the home in search of the children. Because the heat was so intense and the smoke thick and black, the two were unable to see a thing and had to feel their way through the house on hands and knees. Through the confusion Don heard his partner yell that he had found one. As Don turned toward the sound of his partner's voice a flashover occurred knocking them both to the floor. Don was now able to see the girl. He grabbed the child and took her to the front door where he handed her to EMS personnel. Don then re-entered the house, found his partner and guided him and the baby to he front door. Don then took the baby from his injured partner, jumped in the back of the ambulance where he performed infant CPR all the way to the Hospital. Upon arrival, Don handed the baby over to the attending emergency physician, quite certain the baby was already an angel. The crew were later advised the baby did not recover.

The heat of the fire that night was so intense that Don's helmet melted. Don also had flash burns to his face. His partner suffered burns to both of his hands.

A year prior to this incident Don also saved the life of a teenage boy. Because that rescue happened in the early morning of New Years Day, there was a tremendous amount of press proclaiming Don a Hero. To Don though, the real hero has always been the innocent child who lost her life in that fire.

Like most first responders, whether they be firefighters, police, paramedics, military personnel, Don never  felt right about being called a hero. To these men and women they are doing what they were trained to do. To them, they are just doing their job.

Thanks for the great support! We have had some great feedback!

While looking for something in the freezer, I discovered a chunk of parmesan that I had bought for a different recipe several weeks ago.  I also love spinach parmesan bread, but realized I didn't have any spinach so decided to find a recipe for cracked black pepper cheese bread instead!  I had some leftover asiago cheese leftover from making asiago bread and added that to the bread with the parmesan.  Now that I know I can make yeast bread without killing the yeast, I am fearless!

The recipe below is a combination of two recipes I found, and honestly, the more cheese the better!

So I thought today's song should take a detour from jazz to...Bread.  That's right, here's "Down on My Knees" by Bread.

Cracked Black Pepper Cheese Bread

Add yeast to warm water.  Stir and let sit for five minutes.  Put 2 cups flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl.  Stir together.  Put olive oil in center of flour mixture.  Add yeast mixture.  Stir with a fork until combined.

Stir into dough.  Add one-half cup of flour.  Stir then knead. 

Add cheeses and mixture together.

Add last one-half cup of flour.  Knead.  The dough should be slightly gooey.

Let rise for an hour or until double. 

Spray large cookie sheet with Pam.

Divide dough in half.  Shape each half into a 16-inch long log with a diameter less than 2 inches.

Cover with waxed paper and let rise for another hour.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-28 minutes.   

Let bread cool on rack.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Tramcar Revolution

I have to be honest.  I've never been a big fan of hamburgers.  I don't even know why.

I grew up in Iowa eating very good beef, but I just really didn't like hamburgers.  Now, I still don't jump for joy when I hear that "hamburgers" are on the menu but I have grown to like them.

Erik, my brother, makes a super duper seasoned hamburger with chili powder, garlic powder, hot pepper flakes, pepper and salt!  With a freshly sliced tomato and slivers of red pepper and onion all on 9-grain bread, a hamburger topped with cheddar cheese becomes a real meal that was once merely an unadorned beef patty! 

So what's a song about a "growing love?"  First song I thought of is "I Could Write a Book" sung by Sarah Vaughan.

Cafe Rio Burritos!

I love Mexican food (even if it's Tex-Mex).  And Cafe Rio always makes me happy!  I like to order a sweet pork barbacoa burrito with black beans "enchilada style" (smothered) in hot sauce!  I love spicy food and tonight was especially spicy!  And of course, I have to have chips and salsa!  Today was a studio day so we got take-out after our long day going through recordings.

So in honor of my favorite Mexican food, here's "La Bamba" performed by Los Lobos!

I love soft pretzels.  I'm SO grateful Super Pretzels have boxed soft pretzels in the freezer aisle!  Hot, salty, heavenly bread.  What's better than that on a cold, spring day?  (Yes, it's STILL cold in April.)

Now, I've tried to make homemade soft pretzels, but my attempt didn't turn out very well.  I'll still keep looking for that perfect homemade soft pretzel recipe!  I've even tried making pretzel rolls.  I have to keep working on those, too.

So since soft pretzels are heavenly and I wold love to sing about them, here's the song "And the Angels Sing" sung LIVE by Ella Fitzgerald!

Today, in between studying, I watched Food Network and saw an episode of "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" where Anne Burrell made Grilled Pizzettas with Parmigiano, Prosciutoo and Arugula and with Taleggio and Puttanesca.

I adapted the original recipe which I included below!

Now, I've highlighted "That's Amore" sung by Dean Martin before, but what other song mentions pizza?!?

Stove Top Pizza Crust 

½ cup warm tap water

1 ½ teaspoons dry yeast

½ teaspoon sugar

1 cup white all-purpose flour

½ cup wheat flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar.  Stir and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir together white flour, wheat flour, and salt.  Make a well in the middle.  Pour yeast mixture and oil in center.  Stir with a fork then knead.  Let rise for an hour or until double. Divide into five parts.  Roll into irregular shapes very thin.
 

Heat a fry pan up to medium heat.  Pan fry crusts on both sides, then set on cookie sheet sprayed lightly with Pam. Set out toppings everyone likes so that each person makes their own pizza.  Start with a cheese. Then put other toppings spread around the crust.  Top with a little cheese. 

Toppings I like: 

Parmesan cheese

asiago cheese, chunked into tiny pieces

mozzarella cheese, shredded

onions, sliced

red pepper, sliced

tomatoes, chopped

black olives, sliced

hot pepper flakes

yellow peppers, sliced

basil

pepperoni, sliced very thinly 

Bake in oven preheated to 425 degrees for 3-7 minutes depending on how crusty you want the pizza.  Just make sure the cheese is somewhat melted so it can hold the pizza together!

Erik, my brother, on a very snowy day!

Today was windy and REALLY cold.  It snowed a little, but not long.  There were actually only a few flakes.

I'm not sure I understand this whole "spring" concept.  It seems to me winter is now when spring is!  How does winter keep hanging on?

Now, I like the cold--I like it better than hot weather.  But when I'm expecting temperate temperatures and I get frigid frost, I do get a little miffed!

So instead of staying disappointed, I remembered a song by one of my favorite guitarists, Stevie Ray Vaughan, who performed a song about bad weather in a relationship.  I adore his gritty, bluesy style!  So here's "Couldn't Stand the Weather" by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.

"Few artists can match Marshall Lawrence’s solo acoustic presentation. A gifted translation of Delta blues expression played with the tenacity of fidgety bluegrass and a lyrical folk fervor.“ Living Blues Known internationally in his profession as the “Doctor of the Blues,” Marshall Lawrence operates with a guitar instead of medical instruments. The Canadian Ph.D. in Psychology espouses a holistic approach to music that not only cures what ails you, but is a preventative as well. His latest release follows the critical
accolades for Where’s the Party (2003), The Morning After (2008) and Blues Intervention (2010) with a timely visit from the good doctor.

The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist presents 11 originals and two covers spanning acoustic country blues and R&B backed by Dave “Hurricane” Hoerl (harmonica), Russell Jackson (upright bass), David Aide (Hammond B-3 organ), Barry Allen (background vocals), Dwayne Hrinkiw (drums) and special guests, the legendary Holmes Brothers. The toe-tapping hoedown of “Mean Momma Blues” dares you to
sit still as Lawrence, Hoerl and Jackson raise a ruckus while the leader files a classic complaint against his woman in his understated drawl. His urgent slide guitar in dynamic stop-time helps drive home the kissoff in “I Got to Ramble” with “You cook my dinner, but you don’t bake my bread…I’ve had enough of your cold, cold bed.” The Holmes Brothers lend their heavenly gospel harmonies to sweeten the raw
Delta shuffle of “Factory Closing Blues” as Lawrence throws down a poisonous indictment at the feet of hard-hearted big business. “Please Help Me Find My Way Home” rocks with an easy shuffle beat under Lawrence in his plea to a “brother” for assistance in getting his debauched life back on the path with Hoerl and Aide offering gentle instrumental encouragement. The surging “The Ballad of Molly Brown” rolls and tumbles with the authenticity for which Lawrence is justly lauded, his deftly-picked rhythm and slide guitars driving him back to Molly with palpable energy. Striking Latin rhythms and inventive minor key melodies inform “Biscuit Rolling Daddy” with a poignancy rarely encountered in a braggadocio blues. The insinuating slow tempo of “Rich Man Can’t Get the Blues” provides the proper musical venue for Lawrence to show sympathy for “rich and poor, black and white” and for Hoerl to give out with his most expressive “Mississippi saxophone” solo. Lawrence flaunts his Delta blues virtuosity on Tommy Johnson’s classic “Canned Heat Blues,” his drop D-tuned axe sprinkling
sparkling notes on top of the simultaneously thumping chordal accompaniment.
“I Wanna Love You” has Lawrence spouting sly euphemisms over his bump and grind acoustic guitar flavored with slide and mandolin as Hoerl twists his lusty harp over and around the proceedings. “Another Saturday Night” mixes an amazing combination of poly-rhythms courtesy of layered guitars to evoke the anticipation of an end of work week good time. Bittersweet longings lyrically and instrumentally blend expressively in “Long Way Back Home,” the chugging rhythm of his cleanly-picked acoustic guitar
replicating the sound of a train steaming down the track with uncanny verisimilitude. Turning up the heat in the boiler, Lawrence blasts his main squeeze on “Hey Girl (Tired of Your Lying)” in no uncertain terms over an intense headlong boogie beat that threatens to careen off the rails. Continuing the theme, Lawrence ends his show with the traditional “Death’s Black Train” clacking along over Hrinkiw’s martial
drum beat as Allen harmonizes with him on the chorus of ‘Oh, the little black train is coming, get your business right, you better get your house in order, cause the train be here tonight.”

Marshall Lawrence accurately calls his music “Neo-Delta Blues & Roots.” As an inoculation against the ills of the modern world, House Call delivers a shot of blues power directly to the soul. 

Dave Rubin, KBA recipient in Journalism

Louis Armstrong

The gig today went great! Photos coming soon!  I just had to put Louis Armstrong up there at the top because his gig playing and singing are legendary!

As for after my gig today, I changed out of my performing clothes--black velvet dress with feathers and five-inch heels--and put on the most comfortable pants I could find.  And then I realized I needed to get a few groceries and just didn't feel like changing again.

So, for the first time in my college life I went to the grocery store in exercise pants. Shocking, I know!  So uncharacteristic of me.

Even less characteristic is I was actually wearing my pajama pants aka exercise pants to everyone else in the world.  The great thing is no one ever knew I was actually wearing pajama pants.

Coincidentally, there is a song that mentions pajamas (in a completely non-sleezy way) in the lyrics.  This song plays with differing pronunciations of words to show why a relationship is strained and may possibly fail!  This may sound silly, but the song really connects with the listener!  So here's "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" sung by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong!

I try to eat well. And some days I am better at it than others. 

So a meal of open-faced ham sandwich on asiago bread that I made, broiled tomatoes topped with parmesan and basil, cut apples, and Cugino's Greek lemon rice soup.  I added wild rice.  Such a wonderfully delicious meal!

So when faced with a decision of whether to eat healthier, don't be indecisive. Balanced can be tasty!

The song "Undecided" sung by Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb's orchestra is one of the first jazz songs I can remember listening to as a child.  Fortunately, I wasn't undecided about my love of jazz!

June Cleaver always had heels and pearls on...

I'm the kind of person who vacuums in high heels...okay, I rarely do that now, but it used to be a normal occurrence.  My sister would tease me every time she'd see me and say I reminded her of Barbara Billingsley's character June Cleaver on "Leave it to Beaver" vacuuming in high heels and pearls.  Some things about TV are just ridiculous.

Now I wear flats more often, but I do still love to wear heels (check out my heels blog entry.)  Sometimes they slow me down and they are definitely impractical for speedy hikes across campus but despite the possibility of sounding vain--heels just make every outfit look more awesome!

So I won't go mountain climbing, fishing, or running in heels but I might vacuum in them.  Long live the legacy of June Cleaver, no matter how ridiculous it seems!

I think I should also add that I do dance in heels.  That may seem like a silly thing to say, but I have observed that a lot of women take their heels off to dance at dances.  I learned ballroom and Latin dancing in real dance shoes with heels!  My advice: buy sole and heel gels for your high heels so your feet will not hurt the day AFTER you keep them on while you dance.

It really helps to buy shoes in the right size!  I know it's tempting to buy those cute on-sale heels that are a size too big or a size too small (I've been guilty of this) but trust me, you'll hate yourself when those blisters show up.  So be kind to your feet and wait until you get the right look, right size, and right gels all in the same heel.

So even though I won't be going mountain climbing, fishing, and dancing in high heels, here's one of my favorite songs that captures all three activities!  I've highlighted it before, but it deserves a look from a different perspective!  I love it.  Here's "Cheek to Cheek" sung by the irrepressible Frank Sinatra!

So my new favorite treat after class (well, rediscovery of an old favorite treat) is to have a frozen homemade brownie.  Lest you think I am endangering my teeth, have no fear.  I let the brownie thaw, but eat it before it warms up too much.

I tried a whole bunch of different kinds of toppings: butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, vanilla chips, and toffee bits.  My favorite?  The vanilla chips.  But I do love to experiment and try new spins on old favorites.  For me, a brownie can just chase away any blues!  I keep some ready in the freezer!

So here's a very young Ella Fitzgerald singing "I'll Chase the Blues Away" with the Chick Webb orchestra.

Ramen Noodles...

I love ramen noodles.  No joke!  My favorite seasoning flavor is chicken.  I love them par cooked and even dry!  Yum! 

I loved to eat ramen noodles BEFORE I came to college and I will continue to eat ramen noodles for the rest of my life...you can count on it!

Come rain or come shine, I will always love ramen noodles.  So here is that great song "Come Rain or Come Shine" sung by Frank Sinatra.

But when I started wearing make up at 13, what was I to do?  I reacted to most brands, leaving my face puffy and my eyes bloodshot.  The answer?  Clinique!

Clinique brand has never let me down.  Every product is allergy tested and fragrance free (except the perfume, of course.)  Plus, Clinique has the darker color shades of lipstick I prefer.  And best of all, I've never experienced the dreaded "oh-no-I-can't-wear-this-anymore" red face in the mirror followed by emptying my make up bag into the garbage can.

The formulation of Clinique make up is also very even and I love watching for new products to be released.  The most recent?  Nail polish for sensitive skin that also doesn't have a smell that irritates your eyes...I'm going to have to try that!

Since today is all about "sensitivity" here's the Latin jazz standard "How Insensitive" sung by Astrud Gilberto.

But recently I discovered a shortage of My Little Pony fruit snacks!  I can't find them in the store anymore.  I may need to buy them online...in bulk! 

Since "friendship is magic" (My Little Pony's tagline), today's song is "It's Magic" sung by Dinah Washington.  Enjoy!

My family loves children's books.  Every year at Christmas, we get Christmas children's books.  And sometimes we get children's books for no reason at all.

One of my favorite books is Always by Alison McGhee and Pascal Lemaitre.  I was given it shortly after my dog, Dylan, died in October 2011.  It is the story of a dog telling his owner that he will always protect her and keep her safe.

I will always treasure my memories of my corgi mix, Dylan, who loved and protected me for almost 12 years.  I believe "always" being loyal and loving is how healthy emotional relationships endure!

So here's a favorite song of mine "Always On My Mind" sung by Elvis Presley.

Oh, and just so you know, I have an original song "Always" that I co-wrote.  It is coming out on my summer jazz album.

So i hope the Radio Stations love it so they can download it and My Fans also love it so they can buy it :)

Cheers!!

Today I watched the last two sessions of the LDS General Conference.  I love General Conference because I learn ways I can improve the way I think, live and behave.  Great as always!  I also love General Conference because it is a family tradition to get together and fix great food!  Every six months we have a family "holiday" centered on General Conference.

So one of the family food traditions we had today is Seven-Layer Salad, a recipe my mom first got almost 40 years ago when she and my dad moved to Iowa for the first of many times.  We don't make it with a recipe anymore, so I'll try to approximate the ingredient amounts.  What is hilarious is there are eight layers, not seven!

We must have a song for today, of course!  Since the speakers in General Conference suggest ways to improve our lives, today's song is "Ain't Misbehavin'" written and sung by Fats Waller.

SEVEN-LAYER SALAD

1 lb. maple bacon

1 head of lettuce

2/3 cup light mayonnaise

2 T. sugar

16 oz. bag of frozen peas, thawed on paper towels

8-12 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.  (This helps keep the salad fresh and excess water drained.

Cut bacon into small pieces.  Cook.  Drain on paper towels and let cool.

Wash lettuce.  Cut into strips.  Lay in a 9"x13" pan.

Mix mayonnaise and sugar in a small bowl.  Drop by dollops onto lettuce and carefully spread over lettuce. 

Spread peas over mayonnaise mixture to form a thin layer.

Layer onion, then pepper, then celery to create three layers.

Spread cheese over pan.  Put cooled bacon on top.

Cover with plastic wrap tightly and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Afterwards, we made nachos.  There's a story behind them, of course! 

Erik was first to make meatless skillet nachos.  Then we found a recipe for oven nachos.  We adapted the meatless skillet nachos to the oven nachos because they get crispy. 

So now we make nachos for special occasions or just for fun!

Below is the Chaston recipe, that we've written down but use more as a guideline than an actual recipe...

But first, a song!  For today's song I've got another non-jazz song, but I think you'll agree it is fitting on many accounts.  So here's "Religious Man" from the movie Nacho Libre.

The first time I had a Krispy Kreme doughnut, I was 13.  We lived in Georgia and someone brought them to a church activity.  I had never had a doughnut like it before! 

When I was 16, we moved to Iowa.  And just around the corner was a Krispy Kreme shop!  It was hard to drive by without stopping and buying a dozen of the original glazed doughnuts....and savoring them!

Last night the same thing happened.  I saw the "Hot Light" and just couldn't pass up getting a dozen.  Fortunately, I shared them...but not before I ate a few too many...

So for being an original, here's an original of mine I co-wrote with Justin Jensen called "The Moment."

Six rings...you can't see the thumb ring on my left hand...

I love jewelry, especially rings, necklaces, bracelets...okay, all jewelry.  I think it was a few years ago when I started wearing many, many rings!  I just love to accessorize!

As stretchy rings have become more popular, I've had a harder time finding sized rings.  I don't have anything against stretch rings; I just prefer the sized sterling silver rings. 

Though it is a bit of a bad pun, I do feel like I am Queen of the Rings.

Instead of putting up the soundtrack to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (which is great, by the way) I thought I'd go back in time to 60s rock.  It's a bit of a silly song and not even jazzy, but here's Gary Lewis & The Playboys singing "This Diamond Ring."

I have a confession to make.  I can't see well at all without glasses.  Yet I always perform without my glasses.  I'm just more comfortable that way.  I also generally take my glasses off when I'm photographed, too.  Not sure why, it's just a habit. 

For years I've tried to convince myself to get contact lenses.  I just have a problem with putting something next to my eye.  Never mind that millions of people wear contacts everyday, including my sister, and they have no trouble with them.

Though I do remember the days when my sister had just gotten her contacts (which were hard lenses) and she'd drop one on the floor as she tried to put it in.  All of us madly looked for it, hoping no one stepped on it before it was found.

I've never been bothered by wearing glasses.  Nothing on my face--including headgear in third grade--has ever bothered me much.

So I guess I will continue to just wear glasses!

Now, I really can't see without my glasses.  Details blur into blob of colors.  But with my glasses, the world is clear and I can see very well.

So here's "I'll Be Seeing You" sung by Frank Sinatra.  I've actually sung a transcription of this arrangement with a big band.  Love it!

I love my flat iron.  It's fantastic and keeps the frizz under control.  I'm able to get a soft curl with it but now that my hair is so long, I really need a curling iron to get some real curls into my hair.

Actually, I used to own a curling iron; in fact, I owned three: 1/2", 1", and 1-1/2".  I kept them under my sink where it is usually a safe place to keep things like that.  However, several months ago my sink blew a gasket--literally!  Water spewed everywhere.  I thought I'd gotten everything dry.  Wrong!

About a month after the broken gasket experience, I went to use one of my curling irons and to my horror, all three had rusted.

I have yet to replace even one of my curling irons because I can't decide which size to buy...oh well.  I suppose I could say that I get along without a curling iron very well...except sometimes.

Which brings me to today's song, "I Get Along Without You Very Well" sung by Frank Sinatra.

Edible Easter Grass...and Easter Bunnies!

So I love to try new foods, even ones that I think I might not like.  I never would have discovered the excellent flavors of avocados, feta cheese, or artichokes if I had not embarked on the occasional food adventure.

So when the opportunity presented itself to eat edible Easter grass, I just couldn't pass it up.  This is not an April Fool's joke.  This is real!

It was a bit of a joke that I bought it, but I did intend to try it.  I mean, it was even imported from Germany.  Impressive!

To be honest, I don't know if I'll purchase it again, at least not for my own consumption.  If I were seven years old, I think I'd love it!  So for all you parents who hate to clean up Easter basket grass, buy the edible kind and let your kids take care of the mess!

I'm going to stick with Lindt chocolate bunnies, Reese's peanut butter eggs, Cadbury eggs, and Jelly Bellys.  Long live the edible Easter candy standards!

In honor of it being the first day of April, here's "April in My Heart" sung by Billie Holiday.  The lyrics are quite intriguing with the comparison of fall and spring as a metaphor for feelings.  Billie doesn't start singing until almost a minute into the song; you get to enjoy the instrumental introduction and get a real feel for the song.  So don't worry when you don't hear her singing near the beginning of the recording!

Italian Cream Cake

ITALIAN CREAM CAKE          

Sometimes it takes years to put together an ensemble.  Often, alterations are involved.  But once I discover a certain look, the result is classic and unique!

I think it's important to look right for every occasion!  Tonight was the Traditions Ball.  This is my retro "let's-dance" outfit!  So the song "The Way You Look Tonight" sung by Frank Sinatra is for all those times we love to dress up and dance the night away!

So my recent appreciation of flowers has brought me...flowers!

I love lilies.  In fact, my favorite flower is rather unique: the calla lily, which is also known as the Easter lily.  I love the clean lines of the calla lily.  I've always loved my surroundings uncluttered. 

Calla Lilies

My dream home would be filled with a lot of glass, chrome, wrought iron, and sleek designs.  I don't like a lot of colors around me as I find them distracting.  So the calla lily would fit in just right!

Even though the lilies I have aren't calla lilies, I still love them for their tender look!

I immediately thought of the jazz standard "Tenderly" sung by Ella Fitzgerald for today's song.  Enjoy!

It's The Newest 5 O'Clock Rush Hour Song & Great For Fridays!!!!

By Tommy Hand!

Check It Out!  Numer1Music.com Is loving it!

A Quick Get Away......Back Door Boogie! ...Back!

Peanut Butter Cloud Cookie, Brownie

So my favorite peanut butter cookies are Peanut Butter Cloud Cookies with a chocolate star.  I made a double batch today--which makes A LOT of cookies!

I also made brownies and added white chocolate chips to the semi-sweet chocolate chips on top.  Delicious!

So I love to dream of baked goods and that's no joke.  I really do!  I LOVE baked goods and I love to make them.  I don't regret dreaming about baking!

And I love the song "Darn that Dream."  Here's a version sung by Doris Day.

Dick Van Dyke

Today I went totally retro.  Okay, not totally, since I didn't dress retro (although I wish I had).  But I found this great 1976 variety show Van Dyke and Company, starring Dick Van Dyke.

I absolutely love Andy Kaufman's skits on the show.  Andy shows up randomly in the middle of sketches and interrupts them.  He insists on doing his bit so everyone else leaves the stage.  He is hilarious!

Of course, when I think of Dick Van Dyke, I also think of Mary Poppins and the song "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

Dogs love unconditionally, it seems.  Give them a good brushing, a few treats and they love you forever.  But there's more to it than that.

A Corgi has a mind of its own--if they think fetch is a dumb game, it's a good bet you'll be the one fetching.  They love food and figure out ways to get it from you--they're sneaky that way.  But they also are fiercely loyal to their people.

It took Deno a month or so to adjust to us, but he was loyal from the beginning.  He loved all of us and we loved him.  Sure, he had a few accidents on the rug (I think they were temper tantrums when he didn't feel we were paying enough attention to him) but accidents are fixable.

He's never chewed on anything--except the corners of books!  Talk about a weird thing to chew on.

In short, we just love our six-year-old puppy, Deno.  He's a handful sometimes, but what family member isn't at some point in life?

Here's a song from another of my favorite Dinos, Dean Martin.  It's "Sway," which I've highlighted before, but it's such a great song!  I have a live recording of me singing this with my jazz combo that will be on an upcoming jazz album.

Seriously, whenever I'm having a good day, a bad day, a regular day, an anything day, a #9 with hot peppers and no mayo just makes the day better.  For those of you who don't know, a #9 is an Italian Night Club.  And yes, it's awesome, even though it has nothing to do with night clubs (I couldn't resist the pun).

So back to the magic, I had the weirdest thing happen tonight.  I walked up to the TV and it turned on.  The remotes were all accounted for.  I turned the TV off.  It turned back on.  I turned it off again.  This happened two more times.  Basically, I must be magic.  And Jimmy John's must have been what gave me the magic.

Okay, so I don't believe in magic at all, but this was pretty much like magic and quite funny.  The TV is an older model.  The on/off button just kept getting stuck then unstuck turning itself on.  But it was fun to pretend I had magic powers to turn the TV on just by walking past it--even for just a few seconds!

So I thought of the jazz standard "That Old Black Magic" for today's song.  And, of course, it has to be sung by Frank Sinatra!

A third show is being developed for later this year.

Asiago Bread

Yesterday I made asiago bread for the first time!

I used to be afraid of making bread that had any yeast in it.  I just skipped over that section in the cookbook and went straight to "quick bread" recipes.

When I was seven, I helped my mom make French bread and I accidentally killed the yeast by making the water too hot.  My mom wasn't upset, but from then on I thought I could never make yeast breads...ever.

Fortunately, I've now made two kinds of yeast breads: focaccia (which I make all the time) and asiago bread!  In fact, yesterday I made both.  I used the oven timer for raising the focaccia dough and the microwave timer for raising the asiago bread dough!  It is important to keep the details straight when making yeast breads!

Ironically, the recipe for asiago bread is from the Betty Crocker Cookbook.  I looked online for other recipes, but couldn't find one better.  I'm glad I stuck with the old stand-by because it came out great!

Let me just say that making bread is exhausting!  As satisfied as I was with my results, it's definitely faster to let a bakery do the work.  So in light of exhaustion, here's "When It's Sleepy Time Down South," an old jazz song sung by Louis Armstrong.

So today we went for lunch at Magleby's!  It was very tasty! 

Since we celebrate birthdays "to the max" I thought "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang would be the perfect song for today!

I remember a few years ago when it snowed on Easter.  Our neighbors made a "snow bunny rabbit" with their kids instead of a snowman!

So with all of this winter weather, I thought of the song "Winter Weather" sung by Peggy Lee!  Peggy Lee is one of my favorite jazz singers.  I also love her taste is clothes and jewelry!

It's made with phyllo dough, honey, butter, nuts (I use pecans not walnuts), sugar, and cinnamon.  Sometimes I add nutmeg.

It's a tradition in the Chaston family to have baklava at Christmas.  Not that everyone in the family likes baklava, but it just wouldn't be Christmas if there weren't baklava!  The Chaston family tradition of baklava runs much deeper but I will save that for another time.

In short friends and neighbors have grown accustomed to receiving a gift of homemade baklava when we sing carols at their houses on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Eve Eve (also known as Christmas Adam)!  Many send requests during the year for baklava if we happen to make it at times other than Christmas.  It's quite a hit!

But whenever I think of baklava and music, I remember a line from Disney's Aladdin in the song "A Friend Like Me."  It goes, "...how 'bout a little more baklava?"

Citrus Streusel Bread is so...sunny.  The recipe is very simple, too!

I like to put lots of streusel in the middle of the cake.  Because I baked this cake in my new favorite silicone bundt pan, I didn't put any streusel on top.

 To give the glaze more punch, I add lemon juice and lemon extract.  I just test taste until the glaze is as lemony as I want it! 

So I was thinking about how "sunny" this bread is and immediately thought of Stevie Wonder singing "Sunny!"

Chocolate, caramel, and pecans are a perfect combination.  And these brownies are surprisingly easy to make.  However, the recipe says to do all the mixing by hand.  I cheated and used a handheld mixer.  I used to be a purist until I wound up with sore arms and poorly mixed dough.  Now, the only mixing I do by hand is folding whipped cream or beaten egg whites into batter, and kneading bread gently!

As you know, I like almost all my baked goods frozen--or at least chilled.  These brownies are no exception.

So turtle brownies are just "Too Marvelous for Words."  Ella sings it best in this live version!

In an era where besting your earlier releases is rare, Walt Cronin just keeeps getting better and better. He still has that plain voice that reminds you of a smoother Kris Kristofferson, but his songwriting continues to improve. Joined by Martin beal on this album, the production is solid, the the melodies are wonderful and the lyrics ring true. This is the best Walt Cronin CD yet and highly recommended if you love Americana/Folk. You can find him on Facebook.