Venting.

After Years of paying my rent on time, and following the LandLords rules such as : No Pets, No repairs, and Mow the yard ourselves.
We had been hit with Hard Times it started back in August. We struggled with paying our bills after the hubbys truck broke down. Then it disappears and took the police a week to let us know what happened to it. At first they had no record of any officer calling in the tow, then they found the order. After finding out which yard it was in and how much it would cost to get it out it broke us. We told the land lord and provided it in writing he responded in writing that it was okay.
We gave him what little we could until we couldnt any more. We let him know in copies and in writing everything and why we had nothing for rent.
He then shows up a day after receiving our letter and verbally tells us we have a week to get out and then hands us two yahoo calendar print outs with hand scratched numbers on the bottom of one of the pages.
A week did not pass when he calls to tell us we have 24 hours to leave. That was on this past week he called.
Today while doing the dishes a cop car pulls up, actually The Sharif.
He delivers a summons papers. Apparently he is suing us now. We have to be in court on Nov. 1st. I have no court clothes or anything to buy court cloths with. Most money I earn on the side from the shop lately has been going straight to the groceries.
The past 4 years these are the things we put up with from him:
Late responses on broken items such as the Water Heater that took him a week to replace the whole time Water pouring everywhere in the bathroom. The tub is now falling through the floor.
The Ac has never been fixed it ours water all the time the bedroom closet which hubby and I use has Black Mold damage from it.
Broken window in the front door.
We have had on and off issues with mice when he Mows the vacant Lot behind the property he said he would get an exterminator, that was 2 years ago I am still waiting.
When the fridge broke I called him (its his fridge) he never answered I had little time to wait on him I called a repair service and took it out of rent and sent a copy of the repair slip. He called screaming at me for going behind his back, which I did not.
The Front Water Hose spicket had a constant leek we asked him to get it fixed, He Capped it that was his fix. After a few months the pipes bursted and spewed water our water bill went to 200.00 a month. This was the same time that our Truck Incident happend. He came out and fixed it. We shoed him the water bill and said we are not going to be able to pay rent. As Is we were paying half the bills every pay check which was leaving us 20 bucks for grocries. He didnt say anything. We sent copies of the water bill to him with a letter and a list of many things that still needed to be fixed.
The Front door does not close we have to use a jerry rig to keep it closed. When the wind blows it moves and allows the mosquitos and other insects to come in. We got an estaminet on how much it would cost to fix and it would be cheaper to move out. I wish I had the money to just pick up and move out.
As is it would cost us well over 2,000.00 to move out this includes finding a temp place.
Did I mentioned our lease was good for only one year? It expired after the first year we were here. We wrote and asked for a new lease with every payment his reply "Dont worry about it".
I do not work I stay home so that the School as an emergency contact for our two kids. Our Son gets SSI and is Autistic. My hubby has been recently diagnosed with COPD and has High blood pressure. He has gone without his medicine for nearly 4 months.
NOw back in Late August he gets scratched with a needle at work, he works in environmental services and makes just above 9.00 and hour. Its not a bad job but it aint swell either. They have no clue if the needle was dirty or not so now he has to get a shot for Hep B every two months and gets tested for HIV all on the hospital. Its still stressful.
I am seeking Legal Aid Rep but I so needed to vent, its just so frustrating. Maybe we were in the wrong and deserve this. I don't know anymore. I havent been sleeping well. IF things dont do a 180 within a day or two (Can we say big fat miracle) then we will really be in trouble. Not looking for a pity party I just needed to vent out some. I know everyone here is also going through there own issues. I just needed to let it out.

Year of The Monkey

By my Chinese Zodiac I am The Monkey:

Year of the Monkey - 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028, 2040, 2052

The monkey is a clever animal. People used to compare it to a smart person. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC – 476 BC), the dignified official title, marquis with the pronunciation 'Hou', was the same as the monkey's. The monkey was thereby bestowed with auspicious meaning. It appeared on pictures pasted on the walls and doors to predict good fortune in officialdom.

Most people born in the Year of the Monkey are lively, flexible, and versatile. They love moving and sports. To help others they put their own business aside. When communicating, they do not like to be controlled and have a strong desire to present themselves. In their work, they will show amazing creativity. If they are not impatient and mouthy, they can gain more achievement.

Best match: rat, dragon; avoid: tiger, snake, pig

TO Determine yours Take a look at this website (Click here)

Zucchini Bread

So a few weeks back I tried Paula Deen's  Zucchini Bread Click here for recipe.

The Dough was super sweet and really thick I had to cook it longer then what she said to an extra 30 minutes. If I ever use this recipe again it would to be used as a cookie dough. 

More pics

Fried Egg Plant

I decided to make fried Eggplant as a side dish a while back, but I had no idea where to began since I never used eggplant before. Sure I have eaten it but never cooked with it until recently.
So I used Emeril Lagasse Recipe as a guideline more for frying temps and coating ideas.
What I Did:
1 eggplant cut
1 Cup white rice flour
1 cup soy flour
3 eggs slightly beaten
2 cups of bread crumbs (I used my Irish soda bread, no need to add extra salt into the bread crumbs!)
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Bowl 1 combine soy and rice flour with the salt
2. Bowl two 3 eggs beaten
3. Bowl 3 Bread crumbs
4. Dredge the eggplant in the flour mix, then in the egg mix and press into the bread mix. Let the pieces sit on paper towels to get extra moisture out while you get all your eggplant coated.
5. Fryer heat 1/2 inch veg oil to 375 degrees and fry 1 minute on each side or until golden brown.
6. Drain and enjoy, We had ours with Get Yo'Man Chicken from The Neely's (to die for! pictured below)

Apple Cider Doughnuts

So I tried this recipe from Smitten Kitchen and I must say it was not what I was hoping for. The dough was far more sticker then it should have been, and when you were supposed to dust it with flour to pat out and cut out it would glooup up. All in all I was not happy with it, they came out like hocky pucks. I Baked mine I was afraid to attempt to fry them because of how dense they were. If you try it let me know what you did to get it like hers! My hands wore most of the dough then anything else not cool in my book.
My Failed Doughnut pictures

The Birds enjoyed these better then we did.

So I decided to make my own recipe using a traditional Doughnut one as my basics:

2 packages active yeast
1/4 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter cut into pieces
2 eggs
about 5 1/4 cups all purpose flour
Salad Oil
Extras: 2 apples I used Macintosh you can use either a sweet apple or tart your choice. Cut into pieces your choice to skin the apples. Make sure no core is with the pieces of apples.
2 cups apple cider
Powder sugar frosting: Blend 3 cups of powder sugar with 2 tablespoons of soft butter 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and 2-3 tablespoons of hot apple cider.
In a pot on the stove combine the apples and 2 cups of cider at this stage it is up to you to add any extra spices like Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice to help booth the apple cider flavor. With a lid on Boil together for about 12 minutes until apples are really soft. Turn the heat down and take the lid off. I ended up with a low medium heat. You want an almost applesauce stage. turn off and let it cool off to rom temp.

In a large bowl dissolve yeast in the water. Meanwhile in a medium size pan combine milk, the 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and butter. Heat to about 110 degrees, the butter does not need to melt completely. Add milk mixture, eggs, apple mixture and 2 cups of flour to yeast mixture. Beat until smooth. With a heavy duty mixer or wooden spoon add in 3 more cups of flour, beat until smooth. Dough will be soft and sticky. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled.
Beat dough with a wooden spoon to release the air. Turn out onto a well floured surface, dough will be very sticky make sure to flour your hands, I had hubby spray mine with non stick spray instead of the flour that way I could scrap the bowl out without the dough sticking to me. Then I had dusted them very well before preceding.
Roll Dough around to coat all over with flour so it wont stick to the surface. With a floured rolling pin roll dough to 1/2 inch thick.
Use a round biscuit cutter to cut out your rounds or use a cup they work great. You could even use cookie cutters at this point if you wanted to.
Transfer to cookie sheets and let rise agin for about 30 minutes or until doubled. uncovered.
You have a choice to fry or bake and I will give you both directions:
Baking: Heat oven to 375 degrees bake for 20-25 minuets
Fry: Heat 2" of Oil to 375 degrees on a candy/frying thermometer. Gently add a few doughnuts at a time and fry turning often until golden brown about 3 minutes. Lift with a slotted spatula lift out and drain on paper towels (I use a cooling rack positioned over a layer of paper towels). while still warm dunk into the powder sugar frosting.

My Pics shows a light glaze with a sugar and cinnamon topping. In a bowl 2 cups sugar 4-6 tablespoons cinnamon mix and after the glaze dunk press gently into the sugar mixture. I also baked mine.

This recipe make anywhere from 18 to 28 doughnuts it all depends on the shape you use.