Cleveland Parks: Squire’s Castle

This week my aunt and uncle from California came into town. My aunt Jackie has been a big supporter of my desire to learn more about photography. She’s not too bad herself! She mentioned we should go on a photo shoot so on Wednesday I suggested Squire’s Castle because the last time I went with Macy there was a wedding and it started raining so I wasn’t able to get any pictures.
Squire’s Castle is pretty neat, but also kind of eerie. It was actually built as the gatekeeper’s house to what was supposed to be an estate retreat built by Feargus B. Squire, but it was never finished. The castle is now part of the North Chagrin Reservation. If you are ever in the area you NEED to see it, if not for the grounds alone because the entire park is beautiful.
There is actually a ghost story surrounding the castle which I think is what makes it kind of eerie. Supposedly, at night you can see the ghost of Squire’s wife roaming the castle because she hanged herself in the basement. I doubt any of this is true because it wasn’t even built as a home for her. I heard there was once a basement but that it was cemented in because of graffiti. I couldn’t tell you where that entrance is now if there ever was one. Whether or not it’s a true story it makes for some good folk lore.

The Cleveland Flea

Last Saturday my friend, Megan, and I went to The Cleveland Flea. I’ve been wanting to go for months because it combines my love for vintage/antiques/handmade goods and Cleveland. However, it only occurs on the first Saturday of every month (luckily the second this month because of 4th of July), so it was hard to find someone to go with me. I was so excited I was finally able to go.
It was really small but I imagine now that it’s becoming more popular it will grow. They had a variety of everything, including local food including iced coffees, food trucks, and popsicles! It was cool walking around and seeing everything but hard since I’m living at home I had to be realistic about what I could buy.











I ended up buying a pair of earrings, an old makeup case, and a pair of shoes. I truly believe I was born in the wrong decade.
Funny story: As my friend and I were walking around we went to one booth and there was a girl there and she kept looking at us. I was kind of weirded out at first so I didn’t want to stay at the booth. Later on we were getting food at the food truck and the girl was standing next to us. Finally, she asks, “Are you a substitute teacher?” I said, “Yes.” She tells me I was her sub at one of the middles schools. I thought she looked familiar when I first saw her, but I didn’t think anything of it. It was the second time that week someone told me I was there sub. Oh, what a small world Cleveland is.

Make Your Own Vanilla Syrup

It’s no secret I love iced coffee. I spend wayyyyy too much on it. I like to mix up where I go between Starbucks, McDonalds, and Dunkin Donuts. I usually get it as a reward for subbing or for working, but I need to give my wallet a breather. I know I wrote this post a while ago about why I stopped drinking coffee. Since being home though I’ve needed coffee to help me get through subbing and it’s so much easier to just go out and buy coffee than make coffee or tea at home. I don’t drink a lot of hot coffee so I usually go out to buy my iced coffee.

I recently bought some iced coffee at Bruegger’s and they didn’t have any coffee syrup. I had to mix in my own sugar and it got me thinking about making my own coffee syrup so I could make iced coffee at home. So, I did! I can’t wait to start experimenting with new flavors. I can’t drink flavored creamers because they just make me sick, so I love that I can be fine with the flavored syrups.

What you need:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 1/4-1/2 tsp vanilla extract (use clear if you don’t want your syrup looking brown)

Directions:

1. Stir sugar and water together on medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Make sure you keep stirring or else your sugar could burn to the bottom.
2. Stir in vanilla extract.
3. Pour into bottle.*
4. Pour desired amount into your hot or iced coffee! ENJOY! :)

These would make great gifts for any coffee lover! You can always double the recipe with 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract if you think you’ll go through it fast or want to make large quantities for gifts! There isn’t a set shelf life for this. I wouldn’t recommend refrigerating, and for that reason just be conscience of any mold growing. I’ve read it can last up to 6 months and people have even had the same batch mold at different times. So, it just depends.

*I bought my bottle at K-Mart. A lot of places sell oil and vinegar bottles (Target, Wal-Mart, Bed Bath & Beyond), but they didn’t have a cap and I was afraid of little gnats or ants getting into the bottle since it is sugar. You can also look online!

S’mores Krispy Treat

I have been absolutely terrible with keeping up with my blogging. I just haven’t had the motivation to turn on my computer. But hopefully I can get back in the swing of things. I have a ton of ideas for blog posts, I just haven’t gotten around to them.

Anyways, one thing I love about summer is s’mores. I haven’t made them this year because we just haven’t had a fire at our house, not that that has stopped me from making one on the grill, in the microwave, or even on a candle. I go to great lengths for my s’mores. The other day I made a s’mores krispy treat (like a rice krispy treat, but s’morey).

What you will need:

• 1 (10 oz) bag marshmallows
• 1 box (12 oz) Golden Graham cereal
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
• 6 Tbsp butter
• non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large non-stick pot on medium heat.
2. While butter is melting spray a 9x9 or 11x7 pan with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Once butter is melted, add marshmallows to butter and stir together until marshmallows are melted completely and look creamy. HINT: Spray your spoon with non-stick cooking spray to keep your marshmallow mixture from sticking to the spoon.
4. Turn off heat and stir in cereal.
5. Stir in chocolate chips. They will have a tendency of melting, especially if you make it on a hot day like I did.
6. Spread mixture into your into your pre-greased pan.
7. Put in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to cool.
8. Cut into bars and enjoy!

Unfortunately, the next day my dad broke the glass pan and ended up throwing it away so my enjoyment was short lived. Probably a good thing for my waste line.

Matcha Green Tea Donuts

Don’t let the name scare you. I never make donuts because they seem like too much work. And matcha? I’m better off just drinking tea with some Hostess donuts. This was such a simple recipe.

Donuts
What you need:

• Vegetable Oil
• Pop ‘n Bake Buttermilk Biscuits (Yes, the one in the tube. I used Pillsbury)

Directions:

1. Pour enough vegetable oil into a deep frying pan that will allow the donuts to float and keep them off the bottom. Heat oil to 375 F, or as long as the oil bubbles when the dough is put in than you’re good!
2. Take the biscuits out of the tube. Take a bottle cap and place it in the center of the donut. Push down and twist enough so that the center comes out. Save the center of the donut to use as donut holes!
3. Make sure the oil isn’t on high or else you’ll burn your donuts (I may or may not have burned my donuts). I turned the burner to Medium. Place the donuts in the oil. Cook on one side for about 30 seconds.
4. Using a slotted spoon or tongs turn over the donuts and fry for an additional 30 seconds, or at least until you think they are baked all the way through.
5. Place them on a paper towel covered plate.

Glaze
What you need:

• 1 1/2-2  teaspoon Matcha Green Tea Powder*
• 2 cups Powdered Sugar
• 1/4 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Place Matcha Green Tea Powder and powdered sugar in a bowl.
2. Pour in boiling water and whisk ingredients together until smooth.
3. Dip donuts into glaze. Make sure to keep them on a plate or newspaper. The glaze will slide off and get messy, so you want something that will be easy to clean.
4. Done!

I don’t even want to admit how many I ate. They were so good. The next day the Matcha green tea taste really came out.

*The Matcha green tea is really hard to find if you don’t want to order online. SOME Starbucks MAY sell it, but I wouldn’t take your chances. You may be able to find it if you have a local Asian Supermarket, Whole Foods, or World Foods market (like Jungle Jim’s in Cincinnati). My hometown has none of those, so I was really at a lost. I ended up finding it at Heinen’s, a local fine foods grocery store, but it was not easy!