Pink Roses

  Wonder if we will receive summer showers like we did last year. It was strange weather last year to get summer rains for a whole week. Very unusual but it was nice to get the rainy weather~

Beach Rocks

And yes the Beach Rocks!     To much fun collecting the rocks & sea glass but a good exercise. Lots of walking but we had to go a far way before we found any rocks. Lots of brushing aside tiny rocks to find the sea glass but oh so worth the hunt. On this trip we saw Dolpins swimming down the coast so that was the highlight of the trip ~ So exciting ~

Strawberries

                Time to cut off the green tops of the strawberries and freeze them for drinks ,and for cold ice cream desserts ~

Tamales

                                       Chicken,Corn and Pineapple Tamales ~ Yum so good ~

Strawberry Shortcake

                                                       Strawberries ,Cream ,Puffed Pastry~

Farmer Market Finds

Avocado grown in California the best ever, strawberries ~ honey ~ pickles  & pickled okra ~

Weekend Fun

Lots of walking ,browsing thru arts and craft tents, music, roasted corn with spices, parma cheese~wedge of lime, philly cheese steak, strawberry shortcake,  strawberry smoothy,  jamaican  jerk chicken, champagne~fresh strawberry  ~  Fun Fun Fun but a hot day ~

Cabbage,Tangerine.Strawberry

                      Roadside Art~~~~~~~~~ Cabbage,Tangerine Trees and Strawberry Fields forever!!!

Weekend Vacation

Oh yes..................... we went on a mini vacation this weekend to the BEACH ~~~  Good to smell the sea and hear the waves rolling in and watch the sea gulls run from the waves. Toofunny!~ Short and sweet . Peaceful time by the sea !!!

Watermelon

Back from buying groceries, and bought a huge slice of watermelon which jumped into my buggy.     Love the way this photo came out, kind of frosty!    And yes there is a vintage fork I am using !

America's Favorite

Down the road the other day with middle son and caught lunch at a really busy restaurant. I got a mushroom burger with dill pickles,red raw onions,swiss cheese, with a side of sweet potato fries. That was my one meal for the day beside breakfast which was a banana and greek yogurt ~ Supper water and an apple ~

Watermelon Salad

 This salad consist of lettuce,red onion,fetta cheese and small cubes of watermelon. To top it off there was a vinegarette dressing on top.    When I make this at home I will add candied walnuts.

Pink Cadallic

 Mother's Day Drink~~~~~  ok it looks orange but it was pink ~~~go figure ~~ A new item on the menu and my DIL sampled my drink, and her eyes lit up so she got one !    This was my second drink it was SOOOOOOO GOOD !  I was going to have 3 of them for having 3 sons ,but the oldest is rolling in for a visit this summer with his family so he can buy me a drink then for Mother's Day ~~~~. In Memory of my mother who drove a Cadallic,she loved that car.    Love also in memory of my grandmother's.

Spring flowers

                                                 Beautiful yellow flowers in my yard !!!!

Baked Fish Fry

Supper tonight ,Cod ,shrimp ,and fish pieces,sweet potato fries, cole slaw and a sauce. It was a hit supper with root beer!

Stir Fry

Made stir fry the other night. Quick and easy to not have to work in the kitchen all evening. Cut up the vegetables early in the day,scramble the egg place in a container to be used later. Soak up noodles in water to loosen them drain cover and set aside to use later.  Mince your garlic ,ginger, make your sauce ahead of time cover set aside.  In an earlier post I just used different vegetables but the same noodles. It was easy and a quick supper !

Vegetable Soup In A Bread Bowl~

You remember the Vegetable soup I made a few days ago well here is the last bit of soup in a bread bowl. I only added 1 cup of tomato soup,a cup of frozen spinach and more carrots. Let that heat up while you prepare your bowls.

Fry your bacon-drain,
dig out the bread only from the bread bowl and (reserve the bread bits for use in a breakfast apple pudding),
melt the butter, add oregano, basil then spread on the inside of the bread bowl and lid. Place under broiler and toast lightly. Remove from oven then lay the cooked bacon on the bread bowl lid,and arrange the cheese in a plaid fashion on top of cooked bacon. Place the lid and bowl under the broiler to melt the cheese. Now I broil the bread two times to make sure the bread is not mushy. Then add your soup and top with a cucumber yogurt dip.   You can do with with any soup you like,and it is great for chili~

I also like to do smaller versions of this in mini hard rolls~enjoy~

Breakfast Today

Today I am having a Great Breakfast~ My middle son cooked a mess of Collard Greens and Cornbread last night for supper,and when he came to visit yesterday he told me that he would save me some. I had totally forgotten what he said today,and I was about to jump up from the computer and get a bowl of cereal with fresh fruit. Then hubby walks in from running an errand ,and gives me this bag saying  your son gave this bag to me to give to you !!! As you see from the photo I found out what that was and it was so GOOD! Thanks son !!!

Son's Healthy Breakfast

This is my son's healthy breakfast he likes the most.  He also adds blueberries and raspberries! Yum~

Ahhh Homemade Vegetable Soup

Today I looked in my refrigerator and decided today was a good day for Vegetable soup !!!  Washed and cut up what ever vegetables you have in your refrigerator and don't forget your pantry. I had two zuchinni, 3 carrots,1 onion,1 sweet potato peeled and cut into cubes, 1 tablespoon basil,1 tablespoon oregano,fresh ground pepper, grind of sea salt, 3 celery stalks, half head of cabbage,1 container fresh mini tomato's ,1 can black beans drained, 1 container chicken stock, 2~1/2 cups of low sodium vegetable juice. Chop all your vegetables add to the pot .add the spices,then the  liquids cover and let cook all day. It  may look like a lot of liquid but the will boil down.

So 20 minutes before you serve your soup place 1 cup of your favorite pasta in boiling water and cook. Drain water from pasta, add to your soup ,cover let cook for 15 more minutes. Serve with your favorite breads.  I usually serve this with toasted french garlic bread or cornbread topped with strawberry peserves. It's a southern thing . Serve your soup in your favorite bowls, top with parma cheese.

PS~Sometimes I add chopped kale, spinach, tortellini, parsnips,red~yellow~orange ~green peppers, even rutabaga . If you want to use canned tomato's you can but with no salt added.  I find that when going into restaurants that the food has been salted way to much. Also remember you will get salt from the parma cheese . So enjoy ~ 
More about this soup in serving it the second day ~

Homemade Cucumber Pickles

A few weeks back I blogged about making pickles . Well here they are after sitting in the frig a few weeks, and they are so good and crispy. A reminder all you have to do is buy your favorite pickle and after finishing up that jar of pickles do not throw out the pickle juice.  Take a cup of vinegar and heat ,add a squeeze of mustard, a tablespoon of sugar and whatever spices you like, heat in microwave . Remove from microwave stir then pour into the reserve liquid from the pickle jar. Slice up english cucumbers add to liquid and place lid on. Place jar in the back of your frig ,leave for two weeks. I left mine for a bit more but oh my the pickles were so good with a bite of spicey hot to each pickle. The hot did not arrive til after you ate the pickle,but it was a mild taste. So now you know you can use the reserve pickle liquid from the empty pickle jat !!! Enjoy ~

Vegan Sausage Sandwiches

1 Baguette bread
1 large leaf lettuce
1 red onion
1 Garlic clove peeled and slice in half
Mustard
Tofu Swiss cheese slices
Tofu Hot pepper cheese
2 Vegan sausage patties
1 Red pepper
Vinegarette salad dressing

Spread butter on both slices of baguette bread ,and grill til lightly toasted.
Take half garlic clove with cut side and rub across the grilled side of the bread.
Spread your favorite mustard on the baguette ( I like the mustard with seeds)
Mince the rest of the garlic
Wash ,clean,deseed red pepper, slice into strips ,then place on grill with minced garlic
Grill Vegan sausage.
Place two grilled vegan sausage patties on toasted bread
Top with grilled red pepper
Add cheese place under broiler to melt cheese( I use half  a slice of each cheese slice above)
Add rings of fresh thin cut red onions
1 lettuce leaf
Sprinkle of vinegrette dressing
Top with other half of bread .

Serve with sweet potato fries and a orange slice.....

I make this when I am tired of eating meat which I really eat very little of but you can make with with real sausage. I prefer making my own sausage with turkey or chicken breast. Adding my own seasonings.

The photo above does not show the red pepper or the leaf lettuce on the baguette because my son grabbed his meal before I could get the right photo shot.

Spagetti

I was wanting some spagetti the other day, a craving I have once in a while.   So made it with garden tomato's , fresh garlic,basil olive oil,pepper,dash sea salt, and smoked grated cheese for a unique taste !!! So Good ~

FruitNutty~Blueberry Crunch

Fruitnutty~Blueberry Crunch is the top of the days Breakfast !  Take Greek Yogurt which is healthier place a small amount on the bottom of a oven proof glass cup. Add your favorite healthy granola. I like the granola that is mainly crushed almonds & oats. Add fresh(washed) blueberries or frozen ( wintertime)which have been thawed . Then drizzle a spoonful of your favorite regional honey on top of the blueberries.     Keep layering like you do lasagana.    Layer up to the top of the rim of your glass ending with the blueberries.   Place Fruitnutty Blueberry Crunch in the Microwave heat for about 1 minute or more.   Remove Fruitnutty Blueberry Crunch from Microwave, top with your favorite honey, dash of cinnamon, almonds or the nut mixture . Now every microwave is different so heat the Crunch for 1 minute if it is not warm enough heat for a bit longer. This crunch is not suppose to be hot, just warmed up enough to get those Blueberries to change into a deeper color. 

For a variation you can use raspberries,strawberries.blackberries,boysenberries,mango's. Banana's can be added as an extra layer on top of the granola as you build your crunch.  What you want is a berry that releases a lot of juice when heated.    I like to make a mixture of all the nuts and serve in one bowl. Or you can have all the nut varieties in separate bowls with individual pertty spoons for serving.   Nut topping you can use are  almonds, walnuts, pistachio  ,pecans, sunflower ,pinon, Cashew, peanuts, hazelnuts, Ttasted coconut ,pinenuts, toasted sesame seeds. All these nuts can be lightly toasted in a dry pan but watch carefully the nuts will burn easily.Toast your sesame seed and coconut separately place in separate serving bowls.

Pine Nuts have a distinct flavor  ~ the first time I tried a pine nut was on a trip to South Korea doing a shopping run for treasures, and the store owner brought us a small cup of tea. As I took the hot cup of tea I noticed in the bottom of the tiny cup seed like nuts. I was informed they were pine nuts. The warm tea heated the pine nuts.  Wow what a treat to end the cup of tea with the flavor of pine. There were only about 3 pine nuts in the bottom of my tea cup but just enough to flavor the tastebuds. A very unique taste,that left one wanting more !

This recipe is a great Breakfast or Afternoon treat, lets kick it up a knotch, add a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top of the warm blueberries. Drizzle your favorite chocolate on top of the ice cream, & top with your favorite nut mixture.

   You can use any type of pretty see thru glassware just make sure it can be heated in the microwave. You do not have to heat this recipe but I like it both ways .With blueberries the heated version is just as fun as the raw blueberries. More flavor pops when the blueberries are heated.  For dessert I make a mini version of the Fruitnutty Blueberry Crunch.

PS~Just go wild, I am sure there are more tree nuts I did not name but you can prepare the nut mixture the day ahead.    This is a great activity for children to make for mother's day breakfast for that special mom or grandmother in your family.  You can even have a Fruitnutty~Blueberry Crunch party and everyone gets into the fun of making their own designer Crunch.  Just prepare the nut mixture the day before,go shopping for the main ingredients and for what ever topping that suites your fancy. The day of the party hunt down your pretty serving bowls ,spoons, glass ware, and just go CrAzY having FUN making your Crunch!    Enjoy ~