i'm diggin'...

Just sharing some of my favorite things as of late...

i saw this amazing painted floor while perusing indy.com.  what a terrific way to get your own personalized rug.  i love the color combination also.  

i saw this outfit and it got me excited for fall.  it's sooo hot and humid here in the south.  i'm pretty sure it's pretty widespread right now. not complaining but i'm ready for some cool.  i'm a sucker for a great handbag, and that imo is pretty great.  i also love the scarf and jeans. 
Details: Banana Republic Ashbury handbag, J.CRew Boucle bomber jacket, J.Crew matchstick indigo wash jeans

I love this. i believe it's slices of different license plates put together to make a sweet statement.  

RED. VELVET. BROWNIES. courtesy of smells-like-home.com.   do these look yummy or what?  i plan on making these just as soon as it's not 110 degrees outside and i'm able to crank up my oven.  recipe upcoming...

happy sunday y'all.  make this week a wonderful one

John's Pizzeria

We were reminiscing about our NYC trip in May.   If only I had pics to show I'd post 'em but remember what happened to my SD card?  it's hiding.  sad.
 The best pizza I've ever eaten is at a place called John's Pizzeria in the theatre district not far from Times Square.  We saw The Lion King about three blocks from this restaurant.  We were told it is the largest pizzeria in the world.  I don't know about all that but I do know it was absolutely terrific pizza, and the calamari was delicious too!  If you ever make it to NYC...make sure you hit up John's for some real NY style pizza pie (and be willing to wait awhile) :)

http://www.johnspizzerianyc.com/index2.htm

Bffs

Poppy + Spurgeon= BFF 

tomato sand-miches

my tomato plants didn't do as well as i'd of liked this year.  the ones that started out with tons of blossoms fizzled out and haven't given but a couple pieces of fruit.  i have a couple other plants that (unexpectedly) have done really well, thankfully.
my family loves BLT's and I make them at least once a week.  I have a post on here from way back when with the addition of avocado.  oh yum.  tomatoes, bacon, and avocados are three of my very favorite things.  btw...what's with the price of bacon at the market?  it's crazy!!
anyway...i have an abundance of tomatoes (especially since my hubs has been gone a lot lately and he's the biggest tomato eater in the family).  apart from making gazpacho, BLT's, and giving a lot away i've been eating a lot of tomato sand-miches.  that's just the way we say it around here.  the simplicity of it is really wonderful.
i like to use a hearty type of bread and toast it.  this is Arnold's health full 10 grain bread.  it's got 4 g of fiber in each slice and a touch of sweetness that goes nice with the tomatoes.
-hearty bread, toasted+
-home grown tomatoes+
-mayo = yummy

  a simple breakfast, lunch, or dinner

...add an egg for some protein.

next post: tasty things to make with cucumbers!

Spaghetti Carbonara

Have you ever made pasta Carbonara?  If you never have you must remedy that by planning this as one of your near future dinners! It's SO easy and oh SO good!  I was watching t.v. this afternoon and saw a show where they were eating pasta carbonara.  I  knew I had everything on hand to make it.  TaDa! Din-Din!  With a green salad it's a really delicious and easy meal to make fast.  This is adapted from a Nigella Lawson recipe (one of my favorite chef chics).

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2 cups cubed pancetta rind removed or 1/3 lb. of bacon chopped
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup dry white wine or vermouth
• 4 eggs (i used 3 extra large)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Freshly ground nutmeg (i skip it)
• Put a large pan of water on to boil for the pasta.
  In another large pan that will fit the pasta later, cook the pancetta or bacon in the oil until crispy but not crunchy. Pour over the white wine or vermouth and let it bubble away so that, after a few minutes, you have a small amount of salty winey syrup left. Take the pan off the heat.
  In a bowl, beat together the eggs, Parmesan, cream, and pepper. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, but since you want it kept al dente start checking it 2 minutes before end of the recommended cooking time.
  When the pasta is done, remove approximately 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining. Put the pan with the bacon cubes back on the heat and add the drained pasta, tossing well to coat with the syrupy pancetta. Take the pan off the heat again and add the eggs and cheese mixture, swiftly tossing everything to mix. Thin with pasta water, if needed. Grind over some more pepper and grate over the nutmeg to serve.
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marinated mozzarella

I am anxiously awaiting my garden tomatoes to ripen so that I can make caprese salad.  In the meantime the fresh mozzarella sitting in my fridge won't last forever. I also have an abundance of fresh basil.  Marinated Mozarella is one of my favorite things to have on hand.  It makes a terrific appetizer to serve to company, a delicious condiment, or a simple supper with some crusty french bread on those hot summer evenings when it's too hot to cook.  


Here's what you'll need:
Mason jar
**All ingredients are to your taste**
fresh ball of mozzarella 
fresh basil leaves
extra virgin olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves (i cut the cloves in half)
fresh cracked pepper
red pepper flakes
lemon peel (long strips are best)


Cut mozzarella into chunks.  Drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom of your mason jar and start layering in the cheese, then a bit of the basil, garlic, black pepper, lemon peel, red pepper, and more olive oil. Repeat until you've got all your cheese and seasonings in. Top it off with more olive oil and seal.  Refrigerate at least a day for flavors to develop.  

Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time. Yes it has!!

please forgive the long pause between posts. it's been a hectic few weeks. after the crazy restoration dehumidifiers and blowers left my house i was seriously in a "need some sanity" zone.  my husband left for brasil (that's how THEY spell it) and my mom came for a visit.  my kids had robotic camp and vacation bible school and so on. the hubs is back as of yesterday so all is right with the world again.  i don't function well without my better half. 

POPPY

UPDATE:  AS OF 7-9-11 POPPY IS BACK AND LIVING WITH US.  COME TO FIND OUT SHE IS A VALUABLE HUNTING DOG WITH A PRIZED PEDIGREE.  THE OWNER GAVE HER TO US.  YES-GAVE HER TO US!!

  

Time between posts is getting away from me.  I've been busy with things this week and this weekend looks to be even crazier.
When we got home from vacation our upstairs A/C unit (less than 2 yrs. old) leaked through the ceiling onto the kitchen ceiling, arch, and bathroom ceiling.
The A/C company came out and reinstalled the unit (it was supposedly not level or something).  They are taking care of damages thank goodness.  It pays to go with a reputable company.  You pay more but they seem to be doing what they've promised thus far.   When all is over and done I'll let you know if we're still happy. They tore down some of the ceiling, and part of a wall. They have it open and are dehumidifying those areas. So we have 4 dehumidifiers in the house right now.  2 huge units and 2 smaller units.  Talk about noise!  I seriously don't know how I will sleep tonight...or the next few nights.

  In the a.m. I have a book sale to sell lots of my curriculum to get $ for new books for fall.  Then my husband and boys are going to a father/son camp out with our church later in the afternoon.  He'll be headed home by 10 a.m the next morning so he can catch a 1 o'clock flight to Brazil for business for two weeks.  TWO WEEKS!!!  He's been overseas on business many times.  It's always been to Germany.  He only had to do a 2 week stint one other time.

Any-who I was going to make some grilled chicken tonight with black bean salsa but being that the dehumidifier hose is in my sink, and there's drywall dust on everything in my kitchen I opted for a Chick-fil-A sandwich.

Here's one of my favorite summer recipes I'll share with you tho'.   I make it year round but it's great for the hot days of summer because you use the grill.

SAUSAGE AND VEGGIES IN FOIL

• Sausage and veggies on the grill:
• 1 pound Italian sausage or bratwurst cut into 1/2-inch slices (I used 1/2 Italian sausage/half turkey bratwurst
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch slices
• 1 medium yellow summer squash, cut into 1-inch slices
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, sliced
• 1 medium onion, cut into wedges
• 1 cup quartered fresh mushrooms
• 2 potatoes cut up in chunks
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the oil, oregano, parsley, garlic salt and paprika. Pour over sausage mixture; toss to coat. Divide between two pieces of heavy-duty foil (about 14 in. x 12 in.). Fold foil around sausage mixture and seal tightly.
• Grill, covered, over medium heat for 25-30 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape. 

The original recipe doesn't call for potatoes but I think they're a must.  You can really use

whatever veggies you like or have on hand.  Enjoy!

I'm back/Korean BBQ

Wow, I didn't realize it had been 3 weeks since I'd last posted.  I've been busy with end of school year things, a trip to NYC, and life in general.  


You won't see many photos of the family's trip to NYC because quite simply, I misplaced the SD card with my vacation photos.  It was an 8gb so the amount of photos lost (approx. 600) is nauseating. I try not to dwell on it.  I'm praying it shows up sometime soon where I least expect it.  I think I left it in the NYC apartment we stayed in but no show yet.  Life goes on.


Let me just say that after eating NY food for a week, coming home to Nashville to get a
Chick-fil-a sandwich (something I usually love) was a disappointment to the taste buds.  The food there is so great.  Even my husband and boys swear the hot dog vendor's dogs are extraordinary.  :)  I'm not a fan, but I can vouch for their pretzels. :)


My hubs served in the USAF for nearly a decade.  A few of those years were spent in Seoul, Korea.  He introduced us to Korean cuisine (particularly Korean BBQ) quite a few years ago.  We all love it and frequent an authentic Korean restaurant here in Nashvegas called The Seoul Garden.  


After our visit to the Empire State Bldg. last week we walked a few block to NYC's Korean Town.  What a wonderful area!  Lots of great restaurants and tea shops.

 We found this restaurant called Won Jo.  We were excited to try Korean BBQ in Korea Town.

  Korean BBQ is marinated pork, chicken, or beef (called bulgogi) that they bring and you cook it on grill that is built into your table.  They bring rice, lettuce leaves, and all sorts of wonderful side dishes called kimchi.  Kimchi is a delicious spicy, fermented, cabbage. Other types of kimchi might be radish, cucumber, potatoes, eggs, fish, etc.. (see all the little white dishes above are kimchi) You take your lettuce leaf and put on the meat, rice and whatever kimchi you want and roll it up. Yum.  It's one of my favorite things to eat.  The kimchi soup was my favorite thing tho'.   Fun times and great memories were made.  

Greek chicken pasta

Here's another Greek inspired recipe I found the other day while searching all recipes for a chicken pasta recipe.  One of my favorite things is marinated artichoke hearts, and when I saw this recipe included those-I knew I wanted to make it.  I used whole wheat pasta and canned tomatoes but other than that I followed the recipe exactly.  The tartness from the artichoke hearts, feta, and lemon is really wonderful.  A salad and some crusty bread  would be great with it as well. .http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Greek-Chicken-Pasta/Detail.aspx

Chair luv

My current blog photo is a piece called "Marin".  It's from a series of mixed media I did quite a few years ago.  I love the idea of taking an old chair with great bones and redoing it into something fabulous.  Upholstering is something I've long wanted to try but haven't had the time, room, or resources to make it happen. My mind overflows with different design ideas. My mixed media chairs were kind of an alternative way to express them.  My love for a good wingback chair is well documented.  "Wingey" (below), was my first dishtowel design, and the first one I ever sold on my site and Etsy back in '07.

While perusing Etsy I came across Happy Chair.  Shawna Robinson, a formal Nascar driver,  runs the company. I was excited to see her offering some things on Etsy.  Her pieces are amazing! Is this love seat below the cutest or what?  Not really fitting for my decor, but I could so see it in a single girl's apartment, bedroom, or the sitting area of a boutique.  

http://www.etsy.com/listing/73479753/mary-jane-bench?ref=v1_other_1

Loving the combination of colors on this owl chair.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/73480277/give-a-hoot-happy-chair?ref=pr_shop

The "marry me" chair reminds me of one of my favorite things - -Ruffled nickers! :) 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/73478530/marry-me

You can view all her available pieces at shawnarobinson.com.  

Carnitas

                 Carnitas means "little meats" in spanish.  Pork carnitas is simmered pork used in different Mexican dishes.  They are usually made using heavily marbled, boston butt or a picnic cut of pork. This is the same cut of meat used in pulled pork for BBQ.    It's braised in liquid (the authentic method is using lard for liquid-eewww!) and seasonings for a good while and used in tacos, burritos, etc...  
This particular recipe has a very mellow tasting, juicy meat.  A perfect accompaniment to the stronger corn tortilla, cilantro, red onion, and salsa flavors.
It's terrific because you get the richness and tenderness like you used lard but YOU DEFINITELY DIDN"T.  We will use evaporated milk and coca cola instead.
CARNITAS:
Boston butt piece of pork
onion roughly chopped
a can evaporated milk
a can of coke
1/4 c. salt
2 cinnamon sticks
head of garlic, top cut off
water to cover


corn tortillas
red onion
cilantro
crumbled queso (i don't use cheese)
salsa
lime wedges


Cut your boston butt into large chunks and remove outer layer of fat.  Put your butt :) into a large pot.  Add your evaporated milk, coke, salt, cinnamon sticks, garlic, and water to cover the roast.  Cover and simmer 3-4 hours or until it's very tender.
Once it's tender you can remove to cool.  Put your meat on a cutting board and using two forks shred the meat.  
For tacos I use a large electric griddle.  On one side I put some of the carnitas meat so it can get brown and crispy.  On the other side I heat the corn tortillas.  To assemble: Heat a corn tortilla.  Lay down some meat, chopped red onion, cilantro, and salsa (recipe below).
You can add crumbled queso or other Mexican cheese if you like.  I like mine w/o cheese. 


 smokey salsa:

• 3 cups chopped tomatoes
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 3 fresh jalapenos, roughly chopped (less or more depending on how HOT you like it)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 T. fresh lime juice
• 2 T. chopped canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce 
• 1 1/2 t. ground cumin
• 1 t. sea salt

Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse to the consistency you like.

grit bowls

Forget all the derogatory things you have heard about grits. If you've never tried them, how could you really know if you don't like 'em?  Maybe you won't like 'em, but know for sure.  I think you may be missing out on something pretty delicious. 

Have you ever eaten polenta at a nice restaurant?  If you have, you've eaten grits! You can add so many things to grits--savory or sweet.  My favorite way to eat them is in what I call a grit bowl. Grits seasoned up well on the bottom and whatever you like on top. And then, lastly, topped with an egg, any way you like it.  

I use quick grits.  Quick grits are really good. I make my grits in the microwave. Follow directions on the back of the box. 1/4 c. of grits and 3/4 c. water.  Microwave 2-3 minutes depending on the consistency you like.  I usually cook them about 2 1/2 minutes. You definitely need to season the grits well to your liking.

Once they come out of the microwave I stir in a some butter, salt, fresh ground pepper, and a few shreds of my favorite cheese, Cabot extra sharp. I find it in my Kroger's deli case. 

You can add whatever you like to your grits.  If you have sausage or bacon, that is great crumbled up in there, or some fried potatoes or other veggie. You could really get creative. Today I just topped the grits with a fried over-medium egg. Give grits a try.  You may be surprised at how delicious they are. :) 

spurgie's lift

Spurgie was groomed on Wed.  I took him to a new place and saved $15 from the normal groomer we use.  Don't know if I'll go back.  He has this look now to his face and the way the fur hits below his eyes that seemed so familiar to me.  I kept thinking 'who does this dog look like?'.  I finally figured it out.  I tried to capture his face in that look.  If you don't see it you're just going to have to trust me on this.  

May Day

As a child growing up in the midwest I truly loved to make and deliver May baskets.  I never really knew the history behind May Day but I loved delivering the vessels of goodies to friends' front porches, ringing the door bell and running.  If your friend chased you down and caught you, you might get a kiss.


I think my mom liked it almost as much as I did.  I imagine it must have something to do with my Swedish roots and my grandma making them with her. May Day is big in Sweden and other European countries.  I remember making them every year until I got too old and loss interest.  There were times it was last minute and mom didn't have anything to put in them.  My mom would quickly pop some popcorn or make some little cookies to stick in there.  I might decorate some dixie cups or make some homemade cups out of construction paper.  And there were always little handmade notes put inside (my favorite part).  Sometimes you'd get a basket and there would be no note.  It would drive me crazy if I didn't know who left it. 


I live in the south and I never hear of May baskets here.  What???  I mention May Baskets and people look at me with confusion.  That's just sad.  My boys have no interest in May baskets (rightfully so).  Every May 1st I talk about how much fun it was way back when to make 'em -bla-bla-bla- and they kinda just roll their eyes.  I guess it's kind of a girlie thing to do.  Maybe I'll get to make baskets with my granddaughter/s someday.  :)

gotta love loretta

Loretta Lynn is one of my all time favorite country voices.  She's serious as a heart attack as her little frame belts out those epic songs that were undoubtedly based on her own life experiences (with you know who-Dew!).  Her delivery is never disappointing- - "don't mess with me" toughness and a smirk on her face.

ache 0' head

Are you sensing a theme here?  What do you take for a headache?  I prefer Advil p.m to take before bed for pain relief with zonking benefits (yes, zonking is word).  I had to settle for regular Advil tonight since I need to be up early to drive my kids and those we carpool with 30+ miles one way to their homeschool tutorial. Hopefully we'll be headache free in the a.m.

Goodnight y'all. :) 

greek salad with chicken

I got the idea for a greek salad after reading a post from the pioneer woman earlier in the week.   I knew that if I made it for a meal, I'd have to add meat for the men in my family.  No amount of feta cheese was going to change that.  PW also suggested serving the salad and chicken in a tortilla; I'm definitely doing that next time I make it.
This salad turned out so good and something I will be making on a regular basis, especially with warm weather on the way.  I also sauteed chicken in olive oil with minced garlic and seasoned it well.  My two younger boys loved it (even my veggie protester said he loved the way the salad and chicken tasted together)!
Greek Salad and chicken
 Head of romaine
2 tomatoes, chopped (get the best firm, flavorful tomatoes you can find)
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
some red onion, chopped
Kalamata olives, halved
some parsley, chopped
1/2 c. feta cheese
chop the romaine and place in the bottom of the bowl.  Add each ingredient on top of the romaine side by side.   make dressing and saute chicken if desired.


dressing
1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. red wine vinegar
clove of minced garlic
2 t. sugar
handful of kalamata olives, minced
salt and pepper


whisk together and pour over salad.  mix it all together gently and serve right away. serve chicken on top or separately.