I thought I'd post a picture of my brother and I for "Flashback Photo Friday" (try saying that fast), since I'm working on a few things and I don't have much to share yet. I did have a very nice morning/afternoon with a dear friend and will share that with you soon.
I received this lovely blog award today from Marie Segal. I got home from doing errands and checked my email and found a rather "cryptic" comment on my last blog post. I proceeded to Marie's blog, "Art From My Heart", where I found that she had awarded me this lovely blog award. I am truly honored and surprised that my little blog would even be considered for such a lovely honor. I am inspired every day by all the talented ladies out there whose blogs I follow.
Here's wishing everyone an early Happy Fourth of July! We're having a BBQ with family and friends. My contributions are cupcakes and yogurt/Cool Whip pies. Our high school has fireworks every year which we can see them from our house, so we'll all just sit out on the front lawn and enjoy the show! We all laugh at each other's "ooohhhs and aaahhhs"!
This year I am growing three kinds of tomatoes and red peppers. There is absolutely nothing more delicious or flavorful than homegrown tomatoes; ones that are store-bought don't even come close. Other fruits and herbs I have in my garden are "Gordon" apples, white figs, basil, rosemary, two kinds of thyme, mint, (all I need is parsley and sage and I can go to Scarborough Fair!), and blackberries. All the fruits and veggies are at different stages of becoming ripe; I've had a couple of tomatoes already and lots of basil. I love putting it in anything I can! One of my favorite summertime sandwiches is Horizon low-fat cream cheese, tomato, basil, and some Garlic & Herb Mrs. Dash. Can you say "Yum"?! Cream cheese and cucumber is also very good. I'm hoping that I can harvest my blackberries when they ripen before the squirrels or birds get to them. I had one lolely little blackberry that was almost ripe and "somebody" got to it before I could! I'm hoping that won't happen this time; we'll see. The apples are so good in pies - my mom bakes a mean apple pie! I need to get her recipe and try making one this summer. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get those apples at the top of the tree - it will be "interesting" to say the least! My brother's birthday is in September and he always requests mom's apple pie for his birthday dessert. I must say that it is a little difficult to put candles in pie crust!
Actually, I say Italian Tomato Tart! I made this for dinner last night and it was very good. This recipe was also from the April 2009 issue of "Cooking Light". My friend and neighbor "J" got me the subscription for my birthday last year and I' m really enjoying going through and picking out new recipes to try. I'm also going through my "Everyday Food" issues and choosing recipes from there as well. So far, so good!
I took a break from my transcribing yesterday and made two different types of wonton chips: spiced and garlic/parmesan. I got the recipe for the spiced chips out of the April 2009 issue of "Cooking Light". The spiced chips call for Chinese five spice and the ones pictured above are a garlic/parmesan version I came up with - very simply, garlic powder with parsley and Trader Joe's Parmesan and Romano Grated Cheese. They are so easy: cut wonton wrappers into fours, lightly brush with dark sesame oil (or oil or your choice), sprinkle the wrappers with the mixture of your choice, and put into a preheated 450 degree oven for 3 minutes or until crisp. I must warn you though - it's very hard to stop at just a few!
Happy Father's Day also to my dear brother and to all the fathers out there in name and spirit. Have a wonderful day.
