Friday, September 28, 2012

Soup, there it is

I made this Lentil soup for dinner
last night. Picture and recipe here.
It was super good.
I love making soups, but
have never made Lentil soup before...
I have always been a bit intimidated by
the lentil, but for no good reason.
Will definitely make this one again.
~
Lentil Soup
1 large brown onion, quartered
2 large carrots, peeled and
roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 T. olive oil
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups dried green lentils
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
(I used fire roasted)
3 tsp. sugar
4 cups vegetable stock
(I used chicken stock, because
 that is what I had)
3 cups water
2 T. red wine vinegar
Sea Salt & cracked black pepper
Large handful parsley leaves,
chopped roughly
2/3 cup Greek yogurt
1 cucumber, halved lenghways, seeded
and grated
1 tsp. finely grated lemon rind
~
Directions:
Process onion, carrot, celery, oregano leaves and
3 cloves of garlic in food processor to form a
chunky paste.
Heat oil in saucepan over med-high heat.
Cook vegetable mixture and bay leaves,
stirring occasionally, for 15 min.
Add lentils and stir to coat.
Add tomato, sugar, stock and water.
Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to med.,
and cook, stirring occasionally for about
45 min., until lentils are firm, but tender.
Cook longer for softer lentils.
Stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
Cook for another 5 mins.
Stir through most of the chopped parsley.
Combine yogurt, cucumber, lemon zest, and
remaining garlic. Season with salt and pepper
to taste.
Ladle soup into bowls. Dollop a generous
spoonful of cucumber, yogurt mixture
on top of soup and sprinkle with a
bit of fresh parsley.
~
Yummaroonie!


Sunday, September 23, 2012

Another year...

We celebrated our
22 anniversary last night.
Darryl picked up a bottle of Prosecco,
Santa Margarita... my favorite.
Good job honey!
(Self photo)
I had Seared scallops,
(they reminded me of the ones we
served at the Fish Co.)
with creamy corn risotto...
delicious!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Movie night

 Watched this movie last night.
Le Chocolat
Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp,
and Judi Denche.
I decided to buy the movie
at our local used movie store,
only $4.99
I forgot just how much I
enjoyed this movie.
Makes you want to eat chocolate
for sure... especially love the dinner
party scenes for Armande, and
the river boat party afterwards..
but love the whole movie.
Will watch over and over.
~

Monday, September 3, 2012

Labor Day

We had kind of a quiet
Labor Day.
No BBQ, no big pool party,
we just relaxed.
I did make these
cherry cheesecakes
in a jar.
 Oreo cookie crust - mmmm
 Cherry Cheesecake
12 Oreo cookies, finely crushed
2 T. butter, melted
2 1/2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese,
softened
1/2 C. sugar
2 t. vanilla
1 T. lemon zest
1/2 C. sour cream
2 eggs
Cherry pie filling
~
Blend Oreo cookies in food processor till
finely ground, add melted butter and mix.
press cookie crumbs into bottom of jars
and set aside.
In mixer, blend cream cheese, sour cream,
and sugar till smooth.
Add vanilla, flour, and lemon zest.
Then eggs - one at
a time.
Pour into jars.
Bake at 325 for about 25 min.,
in a water bath.
Carefully remove from water bath
and cool completely before adding
cherry topping.
Cool for about 2 hours before
serving.
 ~

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Happy Birthday

 Happy Birthday Dad!
In your honor, I made
Peach Lavender Jam
I think you would have enjoy this
on toast, or over a scoop of
vanilla ice cream
Peach Lavender Jam
1 T. dried lavender flower
1/2 cup boiling water
4 cups finely chopped peaches
(about 5-6 medium peaches, peeled)
2 T. lemon juice
5 cups granulated sugar
1 pouch liquid fruit pectin
(I used 1/2 cups shredded apple
for natural pectin)
~
Directions:
Place lavender flowers in a small bowl.
Pour boiling water over flower and steep
for 20 min. Strain and discard flowers.
Combine lavender liquid, peaches,
lemon juice, apple, and sugar in a large pan.
Bring to a full boil over high heat
and boil hard for 2-3 min., stirring
constantly. Skim off any foam that
forms on top of the mixture.
Remove from heat.
Ladle hot jam into jars, leaving 1/4-inch
of space. Wipe jar rims and threads.
Screw on lids and rings.
Process in a boiling water bath for 10 min.
Remove from water and let cool completely
12-24 hours. Check seals. Any unsealed
jars should be refrigerated and used
within 3 weeks.
~
Love You
and
Miss you...

Monday, August 20, 2012

Logan and mom day

Guess what we did....
Yep,
had a big water balloon
fight in the pool.
Does that sweet boy look
like someone that would
bean you in the face with
a one of those water balloons?
Well, you better believe it!
I got a few good shots in
too....hee, hee.
Played in the pool, had chocolate
dipped ice cream cones at McD's,
watched "Harry Potter and the
chamber of secrets",
and played "Boggle" before
bedtime.
We had a fun day!
~

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Gloomy day

It was a bit overcast today.
Still hot and humid, but not quite
as blazing hot as it has been.
 Made cookies - super easy
 and very few ingredients.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
1 pkg. devils food cake mix
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
~
Preheat oven to 375
Put all ingredients in your mixer
and combine.
*I added about a cup of choc. chips too.
Shape into 2 inch balls, roll in granulated
sugar and flatten ea. ball with a fork in
a criss-cross pattern.
Bake 7-9 min. or until edges are set.
Allow cookies to cool on a
wire rack.
Makes approx. 3 doz.
~