Week 78, 6-18-2017

Thoughts and Quotes: The greatest gift I ever had came from God; I call him Dad!
                                                                                        Author Unknown

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL DADS

Time to Reflect: Watch this and you'll be proud to be an American. Remember the patriotism we felt right after 9-11? Click HERE. Thank you, Jeanne, for sharing this.

Tasting: Thursday was Cooking Club day at Mim's. 

THE TABLE

THE MENU

Spinach and Feta Quiche

Black Bean Salad

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

Apple-Raisin Cole Slaw

Crescent Rolls

Lemon-Blueberry Cake

Iced Tea

                                                                     

THE FOOD

THE RECIPES

SPINACH-FETA QUICHE with SWEET POTATO CRUST

(Cooking Light)

Cooking spray

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8” slices

1 tsp Canola oil

1/2 cup sliced onion

1 (5 oz) bag fresh baby spinach

1/2 cup 1% milk

1/4 tsp each kosher salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper

4 eggs

2 egg whites

1/3 cup feta cheese

Heat oven to 350°. Coat a 9” pie plate or quiche pan with cooking spray.

Overlap sweet potato slices in circles on bottom. Line sides with half-slices. Spray with oil

Bake 20 minutes. Place pan on a wire rack and increase oven temperature to 375°.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add oil and onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add spinach and sauté 3 minutes more. Remove from heat and cool.

Whisk together milk, seasonings, eggs, and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Arrange spinach and onions in crust. Pour egg mixture over and sprinkle with feta.

Bake 35 minutes or until set. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

BLACK BEAN SALAD

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups frozen corn kernels

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/3 red onion, chopped

Pinch of ground cumin

Juice of 1 lime

2 Tbs salad or olive oil

3 Tbs honey

1 Tbs chopped cilantro

Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients in a large serving bowl. Let stand at least 15 minutes for the corn to fully defrost and the flavors to combine.

BROCCOLI-CAULIFLOWER SALAD

2-1/2 cups bite-sized pieces of broccoli florets

2-1/2 cups bite-sized pieces cauliflower florets

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup raisins

Dressing:

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup mayonnaise

1 Tbs red wine vinegar

Mix broccoli and cauliflower together in a large mixing bowl.

Mix dressing and pour over.

Cover and refrigerate.

Just before serving, add cheese, bacon, seeds, and raisins. Mix well and put in serving bowl.

APPLE-RAISIN COLE SLAW

1/2 cup golden raisins

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 Tbs red wine vinegar

1/2 head purple or Savoy cabbage, shredded

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and shredded

1/3 cup peanuts

Salt and pepper

In a large bowl, stir together the raisins, mayonnaise, sour cream and vinegar.

Add the cabbage and apples and toss to combine.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

LEMON-BLUEBERRY CAKE

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1-1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 Tbs vanilla

3 cups sifted flour

1 Tbs baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

Zest and juice of 3 medium lemons

1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries

1 Tbs flour

Heat oven to 350°.

Grease three 9” round cake pans with nonstick spray and flour lightly.

Beat butter on high until creamy, about 1 minute in a large mixing bowl.

Add sugar and brown sugar and beat on medium until well combined, 2-3 minutes.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well mixed and creamy; 2 minutes.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt. Fold into butter-egg mixture; beat on low only 5 seconds.

Add buttermilk, lemon zest and juice. Mix in with a spoon very gently.

Toss blueberries with the 1 Tbs flour and fold in. Batter will be very thick. Do Not Over Mix.

Divide batter evenly among the 3 prepared pans and bake 21-25 minutes (until they test done).

Cool completely before frosting with lemon buttercream frosting. Decorate with berries.

PARTY FAVORS

Himalayan Salt and Mini Zucchini-Nut Bread Loaves

Things That Make Us Smile: You don't have to be a Senior Citizen to enjoy THIS.

Tidbits: I found this very interesting. Pretty boring until you get to California and Hawaii. Click HERE. You can also scroll down to see statistics on your name.

Those Talented Kids: I found this painting in the entrance to the food court at the mall. The artist is in middle school. Notice how he painted the trees/bushes. It's called The Happy House.

The Pepper Report: He doesn't like spiders.

Thrifting: I found these trivets at a church sale for $1 each. I don't know if they're stainless steel or polished aluminum. 

And these fun wooden napkin rings - $1 for the set

And last week I told you I'd show you why I need to do the Lazy Daisy Lunch table again. On Craigslist, I found these beautiful dishes. Service for eight plus lots of service pieces and six matching glasses. Total cost - $30.

Time-out: Time to fix lunch. No, I didn't eat three chicken legs. One is for Pepper. Yes, I took the skin off and gave him little bites.

Things That Grow: We have radishes. I turned my back for a minute, and they got really big. I ate some yesterday with bread, butter, and salt. (I hear that's the French way). They're a little hot, but okay for salads.

The gladiola are starting to bloom.

The flowers on the outdoor patio are doing fine. Don't ask me what they are, because I forgot. It will be a surprise.

I replanted the one in back which didn't sprout. I think I put petunias.

I know this is rosemary in the center with Moss Rose (Portulaca) in front.

The English cress is doing okay so far. I wonder if I should thin it?

From Plants

Cucumber

Tomato

Two other tomatoes - each plant is a different kind of tomato

This is the 99-cent banana pepper I got at Aldi. I planted it one day, the next morning it was just a stem. Don't know what ate the leaves, but it seems to be recovering.

Bell Pepper

Jalapeno Pepper

From Seed

I ate a cantaloupe from the market and buried the seeds. I don't know if this will ever produce, but it certainly looks as if it means business.

Yellow crook-neck squash - don't know why I planted them so close together.

I had this labeled "Marjoram", but it looks like "Basil" to me.

Beets

Chard

Spinach, which is too close to the zucchini

Mystery guests - I get so confused

Failures: Icicle radishes, Watermelon radishes, Carrots, Turnips. The Farmer in the Dell most certainly would not have proposed to me.

Tablescapes: Can you believe it? These are July tablescapes and we're in the middle of June.

I found a plastic bag all taped up around some strange-looking pieces at DAV. I had no idea what was inside, so I bought it just to see. If anyone knows the game these pieces belong to, please let me know. 

Beware the Jolly Roger

Cows

Cape Cod

This table is full of good memories. I bought the placemats on Cape Cod for $1 each; I bought the beige and blue shells at the same drugstore where I bought the magnolia dishes in Mississippi; my friends in Jefferson City brought me the great pitcher.

Tropical

ENJOY THE SUNSHINE

GO TO THE LAKE

OR TAKE A CARIBBEAN CRUISE

BRING SOME FLOWERS INSIDE TO ENJOY

BAKE SOMEONE A CHOCOLATE CAKE

VISIT THE FARMERS' MARKET

DON'T FORGET TO EAT YOUR APPLES

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE