The Sizzling Colors of Summer

There is no doubt about it, it is HOT.  So, it’s time to turn up the heat with a festive Tablescape to get the party sizzling.  This table represents about five years of whimsical accumulating.  How fortunate that the colors match!

Sources:

Piggy Bowl – Napa Style

Plates, Cups, Glasses – Fiestaware

S & P – Fiestaware

Flatware - Fiestaware

Bowls – Dario Farrucci

Cream & Sugar Set – Dario Farrucci

Napkins – Crate & Barrel

Placemats – Pier 1

Napkin Rings – Pier 1

Small Talavera Bowls - eBay

This post is linked to:

Mosaic Monday

Tabletop Tuesday 

Let's Dish

Tablescape Thursday 

Seasonal Sunday

Cozy Home Scenes

Happy Halloween!

This picture of our house after the tornado (with a few embellishments) served as the perfect cover for our Halloween card this year.

By now you know my penchant for collecting and sharing items with recipes on them, from the Recipe Tea Towels  that you read about earlier this month to the Recipe Postcards that I told you about last month. I also make my own greeting cards and, yes, I always manage to work a recipe into them as well.  So, to wish you a Happy Halloween, I'm sharing the card that I designed for the holiday, interior and exterior, along with the envelope in which it arrived.

Have a frightening day everyone, and enjoy!

This recipe for a Tornado Cocktail appeared on the inside top of the card.

The greeting inside.

The envelopes just before they went into the mail.  If you detected a theme here, you're right!  I also paid homage to the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, by including the Rally Squirrel circling the large tornado.

Have a Happy Halloween!

This post is linked to:
Metamorphosis Monday-BNOTP
Brag Monday-The Graphics Fairy
Amaze Me Monday-Dittle Dattle

Garden Bench

 For Metamorphosis and Mosaic Monday I thought I'd share a project my son has been working on for the past couple of weeks.  One of the causalities of the storm was our little Victorian garden bench.  The way it used to look is shown in the upper left-hand corner of this mosaic (photo from the Harbor Freight website).  I was perfectly happy with this, but after seeing it in bits, I decided I wanted something a bit different and more colorful with the placement changed from the far back of the yard, up to the front where I could see it every day as I was having my morning coffee.  The only spot relatively untouched by the tornado was a small area just outside the kitchen window, so a couple of weeks ago Andrew went to work.  Here are pictures of the results.

I LOVE the vibrant colors of this bench, and how great they look with the potted calibrachoa on top of the nudes base at right.  The "planter" at far left is the top of a birdbath, the base of which was lost to the storm, planted with begonias. Directly behind the bench I planted zinnia seeds, so it should be a riot of color come August.

All of the hostas in this area were rescued from beneath trees (now gone) in other parts of the yard.  We went from a yard that was all shade to one that is now virtually all sun, so I have to entirely rethink our existing and future plantings.  The small red impatiens will eventually grow together and fill this area with lots of red and hummingbirds.

These shoes have been in the garage for ages.  Many times I thought I should just get rid of them, but I'm glad I saved them as they look perfect beneath the bench, planted with creeping jenny.

Have a colorful Monday!

This post is linked to:
Seasonal Sunday, Metamorphosis Monday, Mosaic Monday,  This Week In my Garden, Wow Us Wednesday, Flora Thursday at Fishtail Cottage, Outdoor Wednesdays 
and

Home Grown Home Made Salsa Verde

I took a major step today: I planted something.  To be precise, I planted red peppers, green peppers, poblano peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, cucumbers, bottle gourds, cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, basil, parsley, and potatoes.  Clean up of the tornado damage begins this week and I'm encouraged by the very thought of this.  It will take months, I'm not going to try to convince myself otherwise, but it's a beginning.  Thanks to my son who has diligently helped us during this past month of chaos and disruption, the potager has been cleared, the soil turned, and the beds prepared, so I can begin to get back to what I consider a "bit of normal."


For those of you who enjoy a vegetable garden and also like a great salsa, let me encourage you to grow tomatillos this summer.  I don't think there is a plant any easier to cultivate.  In past years I've grown it in containers, damp areas, dry areas, partially shady areas, and have always gotten a bumper crop.  This means lots of salsa verde, and nothing is better tasting than fresh homemade salsa verde derived from your own home grown tomatillos.  How can one fail to feel such a soul filling satisfaction from that?

Here is the recipe that I use, but it can be tweaked to suit your own tastes.  If you like it hotter, leave the seeds in the jalapenos.  Add more onion or garlic if you like; add or reduce the amount of cilantro.

This is one of those condiments that you're going to find a lot of uses for other than just as a dip for tortilla chips.  I like it on top of a poached egg, as a potato topping, on tacos, on top of a grilled steak, stirred into a cream sauce and poured over fish or chicken.

Salsa Verde

2 large fresh poblano peppers

1/2 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed, diced

1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth

3 scallions, chopped (include both white and green parts)

1 large jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded

1 large garlic clove

1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro leaves (or to taste, I used a bit more)

1 tablespoon whipping cream

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Char poblanos directly over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Place in bowl. Cover top of bowl with plastic wrap and let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed, and chop chilies.

Combine tomatillos, broth, scallions, jalapeno, and garlic in medium saucepan; bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until mixture is reduced to 1 2/3 cups, stirring occasionally, about 18 minutes. Transfer mixture to blender, food processor, or use immersion blender to blend ingredients thoroughly.  Add poblanos, cilantro, and cream. Puree a second time, until smooth. Season salsa with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Add lime juice, if desired. Can be made a day ahead.  Serve warm or cold. 

This is linked to: 

My Meatless Mondays

Metamorphosis Monday

and Mosaic Monday at Little Red House

Blackberry Fool

The steps to making Blackberry Fool.

This time of year I absolutely cannot get enough berries to eat.  I love them all: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.  I picked up quarts of each while shopping this morning, with no cue as to what I'd do with them other than juice them or just eat them.  Then my eyes fell upon a stack of Everyday Food magazines and would you believe it, this one was on top.  

I know what you're thinking -- Good gravy, Marie, this woman has food magazines from 2008 lying around her house!  Well, yes...and no.  This was one I had kept (the only one from that year, I swear it!) because of the berry recipes.  So, since so much time had passed, I decided to give the Blackberry Fool recipe a try. Heaven!

A delicious, light dessert that is easy to make (takes all of 15 minutes!), and worthy of an everyday meal or one for guests.  You can substitute raspberries or strawberries for the blackberries if you prefer, but do give the blackberries a try, they are astoundingly good for you, and the taste is sublime!

This is linked to:

and Mosaic Monday at Little Red House