Red, White & Blue

Oodles of Produce

Okay, so you found us out. We're all over the bounty of the farm and gardens during the summer. We spend lots of time grilling, canning and...well, eating. There's just so much being harvested every day, it seems silly not to try new recipes while it's all so fresh.

Last night I baked an old standard. It was a big hit with our dinner guests, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you. I hope you enjoy it.

In our yard we've still got strawberries. Lots and lots of strawberries. So when I'm handed strawberries I make cobbler. Lots and lots of cobbler!

The fruit can be changed in this recipe to accomodate whatever's in season.

Fruit Cobbler

5 Tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 cups strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place melted butter in a square baking dish.Combine all ingredients except fruit and whisk until batter is smooth. Pour into baking dish. Put fruit on batter, then sprinkle with an additional spoonful of sugar. Cinnamon may be sprinkled over fruit as well, if desired.

Bake about an hour.

Best served with ice cream! But then, isn't almost everything better with ice cream?

And the Living is Easy

Guess what we had for dinner last night! What's cooking at your house?

Grilled Veggie Packets

4 potatoes, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
4 cloves minced garlic
4 sprigs rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil

This is one of my favorite things to eat. I make this in the winter too, using the oven. I've been known to do this with the woodstove, too!

Anyhow, all you've got to do is combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Then separate it onto foil squares, close the squares tightly and place on the warm grill. Let it all cook for about a half hour or so.

Serve with some hearty Italian bread. If you're really adventurous you can eat straight from the packet but I'm not that outdoorsy. I like mine on a plate but hey, it's all up to you! Enjoy!

And the living is easy...

Mango Soup

2 mangos - peeled, seeded and cubed
1/4 cup sugar
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups half-and-half

Combine all ingredients in blender. Serve icy cold.

Easy, fast and nutritious. What more could you ask for in a summertime snack?

Can you tell we like to take lunch on the fly here? Or sometimes breakfast? Or that we both love fruit...especially mangos?

I hope this is as big a hit in your house as it is in ours!

Sharing a Secret

Don't you just love the bounty of summer? The sun-warmed garden produce?

Don't you just love the watermelons? We do!

This is one of our favorite summer drinks. Sometimes we use ice cream instead of yogurt.. I won't divulge exactly how many of these we've consumed this past week. Take my word for it, though. The blender's been very busy!

I hope you enjoy this treat, too. I had to share. I mean, what kind of friend would I be if I kept this a secret?

Watermelon Smoothies

3 cups cold watermelon
2cups fresh strawberries
8 ounces any variety yogurt
2 cups crushed ice
Sugar to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Enjoy!

Birds, Bees and Birthdays

Ah, Monday again. I love Mondays.

I hope you all had a great weekend. We had a wonderful time here, even if there were spots that were a bit more overcast and dreary than I would have liked. I spent most of Saturday in the greenhouse. Let me tell you, the place is packed! Flowers and veggies, and even an orange tree, are taking over in there. The plan is to plant the first wave of stuff in the gardens in early June. Then, back to the greenhouse to begin a second wave of flats. This time, perennials for the flower beds. I've decided there are areas that need some extra color so we're putting in some new perennial beds. Along a stone wall, beside the pond and down a slopey part that's murder to cut. So, you see, we're going to be busy as bees these next weeks but--can you tell?--I love doing it.

Oh! Bees! Ours are all out of the hives and doing their jobs, zipping from cherry blossom to apple blossom to apricot blossom to...well, you get the idea. A few years ago we had difficulties with pollination (is this maybe more information than you need? Hmm?) so we got bees. Worked like a charm. Last season we had bushels of grapes and everything got really well pollinated, all thanks to those busy bees.

Not much else going on. Am still banging away at the next mystery but I'm close to the end. I love manuscript endings because it's the point where everything just comes together. I like that, the tidy little package at the end. An "Aha!" moment or two and maybe some hint at what's to come next. Or, maybe a kiss to seal a deal. Who knows? All I can say is I'm happy to be bearing down on the final chapter.

So how did you spend your weekend? Did you relax? Were you bee busy? Or was it a combination of both? Whatever you did, wherever you went, I hope it was satisfying. And I hope you're as psyched to see Monday as I am!

Now, for the birthday part...

Recently my darling husband celebrated a birthday. We love birthdays around here and celebrate for at least a week with silly surprises, special meals and goofy cards. Cake, too, there's always lots of cake--even for breakfast. But the birthday chaos is fodder for another post...

Back to the hubby's big day. Before the actual day I asked him if there was anything special he'd like for his birthday. His answer? "More of you."

Hmm....More of me? What, did he mean for me to gain loads of weight? I thought for a few minutes, then I realized what he meant.

So, I'm giving it to him.

I thought I'd share the birthday gift news with all of you first since it'll affect the time we spend together. Essentially I'm going to cut back on my work schedule and spend long, relaxing days with my hubby. We'll laugh and garden, read and barbeque, but I won't be at my desk as much as I have been.

What does this mean? Not much to many. For hubby and I, it means he'll have more of me. And me of him. Personally, I love the idea. For everyone else, it won't have any real impact on their lives. I'll write less, at least until the fall. And until the fall I'll only blog on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I'm going to miss my morning blog chat, emails and reading all the blogs whose writers feel like good friends but I'm sure I'll adjust. Because really, spending a lazy summer morning in bed with a good man isn't anything to whine about. And if we get up early and take a long walk in the forest and meadow instead of my sitting on my behind at this desk? I think it'll be a good thing, all around.

Birthday wishes should come true. This one is in my power to grant, so I'm going to do it. It's what he wants. He deserves it and I'm giving it to him.

I hope you understand. So, I won't be here tomorrow but I'll be back on Wednesday. And I'll do my best to visit everyone's blogs and keep abreast of emails but if I slip a little I hope you'll give me some slack.

Oh! If you get the chance to slow down a bit, breathe the warm, sultry summer air or spend an evening chasing fireflies with those you love, I hope you take it. I truly believe that some of the most treasured memories come from spending ordinary days with special people. I'm hoping we make some extraordinary memories this summer. I hope you do, too.

See you Wednesday. Until then, have fun. :)

Chocolate for everybody!

Fun, fun, fun! Isn't that part and parcel of summer living? I spent the whole weekend planting (yes, Dru, I did manage to plant 35 trees this past weekend! Thanks for asking!) and in the greenhouse so it feels like summertime fun. And although it's not officially summer, I'm feeling decidedly summer-ish now that the tulips are blooming. So last night I whipped up one of my favorite fun, easy, yummy desserts. It's so simple--and yummy! Did I say it's yummy yet?--that I thought I'd share it with all of you. Maybe you'll find this decadent dessert is one that blows your skirt up, too.

So how do you make Chocolate Brownie S'mores? Easy, very easy. And yummy--oh? I said yummy? Oops! Sorry!

First of all, I can't take the credit for this creation. I saw the recipe on a box of brownies. I don't remember which one it was, but there you have it. This is a pilfered recipe. But it's yu--well, it rocks.

The basis for the whole shebang is a rectangular pan of brownies. Whip up whatever kind you prefer, bake them in a long pan and when they're done baking take the pan out of the oven--but don't turn the oven off. While the brownies are hot, dump a couple of handfuls of mini-marshmallows on top. Then sprinkle a few handfuls of milk chocolate morsels on the marshmallows. Yeah, my take on this is very scientific. Just add enough marshmallows and chocolate until you feel the "right" amount is there. Then, pop the pan back into the oven and bake until the stuff on top gets sort of melty. You'll know when that's "right" too. When everything is gooey, pull the brownies out of the oven. Turn the oven off and place pan on a cooling rack. Put graham crackers which have been broken into quarters or halves on top of the melted chocolate. Mash the crackers down slightly. Don't break the crackers, just make sure they're sort of smooshed into the melted chocolate. And yes, smooshed is a technical term! :)

Now the hard part: wait until the brownies cool before cutting. Cut them along the lines of the graham crackers. I like to add a scoop of ice cream and some whipped cream to this but hey, you don't have to. They're still awesome without any embellishment.

So now you know what I did last night. What about you? What was the highlight of your evening?