Mosaic Monday ~The 5th of July

Our 4th of July was kind of a bust since it was cloudy and 53 and threatening rain at the time we should have been headed to the water to watch fireworks. Oh well...there's always next year! We had a great fireworks show from our front window though. The people in our neighborhood must have had to take out some second mortgages to afford the displays we saw! I had prepared a little picnic....quiche and Cherry pie, so we just ate it at home. Today ended up being glorious and the forecast actually has one day this week pegged for 94...hows that for a turnaround 40° difference!!!



I can't believe I've lived in Washington for 7 years (July 6th to be exact) and I don't think I have ever made a cherry pie. But I remedied that this year! This recipe was just right..not too sweet, not to tart.

Fresh Cherry Pie

Inspired by this post on Make and Takes.com who adapted their recipe from The Joy of Cooking

2 prepared pie crusts (store bought or homemade), rolled and ready to use

5 cups pitted sour or Bing cherries (2 to 2 1/2 lbs.)
1 1/4 cups sugar (3/4 cup for Bing cherries)
3 to 3 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch or quick-cooking tapioca
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 to 2 drops red food coloring (optional–I didn’t use it)
2 to 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Fit one of the rolled pie crusts in a 9 to 10″ deep dish pie plate.

Place the pitted cherries in a large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and cornstarch. Toss. Add water, lemon juice, almond extract, and food coloring (if using). Toss again to coat, making sure no lumps of sugar or cornstarch remain.

*************************************************



For our 4th of July picnic I knew I wanted quiche because I thought it would be portable and also give me the opportunity to use up a few things from the fridge. I browsed a few recipes and made my own conglomeration.
Bacon, Tomato and Mushroom Quiche

Start with your favorite pie crust and precook in pie pan at 425 for about 5-7 minutes. Take out of the oven, then begin to layer your ingredients. I used the following in the order given:

6 piece of bacon, crumbled
A cup or so of cherry tomatoes, halved.
One sauteed onion
1 cup chopped mushrooms, sauteed with onions
1 baby garlic (still looks like a bulb) chopped, sauteed with onions and mushrooms
Colby Cheddar mix, shredded about a cup sprinkled on top
3 eggs beaten with 1 cup cream (pour over above mixture)

Turn oven down to 375° and cook for about 40 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
**
*************************************************
Since I missed the big fireworks and maybe so did some of you I thought I would try to find some natural fireworks. If you squint maybe some of the bloom bursts will fool you!

This Veronica looks like shooting rockets


Alstromeria is just HOT enough looking to be fireworks!


Neat little geranium explodes with color


Mountain bluet is a pretty burst of blue


This golden feverfew would brighten a night sky


This ageratum looks like tiny sprays of blue fire poppers


These hosta blooms really reach out and grab you


All we need is a little red to go along with these blue and white geranium Splish Splash sparklers


How about lily Lollipop for a fireworks encore?


This old fashioned daylily is like a sunburst


Phlox unfurling is pretty exciting


Closeup clematis explodes like a BANG!


I'm going to set off a sky rocket if I actually get tomatoes this year


This little guy is like those double fireworks that change colors


And again with the rose campion


Calendula making a loud pop


And the Grand finale, a red white and blue finish


I'm adding this post to Mosaic Monday over at Little Red House. Check out all of the other neat mosaics. I bet you might even see some REAL fireworks!


Join me in the fun! I'd love for you to participate in this event with me. Bring your ice cream related posts...anything goes! Tablescapes, recipes, memories, and favorite products will all be welcome. Or anything else you come up with. Check out last year's post HERE to check out what it's all about. See you at the parlor!

~Spring Love~

I just love this time of the year. Everything is fresh and new


And the colors are so vivid


The lamium is blooming (these and the two above)


This cute little ranunculus that my friend Karen gave me appears - it will disappear later


Plants that I had completely forgotten about make theirselves known, like 'Spring Symphony' Tiarella


Shrubs and trees start putting on a show. This pink flowering currant is so pretty at this time of the year


This Vine Maple looks especially cute with its new frilly foliage



Even the foliage plants are especially colorful like this Red Wing Euphorbia


The spring bulbs are still looking nice including this Snowflake


This early purple leafed corydalis brings some blue to the garden


And just in the past couple of days the rockcress has begun to bloom such a pretty pink. Its a great spring blooming perennial and growing it from seed is very easy.


And look what has just begun to open - the first clematis of the season - variety unknown to me but the vine is loaded. Can't wait to see the whole thing in bloom. It's right outside my front door.



Another thing I love about Spring is that I get motivated to grill outdoors. Today I did country ribs, sausage & Raspberry Chipotle glazed chicken. I made potato salad and tried a great new Garden Slaw with Spicy Asian Dressing.



The Raspberry Chipotle glazed chicken was inspired by my friend Carol at There's Always Thyme to Cook who has raved about her Cherry Chipotle Wings. Go check out her site..she's always cooking up something good. I didn't have any cherry jam on hand so substituted Raspberry and it came out delish.

Chipotle-Raspberry Barbecue Glaze
Inspired by Carol who got inspired by:
Source: Food and Wine Magazine - June 2005, recipe by Grace Parisi,

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped or sliced
8 ounces Raspberry preserves (3/4 cup) (I used a bit more!)
1/4 cup chipotle chile in adobo sauce (you can deseed and chop but I wanted the heat)
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until bubbling, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and process until fairly smooth or use immersion blender . Transfer to a bowl and let cool before using. The glaze can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

NOTES : Use this spicy, smoky, sweet barbecue sauce to glaze grilled meat or poultry in the last few minutes of cooking. It can also be served on the side.


Garden Slaw with Spice Asian Dressing
From Midwest Living with a couple of changes

• 4 cups bokchoy (or other cabbage)
• 2 carrots, cut into julienne strips or coarsely shredded (about 1 cup)
• 3/4 cup bite-size strips green, red, yellow and/or orange sweet pepper
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped radishes
• 1/2 thinly sliced red onions
• Spicy Asian Dressing (recipe below)

In a large bowl, combine cabbage, carrot, sweet pepper, radishes, cilantro, and green onions. Pour the dressing over cabbage mixture. Toss to coat. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours before serving. Toss slaw before serving. Makes 6 to 8 side-dish servings.

Spicy Asian Dressing: In a screw-top jar, combine 3 tablespoons rice vinegar or white wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons canola oil or vegetable oil, 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (optional), 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger, 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper. Cover and shake well to mix. Makes about 1/2 cup.

***********************************************************************************

So on to dessert!

I now have a new Spring "love" - Rhubarb! I know this is a rite of passage for many people each spring, but its relatively new to me and I've never baked with it. I saw some at the grocery store this week so thought I would pick some up and give it a try. It's such a pretty color! For those southerners out there who might have seen it...it looks for all the world like pinkish red celery. I used a recipe from what's becoming my go to baking book - Heirloom Baking with The Brass Sisters. I think its a classic, but for this Southern Girl it's a novelty! Here is the rhubarb getting all sugared up

And ready for the oven


Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
from Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters

Pastry for double crust pie
4 cups chopped rhubarb (1 inch pieces)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1 pint strawberries, sliced, drained on paper towels
2 tablespoons cold butter, diced

Preheat to 400. Prepare a glass pie plate with vegetable spray and cover with foil the spray again (not sure why but I did it and the pie crust cooked well. Roll out dough to fit pan and put bottom crust in. Mix rhubarb, sugar and flour in a bowl and set aside 1 hour. Put rhubarb in a strainer to collect juice. Pour juice into a saucepan and add nutmeg and salt. Cook on medium until juice thickens. Cool 10 minutes. Combine rhubarb, strawberries and juice. Add mixture to pie shell. Dot with butter then add top crust. Brush top crust with beaten egg. Place pie on baking sheet (I didn't do this and it was okay). Bake 30 minutes and check -cover with foil if browning too fast. Bake another 15-20 minutes or until top is evenly brown. Cool pie completely before serving.

*Randy's note: Don't refrigerate and don't eat until the second day. Susan's note: Ya right on waiting until the second day....



I'm joining in for Mosaic Monday over at Little Red House. Go check out all of the cool mosaics!

~Fall Garden Tour and Fall Party Finger Food~

So yesterday I flashed back to what was blooming in my yard last year. How about a tour today? The front is still looking presentable with small spots of color here and there. I love that the grass stays green in the winter here.


This wall flower is having a revival.


This little 'Orkney Cherry' hardy geranium has been a work horse this year. I don't think its skipped a beat for months.


'Josephine' is giving me one final bloom. I believe all of the clematis have had a modest reblooming this year.


The hollyhocks are hanging on


Cheery little feverfew is still putting on new flowers


'Magic Carousel' is magically still blooming!


And hardy salvia 'Hot Lips' is having a nice mid fall showing. We went down to about 12°F and it came back this past spring like it didn't really mind at all.


No flowers....but the purple smoke tree has got some pretty jewel tones going on.


My little red & white mini is looking cute


I wish this abutilon would start blooming for me a little sooner than November! But I'll enjoy it while I can.


Gazania is still giving me some spectacular sunburst flowers


And the giant begonias are loving this cool damp weather we've been getting.


All in all..not too bad for November! We've had a couple of very light frosts, so these blooms that remain are the survivors of the pack. Looking back through these pics I notice that out of whats blooming most are red, white or pink. I'm using this post as my contribution to Mosaic Monday. Go HERE to check out all of the cool mosaics listed at Little Red House



So what's been going on in my kitchen? Well we had the pleasure of attending a fall themed party at the home of our friends Jim and Alice, so I used that as an opportunity to whip up some goodies. Like this snack mix of caramel popcorn, caramel flavored candy corn and salted peanuts.


And these Savory Rye Snacks waiting for the oven. This is a yummy recipe I got years ago from Taste of Home. It's great as a a dip with fritos too! And your eyes do not deceive you..that is pumpernickel, not Rye. I picked up the wrong package! They were still good.


Savory Rye Snacks
Ingredients

• 1 cup sliced green onions
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
• 1/2 cup chopped ripe olives
• 1/2 cup chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
• 1 loaf (1 pound) snack rye bread

In a bowl, combine the onions, cheeses, mayonnaise, mushrooms and olives. Spread on bread slices and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until bubbly. Yield: 4 dozen.

I made a couple of mini tart pans full of Sweet Dough Sweet Potato Pies. You can get the recipe HERE on my brother's website, Cajun Cousins...he's got lots of our family recipes there. Sweet Dough pies are a cajun tradition. The dough is like a sugar cookies.


And finally my most selfish contribution to the party...this delicious Amaretto Peach Pecan Sauce served over cream cheese. Selfish because I love it so much that I made it so I could have some! The recipe was shared by my friend Belinda one of the best cooks I know! She is also very generous with her recipes and I love that about her.


Amaretto Peach Pecan Sauce over Cream Cheese

1 16 oz jar of peach preserves
3 Tablespoons of Amaretto (I think I used a little more than this....)
1 cup of toasted pecans
1 block of cream cheese

Mix the first 3 ingredients. Serve over softened cream cheese. Wheat Thins are great with this.

Note: Belinda sent a tip for the toasted pecans. 2 minutes in the microwave works well too! Make sure to not burn them.