A Blondie Day

Colander Pot

Do you remember in my last post I mentioned that I had picked up an old colander at the Thrift Shop?

It was a big 'ole dented thing, and it was also missing it's handles, but for 75 cents I couldn't leave it there.  I kept picturing the family dinners it must have helped with over the years, and thought it deserved a second life -

and maybe a new career.

 

So I went ahead with the plan to make it into a pot for the garden.

First I lined it with a coconut liner.

 

 

 

I was then going to fill it with potting soil, but I realized the plant I wanted to put in there fit perfectly in the pot it was already in, so I just laid it in there, and

 

VOILA!

 

 

It looked lovely!  

 

The annual I chose for it is the very pretty Lantana.  These are the sweetest flowers, and I have never grown them before, but so far they are very hardy, they love the full sun of my yard, and they seem to be happy as pie in their new home.

 

 

 

 

And that is the story of the colander pot.

 

xoxoxox

Thriftiness and Pickles

Yesterday, in an effort to escape the heat and feel like we were accomplishing something, My Girl and I headed to our local thrift store.  It’s a big, airy old warehouse, and even though there is no air conditioning, it is always pleasantly cool and breezy.  The mission was to get baskets, lots of them.  The usage would include storing misc. stuff around the house in them, and also to use them to give gifts of veggies from my garden.  Since the thrift shop charges 50 cents to $3 for them, this is quite affordable.  And it’s so nice to give veggies in a basket with a little vintage towel underneath.  So sweet!

 

Mission accomplished.

 

Here are a few that we came home with.

 

 

Pretty nice, huh?

 

And see what’s peeking out there on top?

 

Take a closer look.

 

 

Yup, a wire chicken basket.  Corny, yes, but I have wanted one for some unknown reason and have been searching for a while now.  For $1.50, I snatched it up.

 

Also, look further down in the pile.

 

 

I picked up a big ‘ole metal colander, which, on the spur of the moment, I thought might look cute in the garden with some annuals planted in it. 

 

Speaking of the garden, as I had predicted, we ARE up to our ears in pickles. 

 

 

But this is not such a bad thing.

 

At first, I made bread and butter refrigerator pickles.  Although my family liked them, they were waaayyy too sweet for me.  When I think of pickles, I think of the pickles of my childhood.  We used to go to a place called Stern’s Pickle Works. 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

It was a cool old building with a wooden floor and big barrels of the most delicious, garlicky pickles I have ever had.  I wanted to recreate THOSE pickles in a refrigerator pickle recipe.

 

I think I may have done it!

 

Would you like the recipe?

Good, I was hoping you would say yes!

 

Refrigerator Garlic Dill Cucumber Pickles

 

* Fresh Dill

*Pickle Sized Cucumbers (cut into spears)

*Chopped Fresh Garlic (don't be stingy!)

*1 tbsp. pickling spice

*Crushed dried red hot pepper to taste (I omitted this, but if you like things spicy - go for it!)

*Brine - 3/4 cp. distilled white vinegar

*4 tbsp. Kosher salt to each qt. of water

 

In a gallon jar (ingredients can be divided up into smaller jars if needed), layer fresh dill on the bottom and lots of chopped fresh garlic, 1 tbsp. pickling spice, some crushed red pepper. Pack in pickle spears, then add more dill.

 

For the brine, combine 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar and 4 tablespoons of Kosher salt to each quart of water that has been boiled and cooled first.

Poor brine over pickles, filling up to top of jar.

Refrigerate.  Pickles will stay good for several months.

 

Hope you enjoy them.

 

 

Keep cool and keep dreaming...

 

xoxoxox

 

farmgirl friday

 

 

 

Pesto Anyone?

One of my favorite things to grow in my herb garden is basil.  Is there any lovelier herb?  The sweet smell is so inspiring and it adds something special to any dish you add it to.  Something as simple as juicy ripe tomatoes from the garden, sliced, drizzled with a little olive oil and sprinkled with chiffonade of basil seems elegant and is so very scrumptious.

 

 

I also love to make pesto.  Several years ago, I took a basic pesto recipe and experimented, taking a little of this, and a bit more of that, and came up with my own version.  When My Girl was a toddler, she would eat pretty much anything if it had this pesto on it.

 

I would love to share it with you...

 

HELENA'S ROASTED PEPPER PESTO SAUCE

 

* 2 cups fresh basil

* 1 cup fresh flat leaf Italian parsley

* 1/2 cup Romano cheese, grated

* 1/2 cup pine nuts - toasted

* 4 cloves of garlic - chopped

* 2 roasted red peppers

* 1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

* 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

* 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

* 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

* 2 tbsp. water

 

Toast the pine nuts in a dry, hot pan, just until lightly brown. Keep a careful eye on these, as they brown very fast!  Remove from pan and put aside to cool.

 

You can roast the red peppers yourself, if you like.  There are instructions all over the internet on how to do so, and it's very easy.  But if you prefer, jarred roasted peppers work just fine.

 

Combine all the rest of the ingredients in a food processor and blend.  Add the cooled pine nuts and continue to blend until all ingredients are combined.

 

Slowly drizzle in olive oil until mixture forms a smooth, thick paste.

 

Enjoy on pasta, roasted veggies, bruschetta, grilled chicken… anything you like!

 

I hope you will try it!  It is the perfect thing on a hot day, and it is also a great way to use some herbs and veggies from your garden.

 

 

xoxoxox

Chicken Legs and Such

I have had a lifetime battle with my thighs.

I know, no big news - most women have.  I truly don't think I've ever heard ANY woman say - Oh, how I love my thighs - at least not the women I know.

Now this has been going on since I was at least a teenager, and probably got even worse in my 20's, as I became more and more self-conscious that I wasn't "perfect", whatever that was.  But the funny thing is, when I look back at pictures of myself at that time, well, my legs are just fine - thighs and all.  We are our own worst critics, aren't we?

It reminds me of a story a friend of mine told me a long time ago.

One day, she went to the beach.  On a blanket across from where she had situated herself for the afternoon, was a woman.  This woman was wearing a bikini.  Not a teeny weeny little bikini, but a bikini none the less.  This woman was a little plump, and my friend thought to herself that maybe a bikini was not the right thing for her to be wearing.

But a funny thing happened.

As the afternoon wore on, my friend said the woman began to look better and better. And after awhile, she looked darn good in that bikini. 

See, the secret was, the woman was comfortable in her own skin.  She was happy, in control, confident - not in an overbearing "in your face" kind of way, but in a "this is me, and I'm just fine" kind of way.  And it showed.

And that's really what it's all about.

 

My Beautiful Mom

 

This is a picture of my Mom. Stunning and lovely, wasn't she?

She hated her legs.

All her life, she thought they were too thin.  "Chicken legs" she called them.

Now, let me ask you - were these legs that needed to be hidden?

I think not.

 

It's all in how we see ourselves.

 

Stella Starlight - 3 1/2 weeks old.

 

Take Stella for example.  Her feet are a little big, she's having a bad hair day, but darn it - I think she's gorgeous.  Don't you?

 

Here's to seeing the beauty in everyone - and in ourselves.

 

xoxoxoxo

Sneaky Kokeshi - A Fairytale

I don't really have an actual Kokeshi doll collection.  I only a have a few dolls that live with us.

But if I do adopt one, it's always the light haired dolls that catch my eye, simply because they remind me of My Girl.

 

 One of my Kokeshi dolls.

 

My Girl.

 

You get the idea.

 

But the latest Kokeshi doll (who I have named Kimi) that I have brought into my home has been quite the character to say the least.

 

She most certainly has a mind of her own, that one, - much like My Girl.

 

I think with all of the commotion in our home of late with regard to all that is "chicken", she decided she needed to get some of her own.

 

Imagine my surprise when I discovered this...

 

 

Yes, Kimi the Sneaky Kokeshi, had gone and gotten five little chicks of her own… 

Kalei, Karla, Karina, Kai and Karlotta.

 

Well, I must admit, she had been taking very good care of them, keeping them well fed, giving them plenty of love, and even some sand so they could take little baby dust baths.

 

They were very happy.

 

Kai, however, was a very smart and very curious little bird.  And soon she wandered off.  She wanted to see what else was out there in the big and mysterious world.  But soon, she found herself far from home and unable to find her way back. 

She perched on the top of a house and tweeted with all her might.

 

 

Kimi the Kokeshi had already discovered that Kai was missing, and went looking for her.  It was beginning to get dark, and she feared the worst for Kai.  Soon however, she heard little Kai's "tweet, tweet", and she found her, shivering, frightened and hungry.

Don't worry LIttle Kai, I'm here now.  I will take you home.

 

 

Kimi brought Kai back home, and all the other chicks were so happy to see their sister.  Kai promised that she would never, ever wander far from home all alone again.

 

And now they are living Happily Ever After.

 

So the question is, do you think if I told my Little Chicks (and My Girl, as well) this story, they would listen and never wander far?

 

NAH!

Oh well, it was worth a try.

 

xoxoxo

 

P.S. Thank you for reading my silly little fairytale.

Celebrate

 

 

235 years ago...on July 4th, 1776
This great nation, the United States of America,
In a struggle for what was right and free,
Was proudly born...
May we celebrate that precious freedom
For which our forbears fought so bravely...
The freedom that is inherent
In the Stars and Stripes, our revered flag...
Celebrate Freedom
This Fourth of July!

 

 

 

Swimming, picnics and ice cold watermelon,

sparklers and fireflies,

lemonade and fireworks...

bare feet and sprinklers,

hamburgers and hotdogs from the BBQ,

marching bands and parades.

 

Wishing you all a safe and Happy 4th of July!

 

 

xoxoxox