Potpourri

Looking out my window this morning,

it is cloudy and the wind is blowing.

A cold front is on the way.

At least, what qualifies as a cold front for us! 
We might even get some much needed rain.

*

This week I took a dear friend to lunch to celebrate her birthday.

We went to one of Houston's top restaurants,

Helen Greek Food and Wine.

It gives an upscale name to "hole in the wall".

Walking down the street, if you blink at the wrong time,

you will miss it! 

 

A warm, intimate setting with it's narrow brick clad rooms.

An award winning all Greek Wine selection.

Lets get to the food!
 We shared the citrus and fennel salad (their winter salad).
Fennel, orange, grapefruit, blood orange, red onions, calamata olives, feta.
Delicious!





And, the Green 'n Cheese pie.
Phyllo, four different greens and three different Greek cheeses.
 YUM!




Helen Greek Food and Wine is an easy walk from my house.
I'll be going back ... soon!
There is nothing else like it in town. 

*

For me, the holiday season begins when the Houston Zoo 
has the members opening for Zoo Lights.

The weather was perfect.
The kettle korn and gingerbread cookies were pretty wonderful, too!  

 

A brief look at the magic forest.

Wishing You well and much joy!



Willy Nilly Friday

Mosaic Monday

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Hints of Change

I went to Whole Foods and look what I found.
A hint that the seasons are changing.
The first pumpkins have arrived.
These are all carving pumpkins.
I guess, here in the tropics, they won't get mushy until they are cut!

*

I found the Dump Cake recipe I was looking for.
Here it is:

Autumn Dump Cake

1 can (29 ounces) pear pieces in light syrup, undrained
1 can (21 ounces) apple pie filling
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 package (doubt 15 ounces) yellow cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into thin slices
1/4 cup caramel topping, warmed

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
Spray 13x9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Drain pears, reserving 1/2 cup syrup. 
Spread pears and apple pie filling in prepared pan; 
drizzle with reserved pear syrup. 
Sprinkle with cranberries. 
Top with cake mix, spreading evenly.
Top with butter in single layer, covering cake mix as much as possible.
Drizzle with caramel topping.

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes 
or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
Cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Image from Dump Cakes booklet.

Good with a scoop of ice cream!

*

I always check out the flowers at Whole Foods
and I found some lovely tulips...
in Fall colors!

*

Then I went to Trader Joe's to finish my grocery shopping
and I found more flowers.
I think the iris is near the top of my favorites list.
I just love everything about them.

*

Meanwhile, in Musashi's Garden,
a little anole was shedding his skin.
It's busy around here!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Five On Friday

Willy Nilly Friday

Home Sweet Home

Mosaic Monday

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On The Menu

There is rain in the forecast ... lots of it.

So I thought it would be a good time for some soup.

I just happened to have a bag of baby spinach that I needed to use.
There was tortelinni in the freezer. 
 A can of tomatoes from the pantry.
And, I was lucky, 32oz of vegetable broth.
That's all I needed.

I found this recipe in Fine Cooking years ago and it remains one of my
favorite quick and easy recipes.
You can find my original post here.
And, it's pretty too.

I chopped a small onion and let it cook in some olive oil.
Added 32 oz of vegetable broth.
The canned tomatoes.
A bag of baby spinach.
Letting that cook until the spinach was wilted.
Then I added the tortellini.
Let all of that come to a boil and the tortellini fully cook.
Done!

Sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese and serve.

Quick and easy.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Unfortunately, Fall Didn't Last Very Long

The weekend brought a hint of things to come.
Lows in the high 60s and highs in the mid 80s.
Low humidity.
Perfect walking weather.
Off to my village I went and breakfast.

A Tex-Mex omelet.
A book.
And a little pocket Buddha.

The Buddha reminds me to slow down and be grateful.
Be grateful for the farmers who grew the corn and beans,
who raised the chickens for the eggs, the wheat for the bread,
the raspberries for the jam, who picked the leaves for tea, 
the chefs who prepared the food, the cashier who took my order,
the nice young man who clears the tables. 

You get the idea. 

Unfortunately, fall didn't last very long ... 
it only lasted two days,
but it was a hint of things to come!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

I'm joining A Spirit of Simplicity and Tuesday Afternoon and

Soups On!

Soup's On!

or, in this case

Food's On the Note Card Party Table.

It's time for Vee's  Note Card Party.

Vee is celebrating food today and I decided to go along with her.

This delicious fruit tart was my birthday cake one year.

I used to have veggies delivered straight to my door.

This was one of the first deliveries.

The cupcakes are from one of my god-daughter's wedding showers.

His and hers shower -- fun -- the shower and the strawberry cupcakes.

Last, this was a low tea held at the museum.

It was fun to take a look back on food at Twisty Lane.

Thank you, Vee.

Wishing you well and much joy!

Simple is Best

Take a Roma Tomato

Slice it up

Take an Avocado

Slice it up

Add it to the tomato

Eat

Delicious

The best lunch around.

Sometimes, simple is best.

I'm joining Art Every Day Month and Tuesday Muse.

(Nancy is taking a holiday break.  I hope she'll be back.  I'll continue to Muse on Tuesday!)

Wishing All of YOU well and much joy!

Summertime

Today we celebrate the first day of summer.

We also celebrate Vee's Note Card Party!

I'm celebrating summer and Note Cards with FOOD! 

Straw Hats and a Peach Smoothie

Fruit Tart

Fresh from Farm House Delivery

Cake!

Wishing YOU well and much joy.

Happy Friday!

So many of you enjoyed the postcard last week that I thought I'd share some more tulips.

From the back of the postcard:

"Cut flowers from Washington's Skagit Valley are shipped overnight across the United States almost year-round."

Roozengaarde Garden, Mount Vernon, Washington

The photograph was taken by Jon Gnass/Gnass Photo Images

A big thank you to the lovely Beth for being our hostess each week for

Postcard Friendship Friday.

***

Sometimes Tiny Buddha just hits the nail on the head. I have edited the original down, but I wanted to share with you:


YOUR MOST IMPORTANT TO-DO LIST

This is a contribution by Jen Saunders

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” ~Pericles

Every day we are swamped by tasks. Catch up on work. Buy groceries. Reply to those emails. Do the housework. Hand in that project. Pick up the dry-cleaning. Make that appointment. Go to the gym.

The constant connection to social media, as amazing and valuable as it can be, adds even more tiny tasks to our never-ending to-do-lists. Upload. Download. Tweet. Reply. Blog. Comment. Follow. Pin. Update. Check-in. Watch. Like. Read. Send.

With all these never-ending tasks consuming me all day, it’s easy to become stressed, irritable, and negative, and to forget what is most important: love, happiness, kindness, laughter, and gratitude.

YOUR MOST IMPORTANT TO-DO LIST:

1. Smile at yourself.

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

How many times do you see your reflection in a day? And how many times do you see yourself actually looking happy?

Smiling at yourself can make you feel just as good as when someone else smiles at you. You smile at your friends, your family, colleagues, peers, even strangers, so why not show that same love to yourself?

2. Smile at others.

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” ~Mother Teresa

There’s a pretty good chance that anyone you smile at will smile right back at you. (And if they don’t, keep smiling anyway!)

Whether you smile at a loved one or smile at a stranger, it’s a great happiness booster for all involved. It will leave you feeling so good about yourself that you won’t be able to wipe the smile off of your beautiful face!

3. Commit an act of kindness.

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” ~Lao Tzu

Give up your seat on the bus. Pay for the order of the person behind you in line at Starbucks. Buy someone flowers. Give compliments. Leave a love note on a bathroom mirror or on a seat on a train or in a clothing store fitting room.

Today, with the awesomeness of social media, you can perform a kind act for a stranger without even leaving the house! A great example of this is the DropALoveBomb crew, who write supportive comments every week on the blogs of people going through a tough time.

Whatever you do, being kind to others is a win-win situation, and one kind act can often lead to another—and another, and another—creating a ripple effect of kindness and love.

4. Laugh.

“A smile starts on the lips, a grin spreads to the eyes, a chuckle comes from the belly; but a good laugh bursts forth from the soul, overflows, and bubbles all around.” ~Carolyn Birmingham

Everyone loves to laugh, and with all the scientific research showing just how much we benefit from it, there’s no reason not to enjoy a good giggle everyday.

Watch your favourite funny movie or sitcom, hang out with that friend who always puts you in hysterics, or search for “laughing baby” or “sneezing panda” on YouTube, and let the soulful laughs roll!

5. Say thank you.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~Melody Beattie

Taking time every day to think of, or write down, everything you are grateful is an amazing way to boost your happiness and see the world in a more positive light.

Gratitude shared is even better, so say thank you to someone who helped you out.

Thank whatever higher power your heart connects with, for all the blessings in your life today, and for all the blessings that are on their way.

At the end of your day, whether you have completed all your tasks or not, if you have checked everything off this to-do list, you have succeeded.

***

I need to eat more veggies. A baseball buddy told me about Farmhouse Delivery. I could have veggies in season delivered to my front door every other week. Everything is organic, grown locally on small to medium sized farms. This is my first bushel and I'm eating well! Mustard greens, spinach, arugula, purple carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes, a head of cabbage, oranges, grapefruit and tomatoes! The tomatoes didn't last two days. They were so sweet and delicious ... just the way home grown fresh tomatoes should be. The grapefruit disappeared quickly, too. I am enjoying the greens and am going to try the Arugula And Pasta recipe on the Farmhouse website. That's the other thing that I like. Farmhouse provides hints on how to store the veggies and lots of recipes to try.

Arugula Pasta with Bacon and Parmesan


1 pound fettucine or spaghetti
1/4 c. chopped green garlic
1 strip bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/4 c. grated parmesan
2 c. arugula
olive oil

Saute bacon in small skillet and cook till just done; place in large bowl with arugula. Use same skillet to saute green garlic and add to bowl with grated parmesan. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente. Drain and reserve 1/2 c. pasta cooking water. Add pasta and water to bowl with arugula and toss all together. Season wit salt and pepper. Easy!!

But veggies aren't the only things available at Farmhouse. I can order dairy products, grass fed beef, lamb, pork, chickens, eggs, bread, desserts! Oh, my! I'll be sticking to veggies while I find my way around Farmhouse.

Thank you to my baseball buddy and thank you to Farmhouse Delivery!

Wishing you WELL and a JOY filled weekend!

His and Hers

This was the beautiful view for the 

His and Hers shower the bridesmaids

had for THE kids.

I could look at this view everyday and not get tired of it.

In fact, I did have a similar view for 13 years before we moved to the big city.

Here they are:

THE kids

and the four smart, lovely ladies who are the bridesmaids.

All of them friends.

 

The food was delicious and there was lots of it.

The only picture I took was of the cupcakes! 

The strawberry  ....  delightful!

The big day will soon be here!

Lots of excitement and busy, busy!

Wishing YOU well and a JOY filled day!

Dry Creek

Dry Creek is part of the Creek Group in my fair city.

Located in The Heights (one of the funkier neighborhoods),

Dry Creek was originally a 1930's gas station.

Now it's a burger joint ... and a good one.

The Creek Group is a charming group of cafes dedicated

to the 'country folk' mentality.

Slow down and listen to some good ol' country and blues

and have a good time. 

It's like fishing without the pole.

THE KIDS are getting married later in the year.

Dry Creek was a good place to get the families together and for

his folks to meet the Auntie (the woman behind the camera)!

Funky Decor

His folks.

Can you tell we had a great time?

And, the food was good too!

I had the regular burger with a side of jalapeno and sweet potato fries.

Then there was a West Coast Burger -- turkey burger with avocado and sprouts.

THE KID tried the house specialty--

the Triple Bypass Burger -- cheese, bacon and fried egg.

He liked it .

Good Food.

Good Company.

Thank you to our hostesses:

Mary for Mosaic Monday

and 

The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday.

Wishing YOU well and a joy filled week!

Comfort Food

My buddy, Carole, had a post about her favorite comfort food -- macaroni and cheese -- complete with recipe. This girl can cook and you should go visit and get the recipe. I told her I had been thinking about a comfort food post myself and had just been lazy. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the horrible photo I took of the turkey tetrazzini I made and planned on sharing with you. I'll share the recipe ... it really is good!

What is your favorite comfort food? Macaroni and cheese, BLT sandwich, Granny's chicken soup, cheese enchiladas (we did live in New Mexico for many, many years), chocolate .. what else says comfort to you?

For us (besides the above), we really like turkey tetrazzini. I use the recipe out of one my favorite cookbooks: Campbell's Great American Cookbook: A culianary treasury of more than 500 best-loved recipes from Colonial times to the present. It was published in 1984 by the Campbell's Soup Company. It's a little worn around the edges, but still holding together. Not only are the recipes down home good, but there are little snippets (don't you just love that word?) of information included with many of the recipes.

Here's the recipe for Chicken/Turkey Tetrazzini

Chicken Tetrazzini

Although the name sounds Italian, Chicken Tetrazzini is a thoroughly American dish created in San Francisco early in this century (20th) in honor of the great coloratura Luisa Tetrazzini. This version has become popular as an elegant last-minute dish for company meals.

Begin: 1 Hour Ahead 6 Servings

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup light cream
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
1/4 cup chopped pimentos
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
8 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. In 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, in hot butter, cook mushrooms and onion until tender. Stir in flour and salt until blended. Gradually stir in chicken broth. Cook until mixture boils, stirring constantly. Stir in cream, sherry, chicken, pimentos and parsley; heat until just boiling, stirring often. Remove from heat.

2. In 12 by 8 inch baking dish, spread spaghetti. Pour chicken mixture over spaghetti. Top with cheese. Bake at 450 degrees F. 15 minutes or until cheese is golden.

Easy Tetrazzini: Use ingredients as above but use only 2 tablespoons butter or margarine and omit flour, salt, chicken broth and cream. In 2 quart saucepan over medium-high heat, heat only 2 tablespoons butter or margarine. In butter, cook mushrooms and onion until tender. Stir in 2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of chicken soup, 1 cup water and sherry; heat through. Stir in chicken, pimentos and parsley; heat until just boiling, stirring often. Remove from heat. Proceed as in step 2.

***

And because this is a food post, I found this while browsing through a catalog and couldn't resist sharing it with you.

Don't forget to smile today!

Why Did It Take Me So Long?

Why did it take me so long to finally read a mystery by Peter Lovesey? I keep shaking my head wondering! Now that I've finally picked up a couple to read, I'm hooked. It's a good thing I don't mind reading out of order! I have lots of good reading ahead of me.



The first one that I tried was The Secret Hangman: An Inspector Peter Diamond Investigation by Peter Lovesey. I started reading and I didn't want to put it down. It flew. Well written. Charming characters. Wonderful editing. Good story. Lots of red herrings. Wit. Plot twists that will please the most picky mystery reader. Suspense.

Condensed from the book flap: "Peter Diamond is being pursued by a secret admirer even as he pursues a serial killer. First, Delia Williams, a waitress with two young daughters, is reported missing by her mother. She is found dead in a park, hanging from the crossbar of a swing set. Looks like a suicide, but it isn't. Other deaths by hanging follow with Mrs. William's ex-husband among the victims. The search for the secret hangman begins."



The second Lovesey that I read was The Circle: An Inspector Henrietta Mallin Investigation (with a cameo appearance by Peter Diamond). This one had a different feel to it -- wittier, laid back, but with three murders by fire.

Condensed from the book flap: "The members of the literary circle come from all walks of life and practice many forms of writing, from fantasy to torrid romance to household hints. Yet there sems to be nothing about any of them to incite a serial killer. But it becomes clear that there is an arsonist in their midst who is determined to burn his victims to death. Detective Chief Inspector Hen (Henrietta) Mallin is in charge of the investigation of the Chichester murders by fire."

Getting to know the members of the literary circle is key to solving the crimes. This is an old-fashioned whodunit written with style and deviousness. More red herrings, plot twists, digs at writers of the unpublishable and at publishers. Black humor. Another good one.



And, finally, Literary Feasts: Inspired Eating from Classic Fiction by Sean Brand. This is a delightful little book that I think readers and food lovers would enjoy.

From the flap: "While Leopold Bloom fortified himself for his rambles through Dublin with a hearty breakfast of grilled kidneys with pepper, thinly sliced bread and butter, and a large pot of tea, James Bond started his days off with a half pint of chilled OJ, three scrambled eggs, two cups of black coffee, and a pack of Chesterfields. The lucky revelers invited to Jay Gatsby's mansion feasted on baked hams, pastry pigs,and turkeys bewitched to dark gold, all washed down with champagne served in glasses the size of finger bowls. And of course P.G. Wodehouse made sure that Bertie Wooster always dined in style."

The book is divided into Breakfast, Lunch, Tea, Dinner, Eating Outdoors, Children's Meals, and Special Occasions with visits to literary treats like Dickens, Fielding, Melville, Shakespeare, Austen, Twain, Fitzgerald and others. This is when cooks really cooked. No prepared, in the box foods here!

Happy Reading!