lulu
While traveling in Vietnam, I discovered a new taste treat….smoothies! They were made with fresh fruit and oh so creamy and thick. My absolute favorite was made with avocado, and I have been trying to replicate it for some time without satisfactory results. You’d think I would have asked how it was made, but it didn’t occur to me that it would be much of a challenge.
After many tries, I have come up with one that compares favorably. The ingredients are simple: yogurt (1 cup), avocado (1/2), honey (1 T.) and a bit of coconut. I don’t know what possessed me to add coconut, but it resulted in an extra touch of flavor.
The first sip was a bit thick so I added about 1/2 cup of milk which made it perfect. No question this creation will be added to my list of favorite smoothies for breakfast or lunch.
If you have smoothies you especially like, do share!
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With the house having little touches of fall, it was a no brainer to have the next step be continuing them on the table for the evening dinner. Already what can serve as a centerpiece is there making it easy to add the rest.
None of my dishes reflect fall better than these. The rich color with its arty black leaf outline is perfect, and I like using them for another reason. They were a gift from a very special and thoughtful friend who knows how crazy I am about all things for tables.
Some time ago this flatware was on sale at Target, and it has been such a good find. Its coppery contrast with the table’s wood surface adds such warmth.
Thinking about what food is going to be served, I don’t put more dishes on the table than can be used. Tonight there will be an entree and a salad, so nothing more than dinner and salad plates are needed. The black salad plate complements the leaf outline, and its shape will be perfect for the salad.
On any table, the napkin presentation is one of those little touches that make a table special. One of my favorites is this one folded accordion style and fanned to make it stand.
With the addition of wine stems and water glasses, a table can’t be much simpler than this. It started with what was already there and has warm color and texture which makes any table inviting.
I can’t resist sharing with you one of my favorite salads made with delicata squash, one with which I was unfamiliar. The attraction was its green and pale yellow striping, reason enough to give it a try!
For the salad, cut the squash into rings and remove the seeds. Place them on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast at 400 until tender, roughly 15-20 minutes. To prepare the salad, place mixed greens or any lettuce on a plate. Top with the roasted delicata rings, sprinkle with craisins, toasted almonds and feta (optional). My preference for dressing is a honey mustard vinegarette, but most any salad dressing would work.
The most recent dinner was a visual treat. The delicately designed dishes are quite old, a memory of the hostess’s mother.
Without question, they made a lovely setting when combined with silver and glass.
Playing off the pale green in the pattern, the hostess found the perfect linen tablecloth and napkins. All together the look was quite elegant at the same time warm and friendly.
A few days before our gathering a storm blew through that flattened many of the small blooming things. The hostess was clever enough to see that her damaged flowers perfectly matched the colors in the china, so, voila, a just right centerpiece made in a silver bowl.
So there would not be question about where each person sat, there were name tags directing us to our place. That is always a thoughtful gesture.
The first course, a zucchini mold, happened to be my assignment. It was something with which none of us were familiar, so we all experienced a new taste treat. Not only was it tasty, it was easy to prepare which makes it worthy of making again as it gives a whole new way of presenting zucchini.
Overnight it seemed, this big blob sprung up in the yard. Curious, I pulled it up, took it inside for a photo that was posted on Facebook with the question what is it. Immediately came back a number of responses, mostly from Maine friends, identifying it as an edible puffball.
Edible? I was a little doubtful but decided to give it a try. First, I sliced it to find it a little on the spongey side and solid all the way through. So began a series of dishes ranging from omelets to risotto to pizza and adding chopped, diced orsliced pieces of puffball. What was discovered was that a puffball is fairly tasteless until it is seasoned and has a very different texture from other mushrooms with which I am familiar.
Of all the ways it was prepared our favorite was mushroom soup. I had no recipe so I chopped a section of the puffball and sautéed it in butter with some onion and garlic. Chicken stock was added along with salt, pepper and herbs d’Provence. The mixture simmered for about 10 minutes and then using a handheld blender(my favorite kitchen tool), I pureed it. It tasted good, but thinking how it could be improved I added half and half and returned the soup to the stove and heated it through. Talk about good, the hubby and I both had seconds. Served with a green salad and some crusty bread, puffball mushroom soup is a simple and yummy dinner.
For ideas, I go no farther than these two cookbooks loaded with recipes to suit any palate. There’s no chance I’ll ever get through the two!
Spoon 1/2-3/4 c. of polenta into the center of a plate. Arrange asparagus around it and spoon the sauce over the polenta. Garnish with chopped herbs.
Who can resist sweet and juicy strawberries bursting with flavor? Not me, nor can I resist making an all time favorite dessert which came to me via a high school boyfriend’s mother. That means I’ve been making it for a long time!
There are surely fancier strawberry concoctions, but for delicious, this one rivals any. Heck, just looking at the picture makes me want a bite right now! If you want to join me, here’s the very simple to make recipe.
Fold in baking powder, finely ground cracker crumbs and chopped pecans. Pour mixture into lightly buttered 9″ pie pan and bake at 325 until lightly browned. This takes about 30 minutes. Cool completely.
To serve, top the crust with strawberries and slightly sweetened whipped cream. (I often put the berries on the crust a couple of hours before serving to let the juice soak in.)
OK, you know the table is set so what’s for dinner?
Chicken Stoup