Funky finds in Berea, Kentucky

Not your average porch benches!

Unique up-cycling of wine corks, wouldn't you say?

Unexpected greeter at entrance to the restroom in the Kentucky Artisan Center.

The Kentucky Artisan Center Grill's Veggie Burger. Yes, I am a condiment slut! ;)

Every shop seemed to outdo the last!

Such fun when shops do tablescapes.

While in Berea, seems we were always stumbling into music. This time at the Black Feather.

The Black Feather tickled our tummies with paninis: the Mediterranean Veggie for me and for Hubby, the Portabella with feta, balsamic and sun-dried tomatoes.

Finally getting around to sharing more pics from our mini-vacation to Berea, Kentucky. Hope to find the time mañana to share our visit to their fascinating eco-village.

Lovin' this Independence Challenge; Laziest 'icing' ever

Lemon Shrimp...yup, this is me cutting down on animal protein. When the folks came back from Florida recently and gifted us with FIVE POUNDS of Royal Reds (oh, yeah!), we divvied the shrimp up into 1/2 pound bags and froze it. Totally resisted the urge to fry up and scarf down a pound of it for dinner the first night. Sadly, eating this sweet Gulf shrimp in smaller lots feels a little chintzy, but I will be happy to have it last longer. We had the leftovers from this tonight, with steamed broccoli added in, along with 1/2 jar of organic baby food peas that I didn't want to give to Grandbaby today since it'd been opened on Friday. (Yes, I hate wasting food so much I'm willing to eat baby food...well, as long as it's heavily disguised.)

HARVEST: Hubby harvested our first mess of kale from the late planting he'd done. Some of it is red kale, a new crop for us. I LOVE kale. What's more, I LOVE the Independence Challenge reminding me to get off my tuchus and go see if any of our winter crops are ready to be harvested.

WANT NOT: Unfortunately, a loved one was in the hospital over the weekend...a hospital two hours from here. Before we and some others hit the road, I tossed a box of Clif bars, bananas and a water bottle into a bag. So, during this family medical crisis, I did not eat any hospital food! (Our dear one is MUCH better and well on his way to complete recovery, thanks!!)

EAT THE FOOD: After getting only about 45 minutes of sleep Friday night, I did not feel like cooking when we got home Saturday night. Didn't want to go out to eat either...too much food in the fridge at home. But comfort food was definitely wanted, so I baked a box mix White Cake and topped it with the quickest, laziest icing ever: 2 cans sweetened condensed milk mixed with 3/4 cup lemon juice then poured over the cake.

WASTE NOT: Scraping out the edges of my powder make-up. I buy and use this powder stuff only for traveling, because it's more expensive than my everyday makeup. I don't want to waste even ONE application!

EAT THE FOOD: Our refrigerator is jam-packed with cheeses that need to be used up (bought before my resolve to eat less animal protein/eggs/dairy). To up the vegetable proteins, I added some freshly harvested, sautéed Swiss chard into the Rotel Dip that jazzed up my mushroom tacos. Didn't take much of the spicy cheese dip to take my vegetarian taco over the top!

Happy Monday!! Anything getting harvested, eaten, saved or wasted in your neck of the woods??

Chocolate chip cookies I can't eat; Buffalo Garbanzo Dip I can

Have to give up caffeine for awhile, so these Lazarus Chocolate Chip Cookies made with dark chocolate are off limits to me. No need for Hubby to suffer!

Cookie dough in the freezer now--yea!

Subbed out garbanzo beans for the chicken in my meatless version of Add A Pinch's recipe for Buffalo Chicken Dip, which we both love. Thanks, Add A Pinch!

Aren't you proud of me? I finally found a way to disguise my last bag of those won't-buy-again mock "meat crumbles." They actually tasted good hidden under the Buffalo Garbanzo Dip on my taco. Honest! 

Hope everyone had a fabulous Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!!

This Moment: Um, is that a chicken in my egg?

Since switching from regular eggs to Cage Free, Organic, Humane Certified, I've been finding occasional specks in my eggs. This one was the largest yet, which made me wonder... Hmnnn, I could Google it to find out what it might be, but I figure some things I'm better off NOT knowing, eh?!

Well, yeah, I ate it anyway! (After taking out the speck, of course.) I HATE wasting food, so if it's in my house and it's still edible, I'm eating it. And if I won't eat it, Hubby often will. When Hubby's not around, I'll fix me some egg salad, which he's not that crazy about. Tried these Wickles in it instead of chopped pickles--good stuff!

Thanks to Soulemama for this Friday photo sharing concept. Hope you'll share a link to your moment!

Meatless Monday: Lucky in love AND eggplant; From Bermuda grass to backyard farm in just ten years!

Oh, YES, my hubby DID can this tomato relish yesterday. He washed and waxed my car today. Gotta love a man who's handy in both the kitchen AND the garage!! When MIL declared she'd not can again, Hubby couldn't bear the loss of her delicious tomato relish and began canning it himself. He doesn't follow any canning rules, but the stuff hasn't killed us yet. ;)

Someone gifted me with four medium eggplants, hence the Eggplant-o-Rama!! Aunt K's Eggplant Casserole just out of the oven here; Eggplant Parmesan ready to go in.

LOVE Julia Child's The Way to Cook," tho' she might not approve of the way I use it. I've a bad habit of taking the easy way out with her recipes as my guide. Used a jarred tomato sauce for my eggplant Parmesan. And because I didn't have another recipe in mind for any leftovers, I used WAY more sauce than Julia recommended. Guess what? Tasted great despite me! (If my brain were awake when I'd made this, I'd have frozen some extra sauce for future pizzas. *sigh*)

Eggplant Parmesan...even simpler but just as tasty as lasagna!

   Started this post yesterday when I came across this great video of a man brave enough to transform his quarter-acre backyard into an urban farm!!
   This video of Richard Heinberg, retired-professor-turned-urban-farmer, is worth a look around but also worth a listen if you're interested in sustainability and the "simple" life. Who knew simple could be so complex?! (Thanks, Unstuffed, for finding this great video!)
   After our first frost Sunday morning, here in western Kentucky we're having a return of mid to upper 70's temps for a few days. LOVIN' that!! Our tomatoes are dwindling but still hopeful about the bell peppers. Hubby just planted some kale. What's up in your neck of the woods?

Morphing Amish friendship bread starter; Sweet potato invasion

Hey, I found my original Amish Friendship Bread recipe! Just had to try it, tho' I think I should try Annie's recipe sometime. As our freezer is already loaded with the basic recipe loaves, I added blueberries, which meant Hubby scarfed down this loaf in no time!

Figured it was asking too much of Hubby that he eat Amish Friendship Bread for breakfast every day for the rest of his life, so I decided to try the starter in sourdough bread. EUREKA!! Hoping to make some cinnamon rolls today. I hate wasting food, even bread starter, but that stuff takes over my life! If I ever mention again that I'm starting a starter, please STOP ME!!

Final sweet potato harvest...yikes!!
Care to share any ideas for sweet potatoes besides oven fries and baked??

This bad boy weighed in at only slightly less than our grandbaby!

Maybe the easiest way to get an all-veggie meal past the hubby is to announce I'm not cooking! Then I just make whatever sounds good to ME guilt free, which in this case meant veggies. LOVE an all veggie meal myself, and truthfully got no complaints from Hubby either!

Addendum to yesterday's post: Here's where I fess up to not being up on the lingo regarding child custody. Seems "non-custodial parent" means more than I'd thought. Our dear son in law has joint custody, though his daughters do not live with him and DD.
   Now, it's time to go visiting everyone else's blogs. The introvert in me enjoys blog-hopping as much as the extroverted side of me enjoys parties and get together's. (Last night we had a great time at a family get together. Remind me sometime to share my sister in law's cheeseball recipe!)
   Here's hoping your Sunday is as introverted/extroverted as you wish!!

First official Meatless Monday debuted with Greek Mac and Cheese

I know, I know, when it comes to "eating the rainbow,"
my meal could use more green. I forgot the cukes and onions!

Greek Mac and Cheese, modified to suit ingredients on hand. 

Okay, I managed my first purposeful Meatless Monday. I personally did not eat any meat today, and though I fed cheese sandwiches to the visiting grandgirls for lunch, the DD and Hubby did eat some meat. Hey, gotta change me first, then the world, right? ;)
   For dinner (or supper as we southerners say), we had corn from the garden, deviled eggs (sprinkled with cumin instead of paprika), a fruit salad of cantaloupe, watermelon and nectarine, and my version of a Greek Mac and Cheese I found over on Saveur.com.
     Turned out great...despite all my substitutions/deletions! I sautéed Swiss chard, onions, garbanzos, added 4 ounces of cooked shell pasta and mozzarella, tossed it all in a cinnamon/nutmeg/dill spiced Béchamel sauce, then added a topping of Panko crumbs and feta cheese. The garbanzos let me use less pasta, and we're not big on a lot of cheese, so I reduced the cheeses A LOT, as compared to the recipe.
   The fruit salad was marinated in a somewhat reduced mixture of 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
   The cantaloupe in the fruit salad was left on our porch by a kind neighbor. Gotta love that! Found any nice surprises at your doorstep lately? Hope so!!

When I was driving to town yesterday afternoon, I happened upon this dune buggy...been ages since I'd seen one. I always thought they'd be great fun! Anybody know if that's true?

On my mind: Chocolate Malted Peanut Butter Chip Muffins

Dark Chocolate Malted Peanut Butter Chip Muffins

On my mind: sneaking more whole grains into our diet. These muffins do NOT taste whole grain...just wicked good! I only stole one taste, and it is taking ALL my willpower not to eat a whole one of these bad boys 'til cheat day.
   The hubby, the mum, the pop, and the DD seemed mighty pleased and not the least bit guilty eating these muffins in front of me, but don't cry for me, Argentina, some Dark Chocolate Malted Peanut Butter Chip Muffins with my name on them are waiting out in the freezer!
   Anything healthy-ish sneaking into your diet this week?

  Adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking 

Dark Chocolate Malted Peanut Butter Chip Muffins
Batter Ingredients:
1 cup (4 ounces) whole barley flour
1/2 cup (2 ounces) white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (2 ⅛ ounces) unbleached bread flour
3/4 cup (2 ¼ ounces) unsweetened Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder
1/4 cup (1 ¼ ounces) malted milk powder
1 cup (7 ½ ounces) packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
1 & 1/4 cups (10 ounces) buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (6 ounces) peanut butter chips
Glaze Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons (2 ¾ ounces) packed light brown sugar
2 Tablespoons (⅝ ounce) malted milk powder
2 Tablespoons (⅜  ounce) unsweetened Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 cup (2 ounces) plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
To Make Batter:
Whisk together the flours, cocoa, malted milk powder, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the butter, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing until the batter is evenly moistened. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Scoop batter by 1/2 cupfuls into a lightly greased 12-muffin tin.
   Bake in a preheated 375F degree oven 23-25 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
   Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn muffins onto a rack to finish cooling.
To Make The Glaze:
Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat and drizzle over the tops of the cooled muffins.
   Thanks, Rhonda at down-to-earth, for sharing this On My Mind concept. What's on your mind today? Share your link here or on down-to-earth. 

Durned hot day calls for cukes, cookies and closed curtains

Yeah, I got lazy and didn't take the time to roll my cookies into a perfectly uniform round shape before cutting. Hubby won't care...neither will he care that these don't have a lovely pecan half atop each. He loves the hicans, the hybrid mix of hickory and pecan, that he painstakingly picked out of the shells in 2010. The nuts stay fresh stored in the freezer until I need them. Just used a standard sugar cookie recipe from Joy of Cooking then added the little extras.

  Sugar Cookies sprinkled with hicans and raw sugar. Not gorgeous but they'll tempt Hubby alright!

Decided to marinate a couple of cukes, sliced onions, fresh mozzarella and diced tomatoes in a quick zesty Italian dressing. Too lazy to hunt down a recipe, I used a cheater mix, but since this is my last packaged dressing mix, I'm gonna have to start from scratch next time. After taking the pic, I remembered the half can of garbanzos in the fridge left from the other night's Squash Tomato Garbanzo Medley and added them as well.

Okay, this picture is dark...well, that's the point! I walked near this door and could feel the heat coming through. Definitely a day to close the curtains, at least until the sun goes around to the other side of the house. Triple digit temps expected today, and the humidity, OH, the HUMIDITY!! The air conditioner doesn't kick on as often if I block out the day's heat.

   You doing anything different to beat the heat today? For our friends down under, guess it's getting colder. I never would have thought of that if it weren't for blog hopping. I love it that reading blogs gives me a broader view of our great world! Don't you?

On my mind: Edible landscaping and using up zucchini!

Okay, I'll give this edible landscaping a shot...in a little bed at the front entry no less! To an existing bit of blue rug juniper, a couple of small bushes, some chives, white phlox and a mum, I've added red cabbage, fennel, thyme, Greek oregano and Texas tarragon. Added a couple of non-edibles: two coleus whose variegated leaves will add a blend of green plus the deep red color as found in the cabbages. I figured I'd let this bed grow a tad and then fill in with some types of flowers once I decide what more color is needed to keep it from just looking like a vegetable patch. Wish me luck!

Toted my plants bought on clearance home in the marine cooler that pretty much lives in my car. Absolutely LOVE having a cooler ready on hand whenever I need one!

Hey, I'm keeping up with the zucchini so far!! Used up the harvest today with a zucchini gratin and a crustless zucchini quiche. I love pie crusts, but trying not to eat anything but "slow carbs," except on cheat days.

Little grandgirl hands were a big help when adding herbs and layers of zucchini, onions, panko crumbs & dairy to the gratin.

I thought I had heavy cream in the fridge, but Hubby had used it all for his coffee! Had to fall back and punt: used a mixture of sour cream and mayo instead.

   Isn't it fun to be in the thick of summer nowadays? For those of you down under, I guess the reverse is true: likely you're happy to get a bit of a cool down! Wherever you are, hope today shone brightly upon you, whatever the temperature or weather!!

   Thanks, Rhonda at down-to-earth, for sharing this On My Mind concept. What's on your mind today? Share your link here or on down-to-earth.

Here comes the sun: Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto. By the time I got around to taking my pic, the olive oil had pooled a little. I would stir the pesto again before serving. I was actually making this for later, but I couldn't resist taking a taste. Wow! Got this recipe from a relative at a BIG family gathering...it was the most requested recipe among all the goodies that showed up. No one remembers where it originated.

Couldn't be simpler with so few ingredients and a food processor. Took me longer to pick and wash the basil than anything else. This basil came from one of our flower/veggie beds...so excited to experiment with more basil this year. We've got 5 plants out there for me to keep up with! (See below for recipe.)

Looks like this after grinding the first five ingredients in the food processor. If I didn't like olive oil, I'd stop here and spoon the stuff over pork chops or something else to bake! 

Double click to enlarge. This recipe stayed in my purse too long after I copied it. (*The two little boxed off areas are just grocery reminders!*) Hope you can read this...a little tight for time right now, but I could translate my "chicken-scratch" later if need be!

   If you can believe it, I think I'm going to try a little of this pesto on Gorton's Breaded Tilapia Fish Fillets. (Not a paid endorsement. In fact, I know I should be embarrassed to admit we eat ready-made frozen, breaded fish fillets! Um, we do cook them first. ;)  
   Feeling too lazy to cook tonight! What's for dinner over at your place?

On my mind: Baked Beans are great for using stuff up; Sweet, Tangy Sausages; and NOT killing spiders!

These Baked Beans with Sweet Potatoes turned out to be quite tasty. Started them in the SunOven but finished them in the indoor oven. Trying to stay good to my vow to do more back-to-back cooking once the oven is heated. In this pic, you can see my frozen Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie dough thawing behind the bean pot.

Baked Beans after three hours outdoors in the SunOven. Couldn't get the temp over 225°F...too much cloud-cover for much progress some days!

Baked Beans are a great way to use up some stuff. This time, to add to the drained cans of pork-n-beans and black beans, I threw in a couple of minced jalapeños, some diced sweet potatoes, the last dregs of a jar of mustard (water added to clean it out), a tablespoon of some Tomato Jam (very fresh tomato taste but a bit unsettling if you're used to fruit jams), a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce and a tablespoon of frozen tomato paste. Emptied daily, we use the blue plastic container with its no-longer airtight seal for gathering scraps for our compost bin.

Eating raw yellow squash from the garden in our salads these days. This was my quick, slow carb lunch when Hubby was out running errands. Really enjoyed this fast and easy Sweet & Tangy Crockpot Sausage, a recipe brought to my attention by Blessings! Almost forgot to add sprouts to this salad (yes, my OWN HOME GROWN sprouts) and unfortunately, I did forget to take another pic of the salad once I added the sprouts. Those are dried cherries, by the way.

Slow cooked some Polish sausages and onions in whole grain mustard, honey, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. I worried the honey AND brown sugar would make these too sweet, but guess the mustard and vinegar tempered the sweetness, 'cause they were just right! I'm trying to buy organic sausages these days, but first have to use up what's in our freezer. I just mention this to say that this recipe would have been even better with higher quality sausages, but still, this brand bought on sale a couple of months ago tasted pretty darned good cooked in the sweet, tangy sauce!

Okay, this spider I found on one of my cookbooks in the kitchen tripped me out! Fortunately, I was able to carry it outside to our deck without incident (meaning, I didn't scream, faint or get bitten!). Guess I've got a little Jain in me; I don't like to kill anything unless absolutely necessary. Though I want them OUT NOW, I don't usually mind finding spiders in the house, because I've heard that if you never find spiders, it might mean you have a brown recluse. But this spider is weirdly marked, so it worried me more than the more innocuous looking ones. Hope it's not a bad one, but if it is, glad I got it OUT!

   Thanks, Rhonda at down-to-earth, for sharing this On My Mind concept. What's on your mind today? Share your link here or on down-to-earth.