Perfecting Pru has chosen Strawberry Shortcake for next week’s Martha Mondays. I can’t wait to try it!

Perfecting Pru has chosen Strawberry Shortcake for next week’s Martha Mondays. I can’t wait to try it!

Sassy Suppers chose this week’s project, which was timely due to the heat wave we’ve had! The project was Honeydew Cream Pistachio Popsicles.  I had popsicle forms years ago when my kiddos were little, but no longer have one, so I just made these in little bowls – kind of a popsicle without the stick. They were easy to make. I just dumped everything in the food processor (except the pistachios). I made the mistake of using salted pistachios which was not good in this! I thought they were interesting, but I didn’t care for them much. Somehow the melon and cream tasted weird to me. Mr. MarthaAndMe liked this, which is weird since he has recently declared he does not like any melon other than watermelon. The kids would not taste it!

Sassy Suppers chose this week’s project, which was timely due to the heat wave we’ve had! The project was Honeydew Cream Pistachio Popsicles.  I had popsicle forms years ago when my kiddos were little, but no longer have one, so I just made these in little bowls – kind of a popsicle without the stick. … Read more →

I can’t often get fresh grouper here in Buffalo, so when I spot it, I jump on it! We got to Florida every spring and I make it when we’re there and also order it in restaurants (fried grouper sandwiches…yum). I happened upon some grouper recently and snapped it up. I decided to make a simple preparation with brown butter, macadamias and a few cracker crumbs and cream. It was so delicious.

1 grouper filet

salt and pepper

1/4 tsp dried dill

2 tbsp butter

1/3 tsp lemon juice

2 tbsp chopped macadamias

6 wheat thins or similar crackers (I used an all bran version)

1 tbsp cream

parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the grouper in the center of the parchment and season with salt and pepper and dill. Place the butter in a covered bowl in the microwave and cook until brown. Stir in lemon juice and chopped macadamias. Pour over the fish. Fold the parchment (see Technique page) and bake for 10 minutes. Open the packet and sprinkle the cracker crumbs on top and drizzle with the cream. Spray the top lightly with cooking spray. Return to the oven, with the packet open for 3 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley.

I can’t often get fresh grouper here in Buffalo, so when I spot it, I jump on it! We got to Florida every spring and I make it when we’re there and also order it in restaurants (fried grouper sandwiches…yum). I happened upon some grouper recently and snapped it up. I decided to make a … Read more →

When my grandmother passed away two years ago, she left behind many treasures. There were antiques, items purchased on her trips around the world, old photos, and art work. Many are beautiful and I know they all had meaning to her. The problem is, those of us who inherited her treasures don’t know what all of the meanings were. We’ve been able to guess at some things and piece things together from the stories she told us. The carved elephants are from Africa. The straw purse came from the Bahamas. I can figure out some of the people in some photos. The green glass sugar and creamer were a wedding shower gift, she told me once. But other things have now lost their meaning. That makes me sad.

So I’ve embarked upon a labeling project of my own items, mostly things I’ve bought on trips. Someday (hopefully in the far distant future) when someone inherits them, I want them to know where it was from and why it mattered to me. Last weekend I went around the house with some stickers and wrote the origin of every print, painting, and photo that hangs on our walls, and stuck it on the back of each item. My next project is to take photos of the other things I consider my treasures (from trips and things I inherited from my grandmothers) and create a word document with the photo and a description of each piece.

I noticed my mom has suddenly caught this bug too, even though we haven’t discussed it. When she buys a piece of art, pottery, basket, etc. she tapes the business card of the artist on the back. If there is no card or known artist, she tapes a handwritten description of what the item is and where it came from on the back.

What have you done to preserve the memories associated with things that are important to you?

When my grandmother passed away two years ago, she left behind many treasures. There were antiques, items purchased on her trips around the world, old photos, and art work. Many are beautiful and I know they all had meaning to her. The problem is, those of us who inherited her treasures don’t know what all … Read more →

Sassy Suppers has chosen popsicles for next week. That sounds very refreshing in this heat wave!

Sassy Suppers has chosen popsicles for next week. That sounds very refreshing in this heat wave!

Megan’s Cookin’ chose this week’s project and after several of you suggested having a general category where you pick your own, we went with the ability to choose your own project from the list of quick breads. I made Carrot Tea Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Very simple to put together. I enjoyed this, but I think I expected it to be a bit more carrot-y and moist like carrot cake. It was good for a tea cake, but honestly the frosting was what made it so good. Without it, it would be sort of blah. What did everyone else make?

Megan’s Cookin’ chose this week’s project and after several of you suggested having a general category where you pick your own, we went with the ability to choose your own project from the list of quick breads. I made Carrot Tea Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Very simple to put together. I enjoyed this, but … Read more →

In my continuing quest to make dinner without a pot, I’ve been turning to the grill. Last night we enjoyed pork chops, asparagus and a baguette, all on the grill.

Place 4 pork chops in a ziploc bag (double bagged) and add 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, salt and pepper, 1 tsp thyme and 1 tsp sage. Mix it up and put in the fridge for at least 4 hours (up to one day). Remove the chops and drain off the buttermilk and grill over medium high heat until just slightly pink inside. Marinating the chops in buttermilk makes them super moist and adds flavor. This is my favorite way to make pork chops.

For the asparagus, spray it with cooking spray or rub with a little olive oil and grill on a grill tray over medium heat until slightly charred. Then sprinkle with sea salt. Grilling the asparagus gives it a slightly smoky flavor and the ends get nice and crunchy!

I placed the baguette on the top rack of the grill until it was warm. You can do this with any kind of bread – it’s especially good with cheese bread, which I slice and brush with olive oil and then grill.

We also had a bowl of fresh cherries. Dinner with no clean up!

In my continuing quest to make dinner without a pot, I’ve been turning to the grill. Last night we enjoyed pork chops, asparagus and a baguette, all on the grill. Place 4 pork chops in a ziploc bag (double bagged) and add 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, salt and pepper, 1 tsp thyme and 1 tsp … Read more →

Since this week’s Martha Mondays was a corn recipe, I bought enough to also make this recipe from June Living. You grill 4 ears of corn for 15 minutes. Cut the corn off the cobs and toss with 1 sliced avocado, 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, 1 tbsp lime juice, and 1/2 tsp coarse salt. This was really fantastic. I love grilled corn and the other flavors in this dish are among my favorites too. I grilled some meat along with this and put the corn on as soon as I turned the grill on, so it was done first and I had time to assemble the salad. I’ll be making this one again.

Since this week’s Martha Mondays was a corn recipe, I bought enough to also make this recipe from June Living. You grill 4 ears of corn for 15 minutes. Cut the corn off the cobs and toss with 1 sliced avocado, 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, 1 tbsp lime juice, and 1/2 tsp coarse salt. This … Read more →

Megan’s Cookin’ chose quick breads for next week’s project. I usually try to just isolate one recipe for Martha Mondays, but thought we would give this a try giving people the option of choosing the one they want. Megan is going to make the coconut pineapple one.

I also just realized Monday is a holiday, or I would have skipped it for our projects. I’ll probably make mine later this week and bring to a holiday get together over the weekend.

Megan’s Cookin’ chose quick breads for next week’s project. I usually try to just isolate one recipe for Martha Mondays, but thought we would give this a try giving people the option of choosing the one they want. Megan is going to make the coconut pineapple one. I also just realized Monday is a holiday, … Read more →

Steak and Potato Kinda Gurl picked Corn, Bacon and Scallions for today’s project. You can’t go wrong with bacon. This tasted great , but I would probably not make it often because of all the bacon fat. It was really easy to make though and the corn and scallions looked great together. Did you make this?

Steak and Potato Kinda Gurl picked Corn, Bacon and Scallions for today’s project. You can’t go wrong with bacon. This tasted great , but I would probably not make it often because of all the bacon fat. It was really easy to make though and the corn and scallions looked great together. Did you make … Read more →