Dairy Free and Delicious - Banana Ice Cream

My diet has undergone some changes over the past few years.  One of the big changes is that I no longer eat dairy.  It stuffs me up and makes me feel bad.  And, now that I've been off of it for so long, I'm lactose intolerant.

In the beginning it was hard because I loved cheese a LOT!  And, ice cream!  Yeah....it was really hard to give it up!  But, I feel a lot better without it.

I no longer crave dairy foods like I used to and the few times I've cheated a little it just wasn't as good as I remember.  I guess my taste has changed.  It also makes it easier when I find great alternatives like this...dairy free banana ice cream.

My daughter discovered it on Pinterest.  We gave it a try recently and were surprised by how easy it was to make and how rich, creamy, delicious, and satisfying it is.  And, it's totally healthy!

To make it, thinly slice bananas (about one banana per serving) and spread the slices in a freezer safe container.  We used a metal cake pan.  Place the pan in the freezer and leave it until the bananas are almost frozen but not hard.  The time will depend on how many bananas you freeze, how thick the layer is, and how thin or thick they're sliced.  Just check on them from time to time.  They freeze up pretty quickly.  Next, put the banana slices in a food processor with a dollop of your favorite nut butter (we used peanut butter) and blend it all together until it's smooth and creamy.  If the bananas are a little too frozen, just give them a few minutes to thaw a bit.  If they're not frozen enough, go ahead and put the mixture back in the freezer a bit and try again when it's a little more frozen.   We served ours with some dark chocolate chips stirred in.  It was delicious!

Enjoy!

Souper Sunday - Sopa de Tortilla

This Souper Sunday recipe is a family favorite!  I got the original recipe from an old Martha Stewart show over 15 years ago.  Her guest was Rick Bayless.  He's an expert on Mexican cuisine, has several famous restaurants, and even has his own shows on PBS.  I love his take on Mexican food!  This soup is a great example.

We've made this recipe so many times over the years that we don't even need it to remember what goes the soup.  And, the base of this soup is so good that it works great as a starter for other soups.  It's incredibly flavorful!

This recipe seemed very involved and a lot of work the first time we made it.  But, after that, it seemed to be a lot easier.  It's very forgiving and very flexible.  Feel free to change things up to your liking.  Add more or less ingredients and garnishes.  For example, chunks of chicken are really good as well as finely diced and raw radishes (they add a surprising and delicious crunch and color...you can see some in my photo above).  In fact, I'm pretty sure I saw the radishes being used on the show but it's not in the actual recipe.  Otherwise, I can't imagine that I would have thought to use them.  I'd never heard of putting them in soup.  But, they sure are good!  So, I added it to the list of ingredients.  Here's the recipe!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 large tomato

2 tablespoons corn oil (canola or vegetable oil work fine too)

1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved lengthwise

1 teaspoon course salt, plus more for seasoning

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

6 cups chicken stock

1 small bunch cilantro, leaves picked and stems reserved

1 small bunch oregano

4 yellow and blue corn tortillas (any color will do)

1/2 cup vegetable oil, for frying

1 to 2 dried Pasilla chilies, stemmed, de-veined, and left whole

1 avocado, cut into cubes

4 ounces freshly grated queso fresco (a delicious and unique cheese but we no longer use it to avoid dairy)

4 limes, washed and quartered

1 bunch radishes shredded or finely sliced

1. Heat oven to broil.  Line a small oven-proof skillet with aluminum foil.  Place the tomato in the prepared pan and broil, turning once or twice, until soft and just starting to char, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, peel, and place the tomato in the jar of a blender.  Hint:  If you'd like to add fresh, roasted, green chilies to the soup, this a good time to roast them.  See step 6.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of corn oil in a medium soup pot over medium-low heat.  Add the onion and the garlic.  Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Add onions to jar of the blender.  Puree the tomato-onion mixture until smooth.

3. Return soup pot to medium heat.  Add remaining tablespoon of corn oil and stir in tomato-onion puree, using a rubber spatula to clean out the blender jar.  Simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, 5 to 7 minutes.  It should be the consistency of a dark, thick ketchup.

4. Whisk in chicken stock.  Make a bouquet garni of the cilantro stems and oregano (I just tie a bunch of cilantro and oregano together with butcher twine. I don't worry about just using just the stems of the cilantro.).  Add the bouquet garni to the soup, and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer.  Partially cover and simmer until the flavors have blended, about 30 minutes.  Season soup to taste with additional salt and pepper.  Hint:  This base works great to create a veggie or chicken soup...just add what you like.  An easy and delicious soup at this point is to just add some cooked spaghetti or pasta.  Be sure to add a squeeze of lemon to each bowl!  It's delicious!)

5.  Meanwhile, prepare the garnishes.  Crumble the queso fresco cheese.  Cut and slice or grate radishes.  Cut the tortillas into 1/4 inch strips, heat 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed skillet, over medium high heat, until the oil is shimmering and hot.  Carefully add the tortilla strips, standing back as the oil might splatter. Fry until the strips are crisp and brown, 20 to 30 seconds. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Season the hot strips with salt and pepper.  Hint:  We always make a more tortilla chip strips than the recipe calls for because they're super yummy!

6.  In the same hot oil, quickly flash-fry the pasilla chilies, 3 to 4 seconds.  Remove from the oil and place on a paper towels to drain.  Let cool slightly.  Chop the chilies into bits and use as garnish.   The flavor is interesting and unique.  Hint:  Fresh green chilies, like Anaheims, are a delicious alternative.  Roast them in the oven when roasting the tomato.  Roast until they are charred (turning as needed), put them into a covered container or plastic bag for a few minutes....the steam will make it easier to peel off the skin.  Peel, remove stem, seeds, and white ribs, slice and chop into small strips or pieces. 

7.  It's time to serve it up!  We like to set all the garnishes out for everyone to add them as they like to their own bowls.  Then, ladle the hot soup on top, squeeze a wedge or two of lime into the bowl (we even toss the wedge(s) into the bowl for extra flavor), top with tortilla chip strips and enjoy!

A super delicious soup with super possibilities!  Give it a try!  Let me know what you think!  And, I'd love to hear about ways you change it up or use it for other kinds of soups.  Buen Provecho!

Souper Sunday - Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Versatile Cream Sauce

I tried something a few months ago that has opened up a lot of cooking possibilities.  I made a cream sauce with cauliflower!  Sounds a little weird but it's surprisingly good and very easy to make.  It's an incredible substitute for creamy sauces since I can't eat dairy anymore.  And, it's a lot more healthy! 

It's made by simply cutting up and steaming a head of cauliflower until it's soft, putting it into a blender with milk (we use coconut/almond but any milk or unsweetened milk substitute will work) and blending it until it's smooth and creamy.  I season it during the blending process.

If I'm making it to use as an Alfredo sauce, I season it with garlic, salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne to add an extra level of flavor and some warmth but not enough to make it spicy hot.  Here's a picture I snapped a couple of nights ago when I used it like Alfred sauce and layered it with sauteed spinach with onions and red pepper flakes, gluten free pasta, the sauce, some diced tomatoes, and baked and crumbled prosciutto.  It was delicious!

I've also seasoned this amazing sauce with lemon juice and had it with rice, veggies, and chicken or fish.  It's delicious with lemon!  It gives it a light, bright, fresh flavor.

Another way we like to use this sauce is to make one of our old favorite chowder recipes.  The recipe originally called for a cream sauce made with lots of milk and cheese.  Since I can no longer eat dairy, this has become and amazing substitute and we don't even miss the cheese or dairy.  It's that good!  This isn't the best picture but to give you an idea of how good it is....hubby raves about it every single time, has seconds, thirds, and gets every drop out of the bowl that he can.

The original recipe was called something like, "Cheddar and Ham Chowder".  Here's my new version with no milk, no cheese, and no gluten....

4 cups of peeled and cubed potatoes

1 cup of sliced carrots

1 small to medium onion chopped

2 cups of fresh or frozen corn cut off the cob

Put all of the above ingredients into a large pan/pot and add just enough water to cover the veggies.  You can also add celery, if you like.  I leave it out because we don't like it.  Cook until the veggies are fork tender. DO NOT drain the water when it's done.

In a separate pan, steam a large head of cauliflower that's been rinsed and cut into large chunks.  Cook until soft.  When it's done, add it to the blender with enough "milk" to blend it smoothly.  I also add a bit of "butter" (I use Earth Balance spread) and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, a dash of Cayenne, paprika and a bit of chili powder.  I also add some Turmeric because it makes it look cheesy with the red of the chili powder and paprika and it's a healthy spice.  Use the above ingredients in amounts that work for you and your taste.

When the sauce and veggies are ready, pour the sauce into the pot that has the veggies and water and stir it together.  Also, add ham that's been sliced into bite sized pieces.  One of those flat, round slices you get at the store that's wrapped in plastic is the perfect amount.  Cook it all on low heat until the ham is heated through.  Double check to see if the chowder needs any additional seasoning.  Enjoy!

I'm so excited about this delicious, creamy, cauliflower sauce and I'm trying to think of other ways I can use it.  I think it would be great in other soups like clam chowder!  Can you think of other ways to use it?  I'd love to hear about them and I'd love to know if you try it and what you think.

Souper Sunday - Pumpkin, Sausage and Mushroom

Since the weather cooled, I've been back to making soup again.  I've been making some of our favorites and trying new ones.  As I've posted them on Instagram, I've gotten requests for the recipes.  So, I've decided to do a little blog series and post a recipe each week.

This recipe is a new one for us.  I saw it being made on a TV show and it looked so easy and good that I wanted to try it out.  In my usual way, I went for it without an actual recipe.  I just got the ingredients I remembered seeing on the show and made it like I remembered seeing.  I love cooking that way.  It's not so fussy, it's more creative, and it's more fun!  Luckily, things usually turn out good and this did too.  It was hearty, rich, creamy and delicious.

The original recipe called for breakfast sausage (I'm planning to try that version tonight) but I had some ground pork and used that.  I fried it up with some finely chopped onion (drain fat as necessary).  Then, I added some finely chopped garlic and sliced mushrooms and continued cooking until the mushrooms were done.  I seasoned this mixture with salt, pepper, a little cumin, chili powder, paprika, and a dash of cayenne.  Next, I added a can of pumpkin and mixed it in and then a can of coconut milk and stirred until everything was combined and creamy.  I heated it through and served it up with a sprinkling of toasted pumpkin seeds on top.  It's super easy, quick, gluten free, dairy free and Paleo!

Here's the ingredient list:

Breakfast Sausage

Onion

Garlic

Mushrooms

Canned or Fresh Cooked Pumpkin

Coconut Milk

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds (optional)

Season as needed with Salt and Pepper

If you use ground pork instead of sausage, you'll need additional spices.  I used what I had but you could add some that are more traditional in sausage...like fennel seeds.  Here's what I used:

Salt

Pepper

Cumin

Chili Powder

Paprika

Cayenne - Just a Dash

It makes at least six nice sized servings.

I'm curious how people cook.  I've met people who only feel comfortable having a recipe with exact measurements and I've met people who like to just get creative and use recipes as inspiration.  I fit more in the second category and will only occasionally use a recipe exactly as written.  I've learned to cook a lot of things by watching TV and just going for it.   How do you cook?  Are you comfortable cooking without recipes and getting creative in the kitchen?  Or, are you more comfortable having exact measurements?  And, do you have a favorite soup recipe?  If so, is it from a recipe...maybe a family recipe?  Or did you come up with it?  I'd love to know!  :-)

Homemade Tamales

We made tamales!  Homemade tamales!

I saw bags of masa at the grocery store last weekend and immediately thought about tamales and decided to go for it and try to make some.  So, I also bought a large package of chicken breasts that was on sale, a large can of green enchilada sauce, and a bag of corn husks.

I cooked the chicken in the crock pot all day today with the sauce, chopped onion, and garlic.  By mid afternoon, it was done and falling off the bones.  Hubby took all the meat off the bones, shredded it and mixed some of the green chili sauce and onions into it and set it aside.  I soaked the corn husks in hot water for about an hour.

I watched a couple of videos online that showed how to assemble the tamales.  It looked easy and it was!  It was also a lot of fun!  As we made the tamales, we set them inside the holey part of a pasta pot.  When we were finished, I set it into the main pot that had water in the bottom.  I got the water boiling and steamed them for 45 minutes and checked to see if they were done.  They ended up needing a little more cooking time.  Fifteen more minutes did the trick!

They turned out really good!  We had them with salsa on top.  Yum!  

When we started out assembling the tamales, I was making them kind of small.  Turned out that hubby was making them a lot bigger.  And, as we went along, they seemed to get bigger and bigger.  Funny, but it worked out just fine.  Next time, I'll use something to measure out the masa so they'll be more uniform in size.

We'll definitely be making tamales again!  They're so much fun and so good!

We'll try some different flavors too.  Turns out they can be made sweet or savory.  I had no idea!

Backyard Harvesting and Preserving

What a weekend!  It was wonderful and scary and productive...all at the same time!  

We had rain and quite a bit of it.  That was wonderful!  We need it so badly and we'll take every drop we can get.  It's rare here and we savored the storms...opening windows, watching and listening to it fall, and breathing in that wonderful rain smell.  Ahhhhh!  My daughter and I enjoyed a little antique shopping on Saturday morning with the cloudy and cooler weather.  We even went for a walk in the rain with our dog yesterday.  And, late last night the rain poured hard...enough to wake us.  It was wonderful!  There are a few clouds in the sky today but I think the rain is over...for now.

The scary part of the weekend happened mid-day on Saturday.  Hubby had gone for a long bike ride.  It's something he does almost every weekend.  And, luckily it's often with a group.  Extra lucky this time!  I got a call from him around noon letting me know that he'd crashed and wouldn't be able to drive home.  Someone was giving him a ride to the bike shop and my daughter and I needed to meet him there to pick him up and drive his car home.  The pain was so bad that I needed to take him to an urgent care.  It turned out that a rib under his collar bone was broken and some cartilage next to his sternum was banged up.  It even hurt him to breathe!  The doc gave him a brace to hold his shoulders back.  That helps with the pain and will help the bone to heal in the right position.  The pain meds are working but he's needing to take it really easy until those stabbing/piercing/burning pains stop happening when he moves.  I'm taking good care of him!

While he was resting in the recliner on Sunday morning, I went out in the backyard to enjoy the cooler and moist air from the storms.  It turned out that a lot more figs had ripened.  I started picking them and ended up with a big bowl full.  There's still a bunch more on the tree that are green.  

The colors are incredible!

I quickly got to work preparing them for the dehydrator.  And, this time, I remembered to take some photos.  I used the same technique of dropping them into boiling water.  It weakens the skin to allow moisture to escape easier during dehydration.  Look how dark the water got...

After just 30 seconds, I scooped them out and dropped them into an ice bath.

It's interesting how the blanching turned parts of them green.

My daughter helped me slice them.

They were so pretty that I posted a pic on Instagram...

 My daughter suggested slicing them into quarters instead of halves.  She thought they might dry better and be easier to eat.  She was right!  They're already done and so delicious!  Some are sweet like brown sugar!  And, I love that delicate crispy, crunch of the little seeds.  Yum!

My Basil plants were big and lush...perfect for harvesting!  So, I cut a bowl full of basil to process into freezer cubes to use throughout the winter.  I try to do this several times every summer and it works great!  This year, besides the standard, green Basil, I also have a variety now with purple leaves.  It has a slightly different flavor but still has the delicious basil taste that I love.  Bugs seem to bother it less too.  It had very few munched leaves compared to the green plants that I have.

I picked off all of the good leaves and rinsed them in cold water.

The colors of the leaves floating in the water were so pretty that I had to take a picture...

After rinsing, I spun the leaves dry in a salad spinner and chopped them up in the food processor with olive oil (I did the green ones and purple ones separately...just because).  I put spoonfuls of it into the compartments of an ice tray.  It's amazing how little there is after it's chopped.  I almost filled a whole ice tray this time though.

I always like to put the tray into a plastic bag and tightly close the end.  That keeps the freezer from smelling like Basil and keeps the basil from smelling like freezer.  After they're frozen, I place them into a Rubbermaid container and keep them in the freezer for convenient use.  It works great in sauces and dressings.  And, best of all, even in the middle of winter, it tastes like I just picked it.

Since I'm sharing photos of food I preserved this week...here's a picture of some refrigerator pickled cauliflower that I made last week.  It should be ready to eat by now.  I think I'll have some for lunch!  I made it in one of my new, green, Ball canning jars.  I love how they're making them in colors now!

It's kind of amazing how much food I'm getting from our yard.  Especially since our garden isn't going so well.  It's so satisfying to eat food that we grew and know exactly what's in it and what's not.

Time for lunch!  :-)

A Week on Instagram

I was quite busy with Instagram last week.

I thought it might be fun to share the photos I posted.

I had an errand to run one day near where my daughter lives.  So, I picked her up and we spent the afternoon together.  We decided to visit Roger's Gardens.  We wanted to see what they had in their Easter section.  Plus, it's always a fun place to spend some time.

Here are some of the photos from our visit...

We loved the colors in this flower arrangement...

This was an interesting idea they had near the entrance.

It's fabric bags that were filled with soil and plants and attached to the wall. 

I love Hydrangeas!  So pretty!

They look like they have a little bead or pearl in each center.

Just a couple blocks away is a shopping area called "Fashion Island".

I'd never been there and thought it would be fun to check out.  They have lots of fun stores to browse through...lots of expensive and pretty clothing.  And, it's outdoors instead of being a mall.

It was a gorgeous day!  We could even see the ocean from one side of the shopping center.

They had lots of really cool water features throughout the shopping center.

We had a lot of fun watching the giant Koi fish.  They were friendly and we could even touch them!

Ewwww!...slimy!  I like how this Instagram photo turned out...looks kind of like a painting.

I enjoyed a lot of tea last week.  I even made some chai tea lattes.  Mmmmm!

I like Yogi brand tea a lot and their tea tags are fun to read.

This was a good one....so true!

I made some refrigerator dill pickles.  I put a little cauliflower in the top part of each jar.
I hope they survived the death of our fridge.

They're in an ice chest right now.  The new fridge arrives tomorrow.  I can't wait!

I'd just gone grocery shopping the day before.  It turned warm really fast...almost like it changed from being a cold making box to a heat making box!  So, we lost quite a bit of food.  Oh well!  That's life!

I made a couple batches of lemonade last week.  I used Meyer lemons from the tree in our back yard.

Mmmmm!  I like mixing it with green tea sometimes too.  More yum!

Sadly, I had to throw out a large pitcher of lemonade when the fridge died.  Just couldn't drink it fast enough and there wasn't room in the ice chest.  We tried to eat a lot of the food that night too.

Can't wait to make some more lemonade when the new fridge arrives.

The recent rains have transformed the landscape around us.  It's changed from brown to green.

It's gorgeous!  We're soaking in the sights as much as we can because it won't last long.

In fact, the weather is in the 80's and 90's this week.

So, I bet the green will go back to brown within a week or so.

It always amazes me how fast it can change one way or the other.

I did an experiment of trying to make my favorite recipe of cheddar/ham chowder but without

any dairy ingredients.  I can't eat dairy anymore.  I used cauliflower to make a creamy base.

It was a success and SO delicious! 

That's my week on Instagram!  I just love posting on there.

The effects are fun too but I don't always use them.

Do you use Instagram?  If so, you can find me there under the user name, "acorntooak".

Hot Soup on a Cold Day

Mmmmm...hot soup on a cold day is so good!

When it's homemade it's even better!

I love tomato soup and have started making it from scratch.  I'm amazed at how fast and easy it is to make.  And, blown away by how delicious it is...better than any pre-made soup from a can!

Even my husband likes it and he never liked tomato soup before.  

To make it, I finely chop some fresh garlic (a small clove or about 1/4 teaspoon or so) and put it in a pan with a bit of olive oil.  I turn the heat on low to medium...just long enough to let the garlic flavors bloom (smell really good) but not toast and turn brown.  I turn off the fire and carefully (it might splatter) add a 15 ounce can of tomato sauce.  Then, I add a can of milk (I use unsweetened coconut milk), a dash of pepper and some finely chopped basil.  If I don't have fresh basil I use two cubes of frozen basil I get at Trader Joe's.  I love this stuff!  It tastes fresh and it's super convenient...

Sometimes, I add a dash of Cayenne for a little extra yum.
Then, I just leave it over a medium heat, stirring occasionally until it's hot.

I love having tomato soup with a grilled sandwich.  I used to love it with grilled cheese but I no longer eat dairy.  So, two slices of Rudi's gluten free bread, a thin spread of Earth Balance spread (buttery side down in the pan), and some lean turkey or chicken grilled in a skillet until golden brown on both sides is just as good.  I like to put a dollop of mustard on my plate to dip it in.  Yum!
Sometimes I even dip my sandwich into the soup. Double yum!

Since I'm posting about dairy and gluten free food...some people who follow my blog have asked

about health issues my daughter was going through at the beginning of the year and the results of the "Total Elimination Diet".  One blogger even sent me sweet, long email asking about it.  I tried several times to reply and had a hard time getting it to go through.  I'm not sure if she ever got it.  I hope so. If not, please know that I tried.  Since then, my computer completely crashed and I lost that email and all my email addresses.  So, I'm not even sure who sent it.  I'm sorry.

My daughter is doing great.  It turns out that she has a gluten sensitivity.  It's been a tough change because so many foods have gluten in them.  In a lot of ways we've had to almost completely change how we eat.  It's all for the good though because we eat very few pre-made/processed foods now.  We mostly eat things we make from scratch and LOTS of veggies.

My daughter is feeling a lot better.  Hubby and I eat mostly gluten free and like how we feel.  My daughter and I even noticed that eliminating gluten improves our overall mood and sense of well being.  I've lost weight and dropped to my goal and holding.  I think that's due to reducing carbs and that healthy, gluten free eating makes us feel more satisfied with what we eat and we don't have the urge to snack as much.  I can't believe we're coming up on one year since we started this.

Thank you for thinking of us and asking how it's going.  :-)

Fun with Food

As I started taking photos and loading them onto my computer to do some more blogging I realized I had some photos on my cell phone of some yummy fun foods we had last week.  We had one of our new favorites...a delicious Thai Noodle Soup recipe that I found in the "Forks Over Knives" cookbook (page 106, if you have the book).  The flavor of this soup is unique and delicious.  The colors and textures of all the veggies are wonderful.  And, it's healthy too!  

This is a recipe we may never stop making.  It's that good!

Some of the wonderful ingredients in it are onions, garlic, bok choy, shitake mushrooms, carrots, lime zest and juice, cilantro, bean sprouts, tamari, vegetable broth (I used chicken broth this time that I'd just made by cooking up some chicken for another meal and I added spices), and rice noodles (I used those flat white ones this time).  We ate every drop!  Just blogging about it makes me want more!

Another fun food we had last weekend were these colorful carrots I found at Trader Joe's.

Aren't they pretty?!  I wondered if there was any difference in flavor but couldn't detect any.

They were even prettier cut up and in the steamer/pan...

I made a salad with mini heirloom tomatoes that I found at Trader Joe's too.  Yum!

I love finding fun, new-to-me, colorful veggies and great recipes!

Have you found any new and interesting foods lately?

Super Simple Pumpkin Spice Latte

I love going out for fancy coffee drinks.  They're just so expensive!

So, I try to make them at home as much as I can.

I've figured out some easy versions of several hot and iced lattes.

A couple of weeks ago, I figured out a simple way to make a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

I simply mix about eight ounces (one cup) of hot milk (I use coconut milk) with two tablespoons of vanilla simple syrup (I'll post this recipe below), two shots (about four tablespoons) of espresso or very strong coffee, and a dash of pumpkin pie spice.  Super simple and super yummy!

To make your own vanilla simple syrup, boil one cup of water with one cup of sugar until the sugar is dissolved completely.  Add 1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract (I love the Trader Joe's brand) and stir.

It can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks in a covered jar and used as needed.

The drink recipe above can be a vanilla latte with by leaving out the pumpkin pie spice.  Enjoy!

Summer Fun

Summer doesn't officially start for a couple more weeks.  But, for us, it's already here.

Our daughter is home from college for the summer.  The weather is warm.

And, we're busy planning and doing lots of summery fun things.

A lot of what I've been doing is trying to work on projects that

 I've been needing to do or finish for a while.  I'm on a mission!

I'm having lots of fun with it.  But, there are so many things I want to do that

 I sometimes don't know where to start.  But, I'm trying to keep moving and 

not get stuck.  I'd like to cross a lot of things off of my mental to-do list

and see lots of finished and wonderful projects by the end of summer.

We recently re-planted our front flowerbed.

We planted two Madame Julia Correvon Clematis and some Society Garlic, Marigolds,

Alyssum, and Lobelia with the Baby Tears that were already growing there.

The vines and most of the flowers are doing great.

Except for the Marigolds.  Some kind of critter has eaten most of them.

I love the purple/blue color of the Lobelia.

Sometimes it seems to glow.

We finally planted something in the flowerbed at the side of the our house.

It's something we've been meaning to do for a long time.

We decided on a Star Jasmine.  It's right near where we store our trash cans.

So, the floral scent will be nice over there.

Hubby built a trellis for it.  I love how he wove the wood.

This flowerbed and trellis line up with our office/soon-to-be-guest-room window.

It should be really pretty when the vine grows up.  And, it will provide a little privacy.

I finally got around to painting our family room.

The paint color doesn't show up very well in the photo.  It's actually a lot warmer and prettier.

The color is Benjamin Moore, Everlasting.  The room looks so fresh and pretty

with it's new coat of paint.  It was just builder white (Swiss Coffee) before.

I originally blogged about the room make-over HERE.

Life just got busy and then it was winter and a bit chilly to have the windows

open for painting.  But, now it's warmer and I'm on a mission to finish projects.

Hubby still needs to install crown moulding and mount the speakers.  And, I need to sew the curtains.

We got the moulding last week.  I'm planning to look for hardware today.

I'm hoping the room will be complete by the end of the month.

I've finally worked up the courage to try and figure out how to re-cover my dress form.

I found it a few years ago at a thrift shop.  It's in good shape but the purple color

doesn't look good with most of the projects I want to photograph on it.  

So, I've been working on making a pattern...first with tissue...

Then, I used the tissue to cut out white fabric pieces.

I've pinned them on and adjusted it a bit.

Now, I need to sew the fabric together to make sure it works.

If it does, I'll use that as a pattern for the neutral fabric I have to re-cover it.

Wish me luck!

Another project that's been waiting around for way too long is a rug hooking project.

I bought it years ago on a trip to Texas.  I didn't enjoy doing it as much as I thought I would and

it's been sitting in the closet ever since.  I pulled it out the other day and I'm trying to work 

on it a bit each day.  It makes my hand hurt.  So, a little each day is better than nothing.

It'll be nice to finish it and enjoy it instead of moving it out of the way

when I need to get things out of my craft closet.  

I wound my new yarn from the Yarn Over Truck and bought the pattern for the shawl I plan to make.

So, I'm all ready to get started on that.  Yay!  I'm so excited!

But...

Last night, at knit night, one of the ladies (who also dyes yarn...Inner Yarn Zen)

showed me some yarn she'd just dyed.  It was LOVE at first sight!  It's gorgeous.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to capture it's beauty in a photo.

She asked if I'd like to test knit it for her to see how this new base yarn is to work with.

Of course, I agreed!  Eeeee!  I'm so excited to play with this beautiful yarn!

I came home and started searching for patterns and have narrowed it down.

Last weekend, my daughter hosted a party to view the film she worked on this past school year.

The film was created by a student for his masters project and it's based on the true story of a harpist. 

My daughter wrote and performed harp music for the film, acted as a hand double for playing the harp, and coached the main actress how to sit at the harp and look like she was a harpist.  We were very impressed by the film.  It was so well done that no one would guess it was made by a student.

It helps that the college has a top notch film school with great equipment, facilities, and instructors.

We are so proud of her!  And, very grateful for all the wonderful experiences she had this last year.

Besides the film, we enjoyed the company of family and some of our daughter's friends.

And, she made Sangria and a delicious tart that was gluten and dairy free.

It turned out beautiful too!

There are just so many fun things I want to do this summer!

I just wish the days were longer, that there were more days in the week and weekends,

and a few more months in the summer because I know it's going to go by very quickly.

Although, that kind of adds to the fun, I guess.  It makes it a challenge and

 a bit of a game to see how much I can squeeze into it.

I've heard several other people talk about how they're also on a mission to try and finish lots of projects.  What are you up to this summer?  Are you on a similar mission?

Simple Ceci Salad

Our occasional vegetarian eating habits have us always on the lookout for ways to add protein to our meals.  That often includes beans, which I've grown to love.  I recently came up with a simple salad idea that is super yummy.  In fact, we've had it several times in one week!

In my usual style...there's no measuring.  But, here's what's needed to make it...

1 - 15 ounce can of ceci/garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 - medium sized tomato, chopped
onion - white, purple, green....whatever you have, finely chopped - a couple tablespoons + -
olive oil
vinegar - I used red wine vinegar but use what you have...be creative!
salt
pepper
garlic powder or fresh, finely chopped (optional)
fresh herbs - basil or parsley would work great, finely chopped (optional),

Simply mix the ingredients in a bowl... the beans, tomato, onions (add according to your taste), herbs (optional), a drizzle of olive oil, a few splashes of vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and garlic to taste (optional).  We usually eat it right away but it can be stored in the refrigerator and eaten later.

Don't be afraid to experiment.  Be creative!  I've tried it with and without herbs.  I think I liked it better without herbs but both ways were good.  I've even tried it with finely chopped spinach to add color.   I've also tried it with finely chopped brown onion and with green onion.  I think I liked it best with the brown onion.  I plan on trying it with different flavors of vinegar.  Even a mustard vinaigrette might be yummy on it.  But, no matter how I've made it, it's always been soooo good!

If you decide to give it a try, let me know how you made it and how much you like it.  :-)