Traveling Tuesday ~ to the Cape!

Over the 4th of July I took a little trip . . . to Boston and the North Shore.
It is so New Englad and a great place to be in the summer. (notice I haven't posted a single photo of a winter- time trip)

One day we took a boat ride to the tip of Cape Cod. Look at these great shots of the light house off of the Plymoth harbor. . .

The ride over on the ferry was Beautiful ~ we even saw a whale.

The harbor at Provincetown was full of ReaLLy Nice boats . . . Maybe Caitlin Jenner was on one of them?

We headed back after a fun day of lobster rolls and a shandy or two.

On the ride back, we went past the same light house . . . you can see how the tide has swallowed up the land around it.

A fun day ~ Next week . . . Provincetown!

I am also joining Our World Tuesday
Y'all enjoy the ride~
Sandi

WhistleStop in the Kitchen

Here is Bill . . . in the kitchen.
 Cooking up some of our favorite desserts.
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Y'all enjoy ~
Sandi

PhotoHunt ~ Brush

The PhotoHunt for today is 'Brush'
I am thinking of Paint Brushes ~

Our favorite artists in Positano are always glad to see us when we wander by (or should I say . . . wander BUY)

They really are Amazing artists. I have one of Dominoco's paintings on my wall and we have a pair of Andrea's framed as well.

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They are actually doing the artwork themselves . . . not the reproductions that you see so many 'artists' dabbing paint on and calling it original.

These guys are fun to watch, and are always in the center of the action.

It's no wonder their work is so bright and vibrant . . . They just paint what they see everyday.

I can't wait to go back ~

The thought of spingtime in Positano carries me through the winter.

Check for all the other Brush Photos on The Saturday PhotoHunt
Happy Hunting y'all~
Sandi

Merry Christmas from Sandi Claus and her husband

I want to take a bloggy minute to wish each of you a very merry Christmas. I hope that you will be speding it with family and friends. . . remembering the reason we celebrate this season.

Some of you in the local area, have seen Sandi Claus ~ as I a pitching for my husband who "is very busy this time of year."

We have made several commercials for WhistleStop Products and have been spotted all over the local airwaves. This is the LINK to the WhistleStop web site, where you can find all kinds of good batter mixes, spices and marinade.

Good friends helped us with the production . . . and of course it was filmed right in our kitchen. (good thing we got that renovation done~ that hole in the wall came in handy)

Sandi Claus can be hard to find in public!
Merry Christmas y'all ~
Sandi

PhotoHunt ~ Books

Most of y'all know that this blog was started to promote WhistleStop Products. It is our family business . . . here we are promoting the products. 7 years of recipes and blogging tips. Most from back in the day when I had the time and energy to blog. Now I am posting when I can.
BUT . . . there are big changes coming for the WhistleStop Blog.
Stay tuned ~

You can always order online at The WhistleStop Cafe Country Store
Since this PhotoHunt is for 'Books'
This is my BOOK ~ My Cookbook ~

Order one in time for Christmas .
Check for all the other Book Photos on The Saturday PhotoHunt
Happy Hunting y'all~
Sandi

PhotoHunt ~ $ale

The PhotoHunt for today is Sale ~ Did you know that you can find some of our WhistleStop products at Whole Foods?

A few years ago, Bill and I were doing Cooking demo's.
Frying up a mess of green tomatoes ~
They were awesome (of course)

You can also find our other products at your local market or on-line at WhistleStopCafe.COM .

( How's that for a $ales pitch? )

Check for all the other Sale Photos on The Saturday PhotoHunt
Happy Hunting y'all~
Sandi

Chipotle Guacamole

Bill challenged me this week to create my 'Famous' guacamole, using his new Chipotle seasoning. This Pop N Spud Seasoning is one of 3 new flavors.  (I have used the label Bits-n-pieces for the other WhistleStop products that I have blogged about over the years)

Guacamole is my weakness. When I'm at the Piggly Wiggly, I'll walk by and give the avocados a squeeze just to see if there is any guacamole in the near future.

I make mine with fresh ingredients. . . a bit of lime juice, purple onion, cilantro, jalapenos and tomatoes. Instead of salt and pepper I added Chipolte seasoning . . .  Awesome.
Chipotle Guacamole
2 ripe avocados
2 Tbs minced purple onion
2 Tbs minded cilantro
2 Tbs diced tomatoes
juice of one lime (1 tsp)
2 tsp Chipolte Seasoning
Smish the ingredients together (more or less to taste) and serve fresh.

You know the secret to keeping your guacamole from turning brown is nestling the avocado seed in the mix. Honestly... It works! My Favorite way to fresh guacamole is in a Margarita glass . . . With that seed in the bottom of the glass.

Brilliant!
Y'all enjoy ~
Sandi

Pairs of Pears

We were lucky to get some end of the season pears from a pear tree . . . they weren't very pretty, but still yummy!

I decided to make a quick dessert with our Apple Crisp Mix ~ If you haven't tried it you need to.

I sliced the pears and whipped up a box of crisp, and piled it all in a 8x8 baking dish.

30 minutes later we had a pipping hot dessert with those 'yard pears'. It was perfect with a scoop of ice cream.

I hope you can find our products in your local market or grocery store. If not, you can always go to WhistleStopCafe.com . . . we'll send it straight to your house.

  Y'all enjoy~
Sandi

PhotoHunt ~ Lazy

The PhotoHunt for today is LaZy.

This is the Lazy way to make a perfect apple-rhubarb crisp.

Available at your local market (hopefully!)

Check for all the other  Photos on The Saturday PhotoHunt
Happy Hunting y'all~
Sandi

Friday's Favorites ♥

We are excited about the push to shop small businesses this Christmas.
When you think about it . . . supporting small business and 'Made in America' keeps Americans at work.
What a better gift could there be for the Christmas Holidays?

To make it easier for you . . . I am including some links to the WhistleStop Cafe Main Site . You will find all kinds of gifts for anyone in your family. Here are some
WhistleStop Gift Packs and we have a whole collection of WhistleStop Cafe Cookbooks.

I have also gone crazy with ETSY this year. I am excited to share the thoughtful gifts I have come up with this year. . . But y'all will have to wait on those !

What is your favorite today?

Y'all join in~


Sandi

Slow Cooking Sundays ~ grillin'

I'm grilling with my friends from Slow Travel. This sunday our secret ingredient is boneless chicken breasts. Easy enough!

I knew right away that I needed something to spice up these chunks of chicken. I found this recipe on Epicurious... The fresh pistachio pesto is AmAZinG!

Chicken K-bobs with Tarragon/Pistachio Pesto
•1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
•2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
•2 tablespoons unsalted natural pistachios
•1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
•1 medium garlic clove, peeled
•1/4 cup olive oil
•16 1-inch pieces red onion (1/3 inch thick)
•16 1-inch squares red bell pepper
•8 lemon slices, halved
•1 pound chicken tenders (about 8
Puree first 5 ingredients in processor. Add 1/4 cup olive oil and blend until slightly coarse paste forms. Mix in 2 tablespoons water. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer 3 tablespoons pesto to small bowl (for brushing chicken and vegetables); reserve remaining pesto.
(I marinated my chicken in WhistleStop Marinade with a little extra tarragon)
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill with oil. Thread 1 onion piece, 1 bell pepper square, 1 lemon slice half, 1 chicken tender (lengthwise), then 1 onion piece, 1 bell pepper square, and 1 lemon slice half alternately on each of 8 skewers. Brush vegetables and chicken on skewers with olive oil, then with 3 tablespoons pesto from small bowl. Sprinkle skewers with salt and pepper. Grill until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are slightly softened, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Serve with reserved pesto
The recipe is a little detailed as far as the making of the k-bobs . . . after all, it's a summer afternoon. My recipe was actually a little more like this:
Marinate chicken ~ skewer chicken ~ grill chicken.
(each ~ stands for another glass of wine)

Y'all enjoy~
Sandi

My New Year's List 2010~

For the past several years I have made a list for the new year... Not really 'resolutions' that I can whimp out on, but more of a list of promises to myself. In 2010, I failed at the monthly pedicures, but I plan to carry that one over! In 2009, I got started on the decluttering process . In 2008, I managed to turn 50 gracefully and get that ride in a hot air balloon . In 2007, I began wearing sunscreen in ernest... something I should have started years earlier.

I have decided that 2011 is going to be the year of contentment!
I plan to...
*dance at my daughter's wedding!
*cheer Auburn on to win the national championship.
*To get those orange gloves that I fell in love with in Florence.
* welcome a new son into our family.

*light candles just because I want to.
*to be more physically active and to look like I actually belong in a pair of skinny jeans.

* go paperless whenever possible.
* watch the sun rise in Tuscany and enjoy a sunset or two over the beautiful gulf waters.

*splash in puddles with my rainboots on

*To explore the moments in life that lead to contentment

and~ I'm way behind on Pedicures!

So where is your list of promises to yourself?

I hope you find the time to make one or two.

Happy New Year!

Sandi

Olympic Style

We have enjoyed watching the Olympics... I admit that I know nothing about these wonderful athletes. They spend their lives for these few moments of competition. We follow them like they are our neighbors and friends.

I really know nothing about ice dancing or curling... but I do know Style! And these Olympians have style.

They were absolutely the best dressed at the opening ceremonies.

The snowboarders are staying true to their own.

The flash of red white and blue

Doesn't it just make y'all proud?

Sandi

Before~

'Before you speak, listen. Before you write, think.

Before you spend, earn.

Before you invest, investigate.

Before you criticize, wait.

Before you pray, forgive.

Before you quit, try.

Before you retire, save. Before you die, give.

~William A. Ward~

Promises for the new year

I know it is no longer January 1st, but for us the week starts on Monday. So now that the holidays are officially over, I can get down to real business.
I try every year to make a list of promises for the new year. Not so much a 'resolution', but a promise to myself to try something new (or just to do something I've avoided).
My list for 2009 was very successful, in 2008 I gracefully achieved almost every goal, 2007 was a hot success.

This gets a little harder, because I am trying not to repeat.~ I'd like to say because I have already accomplished everything on my lists. Really it is because I hate to admit defeat. So without any more procrastination...

My list for 2010~
*Join the CSA for local produce, then use it
*Clean out those closets
*Start everyday with breakfast
*Get a full body scan (at an airport)
*Plant and grow my own tomatoes
*Share another week (or 2) of Tuscan sunsets with friends
*Write my 2009 Christmas letter
*Spend the 4th of July at a Boston Tea Party
*Get a pedicure once a month
*Defrost the freezer at least once this year


That sounds like a do-able list, I already see 2 that I might delegate.
Are you a list maker?
Happy New Year y'all!
Sandi

Pralines in a bottle

This is our new favorite treat... "A little dab'll do ya!"

Praline liqueur drizzled on a Pecan Tassie with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream.
In fact, a drizzle of pralines on just about anything is yummy.


Can you believe that I had a whole container of these tassies in the freezer, and couldn't find them when everyone was here for the holidays. I thought I was loosing my mind... or that maybe Bill had eaten them when I wasn't looking. (more likely I would have eaten them without looking)
This is a sure sign that it is time to clean out that freezer... New Years Promise #1?
I will have to work on the rest of that list.

In the mean time we have dessert for our New Years Party!
Y'all enjoy~
Sandi

Fresh links~

On my side bar, I have saved my favorite links...not sausage links. These are the bloggers I can always count on for fun and excitement.
One of the advantages of Blogger is that those blogs show with a thumbprint photo (usually the first one in the post) I Love seeing these change day to day! These fancier new blogs don't share a photo... but I have kept some of them as well.

Imagine my joy when over the weekend I found these posts...
More Than Burnt Toast posted a recipe for Nutella Swirled Poundcake~ be still my heart! Imagine a piece of this with a cup of coffee.
Lori Lynn at Taste with The Eyes made a special Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Pomegranates for a big party she hosted.
In the Kayotic Kitchen, Kay posted a recipe and beautiful photos for Tortellini with Mascarpone and Walnuts.

Thanks y'all, for making me smile!

Sandi