I'm SO Ready For Spring

I'm an eternal optimist. And I'm having issues staying "up". The weather is killing me. If it's not raining, it's snowing OR in the 20's Farenheit. And I'm in Mississippi for God's sake!

I was on a roll. Walking every day and doing well watching what I ate. Yes, I realize this sounds like a cop-out, but it's NOT. It's too COLD to walk. And when I don't walk, I cheat. And don't give me this "awww...you have no idea what cold really is" speech. I could care less. I have warm Southern blood. I want warmth.

I'm SO ready for Spring. I want to garden. I want green shoots coming up. Never before has everything been so brown. (Another reason my walks are curtailed. My brown world is uninspiring these days.) And it's to be in the low 20's and 30's nightly for the entire next week. Not to mention snow predictions for Thursday and Friday.


The above pictures are of the garden featured in the blockbuster "It's Complicated". Oh yeah, I'm having a couple of raised beds this year. And I want a gravel walkway between. I have a lovely yard that shows off my hard work. I've walked it's dead, brown glory several times recently determining just where to place these new beds. They will contain those gorgeous tomato stakes too. No chintzy metal ones for me this year!

Until then, I'll continue wearing coats, hats, scarves and gloves. And dreaming. And cheating. And when Spring DOES get here, I'll post pictures of my raised beds. With fancy tomato stakes. Hopefully with green shoots everywhere.

Oh, and I'd be thrilled to have Mr. Baldwin too.

Again, I'm SO ready for Spring.

Celebrate Summer

Should you visit me these days, I’d offer a gorgeous glass of iced peach tea. We'd sit out back under my umbrella and listen to the trickle of water in my fountains. I'd likely have some smooth jazz playing and there are bright orange day lillies blooming around my patio. The perfect time to celebrate the outdoors is now. The smell of freshly mowed grass and grilling is one of summer's pleasures.
I recently splurged on my trip to Indianapolis and bought these heavy, fat, bright green stubbed off goblets. The picture is a bit deceiving in that they are approximately 6 inches tall and almost as wide. I LOVE them. Here's the secret. (Whispering here.) Wal-Mart has Great Value brand instant peach tea. It comes in small tubs and is packaged like Crystal Light. Each tub makes 1/2 gallon. I make the tea up by the gallon and add 3 individual packets of Splenda per gallon. It is delectable! I also buy frozen peaches in a zip top bag. I serve the tea over ice and float a fat, frozen peach slice on the top. It tastes as pretty as it looks.
For a change, for a summer celebration, take dinner out of doors. Americans tend to think you have to grill to dine al fresco. Not so. Plan to take it outside one night this week. Your family or friends will love it.
I had friends and family over Friday and Saturday evening and told them we were dining at sunset. I clipped some lillies and glads, put them in short vases, rolled out the bamboo placemats, and my table was phenomenal. I grilled chicken breasts with an herb rub wrapped in thick hickory smoked bacon, made a quick cold pasta salad and some deviled eggs. Dessert was pineapple sherbert doused with slushy sparkling apple cider. I broke a biscotti in half and shoved it down in the sherbert for garnish. I SO looked like a gourmet. Hehe.
And yes, we had peach tea in my fat green goblets!
I'd love to hear from you. What are you summer pleasures?

(Note: How do you like my completely ignoring the fact I've not posted in light years? I have no excuse, though I could name 1,000. Thanks for the calls, texts and emails urging me to write. You absolutely warm my heart.)

New Year's Gift for Moi

Ever wanted something desperately, but it came to mind only sporadically? Fall, a year ago, I posted a blog about a weekend at the lake. (My original blogging started here at thebottletree.blogspot then I migrated to MySpace for a time. I plan to one day repost all my blogs, including the lake weekend one to this sight.) On that long weekend away, a chef friend cooked us a meal to die for. Tenderloin was served on a bed of polenta. He cooked the loin in a tajine. I fell in love, partly with the chef, partly with the tajine. We also dined on butternut squash soup and had Bosch poached pears for dessert.

I have since drooled over tajines online and at The Kitchen Table, my favorite gourmet kitchen store. I could never justify buying one. While perusing design blogs this very day, I ran across a kitchen with a shelf lined up with tagines. My intent to own one was instantly renewed. There it was, sitting on the top shelf at T.J. Maxx begging to go home with me. I promptly adopted it.

I am now the proud owner of a tajine, my first Moroccan dish/pot. Be sweet and you just may be invited to dine with me when I break it in.

You Need One...

Mario Batali Griddle/Pizza Pan
Oh the joy of finding gift cards you'd forgotten about. I carefully put them away so I wouldn't lose them, therefore never saw them again for 8 months. Have you ever experienced the sheer joy of a Christmas gift in August?

The Kitchen Table, an exquisite gourmet kitchen store in Hattiesburg, makes my guts smile. (Yes, I am aware I use that phrase too often!) My daughter and sister-in-law both did extremely well by "gifting" me with cards to this lovely establishment. I love making pancakes. I love preparing breakfast for overnight guests 'cause I get to show off my griddle. The newest addition to my kitchen is the Mario Batali "Persimmon" Griddle/Pizza Pan. My, my the joy. One of my favorite movie segments is Diana Keaton making breakfast for Jack Nicholas in "Something's Gotta Give". This after a first failed attempt at pancakes.

You need one...I highly suggest "persimmon". Ahhhh, anyone with the creativity to use that for a color name is someone I love. It also serves as a perfect cookie sheet and makes for delectable homemade pizza. Go on...spend some time in The Kitchen Table or purchase it here.

My New Toy...

My new toy...I sincerely wish I were a year round coffee drinker, but it ain't happenin'. Come Fall, it's on. Keurig is a single serving machine that makes coffee, cocoa, or hot tea. 200 varieties are available in the K-cup, their mode of single serving. It's perfect for a household that wouldn't go through a pot or loves cocoa and hot tea as much as coffee.

Come by...we'll have a cup...=)

Is there such a thing as lusting for a mixer?