Tomaters

We used to have a garden. Our five children were small and we must have had a lot more energy. We planted outrageous amounts of seeds and plants. One year I think I planted two flats of tomato plants. Around the first of July it would just get too hot to hoe and the weeds would start to overtake the plants. It was like hide and go seek to find the cucumbers and beans and zucchini in the midst of all the green, yellow and brown leaves. But the red tomatoes just glowed! I could never convince the kids to let me wash them before eating them straight from the garden. I think they thought I would take them away from them!

This year I found a potted tomato plant on clearance in early June. I brought it home and placed by our front door (so that we would not forget to water it when we left for work each morning). We have now been rewarded with four small tomatoes and I decided to make a special treat with dinner last night.

Here are the tiny tomatoes waiting to see what happens next:

I began to slice them to start layering:

Do you like the sunlight on the counter? This was around 3:30 on a SUNNY Sunday afternoon. I am normally at work at this time. If I ever decide to become a "Lady of Leisure", I will have to invest in some blinds.

I started adding some slices of fresh mozzarella.

And it can only get better with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Gosh, this picture looks so good, I am ready to grab a fork!

Then, taking advantage of the sunlight - I let them rest on the counter and absorb some rays.

Meanwhile - I began to dice the remaining tomato pieces.

Then put them in a small canning jar:

I am copying from an idea from Susan Branch on her new blog at susanbranch.com. Unfortunately I did not have as many tomatoes as she had, nor all the fresh ingredients. Oh well, improvise!

 A generous sprinkle of dried herbs and a heaping teaspoon of garlic.

 Cover with Olive Oil.

And give it a little stir. Cover and let steep on the sunny window sill until dinner.

I swear I can hear the flavors from that jar calling out to me!  Below is a picture of a similar salad from last year on a pretty green glass plate I got in a box lot at an auction. 

Plan for the weekend: Find a Farmers Market!

A Pampering Tea Party

What???? My last post was in February??? Where have I been???

Well, one place I have been is the Sweet Shalom Tea Room in Sylvania, Ohio! My oldest daughter introduced me to the Living Social coupon site and the very first time I visited, they offered a discount coupon for the tea room. I could not click fast enough!

I invited my youngest daughter to be my guest. Although I have been escorting (or "dragging") her to tea rooms since she was little, this was her first experience with "High Tea". The theme for the month of May was "Pampering Tea". Every dish was served with a pampering, soothing and comforting theme.

 We were so excited that we were among the first to arrive for the 10:30 a.m. sitting.

 Of course I HAD to wear one of my vintage hats.

 We began with a pot of apricot tea; I just love my vintage cup.

Our first course was a "Comforting Cream Scone". Learning from my previous visit, we sampled just a corner of this huge scone with some butter and currant preserves. The remainder was placed in ziplocks and put into our cooler.

 The second course featured Chicken and Dumpling Soup. It was just delicious! A brief introduction of the massage therapist who would be giving us hand massages through out the remainder of the meal proceeded the lovely tiered tray featuring the savory and sweet courses.

 The bottom tier featured pimento and cheese sandwiches on homemade rye bread.

 Next we enjoyed some especially creamy macaroni and cheese in adorable miniature glass bowls.

The bread and butter sandwiches had their crusts removed (of course!)

My daughter had never had a cucumber sandwich (bad mama, bad mama) and the openfaced cucumber rounds on white bread with cream cheese were fabulous!

 The top tier featured a lemon bar and chocolate brownie with ganache.

 Our dessert course was a generous serving of pineapple upside down cake with homemade whipped cream and a cherry.

Here is another view of the pineapple upside down cake on a different vintage plate.

It was so much fun to take two hours and be pampered by the wonderful tea room staff, as well as to spend some quiet time with my youngest daughter. She is very busy, a full-time college student who is also taking 15 credit hours this summer. She also works twenty hours a week at a local agency, and this past semester; student teaching every day! I think she deserved a break, too.

I will be linking with Susan's Tablescape Thursday at
 http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2011/05/outdoor-dining-welcome-to-143rd.html
and Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday at http://ladykatherineteaparlor.blogspot.com/
Both blogs feature amazing posts from amazing people. Please stop by and visit them!

Another Snow Day

My blog postings are getting scarcer and more far between.  Somedays it seems like I am spinning in circles trying to keep up with the world. Then, luckily, another Snow Day hits! The forecast was for up to two inches per HOUR starting at 5 a.m. and ending at 10 a.m. Well, we may not have gotten two inches per hour, but it is after 1 pm and it is still snowing. I guess it is not technically a snow day anymore since a back hoe just went down my street, clearing the way for the following snow plow - but I am not stepping outdoors! Here is the view from my bedroom window this morning to my neighbor Peggy's house which is just across the driveway:

And here is the view from my front porch. Keep in mind that the stray green flower pot in the lower right is eight inches tall:

Since I am home with an unscheduled day for myself, I am planning a special snow day lunch!

Atop my floral ottoman, I have used a simple white placemat with rick-rack trim. This placemat and matching napkin are part of a set of four that I found in a dresser drawer from my grandmothers. There are just a few placemat and napkin sets, but lots of card table sized linens, some decorated for card parties. There is also a lot of unhemmed linen and incomplete needle work projects that I might get to someday. 

The milk glass snack set originally belonged to my mother. She had given it to me at some point. After remodeling my kitchen, I was having trouble finding it in the mess of packed boxes, all marked kitchen miscellanous. I stopped at my dad's one day and found it on top of a box in his garage. If you received a snack set as a bridal shower gift, you are as old as I am!

Here is a fresh from the oven "leftover" Crescent Chicken Bundle. I was planning to host a brunch meeting for my 4-H Board Members on Monday, since there was no school due to President's Day. Unfortunately we were coated in ice that day and we had to cancel. The bundles, which were ready to pop in the oven, went to the freezer instead. I will add the very easy recipe at the end.

 The perfect accompaniment for the chicken is a tea cup full of shrimp bisque! So special and just for me!

Here is the muffin baking in preparation for the brunch that never was:

Don't be too impressed. I found some "Mayberry Mixes" in my grocery store for only $1.00 per bag. Add 1/2 cup milk, stir and bake! Voila! Blueberry, Cinnamin Toast, Peach Cobbler, and Chocolate Chips muffins! I baked them in nifty muffin tins that I found in the same Goodwill Box as my snack set. I believe they might have been my grandmothers, since I do not remember my mother ever using them. They are smaller than regular muffin tins, but larger than a mini muffin size. I am IN LOVE with them!

I invited my son and his girlfriend to lunch to help with the perishable goodies. Here we have egg salad tea sandwiches and turkey rollups. The lunch meat turkey is spread with a mixture of cream cheese, sour cream and some dried cranberries. Roll up, wrap tightly in saran wrap and chill over night. Cut in 2 inch sections and dip end in chopped parsley.

Here is a partially set table for the brunch buffet. Plans had included a delicious sausage quiche (which my co-workers enjoyed the next day), juice and hot cocoa. Under the foil is this Nantucket Cranberry Tart.

The tart was pretty popular at work, too. I had to make a second one for our make-up meeting. I was able to thaw and bake the crescents and added some pulled pork sandwiches and coleslaw to turn it into a supper. We will pull the muffins from the freezer on Saturday so my Sunday School class can enjoy them this weekend. We did sample just a few.

 

Recipe for Crescent Chicken Bundles:

Beat 8 oz softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup milk, 1 teaspoon dill, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until smooth. Add 4 cups chopped cooked chicken, 1/2 cup finely diced celery and 1/2 cup sliced green onion. Open 3 (I used 4/5) tubes of refrigerator crescent rolls. You will get 4 rectangles from each tube by pressing the triangles together.  Spoon 1/3 cup of filling in the middle of each rectangle. Bring edges up and pinch to seal. Melt 1/4 cup butter and brush on tops. Using either seasoned bread crumbs or I like to run some packaged stuffing mix through the food processor, sprinkle on top of bundles. Can be frozen on a greased cookie sheet at this point. When frozen - put in a zip lock freezer bag for future use. Bake thawed or fresh made bundles on a greased baking sheet for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown.

These make a great gift for a new mom. She can pop one or two in the oven for a quick and tasty lunch.

So happy to be linking to the other AMAZING tablescapes at Between Naps on the Porch with our dear hostess, Susan. Please visit these special sites at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-create-beautiful-table-settings.html

The Big Snow

I am down to only three days per week at work (bright side - more grandchildren time!). This worked out well at the beginning of this week. We have had all sorts of weather warnings. I did not have to make the decision as to whether I should try to travel or not. Here is what it looked like from my front door this morning:

I went out with my ruler and found a smooth spot with no drifts. We were at 6 1/2 inches. As I write this, my window is being pelted with icey rain. And tomorrow I am supposed to go back to work.

In the meantime, I would like to thank TCM for the showing of The Thin Man today!

I turned on the TV while I was making this delicious soup that was a gift from my son's girlfriend. It was so pretty, I hated to empty the jar!

I started by browning some ground beef:

Next I added 2 cans of diced tomatoes and the contents of the jar. I also threw in a bag of frozen corn.

Looks pretty good already - bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.

I just happen to have a basket full of hot chocolate mixes and teas, perfect for a snow day!

Now it is time to add the alphabet pasta that came with the jar:

Then cover and simmer again.

Do you like my pot? It was my gramma's.

MMMMMM - doesn't it look delicious?  There is plenty left for tomorrow - hopefully another snow day!

Everyone - please drive carefully and be safe and warm!