Damn Squirrels!

Two years ago I purchased my first blackberry bush.  It takes two years for them to produce fruit so I thought I would be smart and plant a second bush the following year, then eventually I would get a decent amount of blackberries.  It's a long time investment, so I was delighted in June when I notice my first couple of berries growing.  And right before I went on vacation in the end of June I noticed at least 10 berries which I guessed would be ready when I returned from my trip.  My big surprise was when I got home, not only were they ripe, but they had also already been "sampled."  The damn squirrels had taken a bite out of all but one!  Didn't even bother to eat the whole thing!  Grrrr!  So two years of waiting, this was my only survivor.  Not not even going to go into what they did to my tomatoes! 

"A" for Asher!

Our friends Brad and Kelli are expecting a baby boy this November.  Kelli is doing the baby's room in animals and I really didn't want to do another monkey since I made one not too long ago for Maddox.  Had to be special  : )  So I found this "baby gorilla" pattern and I will be the first to say that mine does not look like the picture or even a gorilla for that matter, but I guess it's the thought that counts.  I adjusted the pattern some and omitted the pole part.

The bib on the other hand was pretty easy and there are several different free patterns for baby bibs online.  For the "A" I made a chain of single crochets and sewed it on to the front of the bib.  The "button" is a small circle that I securely attached for the closure.   

Can't wait to meet you Asher!  Congrats to Brad, Kelli and Kyler!

Spoiled Pups!

Gracie's best friend Chloe's Momma made some Elvis Pupsley's Muffins and was gracious enough to share some with Grace-Face.  Needless to say Gracie went absolutely crazy over these homemade goodies!  Here she is licking her chops.  Thanks for sharing Chloe! 

Veggies!

So my garden has had a rough year, but fortunately there were some survivors.  The other day I found a tomato and a small handful of green beans ready to be picked. I ended up making a tomato and green bean salad mixed with feta cheese, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. I blanched the green beans, meaning I put them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then tossed them into iced water to "shock" them.  This way they aren't raw, but keep their fresh color.

Happy Italians!

 I made a stop at our mini-farmer's market downtown this past Friday.  I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, but I spotted these orange and yellow sweet banana peppers (3 for .75) and decided that I wanted to attempt to make stuffed peppers.  I have made stuffed bell peppers with ground beef and rice several times and didn't figure this would too much different, but in fact it ended up being a lot easier.

I'm not much of a sausage eater, but Michael loves it, so we compromised on 3 with sausage and 3 with a ricotta and zucchini mixture (the zucchini also from the farmer's market for .50)  I made a sauce with olive oil, tomato paste and sauce, garlic, onion, bell pepper seeds and fresh basil from my garden (and no cheese which is weird for Michael and I).

While that simmered I mixed the sausage with and egg and some  mozzarella, stuffed the peppers and made meatballs with what was left.  For the ricotta mixture I added zucchini, an egg and some spices.  Put the peppers in a olive oiled pan with the sauce and baked in the oven uncovered at 350 for about an hour.  We ate it with rosemary bread that Michael picked up at Sam's Club and an antipasto plate which was inspired by freshly ripened tomato and basil from my garden.  Yum!

M is for Maddox

My friend Mandy is expecting her second son, Maddox Blaze, this August.  Instead of a typical shower with toilet paper-diapers and bottles, we all went out to dinner and most importantly, brought presents.

The theme of Maddox's room is monkeys so I decided to take on a new challenge.  I found this pattern for this little guy online (for free) and he actually wasn't too complicated.  It took me about 6 hours in total and only minor frustration.  I used Lion Brand Yarn-Cotton Ease, which is super baby friendly and most importantly washable!  There are many different ways you can style this little guy, but I decided to keep it simple and make him the colors of Maddox's room.  You can't tell by the picture, but he has a navy blue strip on his shirt. 

The only downfall of this pattern is that is requires many different skeins of yarn, which doesn't make him cheap.  Although I have more than enough yarn to make him a friend if I ever decide to make another one. 

My boyfriend is dying for me to start selling these on Etsy, but honestly after one I am done for awhile. 

Congrats to Mandy, Aaron & Keller on their upcoming arrival!  : )

Paella

A couple of weeks ago Michael and I made our first attempt at paella.  I'm not going to say it was a total failure, but we have some work to do!  At least it looks pretty : )

Last year when we went to the Dominican Republic, we both had paella for the first time and completely feel in love!   Yum!  I made friends with a Cuban woman from Boca Roton, FL who assured us that it was super easy to make and that all you needed was a good pan.  She suggested on from William Sonoma which was gasp....$315....WAY out of our price range.  Apparently I forgot the fact that my Cuban friend was loaded.  So instead I ordered Michael one for Christmas last year from World Market, for less than $15, which suited us just fine!

My Cuban friend was right, it wasn't too hard.  First you saute the peppers, tomatoes and onions and then made a stock.  After both veggies and stock were done you combine the two.  Add rice and simmer, then add seafood and bake in the oven or cook on the grill.  Finally, garnish with parsley and lemons, or whatever your recipe calls for.  

The trick apparently is getting the rice just rice.  Our local grocery store of course didn't have Spanish rice so we had to us Arboria.  One of the many faults of living in an uncultured city.  I shouldn't blame the rice completely, but it was the rice that we didn't like.  Better luck next time!

I'm not going to post the recipe for this, because like I said it needed work, and I know that there is a much better one out there!