Morning Motivation!

Okay, I shouldn't use food as a motivator, but one of my favorite bloggers posted a favorite recipe and it had me at "blueberry!" *chuckle*

Okay, okay, it had me at "White Chocolate Blueberry Bread Pudding!" There. I confessed.

As my two eyes gleefully scanned the ingredients list I was thrilled to see that I had everything but the white chocolate. Easy fix! I scooped my flip-flops onto my feet, grabbed my keys and be-bopped to the grocery store!

Now this is wonderful providence that this recipe came into my life as I am making changes diet wise, and have been making an effort to have foods on hand for a good solid breakfast before starting my day. Mind you, I know that white chocolate and bread pudding for breakfast may not be the healthiest, but I made a few changes, as I usually do to any recipe.

I used splenda instead of sugar, used a smaller baking dish and only half a loaf of bread, I used Cinnabon brand cinnamon bread, white chocolate chips instead of breaking chocolate into chunks and added pecans. It is sitting in my refrigerator this very minute, awaiting it's 375 degree debut into my little toaster oven! Monday morning will be one that I'm pretty certain will not see the snooze button! I just hope it isn't too sweet as I can't do sweets in the morning!


(Screen Shot from Scribbit: Motherhood in Alaska)

As The Mercury Rises

So...here's a question. Is it hot enough??

Last night I took Daisy out so she could stretch her legs and do her "deed" in the field as I always do before heading to bed. Our evening routine has become a fun one for me, especially since the lightning bugs have come out to put on their display.

So as Daisy Lou scurried around I started scanning the field. To my dismay, there were no little yellowish/green glints of summer joy to be found floating on the hot, stale air.

I walked around the side of the house to look in the backyard and I waited quietly, almost holding my breath. I don't know why I was quiet, it's not like they can be spooked! Anywho, finally after a few seconds of waiting, one bright little beacon of summer hope lit up near the bird sanctuary. A smile graced my face and relief washed over me. That one little bug made me feel better!

It's rather silly but there were a few moments where I had thought that perhaps the extreme summer heat had done the poor little critters in or that the season for lightning bugs had come to a close! I've honestly never considered how long they hang around for a Kentucky summer. I don't really give much thought to summer, seeing as I tend to bloom in winter. BUT, I am trying to enjoy this season and the bounty it brings. Lightning bugs are a part of that bounty.

Blueberries, crafts and garden veggies are also!

Okay, so to the main point of today's post. I've REALLY gotten behind in the posts I've planned to make. We can all blame this on my medical microbiology class I'm taking this summer. Let's blame it together in our slowest and best sing-songy voice....THANK YOU med. micro.

That's better.


The summer hasn't been a total loss. I have managed to pick 11.5 pounds of blueberries (Thank you Aunt Kayla!) and make all sorts of yummy goodies! Starting with blueberry jam!

: ) Yum! Yum! Yum! ( :

Here's my recipe:

5 cups fresh blueberries
2 tsp. cider vinegar
2 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground clover

Method - Combine all ingredients in a large stainless steel pot. Cook to jell point or desired thickness. Stir frequently.
Ladle into clean hot pint jars leaving 1/4 inch head space in jar.
Process for 15 minutes in boiling water bath at altitudes of up to 1,000 feet.
Yield - 5 half pints

And then, the best part! You can decorate them up with fabric scraps and nifty bows and give them as Christmas gifts, birthday gifts or simply just because! The one below was given as a hostess gift to a special family as a "thank you" for their hospitality.


In other summer fun-ness...I made a few purchases at The Big Peach, a great little farmer's market off Hwy 41 in Indiana.


The sweet corn is for my first attempt at freezing the golden kernels of goodness so I can enjoy it in the splendor of winter as well! Farmer Brown, I am not, therefore I will buy the corn from those who do have the time to devote to digging and plowing and weeding. I basically just used a knife to gingerly* cut down each side of the ear of corn to cut off the kernels. I placed them in a ziploc freezer bag and viola! Instant sweet corn from the freezer. I'm all about easy.

* disclaimer - I can't have any of you dear readers lopping off a finger at my direction. Please, let's try to keep all appendages in tact!

And then finally, summer's goodness and The Big Peach also brought fresh greens beans to my household! These were not frozen or canned as they are now all gone and made several appearances on my dinner table over the course of a few days : )

So there you have it! I've been very mindful to not curse these Summer days and the heat that accompanies them, but to enjoy them and know that sweater weather, snow and the possibilities of cross-country skiing are the horizon!

Now it's your turn, what kinds of things have you been doing to enjoy the summer? Any new recipes, crafts or activities that I could add to my summer-time shananigans?

Domestic Delight

In feeling the continued need to be domestically productive, My mom and I set aside the day to make some jellies, and in our ever-adventurous fashion, we tried a new recipe! Mango ketchup. Yep, that's right! Sounds interesting huh!?

So here's how ya do it...and trust me...it is BEYOND simple!

Microwave Mango Ketchup

2 mangoes thinly diced (the smaller the better)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground allspice and cloves

1. Combine diced mangoes, sugar, wine, vinegar, ginger, salt, allspice and cloves in a medium microwaveable dish.

2. Cook in microwave for 5 minutes. Stir.

3. Cook in microwave for 3-5 minutes more or until it thickens up. Spoon into canning jars and process in boiling water for 10 minutes.

We enjoyed our mango ketchup on brats tonight for dinner and it was an amazing blend of sweet and spicy goodness! I think however, I will really enjoy it on grilled tilapia soon!!

Gimme a "B," Gimme a "R", Gimme an "O," Gimme a "C"....

Okay...so I'm not going to finish the cheer, but in the end we come up with BROCCOLI!!!!! Yay! This girl likes the green stuff. I like it steamed, I like it raw, I like it with ranch dressing and I like it with beef (as in beef and broccoli from my fav. chinese establishment.) Ha!

So, I bought an abundance of broccoli the other day and finally had some time yesterday to explore new recipes involving this yummy, crisp and scrumptious, bushy looking vegetable. I wanted a broccoli salad and man, Oh man, did I come up with a winner!

To my delight, one can put just about anything into a broccoli salad! Mango, raisins, ranch, sunflower kernels, red wine vinegar, BACON! This is one of those recipes that is fantastic to keep on the tip of the mind for when you need to throw something together quick!


I don't typically post recipes because I know the internets is 'a swimmin' in recipes, but I'm posting this as an idea of what one can do with the delectable little green vegetable.

Here are the ingredients of the original recipe:

• 2 heads fresh broccoli
• 1 red onion
• 1/2 pound bacon
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Here's what I had on hand and therefore put into my salad:

• 4 cups fresh broccoli
• 2 cups fresh cauliflower
  
• 1/4 red onion
• 4 strips bacon crumbled
  
• soy nuts
  
• sunflower kernels
• Mexican style shredded cheese
  
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup white sugar

It was a scavenger hunt of sorts in searching for ingredients that might work, but I was so pleased with how it turned out, that's all I ate for dinner. I even planned to make brownies from scratch, but after tasting the broccoli salad, I no longer had a hankerin' for brownies. That's right kids, I chose broccoli over brownies! Who would have ever thought!

So go! Buy, trade or grow some broccoli! Prepare! And enjoy! : )