Thank you so much Mama for this lovely tablescape that you put together this week. It has been a crazy week around here for me and you know I love to feature my wonderful mother and her wonderful talents. She set a table with Mikasa Studio Nova’s Blue Rhapsody for today.
I love the blue tulips that rim the plate. She also has a lovely blue charger. Her flatware is Oneida’s Michelangelo. The tablecloth is one that I gave her that I found at a neighbor’s garage sale. I thought it would be perfect for her blue china.
Above is a shot of more of the china and her lemony-grape centerpiece. I love the yellow with the blue and white. Very classic.
The lovely pitcher was painted by my great aunt, Ethel Cantrell. We called her Auntie (which we actually pronounced “annie”). She was a fine artist. She painted mostly in oils when I was younger and then moved on to watercolors and then to painting china.
The cut glassware belonged to my bonus-father’s family. It is very old and, as you can see, very beautiful.
My mother told me that this tablescape was “something old, something new, nothing borrowed, everything blue” – how great is that?
Thank you Mama for a lovely table setting to add to this week’s:
with Between Naps on the Porch
Today’s Lagniappe: Good Advice
As you know, a lagniappe is just a little something extra. Tonight’s lagnaippe is just a good wish for you to have a wonderful day and a fabulous weekend!
Well, we have been looking for some rain around here. The clouds come along, but they haven’t gotten together to give us any rain lately to break this heat!
I go outside and here is what I see:
No clouds
None here either
Sun shining through the trees
Hot, hot, hot!
in the Summertime . . .
I know it will cool down eventually! In the meantime, I enjoy the pretty blue skies.
Late July and Early August are really hot around here and also very humid. It has been said that the humidity is what gives Southern girls their wonderful complexions! It may also be responsible for some really bad hair days. I don’t even try to fight the curls in the summer. Just not worth it. My summer do is definitely of the naturally curly variety.
This is also a great time to harvest all that wonderful goodness from the garden or at least the farmer’s market. I’ve been putting up okra.
Gather it from the garden (get 3 or more pods)
Some people use a buttermilk batter when they fry their okra. That is not the way I grew up eating it. The way my mother made it is by just cutting it in to slices and tossing it in a mixture of cornmeal with a little flour and salt and pepper (I also add garlic powder to mine). It is easy to prepare to freeze that way as well. Just process it and put it in freezer bags and in to the freezer and it is ready whenever you are.
When you are ready, just heat up some oil with a bit of bacon grease to around 350 and gently drop the okra in the pan and fry until golden. YUMMY!
This is also the time of year when there is a good harvest of tomatoes. In my case, this year I have cherry tomatoes in pots with basil.
Looks like a bird dropped a sunflower seed from the bird feeder in this pot.
We have been making frequent trips to Jonesboro, Arkansas this summer for our business. One of the fun/scary sights of summer, we see on our trip over. It is KUDZU! Yes, the kudzu that is eating it’s way across the South!
photo courtesy of dmott9 via Flickr
The kudzu transforms trees and power poles into giraffe like figures and an ordinary bush looks like a green leafy monster. Lots of fun!
This time of year is also when the morning glory really comes in to it’s own.
Yes, it is really hot and really beautiful and quite tasty as well!
Today’s Lagniappe: Bananas Foster Cheesecake
Saw this recipe and thought is sounded fabulous!
Crust:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Filling:
2 8-ounce packages creme cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large eggs
2 cups puréed bananas (from about 4 bananas)
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Topping:
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 17-ounce jar caramel sauce
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 bananas, peeled, sliced
For crust:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap outside of 9-inch diameter springform pan with 3-inch -high sides with heavy-duty foil. Combine flour, pecans, butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl. Mix well. Press mixture onto bottom of prepared pan.
For filling:
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in cornstarch. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just blended after each addition. Add puréed banana, sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Beat just until combined.
Transfer filling to crust-lined pan. Place pan in large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to come 1 inch up sides of springform pan. Bake until center of cake is just set, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove cake from oven. Maintain oven temperature.
Meanwhile, prepare topping:
Mix together sour cream, sugar and vanilla in small bowl until well blended. Spread topping over cheesecake. Bake until topping is set, about 10 minutes. Turn off oven. Let cake stand in oven until cooled to room temperature, about 2 hours. Refrigerate cake until well chilled. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Cut around cake to loosen; remove pan sides. Transfer cake to platter. Warm caramel sauce in small saucepan over low heat, stirring often. Mix in rum. Drizzle some sauce decoratively over cake. Arrange bananas top cake.
It is still really hot here, but I still try to brave the back porch whenever possible. Today, while I was out, a small rain shower moved in and cooled things just a tad. The sun was still out while the rain fell. Norvelle Turner, who helped raise my husband used to say, “the devil is beating his wife” when it rained while the sun was shining.
We may have to have our meals earlier in the morning or way later in the evening to enjoy them outside, but still, I love to be outside and watch the birds and the rabbits and see the wind blowing the trees. Here is my pink outside tablescape:
The inspiration
A pink table for:
with Between Naps on the Porch
Some pink for:
Pink Saturday with Beverly at How Sweet the Sound
And today’s lagniappe is a summery recipe for:
With Designs by Gollum
Today’s Lagniappe: Summer Squash and Cherry tomatoes in Basil Butter
From Dining by Fireflies: Unexpected Pleasures of the New South – The Junior League of Charlotte, North Carolina
Saute squash and tomato in 2 tablespoons basil butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until squash is tender. Serve with remaining basil butter.
Basil Butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
3/4 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup butter, softened
freshly ground pepper to taste
Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides. Cover and chill until ready to use.
Save any leftover basil butter to slather on hot corn on the cob.
If you have been reading A Southern Life for any time, you know how much I love the Gulf of Mexico. From South Padre Island to the Florida Keys it is beautiful and has some of the best seafood in the world. The wetlands that are closer in host oysters and crawfish and pelicans and all kinds of wonderful life.
Of course, recently, the Gulf has been hard hit with the BP oil spill. Now that it looks like the oil spill may be a bit contained, (praise the Lord!), it is time to start looking to restoring this national treasure.
1 lb. shrimp (3-4 inch w/out heads)
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. red chile pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/8 tsp. oregano
3 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup beer (room temperature)
Shell, de-vein, and rinse shrimp. Grind seasonings in mortar and pestle. In large skillet over high heat, melt butter, add garlic, seasonings, and worcestershire sauce. When bubbly, add shrimp. Cook 2 minutes, stirring and shaking the skillet. Add beer and cook 3 minutes. Remove shrimp and reduce sauce, adjusting seasoning. Serve shrimp over rice with sauce spooned over the top.
Check out what is going on in the great outdoors with:
First a note to some of you with blogspot blogs. I went to visit several of my friends with blogspot blogs today and they would not allow me to leave a comment. I’ll try again later. Hopefully, it was just a temporary thing.
Anyway, I was thinking back to my younger days today and remembering some of the things my mother used to make for parties.
Mama back when I was a little girl.
There were the little wienies in the crockpot with grape jelly and barbecue sauce. This sounds strange but it was really good. You put some on your plate and ate them with a toothpick.
Which reminds me . . . I was looking for some cocktail forks tonight and ended up wondering how it is I came to possess so many fondue forks. I actually found 3 sets of fondue forks! Is that strange, or what?
Okay, anyway, where was I? Oh yes, thinking of those things my mother used to make for parties. Oh yes, Rotel dip. Oh yes, I was asked what Rotel was and I never got a chance to reply to that. Rotel is a brand name and it is canned tomatoes with chili peppers. Kind of spicy and when you mix it with melted Velveeta cheese it makes a mighty tasty dip for Fritos!
She made lots of different kinds of cheese balls and party mix and dips for lots of friends who were always there to visit.
One of my favorites was hot cheese olives. The olives on the inside are encased in a kind of cheese straw kind of crust. They are so yummy!
Today’s Lagniappe: Hot Cheese Olives
1 stick of softened butter
2 cups (8 oz.) grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese (at room temperature)
1 1/2 cups flour
dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg
50 small pimento-stuffed olives, drained and patted dry
Preheat oven to 350. Beat the butter until creamy in a large mixing bowl. Add the cheese and mix well. Stir in the flour salt, cayenne and Worcestershire. Been the egg and add to the dough and mix until just incorporated.
Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and pinch off a piece about the size of a walnut. Flatten the walnut size piece of dough in your hand. Place an olive in the middle and wrap the olive with the dough. Repeat until all of the olives are used.
Place dough wrapped olives on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes until done.
Metamorphosis Monday with Between Naps on the Porch
I was sitting out on the porch this morning watching the birds at the feeder. You actually have to sit out early in the morning or late in the evening this time of year because it is hot, hot, hot and steamy, sultry, humid during the day.
There were several robins out in the yard and feeding at the feeder as well. You know, I always wonder if those robins are one of “ours.” Remember the robins nest we had on the porch? It was so wonderful. I hope to enjoy that experience again sometime – watching the robins build the nest, seeing the pretty blue eggs, seeing the first little ones after they hatched and then watching them grow as the mommy and daddy robins fed them and then finally watching them leave the nest.
I loved sharing that experience with you and today, I wanted to go back and revisit those sweet robins. Talk about a metamorphosis! How about this:
We went from this . . .
to this
to this . . .
Then, back to three!! What happened. We're not sure but one is missing
Then, finally this! Three little babies Sunday morning!
I want food!
Not much room for mom now.
Ready for their closeup.
Looking out.
They are a singing trio.
3 peas in a pod.
Their eyes are open.
They keep mom on her toes.
Daddy too.
Here is dad keeping watch from a nearby tree.
Here are the pics from the final two days.
Here are the last two
Getting kind of crowded.
All alone.
Preparing for takeoff!
Clear the runway!
Here I go!
I made it!
Empty nest
I'm ready for the world!
The parents, particularly the dad will stay with the little ones for about two more week, showing them the ropes. After that, they are on their own. I’ve always loved robins, but, after this experience, I’ll never look at them the same again.
Today’s Lagniappe: Okra Rellenos
It okra time! From Southern Living 1997 Cookbook.
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
1 pound fresh okra (4-inch-long pods)
1 cup self-rising flour
1/3 cup self-rising cornmeal
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup dark beer
Corn oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cut Monterey Jack cheese into 3- x 1/4- x 1/4-inch sticks.
Cut a lengthwise slit in each okra pod, cutting to but not through ends; push seeds aside. Stuff pods with cheese sticks, and set aside.
Combine flour and cornmeal in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
Stir together egg, buttermilk, and beer; add to dry ingredients, stirring until smooth.
Pour oil to depth of 3 inches into a Dutch oven; heat to 375°. Dip stuffed okra in batter, coating well; fry, a few at a time, in hot oil until golden. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt; serve immediately with salsa.
This past week, one of my Facebook friends posted some really cute pictures of some kitschy flamingos that were used to decorate a table for a pink benefit golf tournament. I emailed her and asked for permission to use her pictures but haven’t heard back yet. I’ll definitely post them later on this post if [...]
Do you ever tweak a recipe? I do it all the time. As a matter of fact, almost every time I read a recipe, I immediately start thinking of ways to change it! That is, of course, unless it is something I have had and loved and want to try to duplicate.
Tonight, for instance, I [...]
It is hot, hot hot here! As I write this, the heat index is 101 – down from 105 today! So, summer is in full swing. What makes me think SUMMER? The sunflower!
Earlier this week I posted this pic of a sunflower about to bloom.
Today, we were out and about visiting clients. I’ll have to tell you more about these clients later. I think you will enjoy hearing about them. In the meantime, we usually drive through this neighborhood on our way out to the bypass. I love some of the sweet gardens that people have.
When you live in a small town you don’t always have access to everything you think you might want. I was looking for some little fillo cups the other day and found out that they are only available at my favorite grocery store around the holidays.
Okay, I better stop here and think about the spelling [...]
Sunflowers just always seem so happy with their heads turned to the sun and their bright yellow colors. I wanted to use sunflowers to decorate. I found an little old bench that had seen better days and painted it with sunflowers! I had instructions on painting sunflowers before. Wish I could remember the name of [...]
One of the great blessings in life is to have a wonderful mother. I enjoy visiting with my own mother and I also enjoy hearing her talk about her mother, my grandmother. I was fortunate enough to have my maternal grandmother on earth until I was in my early 30’s.
It is wonderful to have a [...]
I love Saturday’s! Even though I often work on Saturday’s it is just more relaxed and laid back. I like to get up early and have coffee on the back porch and read a good book. Here are some of the sites from my perch on the porch.
