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.

Visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday and Smiling Sally for Blue Mondays. You will find wonderful and talented bloggers with fantastic posts!

Also check out:

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday

Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

The Gypsy’s Corner’s Three or More

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

1 lb yellow squash, thinly sliced
8 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
2/3 cups basil butter, divided

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.

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.

Serve hot.

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday

Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

The Gypsy’s Corner’s Three or More

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 wanted to grill some salmon. I saw a recipe by Bobby Flay:

• 1 cup sherry vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each

In a small saucepan over high heat, reduce the vinegar to 1/4 cup. In a mixing bowl, combine the vinegar syrup with the mustard, honey, and ancho chile powder and season to taste with salt and pepper. Let rest 30 minutes.

Preheat grill. Brush the salmon with the glaze and grill 3 minutes on each side for medium.

Okay, first of all, I did not have sherry vinegar. I had lots of kinds of vinegar, but no sherry vinegar. First change was to switch that to apple cider vinegar. Secondly, I did not have ancho chili powder (remember, I live in a very small town). So, for the ancho chili powder, I substituted Emeril’s Essence. It turned out very well.

I also make a few other changes all the time and those are my additions to -

Today’s Lagniappe: Christi’s Substitutions

I don’t really like cilantro (tastes soapy to me) – I always either leave it out or substitute parsley.

Not a big fan of curry (I think it is the tumeric) – just substitute traditional curry components without the tumeric.

I often substitute Splenda for sugar.

I like to add extra garlic to a lot of recipes.

Many recipes can be kicked up with a splash of hot sauce!

You know, sometimes you have to make do or, if you don’t like a flavor, just substitute something you do like.

What do you substitute?

With Designs by Gollum

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 mother and grandmother who love the Lord and teach His ways.

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

“Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Proverbs 31:10-12 and 25-31(NIV)

It is  Sunday so we will join Chari at Happy to Design for Sunday favorites and Charlotte and Ginger at Blogger Spirit for Spiritual Sunday. Enjoy your Sunday and Happy Independence Day!

Today’s favorite post remembers my grandmother, Johnnie Lloyd – from July 20, 2009

Southern Memories

I was talking to my Mama about recipes that were handed down to her from her mother. Grandmother was a great home cook. Nothing complicated but a lot of goooood food. Grandmother knew how to stretch a dollar but still create flavorful meals.

Here are a couple of our favorites:

Hamburger Steak
Breaded and fried=down home goodness

Form ground beef (also known as hamburger meat) into thick patties. If you want to add chopped onion and Worcestershire sauce before you form the patties that is also good.

Mix together an egg and some milk in one bowl and put flour seasoned with salt and pepper in another bowl. Dip the hamburger patties in the egg mixture and then the flour mixture.

Fry the breaded hamburger steaks in hot oil until done.

Grandaddy Potatoes
These were Grandaddy’s favorite potatoes. We always call them Grandaddy Potatoes.

Boil small potatoes (either red or small russet) in salted water. Serve the boiled potatoes whole. Serve with butter and sour cream. You can mash them with your fork at the table and add the butter and sour cream and salt and pepper. Simple and good.

Plum Dumplings
My mother tells me that when grandmother canned plums that she saved the juice from canning to make these plum dumplings. Just in case you don’t happen to be canning plums, you can use this recipe.

Make the dumpling batter:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup milk

Stir flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients, using a pastry cutter or fork. Add milk to form dough. Set dumpling dough aside.

Prepare Plums:

1 lb of plums pitted and diced
1/2 cup sugar
spices to taste if you like (such as nutmeg or ginger)
2 cups water

Combine all of the above and bring to a boil. Drop dumpling mixture by tablespoons into the boiling plum mixture. Cover the pot and cook for 20 to 30 minutes.

Actually, grandmother rolled out her dumpling dough and cut it into squares. You could always do that if you like as well.

I love recipes that are passed down. My grandmother loved to cook for her family and I remember many happy times at her table. No, none of these recipes are fancy or complicated. They are just simple and good.

My friend, Paula, brought me some herbs from her garden today. She brought cinnamon basil, lemon thyme and lemon balm. What a wonderful surprise. I had seen a recipe for cinnamon basil cookies before and that is what I will make with the cinnamon basil that Paula brought to me!

You can use Cinnamon Basil in any recipe that calls for basil. The sweet flavor is very good when used with other fruity flavored herbs. Pick the leaves and use them in cooking or put them in bottles of olive oil to make cinnamon-flavored oil. The oil would be good to use for frying apples or bananas. You can add this herb to your apple pie fillings, and it tastes great added to an apple sauce or raisin sauce for pork or ham.

Today’s Lagniappe:  Cinnamon Basil Cookies
A lovely herb for:

With Designs by Gollum

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. soft butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. finely chopped lime peel
3 tbsp. chopped fresh cinnamon basil or 1 1/2 tbsp. dried cinnamon basil
1 c. chopped pistachio nuts

Sift dry ingredients and set aside. Beat butter and add sugar, egg, vanilla, basil and peel gradually until fluffy. Beat in dry ingredients 4 items at a time. Fold in nuts. Turn out dough on floured surface, divide into 4.

Make each roll 5 inches long and roll in plastic wrap. Chill overnight. Slice dough 1/8 inch thick and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees until lightly brown. Cool on wire racks. Store in airtight container.

Got some great little tomatoes out of my garden today along with a few herbs. I put together a little ‘mater salad.

It was really, really good – so it is this weeks entry for

With Designs by Gollum

Today’s Lagniappe: Christi’s ‘Mater Salad

Bake one Pepperidge Farm pastry shell for each serving (you can skip this if you are counting calories)
Quarter cherry tomatoes
Chop a little shallot (to taste)
Chop a bit of cucumber for each serving
Chop assorted garden herbs (I used parsley from the garden – basil would be good too – or whatever you like with tomatoes)
Maytag blue cheese, crumbled up – to taste (you can skip this too if you are counting calories but, I’m telling you, it really added A LOT of great flavor)
Salad greens

Place the chopped tomatoes and other veggies and herbs in a bowl and add a little salt and pepper and set aside. Toss the greens with a little vinaigrette. Place the dressed salad greens on a salad plate. Place the baked puffed pastry shell in the middle of the greens. Toss the tomato mixture with some of the vinaigrette. Spoon tomato mixture into and around the pastry shell. Add blue cheese to the plate in the tomato mixture in the shell and around the shell with the greens.

Vinaigrette:
Apple cider vinegar
Olive Oil
Garlic powder (I was in a hurry!)
salt and pepper

Put it all in a bowl and mix it up with a whisk.

We will be really busy this weekend with our local Red, White and Blue Festival! Can’t wait for all the fun and festivities!

As you may know, in the South, we fry everything! Looking at the vendors for the festival I see fried Twinkies and Funnel Cakes and hot dogs and all kinds of crazy things!

The craziest thing on the menu (which I have never had) is Fried Twinkies!

Yes, you read that right. Do you dare? Have you?

Today’s Lagniappe:  Fried Twinkies

# 6 Twinkies
# Popsicle sticks
# 4 cups vegetable oil
# Flour for dusting
# 1 cup milk
# 2 tablespoons vinegar
# 1 Tablespoon oil
# 1 cup flour
# 1 teaspoon baking powder
# 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Chill or freeze Twinkies for several hours or overnight.

2. Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in deep fryer to about 375 degrees.

1. Chill or freeze Twinkies for several hours or overnight.

2. Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in deep fryer to about 375 degrees.

3. Mix together milk, vinegar and oil.

4. In another bowl, blend flour, baking powder and salt.

5. Whisk wet ingredients into dry and continue mixing until smooth. Refrigerate while oil heats.

6. Push stick into Twinkie lengthwise, leaving about 2 inches to use as a handle, dust with flour and dip into the batter. Rotate Twinkie until batter covers entire cake.

7. Place carefully in hot oil. The Twinkie will float, so hold it under with a utensil to ensure even browning. It should turn golden in 3 to 4 minutes. Depending on the size of your deep fryer, you might be able to fry only one at a time, two at the most.

8. Remove Twinkie to paper towel and let drain. Remove stick and allow Twinkie to sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Okay, enough craziness! Hope you all have a fun weekend!

With Designs by Gollum

Tell the truth now – have you ever indulged in this decadence?

You know, around here, we love our catfish. We love it fried, grilled, baked, blackened . . . okay, so stop me, I am getting carried away. Including the yummy remoulade, there are 3 (or more) recipes here today!

One of our favorite ways to have catfish during the summer heat is grilled (as in, keep that heat outside!). Occasionally, we have a filet left over. Well, don’t worry about that. We’ll just make catfish salad!

Here is one version I saw from uscatfish.com

2  U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish fillets
1/4 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon)
1 small shallot, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups mixed salad greens such as arugula, chicory, escarole, mustard and radicchio, washed and torn into bite-size pieces and dried

1. Place catfish fillet strips and mushrooms in a shallow dish. Mix olive oil, vinegar, tarragon, shallot, salt and pepper in a small bowl using a wire whisk until well blended.
2. Pour two-thirds of the marinade over the catfish. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate. Reserve remaining marinade to use as salad dressing.
3. Prepare a grill or preheat the broiler.
4. Place catfish fillets on an oiled grill rack or broiler pan rack. Grill or broil 4 inches from the heat source for 2 or 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Allow to cool slightly; serve warm.
5. Toss salad greens, mushrooms and reserved marinade in a large bowl. Top with grilled catfish.

My version is a like this:

Today’s Lagniappe: Grilled Catfish Salad

1 grilled catfish filet, cooled and chopped
assorted salad greens
Christi’s remoulade
Your favorite croutons

Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy!

Christi’s Remoulade:

Use in amounts that suit your tastes

• Zatarains creole mustard
• Mayonnaise
• Red chili sauce (not much)
• Horseradish
• Worcestershire sauce (a dash)
• Garlic

Mix together. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday

Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

The Gypsy’s Corner’s Three or More

I have been looking for something refreshing and summery and a little bit sweet. Maybe something with strawberries.

Or raspberries:

Then I came across a recipe for Pink Lemonade Cheesecake – doesn’t that sound divine?

What are you doing pink today?

Pink Saturday with Beverly at How Sweet the Sound

Today’s Lagniappe:  Pink Lemonade Cheesecake

Lemon Cookie Crust
11 lemon sandwich cream cookies, crushed
3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a small bowl stir together crushed cookies and melted butter until well combined. Press crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

Pink Lemonade Filling
24 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup granulated sugar
5 teaspoons cornstarch
4 eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 drops red food coloring (optional)

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemonade concentrate, vanilla extract, and if desired, food coloring. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 200 degrees F and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the center no longer looks wet or shiny. Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the inside edge of the pan. Turn the oven off; return the cake to the oven for an additional 1 hour. Chill, uncovered, overnight.

Pink Lemonade Glaze
1/3 cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 drop red food coloring (optional)
Lemon slices

In a small saucepan stir together lemonade concentrate, lemon juice, cornstarch, and if desired, food coloring. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Pour over cheesecake. Garnish with lemon. Chill until serving time.

Makes 12 to 18 slices.