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.

Outdoor Wednesday with A Southern Daydreamer

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

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

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.

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 I hear from her!

In the meantime, I got to thinking about the flamingo decorations that have been around for years (actually, since 1957). They were kind of viewed as being a bit tacky back in the day, but now they have achieved a status of being the ultimate, fun retro kitsch.

The original flamingos always came in pairs – one standing upright and the other with it’s head down. Now you can buy them in bulk and really go crazy.

You can even buy costumes for your flamingo!

How fun is that? If you are having a tropical themed party – well, don’t they just scream tropical?

Let’s have a look at the real thing.

Happy Pink Saturday!

Pink Saturday with Beverly at How Sweet the Sound

Today’s Lagniappe:  Pink Fluff
A retro dessert to go with those pink flamingos!

2 small boxes Raspberry Jell-O
1 large can crushed pineapple, drained
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, room temperature
1 9 oz tub Cool Whip
1/2 cup chopped pecans or nuts

Dissolve Jell-O in 2 cups boiling water.

In a blender, combine Jell-O and cream cheese. Refrigerate until the mixture has thickened slightly.

Stir in the pineapple and nuts. Fold in the Cool Whip.

Transfer mixture to a pretty mold and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

When ready to serve, dip the outside of mold into hot water for a few seconds to release. Run a butter knife along the edge. Flip over onto a dish and serve.

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.

Now it looks like this:

I love those colors and it reminded me of some of my china that has sunflowers on it.

So, of course, I braved the heat and set the table for a late evening supper on the back porch.

The sunflower china (Spode – Reynolds) with golden flatware and some summery flowers.

See the bird feeder in the background. The doves that were feeding flew off when I went out. Hated to disturb them

A close up of the summer flowers:

And, of course, my table doves were invited too!

Happy summer evening! Hope you enjoyed this tablescape and will go and visit a lot more at:

with Between Naps on the Porch

Today’s Lagniappe:  Smothered Okra
Found some okra, along with some heirloom tomatoes and some other delicious treats at the Farmer’s Market today!

1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 pounds okra, washed under cool water, stemmed and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
3 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped bell peppers
1 cup chopped celery
2 (1-pound) cans whole tomatoes, crushed with their liquid
3 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne or Cajun seasoning
3/4 cup water or chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 350º F degrees. Pour the oil into the bottom of a large roasting pot, not cast iron. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Cover the pot with a lid. Bake, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300º F. Continue baking, with the lid on, for one and half to two hours, or until the slime has disappeared. Bake, uncovered for the last 15 minutes of the cooking time. The time will vary according to the tenderness of the okra. Remove and cool completely before storing in freezer containers. This is excellent to serve as a side dish or to use as the base for okra gumbo. Makes 10 servings.

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.

As I have mentioned before, I live in a county with 2 lakes and three rivers. Recently we have had a lot of rain and storms.

As long as that is the result – I don’t really mind the storms that much!

What is going on outside in your neighborhood?

Outdoor Wednesday with A Southern Daydreamer

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 of fillo. On the Athens  Fillo Dough site, they spell it both “fillo” and “phyllo” and I have also seen it spelled, “filo” – very confusing. I decided to go with fillo. So there

Soooo, where were we? Oh yes, fillo cups. I could find fillo dough but not cups. So the thing to do, obviously, was to buy the dough and make my own!

Here is how I did it:

Click on the first photo and then just use the navigation buttons to see the pics and instructions or for bigger pics, view with piclens.

[View with PicLens]

Now that was just fun! It wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be after hearing how “difficult” it is to work with fillo. It really wasn’t at all.

Okay, what else could you put in those little cups?

Today’s Lagniappe: Fillo Cup Filling Ideas

mozzerella and tomatoes topped with basil

goat cheese and fig preserves

strawberries and whipped cream

guacamole with chopped, cooked, shrimp

spinach dip

What would you put in a fillo cup?

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday

Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

The Gypsy’s Corner’s Three or More

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 the painter who wrote the instructions. They were easy and I loved painting them.

The writing on the top and bottom reads, “A flower a day, keeps frowns away.” I think my lettering could use a little work.

I also found some fun sunflower-y fabric and made some cute little pillows for the chairs on the porch.

I’m thinking I may see a sunflower themed tablescape on the porch coming up soon! These pictures were taken inside because it was pouring down rain when I took them. It is back to being sunny right now.Just before the rain started, I went out in the yard and snapped this pic of a sunflower that is about ready to bloom:

Isn’t that pretty? I loved it :

Hope you find lots of inspiration this week in all that is around you and also at Susan’s for

Metamorphosis Monday with Between Naps on the Porch

Today’s Lagniappe: Sunflower Cheese Balls
Sunflower seeds are very good for you and here is a fun way to eat them!

4 ounces Muenster cheese, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon red pepper
2/3 cup roasted, salted sunflower kernels
Combine cheeses, blend thoroughly. (Use food processor, if possible.) Add Worcestershire sauce, paprika, and red pepper; blend. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Roll in sunflower kernels immediately. Refrigerate cheese balls 2 hours. Serve with whole-grain crackers, bread sticks or miniature bread slices.
Makes 25 cheese balls