A Southern Life

Wow, getting this post done during a break from the storms. We were a couple of hours East of here today meeting with clients and when we got back there were small branches in the road and a shutter of a neighbor was broken off. We have had lots of lightening and thunder and rain since we arrived home. Always good to get back home.

I took some pictures of the awesome clouds as we were driving home.

These pictures were taken around 5:30 p.m. with my phone. Wish you could have seen them in person. They were crazy!

We have had some more storms this evening. We really needed the rain! Glad for a break in the heat. What is going on outside in your neck of the woods?

Today’s Lagniappe: Strawberry Ice Cream
Something yummy and refreshing for a warm summer day!

* 1 3/4 cups heavy cream
* 3 (3- by 1-inch) strips fresh lemon zest
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 2 large eggs
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 lb strawberries (3 cups), trimmed and quartered
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Combine cream, zest, and salt in a heavy saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and discard zest.

Whisk eggs with 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking. Pour back into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F (do not let boil).

Immediately pour custard through a fine sieve into a metal bowl, then cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, at least until cold, about 2 hours, and up to 1 day.

While custard is chilling, purée strawberries with remaining 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice in a blender until smooth, then force through fine sieve (to remove seeds) into chilled custard. Stir purée into custard.

Freeze in ice-cream maker, then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

Wow, we were treated to a magnificent display of clouds the other day. Weather officials called the unusual formations “scud”. Not a very pretty name for what was a gorgeous site. My friend, Candy Barnes caught some great photos and graciously allowed me to share them with you. Sit back and enjoy!

Weren’t those clouds spectacular! No severe weather from them, just a little rain and then it cleared off. Thank you Candy for rushing to the lake to get these pictures. They are fabulous!

See some other great pictures of the great outdoors with:

Today’s Lagniappe:  Peach Shortcake
A great way to enjoy fresh peaches.

# 3 cups all-purpose flour
# 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
# 1 teaspoon salt
# 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
# 1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
# 3/4 cup butter
# 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
# 1 egg
# 3/4 cup milk
# 8 to 10 medium peaches, about 2 pounds peaches
# 1 1/2 cups sugar
# 1 cup heavy cream
# 1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a mixing bowl. Stir in brown sugar; cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in chopped pecans. In a cup or small bowl, whisk egg with milk. Add milk and egg mixture to dry mixture; stir with a fork until blended. Turn two round cake pans upside-down and grease bottoms. Spread half the dough on each bottom to within about 1/2-inch of edge. Bake at 450° for about 20 minutes, or until golden.

Peel, slice and sweeten peaches with about 1 1/2 cups sugar or to taste. In a small bowl, whip cream with flavoring until stiff. Place one shortcake on a plate, top with about half of the peaches and whipped cream. Top with second shortcake and remaining peaches and whipped cream.

Our friend Jim Gaston at Gaston’s White River Resort has been at it again. He runs a wonderful resort, but I think his true talent is photography! If you have never visited, you absolutely should! Check out their Facebook specials right now!

Check out Jim’s great pics of the mighty Blue Heron on the White River:

I just don’t know that it gets any more spectacular than that. Thank you Jim Gaston for your wonderful photography. He has some great subjects, doesn’t he?

Today’s Lagniappe:  Strawberry Pie

* 2 cups granulated sugar
* 6 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1 package strawberry flavored gelatin, 4-serving size
* 2 cups water
* 4 pints strawberries, hulled
* 2 9-inch baked pie shells, cooled

Preparation:
Cook sugar, cornstarch, jello and water until thick; cool. Place whole berries the baked pie shells. Pour sauce over berries and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream or whipped topping.

Mama is traveling this week to San Antonio. This is a great time to travel through Texas. The bluebonnets should be blooming! I remember when I lived in Texas how I looked forward to the pretty blue flowers.

When I was growing up, my bedroom window faced a field that would bloom in the Spring. I could lay in my bed in the morning and look out at the beautiful wild flowers. What a blessing that was! I wish I had pictures I could share. They are only in my head as memories. I do remember some of the flowers that would bloom.

Tons of these:

And, lots of these:

So many beautiful colors. What kind of wild flowers do you have in your area?

A few outdoor pics for Outdoor Wednesday with A Southern Daydreamer and Rednesday! with It’s a Very Cherry and today’s lagniappe is a great idea for Crockpot Wedneday with Dining with Debbie.

Today’s Lagniappe: Fruited Brisket
Tender delicious and easy – made in a crockpot!

* 2 1/2 lb. beef brisket
* 2 onions, chopped
* 1 tablespoon pepper
* 1 tablespoon paprika
* 1 tablespoon garlic powder
* 1 C. dried apricots
* 2 C. dried sweetened cranberries
* 1 C. dried prunes
* 3 C. water

Season the brisket on both sides and sear on all sides in a hot frying pan. Then in your slow cooker, put down your 2 c of onions and place seared brisket on top. Add in all the fruits. Pour 3 cups of water over everything and cook on low for 4 hours. Refrigerate overnight (it’s easier to cut it real thin when it’s cold). Place sliced beef and all the gravy and fruit into your slow cooker on high to heat for 20 minutes and serve.

I’ve been “rambling” a lot lately. By rambling, I mean walking. Generally, I spend my day at my desk, creating websites, blogs and social media as well as other internet marketing activities, so my daily walk is very important!

I thought I’d show you a couple of the more challenging parts of my walk. This hill is a real leg burner. At the top, you turn left and continue to climb!

This is another favorite hill:

Oh well, at least I have lovely scenery to distract me! The wisteria, azaleas and iris are blooming now and they are gorgeous!

I have to avert my eyes from the crepe murder that is going on. I also saw a redbud being cut down today – horrors! I am quite proud of myself for refraining from yelling “STOP” to neighbors who are committing these crimes 🙂 Of course, I can always tell all my blog friends about it and we can be suitably horrified together. What’s going on in your neighborhood?

A few outdoor pics for Outdoor Wednesday with A Southern Daydreamer and Rednesday! with It’s a Very Cherry and today’s lagniappe is a great idea for Crockpot Wedneday with Dining with Debbie.

Today’s Lagniappe:  Cheesy Corn Dip
Serve this with corn chips.

1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup creamed corn
1/2 cup fresh OR frozen corn kernels
1 can (4 ounce) diced green chiles
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in a 4-quart slow cooker and mix thoroughly. Cover; cook on high heat setting about 1 hour.

What a beautiful week this has been!

It has truly been a beautiful and wonderful week! Filled with sunshine and so many beautiful colors, including PINK!

Happy Pink Saturday!

Here me visiting with Margaret Banks on The Margaret Banks Show at Mountain Talk 97 with Audio on Demand. Just click the “Audio on Demand” button and look for The Margaret Banks Show 4-10-10.

The weather has been incredible here lately! Dinner on the porch is definitely in order for

So, here we go!

If y0u have been following this past week you have seen scenes like:

and,

So, today, we are taking those scenes, and combining them for a spring tablescape!

Today’s Lagniappe: Asparagus Salad
Something lovely for spring.

2 lbs. asparagus
1 bunch scallions
4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
2/3 c. salad dressing
2/3 c. sour cream

Cook asparagus tender crisp and arrange whole spears in a casserole dish so that they lay straight across 2 or 3 layers deep. Chop the scallions and sprinkle over asparagus. Sprinkle bacon over scallions. Combine salad dressing and sour cream thoroughly and spread over the top.

Okay, the truth is that dogwoods and daffodils don’t actually bloom at the same time around here. There are still a lot of daffodils blooming but they are starting to fade as the dogwoods take center stage. Oh, and the redbuds are pretty spectacular too!

Truly, one of the most wonderful benefits of our morning walks (aside from the health benefits) is the gorgeous, spring scenery that greets us each morning. We are greatly blessed!

A little outdoor pic for Outdoor Wednesday with A Southern Daydreamer and Rednesday! with It’s a Very Cherry and today’s lagniappe is a great idea for Crockpot Wedneday with Dining with Debbie.

Today’s Lagniappe: Crockpot Oatmeal
My 94 year old Grandpa eats oatmeal every day. Must be something to it!

• 1 C quick cooking oats
• 2 C milk
• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 1 T butter – melted
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1 C finely chopped apple
• 1/2 C raisins and/or dates
• 1/2 C chopped walnuts or almonds

Grease the inside of Crockpot. Throw all ingredients inside Crockpot and mix well. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours. Stir before serving.

Some more pictures from my walks. I love walking this time of year. So many blooms blooming and trees turning green. Just spectacular. As we were walking yesterday, I thought “God really does things right!” What a beautiful world we live in!

So many colors!

This next picture is of a sweet bluebird couple that was flying around. They didn’t really stay still for a good pose, but I wanted to take a picture to show you anyway.

Happy Saturday to all and, of course, Happy

Today’s Lagniappe: Dandelion Salad

4 slices bacon, cut in small pieces
approximately 2 c. chopped new dandelion leaves
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced or chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. cream or milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1/4 c. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. flour

Toss together chopped dandelion, chopped onion and fried bacon pieces. Set aside. In skillet warm butter and cream until butter melts. Beat egg and then add salt, pepper, vinegar, sugar and flour. Blend the egg mixture into the slightly warm cream mixture. Increase heat and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Pour hot dressing over the greens and toss gently. Add eggs before tossing. Serve at once. Gather the dandelion leaves early in the spring before the plants flower or they will be bitter.

What a lovely time of year it is to take a walk through the neighborhood! The homes are adorned with blooming trees, flowers and shrubs.

It truly is a beautiful world!

A little outdoor pic for Outdoor Wednesday with A Southern Daydreamer and Rednesday! with It’s a Very Cherry.

Today’s Lagniappe: Grilled Asparagus with Sesame

* 1 lb asparagus, fresh, thinner spears
* 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* sesame seed (optional)

1. Soak 2-3 bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes or more
2. Wash asparagus and snap the ends off
3. Thread the asparagus spears onto the bamboo skewers
4. Spoon or brush the toasted sesame oil onto the asparagus
5. Spoon or brush the soy sauce onto the asparagus
6. Sprinkle with pepper
7. Place on grill and cook for 3-4 minutes until crisp tender
8. Add sesame seeds before cooking
9. Any extra soy sauce-oil mixture can either be used for dipping or basting during cooking

Spring is here. What is in season?

Lots of other wonderful and delicious things are also in season like rhubarb, sugar snap peas and asparagus. Don’t you just love this time of year when the world is waking up from a winter’s nap and starting to take on beautiful color? Spring is one of my favorite times of year. I love feeling the sunshine and how the days start to get longer and longer. It is invigorating and wonderful!

Okay, so let’s put some of those in-season things together for:

Today’s Lagniappe:  Fresh Spinach and Strawberry Salad
Like springtime in your mouth!

12 oz. torn fresh spinach, about 10 c.
3 c. halved or sliced fresh strawberries
1/3 c. sliced green onions
1/3 c. salad oil or olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 c. broken and toasted walnuts
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

In large bowl place spinach, strawberries and green onions. Cover for up to 2 hours.

Shake together oil, lemon juice, chill. Shake before pouring over salad. Top with nuts, sprinkle with seeds. Makes 8-10 servings.

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday

Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

The Gypsy’s Corner’s Three or More Tuesday

Spring has finally “officially arrived!

Join Chari at Happy to Design for Sunday favorites and Charlotte and Ginger at Blogger Spirit for Spiritual Sunday and enjoy your Sunday!

After a long and cold winter, it is wonderful to see Spring again.

“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow,
nor reap nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not worth much more than they?
“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
“And why are you worried about clothing?
Observe how the lilies of the field grow;
they do not toil nor do they spin,
yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory
clothed himself like one of these.
Matt 6:26-29 (NASB)

From April 28, 2009:

It is Outdoor Wednesday at our friend A Southern Daydreamer’s blog. Here is our entry in the post. These are pics from where I used to live. Spring in the Ozarks.

I loved living in that house. The view was great and the sunrises were greater!

Today’s Lagniappe: Pasta Primavera

12 ounces pasta, bowtie noodles
2 yellow squash, thinly sliced
10 ounces asparagus spears, cut in 2″ pieces
8 ounces baby carrots, cut lengthwise, half
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups skim milk
1/4 cup sour cream, light
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Add pasta to a large pot of boiling water and cook 10 minutes. Add squash, asparagus and carrots and cook 8 minutes or until pasta and vegetables are tender. Drain and place in a large serving bowl.

Meanwhile put flour in a large skillet. Slowly whisk in milk until blended, taking care to get into corners of skillet. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often. Reduce heat to low and simmer 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat, whisk in sour cream, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Pour over pasta mixture and stir to mix and coat. Sprinkle with cheese.

I’m ready to start “fluffing” the house for Spring. I’m going to have to do this a little at a time as time allows. I’m a little discombobulated from the time change. Sometimes, I wish we would just pick a time and stay with it!

Anyway, my coffee table is always the first thing to change. You may remember it from times past like this:

or this:

Well, now it looks like this:

I love this spring-time music box with the hummingbird and morning glories.

Hmmm, the pics came out a little blurry, but you get the picture of how sweet this is. It is called Spring and it is from a Lenox collection. It has a pretty cage that fits over the top.

The beginnings of the Spring Fluff have begun! What is going on out there in blogland? Hoping to see a lot more Spring Fluffing – at

Today’s Lagniappe: Rhubarb Crisp
Early spring means rhubarb!

* 4 cups chopped rhubarb
* 3 tablespoons orange juice mixed with 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 tablespoons cold butter, cut in small pieces
* 1/4 cup melted butter
* 1/3 cup brown sugar
* 2/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
* dash salt
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 2/3 cup quick cooking rolled oats

Preparation:
Heat oven to 375°. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Arrange diced rhubarb in the prepared baking dish. Toss rhubarb with the orange juice and cornstarch mixture, then sprinkle with the 1 cup sugar and the cinnamon; dot with the 1 tablespoon of cut up butter.

Combine melted butter with brown sugar. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda; mix with oats. Combine the flour oat mixture with the brown sugar and melted butter mixture until well blended. With hands, spread the crumb mixture over rhubarb. Bake for 40 minutes.

Serve warm, with ice cream or whipped topping.

Join Chari at Happy to Design for Sunday favorites and Charlotte and Ginger at Blogger Spirit for Spiritual Sunday and enjoy your Sunday!

It is 13 days to SPRING! Along with all the beautiful color that spring brings also comes the spring storms. That is the way it is in life as well. Sometimes we experience the storms in life, but eventually, the sun will shine again.

..Weeping may endure for a night,
but Joy Comes in The Morning.

Psalm 30:5

I love how my dad looked at the strong storms as I tell in this post from March 25, 2009:

It is storm season in the South again. We had a nice one come through yesterday. A lot of rain and wind with a little thunder and lightening thrown in. It wasn’t too bad. When I was a little girl, I was terrified of storms. I would get sick whenever the tornado sirens went off. Finally, one really stormy Spring, the sirens went off so often that I finally got where they didn’t bother me any more.

My daddy used to say “God’s stuttin’ His stuff” when we would have a big storm or a beautiful sunset or some other awesome event. Again, I am reminded how blessed I am to have grown up in my family.

Speaking of family, Mama is on Facebook now. They say the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is people over 30. If you are on facebook, come on over and “friend” me (Christi Dicus Wharton). I would love to meet you. There is also actually a page for this blog. You can search on “A Southern Life” and become a fan if you like and post comments and stuff.

Alright, off to finish my tablescape for tomorrows post. Y’all have a great Wednesday!

Today’s Lagniappe: Asparagus Two Ways
I love asparagus and Spring is a great time to get it. Here are two recipes. I love the asparagus with the lemon butter sauce and that is the way I usually make it but the fried asparagus sounds really good. I like how the recipe sounds and will try it.

Asparagus with Lemon Butter Sauce

Clean and trim asparagus and then steam until tender. Melt some butter in a small saucepan. Squeeze in some lemon juice and a little salt and pepper (add a little garlic powder if desired). Stir the sauce and then pour over the asparagus. If you would like a little thicker sauce, it can be thickened with a little cornstarch and water mixture.

Fried Asparagus
This recipe says to fry in olive oil but since olive oil has such a low smoke point, I might substitute canola or vegetable oil.

1 pound of asparagus, trimmed.
1 medium egg.
4 ounces of freshly-grated Romano cheese.
1 cup of fine dry breadcrumbs.
1 tablespoon of milk.
Olive oil, for frying.
Salt and pepper.
Instructions for Fried Asparagus:

In boiling, salted water, cook the asparagus spears until just tender.
Drain on paper towels.
In a bowl, beat the egg with milk.
Dip the asparagus in the egg/milk mix, then into the breadcrumbs.
Heat enough olive oil to cover the asparagus in a deep fryer or a large skillet.
Fry the asparagus until lightly browned.
Drain on paper towels.
Season with your desired amount of salt and pepper.
Sprinkle with grated Romano cheese.

Photo by Chrislrmo

Getting ready for my next appearance on The Margaret Banks show. This week is about turning your passion into profits, which is actually perfect for bloggers!

In the meantime, trying to get time to be still a bit and enjoy the world around us. Like a red sunset. You know the saying:

Red sky at night, sailors delight.

Which signals that tomorrow, the weather will be nice. LOVE that!

Colors starting to burst out.

I love all of the colors of the beginning of Spring, when the earth wakes up from a drab and stark winter to soften into beautiful greens and the bright colors of Spring!

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

Today’s Lagniappe:  Pork with Orange
Something beautiful for a beautiful day.

1 1/2 Pound Lean Pork Strips
1 Teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Fresh Orange Juice
1/2 Cup Fresh Pineapple Juice
2 Minced Garlic Cloves
2 Teaspoons Cornstarch
1 Teaspoon Grated Orange Peel
1 1/2 Teaspoons Dried Basil Leaves
1 Pinch Of Salt And Pepper
2  Med Size Sliced Oranges
3/4 Cup Sliced Green Onion

In a large cooking pan, heat the olive oil on medium to high heat. Add the pork and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until cooked. In a mixing bowl add in the pineapple
and orange juice, minced garlic, cornstarch, and basil, stirring until it is all very well blended. Add the content of the bowl to the pork, bring to a boil then let it cool for 3 to 4 minutes while stirring. Now salt and pepper the meat, and place it on a bed of rice. Pour the orange basil sauce over pork and rice and let cool.

A little outdoor pic for Outdoor Wednesday with A Southern Daydreamer and Rednesday! with It’s a Very Cherry.