Saturday Sale

My Mama & Sis are having a sale if you in the area(California e-mail me if interested)

make sure to stop by!

Check here for a few more picture of the Milk house

Fresh Blueberries

2/3rds in our tummies!!!

1/3rd put in the freezer

yummy... yum.

A Lighter fare::Cilantro Lime Salad with Grilled Chicken

Hello, Hello All this recipe is per request of Joni and Rachel and was given to me by her... from her... from her.... -you get the point!

OK to start off I took this pictures in a hurry as I was making this last minute(imagine that!) for a church carry-in and I forgot all the steps to show you visually but I thought I would share anyways.

I also chose to not add the grilled Chicken this time which can make this Salad a yummy simple all in one meal-- A lighter fare for these summer days

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Cilantro lime dressing using my personal fav-- The immersion blender

oil-lime juice-red wine vinegar-sugar-cilantro-pepper-salt

all blended smoothly

*notice the tiny flecks in the dressing, that is the first batch of cilantro I put in!! amazing huh

**If you are ever interested in one of these handy little blenders my main advise is get one that comes apart to wash

Here is a little shout out to these fabulous Dorot trays. You find them at Trader Joes of course. They are the next best thing to fresh. I keep a couple in my freezer and use them when fresh isn't as readily accessible (not out my kitchen window) or sometimes just for convenience -when I'm not in a chopping mood

SALAD PART

First off you need a bowl of crisp greens, I used Romaine hearts

then...

open your can of black beans, drain and rinse

add the beans to bowl....

then add Canned Corn

...... Fresh chopped Tomatoes

....add your diced Avocados

....add Shredded Cheese- I used-Monterey Jack & Cheddar

.....Sweet Spicy Chili Chips, crushed

Mix and add dressing right before serving

--------Cilantro Lime salad with Grilled Chicken---------

• Grilled Chicken(marinated in teriyaki sauce)
• Romaine lettuce
• Black Beans, drained & rinsed
• Corn
• tomatoes, diced
• red onion, diced
• avocados, diced
• Shredded Cheese
• Doritos Chips

( cool ranch, sweet spicy chili -what ever you desire)

• fresh cilantro, chopped

------------Cilantro lime dressing----------

• 1 cup oil
• 1 T lime juice(if using fresh add the zest too)
• 6T vinegar
• small bunch of cilantro
• 6T sugar
• 1t salt
• 1t pepper

Blend together!

Enjoy sweet friends

A Quick Photo Recap of the Fourth Weekend

We headed to Pennsylvania late Friday the 3rd for a family get together weekend.

Here is a few of the pictures that we still have yay!

[Oh to bring you up to speed a couple of weeks ago our dear laptop had a mishap and somehow ended up on the floor!!! "Ouch" said the hard drive and the was the end of it's life including most of our family life and newborn baby pictures. For some reason the last couple of times I had transferred pics from our camera to the computer but kept forgetting to delete them from the camera. Now I am so glad!]

When I walked up to these girls it looked like Bella was interviewing to hang with the "big girls"!!

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Sunday afternoon we headed over to Thane's cousin house( now his Dad's side of the fam)
and ended up spending the evening and night with this sweet family.

Arabella.Ethan.Elisa.Orrin

Ethan & Thane got to share their birthdays again. Both on the 5th

{Sweet Things :: Fruits, Homemade Creme Fraiche & Flowers}

My afternoon snack;

I was craving something healthy.....er I mean.. creamy-creamily. So out came some sliced strawberries left over from this morning and then some yellow peaches I had picked up today and....then.... I found the creme fraiche...oooh that is what hit the spot, oh and fine I also added a tad bit of brown sugar to make it even sweeter.

I sat.............

still..................................

without being interrupted............................

and slowly enjoyed my treat !

my babies were fast asleep.........

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Now that bible study is on hold until fall I'm not making weekly trips right pass Trader Joe's. So I went looking and found some recipes online for "Homemade" Creme Fraiche that look easy to make here soon when my last container in the fridge is empty. Thought I would share.

Homemade Crème Fraîche # one

Makes 1c

1/2c heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized)

1/2c whole sour cream

1. In a small bowl, stir together the heavy cream and sour cream.

2. Store mixture in a non-reactive container such as a glass bowl or jar; cover and let stand in a warm place for 12 hours.

3. Stir and refrigerate for minimum of 24 hours before serving.

4. Keep leftovers refrigerated.

Homemade Crème Fraîche # two

1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup cultured buttermilk

Pour ingredients into a clean sterile jar with cover and shake to combine well. Allow to sit at room temperature overnight or until mixture begins to thicken. Shake and refrigerate. Use within one week.

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My beautiful birthday flowers given by my beloved TJB last week.

Sadly they now are on their way out

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{NOT a Sweet thing}

I had a long confession in my mind. time has run out. here is the short...

Night of my birthday. Thane came home.

I POUTED

[ie- sulked,grumped etc,etc]

because of what I thought was non specialty treatment I had received on my birthday.

[ie-nothing for me..me..me]

I walked into the kitchen to see a large beautiful array of flowers!

I was very ashamed.

I profusely apologized.

He accepted and still loves me.

Is my selfish lesson learned?

Probably not but hopefully the experience will bring me a step closer to what God is molding me into.

Thank you Lord for being so merciful and giving me such a loving & gracious husband.

A lighter fare::Mahi Mahi Tacos

Summer time always brings longings of lighter(easier,quicker...) meals for our family.

I'll start out by sharing this yummy Mahi Mahi Tacos. (inspired by my Dad, he loves fish tacos)

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I started out with 4 frozen mahi mahi fillets (any mild white fish works) put them in a baking dish and smothered them with a cilantro lime dressing(left over from a delish salad that I'll share later to appease Joni!!)

OK going back, so if you don't have a fresh cilantro lime dressing in your fridge

this is what you do instead....

First drizzle olive oil over fillets, then sprinkle two or more fresh crushed garlic cloves, add fresh chopped cilantro, squeeze 1-2 limes for the flavorful juice , of course add some lime zest,

and lastly salt and fresh ground pepper to taste .

I baked my for 20 mins @ 350 until white and flaky

[grilling is great also just make sure to marinate at least an hour ahead of time]

then I went looking for my garnishes.....

.....and found an avocado, a lime, a tomato, radishes and of course some cilantro.

( sliced cabbage would be great also... I was out)

I put them on the cutting board and that's when I decided I needed my camera

loving all the vibrant colors

I just got started chopping and my helper quickly came....

* note if you can't tell that is a table knife, wrong side but still just a table knife
** another note- a great activity for your toddlers is to give them some veggies, a cutting board and a table knife/plastic knife and let them chop away. They love it. Then to not be wasteful just add your interesting chops to a pasta dish.
(tomatoes are probably not the best idea unless you like the red splatter look)
This is an activity from an early intervention classroom I use to work in. We would always take the opportunity to teach labeling,color, sizes etc.

avocados.....mmm...
avocado greens..... fun paint colors
*and another side note- for those who can't eat a whole avocado in one setting. Don't throw the other half away!! Either bring it to my house, I'll make avocado toast or keep the side with the pit still in it and put it in a sealed bag. It should be good until the next day.
Sorry I guess being as I can't seem to share very many posts these days I'm trying to put all the info/side notes I know in one!!


Prep for tacos all done

"Make your own" style

Mahi mahi flaking and ready

Using the comal given to me by my sis-n-law I warmed the tortillas( I prefer flour,corn is good also) then layered the fish , veggies of choice and squeezed limes over the top.

Need a closer look....

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Mango and Strawberry Toss
"our dessert"

Sliced up some Mango

Added some strawberries.

The juice from both fruits made the toss so flavorful that nothing else was needed!

Our meal Complete!

When Thane came to the table he said "that looks good"!!

This is coming from a man who could eat popcorn for dinner every weeknight so I was excited to find a meal that's not to heavy but a balanced one for the rest of us.

Orrin and Arabella munched it right up.

*** If I used my camera during every meal preparation... Dinner wouldn't be served until 9pm!! Luckily this night Thane was home early and occupying the children most of the time.

Modesto Farmer's Market

Strolling down 16Th street to the Farmers market in Modesto on a

Thursday or a Saturday mornings was always a favorite time of mine when I lived in California.

Often I would walk down before starting work at Fleur de Lis and pick up a pizza bagel from Word of Mouth for lunch or some fresh flowers or herbs to scatter vases around in the shop.

Highlights of the market for me are...

• Fresh cut flowers
• Fresh tomatoes before the garden is ready
• Breads and pastries from Word of Mouth bakery
• Lemon Cucumbers
• White peaches & Nectarines
• Chatting with old friends

Here are a few pictures from last Thursday when I convinced my family we HAD to go!

Thursdays are a little quieter than the weekend but that doesn't effect the bounty of God's fields spread across the tables

All the possibilities of what to make out of these plump ripe tomatoes were racing through my mind!

[above 3 pictures courtesy of Sciabicas.com]
It is always a treat to stop by the Sciabica's olive oil table. Chat with the sweet owner and see all the flavors . Basil, garlic, lemon, lime,rosemary are a few of my favs
{They also have gift packs which are great gifts}

{Basil and Lemon}
I picked these two to take home with me.
I'm already thinking about a creamy risotto & corn with the basil and some salmon with the lemon oil. Really so many uses
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Thursday evening we combined some fresh slices of tomato with the basil olive oil then headed to the garden to see what we could add

We found some banana peppers ready and of course some fresh basil......
then added salt and pepper to taste and a yummy tomato platter is before us.

OH They were soo good!!

soon they will be ready in Ohio --

{R, make sure to share with your family !!! hee hee}