This stir fry was good last night. I did add some chicken breast that I had diced and stir fried to the mix.
I made a sauce of toasted sesame oil, lime juice, soy sauce, and Sambel olek chili sauce to taste. I stir fried all the veggies in my hot rolled steel wok and then added the cooked chicken and the sauce and stirred and served over short grain sticky rice.
I made an amount for two people. So make up the sauce amount in proportion to the veggies.
Another gray valley day here this morning breaking to sun this afternoon like yesterday I would presume.
I enjoyed the afternoon yesterday after the clouds rolled away. It was a pleasant day not to hot for getting some sun.
The squirrels were chattering and arguing they were so loud. I surely get a chuckle out of their antic's as they are quite entertaining.
Today hubby and I are going out for pizza. Have not done that for quite a while. We are going to Papa's Pizza this time. We do like their crust and really the pizza is tasty too. The only drawback is the ambiance it is not good. It is a family pizza place and usually there are kids running here and there and it can get quite loud when it is busy. However my husband is running errands in that area of the city so we will stop and take our chances. Just maybe it will be quiet this time.
My husband has a huge hardwood refinishing job starting tomorrow so I will be catching up here at home while he works hard. I need to get at our hardwood floors also. They are so easy to maintain but when your entire house is hardwood flooring it does take time to vacuum them and clean them all. In correspondence with that I will do some deep cleaning in the kitchen. I look forward to having the alone time to do these kinds of chores. I put Pandora radio on the internet on and clean and scrub. I gives me a nice feeling of accomplishment when all is done.
Well I must get ready for my little date with my husband. I have not eaten today so that pizza sounds so good right now.
Have a nice day.
Here is Brooke in here element. I hope this gal stays safe and healthy. I just read in this mornings paper about an Ebola outbreak in western Uganda. You take these risks when you travel to third world countries. Brooke is traveling with Global Expeditions. She is a darling girl and loves children. So at this point in time we have one niece in Germany and one in Africa.
Yesterday was our niece Sarah's 22nd birthday. She is teaching at a British Army base this summer in Germany. This weekend she went with a friend to Brussels to celebrate her birthday. She posted on FB that she spent her 20th birthday in Germany and France. Her 21st birthday in Italy and now her 22nd birthday in Belgium. Way to go Sarah! Could I please stow away in her large suitcase?
We had a nice evening last night. Sarah's parents came for a casual dinner. I just made Trader Joe's turkey burgers so simple and yummy. You just put these quarter pound tasty gems right on the grill frozen. I like to brush them with 5 spice marinade. I made the famous In and Out burger sauce then we added all the usual items. They wound up being fat big juicy turkey burgers. Nothing dry about this patty!
The beans I threw together turned out quite amazing. I only had one small size can of Bush Baked beans. So I added a can of drained and rinsed red beans, some bbq sauce and some of my homemade Russian dressing. Wow! who would have ever thought? Hubby's sis adored them said they were the best ever. Well that makes me wonder if I should bother with scratch baked beans as usual.
Anyhow for a last minute get together it all turned out yummy.
It is gray now and may be so all day. Cloudy seems to be the venue for the next few days. Oh well do not mind that much but do want heat in the garden to get those tomaotes ripening. Our plants are huge but the tomatoes are still green. However it is early yet they will be ready like last year the end of August or first part of September as we did not get them planted till late due to the chilly wet weather.
Tonight we are dining on stir fry. I am making a big wok full of farm stand veggies. I am making a sauce with toasted sesame oil and other ingredients. You can serve this with spaghetti noodles like a lo mien or serve over sticky rice. We are going to have rice tonight as we are hungry for it. I will take few photo's and post the sauce recipe tomorrow.
I do want to walk this morning so I had best get those walking shoes on and get out the door. I like Sunday's. Hubby is going to get his tools and equipment ready for his job starting tomorrow. I need to take care of a few small things and that it is. A relaxing day of watching the Olympic's. We do not watch every event as we have certain favorites.
Till later.
This is our star jasmine on the back deck railing. It has grown so much this year and is to vibrant and the smell is just intoxicating. Lovely.
It is gray this morning though the sky will be blue shortly. Seems that coastal mode is upon once again. But today it to be eighty I feel that is just about perfect for me.
I have a few extra things I want to do in the house this morning after my walk. I need to trim back and fertilize some house plants that need attention. Wash the inside of the living room and kitchen windows and clean our hardwood floors in the main living area's. Then the rest of the day is mine to enjoy.
We are having guests for dinner tonight. We will just grill. I am making turkey burgers with the works and baked beans and corn on the cob. I do wish I had one last jar of zucchini relish to put on those turkey burgers. But I left the last jar with my brother who told me yesterday he is so enjoying it. So that is a good thing. I must get more made and soon.
I went yesterday morning and picked up much needed items at a couple of places. The traffic was deplorable even early. Does no one work on Friday's? Friday is a dreadful day to get around in this city. Anyhow happy to say that chore is done.
Well I for one was disappointed in the opening ceremonies for the Olympics last night. Of course the last summer Olympics in Beijing was amazing such a spectacle no one could follow that. I just felt last nights affair lacked luster and any excitement at all. So now the games have begun. It is always interesting to watch the athlete's. I for one do not have an athletic bone in my body. For as long as I remember I really had no interest in sports. I suppose one knows early whether they have a inkling for that or not. I remember I was a cheerleader at our little grammar school. I was horrid. So uncoordinated it seems. I never felt comfortable doing such things. Now add music and I can dance up a storm but that is a different venue. I am musical, artistic and creative but not athletic. So we all have our own special gifts.
I must get on with my day now as it is slip sliding away.
Do have a lovely Saturday. There are not many weekends left in summer now. Soon it will be autumn and the leaves will change and drop and the rain will come..........right now I do not want those thoughts.
Ciao
If I do say myself this is one yummy casserole.
The sauce was made with the fresh tomatoes that I froze last year, onions, garlic and fresh herbs and seasonings. All was pureed after cooking. This sauce was outstanding, rich, red and fresh tasting. The photo top right was what I sauteed to put in the casserole, which consisted of green peppers, red peppers, and a anihiem peppers and turkey kielbasa you could any sausage you like. Bottom left is the finished casserole and right on the bottom is my dish of food before digging in.
Ingredients.
1 roll of polenta sliced
cooked sausage of your choice sliced
marinara sauce(if you buy a jar of sauce you can just use it right from the jar and add whatever spices and herbs you prefer if any.)
peppers, onions, garlic,
fresh thyme, basil, oregano, and whatever other Italian seasonings you prefer.
1 package of shredded Italian cheese mix. Make sure the mix has mozzarella in it. This make the topping cheesy good like pizza.
In a sprayed casserole dish add the sliced polenta cover the bottom of the casserole.
Next add the sausage and peppers then the sauce and top with shredded cheese.
Bake at 350 degree's uncovered for 35 minutes or until the cheese is all bubbly and slightly browned. Then let sit for fifteen minutes to settle before dishing up.
Serve with a crusty loaf of bread to dredge up all the good sauce.
Yummy!
Well that is about it for today. I need to run several errands this morning and pick up staples at Trader Joe's. I love that store so many things are wonderful buys as well as good products.
Have a great day.
More photo's of my precious granddaughter Megan.
There are so many wedding photo's but I choose these four for the blog. They show her spirit and her happiness.
I posted on a previous blog about Megan and Shannon's marriage.
Tonight in Zo's Kitchen I am preparing a polenta sausage bake. This is my own creation and it very good.
I took the remainder of my last years garden tomatoes out of the freezer this morning and will make the sauce with those. I am going to thaw them and cook them down slowly with onions, garlic and fresh herbs and spices. Then I will let the mixture cool down and put into the blender and process until smooth. This a layered casserole with polenta slices, various peppers, sliced kielbasa with marinara sauce and Italian cheeses. I will take a photo tonight and post the recipe tomorrow. I am going to check back as I may have already blogged about this dish.
Hubby and I had a fun afternoon yesterday. The first stop did not turn out well however. I was hungry for Chinese food so went to a place that was recommend by my hubby's sis and husband.
We should have left the minute we walked in. The place was dirty. There were stains on the carpet and the ceiling tiles were moldy and water stained, the window were dirty etc. There was only one other couple in there. With all that showing itself we should have ran back to the car. But no, we thought as it was recommend hopefully it will be tasty fare.
When our food came I could not believe what I saw on my plate. My chow mien looked like a pile of limp garbage. gooey and thick pan fried noodles that were discolored at the edges. The vegetables which consisted of celery and onion was faded and wilted and slimy. I looked at the fried rice that had nothing in it whatsoever. It was instant brown rice puffed and gluey. The sweet and sour pork was big chunks of greasy fried pork or at least there was suppose to be pork in that fried mess. Hubby's dish was just as awful and his steamed rice was instant also.
I immediately found our server which not hard as she was the only one there. I told I could not eat a thing on my plate. She said I understand. Seems she had heard this before. Hubby picked away at his until he could not take another bite of that gray thin brown juice which was suppose to be the sauce for his so called Mongolian beef. What a nightmare that place was and I will make on a comment on google reviews about it later today.
So onward with our afternoon. Still hungry we wandered to another part of city which we enjoy. We stopped for another drink and went across the street to one of my fave places. The food was good, the service was wonderful and the drinks were cheap as it was happy hour. We totally enjoyed ourselves.
We came home sat in the last of the sun on the deck and then came in and watched a movie. A interesting day for sure.
Today we woke to morning clouds and they are still lingering hovering low. They will burn off though as it is to be mid eighties again today.
My agenda today is easy. Tidy the house, take a walk before it gets hot. Do laundry and that is it!!!!
Have a great day today. It is Thursday so if you are working folk your week is about through and you have the weekend to look forward to. Enjoy!
These are dahlia's from my sis in laws yard. They are so pretty she brings me a bouquet occasionally in summer. I adore them they add so much color to our home.
I have not blogged for a while as we have been gone on a short vacation to Silver Lake Wa. to see and spend time with my brother.
We were there four nights. Overall the weather was nice except for the second day as it showered and the wind blew. However we still made the best out of the day. We had the campfire going all day so we stayed warm by the fire when the showers stopped. We sat in the gazebo when they swept in again.
At the same time every evening the bull frogs would start their quartet. There were two very powerful baritones and two soprano's. They continued throughout the night lulling us to sleep and sometimes keeping us awake.
One afternoon my brother noticed a young buck deer he was sprawling on a mound of grass chewing his cud. He had no interest in us at all. As we watched him he stared right back with no intention of leaving.
Many birds inhabit Silver Lake year long. Once again we spotted Blue Herons always a thrill to see them spread those prehistoric ragged wings and take flight. Geese and ducks were in abundance on land and in the canals and lake. We were touched by the melodies of the many song birds and laughed at the antic's of crows and jays. Silver Lake is like a huge sanctuary.
It was a nice trip but always lovely to get home. We were tired and believe me my sofa and bed looked pretty inviting and cozy.
Our weather here at home has been a mixed bag since we returned. Today is cloudy, yesterday was pretty and perfect. We have had thunder storms and wind and some showers also.
Surprisingly our tomato plants look amazing. They have grown quickly over the past week. We have tomatoes on all the plants and many peppers on the pepper plants also.
I made a trip to the farms yesterday and loaded up on veggies and fruit. When I got home I made two large jars of picked vegetables. They look so pretty and colorful. They will be ready to start snacking on in a about a week. They will hold in the fridge for many months actually. When I do not make huge quantities I prefer to just keep them in the fridge rather than can them and put them in the pantry. Next week I will make zucchini relish. I took my last precious jar to my brothers we used it one night on our turkey burgers but I left the remainder for him.
We had burgers last night. Actually I used a recipe for the sauce and the burger assembly copying a recipe in Food Network magi zine called"Almost Famous In and Out burger". You know from the burger joint chain in California. The sauce was yummy and they also do a odd thing. You give each side of our patty a smear of yellow mustard and grill it that way. I will say the burger was very juicy so maybe that helped achieve that.
Tonight we are having comfort food. This is a fave of my husbands. I make from scratch mac and cheese made with two cheeses melted into bechamel sauce. The pasta I use is radiatori it has little ridges in the pasta that hold that yummy sauce. When you take a bite the pasta releases the cheese from it's spirals and the yummy creamy sauce envelopes your mouth like smooth silk . I can't say enough this is comfort in every mouthful!
We are having a green salad loaded with farm veggies to go along side the mac and cheese.
Well I could write for a while as I am enjoying it but I do have a few things to attend to so I will leave you now.
Have a super Sunday whatever it is you are doing.
Ciao
Yes it is time for strawberry jam. Love this time of year. The farms are finishing up with the strawberries but there are raspberries and soon there will be other offereings. All the fruits and veggies look so bright and pleasing. Unlike the grocery stores. the last head of lettuce I bought in a grocery store was so pale and cold storage tasting I tossed it. Thank goodness for the farms.
It is a little cooler here this morning. I have both doors open to the screen doors. The fresh morning air is a blessing.
This morning early I am going to wash and wax my car. I did not get that done yesterday as I started reading and could not leave my new intriguing book. It is disgusting I know to procrastinate but I am a whiz at that. So the car gets tended this morning.
Hubby has made his hot pickles with peppers and garlic. Curious to see how they turn out in a week or so. Which reminds me I must get my pickles made soon and also about 12 pints of zucchini relish. I am making plenty this year as I love to give jars to those that enjoy it so. It truly is the best recipe it is wonderful on burgers of all varieties and dogs, sandwiches, and a spoonful over the top of pork or beef is a delightful addition. So I will be busy in my kitchen any day now.
We have been talking and we are going to make some changes to Zo's Kitchen in the future.
At this point we do have granite squares on our counter top but we desire to have solid surface brown and black granite. We want to replace our white sink to a composite black sink with a new upscale faucet.
We will put in a new back splash we are not certain at this point what that will be we have several idea's. Also hubby is going to refinish the cabinets give them a sand and new coat of finish. Our older microwave will be replaced and we will give the walls a fresh coat of paint. So that will take place this winter as money allows. It is quite exciting to think about.
Well I really have no more chatter and I must get on with this lovely summer day.
Have a good day also.
This stir fry was good last night. I did add some chicken breast that I had diced and stir fried to the mix.
