I'm a Yankee-Doodle-Dandy...

I love the 4th of July. There are three main reasons I love the 4th of July and I got to experience all of them again this year.

#1 - I adore deviled eggs - everything about them; the making, the eating and the eating. Did I say that twice? Well, yeah, I meant it. They're good. No doubt about it.

This year the weeone lent a hand in the deviled egg-making. She helped peel the eggs after they were cooked and she did some mixing while making the devilish parts. It was fun. We had a great time in the kitchen.

My secrets to great deviled eggs? No recipe. It's true. This is one thing that doesn't need a recipe - it's an eyeballin' thang. To the egg yolks I add: Mayonnaise, Dijon Mustard, Dill Relish, and Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning. I also sprinkle some of that Tony's on top when they're done. It adds a nice little kick that I love! Of course, the love of the weeone is sprinkled in as well to make your day all sunshine and lollipops-like. =)

#2 - I think my dad is a great grillmaster. He did a great job as always. This year it was burgers and dogs, accompanied by Tutu's great bbq'd beans, my mom's broccoli salad...yummy!

#3 - I love setting off fireworks. It's true. I suppose I'm a bit of a closet pyromaniac. I love the bright lights, the load noises, the element of surprise - all of it. As it turns out, the weeone has inherited this trait (to be fair, her father is like that too!) so we had WAY too much fun in the Fireworks Warehouse! I could have bought them out.

My pyrotechnic handiwork...

I hope you all had a very safe and very happy and very explosive 4th of July!!!!

I've been hiding...

...in the air conditioning for the past couple of weeks. It always gets hot in Houston in the summer, but 102 (with 110 heat index) in June is a bit ridiculous in my opinion! Because of that, I haven't been cooking much. It's just too darn hot and I'm too darn tired from the heat to do it. It's just laziness really, but well, for now I have an out and I'm taking it!

Told 'ya it'd look pretty. =)

Pretty things warm my heart

There are a variety of things that make me smile and warm my heart.

The sound that goes along with this -

The way a really good belly laugh lights up a room...

The smell of chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven...

The relief of a friend's voice across a phone line on a really tough day...

The way family feels...

And new gadgets for my kitchen!

I have had a catalog from Sur La Table taunting me from my kitchen counter all week. I've left it unopened and untouched knowing that there are treats inside that would call my name if I were to flip through the pages.

Tonight when the weeone and I returned home from an evening of laughing and smiling and movies and friends, she went to bed and I started picking up some things around the house. I picked up the catalog from Sur La Table. Then I sat down on the couch. Next? Yep, you guessed it. I opened the catalog and began to look through it.

Oh the wonders.

There are these double old-fashioned glasses that are screaming my name. I just think that a vodka and soda with a slice of lime would look at home and beautiful in the green ones....or the red ones....or even the blue ones.

And then this soup pot. I think the Kiwi color would really make soup taste better. Don't you agree?

I always say I should make my own stock. And maybe, just maybe I would actually do it in a stockpot that looked as pretty as these.

Oh, there are many other things that warm my heart (like ice cream and puppies and summer vacation), but tonight it's these delightful little treasures in the Sur La Table catalog.

Why, oh why couldn't I have just tossed that catalog in the recycling bin and never opened the cover?

Recipe Swaps...

I received an email from a friend the other day inviting me to participate in a recipe swap. It was basically a chain letter of the old days, just in email form. The idea is simple. You send your favorite easy, great recipe to the first of two names/email addresses in the email and then move your name to the 2nd position, move the sender's info to the first position and send the invite on to as many friends as you'd like. Then you start receiving recipes from people you probably don't know.

I did it.

I did.

I know, I know, but it's recipes!!!

Keep in mind that I'm also the person who is first in line to buy a church or community cookbook. I always operate on the premise that people only submit their BEST recipe to these things. They don't want to be known for that bad recipe - they want to be remembered for the great one. So it only makes sense that the same premise would hold in this situation.

So, I've begun receiving recipes. It's sort of fun to see who sends them and where they're from. It's also interesting to see what other people eat. I'm a bit of food voyeur I suppose.

Somehow in this process, I ended up receiving a recipe from my mom! I guess someone I sent the email to then sent it to her. I was very happy to see that the recipe she sent me is one that I LOVE, but don't have. It's a recipe she makes every now and then, usually for potlucks or barbeques.

I love it so much I thought I'd share it. However, let me warn you - this is good....lick the bowl good and you're liable to get addicted. And it's really simple to whip up whenever the mood happens to strike you. So be prepared with a 12 step program to get you to step away from the Broccoli Salad!!!

BROCCOLI SALAD

Ingredients

4 cups small broccoli florets (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1 1/2 cups seedless green grapes, halved

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup raisins

1/4 cup salted sunflower seed kernels

1/3 cup light mayonnaise

1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Preparation

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.

Combine mayonnaise and remaining ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Pour dressing over broccoli mixture, and toss well. Chill for 1 hour.

Once upon a time a long time ago...

....my mother was born. =) Sorry Mom, but I just couldn't resist. Anyway, my mother's birthday is tomorrow. June 15th. We have many birthdays on the 15th of different months in my family. Is that odd? Last night my parents celebrated Mom's 131st birthday by hosting a little dinner soiree. Every dinner needs a dessert, right? Mom asked me to make her a cake and being the perfect daughter that I am (ha!) I obliged. She had 3 requests - 1) french vanilla cake, 2) purple icing, and 3) flowers.

I think I covered all her requests with this one!

I know it's not really until tomorrow, but Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope this year is your best one yet!

Pasta Swimming with Yumminess!

Tonight will be night numero uno of the weeone and I getting to "dine" at the pool. There will be no cloth napkins and beautiful silver. In our universe it's more like plastic forks and paper towels! I wanted to make something light, but also something that would stick with us and be filling. I found a pasta salad that I thought fit the bill beautifully. I didn't follow an exact recipe, so I'm going to give you the rundown of what's in it and what it looks like, but other than that - you're on your own!

Pasta Salad with Black Beans and Tomatoes

Multicolored Rotini Pasta

diced grape tomatoes

1 can sliced black olives

1 can drained and rinsed black beans

chopped cilantro

salt and pepper

balsamic vinaigrette dressing

mix, chill, serve.

That might just be the easiest meal ever!!! I probably would have added some chopped cucumbers if mine hadn't been mushy and destined for the trash.

The Gladware is filled and tucked in the refrigerator chilling out until I get home and head to the pool to meet my mom and the weeone! Yippee!!! I love summer.