“Stars and Stripes” Dessert … And “Over 21” Independence Day Jello-Shots**

“Stars and Stripes” Dessert … And “Over 21” Independence Day Jello-Shots**. Continue reading →

Not So “Easy” But Delicious “Lemon Squares”

Call it my Italian Spring thing. It begins with forsythia’s bright yellow star-shaped flowers, then childhood’s marshmallow “peeps” everywhere and before I know it I’m heading to the bakery for a Lemon Slice aka Lemon Square, Lemon bar— the same bright yellow shimmying pastry —but I’ve been using the wrong name. And I just got … Continue reading →

Tortilla Espanola

  Tortilla Espanola is one Spanish tapa I always order. I decided to make it— to go with the Seafood Paella Ole! It is sometimes served as a light dinner in Spanish homes with a salad. Tortilla Espanola 8-10 servings as an appetizer 7 medium potatoes or 12 small potatoes, peeled 6 large eggs or … Continue reading →

“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence.” Calvin Coolidge

Two more days. As some of you know through email, I entered the PAM Cooking Tips Contest. I’m a contender. In the top 19 this morning. I used the tip of using PAM to spray the pan and ice cube trays for easy release of the stars. From my blog: Stars and Stripes Desserts and … Continue reading →

And now let us welcome the New Year full of things that have never been. —Rainer Maria Rilke

New Year 2011. A time for new beginnings comes with the promise of a child filled with wonder, energy, unrealized dreams, and love… But… “before we can welcome in the New Year, we need to put the Old Year’s unfinished business— mistakes, shortcomings, and disappointments behind us…toss the bad memories from the past into the … Continue reading →

Taste Life; Dive-In

Taste of Pensacola, a Chicago neighborhood block party, cordoned off with cars at each end, so the kids can ride bikes and trikes on the street all day. Complete with a blown-up-bouncing??? like a trampoline on steroids??? machine? Where children bounce up and down, giggling, falling, getting up again, sweating with exertion, breathless with fun. … Continue reading →

Vanishing Lime-Vodka Watermelon Fruit Basket

To celebrate Summer, her beautiful garden and her Leo birthday, Flora gives a Garden Party for her friends, varied as the flowers in her garden. A gargantuan effort of a party bursting with sunshine, guests, flowers, umbrella-tables, wine and food. “What can I bring?” “A fruit salad would be wonderful and would give us a … Continue reading →

“Stars and Stripes” Dessert … And “Over 21” Independence Day Jello-Shots**

Flags, drums, parades, music, celebration in the neighborhoods, the parks, the beaches. Fireworks, picnics, watermelon, silly games and three-legged races, buffets of favorite recipes, families, children, friends,neighbors, a holiday giddy with anticipation and full of freedom. A time to celebrate our independent, free thinking, generous county, full of beauty and bounty, and honor the pursuit … Continue reading →

Ciliegine Tomato Basil Caprese Salad

Ciliegine in Italian means cherry. At the grocers there is a type of mozzarella called Ciliegine; round soft fresh mozzarella balls packed in water or oil, a little larger than cherry tomatoes. Caprese got its name from the Isle of Capri, off the Amalfi Coast and Naples, Italy. The colors of the salad—red-tomatoes, white-mozzarella cheese, … Continue reading →