Pioneer Day

April 28th,2012. Pioneer Day in the village. Last year it was held early april and I was surprised they had it much later this year.
Not much to see. We had pulled pork sandwiches at The Womans Club, which were very good. It was in the 90's and on our way back to the truck we both had to get a refreshing cone to cool down.

Didn't have a chance to go inside. The line was long and it was way to warm to wait.

Divingabe's dancin honey

Crustless Zucchini Tomato Pie

Recipe from Taste Of Home

2 C zucchini-sliced to fit bottom of pie dish(3 small)

1/2 C onion-chopped up
2 Tablespoon oil ( EVOO)
1 large tomato
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 C cheese (shredded) used mozzarella ( low fat mozzarella)
4 eggs lightly beaten
1 C milk ( used 1% milk)
Saute zucchini, place in the bottom of the dish. Saute the onion add onto zucchini and them slice the tomato and place that on top of double layer.Sprinkle with oregano, add cheese and egg and milk mixture.
350-40-45 min.

I was able to get fresh field tomatoes and zucchini which are in season now in this area. I didn't sprinkle with oregano, used Slap ya Mama seasoning.

Weed/Wildflower

This  weed was in the side yard. I wanted to get a few shots before divingabe rode over them on his riding mower. I used my macro lens. The weed is about 3 inches tall and maybe a inch round.

KBG

Saturday, April 22,2012 Kanapaha Gardens ,the Gainesville Rose Society had it's 39th Annual Rose Show. Divingabe went to Peacock Springs to do a dive and I went into Lake City. Monday we drove over to see the roses. Due to very heavy rains this past weekend the blooms were gone .

The survivor

Farmers Market

We have gone to a few farmers markets. The first one in Alachua I bought a Confederated Jasmine which is doing great but the prices for the fruits and vegetables are pricey-priced comparable to Citarella.

High Springs farmers market I could ride my bike,but the tomatoes I bought a few weeks ago were tasteless and expensive.

Lake City is an half hour from the house. Divingabe went to Ginny with a guy from Australia and I had no pressing KD to finish so cranked the GPS and off the Lake City I went.
There were about seven booths and I really wanted fresh corn.
Bledsoe Family Farms had the corn, field tomatoes and cantaloupe and Michelle helped me pick out excellent cantaloupes.

Total for my fresh vegetables- 8 dollars

                                          Love tomato sandwiches on soft potato bread!

Along the way

                      Saturday (4/21/12) bird presentation
                                   in Lake City, Florida                          

Small Falcon(notice tiny bells on feet)

Barn Owl

Norton is a rescued barn owl. He was injured in Albany, NY. A state trooper found him and contacted the people who had today's presentation. He was flown to Florida in a Fex Ex plane and rode in the cockpit! He's blind in his left eye and his left wing was so badly injured that he will never fly again.

Red Tail Hawk

I was lucky to be there on the day  Accipiter Enterprises with Master Class Falconer Kitty Tolson Carroll brought her hawks,falcons and owls to the market in Lake City.

On the way home I drove through

I didn't see any watermelon fields but check this out

Watermelon Parks very own Tara!

This sign is about 100 feet from the above house. I think of the Sam Elliot commerical:Beef- it's what's for dinner commerical.

Absolutely Delicious Mac and Cheese

I have a few "make again" or 5 stars recipes for Mac and Cheese but Divingabe loves this one. I make it when we have company and always asked to share the recipe.
I found it on The Taste Of Home recipe board. Excellent board and wonderful people who are always willing to help.This was posted by haptappy on 7/27/05. 

Josephine Braswell's Macaroni & Cheese 

16 ounce box elbow macaroni  ( use 16 if you love a lot of pasta less if you want it creamy)
1  8 oz package Velveeta Cheese
1  12 oz package shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup sour cream
1  8 oz package of cream cheese
1  12 oz can of evaporated milk
4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) butter or margarine

Directions:

Cook and drain the macaroni. 

Add to a oven proof casserole.

Melt the Velveeta, sour cream and cream cheese in the butter

Add the milk and stir until smooth.

Add 1/3 of the mozzarella and pour over the macaroni.

Sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella over the top.

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Don't let it brown on top. You want it to be creamy and the mozzarella will be stringy.

                                                         Ready to go in the oven

Come Fly With Me

I was lucky to meet Sue while we were in Florida. Sue and her husband are fabulous people who have fun sharing their dazzling kites. Thanks Sue!!!!!!!!!!! 

                      

Glass Jars

Cool alternative to patio lights. All you have to do is gather a few mason jars, flick some glow-in-the-dark paint in the jars, and let them sit in the sun to charge during the day. By the time your dinner party rolls around you’ll have firefly lanterns. I think it would be cute to do this same thing with mini jars, and string them up somehow… hmmm. Flick the paint on the outside of the jar.You could always use a toothbrush to flick the paint inside.

saving leftover wine how to save wine

Simple homemade air freshner Link to it

Toilet Dam
Reusing glass jars in your toilet can save you money and help the environment. Jars can be used as toilet dams to save water. A toilet dam is a container that is filled with water and placed into the toilet tank. This takes up space in the toilet tank and the size of the toilet dam is the amount of water that you save each time you flush the toilet. Use the largest jar possible to get the most out of your new water saving device. You could save thousands of gallons of water each year by using a toilet dam in your toilets.

Dry excess fresh herbs in the oven and store them in recycled glass jars. Don't throw away citrus check out this link

Dry out stale bread and use blender to turn it into fine bread crumbs and add them to my large recycled jar for crumbs.

Recycled glass jars are candle holders. Recycle wax and dryer lint into fire starters, using a large recycled glass jar to collect and eventually melt my collected wax pieces.

I have heard of baking single serve cakes and pies in jars, haven't tried it.

Plastic jars as flower vases, plastic tableware holders, and condiment servers for barbeques. Various sized plastic jars hold all sorts of craft supplies, sewing accessories.

Baby food jars-votive candles

Empty peanut butter jars to make pancakes. I just pour in the mix, add some water, and shake. No bowl or spoon to clean, and it's easy to pour

Here's an idea but I wouldn't do this with plastic jars.Pour hot cocoa in peanut butter jars before you wash them. Shake well and now you have peanut butter hot cocoa.

Buy a bottle of the shower gel, a bag of sugar, and some sort of pretty glass container. Combine 2 cups of sugar with enough shower gel to cover it, and add about a tablespoon of water. Mix gently as you do this. It will "foam" a bit overnight, but the underlying product feels and performs exactly the same. An $8 bottle of body wash has filled up my container about three times now, and I'm only about half way through the bottle.

Old jars are great for packaging homemade bath salts. You can use them to package other gifts as well such as premixed cookie and cake recipes, bath oils, and hand scrubs.

From the NY Times who made that mason jar

I found more uses HERE

Bake Sale Brownies

 Our neighbor's church was having a sale and I volunteered to make something. I found this recipe on
 http://myfavoritethings-miranda.blogspot.com/

I didn't use a box brownie mix-I followed this recipe.



Peanutty Brownie Bars
1 -19 1/2 ounce package brownie mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup cooking oil
1 cup chopped peanuts (didn't add)
1-14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup peanut butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside.  Combine brownie mix, eggs, and oil in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Stir in peanuts. Remove half of the brownie mixture and set it aside. Spread the remaining brownie mixture evenly into the  prepared pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter until smooth. Spread evenly over brownie mixture in pan. Separate the remaining brownie mixture into pieces, flatten them with your fingers, and place them on top of the brownie mixture in pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until top is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 32 bars.

I have to confess I had one and it was very, very good! Will make it again for us at another time.

Fish Fry

 

My version of Fish Fry

Fried TunaBall Po Boy

recipe from blog Closet Cooking

Ingredients:
2 cans tuna (drained)
2 green onions (sliced)
1 egg
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon creole seasoning
oil for frying
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 baguette (sliced in half both ways to form two sandwiches)
1/2 cup lettuce (sliced)
1/2 cup pickled green tomatoes or tomatoes (sliced) didn't use
1/2 cup remoulade sauce  didn't use

Mix the tuna, green onions, egg, mayonnaise, worcestershire sauce, mustard, and cajun seasoning along with enough bread crumbs that the mixture holds together well.
2. Heat 1/2 inch on oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
3. Form the mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll them in the bread crumbs to coat.
4. Fry the tuna balls in oil until golden brown on all sides and set aside on paper towels to drain.
5. Assemble sandwich and enjoy

Fried Tuna Balls