July Garden

 It's end of July and my garden is in it's glory! The mint is riotous, the roses are prolific and the hydrangeas are a blue symphony. I watched a hummingbird aflutter around my feeder. It went from yellow feeding tube to yellow feeding tube, and I realized it thought they were actual flowers with nectar. I was glad I had taken the trouble to keep the feeder filled and clean so that "hummy" could lunch outside my window.

The sunsets over the lake are heartbreaking and we sit and enjoy them bathed in the golden light.

Hydrangeas for my vases.

The boats rest idle by the dock after a hard day's paddle.

Blooms spilling over onto the lawn

 

Enjoy the summers of your life, winter is around the corner

 

Maria

Dinner on the Lake

The Women's Club at my lake just had a progressive dinner. All it means is that the appetizer course takes place in one house, the main course takes place in another and dessert in another.

The very special thing about this progressive dinner is that all the homes are on the lake. The Women's Club members ferry themselves across the lake to the various locations. The hosts set up outdoors and welcome the boaters for the meal.

The meals are pot luck, where each person brings either an appetizer, a main course or a dessert to share with the group.

Eighteen women crisscrossed the lake on a beautiful night two weeks ago.

Ladies disembarking

Our able captain Coleen navigating the lake with flair!

 

Enjoy the views!

 

Maria

What's for Lunch Alfresco!

Today feels like it really may be summer in our neck of the woods! Ninety degree weather and no rain. Yes!! A great day to eat outside.

After a visit to one of my favorite places, the www.RingwoodFarmersMarket.org, I prepared an easy, tasty, locally sourced lunch for my hubby and me served on our deck.



 

All I did was steam some fresh spinach, sauté some colorful oyster mushrooms, fry up a few eggs and Voila! Lunch is served!

Lunch for two:
A small bunch of fresh spinach leaves washed
a handful of oyster mushrooms roughly chopped
3 or 4 farm fresh eggs
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

In a medium saucepan heat about 2 inches of water, drop in your spinach leaves, cover and let steam for 3-5 minutes. drain and set aside.
In a medium sauté pan heat a tablespoon of canola oil(I use rice bran oil but canola will do). Drop in the chopped mushrooms and let cook for about a minute. Stir once or twice, empty onto a plate and set aside.
In the same sauté pan, add a teaspoon of oil and heat. Crack two of your eggs and let them cook to desired doneness. Stelios likes his a bit runny so that's how I make them for him. I like my egg over easy, so when it's done on the underside, I flip it over, press gently on the yolk to cook it a little more, and it's done.

Wash the spinach well

Sauté the mushrooms

Steam the spinach

Fry up the eggs!

 Serve husband!

Enjoy!

 

Maria