Tail Lights.....

I am a recreational shutter-bug. I love snapping pictures while I am out and about. I don't have a big fancy camera, but I do have a point-and-click and a cell-phone with a camera and both have captured some pretty cool shots.

Some nights ago while my husband and I were out and he was driving, I was playing with my cell-phone taking pictures of the cars in front of us. We hit a bump in the road while I was snapping off a shot and this was the picture I got.....


I loved it, so I re-created the 'jerky' motion while taking more shots and loved how they looked.....

some police lights mixed in....

nothing but tail....

Fungus Among Us.....

While trolling the neighborhood over the weekend I ran across this little patch of mushrooms. Only these 3 and they we're so pretty. I think they are called Parasol Mushrooms. I assume for their shape as they would make the perfect little sun or rain protection for whatever ant, caterpillar or other teeny little creature that made it's way under it's ample-sized dome.

Parent and child.....

Since we're on the topic of mushrooms, let's move to edible ones. My all-time, hands-down, most favorite mushroom dish E-V-E-R has to be....my Portobello Burgers. Soooo simple but so slammin' good and tasty and good for ya, too! Here's a tip--Sam's Club carries the biggest Portobello's I've ever seen. 4 to a pack and they are 5-6 inches across for about $4. They are monsters. Try this recipe....you'll never look for a meat hamburger ever again! Promise.

Portobello Burgers

4 Portobello Mushroom caps
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 tsp dried Italian Seasoning**
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
Salt & Pepper, to taste
4 slices Provolone, Muenster, Swiss or
whatever white cheese you like
4 halves of jar or fresh roasted red peppers, blotted
**(use fresh basil and oregano if you have it!)


Carefully pull the remaining stem out of the underside of the mushroom cap, being careful not to rip or tear the cap.

In a zip-top bag, mix vinegar, oil, Italian Seasoning, garlic and salt and pepper, if using. Place mushroom caps in bag, zip up and carefully turn bag making sure all of the caps get coated in the marinade. Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes up to overnight.
Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Place mushroom caps, gill-side down, over the flame. Cook for 6-8 minutes and flip. Cook for another 5 minutes. Place roasted red pepper and one slice of cheese into cap. Cover and cook for another minute til melted.
Serve on your favorite hamburger bun with all the toppings you would normally eat on a burger.....or eat it just on it's own, which is my favorite way.

Getting Lost.....

Sundays are a weekly driving day for me. I grab my camera, peel the top back on the Jeep and go get lost. On purpose. Today I was particularly taken with these huge, round mountains of hay....

Bounty.....

Sal and I were up early this morning to hit two Farmer's Markets. One in Holly Springs and the other, the North Carolina State Farmer's Market--the big daddy one. I think we beat even the vendors to the one in Holly Springs because most of them were still setting up when we got there so we jetted off to the big one.....

I love the N.C. State Farmer's Market. It is huge and has everything. This trip we picked up some apples and fresh shelled beans. So much inspiration, so little time....and tummy space!

T's waiting for a little B & L!

An army of Okra....

Peaches galore....

Two Fat Ladies.....

Some years ago, my oldest brother Russ turned me onto this wonderful cooking show running on the BBC called "Two Fat Ladies". It only ran for four seasons and I was an instant fan. These two British ladies, Clarissa Dickson-Wright and Jennifer Paterson, were, yes, large in form, but what tripped my trigger were their big, bold personalities and the fun they had in and out of the kitchen. The two traveled around the English countryside on a Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle. Jennifer drove and Clarissa happily rode in the sidecar. Both outstanding cooks, they never cared about calories or fat. They did love biiig, bold flavors and used the most fresh ingredients and would travel all over to find them. One episode, Clarissa was preparing a venison dish and they both went out to a deer farm to get the meat. They pulled right into the field as the deer scattered, started digging in the back of the vehicle for I suppose their rifles.....and then the show cut to the farm owner bringing a huge side of deer. I have to admit I covered my eyes for a little bit thinking they were gonna show it! Both Jennifer and Clarissa loved hunting and they certainly got fresh venison that day.....

Jennifer passed away back in 1998 of lung cancer. The day before she died, she asked Clarissa to bring her a tin of caviar to the hospital, but by the time Clarissa arrived, Jennifer had passed. Clarissa says that after Jennifer's funeral, she ate the caviar as a tribute. Sweet.

I'm thrilled to say that the new Cooking Channel is running the Two Fat Ladies shows, Saturday nights at 10 & 10:30. I have been watching them again with much love and appreciation for these two ladies. I am in the middle of reading Clarissa's autobiography too. It's called Spilling The Beans. She lived and has survived quite a life. More on that later......

Though I doubt I will ever cook Partridge and Cabbage or Rabbit Isabel, I will be trying this recipe I watched Clarissa prepare a couple of Saturday's ago. It looks yummmmy! I'll let you know how it turns out!

Quercyan Apple Cake

• Filling:
• 3 pounds apples, peeled and thinly sliced
• 8 ounces sugar
• 4 fluid ounces rum
• 3 fluid ounces orange flower water
• Thinly pared rind of 1 lemon
• 
  
• 1 pound plain flour (all-purpose)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 ounces butter, creamed
• 
  
• Finish:
• 1 ounce butter, melted
• 1 egg, beaten
• Caster sugar (superfine)

Directions

Filling: Macerate the sliced apples with the sugar, rum, orange flower water, and lemon peel overnight. Strain the apples, reserving the juice.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, put butter and eggs into a well in the centre. Working with the fingertips gradually add 7 fluid ounces of the liquid from the apples. Work into a smooth and elastic paste with your hand and leave to rest for 2 hours.

Roll out the rested paste as thinly as possible, then transfer to a floured cloth on a large table. Working from the centre, with the palms of your hands, carefully stretch the paste to the thinness of a cigarette paper. Rest it and yourself for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 390 degrees F.

Brush lightly with melted butter and dust with sugar, cover with well drained apples and roll up. Mix the remaining juice into the beaten egg and brush over the top. Bake in the oven for 50 to 55 minutes.

Long Time Gone....

Well, I have no excuse. I've been gone off here for way too long and now looking back, there is so much to catch up on, I don't know where to start. So I'll start with the present...well, the recent past. The weekend.
So my brother, Russ and his new bride, Carla and their son Matias made a visit to the OBX--the outerbanks for those of you who don't live 'round these parts--last week. On their way back up to Virginia on Sunday, we planned to meet for lunch at Parker's BBQ in Wilson. We tried this hook-up the weekend before, but his GPS (cough-operator error!) screwed up somehow. But yesterday it happened. Looking around the table, it was quite a sight. Mom, her three grown kids, my brothers' looong-time girlfriend, my other brothers' wife and child....it was pretty darn cool. Carla is gorgeous and sooooo kind. Matias, my nephew, is a doll with the biggest brown eyes I've ever seen. And he knows how to give 'high-fives' which makes him uber-cool in my book.


After lunch, my other brother suggested we drive about 10 miles down this country road to Lucama, NC and see some whirligigs that had been written about in the N&O that day. I got the full story as we drove past miles of tobacco fields and peanut farms and acres of gorgeous green as far as the eye can see. Then....there they are. On the left hand side of a crossroads are these huge steel whirligigs. MANY of them. Vollis Simpson is the artist, using old signs and pieces of junk and discarded metal to build these monstrous contraptions that spin in all directions in the wind. They are mesmerizing. If it weren't for the gnats eating me alive, I would have stood out there longer just staring at them spinning round and round. Mr. Simpson is getting on in years--I think he's 91--and soon, the Town of Wilson will come and take his whirligigs off his property and place them in a specially built park for all to enjoy. Good for them! They are a treasure and a nod to our heritage and I am thrilled that they will be preserved.

Be a teacup.....

My darlin' daughter turns 12 next month. She has been in full-swing puberty mode for the past six months. Mood swings, wanting to be left alone--yep, that's been all a part of it. I remember it all from when I was her age so I get where she is right now. She and I have been talking about boys, dating and appropriate and inappropriate behavior and how to properly put one in a choke hold if they get fresh. (just kidding.....maybe). My Mom never had this or any chat with me, so everything I learned about boys I learned from my girlfriends at school or....from boys. THAT was not going to happen with my daughter. Boys are fun and relationships are fun, but she needs to know to set the boundaries and not be afraid to stand up for herself and speak up if something or someone makes her uncomfortable.

I was thrilled to hear that in Cassie's Sunday school, they have been chatting about dating, too. This past week, they spoke about morals and virtue and how to be proud of who they are. That they are special and should treat themselves as such and should expect to be treated that way. Nice! The teachers used a 'cup' example and I thought it was perfect:

"This past weekend we looked at characteristics a girl should possess. As part of the talk we introduced 3 types of cups.

Styrofoam cup: inexpensive, millions of them everywhere, disposable: use once and throw away. This could represent the girl who will do anything to get a boys attention but are often hurt and caught in a vicious cycle of no self worth.

Ceramic mug: common household item, fairly inexpensive, find them everywhere. They blend in and trendy but often end up in a yard sale. This could represent the girl who wants to blend in with the crowd. May compromise values in order to fit in only to be cast aside for the latest and greatest.

Teacup: Unique, beautiful, perfect and priceless. Often displayed with honor in a china cabinet. Set aside for special occasions. This is the girl God created them to be. Priceless! In Psalm 45:11 it says the King is enthralled with their beauty. We challenged the girls to always present and value themselves through God’s enthrallment of them and called the guys to always treat girls with the care, respect and gentleness."

Ya know this is a great reminder for anyone of any age to regard themselves as a teacup. Whether dating, or married, in a friendship or on the job..... you should always remember that you are 'unique, beautiful, perfect and priceless' and should let no one....boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, mother, daughter or even a boss....treat you any less.