I made this little Christmas tree garland with some scrap green and red fabric I had and a spool of red and white baker’s twine that I bought on etsy:

Funnel bought this goomba hat with his Gamestop Power-up Reward points.  I think it’s so cute.  Maybe I’ll be a goomba for Halloween next year:

Last night, Funnel & I went on a much needed date – Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo.  We bundled up, made a pit stop at Starbucks, and spent the evening looking at all the Christmas lights and animals.  I only took a few photos -and NONE of Funnel & I or the lights .  I’m a bad photographer.

This afternoon, I baked some Christmas cookies –  peanut butter blossoms (with Reeses cups instead of kisses) for Funnel to take to work tommorow:

And here is my list of Christmas movies I’ve watched so far:
Christmas Vacation
Elf
Love Actually
Miracle on 34th Street

One week until Christmas – I can’t wait!

A co-worker of mine shared this recipe for Ranch Seasoned Pretzels with me.  They’re easy to make and pretty addicting.

Ranch Seasoned Pretzels

1 cup vegetable oil
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound (12 cups) pretzel sticks

In a small bowl, combine the oil, dressing mix, garlic salt and cayenne. Divide pretzels between two ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Pour oil mixture over pretzels; stir to coat.

Bake at 200° for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 3 quarts.

We have 12 tomato plants in our garden this year, and I’m loving all the fresh tomatoes we have right now!  The past couple of weeks, I’ve been eating tons of bruschetta and tomato-feta-basil salads, but I’ve started to get burnt out on those, so I decided to look for a tomato soup recipe that used cherry tomatoes, and I found one!

Roasted Tomato Soup
(adapted from this recipe)
2 lbs. cherry tomatoes
3 teaspoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
5-6 large basil leaves
salt
pepper
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup of milk
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Wash and halve tomatoes and place cut-side down in a shallow baking dish.  Add onion, garlic and basil to the pan.  Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Place roasted vegetables, broth and milk into a blender or food processor.  Blend until smooth.  Serve with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

I thought this soup was really good and garlicky!  It’s not a very smooth soup because of the tomato skin and seeds, but I liked it chunky!

Anyone else have some ideas of how to use up my tomatoes?

Taco Pizza

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cups olive oil
1 can black beans
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
4 whole corn tortillas, sliced into thin strips
1/2 cup canola oil, for frying
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
1 cup monterey jack cheese
1 head leaf lettuce, shredded thin
2 whole ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons hot sauce

Make the pizza dough: Mix yeast with warm water and set aside for 8 to 10 minutes. Mix flour, salt, and olive oil in a mixing bowl. With speed on low, drizzle in yeast/water mixture. Allow to mix until totally combined. Cover bowl with a towel and set bowl in a warm, draft-free place. Allow to rise for 1 to 2 hours.

Pour black beans into a saucepan. Add seasonings to taste and heat up beans over medium-low heat. Use a potato masher to mash the beans to desired texture. Continue cooking/heating beans over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until no longer runny (should be the texture of refried beans. Set aside.

In a small skillet, heat canola oil over medium heat. When hot enough to fry, drop in the tortilla strips in batches, frying quickly and removing from oil with a fork when crisp–about 30 to 45 seconds per batch. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.
Place oven rack in the bottom position in the oven. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Remove half the pizza dough from the bowl. Place remaining half in a large plastic bag and refrigerate, saving for another use. With hands, spread pizza dough on an oiled baking sheet, making sure it’s relatively thin. Spread layer of refried beans all over pizza crust. Sprinkle mixed grated cheeses over the top. Place pan in the oven (in the bottom half of the oven) and bake for 9 to 12 minutes. Watch it to make sure crust doesn’t burn.
Remove pizza from oven. Sprinkle on shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and cilantro leaves.

Mix together sour cream and hot sauce, adding enough hot sauce to make the mixture pourable. With a spoon (or you can put it in a pastry bag) drizzle mixture over finished pizza.

Sprinkle with tortilla strips. Cut into squares and serve immediately with good quality salsa.

Yum!

Summer Chopped Chicken Salad
Romaine lettuce
Diced Zucchini
Diced Roma Tomatoes
Halved Red Grapes
Dried Cranberries
Rotisserie Chicken
Feta Cheese
Honey Dijon Vinaigrette

This has got to be one of the best salad combinations I’ve ever had.  What do you like on your salads?

I photographed two beautiful weddings – one on Friday and one on Sunday (full re-caps and photos coming soon!) :

I baked some 4th of July “Fireworks Cookies” a la Martha Stewart:

I had a coffee with two beautiful friends:

I went to the Gahanna fireworks on the 4th of July:

It was a busy one, for sure, but lots of fun and special moments.

( mint-chocolate and reese’s cup cupcakes I baked for my co-workers going-away party.)

I saw these adorable little edible bird nests the other day, and knew I wanted to make them for Easter!  It seems like birds are a trendy theme now for weddings and nurseries, so I think these would be really sweet to serve at a bridal or baby shower, or even give out as a wedding favor!  They’re really easy to make too – I made them this morning and they took about an hour.

Easter Bird Nests

3 cups Mini Marshmallows
1/4 cup Butter
1 tsp. Vanilla
4 cups of Chow Mein Noodles
Candy-Coated Eggs (I used Cadbury Mini-Eggs)

Grease muffin tin, or spray with cooking spray.  Melt the butter and marshmallows in a saucepan over low. Stir in vanilla and chow mein noodles, until evenly coated.  Grease your hands with cooking spray or shortening. Spoon the coated Chow Mein noodles in each cup, then use your hands to form it into little nests.

Put the pan in freezer for an hour, then pop each nest out using a knife or fork.  Place on a lightly buttered serving plate or a plate lined with parchment paper or wax paper so nests won’t stick, and fill with candy and enjoy!

(I adapted this recipe from “With a Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart“)

* orange raspberry birthday cake (with cake flags.)
happy early birthday, mom!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Friday night, Funnel and I walked around Creekside and enjoyed the warm evening and the ducks and swan that were swimming around the creek.  We watched the ducks for quite awhile and I learned that they are really fascinating little beings.  I’d like to go duck-watching again sometime.

My closet garden is continuing to thrive, despite my black-thumb.   And I suspect our neighbors think we are growing weed because of the purplish glow coming out of our window.  We do live in Pataskala, after all.

On Saturday I nearly killed my back wheeling my “Mel’s Mix” (1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 vermiculite) to our side-yard to fill up our raised beds.   So far, I’ve planted Sugar Peas, Baby Mesclun Mix and Kohlrabi.  Sometime in May when the danger of frost is gone, I’ll plant some other things.

A couple of years ago, my mom bought me this adorable little wind chime, made of a vintage creamer and silverwear.  Yesterday I went out to untangle it and found a bird’s nest inside the creamer.

“Peanut-Butter Oatmeal Rounds” I made from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook: