Our Garden - Chapter 4

I was trying to wait till July to do the next post on the garden, but its so amazing now--I just couldn't wait.  We made our favorite Swiss Chard Tacos last night (a Rick Bayless recipe)  My battery camera was dead or else you'd be seeing photos of dinner!  It was absolutely the best to go out to the garden, harvest the greens and cook them up.  The tacos were incredibly flavorful and it made such a difference in the taste.  Honestly...fresh from the garden makes such a difference!

This is a shot of the garden from the left looking at the wall of tomatoes, cucumbers and green beans.  It is literally taller than I am...the metal pipe frame is about 7 feet tall.

This is looking at the tomato plants from the opposite directions....there are literally dozen of tomatoes in there...Whatever we did--worked really well.

The bed to the left is basil, carrots, swiss chard, beets, jalapenos, radishes, chamomile, thyme...what else?  I think that is it.  The bed to the right are all flowers.  It will be beautiful when in full bloom.  Shouldn't be too much longer now.

Recipe: Lemon Bars

We have new neighbors...they moved in a few weeks ago and I thought it would be nice and neighborly of me if I brought them a home-made welcoming treat.  I remember the few times nice people did that for us, the effect was amazing.  Not only were we sincerely touched by the gesture and act of friendship, but when dealing with all the boxes and unloading and unpacking--nothing quite hits the spot like a home-made sweet treat--that someone else made for you.

And when pondering what to make...it didn't take long for lemon bars to come to mind.   I really, really love lemon and I really, really love this recipe.  Its from Amy's Bread in NYC. And it seemed like the right combination of a little decadent but a little bit proper.  A nice, respectable, delicious dessert!

I got the recipe from Martha's website...you can find it here.  Also, there is a video presentation as well so can watch before you bake.  The recipe is exact.  The corn starch in the batter keeps the crust light as air.   Freezing the raw crust dough before baking keeps it flaky.  And the "1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons plus 3/4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice" is seriously just the right amount lemon to make them tangy and delicious.

I highly recommend letting them set up in the fridge before serving.
Now, I just have to wrap them up and get them over there before we eat them all...

So good!!

Some Beach Highlights

I can't believe out time at the beach is almost over...here are a few highlights from our very fun week.

Magdalena on one of the rides at Rehobeth with Uncle Chris.

Eating crabs...

Fresh clams.

Linguine with clam sauce...

 Fresh grilled asparagus...

Fresh tuna steaks grilled for our Salad Nicoise...

But the most fun, without a question are the bikes...no doubt about that!  We love the beach and our Big Wheels!!

Keeping it Old School

One of the best things about being at the beach...besides actually being at the beach...is all the fun things to do at Grandmom & Poppie's house...I mean, obviously--the sand, the ocean and the pool are the star attractions....but after that....

Because of all the grandkids (the oldest is 13), Grandmom & Poppie have gathered quite an amazing collection of kid-mobiles over the years...as it stands now, our kids are the youngest and possibly the last to enjoy these kick-ass hot wheels.  One of the best parts of the day, for our kids, is when they get to ride the big wheels around the cul-de-sac as fast as their little legs will carry them.  They ride around with huge smiles on their faces and to me, this says perfectly: childhood in the summertime.  

Much, much different are the kids who live 2 doors down...very sweet kids--they cruise around in their motorized, kid-sized, battery-operated, kind of noisy Mustang!  It doesn't really go that fast, but you can peel out, slam on the brakes and play some really groovy tunes on the "radio."   I went slightly overboard with the photos...but I couldn't help it...the things is kind of over the top!

I just want to take this moment, to sincerely--honestly & truly, thank my in-laws for helping to keep life for my kids simple and sweet...this is nothing against the Mustang--honestly...but in my family, we have always tried to keep the battery operated toys to a bare minimum (as in none.) And to my way of thinking...if you get a little boy a Mustang when he is six....what will he expect when he is 8--or 18? 

It just gives me a whole lot of satisfaction to watch our kids riding around on toys that aren't exactly "state of the art" or brand spanking new.   I mean my kids would be (and are) happy to just be playing with a stick.  I think that is how kids naturally are.  My kids love the collection of old bikes they get to play with at their grandparents' house and they look forward to riding them every time we are down.  A huge thank you to Grandmom & Poppie for making this happen...these will be the memories that kids will always have with them--and for that, I am so thankful.

 So awesome...

Father's Day at the Beach

We had a great Father's Day...the morning included a delicious breakfast of Migas, black beans and bacon.  We opened some presents (besides a new pair of Keens and some very attractive T-shirts, Greg got a Bocce set AND an instant read thermometer!  He says I always buy him gifts for me, but SO NOT TRUE!  : )  After a fun visit to the beach, we headed back home for a relaxing afternoon...

And then it was time for dinner!!  We grilled...and since it was Father's Day...we grilled everything...including MORE bacon!

and we grilled romaine lettuce--which was so good!  We served it with a homemade buttermilk dressing and pickled radishes and shallots.

We grilled shrimp & potatoes, too...it was basically a grill-a-thon...

We marinated the shrimp in Old Bay and lemon and after grilling tossed with the grilled bacon and slices of grilled lemon.

Grilled potato salad with garlic infused olive oil with herbs.

Everything was delicious and we are so happy to be together with our family!

Happy Father's Day, my darling...you are an amazing father and we love you so much!!