You Can Call Me Gwen

Lovin' the Fruits of Summah

  

 

Friday morning, I went with friends to pick peaches out at Wind Drift Orchards, and the necessity of putting up all those (delicious! juicy! beautiful!) peaches set off a bit of a kitchen binge this weekend.

In between bike rides, grandshoots and gardening, I sliced and froze most of the peaches, but we also...

     ...had the neighbors in for grilled peaches and vanilla ice cream.

     ...made our favorite peach smoothies (fresh peaches, vanilla Greek yogurt, orange juice concentrate, ice and, if it's dessert, a bit of vanilla syrup).

     ...prepared some peach-mango salsa for this upcoming meal (about which I may have posted previously, but which is scrumptious and easy enough to be worth mentioning again).

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Because I was already in the kitchen with mangoes, and we had fresh Roma tomatoes and jalapenos from our garden, I also made this salsa:

 

 

I wish I could give credit to the original source, but I got it from Beeg Seester and she didn't say where she found it.

I'm posting it because it is absolutely declicious and there is not a thing in it to hurt you. 

How often do those two facts collide?

Try it this summer.

Use it on some grilled chicken or white fish.

Eat it with chips.

Or simply dig in with a spoon.

It's hard to stop.

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While we were cleaning up lunch today, Prince Charming looked at the BIG bunch of overripe bananas on the counter (he buys and usually eats them for snacks or breakfast during his work week) and said, "I didn't do well by those bananas".

Made me laugh.

But it also sounded like a cue to bake something.

Just Friday, Beeg Seester's main squeeze plied me with some pecans (freshly shelled!) from their trees, so I made a batch of banana nut muffins.

 

 

Let me tell you, I am beginning to make habit of typing "the best whatever recipe" in the Google search box whenever I have a hankering to make something.

Lately, every recipe I've tried using the results of those searches has been stellar.

This banana nut muffin recipe from Tyler Florence on Food Network  is no exception.

Best I've ever eaten, and Price Charming said the same.

Wish you were here.

There are 22 left.

Oh, wait.

Maybe there are only 21 left.

Do not envy.

 

If you struggle with envy, you should just stop reading this now.

Seriously.

I'm about to show you my fanciest kitchen gadget, a fabulously executed dessert, and some photos of my preparations for Thanksgiving.

You've been warned.

If you stumble, I will not be held accountable.

You're still here?

Okay.

I'm glad you're up to it.

Here I go.

It's about to be too late to turn back.

Ready?

Yesterday, I spent the better part of the day cleaning out and cleaning up the "annex refrigerator" and the pantry for the massive inflow of food that is about to happen.

Don't be jealous.

I know that not everyone gets to do this:

 

 

Also yesterday, our guest list had two more names added to it, so we're up to a whopping 25 eaters expected for Thanksgiving dinner.

You can guess it was a bit of a blow when the doctor called to tell me he had scheduled my outpatient procedure (think long needle!) for smack in the middle of the day before Thanksgiving; known around here as "Covered-in-Flour Day".

I've had to do a little re-grouping this week, and put a lot more things on the do-ahead list.

Today, I had to make a pie for Chince Prarming to take to the office tomorrow, so I decided to make seven extra pie crusts and put them in the freezer; something I've never done before.

It meant Covered-in-Flour Day was early this year.

Of course, getting out all these supplies...

 

...wouldn't do me much good if I didn't also get out my recipes.

And if I get out my recipes, that means I get to get out my very fancy recipe holder.

I'm going to show it to you now, if you promise you that really do have that envy monster under control.

You promise?

Okay.

Tada!

 

 

(Hmmm. "Lg" hanger. Must belong to the girls.)

You want one, don't you?

It gets the job done, and that really is a rockin' pie crust recipe it's holding (it was voted top crust on the family apple pie taste testing day).

Of course, the first crust I made went into the oven to be baked for the Prince's pie.

While it burned baked, I made the others and just popped them into the freezer for Covered-in-Flour Day, Condensed Version.

See this beautiful crust?

 

 

It's the other half of this burnt crust:

 

 

Dang.

I'm hoping the fact that I filled it with Pioneer Woman's French Silk Pie filling, and that there will be whipped cream to go on top, will make the eaters fuhgeddabout that burnt stuff.

 

 

A girl can dream, can't she?

Falling into the Pin(terest)hole

 

I did, despite my efforts to avoid it, fall into the Pin(terest)hole recently.

However...

...I was looking through my photographs this morning and realized that at least I resurfaced with something to show for my plummet.

Last week I made body scrub with (tweaked) recipes I found there.

Wish I could give credit to the poster, but I no longer know where I was when I read the recipe.

I made Lime & Coconut Oil sugar scrub ("You put the lime in the coconut..." Anyone remember? Anyone? Bueller?), which Miss Helping Hands used in the shower recently and said, " It was lovely and smelled great".

I also made Lemon & Olive Oil salt/sugar scrub (with lemon zest!), which I've been using at the kitchen sink.

Anyone want some?

 

 

It won't keep forever.

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On my recent crochet binge, I made a little purse for Baby Girl (she's into purses and keys - she's going places, I tell you).

I do remember that I got the pattern from here, and am very grateful, thank you.

This bag was just a wee bit large for Ping...

 

 

...but I made and gave her the second one before I photographed it.

So there you are.

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Also, from the great world of Pinterest, came a peek at these wonderful clothespin toys by Molas & Co. (Such creativity!)

Have I ever mentioned how I love clothespins?

I have a drawer full of different styles and sizes, and a heart full of good memories of hanging laundry, and watching Me Darlin' Mither hang laundry, too.

I guess I could wax poetic about the humble clothespin and it's many uses, but I'll spare you (just this once).

I tried my hand at making some of the 'mechanical toys' like Molas & Co., but I used heavy paper and colored pencil, rather than balsa wood and watercolor.

I needed a birthday gift recently for someone special, and these fit the bill (quite literally).

(Why am I using so many parentheses in this post?)

(What's with that?)

(Don't I believe in what I'm saying enough to make the sentences stand on their own?)

(I guess not.)

 

 

I like little things with hidden surprises.

I like homemade gifts.

I like clothespins.

Thank you, clothesPinterest.

I appreciate the tour.