Friday Fun

Somehow I managed to reserved a bit of energy and burst into activity at home.  Okay, burst may be a strong word, but I did move!  First I noticed the pyracantha in bloom and had to snap a few photos.  I love the way it looks like it's covered in snow.

 

The flowers have a horrid scent but the scrubs are away from the house, so it's not such a problem.  The bees do congregate on the plants but they have choices since the wisteria is also in bloom.  Luckily the wisteria scent is fantastic and pretty much covers the smell of the pyracantha.

 

Look at how many blooms on this one limb.  The birds will eat well this winter!  They eat the red berries but for some reason, pyracantha berries are the last ones to be consumed.  I assume they are bitter until the very end, but when the birds get to them they clean the bush.

We have three clumps of pyracantha shrubs along the driveway with two or three plants in each clump.  They are growing out of control since we never trim them.  The idea is that eventually they'll form an alley, but the thorns frustrate Richard when he cuts grass.  I've been able to save them but sometimes it gets difficult.  Then winter comes and the red berries are stunningly beautiful and he relents for another summer.  (It's been about 10 years now.)

A few minutes of quilting before going to dinner with my sweet husband.  Then it was off to Miss Sue's Café in Turkey Creek.  I've heard it advertised on the radio and wanted to give it a try.  The photo does not do the boiled crawfish justice.  They were a bit cold but the spice heated them up!
Richard had the Acadian Platter, fried fish smothered in crawfish etouffe, and it was delicious.

In all, it was a great Friday.  How did yours go?

Thanks for......

Reruns!  That's what I'm doing--rerunning a photo from last year.  My turkey was so pretty that I thought I'd just get a little more mileage from the photo.

Okay, okay, the truth: We had our family Thanksgiving gathering tonight, but I cooked a pork roast and Will cooked fried a turkey.  However, there was so much commotion and craziness in my house that I forgot to take pictures.  So, I am forced to reuse last year's picture.  Hey I do have an excuse: my last Thanksgiving turkey was SO much prettier than Will's turkey tonight.  I know, without a picture, it's my word against his.  His fried turkey does taste better (a tiny little bit) but it's not exactly healthy, nor is it pretty.  Let's just say it has to be served already carved with, uhm, crispy pieces removed.  

In other words it was a typical Thanksgiving feast at our house....noisy, exhausting, delicious, fattening, and wonderfully blessed.   There are so many people and reasons to be thankful that I'll simply close with a prayer that you and your family feel as blessed and as grateful.

Green Groceries and Fried Salad

Our garden is really starting to come up.  The corn is getting as tall as I am and today we noticed a few tassels.  That means it's just a matter of a few weeks before there will be small ears ready for picking.  We like the baby ears raw right off the stalk--cob included.  My father-in-law used to call us the possums because we ate the ears before they're ready.  Then a few years later a company started pickling the baby ears and selling them.  I enjoy telling my father-in-law that I was (and still am) on to something.

Richard planted some pole snap beans in the hopes that he wouldn't have to bend down to pick the beans. His back and neck give him trouble, so he figures standing to pick the beans will be easier.  Either way, these beans are really growing.  They haven't put on any buds yet, but I imagine that they will soon.  There are a few hills in this small raised bed and another row in another garden.  The hills in the raised bed look much prettier than the others, but they are about two weeks ahead.

Our tomatoes are doing well, also.  They have lots of blooms and a few tomatoes.  It will be a few weeks before they're big enough to consider picking.  I can't wait to have enough green tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, okra, and bell peppers for picking.  We make something called Fried Salad that is just awesome and is part of our summer treat.  We don't have it too often because, well, it is fried which sort of negates the value of eating veggies.  I use whatever is in season or I happen to have available at the time. I've included the recipe below in case you're interested in eating some not-so-healthy vegetables that are really the best tasting veggies ever!

Fried Salad
1 med onion sliced into thick rings
2 med bell peppers, sliced into thick slivers
1 lg zucchini, sliced into thick slices
3-4 yellow squash, sliced into thick slices
8-10 okra, cut into large pieces
2 med green tomatoes, sliced into thick slices
1 lg egg
1/4 cup milk
Tony's seasoning
1 cup flour
1 cup fish fry
4-6 cups cooking oil

Mix cut up vegetables in a large bowl.  Scramble egg and milk in small bowl and pour over veggies.  Sprinkle Tony's on veggies, mix well and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

In heavy skillet or deep pan, heat cooking oil until hot.  Mix flour and fish fry in a large bowl, and dredge vegetables in flour mixture, then drop into hot oil.  Fry for a few minutes, and turn over.  Remove to platter covered with several paper towels.   Serve while hot and crispy.

Variations: mix and match vegetables to serve the ones you prefer.  Other vegetables that can be used include Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, scallions, califlower, carrots, and mushrooms.

Enjoy and let us know how your dish turns out.