Friday, July 30, 2010

Cherry Cobbler for 2

This recipe is an adaptation of a Momma Connie recipe. It is incredibly simple but I promise, it is one of, if not THE, best cobblers you will ever eat. My Mom usually makes it with peaches but cherries have been in season here recently so that is what I made. You can make it with any fruit that you have on hand. 

Cherry Cobbler for 2
*Ok.. really, this should be more than 2 servings. John and I are pigs and we love cobbler. But I doubt that you can get more than 2 servings either..


In a small mixing bowl add
- 1/2 cup Self Rising Flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- blend these two before adding
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Mix well, no lumps. 


Next, Make a Simple Syrup with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. To do this- add the water and sugar to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until dissolved. Once it is dissolved, remove from heat and add about 1 1/2 cups -pitted- (very important!) fresh cherries and a few zips* of lemon zest. Let this mixture sit for a few minutes while you....


Melt 1/4 to 1/3 cup of butter in a small baking dish. (Mine is 7x5 inches) 
Preheat oven to about 350 F.


Ok, in your baking dish with butter, add the flour-sugar-milk mixture. Next spoon in your fruit. If you have extra syrup, don't feel like you have to add it. It's ok to have extra. 


Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until top is a golden brown. 
Serve with homemade whipped cream or ice cream if you prefer. 


* A "zip" of lemon zest is what I call one piece of zest as it comes off with a zester. A few of these will usually equal about 1/4 of a teaspoon. Sorry, I make up my own words.

Yummy Chicken Marinade

Because John and I are such faithful Southerners, we -had- to have a grill when we moved to France. So, we have a very small electric grill on our balcony that is super hot on one side, cool on the other, doesn't have a lid, and is generally a pain. But it works and cooks our steaks, chicken breast, pork chops, and cheeseburgers!  (Oh, I will be so happy when we return to charcoal!) 

We have been grilling quite a bit this summer so I have created a couple of new marinades. This one is a particular favorite and so, I share! 

Spicy Chicken Marinade
*Good for 2-3 chicken breasts

- 2 to 3 tablespoons Soy Sauce (Low sodium if available)
- 2 good sized pinches of Crushed Red Pepper
- 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons Sesame Oil
Cook these 3 ingredients in the microwave for 20 seconds

-Add-
- 2 Tablespoons of Honey
- 1 Clove of garlic (Chopped finely or use a garlic press)
- a few "zips" of lemon zest 
Stir well, let cool, put in Ziploc bag with Chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1 hour. Grill and Enjoy! Yum! 

John and I also like to use these chicken breasts for sandwiches. Whole wheat buns, lettuce, tomato (for John, not me!), red onion, Swiss cheese, and honey mustard dressing! Delicious!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Oh... my Dog..

Sadie is a dog with a lot of quirks. First off, she doesn't really think that she is a dog. She talks (and yes, we can usually understand her), she wants to eat our food, she loves to sleep on our bed (when we aren't in it), and she would rather spend time with other people than with other dogs. 

One of the more interesting things about Sadie is her love of pine cones. John and I can't quite figure this one out. Since she was little pup, if she can find a pine cone to carry around, she will. This happens only on the return trip home, and she drops it as soon as we get to the door without being asked. (She's a genius I tell you. Our children will be the smartest kids on the planet... haha)



She is also a lifeguard. Whenever we go to the beach, she is always on guard. Everyone there is in her charge and she worries about them when she can't find them. Especially John and I. We often take turns snorkeling if we take Sadie to the beach with us and it is a battle keeping her on shore when we go out of sight. On our return to shore, she has to inspect us and make sure we are ok. If there is someone else at the beach that she thinks is in trouble- she barks and sounds the alarm. She would have been a great Momma Dog. 



Big goofy Lug.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Last garden pics

Last one! So many of these flowers, so much fun to shoot, even more fun to share. Hope you have enjoyed the series! 






Happy Wednesday! 

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

More Garden Pics!

I just spent my morning editing pictures. Usually I would say this was a huge pain... I hate editing pictures. I just want them to look perfect when I take them and that's it. Unfortunately, they just look better with a little tweaking.(Maybe I should work on my skill.... no.... nevermind..) But, today's editing went much better than normal and it is all thanks to that great man I like to call "Hubs" or "Hubby" or "John Patrick" when he does something I don't like... Last night, when I started mumbling and grumbling about editing pictures, he started looking for an easier to use editing program for me. In about 5 minutes he had found it. It's wonderful. Simple button clicks and I'm done! Everything is right there! No opening, closing, saving, re-saving, etc, etc. Ahhhhhhhhh. Lovely. So here are a few more pictures of the beautiful garden of Bruce and Roxanne!

 I think these might be my favorites. Lovely and so delicate.


Hollyhocks. My Granny Saylor grew these. I use to pop the seedpods.. 

This is Tess? Or Jack? I can tell them apart when I am looking at both of them.. but I can't right now. The kitty made a good subject! :-) 

Why do these fellows look to happy to me? 

Alright! That's it for today! More tomorrow!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Rooftop Garden of Bruce and Roxanne

I'm back! Sorry for the 2 week break guys! Our computer has been in the shop so I haven't really been able to update as much as I would like! Fortunately, while I had all of that time to myself, I planned out a lot of blogs in advance. 

Last week I visited some of my favorite people in France who just so happen to have the most amazing rooftop garden. Bruce and Roxanne moved to Nice after living in NYC where they owned their own restaurant, Cafe Loup. I met them through my time in the English-American Library and they are just fantastic. 

Anyways, back to the garden!! B&R have a huge balcony of which they take full advantage. About 3 times a year, they change out their plants- spring is tulips and primroses, summer is lilies, petunias, and hollyhocks, winter comes with even more changes. It's wonderful. This is the summer garden.

For the next few days, I will post pictures of their beautiful flowers. Enjoy!

One corner of the Garden

Love this Lilly!