New clothesline!!!

 I am very excited about my new clothesline b/c I've wanted one for years but just never got one.  I found a retractable one that I mounted on our shed and it hooks onto our deck.  It really brings back lots of memories growing up when mom would put the laundry outside to dry!  Lia was having fun running around and under the laundry!

NEW wood floors in Living and Dining Room!

Lia and I came home from Florida to find our beautiful new wood floors almost completely installed.  They are BEAUTIFUL and Frank did such an amazing job installing them!!!  We are all thrilled to have these floors. 

Shitake Log!

In March I took a class at the Civic Garden Center where we created logs that hold shitake mushroom spores.  These logs will begin showing growth with in 6-18 months (hopefully sooner rather than later) and should produce mushrooms for many years to come.  Connie was suppose to take the class with me, but it was moved to a new date and she was on vacation. It was fun drilling the holes and learning about creating a host log for these delicious mushrooms.  Last time I grew them was years ago with an indoor kit (gift from Connie). 

2 Family update

Here is some tile work Frank put in on the banister in the entry way!  He found tiles of rabbits and frogs, which is so awesome and matches our doorbells.  He painted them and they are really cute additions to this beautiful home!

And, finally, a picture of the entry door and side lights that enter the 1st floor apartment.  We think it turned out really beautiful!  We got the same side lights that are in our dining room and I cut and assembled the glass and Frank layed on a vinyl "star" to mimic what is in the center of the door, which I think really makes this entry!

Samosas

Colleen & I made samosas today.  Samosas are traditionally fried (although we baked ours) triangular Indian pastries that may be filled with vegetables or meat or a combination of both.  We decided to try 2 totally different recipes, one filled with potatoes, onion and olives with a dough made with olive oil and another filled with a potato, cauliflower and peas with a dough made with buttermilk.  They both turned out delicious!  I was especially thankful that my Mom was in town and really helped to keep Lia occupied during all of the cooking.

Hard to see, but here is the buttermilk dough seperated into balls before rolling.

This picture really shows how different they looked before being baked.  The method of putting them together was also quite different, as aparent in the different shapes.  The one on the left is the traditional assembly.  Below is a shot of them after being baked.

Here is the finished plate with both samosas, 2 different chutneys and a yellow split pea curry.  This was a delicious meal!

Lia opted to eat more "American" food which included broccoli, sweet potates and sour cream, which she was eating off of her fingers!

Cooking with Jeanie and Jeanne!

My friend Jeanie came over tonight for some fun, adventurous and delicious cooking.  We made asparagus risotto and phyllo wrapped wild salmon.  Jeanie isn't used to doing a lot of cooking but she did amazing, even with the phyllo.  We had such a wonderful night together cooking, eating and enjoying some wine!

We finished our meal with this delicious - and simple - Apple Oven Cake, prepared all in one skillet from stove top to oven with the help of a blender.  Oh, and I forgot to mention that Frank was invited to join us for dinner!

Bourekakia me Kreas = Meat Phyllo Rolls

 Tonight I was very excited to cook and assemble some phyllo rolls like we made at the Greek Church.  However, I reviewed ALL of the recipes in my MANY Greek cookbooks and came up with one that I felt would be the best to mine and Frank's tastes (w/o allspice, raisins, etc.) and found an all SAVORY recipe.  I was not disappointed.  This recipe is DELICIOUS. Frank and I both agreed on this.  And I used local grass fed beef in it, which is a big extra bonus.  I was tempted to "roll" some triangles, which is what I am used to doing with phyllo, but I stuck with the rolls.  However, I think I'll go back to this exact recipe and make small and larger triangles b/c it is so good. 

Here's the finished baked rolls.  They were amazing.

Greek Cooking Class!

I grew up going to the Panegyri festival in Finneytown at Holy Trinity Church.  Today I took a Greek Cooking class there with Colleen & Anne.  This is where my love of Greek food began, so it was really special to connect with the people who make it happen behind the scene. Vera layering - and fixing a lot - of the Dolmathes - vegetarian stuffed grape leaves - we all took part in assembling. It was interesting seeing how different everyone rolled them up and even funny to see Vera fixing so many. We were all chuckling over this. We also made Cheese filled Peppers - Piperyes - easy and delicous!

Here is a plate of cooked Meat filled Bourekakia. Again, look at how different they all are!
Vera demonstrated the flaming technique in making Saganaki cheese. This was rich and delicious! The ladies also did a demo of dessert, Halva - a light sponge cake, 3 different ways.

Colleen, Helen, me and Anne. Helen was one of the instuctor/helper ladies and she was at our table. These ladies were all so nice! We had a great morning!

Growing Sprouts!

Well, it's winter, and it sure feels good growing something, even tho it's indoors! I was motivated to grow sprouts by seeing them at a class I recently took at the Civic Garden Center. I've just grown one type so far, Fenugreek Seeds, and they're pretty tasty (that's what is pictured above). I put them on this sandwich which included cream cheese with parsley, roasted red pepper, red onion, cucumber, 2 types of lettuce, avocado, swiss cheese, and the reason for the sandwich - these fenugreek sprouts - all on top of Shadeau whole grain bread. It was honestly the best veggie sandwich I ever ate. Lia also tried it! And, I guess I did go a bit crazy ordering sprouts because I still have yet to try: china rose radish, mung bean, red russian micro mix, and field pea. ☺

Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan and Pancetta

I made this for dinner tonight and it was AMAZING. It's a Giada recipe and I subbed the pancetta with Red Sun Farm bacon and then cooked our RSF pork chops in the bacon fat. Frank and I honestly couldn't imagine a more delicious meal. ♥ ♥ ♥