Storm Damage

We had a storm move through our small village on Monday afternoon.

It was one of high winds and massive rain....now we needed the moisture, but the winds, not so much.

We were without power for 15+ hours and let me tell you....with the high humidity it was a bit sticky for sleeping!

 

Insert **spoiled** by my life here!

I admit it! I really like having a working refrigerator, fans, ac, flush toilets.

I am a spoiled first world country woman.

       Enough true confession.

A few pictures of our yard and two neighboring homes.

 

A Few Things We Will Be Doing

For the addition that my Mom will be moving in to.

 

The color scheme is obviously green, which is my Mom's favorite color.

 

 

I will be white washing the floors to keep them light and keeping the "English Cottage" vibe that Mom keeps talking about.

 

The cabinets will be lowers only for her (she is short) I will be buying unfinished cabinets and painting them myself to keep costs as low as possible. We will put up shelves above for display to be used for all of Mom's special things!

 

A small sleeper sofa with a ticking fabric in a pale blue will be my jumping off point to bring in a bit of blue to keep the green from being overwhelming!

 

I cannot wait to get to the "creative" part of this build...which will not be a far way off! Yippie!

 

 

1 - Floors -

http://designindulgence.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-09-02T10:20:00-04:00&max-results=7 

 

2 - Rug - Pier One

 

3 - Kitchen  -  http://www.hollyberryherbfarm.com/

 

4. -  Sofa  - 

http://theporchatelier.blogspot.com/2012/07/july-2012-market-preview-newly.html

 

 

 

 



 

What Did I Make From My Garden This Time???

Eggplant of course!

This is my version of eggplant parmesan...

 You will need eggplant, as large as you like to make the amount that will be sufficient for your family needs. My eggplant are small at this point, but two were enough for the dinner I made.

> slice the eggplant very thin, I used a mandolin to get thin, thin slices.

>season with simple salt and pepper and fry quickly in olive oil to fully soften the eggplant slices. Even garden fresh eggplant does not soften easily when submerged in sauce and cheese, so therefore it really is necessary to cook the eggplant before baking. (You could grill the eggplant, but you would still need the olive oil on it for the grilling process) It also makes the process of rolling a breeze.

 

>I lined my baking dish with fresh tomatoes from the garden, sliced and seasoned with salt, pepper and oregano (you can use dry if it is what you have)

 >Next I mixed my filling: 1 tub whole milk ricotta, one egg, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan season with salt, pepper, fresh basil and a pinch of oregano.
>Mix well.

 >Put a generous amount of the filling on each of the slices of eggplant and roll.

 >Line up the rolls on top of the seasoned tomatoes.

 >Cover with home made marinara sauce or your favorite jarred sauce and sprinkle with a bit more mozzarella and parmesan.
>Bake at 350* for approximately 25 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown.

Why did I come up with this recipe?
Because it is a pasta free, gooey baked Italian dinner for my hubby who has to count his carbs due to type two diabetes.
And he LOVES it!

Weekend Update

Just a quick update on the work being done to the addition for my Mom.

This update will simply be photos.

Fair warning....artistic liberties taken.

Have an amazing Monday!

This Is How We Do Dinner On The Run

When life is crazy and we are on a constant run, I can drive thru for our evening meal or pull something together that is healthy.

Sometimes, I confess, I will do the drive thru thing, but I always want to feed my husband and myself real food that is good for us.

And this is how I did it in about 25 minutes last night.

Italian Tomatoes
Chicken Parm w/ Cesar Salad

 I cut the fresh tomatoes from the garden and plated them.

 

 Next, a few twists of fresh cracked pepper, a sprinkle of Fluer De Sel Salt

 A drizzle of a good extra virgin olive oil

 And a splash of a really good balsamic vinegar.

 And of course a shower of fresh basil just snipped from the flower pot.

 Just a note: Pay attention while cutting basil with a very sharp knife......ugh.

 To make the chicken I simply used fresh tenders of chicken.

 Bread crumbs that I had in the freezer made from fresh bread that I dried. I used "regular" as I also have gluten free in the freezer for those in our family that cannot have gluten.

 I added salt, pepper and parm to the bread crumbs and simply salt, pepper and milk with the egg.

 Olive oil in the pan, pass the chicken thru the wet mixture and then coat with the dry.

 Fry until cooked thru and golden brown.

 A sprinkle of fresh grated parmesan cheese and....

 And this is how I make dinner in 25 minutes.