Month: April 2016

Healthy Creamy Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing 

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Make this dressing asap, you will adore it!  It is both healthy and delish.  I like using healthy ingredients whenever I can. I’ve learned that plain Greek yogurt can be used at times to replace things like sour cream, cream, half and half, milk, etc… using yogurt here cuts down on the fat content ( I choose to use non-fat here) and another huge plus… yogurt is a probiotic,  good, good.  So here’s how to make it…  Gather your ingredients…  Toss all into a food processor or blender… Blend on high until smooth… Ingredients  2 avocados  1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt  1 Tbsp. chopped onion 2 (peeled) garlic gloves 1 Tbsp. lime juice  2 T. water  1/2 tsp. salt          Toss all ingredients into a food processor or blender  Blend on high until smooth Add additional water if needed Adjust seasonings to taste           * I have seen some recipes call for a bit of honey or sugar. I don’t feel it …

Culinary Artistry, it’s a very good thing. 

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 This book though… art in cooking? You bet.  What an amazing handbook for any chef, professional, or of the home cooking type.  I went to culinary school some years back, that’s when one of my great chef instructors recommended this book to me and about 99 other eager to-be chefs, as thee most important book to get our hands on. I bought it that first week of culinary school.  I’ve been using it ever since.  It works like this… it’s all about pairing foods well together. When you have a specific main ingredient (main dish or side dish) in mind to use, you look that ingredient up, what you’ll find is a list of other ingredients that are known to go well with what you are working with. Award winning chefs know what they are doing, know that! Trust the recommendations, unless it’s an ingredient you really don’t care for, I don’t even go there.    Here’s a page out of the book so that you can begin to get a feel for how the …

Out on the Town, doing Palm Desert Fab. 

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I love theme parties. One of our good friends threw a Martinis & Mid Century Modern Mouthfuls, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s glam soirée, what fun it was!  He really knows how to pull out all the stops for his guests.  It was certainly a night to remember…      Here we are with good friends of ours from Long Beach, Ca. They were doing some channeling through costumes that night.      Some of the men representing.      Thank you sweet Jerry, for treating us to yet another memorable evening! In addition to being a great host, Jerry is a wonderfully talented chef, his party food spreads are always a cut above. I hope to post a few of the foodie photos a bit later, stay tuned.  Here are some tips on hosting a fabulous party of your own… http://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/entertaining/tips-for-hosting-fun-parties Now, pick your theme, prepare well and then… enjoy! 

Sometimes you just got to go with it… 

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 Why can’t cervical collars be a fashion statement. I’m going for it!    Black is always in.  I’m thinking (just maybe) I’m rocking it.     My white as snow look.      Sporting my b & w polka dot look today!            4/27/2016  Yup, I have some old ailments acting up. So this is the new me (as a passenger) on long drives.  I was so excited to find a person on Etsy selling cervical collar covers. Now I can match the clothes I’m wearing, how cool is that. Cervical collar fashion fashionista, that’s moi!  This gal has all kinds of cute material to choose from. https://www.etsy.com/listing/241219964/cervical-collar-cover-neck-brace-sleeve?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=cervical%20collar%20cover&ref=sr_gallery_1 I figure it’s best to make the best of a not so best situation. 😉 Right?.  My particular situation is a little complicated, I’m okay with it.  I’ve had many years of an almost totally pain free existence. I am thankful to modern medicine for that. Now it seems as though my pain free time is up.  To explain here you go… https://treatingpain.com/condition/post-laminectomy-syndrome Stay tuned for …

Lobster Baja Style 

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So on a recent occasion while with friends from Rosarito, Baja, Mx. I was reminded about my love for Puerto Nuevo Style Lobster.  I’ve been making it at home for years now, but had not in far too long. Who knew the secret was in the lard, that’s right lard, pure, fattening plain ole lard. I am a firm believer in treat eating. Everything in moderation. This once in a blue moon treat is totally worth this most guilty and delicious pleasure.    Fry those bad boys up.     They come out looking like this Recipe coming real soon, promise. 

What a great piece, totally worth the reblog!   Penguins, Broccoli and the Secret of Blogging

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So here I find myself on posting day, a vast expanse of empty screen in front of my eyes and a vast expanse of empty brain behind them. Yet despite my complete lack of a suitable topic for my blog, I feel no unease. This is because my entire stock of unease has long since been […] https://bunkaryudo.wordpress.com/2016/03/19/penguins-broccoli-and-the-secret-of-blogging/

Let’s Camp

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  All packed up and ready to roll…       We’ve been beach camping for years. It started as a neighborhood thing, then a neighborhood plus family thing, now… it’s just a thing, we have to do it. It’s like part of our whole. Our summers are not complete without it. And if we can’t camp summertime, fall works too!      Here are a some Dutch oven recipes for you to try on your next camping trip, enjoy!  http://50campfires.com/35-incredibly-easy-dutch-oven-recipes-camping/       Our corner spot, not our silver bullet… insert cry. 😦    Cheesy Chile Beans & Dutch Oven Cornbread, hit the spot. 

Plated Petals…

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 Such beautiful garden art!     Follow them on Instagram @PlatedPetals     This company puts out gorgeous pieces of garden art.                   Their pieces are just stunning. A welcome addition to any garden! I was blessed enough to have them donate one of their beautiful works of art to our MS fundraising team, we were able to use it as a fundraising raffle prize, this generous donation helped us raise more funds to fight MS. How good are they, Plated Petals… doing good things.  💛  I can not wait to own one for my own yard! 

Skinny Mac and Tuna Drop Salad 

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So here’s the skinny on my Skinny Mac and Tuna Drop Salad. You might be asking, why drop? Well here’s why…    that’s right, just drop all your ingredients into a zip lock bag, zip it up, shake, and you are ready to chill. (it)     Here are some of the ingredients I used.     All mixed up and ready to chill…     The finished goodness, no kidding the spices give this salad an extra flavor goodness punch, so good!  So here is how I did it…  Ingredients  1/2 package small salad macaroni cooked al dente 3 Tbsp chopped red onion 1 12oz can tuna in water, drained 1/3 cup chopped kosher dill pickle  1/4 cup non fat Greek yogurt  1/4 cup light mayo 1/2 tsp dill  1/4 tsp garlic powder  1/4 tsp celery salt 1/4 tsp old bay seasoning 1/2 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp salt For mixing   1 gallon zip lock bag Dump all the ingredients in your zip lock or sealable bag. Zip up/seal the bag.  Shake/mix ingredients until the salad is …

Aunt Joan’s Lima Beans

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Okay so I will always think of my husband’s/our late dear Aunt Joan when I think of lima beans. She would prepare them often for her husband, my husband’s uncle, our dear Uncle Dan. They always sounded so good and they looked even better as I watched them being served to our Uncle Dan. Now the thought of them just brings back loving and warm family memories. Back then at times, my husband would ask me, “Gina, how come you don’t make more lima beans?”. At the time, I didn’t make lima beans period. Having not grown up with these tender morsels as a staple in my young diet, I really had no clue which way to go with them, back then, in my early married life cooking days.  This year at Easter time I decided to make my husband and myself an Easter feast. Ham was to be the main event. When I got to the grocery store I was faced with the dilemma, buy a big (giant) ham for a great price or …

Gone Snowshoeing…

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In February, while on a home trade to Denver Co., we decided to head outdoors to explore. Oh what a treat, John Muir was right!   We had originally intended on snow-showing but that plan had to be scratched as conditions just weren’t optimal for it. I was lucky enough to get a small taste of what snowshoeing is like though. Boy was I thrilled as I parading around the visitors center, looking quite tourist-like (yes I know), before we set off on our wonderful hike. The trail… Oh but the sound of the wind making it’s way through the canyon, what an amazing delight. Family hikes are the best hikes… That snow, that hike, that mountain… what a delight. Aw, that fresh air though…   Friends for life, enjoying the beautiful outdoors together. Onward and upward… We did it! Trail complete! Sure it was a very short trail, but still for this California snow novice, it was quite an accomplishment.  Just to recap, hahaha, uh huh, what a thrill! Too hip got to go…….. 😉 This day …