Fresh

"A baby fills a place in your heart that you never knew was empty." ~ Unknown


     My son and daughter-in-law are expecting a baby boy that is due in August!  I am so excited!  We went to a baby shower yesterday.  This is the quilt that Heather found on Pinterest and wanted me to make for the little guy.  I thought it was fun that she also wanted a children's book instead of a card from all the guests.

 

 

 

I adore the taste of fresh peas from the garden.  My mom brought me over a few peas from my brother's garden and I knew I needed to make some Creamed Peas and Potatoes!

 

 

 

Creamed Peas and Potatoes

4-6 cups red potatoes, quartered

1-2 cups freshly shelled peas

4 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. flour

2 cups milk or half and half

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1 ½ Tbsp. dried minced onion

Pinch of nutmeg

Cover potatoes with water in medium saucepan. Boil for 10-15 minutes until slightly soft.  Add peas and cook for 3 minutes.

Meanwhile melt butter in saucepan.  Add flour and stir for 2 minutes.  Add milk or half and half and salt, pepper, dried minced onion and nutmeg.  Cook and stir until thickened.  Remove from heat.

Drain peas and potatoes in colander.  Return to pan.  Add creamed sauce and stir until combined.  Check seasonings and adjust to your taste. Serve hot. Serves 4-6.

 

 

 

 

     This was a great book by one of my favorite authors, Camron Wright.  It's a story about the Golden Gate Bridge that's filled with facts about the bridge along with a great fictional tale!

Song of Summer

"Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow peace."~Francis of Assisi


     I finished the quilt for my daughter's choir teacher and he seemed to really like it.  Each senior in choir got to sign one of the white blocks.  My daughter presented it to him at the end of the Spring Concert.

We had a barbeque yesterday. I made this salad the night before and it was the perfect side dish.

Crab Pasta Salad

1 lb. medium pasta shells

1 lb. package imitation crab meat, cut bite size

1 can medium black olives, drained and sliced

1 medium red pepper, diced

3-4 green onions, sliced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 cup plain yogurt (not Greek)

½ cup ranch dressing

1 tsp. seasoning salt

1 tsp. celery salt

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. dill weed

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a very large bowl, combine the pasta, crab, olives, red pepper, green onions and celery. Stir gently to mix.

In a small bowl whisk together the yogurt, ranch dressing, seasoning salt, celery salt, lemon juice, dill weed and salt and pepper.

Pour the dressing over the pasta and veggies and stir to combine.  Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.  Add more ranch dressing and salt and pepper if needed.  Serves about 12.

 

 

 

     The school year is finally over and summer is in full force.  Here's a nice Regency Romance trio of stories to read.