Then last week we were invited out for dinner with our friend, Darden, and we had a delightful meal at Piccolo Mondo, one of our favorite restaurants.
Spring was in the air and I was ready to get into the swing of things. Speaking of shapes, I was feeling so good about myself that I rushed out and bought new swimsuit without trying it on first. Big mistake!!! I had gone to my Weight Watcher's meeting the day before and found that I had lost 5% of my body fat which is the first goal you set for yourself with the program, so in my mind I looked terrific. Let me tell you, Esther Williams I was not.
In fact, when I looked in the mirror, I looked a lot like this beached whale!
Back to the drawing board and away from full length mirrors for me for a while!
1. Toss tomatoes with 1 T. olive oil and about 1 tsp. sea salt.2. Fry bread in 2-3 T. olive oil in skillet, browning on each side, and adding 1 more T. oil if necessary (I added a tad of butter to the oil)3. Rub cut half of garlic clove over 1 side of fried bread.4. Spoon tomatoes (with oil and accumulated juices) over bread. Top with chopped basil and more sea salt to taste.5. Eat with plenty of napkins on hand. It's messy but wonderful!
Serves 2.
We've had lots of good times with friends the past couple of weeks, all involving food. Let's face it, at this stage of life, that's most of if not all of our entertainment. Last Sunday after church the Ferbends had our breakfast group over for brunch.
There are several of us who always go to breakfast after the early service and occasionally we change our routine and meet in one of our homes to eat. It was a lovely affair with good food and great conversation.
Then mid-week we went for dinner with long time friends, the Sawyers and Walkers. The Walkers had us over for drinks before dinner and we had a nice visit before heading out to the restaurant.
Then mid-week we went for dinner with long time friends, the Sawyers and Walkers. The Walkers had us over for drinks before dinner and we had a nice visit before heading out to the restaurant.
When we returned home that evening we watched "Idol Gives Back" which we had recorded. Thank goodness for DVR's. You can watch your favorite shows and also eliminate all the commercials. What a blessing! We lost one of the two contestants from Texas, but after all, there will always be one person eliminated each week until the finale. It's sad but the show must go on!
Last Monday I started attending the book club at St. Alban's again and I think it's going to be an extremely exciting study. We started with Dante's Inferno which is the first book in his trilogy, The Divine Comedy, and we are now beginning the path upward to Purgatory. Thank goodness we're finally out of Hell!
Last Monday I started attending the book club at St. Alban's again and I think it's going to be an extremely exciting study. We started with Dante's Inferno which is the first book in his trilogy, The Divine Comedy, and we are now beginning the path upward to Purgatory. Thank goodness we're finally out of Hell!
It's absolutely fascinating and I'm really looking forward to this study as Father Duncan brings the pages to life for those of us in his class. I am even ahead of the game with my homework for a change and ready for some interesting discussion tomorrow.
We sold our old car and got a new one. It was a bittersweet time as it was really a good car but we were ready for a change. If anyone is interested, I can promise you that the old one in great shape and should last for a long time. It has a little under 30,000 miles on it and has been handled with TLC. She still looks brand new. Here's Papa backing it out of the driveway for the last time.
We sold our old car and got a new one. It was a bittersweet time as it was really a good car but we were ready for a change. If anyone is interested, I can promise you that the old one in great shape and should last for a long time. It has a little under 30,000 miles on it and has been handled with TLC. She still looks brand new. Here's Papa backing it out of the driveway for the last time.
We took a photograph of it before we took it to the dealership. I read somewhere that you should take a photo of each of your cars that you own so when you take that trip down Memory Lane you will remember what they looked like. Plus, your children would never believe what some of the old cars you owned looked like. Sometimes I forget to do that so I'm trying to be more accountable now. When Frank and I married I had a '55 red Thunderbird with both a hard and soft top and I did not take a single photo of it. I'm really sorry now! At least they're still on the Internet. I sometimes wonder if he married me for love or for that car! It was a real cutie (but I was back then too!)
Friday afternoon we didn't have anything to do, so we watched "Julie and Julia" again. It is without a doubt one of my very favorite movies. I adore food and absolutely LOVE to cook. There is a scene in that movie that has continued to haunt me since the first time I saw it.
In fact, I have even bought Julie Powell's book and am starting to read it now since the story interests me so. It was on the best seller list for a long time and is a delightful read.
Julia Child used to come to Longview, Texas and give cooking workshops and I had the privilege of attending one of those many years ago. I've always been interested in food and I get extremely excited when I either am served or prepare something that I consider to be exceptional. I took two week long workshops with Jacques Pepin at the Broadmoor at their School of Cooking in Colorado Springs in the '80's and loved every minute of it. When I was younger I was a very serious cook. I used to work in a gourmet cookware store and even taught some cooking classes. Some friends owned the store and I offered to help them out a couple of days a week. I'd never worked before but I had certainly cooked, so it was like playing all day, doing the thing you love the most and getting paid for it! It was certainly a win/win situation!
Jacques and Julia had a cooking show on PBS for a long time and they were wonderful together. In fact, they collaborated on a cook book and I not only have a copy of that book, I have all of his cookbooks and also Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
They also made a DVD of their show and I plan on getting it soon. It's such fun to watch them working together.
The two of them are absolutely delightful together. Two entirely different styles of cooking but they compliment one another completely in the kitchen.
And now, to the main point of this entry! While watching the film, I decided that I could not live another minute without trying the delicious Bruschetta that Julie (not Julia) prepared in the movie. Since I still have a little trouble getting around physically, so I sent Frank to the store ... he was MORE than anxious to go knowing what would be in store when he returned ... and he came home with all the necessary ingredients for our very special lunch. Here is the recipe and following this are the photographs that I took of what I call my masterpiece.
And now, to the main point of this entry! While watching the film, I decided that I could not live another minute without trying the delicious Bruschetta that Julie (not Julia) prepared in the movie. Since I still have a little trouble getting around physically, so I sent Frank to the store ... he was MORE than anxious to go knowing what would be in store when he returned ... and he came home with all the necessary ingredients for our very special lunch. Here is the recipe and following this are the photographs that I took of what I call my masterpiece.
BRUSHETTA - al la Julie and Julia – Recipe
4 slices rough textured bread, such as focaccia, or from a crusty baguette, cut lengthwise
16 oz. assorted heirloom type tomatoes (I used President’s Choice Rainbow heirloom cherry tomatoes) chopped and seeded if the seeds look sketchy
Extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and halved
sea salt
chopped fresh basil
1. Toss tomatoes with 1 T. olive oil and about 1 tsp. sea salt.2. Fry bread in 2-3 T. olive oil in skillet, browning on each side, and adding 1 more T. oil if necessary (I added a tad of butter to the oil)3. Rub cut half of garlic clove over 1 side of fried bread.4. Spoon tomatoes (with oil and accumulated juices) over bread. Top with chopped basil and more sea salt to taste.5. Eat with plenty of napkins on hand. It's messy but wonderful!
Serves 2.
I used some of the Extra Virgin Olive Oil in this recipe that I had purchased on our last trip to Tuscany and it tasted like velvet. Nothing on earth compares with really good olive oil from Tuscany. The bottle is small and the contents are very precious, like liquid gold. An absolute delight on the tongue.
We proceeded to open a bottle of white wine and put on our bibs as we bit into this glorious taste of a little bit of Heaven. Surely the road on the way to Heaven is paved with extra virgin olive oil!
This was very easy to make, not very time consuming and one of the best things that I have put in my mouth in a very long time. The sounds that we both made as we were eating it could only be described as complete ecstasy. I'm glad no one was listening because they would have wondered what on earth was going on with these two old people!
After taking a long afternoon nap (we don't generally drink wine during the day), we went out on the deck and finished the bottle of wine we had opened for our lunch.
This was very easy to make, not very time consuming and one of the best things that I have put in my mouth in a very long time. The sounds that we both made as we were eating it could only be described as complete ecstasy. I'm glad no one was listening because they would have wondered what on earth was going on with these two old people!
After taking a long afternoon nap (we don't generally drink wine during the day), we went out on the deck and finished the bottle of wine we had opened for our lunch.
As we watched the sun set on our little garden, we listened to some of our favorite golden oldies sung by Bette Midler and Michael Bublé .
It was the perfect end to an absolutely perfect day.
Since I am writing this blog, my precious husband told me that he was going to read the paper, but he was actually taking a nap. He thinks I can't see him when he's in his disguise
:-) I don't know why he doesn't just turn the lights out. that way he wouldn't look like a corpse in an ugly body bag!
Since I am writing this blog, my precious husband told me that he was going to read the paper, but he was actually taking a nap. He thinks I can't see him when he's in his disguise
:-) I don't know why he doesn't just turn the lights out. that way he wouldn't look like a corpse in an ugly body bag!
After all the great food and wine, I need to get to the gym on Monday and start working on the body that I can only dream of. If I live long enough and keep going to Weight Watchers, maybe someday .....
or would I rather just continue to cook and have delicious food and enjoy this part of my life? You tell me!
Bon Appetite,
Pcasso
Bon Appetite,
Pcasso
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