Commissioned by Wife....

I enjoy making art so when we redid our bathroom my wife commissioned me to make her a piece to hang on the wall that goes with our whole new look... I found some 1880s ladies home journals at the antique mall and snatched them up.  We are going to frame the covers to hang in our bedroom but I couldn't help cutting out some of the adds that had to do with all things womanly and this is the piece I came up with.  She loved it.  I think it is fun also.....

Cooking new Foods........

I found this recipe in the February issue of  Clean Eating http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/ and it was wonderful...  When I told my wife and daughter we were having apricot glazed scallops with snow peas for dinner they were not sure they wanted them.   But after one bite they were smitten with scallops....  This recipe was soooooo good.  I can't wait to make it again.  (My wife didn't like the cellophane noodles)  Next time I make this dish I will serve it over steamed brown rice.  Worth a try for anyone...

Ingredients
6 oz of Cellophane noodles
1 tbsp safflower oil
1/2 cup minced white onion
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
2 lb fresh or frozen large sea scallops
1 1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup of all-natural apricot preserves
2 cups of fresh or frozen snow peas
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste...

Soak noodles for 10 min in very hot water then set aside.  Next heat oil in a wok or large skillet on medium high.  add onion, ginger and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, until tender, stirring frequently.  Add scallops and cook for 2 minutes, until opaque, in a small bowl, whisk soy sauce into apricot preserves. add apricot mixture to wok and bring to a simmer over same heat.  add snow peas and cook for 2 min remover from heat and season with salt and pepper.  server scallop mixture over the noodles... 
                                                          be prepared to eat it all up....

Happy Valentines day!

  My new favorite Brass Jewelry.....  This is the way it all began.....

I love to make gifts for my girls and these are the earrings that made them for valentines........

Snow Day Organization

Starbucks in the Cabinet

We are remodeling our kitchen and everything has been a mess for weeks...  then comes the big snow and my Michelle and I finally had the opportunity to go through, purge, reload and organize.  It is so nice to simplify... 

Michelle organized my favorite item in the cabinet my Starbucks... Can't start the day with out my favorite Brew.



Plates are in their place.

Baking Supplies....  Are ready to GO.

Cook books are ready.......

Pantry is Full



The grainite and sink are on there way...the stove top is ready to go in and back splash installed then the kitchen will be done...  Doesn't it look great!  God has blessed us...

Making Breakfast during remodel.

Omelets are always good on a cold day.   The more colorful the better!

Nothing better than a good Greek cheese.  I love Feta Cheese.

Perfect                                                                                                                                                                             

Fried potatoes and roasted garlic is wonderful.                                             

My family loves Potatoes!     

I love to cook and I can't wait till our new kitchen is done.  In the mean time We continue to find ways to be creative.  No kitchen isn't an excuse for bad food...

Snow Day

We started remodeling our Kitchen a week ago and two of the cabinets would not fit.   The Granite counter top that my wife and I picked out was not in stock and had to be sent in from Austin Texas.  

Then we have a BLIZZARD! 

So what do you do when you are snowed in and you don't have a working kitchen? 

You Create One...

PANCAKES

Thanks to some friends we have this small piece of granite so we can make a small counter..

COFFEE IS A MUST!

Washing dishes the Old School way...  



IT WAS A FUN DAY!

 

Saturday Morning and Breakfast

Saturday mornings were made for spending time with family and making a great breakfast.  Last Friday my twin daughters came home from college for the weekend so I decided to make them a gourmet breakfast.  I enjoy going to the fridge and using what we have to make something great.  I had some fresh mushrooms left over from a dinner I made earlier this week, 2 ears of fresh corn, red sweet peppers, artichoke hearts and eggs.  I sauteed the mushrooms and peppers for a few minutes then I added the fresh corn and artichoke hearts until they were totally warmed.  I  then added 10 eggs whipped and scrambled the eggs with the vegetables.

I warmed the tortillas and we made scrambled egg tacos.  Topped them with fresh cilantro, avocado and cheese.  They were delicious. 

The company was great.  The pjs were hilarious and my daughters even cleaned up the mess.  It was a great morning..

I love beets!!

 A few weeks ago I had lunch with a friend at a pizza place located in Bricktown called the Wedge.  http://www.thewedgeokc.com/. I ordered a personal pizza called a Truffel Shuffle and a roasted beet salad.  The salad was so good I still think about it. 

Now I love Beets and I am always trying to find ways to get my family to eat them... It was Icy day here in OKC so I decided to try and recreate my version of a roasted beet salad.  This is what I came up with.   My wife said it was the first time she has ever ate beets and liked them... 

I brushed the beets with Olive Oil and roasted them for 1 hour at 400 degrees
I let them cool a bit then rubbed the skin off of them and cut them into wedges.

I let them chill then placed them on top of a bed of fancy lettuce
added capers and a pink grapefruit dressing topped them off with feta cheese and candied black walnuts.