the floating gourmet

This post is dedicated to:
Julie for our joy of sharing recipes
and
Amy for our mutual need to photograph food

The photos pretty much tell the story.

Well, with the exception of the
Melting Chocolate Cake
of which photography cannot capture what the
taste buds experienced.

duck

pumpkin/squash bake

warm spinach artichoke dip

for aaron

Thought of you when I spotted this welder while boarding our boat...

sea see

There were a lot of mirrors used in the decor of the ship...
providing lots of opportunities for fun reflection photos.

This cute little guy was left on our bed one day by housekeeping staff.

on deck

Our initial look around the ship, Inspiration, on our 3 night cruse with Carnival. I was so excited when we arrive I almost cried.


Jay thought it was important to check out the lifeboats.

Our day at sea was windy, wet and cold. We never even thought about getting in the pool.

funny sign!

The running track, a good place to stretch your legs and get some air.

toe count

120 toes -100 toes + 20 toes = 40 toes

We have company coming and going.

Our missionary friends, the Cobbett family, who have been living in their RV in our driveway since January first, headed north to Oregon yesterday evening.


At the same time we welcomed the arrival of two new guests, this pair of the smallish sort. Our friends are were in need of a place for their two children, a 3 year old girl and her 18 month old brother, to stay while they work through a family crisis. The children will stay for a few day until things are settled and they can go home.


This past week we had an unannounced guest for dinner when Jay picked up a young man who was walking alongside the highway and four last minute overnight/breakfast guests.

Yesterday I got a phone call from out of state friends, reminding us that they plan to stay with us two weeks in April while they are making doctor visits. Good thing they called as I hadn't remembered to write their visit on the calendar.

All this to say; my flexibility and hospitality skills have been stretched and grown since moving to Arizona.

Sarah's Key: Book #4

This fun read, Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, comes recommended by my cousin Brenda via Facebook. It's historical fiction set in present day France. The main character is a journalist researching an article on the real life event that occurred in Paris on July 16, 1942; the great Velodrome d'Hiver roundup. The journalist's interest is peeked by the story of a Jewish young girl, Sarah, taken from her home along with her parents and place in a concentration camp. When the parents are moved to another camp young Sarah is left behind with along with hundreds of other newly orphaned children. Sarah and a friend escape the prison and are taken in by a sympathetic farmer couple. As the facts are uncovered the hidden story emerges revealing a link between the journalist and the young girl Sarah.

I really enjoyed Sarah's Key and, as often when I find myself in historical fiction, like the fact that my pleasure reading has the added benefit of giving me insight into important period of history. Now that I think about it, historical fiction, at least for me, has the same effect as a spoonful of sugar with a dose of medicine.

c is for clean: book report #3

After my homemade laundry soap experience I ordered a book (don't remember where I saw it recommended) the Naturally Clean Home, 150 Super-Easy Herbal Formulas for Green Cleaning by Karyn Siegel-Maier. I've been making my way through the chapters organized by areas in the home: Bath, Kitchen etc. The first chapter, Why Clean with Herbs?, included a starter kit list for the recipes in the book. I ordered some liquid Castile Soap and several essential oils that I was missing and continued to read while waiting for my products to arrive. When the order arrived in the mail box I organized my herbal cleaning kit and made my first concoction; Tough Dirt & Grease Formula kitchen floor cleaner. Typically I use a splash of white vinegar in a bucket of warm water to clean my kitchen tile. This recipe used the hot water and vinegar along with castle soap, washing soda and essential oil (I used peppermint). I enjoyed washing the floor knowing I had the scrubbing value of the washing soda as well as the healing properties of the peppermint. I even got rid of some skid marks that have been hanging around. Now I'm excited to try more healthy cleaning formulas.

b is for blooming

Brittle Bush blossoms are popping open all over the valley. When Lily and I took our hike up Silly Mountain today I took along my camera to capture some of the pretty petals.




At the top of Old Silly we interrupted a Brittle Brush Beetle convention. Actually, I have no idea what this beetle is called but they were out in plague proportions.

They were large enough to make noise when they flew and it was a bit creepy (get it- bugs-creepy!) having them flying or crawling in every direction I looked.



Lily was very patient with me as we made frequently stops to stoop and shoot.

This pretty daisy-looking bloom was growing alongside the Brittle Bush and could easily be mistaken as such but on closer inspection they are two different flowers.

The Grease Wood/Creosote Bush with their waxy green leaves were also abloom.

This tiny little flower has delicate little tea cup blooms.


At the parking lot we found one last yellow bloom. A pretty Primrose-looking creation.

Chalk up one more delightful hike on Silly Mountain.

of picnics and such

When I first moved to Arizona I tried to use the table on the patio more frequently but found that most evenings Jay gets home too close to dusk (or many times after) so that an evening picnic just doesn't work.

Sunday, however was a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Jay worked on cleaning out his work van while I worked in the garden and weeding. I quit early and got supper ready so that we could enjoy eating outside.

I had black beans I wanted to use and found a recipe with Black Beans, Quinoa, Cumin, and corn. I swapped the corn for peas although the corn would have been a better look and taste. I'm trying to avoid corn as much as possible because it is almost impossible to find corn that is not gmo. I think this is the first time I have cooked Quinoa. The dish turned out yummy, especially with a slice of cheese and sour cream.

We also had a fresh salad with lettuce, carrots and radish out of our garden.

Our little picnic was a nice way to end the weekend.

purim

Our Messianic dance group was invited to join in two Purim outreach events this past week. The first took place Wednesday evening in a chapel located in a section of town with a large Jewish population. The second, outside on Thursday afternoon in front of a clubhouse in a Jewish neighborhood. The celebration included the blowing of the shofar, lots of traditional Jewish circle dances, the reading of the story of Ester including the "sound effects" from the audience, and of course lots of sweets.

peas porridge

Snap peas happily blooming away in my greenhouse.

Not really porridge, it's cauliflower soup. Got the recipe from a facebook friend. I found the recipe intriguing for several reasons, one because it was posted by a former Silver Dollar City coworker and current professor on Russian at ASU, secondly, because this friend is a male and was posting recipes on facebook, and also because I had never heard of cauliflower soup. It turned out surprisingly tasty but Jay said it made him feel like we were poor, eating a bowl of white mush for dinner.

three bags full

Jay came home with three large bags of rosemary bread from his favorite discount grocery store. Two bags went into the freezer. The third became dinner. Yum!

California Grilled Veggie Sandwich

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (Miracle Whip works too)
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (raw garlic-good for health)
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (I used lime instead)
  
• 1/8 cup olive oil (or a tablespoon if you don't read closely)
  
• 1 cup sliced red bell peppers (yellow does well also)
  
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced (or perhaps two green onions)
  
• 1 small yellow squash, sliced (unless you don't have any)
  
• 2 (4-x6-inch) focaccia bread pieces, split horizontally (Rosemary bread if ya have tons)
  
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (or Provolone)
• spices to taste (I added this one)
  

Recipe credit: allrecipes.com and Julie Cook

first nations

We once again had the privilege of coming along side the First Nation's pastor (at the pastor's school put on by Phoenix First Assembly) to demonstrate worship Native American-style to the people attending the conference. Many whom joined our powwow circle during the meal breaks were young adults involved in the Dream Center in California. The young people, with their unfettered enthusiasm, make our days dancing in the grass an instant celebration to the Creator.