Dixie and Becky

So Dixie(pretty pretty) and I need to
Lose 20 pounds



We are going to walk every day . I will keep
You all posted .

Birthday Celebration

Yesterday was a great family birthday celebration. We had three special birthdays in January, my husband was 60, my son was 30, and my daughter
-in-law celebrated her 29th.

I love to seek out special recipes for my guest. In this case, I wanted each birthday person to have a special dish. One of my favorite activities is to scour through magazines and the Internet and find great new recipes. I have a mile high stack of Tear Outs, that I will use someday. My husband feels I never make the same recipe twice, so for him I made my standby Prime Rib Roast!





My son loves Salmon, so for him I made a great new recipe. I have included the recipe .



My daughter-in-law loves breakfast casseroles, so I made her one of my favorites. I think it was a success because she took the leftovers home for dinner.


Lastly for me, I made a Roasted grape recipe and served it with some selected special cheeses. I continued my resolution to use more herbs by using this recipe, which I have included.

I hope you all enjoy this recipes as much as we did!!!!


Roasted grapes

1 lb rinsed,stemmed,red seedless grapes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
In a 12 x 15 baking pan, mix grapes, olive oil, fresh thyme,salt and pepper. Bake in a 400 degrees oven, shaking the pan occasionally, until the grapes are beginning to blister. 15 to 18 minutes. Use immediately or within 4 hours.

Roast Salmon

1/4 whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon extra virgin oil
11/2 tablespoons minced chives
4 -8 ounce skin -on wild salmon fillets
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a small bowl, stir together the mustard,olive oil, and chives

Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper and place them skin down on the prepared sheet. Spread the mustard mixture over the tops of the fillets. Roast the fish for 6 minutes.

Preheat the broiler.Broil the Salmon 6 inches from the heat for about 4 minutes, until the crust is browned and the Salmon is almost cooked through.

Thanks to FOOD AND WINE. For this recipe

Dad.. The Daffodil Watch Is On!!

Four Years ago this month, I lost the most amazing man I will ever know....my Father. He was a man of many different interest and talents, but for me his love of gardening is our bond throughout eternity.

Every Spring Dad would patiently watch the daffodils emerge. He had a special black book that everyday he would write down the progress of the leaves emerging from the ground. Dad was so happy the day the first yellow face lifted its head to the sky!! It was dully noted in the black book. My Father actually did the same thing with Black Eyed Susans in the Fall.

Over the year he planted 1000's of daffodils, all different varieties, which we have continued to enjoy every Spring.

I have continued the tradition and have planted 1000's of daffodils as well. I take so much joy in picking the flowers and taking them to friends, nursing homes, my family and anyone who I feel would love the bright beautiful yellow symbols of Spring.


So .....the leaves are now anywhere from 2 to 4 inches up. The mild winter so far has messed with "Mother Nature". Maybe I'll be passing out daffodils for Valentines Day!

Lenten Roses 2012

I love my shade garden! It is always the first area to give me love early in the Spring, but the middle of January is a bit early. Yesterday I walked out to the garden and the Lenten Roses were peeking their heads out at me.

Helleborus Orientalis, or commonly know as the Lenten Rose, was the 2005 Perennial Plant of the Year. I would support this accolade 100%.

Lenten Roses are evergreen, blooming anywhere from late winter to early spring. Mature plants form clumps that are 18" to 24" tall and spread up to 30" wide. The plants can host as many as 50 or more flowers per plant which last a very long time.

They come in many colors and appear as single or double forms. As they mature they provide a host of babies to share or spread around. I am hoping they will spread enough form a nice different ground cover under the Silver maple Tree.

They do best in full to partial shade, adding an amazing array of texture, color and form to the landscape. They are great bedfellows to my host of early blooming wildflowers in the same area.

I like to think they are the garden gang leaders, nodding their heads to the ground as if to say come on out kids.....Spring is coming!!!

Calling All Foodies Vote For Louisville!

The Week Ahead

VOTE FOR LOUISVILLE Southern Living Contest - Name the Tastiest Town
VOTE DAILY through January 31 and you'll help name The South's Tastiest Town to be announced in the April issue of Southern Living magazine. Plus, you'll be entered for a chance to win a $2,500 cash prize for a trip to any Tasty Town of your choice.

Go to http://www.southernliving.com/travel/souths tastiest towns

Louisville is such a great resturant town and the scene is growing by leaps and bounds!! Let's put it on top!

What is blooming today? January 15th 2012

Here is what I have blooming today!

January 15th 2011

Using Thyme

I am sticking to my New Years Resolution and using more herbs. This is a recipe I again adapted from the Food Network( Giada). It was so good.

I was so excited that I still had the fresh thyme,oregano and parsley in the garden to use in this recipe. We had the leftovers today for lunch...still very tasty!!!

I hope you will try this and enjoy! One tip....I do not chop the thyme leaves, I actually leave them on the stem and then pull the stems out after cooking before I serve the dish.

Roman-style Chicken

6 skinless chicken thighs (I used boneless)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grounded pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

3 ounces bacon or prosciutto chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 (15 -ounce) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup white wine

1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 Tablespoon fresh oregano leaves

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup Chopped parsley leaves

Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. In a heavy, large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken until browned on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Keeping the same pan over medium heat, add the peppers and bacon or prosciutto and cook until the peppers have browned and the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, wine, and herbs. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the browned bits bits off the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pan, add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, cover until the chicken is cooked through about 30 minutes.

Sprinkle the chopped fresh parsley over the dish.

Enjoy!!!

New Years Resolution--Herbs

Ok..so this is probably different that most resolutions, I am resolving that I am going to try and use more herbs in all my cooking. I have so long had a fascination with all herbs, so I am going to focus on using them more often. Therefore that means sharing them with you all.

The hint of Thyme in this recipe is intoxicating!!!

Last night I was trying to come up with a vegetable to go alone with our main course. I noticed I still had 4 parsnips.( from the Christmas roasted root vegetables) I really did not want to just roast them so I opted to make a "Parsnip Puree". It was adapted from a recipe from Tyler Florence. Wow...so it has now sent me into a need to grow parsnips this Spring.

Check out more information on growing Parsnip on my blog in Kentucky Gardener. www.statebystategardening.com




Parsnip Puree

1 pound parsnips, peeled and sliced
Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fat free half and half
4 clove of garlic, peeled and gently smashed
1 sprig of thyme
1 stick butter
Extra Virgin olive oil
Parsley for garish

Put parsnips in a pot, season with salt and cover with the half and half. Add garlic and thyme then place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook until tender, the tip of a paring knife should easily go through without resistance-about 12 to 15 minutes.

I then take the thyme and use and immersion blender to puree the parsnips and achieve the texture of whipped cream. Season with salt and pepper, finish with a sprig of parsley.

I love the texture and the natural sweetness of the parsnips with just a hint of thyme!! Enjoy!!