More Halloween Fun

Last Friday was a great start to the weekend and Halloween! We had a very special feast at my Son's In-Laws home. I feel very fortunate because I call both my daughter and my son's In-Laws, my Friends-in Laws.

Marian put on such a festive dinner. We helped create and enjoyed such an eerie assortment of appetizers, from Eye Ball Salad, Skeleton Vegetables, to Candy Corn Pizza's, it all was great fun and delicious.

I have included the Recipe for the Vegetable Skeleton and the Eye Ball Salad, but the pictures, as they say, are worth a thousand words!!

Thanks for a Howlarious Evening!!





Eyeball Salad
(makes 12 servings)

12 basil leaves
3 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
12 small rounds of fresh mozzarella, cut in half
24 small green olives with pimientos, cut in half
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

On a large platter, place basil leaves. Top each basil leaf with a slice of tomato, 2 rounds of cheese and 2 olive pieces. Sprinkle zest over platter. Drizzle each salad with Lemon juice and olive oil. Serve cold.

Skeleton Vegetable Tray
Cauliflower florets, Green bell peppers, Zucchini slices, Squash slices, Red bell peppers,Sugar snap peas, Slivered almonds, Pitted kalamata olives

To make a skeleton, use cauliflower florets to shape the head and hips. Use green pepper strips to make arms and legs. Alternate squash and zucchinis slices to make a spine. Use red bell pepper to make ribs. For feet and hands, use the pieces of green bell peppers with tiny strips of red bell peppers for fingers. Cut slits in sugar snap peas, and fill with almonds for the mouth. Cut olives in slices for eyes. Cut 1 olive in half lengthwise for nose.

The recipe calls for a great Ranch Dip, however I would substitute one of my all time favorite veggie dips :

Salad Burnet Dip

1 Package Cream Cheese
4TBLS Burnett Leaves, chopped fine
2TBLS Garlic Chives, chopped fine
Chopped Lettuce
1tsp salt and pepper
Bind with 1/4 C sour cream or mayo

Mix all together and chill for 24 hours.

The above recipes were taken from "Celebrate Halloween" by Phyllis Hoffman

Carving Pumpkins

Sometimes bringing back fun from an earlier time is exceptionally special!!

Every Halloween we would carve pumpkins and roast the seeds, I love it when we have the chance to enjoy this activity again.

Can life get much better ?

KIRT'S ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

We spend a long time digging out the goopy mess inside the pumpkins and picking out the seeds(Beware, in our household this action can result in a pumpkin guts food fight!).

We then clean off the separated seeds and place them on a lightly oiled baking sheet.( I use olive oil) I then liberally sprinkle the seeds with good sea salt and pepper. Then roast the seeds until they are crispy.

I usually have the oven temp around 400 degrees. Keep a good eye on them (Kalee is great at this job) and turn them over and over, while sprinkling more salt on to taste.

Now that the kids are older, we sit down with a cold glass of pumpkin ale or a nice glass of wine and enjoy not only the fruits of our labor but each other's company as well.

Reliving this memory just keeps getting better and better!

OCTOBER COLOR

October gave a party:




The leaves by hundreds came-
Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

George Cooper "October's Party"

Basil...Throughout Greece

This Country is just so amazing....I loved the contrasts between the land, the sky and the sea!

There are so many wonderful memories.... but while we still have just a bit of Basil left here in Kentucky, I thought I would share my collection of Basil Pictures from Greece.

It did seem that the small leaf Basil was the most popular!! I love the Spicy Globe Version of this Basil.It is easy to use,no cutting, just pick the small leaves off and use. It also makes a beautiful display in the garden. I love the BIG BALL this herb grows into as it matures.


It seems fitting for Basil Becky to take pictures of Basil where she roams!!!

Weekend Fun and the Last of the Basil.....

Wow this weekend was wonderful!! My daughter and her husband came to visit. Even though this meant 5 dogs, it was well worth it. This is my Basil Daughter( refer to an earlier blog)so since we were expecting the first frost (and we got it!),we decided to use the last surviving Basil we still had in the garden.

Friday night we fixed a feast, I have included one of our favorite recipes from the night. Saturday we went up to Indiana University. My husband and I both graduated from IU and our daughter went there one year, before bailing out to SMU. More importantly my Father was involved with Indiana University for over 25 years. Both Mom and Dad love IU, so we felt our Daughter's Husband needed to see this reverend place. We wanted to take pic's at the tree that had been planted in my Father's honor but truth be known, my Husband's fraternity had a dedication of a new wing, and he was anxious to reconnect. Actually, this suited me just fine because I got to meet up with a very special friend from college. We ended up at a wonderful restaurant. If you are ever in Bloomington this is a must visit. The Chef is the son of one of my Mom's good Friends, he was in Manhattan for a number of years and returned to his roots. Midwesterner's should be so grateful!! He uses all local slow food, it is creative and wonderful. Please check it out :

www.farm-bloomington.com


There is nothing better than Family, Good Friends and Good Food!!



Cheese Ravioli with Red Pepper Dip

Ingredients:
olive oil cooking spray
24 whole wheat wonton wrappers
1/2 cup soft goat cheese ( we added fresh basil chopped)
1/4 cup low-fat Parmesan cheese
1 cup roasted red peppers(from water packed jar) chopped
1/3 cup low fat sour cream
2 TBSP Fresh Basil
Sea Salt and Fresh ground pepper, to taste

#1 Preheat oven to 400 Degrees
Coat a large baking sheet with Olive Oil cooking spray

#2 Arrange wonton wrappers on a flat surface. Spoon a small amount of the Goat Cheese on to
each wonton. Using a wet finger, wet edges of the wonton. Fold wonton over, making a triangle, and press edges together to seal.

#3Transfer wontons to prepared baking sheet and spray surfaces with cooking spray. Sprinkle parmesan chees over top. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until the wontons are a golden brown and toasted.

#4 Make Red Pepper Dip: In blender , combineroasted red peppers and sour cream. Puree until smooth. Transfer dip to a bowl and fold in Basil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with the dip on the side for dunking.


* Recipe from Robin Miller

Rachel's Bamboo!

To me , the best thing about gardening is sharing plants. I was raised in a family that did not let anyone leave a visit without sending something home with them, so my garden has helped me continue that tradition. I always have something to share, either cut flowers, starts of plants or fresh fruits. My Dad's great sister Rachel shared this Bamboo with me when I moved to Kentucky. When ever I look at it I remember her house in Columbus. Thank you Rachel, it is beautiful this year!

Day 2

Poseidon was so great but we are ready to sail!! We met up with Father John , dinner and then we are sailing!!!