Silent Sunday

Don't you wish you were them?

Sailing around the world on a beautiful boat instead of reading this blog post right now?  I kinda do!  And that's why I enjoy reading about their daily ventures.  It's my way of living vicariously through two beautiful people living a farytale.  Man, am I jealous!

http://sailingaroundtheglobe.blogspot.com/

Ménage a trois

Well THAT'S certainly an interesting blog title.  Wonder how many hits that'll generate?  Get your mind out of the gutter (and while you're there please grab mine too).  I'm talking about my favorite everyday red wine.   In fact, it's my house red.  That's right, I said it.  Menage a trois at my house!! Har dee Har Har.

In all seriousness, back to the wine.  This blend of reds provides the classic  jammy fruity taste that is expected of the California Red.  The fruits of the Zinfandel combine with the mouth feel of the Merlot and the rich flavors and tannins of the Cabernet Sauvignon to strike a perfect balance.  And at about $8.00 a bottle there's no reason not to give it a try!  C'mon, invite your friends over for a little Menage a Trois this weekend...

 

Ina's guacamole

I like Guacamole.  Who doesn't?!?  Except people who are allergic to Avocados I guess... Anyway, I've tried quite a few recipes and I have to say that the best I've ever found is by Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa.  And here is her recipe:

 

Ina Garten's Guacamole

Makes approximately 3 cups

 

Ingredients

• 4 ripe Hass avocados
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 8 dashes hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
• 1/2 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium tomato, seeded, and small-diced

 

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits, and scoop the flesh out of their shells into a large bowl. (Ina recommends using your hands.) Immediately add the lemon juice, hot sauce, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper and toss well. Using a sharp knife, slice through the avocados in the bowl until they are finely diced. Add 2/3 of the tomatoes. Mix well and taste for salt and pepper.  Top with the last 1/3 of tomatoes and enjoy!

 

Yum.

 

Air popper

I found myself at the Grocery store last weekend doing something that I'd heretofore not anticipated.  I was buying pre-popped popcorn for my daughters sleepover.  Forget about how silly that is in terms of expense (it was $4.00 for the bag) but let's just take a moment to think about what preservatives must have been sprinkled on there to keep it 'fresh' aka shelf stable!  Yuck.

Well it reminded me that one of the great pleasures of my youth was the ol' air popper.  Remember how much fun it was to watch your parents try to get the corn to shoot into the bowl?  One tiny nudge by you and it would shoot all over... those were the days.  And completely aside from the fun, this corn is much healthier than the microwave and shelf stable stuff.  No added fat, preservatives or anything.  Just fun.

There are a number of different brands and styles ranging from about $20

to $40 if you want to get all fancy. Which you really don't need to.

I don't see the difference but if you're a fan of red, go for it!

Or you could dig the old one out of your parent's garage.  It's probably still there and I'll bet it still works!

Flip flop holder

My darling daughter has inherited a genetic condition.  Ok, maybe it's not exactly genetic given that she's inherited it from her Godmother but still... she sure didn't get it from me!  It's her love of clothes and shoes.  Admittedly, she has great taste and is very strategic about the purchases she makes but nevertheless, the stuff piles up!

We recently went through a huge purge of things which had mysteriously become too small and the clothes are temporarily tamed. But the shoes.  Oh the shoes!  There aren't enough shoe racks in the world for this kiddo and not all shoes are made for conventional racks.

Enter the flip flop holder!  I kid you not.  These things are great.  Perfectly engineered to hold not only flip flops

but a multitude of other things too like, say, cheer bows. 

I know.  This scares me too.

Love them and you can get them here: