Morning Glory

This is a little volunteer Morning Glory that made me smile today!

I just love the vibrant purple color of this beauty...with today being Labor Day and the temperatures are dropping it won't be long and the landscape will be golds, rusts, reds, and oranges...ushering in that beautiful season called Fall!

With that in mind, guess it is nearly time to unpack the sweaters! Truly a beautiful time of the year!!!

Enjoy!

Amazing!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I did say amazing!!!

It has been my experience, over the years, that when you bring peach's into the house the fruit flies magically arrive with them! Annoying to say the least!

As you can see in the above picture, the little fruit flies have met their water-loo!

The concoction in the bowl consists of red wine vinegar and two or three squirts of liquid dish soap...that's it! I place plastic wrap over the bowl, secure it with a rubber band, and then poke a few holes in the top. Cheap, easy, and it works!

As you can see the peach's are free of fruit flies...they are all in the magic bowl!

It's Salad Again!

The hot summer weather means more salads at our home...quick & easy is the name of the game!

Chicken tenders are a nice compliment to a green salad...the tenders thaw quickly in this hot weather and cook up in a blink, using extra virgin olive oil & dipped in Italian bread crumbs.

I almost always have romaine lettuce on hand and that is the base of the above salad...then you just start adding salad "goodies"...such as tomatoes homegrown by Courtney and Matt...Graceland Fruit dried cherries, candied pecans, green onions, goat cheese with dried cranberries, french fried onion pieces and finally topped off with cherry vinaigrette from Six Lugs that I have mentioned many times on this blog!

Peach's & Cream!!!

It just doesn't get much better than this!!! My Grandma Bessie introduced me to pure whipping cream on strawberries years ago and that was such a taste treat!

My Mom, Dad, and Uncle raised cows when I was a young girl, so we had the real deal cream and that was to die for. Oh the memories of those cows and the milking that needed to be done...what a process it all was. I can remember the hay being put up for winter and there always seemed to be a snake hiding away in one of the bales, just waiting for me I am sure...and I always provided a little drama!

Once in awhile the cows would escape and invariably Mom & I would be home alone and we would chase the critters and pray they would return inside their fence...some interesting times for sure!

Now we slice peach's and pour on the whipping cream and I go back in time for a brief moment and enjoy the fond memories!

How blessed I feel to have had Dad, Uncle Alfred & Grandma Bessie in my life and I continue to be blessed with my Mom!

Pretty Pink Hibiscus

I just love the pink & white hibiscus plants that Norma Champagne/Matheson gave me several years ago, they bring along with their blooms many happy memories of a talented and fine lady!

I just couldn't resist posting a couple pictures of the saucer sized beauties!!!

Leftover Peach Martini Cupcake Batter.......

Maggie was ready for a little sugar fix...but she will have to wait awhile!

Daddy fed Maggie her food while the rest of the family consumed way too much sugar...but what fun we all had!

I prepared eight of the peach martini cupcakes and used the rest of the batter to make just plain cupcakes that would delight children...won't be long Maggie and you will indulge in a sweet now and then.

Our family had a great time on Sunday at the Fruit Dessert Throwdown and we look forward to the next throwdown in September!

Did anyone notice that Maggie's outfit was color co-ordinated with the cupcakes???? Truly wasn't planned, but how cute!!!!!

Peach Martini Cupcakes

Yet another Family Throwdown...just we three ladies signed up for the fruit dessert event yesterday. Caribe made a delicious peach cobbler with a maple glaze, Courtney made a beautiful layer cake with a peach filling, and I made Peach Martini Cupcakes!!!!

The idea for these fun little peach martini cupcakes was not my original idea but that of Hoosier Homemade and she was inspired by the authors of Hello, Cupcake! What in the world did we do before blogs?

As you can see the cake batter is baked right in the martini glasses (that Courtney picked up for me at the Dollar Tree). I used a white cake mix that I doctored up a bit and added fresh, diced peach's to. I filled the glasses about 1/2 full with the batter and placed on a large cookie sheet in a pre-heated oven (325 degrees) and baked for about 23 minutes. I did grease the glasses a bit before adding the batter.

Allow the glasses to cool completely on wire cooling rack.

Now comes the fun part...place a bit of water in a bowl or on a plate and carefully dip the edge of glass (a little at a time) in the water and then dredge in sugar. When this is complete it is time to open a can of store purchased cream cheese frosting...remove from can and place in a bowl that is microwave safe. If desired, color the frosting with your color choice (mix thoroughly). Place in microwave for 10-15 seconds. This allows the frosting to get quite fluid and now spread on the cupcakes.

You can allow your creativity to shine on this particular project...little paper umbrella's are a cute touch. I also had candies and straws on hand but didn't want to over-power the presentation.

Our family has enjoyed the Throwdowns this summer so much that we are going to continue having them once a month.