Hand Painted Garden Chairs

Last month at Sherway Gardens a shopping mall in Toronto had a silent auction for these hand-painted chairs....by local artists. Every year I go and look around, some are quite beautiful and very artistic and imaginative as you will see in the photos..

My favourite chair.....back to nature. :-)

 Today I'm linking to;
http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.ca

Green Pea Salad

GREEN PEA SALAD

This is a Green Pea Salad my Mom use to make all the time.......and has always been a favourite of mine. She got this recipe from a dear old friend when she first got married........probably one of those 1950's recipes. 

It's easy peasy to do. Especially if you are in a hurry to make some dinner. I always keep a few canned peas on hand.....it only works with canned green peas and not frozen or fresh. I usually get the low-sodium ones.

When I serve it for company I use a pretty antique pedestal bowl.......and get asked for this simple recipe.

  

Green Pea Salad

1 can Green Peas, drained (any size)

2 scallions, chopped 

3 Tbsp. Oil (I use Canola)

1 Tbsp. regular vinegar

Combine all ingredients above and mix well......and enjoy!

****You can adjust the oil and vinegar ratio to your taste...I usually just eye-ball it.

Green Hostas.

LINKING TO:

 http://www.designsbygollum.blogspot.ca/

http://annkroeker.com/

Thanks for stopping by!!!!!

My Garden (Dogan Bahce) Part 1

MY GARDEN (Dogan Bahce)

This year we kept our garden smaller in the backyard .......... with the HOT and HUMID summer we have been having no matter how we water or fertilize they don't seem to be so vibrant like the years before. Also the reason for less plants is that the backyard was interlocked and lots of flower beds were gone. With the clearing of lots of shrubs and some plants......I noticed that "Rocky" the Raccoon has moved next door and I don't see Alvin all that much. BUT the SKUNK is still there nightly......almost. Love to open the windows at night for some fresh air but with the aroma of the skunk it doesn't happen. 

 Basil

 Hosta's.

 Petunia's.

 Geranium's.

 Hostas and Petunia's.

 Dusty Millers.

 Dusty Millers and Impatiens.

 Gargoyle face.

 Day Lillies.

 Impatiens.

 Garden Gnomes......very old from Austria.

 Mint...Turkish 'nane'.

 My lil' 'cupid'.

 Teesha (RIP).......I miss you.

 Alvin the Chipmunk is still breaking my things.....he is so bad.

Lillies.



Thanks for stopping by!!!!!!!

Zucchini Pie

 Chopped zucchini and sauteing in some Olive oil.

GREEK ZUCCHINI PIE 
Slightly adapted from Peter’s Kalofagas blog
SOURCE: azcookbook.com

1/2 cup olive oil
1 cups finely chopped green onion
3 zucchinis (Mexican or Italian), about 1 1/2 pounds, diced
5 large eggs
1 cup of strained Greek yogurt (if not available, use plain yogurt, drained of its liquid on a cheese cloth)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup Kasseri or Mild Cheddar cheese, grated (If none is available, use mozzarella)
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
ground pepper to taste
sweet paprika to taste (and for garnish)
slices of zucchini rounds (for finishing)

 Ready to be baked.

 Baked.

Grease a 15 X 10 baking tray with vegetable oil.


In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and diced zucchini, sprinkle them with some salt and saute over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until soft (but not mushy, they should hold their shape at the end!) and have most of the liquid evaporate (should reduce to about half). Take off the heat and reserve.


Preheat the oven to 350F.


In a large bowl, whisk your eggs with a wire whisk or a mixer for a couple of minutes until mixed well. Add the yogurt and stir in to mix. Add the flour and baking powder and mix in.

 Cut into squares.



Add the crumbled and grated cheeses and sauteed vegetables and mix to incorporate. Add some ground black pepper and sweet paprika. Have a taste and adjust seasoning (probably will not need any salt).


Stir in the chopped fresh parsley and pour the mixture into your greased baking dish.


Top with round slices of zucchini and sprinkle some sweet paprika over the entire mixture.


Place on the middle rack of your pre-heated oven and bake for approximately 1 hour, or until golden on top.


Allow to rest for about 15 minutes and then cut up into slices.


Serve warm or at room temperature. It makes a perfect snack appetizer when cold, too.


NOTES: I used plain yofurt, 4 x-large eggs and cheddar cheese. Turned out yummy.

 Thanks for stopping by.!!!! Enjoy your weekend.

Linking to;/http://www.designsbygollum.blogspot.ca/

http://simplelivingdianebalch.blogspot.ca/

Toronto CN Tower

CN Tower Toronto Ontario Canada

A few months ago as we were driving in downtown Toronto going shopping I noticed the beautiful "BLUE" sky. It looked like the pointy needle on the CN Tower was touching the sky and just lit it up a gorgeous few shades of "BLUE"..........

........this CN Tower for 34 years held the record as being the world's tallest-free-standing structure. It is 1,815.4 feet high. There is a restaurant on the very top...but what is cool about this restaurant is that in 1 hour it spins around the whole city......good it's not faster or it would be hard to keep the food down.

On a clear day you can see Buffalo, New York across Lake Ontario......the views are amazing.

When there is a storm with lightening that needle on the CN Tower gets hit so often with a big bolt of lightening. Quite amazing to watch. During different seasons it is lit up with different colours.

I've been up so many times as it is a big tourist attraction...anyone who comes to visit has to go up.........what is scary for me is the glass floor you can walk on and see the city below. I always think that the glass floor will crack and down I'll go...eekkks!

Today I'm linking to; asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com

Linking to;  Smilingsally.blogspot.com



Thanks for stopping by.!!!!!

Devil Eggs or Stuffed Eggs

 Devil Eggs...........

Devil Eggs have been around a long time...since the ancient times in Rome.The term "deviled" dates back to the 19th century, referring to the use of particularly piquant spices in cooking.

I grew up with these devil eggs...I remember my Mom whenever we had company over theses devil eggs would appear.

I too like my Mom (RIP)also make these quite often..not so much for our regular meals at home but mostly when we have company over or for some special occasion.
For some reason I collect devil egg dishes......I have them for every occasion.....which makes a good excuse to make them.

Mostly now for my nieces and nephews I make 'special' Spider Deviled Eggs for Halloween decorated with Olive decorated spiders......spooky. But it gets them eating those eggs...and considering some of them hate eggs they sure do eat those though.

Devil Eggs

12 eggs, boiled and peeled
6 Tbsp. Mayonnaise
2 or 3 tsp. mustard
2 green onions, chopped finely
2 Tbsp. relish (opt.)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground Pepper
sweet Paprika...for sprinkling.

Add eggs to a pot of cold water ...turn heat up high till the pot of water comes to a boil.
Cover..remove from heat and set aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

Pour the water off and place eggs in cold water (may add ice if needed).
When cool...peel and cut in half and take out yolks and put into a bowl...setting the egg white halves into a devil egg tray.

Mash egg yolks with the mayonnaise, mustard, green onions, relish and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Fill each egg white half with the mashed egg yolks
Sprinkle with some paprika on top or any kind of decoration you desire....sometimes I add chives, or grated carrots....etc.....

Cook's Notes; I have made these the night before and kept them refrigerated.

 Thanks for stopping by.

linking to http://www.designsbygollum.blogspot.ca/

Postcards Stairs

"STAIRS"

This is another Postcard collection from my Mom's family that was brought over from Eastern Europe.

It was dated sometime in the very  late 1930's to my Mom from a school friend who knew they would probably  never see each other due to the war uprisings.......writing to my Mom wishing her a good life and maybe they can meet sometime someplace when the world was a little better and peaceful. To my knowledge my Mom doesn't know if she made it out to another country or what happened to her. She was one of my Mom's good school girlfriends. This brings me to mind...that we don't understand how fortunate we are to live in North America.

This postcard reminds me of  someone going for a Sunday walk or stroll......during summer time in some nice weather. These two ladies look like they bought some flowers along the way.....or maybe just walking and  thinking about  their lovers or husbands who are at war and they are just walking around and thinking about missing them terribly.

Thank you for stopping by....I'm linking to;

/http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.ca/

Grilled Kielbasa Kabobs

 I love Kielbasa anyway it is cooked, being of Ukrainian background we have Kielbasa weekly sometime during the week when I was growing up.....so for my daughter's Grad Barbecue party I made these on the grill as one of the grilled meats. We also had Hamburgers, Chicken Shish Kabobs and Hot Dogs on the grill but these went the fastest. My husband being of Turkish background always has to have some kind of Kabob on the grill. I brought back with me these beautiful brass Kabob sticks on one of my trips to Turkey....and have used them many times over.


These were fast and easy to make ...just cut and skewer. You could also use almost any veggie you like or have on hand. I love these Kielbasa kabobs...the taste of the charred and smoky flavours and moist inside. Summer meals are my favourite...friends and family over for a barbecue and eating in the garden and building new memories.

KIELBASA KABOBS

Kielbasa (cut into 1 inch chunks)

Red and Yellow Pepper (cubed)

Zucchini (cut into 1 inch pieces)

Red Onion (cut into chunks)

2-3 Tbsp. Canola oil

1 1/2 tsp. Dijon Mustard (I use Grey Poupon)

1/2 tsp. soya sauce

1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

 Skewer Kielbasa and veggies on sticks.....alternating.


Mix canola oil, Dijon, soya  sauce, and lemon juice together: and add salt and pepper to taste.
Brush on the Kielbasa Skewers.


Cook the Kielbasa Kabobs 4 to 6 minutes on each side til' nicely browned...and enjoy.


****I use Beef or Turkey Kielbasa.
        Sometimes I just don't use any sauce or marinate..... they are already cooked and have been seasoned and have a great taste when grilled by them selves..

 Thanks for stopping by.

Linking to ;http://www.designsbygollum.blogspot.ca/