Another Yum Creation

Aji paste is the bomb! Usually the yellow
one is the best, but this rocks, too.! So versatile.

For those of you who cook, willingly or not, you know it can be hard to think of something different to eat every day. But if you've been doing it for a while, then you also get a general sense of things that might work, or might not. Add into that a sort of craving, and well, you might end up... experimenting.

We all know some experiments are dismal failures. But I had a great one the other night! Hurray! Because that sure as heck is the best, right? Lol

I've been craving pizza lately. Like - any kind of pizza. Frozen ones that I've doctored up, the kind they sell by the slice that's big and greasy, homemade, you name it. I have no idea why, but I have been.

And the other night, well... my mind got to working. I'd bought these pre-made pizza crusts ages ago. They've been around forever, and I was trying to think what to put on them. Aji chicken came to mind (I call it this, but it is by no means unique, I'm sure. Cooked chicken with onions, green peppers, and aji sauce sauteed in a pan for a while). I had some of this frozen, you see. 

So I pulled it out, but it occurred to me that it might not really go with tomato sauce. I looked up a few chicken pizza recipes and boom - here's my thrown together sauce.

It is literally cream of chicken soup mixed with ranch dressing, lol. Thinned it slightly with some milk. Oh yeah, really, haha!

Here's the pizza in the assembly process: crust, sauce, aji chicken, and some chopped tomatoes.

With the cheese added (mozzarella and fiesta blend. It's what I had in the fridge, lol).


Man, did it smell good while it was cooking, let me tell you.

And viola! Here it is! Yummmm...

:)

And the Winners Are...

So the big drawing! Four winners for four prizes...

Here are the winners! Congratulations!

(Butterfly, I'm not sure if you found me on Facebook or here, but we need to get in touch somehow. If it's here, we'll have to think of something, lol.)

Anyway - I will keep the status of the prize distribution updated here and there as I can. 

Thanks for all the comments, you all. It means a lot to know that people have taken an interest in this little blog of mine. 

Garden stuff tomorrow!

:)

Post Card Saturday! (May-Elizabeth #8)

Tomorrow is the last day to enter for the free drawing! Go down four posts and leave a comment to be entered!  :D

Yes, that time again - Post Card Saturday! And not just that, the last of the May and Elizabeth Series. Still no idea what May was doing tooling around the South, or who Elizabeth was in relation to her, but it's been a fun ride, I think.

So let's get to it, shall we? May is once again on the road. This week's first postcard finds her in Chattanooga, TN, just a few days after the last postcard from last week. Up top is the front, of course. Here's the detail.

The full back.

And the message:
Thursday, April 4th
Am leaving Chattanooga this afternoon for Knoxville -- will not know my next stop until I see what I do there.
May

Hmmm... interesting. 

This postcard is dated eleven days later and is from Charlotte, North Carolina. The front up there.

The detail of where she is:

Here's the back.

The message:
Thursday, April 15th
It is very windy here to-day -- hope they do not stage a Cyclone for my benefit. Glad I am in no little frame house. 
May

Now - this postcard was written and sent *4* years before the Wizard of Oz movie came out! The books had been out long before, of course. Or maybe it was just an observation, lol. Who knows, but I thought it interesting.

And - click "Read More" for the last one of the day, and the series...

Gotta Be Sisters!

I had to share because, well, this is just darn cute! Sophie does this pretty often:

I don't know why, but she seems to enjoy the position to sit in. 

So when I saw this the other day, I had to get a picture of this, too.




Sisters! You're welcome for the dose of cuteness today!

:)

Sad Pepper Story

This was supposed to be a *great* story about another comeback when I was positive this pepper plant was gone, gone, gone.

I mean - I decided to start watering it like crazy again, and look!! Yes, those are two little tiny bell peppers!

There's this dead part, you see, and that was all I could find for the longest time. 

Because it's also been surrounded by parsley...





But a couple of days ago, I saw those tiny peppers and got super, duper excited.

*sigh*

Today, I tripped, reached out and grabbed... and broke the stem that has the tiny little peppers on it. I promise you, I almost cried.

I moved it back, it fit right back together. It's not going to last, I know it's not going to last. But for now, I'm going to hope. After all, this is one of the Little Pepper Plants That Could.

:)

Post Card Saturday to Sunday!

Comments now working again! Go comment on my previous post to enter the drawing!

It's hard to believe, but this is the next to last May-Elizabeth post! One more next week, and you'll see why I'm as stymied now as I was at the start. She drops a clue in the second card about what she's doing, but just the tiniest hint and no more. More questions than answers, as they say. If I ever do try more research on this, I will definitely post it here on the ol' blog, though.

But here we go - May is on the move again!

The first postcard at the top is still Miami, even written and sent the same day as the last postcard from the last post. But she is leaving. No reason why...

Here's the detail of the card:

The full back

And the message:  

Wednesday, March 6th
Notice the flowers at the Club House at Hialeah Track. I am leaving Miami to-day for Jacksonville, Florida.
May

The next one is, indeed, from Jacksonville, nine days later. Notice the little tear at the bottom. I wonder if these were in an album someplace and got torn out. It seems unlikely, given there aren't tears on any of the others.

Here's the detail of the card.

All of the back

The message - note the hint about working with a store...

Friday, March 15
This is a lovely park in the heart of town.
The store I am working with is on one side of this park.
May

Now of course - click "Read More" to... you know, lol. Read more!

Happy Birthday er... um... Happy Anniversary!

UPDATE II

Comments are working! Go for it and get entered in the drawing! Deadline has been moved to midnight Sunday, August 31st.

Happy Birthday, Blog! Or is it an Anniversary...

Guess what! One year ago today, I started this blog! (If you'd like to see the first post, go Here)

I wasn't sure if I'd make it very long, what I'd write about, how this would go. But so far, so good, I'm thinking, and hopefully next year I'll be celebrating again!

In honor of this birthday/anniversary thingy - *I* am giving presents!

That's right - *I* am giving the gifts! One week from today, next Thursday, August 28th, I will draw names from everyone who leaves a comment here on the blog.

What are the prizes? 

Either a jar of homemade jam or a hand embroidered dish towel. I will be giving away two of each. For the winners of the towels, you will have the chance to either choose a pattern, or I reckon I could try my hand at doing something original and personalized. 

Here are some examples of my embroidery, if you wanted to see it.

One from a while ago.

Love this pattern!

Another cutie!






So - there you go! Leave a comment here on the blog, and you will be entered into the drawing.

And here's hoping this blog will keep on going...

:)

First and Last

Here they are, happy and sad.

Yep, this is the first "real* avocado from the tree! And also, the last mango that's been hanging on for a while out there. There are two mango trees, but the don't give a ton of mangoes (hence getting to know my neighbors, who are totally cool, with or without mangoes!). And this is the first year there have been any avocados. There was one small avocado that fell off, and there's another one way up in the top of the tree that is gonna have to fall for me to get it.

I'll take these, though. I made jam from the mangoes. Now that avocado season is upon South Florida, I'll have to get some and make awesome stuff to freeze while they're here.

And just in case you were keeping score - tomorrow is the 1 year Anniversary of this Blog! Woo hoo! I need to do something cool, but I don't know what it is... yet, lol.

:)

Sweet Taters!

Another experiment that I couldn't resist! It was months ago, and I've been a little... anxious. Not in a bad way, but it's been super hard to keep from digging these babies up.

And according to the Borg, "Resistance is futile". (They probably weren't the first to say that.) So I stuck my hand in the dirt... just to see. I figured okay, if I found one, I'd pull it up. 

The cat food can is there for a size reference, lol.

Here is what I found.

Heck yeah - that's over two pounds of sweet potatoes! Sure, of varying sizes, and some probably shouldn't have come up yet. But I didn't know if they could be replanted like that. There was one plant that had at least 6 little potatoes on it, so I did stick that one back in the dirt to hope for the best. We'll see.

How awesome is this, though? Some to eat, and a couple of others to cut up and replant and maybe, in a few more months (seriously - it took a *long* time to grow), there will be more sweet potatoes.. And so on and so on. I'm not a sweet potato fanatic or anything, but this is one of those things in the garden that might work out, actually, lol.

I'm jazzed!

:D

Post Card Sat... Sunday (May-Elizabeth #6)

Once again, Saturday got away from me. But here we are with our next installment of the May-Elizabeth series. Only two more after this one! It's been a fun, if puzzling, series, I think, and as always, I'd love some insight if anyone has it. 

Our first postcard today (above) is also from Florida, and dated just the day after the last one from last week. Here's the detail of where the card itself is.

The back

And the Message:
Wednesday, Feb. 27
Received your letter. I drove all around Miami Beach this morning, and the homes and flowers were beautiful! Nobody with sense would stay North in the Winter!
May



Clearly Elizabeth is writing letters. It would be amazing to see some of their other correspondence, but it probably doesn't exist anymore. A shame. What a look into a different era.

Card #2 for today, still from Miami and dated two days later. Here's the front, above.

And the detail

The full back...

And the Message

Friday, March 1st
I went out to Hialeah Park for the races this afternoon, and I enjoyed it very much. The track is the most beautiful thing.
May

And as always, click "Read More" to see the last...