Cooking and Dining Al Fresco

Another favorite meal of the kids is grilled cheese sandwiches.

But it is too warm to cook anything in the house!

No problem. That's what the side burner on the barbecue is for.

Just don't use a nonstick pan - too hot!

Fret not - the main barbecue was not on.

I just used the upper rack as an extra shelf for serving the grub.

Lunch is served.

Quite a few rounds of 'Thank you, Mama!' were heard.

(and no, it wasn't just me saying it.)

I think they liked it.

Sunny Summer Days

This is what makes for happy kids on a sunny summer day. Lunch poolside. Doesn't it just sound so summery and vacation-like?

Yep. We're fancy like that.

My Kind of Taking Action

I was fixing breakfast for the kids and I this morning and was happily slicing open some english muffins we picked up at the store yesterday to toast when I thought I would just check out the ingredient list. Just for fun. Do you know what I found? High fructose corn syrup!! In the english muffins!! Not good, people. Not good. I am both angry with myself for breaking my rule of not buying anything without checking the ingredients and angry that the company that makes them felt the need to put any in there in the first place.

So now I am on the hunt for muffin rings and a good recipe. I dearly love a freshly toasted english muffin with a little melted butter and homemade strawberry jam. If I have to make them myself to accomplish my craving, so be it.

Here is the recipe I will try first: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/english-muffins-recipe

And here are the muffin rings I will buy: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/english-muffin-and-crumpet-rings

Wish me luck!

Homemade Pizza

I made homemade pizza for dinner tonight.

We really like the pizza dough to be made with my favorite all-purpose bread dough recipe, with just a bit more olive oil added.

Fresh thyme and oregano from the herb garden went into the sauce.

Our favorite toppings are pineapple and black olives, and usually ham, but tonight I used some leftover hamburger patties from dinner the previous night. The kids loved it!

The toppings include; parmesan cheese, hamburger, colby jack cheese, pineapple and sliced black olives, and finally sharp cheddar cheese. I try to alternate toppings with cheese so that the cheese can act like a binder to keep the toppings from sliding around or falling off. The pizza, ready to go in the oven:

Anxiously awaiting the fresh pizza for dinner:

The finished product. Dinner is on!

It's Been a Long Time...

It has been over 6 months since my last post, and so many things have happened in that time! Just to give an overview, I have done much sewing, cooking, and had adventures with the family in that time. Here are a few sewing projects:

I was asked to replace the lining on a belly dancing top. The old lining:

The new lining pinned in:

The front. So pretty!

I made some children's clothing for the kids preschool auction this spring. A pink dress:

A green dress with coordinating hat:
A boys outfit with shirt, shorts and coordinating hat:

I also covered some new window seat cushions and recovered 2 chair seats to match. The chair seats tops before & after:

The chair seats bottoms before & after:

And the new seat cushions (the notch out of the back cushion is to go under a window.)

More entries to come!