Grape Salad- A recipe from my Mom

Sitting here this cold-early morning sorting recipes. I have an outrageous amount of recipes that have been tested but even more that haven't. I am excited to try them all!

During this organization I ran across this oldie but goodie. My Mom made it all the time (always saving a serving for me with out the pecans). People loved it! I just googled it to see if I could find a photo and it turns out that Paula Deen also has several variations of the recipe, one including cheddar cheese.....hmmm. Here is Mom's recipe, what I will always consider the original!

Grape Salad

Recipe by Marion Barrington


1 ½ lbs. green grapes, seedless
1 ½ lbs. red grapes, seedless
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese
tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup white granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup pecans, chopped


Wash and dry grapes, be sure to dry grapes very well or recipe will be soupy. In a large bowl mix sour cream, cream cheese, vanilla extract and white sugar until smooth. Mix in the well dried grapes (note, grapes should be kept whole).


Mix brown sugar and pecans together in a small bowl.


In a large serving or Trifle bowl layer grape mixture and topping mixture starting and ending with the topping mixture.

The time has come

I started this blog as something for me. I enjoy sharing the goings on of my life and I also find it therapeutic. Therapeutic you say? Yes, it helps me focus on my thoughts (even if I don't share them all with the blogging world). It's for me!

I've been asking myself why have I hardly posted as I intended? Am I too busy? Yes. Do I not have anything interesting to share? Of course I do. So why have I not made this I priority? I've given it a lot of thought and I think it's really because a lot of my thoughts have been less than happy these days. I miss my Mom........more than I could ever say or ever thought was possible. I also find my life to be far to hectic at times. Basically, I am not doing a lot for ME! I can blame this on a lot of things. My Catholic upbringing and the built in "guilt" that seems to come with it. Not wanting to appear selfish to others. Putting pressure on myself to be "perfect"....whatever the heck that means. All of it is really just silly.

So, the time has come. I am going to do some things for me going forward. I found a great desk on Craigslist and have set up a wonderful little work space in one of our guest bedrooms. I have big plans for this space, I will finally choose a color for this room, will fill it with photos that I love it will be my little place away from it all. I can blog, plan meals and my next cooking challenge, find great gifts for those we love the most, maybe pick up a new hobby. Who knows what I will come up with but one thing I know for sure is that the time has come to relax and just be me!

Spinach & Feta Bread

This was my second attempt at a yeast bread. The first attempt was several years ago and ended in disaster. This go round on the other hand was a termendous success!!!! So delicious and EASY to make. What makes it even more fantastic is that the recipe makes enough for either 2 large loaves or 4 small and can be kept in the fridge for up to 7 days. Which means you can enjoy for up to a week fresh out of the oven!

Spinach & Feta Bread

After Mixing

After first rise and the night in the fridge.

Complete!

May was a crazy busy exciting month!

May was a very busy month for me! I traveled to Chicago over the the Mother's Day weekend weekend to spend time with my wonderful Aunt Cathy. During that trip I was also able to spend sometime with my life long friend Nick which made my heart feel a little bit fuller. I then traveled to Savannah, GA for a business trip and was gone for a week.

It was then off to NYC for an fantastic weekend with my dear friend Jamie who traveled there from Wisconsin. We had out own personal tour guide, my friend Jun. He took us to all sorts of FANTASTIC restaurants and watering holes! My favorite of which was Mario Batali's restaurant Lupa. Good Lord in Heaven was the food fabulous! I had such a wonderful weekend with two of my most favorite people int he world. Laughed lots and enjoyed all the food. I can not wait to go back!

And last but not least I wrapped up May with one of my favorite soon to be 5 year old, Presley Gilbertson. Presley graduated from Pre-K and Lindsey and I treated her, her mommy, her Aunt Jennifer and her Grandma Jackie to tea at Mittie's Tea Room. I can not believe how fast she is growing up! Seems that it was just yesterday we went to see her sweet baby face in the hospital!

A few photos from May.....

A foggy afternoon in Chicago

Busy streets of NYC

Jamie & I lovin' NYC

Presley, Emily & Lindsey

The Johnson & Gilbertson Girls

Pretty as a Picture

My beautiful neice Paige. Love this photo I took about two weeks ago while playing at the park, just had to share it.

Cooking posts to come soon! Happy Earth Day!

Clean Out the Fridge Veggie Pizza

Sometimes I am so proud of my imagination! This little experiment didn't disappoint!

Ingredients (whatever was in the fridge)

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Kale- My latest obsession

Previously grilled orange bell pepper

Red onion

1 tbls. Roasted garlic and red pepper olive oil

2 tbls. Jarred tomato pesto

3 slices Havarti Cheese


Sautéed all the veggies in the flavored olive oil. Rolled out pizza dough and grilled (yes, I said grilled, as in outside). Top with pesto, veggies and cheese. Grilled until cheese was melted.

Oh my, my, my! This pizza was so delicious; I never wanted it to end!

Friday Night TV

I am not a huge TV watcher. I DVR lots of cooking shows and watch them on occassion but I don't have a series I watch on a regular basis.....until now! Have you watched Jamie Olivers Food Revolution? If not, you SHOULD!

It is completly wrong and sad what America's children are fed in public schools! We should be ashamed of our goverment for allowing this processed garbage to be consumed by children. More importantly we need to be ashamed of ourselves for not doing something about it! Check out the show and Jamie's website and I think you will agree!

The show is not only imformative but Jamie is also a joy to watch! I've enjoyed his cooking shows for years, this is a whole new side of him.

TGIF Everyone!