a little sneak peak

... at a just-for-fun project i'm working on.

Dinner Party

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             We had a lovely little dinner party last night for some friends that just had their one year anniversary.  Three good friends & I have a business doing dessert catering (it's still in it's infancy), so we love any excuse to play & work in the kitchen & try new things.   All the food was wonderful ...I have been craving salmon mousse forever & was waiting for an excuse to try making it. This recipe was so easy & super tasty! Serve it with dill & capers & it's amazing.                Awesome mojitos my brother made- with fresh mint & sugar on the rim -yum!      These goat cheese, tomato & basil tarts on parmesan crust (once again from this yummy blog) were to die for!       Julie made tasty summer squash soup with lemon creme fraiche & garden chives...                            & Sara made this heavenly chocolate cake with caramel & rich chocolate ganache. She had to put it together in a hurry & in a hot kitchen, but did a great job. We decorated it with fresh flowers.    The cookies are my mom's secret recipe "Lottie's"' named after her grandma. They are the most addictive little almond cookies you will ever have. I get requests from my hubby & the rest of the family for these all the time!   ...Very nice evening with some family & friends  :)  

My Baby's Growing Up

My baby girl turned 5 today!! This is a hard one for me because it seems like 5 is the end of being considered a little kid. And if we weren't going to homeschool, she'd be starting kindergarten this year. Sigh ....  I know it's something parents just have to get used to; I just can already see her as a teenager in my mind & I'm freaking myself out! No really, I am working on being in the moment & taking it all in.  We don't celebrate birthdays (even though we do plenty of other fun things that make up for it!), but she had a great day because her bestest friend came over :)  

They played together so good all day. Little sweeties.

Holy Bundt Cake, Batman!

I'm in heaven at the moment...my own personal heaven; I'm pretty simple in my qualifications: 1. Kids are in bed. 2. Chocolaty Nutty Swirly SourCream Bundt Cake.

I'm on my second piece & it's 11:30 p.m... I've been thinking about it ever since I discovered her blog, but been too busy & didn't have a real reason to make a cake. But tonight I decided it was time & I didn't need a reason. And I do not regret my decision. Except that I'm a little sugar nauseous right now. But that will not stop me from getting a third piece.    

hello!

In case anyone's noticed, my last couple posts have not been so wordy... Baby Son thought our laptop was a George Foreman grill because after he pounded on the keys, he proceeded to smash his chicken into it & shut the top, for me to open & find later. He really did a number on it because the keyboard does not work at all -we can only use the mouse (I'm gettin real creative with copy & paste!) I'm using my brother's laptop right now & hopefully we'll have ours fixed soon...but in the meantime atleast I can still post pictures. ....Here's the prettiest thing I've made for dinner in a long while: Zucchini Gratin from this lovely yummy foodie blog my friend found. I've been so out of cooking mode for so long but there's a few more recipes on here I can't wait to try, so maybe it'll help pull me out of my slump...         

   ...made with zucchini, yellow squash, fennel & thyme from the garden :)