Grilled Fennel Salad and A Book Review #LitHappens

Slices of fresh fennel bulb grilled to tender, sweet perfection, tossed in a lemon vinaigrette, and topped with the fennel fronds.  A gorgeous and delicious salad.

I was inspired to make this salad after reading the memoir Fireproof by Chef Curtis Duffy......

Q is for Quesadilla

This quick and easy dinner is colorful and delicious.  Perfect for a busy weeknight or for a Fish Friday gathering to celebrate the weekend.  Flour Tortillas, stuffed with assorted colors of bell pepper, sweet onion, plump, juicy shrimp, held together with shredded Mexican blend cheese.

Q is for Quesadilla......

Preserved Lemon Scones and a Book Review #BreadBakers

These flaky, slightly sweet but more savory scones come together quickly using a food processor.  They have a deep tartness from the preserved lemons.  

 The Bread Bakers are sharing Scone recipes today......

Ražnjići (Montenegrin Meat Skewers) #EattheWorld

Almost every culture serves meat cooked on skewers.  They come by many different names.  In Montenegro, they are called Ražnjići and can be made with many proteins.  I used pork in my version.  They were scrumptious.

Please join us as we travel to Montenegro this month in our quest to Eat the World.....

Bean and Kielbasa Stew #SundayFunday

 Ready in less than half an hour, this stew is hearty, delicious, and best of all, it only uses one pot.  

The Sunday Funday Bloggers are sharing One-Pot Meals today..................

A Culinary Visit to Umbria before my Actual Visit to Umbria #ItalianFWT

We are leaving next month on a long-anticipated trip to Italy.  We are flying into Naples, spending time on the Amalfi Coast, and spending a few days in Rome before heading to Umbria and Tuscany.  We will spend a day in Florence before catching our flight home.

Camping Life-Trip #3-Frankenmuth, Michigan

Day 1: The morning began with the disappointing news that my Little Miss M had been up all night with a fever and vomiting, so she was unable to join us on this trip.  

The Angel Face decided to direct and produce a video documenting our trip. She’s very talented and much more computer savvy at 10 than I am at this ripe old age!  I'm excited to share it with you.

This means, however, that she had control of my phone, so I have very few photos to share.

Grilled Vegetable Platter and the Weekly Menu #FarmersMarketWeek

Make the most of all the fresh vegetables available now at your local Farmer's Market and create a colorful, nutritious Grilled Vegetable platter.

Today is the final day of Farmers Market Week.  I hope you have enjoyed it and have come up with some great ideas on ways to enjoy all the bounty available this time of year....

Indian Cucumber Salad #Farmer'sMarketWeek

 This cucumber salad gets a makeover by adding the warm, fragrant flavors of India.  You will love it!!

We are celebrating Farmers Markets all week long......

Camping Life-Prepping the RV for Trip #3

Tomorrow we are packing up the Angel Face and Little Miss M and heading to Frankenmuth, a fun, little, German town about 2 hours north of us.

Grilled Cabbage #Farmer'sMarketWeek

If you are a cabbage lover, you will love this quick and easy preparation.  Perfect as a side dish, all grilling season long.

We're hitting the Farmer's Markets this week......

Peach Salsa #SundayFunday

This quick and easy fresh salsa will last for a week in the refrigerator, on the off chance that there is any left.  Fresh Peaches, Tomatoes, Onions, Jalapenos, and Bell Peppers combine and meld into a delicious dip for your Tortilla Chips or as a topping for grilled chicken or fish.

The Sunday Funday Bloggers are celebrating National Peach Month......

Hawaiian Shredded Chicken and the Weekly Menu

I had 2 leftover chicken breasts and 6 hungry mouths to feed.  This delicious crockpot meal provided enough to feed all of us.  

This chicken is slow-cooked in a sweet and tangy sauce until it is fall-apart tender.  It makes delicious sandwiches, add a side salad or some chips, and dinner is served.

A Roundup of Recipes inspired by A Bakery in Paris for #CooktheBooks

I was pleased to be invited to host this session of CTB Club. I chose the historical novel A Bakery in Paris by Aimie Runyan (August 2023) 

Thank you to all who joined me, and thank you to our administrators for allowing me to host this month.

Debra of Eliot's Eats was the first to submit this delicious Blackberry Clafouti with berries she picked herself.

Debra enjoyed the history in this novel, but had a little difficulty with some of the characters, and sometimes found the narration and plot to be rambling 

She was inspired to make this delicious classic French Pastry by the section of the book where "Laurent, Micheline’s fellow culinary student, makes a blackberry clafouti for Noémie, the younger sister."

Deb of Readerbuzz was next to post, and I'm so glad she joined us.  This was my first visit to her blog, but it won't be my last.

Deb, very bravely, tried to follow one of the recipes written in the novel by Lisette.  Here is what she had to say....

I used the recipe (above) from the 1871 portion of this book, and I might have needed a little more guidance about temperature than "a medium oven," especially as I imagine this might have been a wood stove of some sort. There was a lot (a lake, if I am being completely honest) of melted butter halfway through the bake. They may not be beautiful, but they do have great flavor (as you might expect, with 3/4 lb. of butter in the recipe).

I would gladly enjoy some of those croissants with you Deb, while we talk about all the books we are dying to read.

Marg of The Intrepid Reader & Baker had been wanting to read a novel by this author and was happy to report that she was not disappointed.  She enjoyed the fact that both timelines were historical and that each character in the timelines operated a bakery.

Marg made this gorgeous Raspberry Clafoutis saying....

When it came to choosing a recipe to make I struggled a little bit as there were almost too many options.

and

In the end I decided to try and make a clafoutis which is a traditional dish, originally from the Limousin region of France.

Thanks so much for joining us Marg.  This recipe sounds amazing. 

Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures wrote: "This was an enjoyable historical read following strong female bakers generations apart."

Amy shared this incredible-looking brioche, having found a brioche pan at a garage sale for $0.25 while she was reading this novel.  What a steal!!!

Simone of Briciole made a beautiful Fruity Chard recipe inspired by the protagonist, Lisette's fiancé's residence being in Provence.

After her husband, Théo, dies fighting with the Communards, Lisette, pregnant, is expected to marry her first fiancé and go to Provence (Provenza) with him until after giving birth. She ends up not going and not marrying him (again), but I decided to stay there for inspiration.

 

 Tarte aux blettes is a Provençal dessert made with Swiss chard. While I was not interested in replicating it (we don't eat dessert), I played with the idea of adding a sweet note to a vegetable I like and eat regularly.

I love Swiss Chard.  I am definitely printing out this recipe and picking up the ingredients on my next trip to the Farmer's Market.

Claudia of Honey from Rock was also able to join in this month.   I am so happy that she enjoyed the novel and shared this lovely recipe for Naan with us.

I was inspired by all the bread, how necessary, how central It became, especially for those people in line to get a loaf in difficult times, and often unable to get any. Since I usually have sourdough on hand I made a very easy flatbread, called naan.

I am always happy for another recipe to help me use my sourdough discard.  Thanks Claudia.

I was inspired to make Madeleines au Citron.  I wasn't brave enough to try the recipe from the novel, but these little cakes were scrumptious and would have been a huge hit with Micheline's sisters.

I would like to end this post with an invitation for you to join us for the August/September edition of Cook The Books hosted by Claudia of Honey From Rock.  She has chosen Coming to My Senses by Alice Waters.  You can learn how to join by visiting the Guidelines page.  

 

Toscana Recipe Round-up

I watched the Netflix film, Toscana, and enjoyed it, so I invited my Movies and Munchies crew to watch it and get inspired into the kitchen this month.

P is for Pasta with Preserved Lemons

Looking for a quick, delicious, and easy meal?  I've got you covered with this pasta in a simple sauce made with only 5 ingredients, ready in the time it takes to boil your pasta.

P is for Preserved Lemons and Pasta.......

Carrot Cake Muffins and a Book Review #MuffinMonday

Delicious, tender muffins chock-full of freshly grated carrots.  Who says you can't enjoy cake for breakfast?

It's time for Muffin Monday......

Healthy Chocolate Shake #SundayFunday

I love Ice Cream and indulge quite often, but sometimes I want to satisfy the craving without all the empty calories and unhealthy fat content.  On those days I make myself this Chocolate Avocado Shake.

The best thing about this shake in my opinion is that I can enjoy ice cream for breakfast if I want.

Join the Sunday Funday Bloggers as we celebrate National Ice Cream Month......

Hey....I almost forgot my Weekly Menu!!

I am heading to the Farmer's Market in the morning.  I decided to look at my Weekly Menu to see what I should pick up and discovered that I had completely forgotten to create a menu for this week!!

I blame it on my crazy life.  Yesterday, we ended up going to a late lunch with friends, and then the Angel Face came to spend the weekend.  So I bought some Sushi for her to have for dinner, and Frank and I snacked on potato chips.

So today, we had the Shrimp Quesadillas that we were supposed to have yesterday, before we went to the movies to see Superman. 

It was a fun movie.  Angel Face said, "It was great, I loved Krypto (the dog), but there was a lot of kissing, so gross!!"

Monday is our friend John's birthday.  We are taking him out for Polish Food.   Tuesday, Frank's sister, Roz, is coming to hang out in the pool and have dinner.  On Thursday, we are hosting a Pool Party Potluck for our choir members and their families.  

So I'm planning my Weekly Menu, so that I know what I need to pick up at the Farmer's Market tomorrow.  Have you made your Weekly Menu yet?

Saturday

Quesadillas (moved from Friday)

Sunday Supper  

Grilled Chicken Breasts

Grilled Vegetables

Monday-John's Birthday

Dinner out in Hamtramck

Tuesday

Raznjici 

Steamed Rice

Vegetable Skewers

 

Wednesday

Pizza Rolls

Thursday-Choir Potluck

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Everyone will bring side dishes

Friday

Out for dinner

Preserved Lemon Loaf Cake #SummerDessertWeek

Tender cake with a punch of lemony goodness from the preserved lemons used in the batter.  This cake, like many loaf cakes is delicious warm from the oven and continues to stay moist and develop even more flavor in the next day or two.  That is...if it lasts that long!!

 This is the final day of Summer Dessert Week. I hope you have had as much fun as I....

Orange Skillet Cake #SummerDessertWeek

This Orange Skillet Cake is chock-full of flavor from the zest and puree of Navel Oranges.  It is a wonderful coffee cake served up as is, or an amazing dessert with the addition of whipped cream or, as I topped it, Orange Sherbet.

We are sharing Summer Desserts this week.......

Camping Life-Trip 2-Tobermory, Canada

An ongoing Journal of our Adventures with our Travel Trailer. This trip was July 18-21, 2025.  Destination: Tobermory, Canada.

Day 1-Headed out around 9 and caught the Ferry to Canada from Algonac. It was a little tight for Frank to maneuver the trailer through immigration on the Canadian side of the river. We enjoyed a pleasant drive, stopping about halfway to meet with Jim and Sharon for lunch on the water.

Beach Street Station in Goderich, was the halfway point to our final destination.  It sits right across from a beautiful park on Lake Huron. The service was excellent and the food was good.  We sat outside enjoying the lovely weather.  The inside of the restaurant is also gorgeous.  The building was once a Train Station that is now converted into a restaurant.

We set up camp at Tobermory Village Campground.  This is a very kid-friendly campground, and it was packed.  Tons of kids enjoying the pool, splash pad, playground, paddle boats, kayaks, and pedal go-karts.  

We then headed into town to meet up with the gang from Anchor Bay Scuba, who were staying at the Blue Bay Motel right on the harbor of Bruce Peninsula.  We enjoyed dinner with some of the gang at the Princess Hotel before heading back to the campground. I had a roasted vegetable lentil bowl that was very good, and Frank had fish and chips (Haddock) that he enjoyed.

Day 2-started with the Luths and Wronas joining us at our campsite for breakfast sandwiches, and we made plans on how to spend the day while the others were diving the shipwrecks for which Fathom Five National Park is renowned.

We, along with the Luths, decided to take a glass-bottom boat tour to Flower Pot Island.  It was a 90-minute tour, passing over The Sweepstakes, a very shallow wreck right in the harbor.

It was a gray day, threatening rain, but it stayed dry during our cruise, and the sun even peeked out for a bit.

After the tour, we enjoyed some ice cream.  Then Frank and I went back to the campground, where I finished up a Brownie Pizza and made some Peach Salsa and Ham and Cheese Roll-ups for the annual potluck held in the parking lot of the Blue Bay Motel.  Stay tuned for the salsa and roll-ups recipes.

The rain that threatened arrived right before dinner but we didn't let that stop us from having a great time.

Day 3-arrived with beautiful sunshine and temps in the 70's.  A perfect day.  We started with breakfast at the Princess Hotel with some of the gang who decided to stay back from the morning dives.

When we awoke, I went to make coffee in our brand new Keurig that we bought for the camper, and it would not brew.  I was pretty desperate for some coffee when this photo was taken.  I felt much better after a couple of cups of coffee and Shakshuka.  

Jim and I climbed to the top of the Fire Tower, and then we went for a hike in Bruce Peninsula National Park to the Niagara Escarpment overlooking the Georgian Bay.

We stopped at the Visitor Center to enjoy a short film about the Park and the Fathom Five National Marine Park.  

We walked through the Museum and then headed back to town to do some shopping.  About halfway through our shopping, we came across the Crows Nest Pub and heard some drinks calling our names.

We enjoyed some drinks and appetizers sitting on the rooftop patio watching all the tourists wandering around the town.

We visited the remaining tourist traps and then walked along the harbor back to the Tobermory Brewing Company, where we enjoyed lunch.  Frank and I split the BBQ Rib dinner.

We headed back to the campground and I grabbed a catnap before Jim and Sharon came to join us for a Campfire Dinner.  It was a perfect day.

Day 4- We packed up in the morning and headed out, meeting the Luths for lunch again at the Beach Street Station.  This time I had the Chicken Shwarma Sandwich. It was okay but nothing to write home about. 

It was another beautiful day.  We are now home, the camper is cleaned and buttoned up, the laundry is in the washer, and I'm sipping a glass of wine as I write this post.  It was a great weekend.

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake #SummerDessertWeek

This cake is easy, delicious, and impressive.  Tender, tart rhubarb is sweetened and caramelized in a cast iron skillet, covered with a citrus-tinged cake, and finished with a crunchy crumble.

We are sharing Summer Desserts all week long.......

Brownie Pizza #SundayFunday

Life doesn't get much easier than this Brownie Pizza.  Boxed mix, topped with canned frosting and sprinkled with fresh fruit.  Simple, Beautiful, and always a hit whenever it is served.

The Sunday Funday Bloggers are celebrating Junk Food today.....

Red Wine Risotto and the Weekly Menu #MoviesandMunchies

Have you watched the Netflix film, Toscana, yet?  We watched it and I enjoyed it so much I decided to choose it for our Movies and Munchies pick this month.

It is a wonderful, touching film filled with tons of food inspiration....

O is for Overnight Oats

This high-protein, high-fiber breakfast is easily adaptable to your taste.  I used Chocolate Almond Milk and Strawberries, but any milk and/or fruit will work just as well.

O is for Overnight Oats.......

German Chocolate Cake with Caramelized Coconut Pecan Icing #SundayFunday

Classic German Chocolate Cake. Light, fluffy, and frosted with a delicious Caramelized Icing chock-full of Coconut and Pecans.

The Sunday Funday Bloggers are Nuts about Pecans today.......

Venison and Green Bean StirFry and the Weekly Menu

Venison steaks, thinly sliced and quickly marinated in Asian flavors, before being stir-fried with fresh Green Beans.  A quick and easy weeknight meal.

This can also be made with beef, yielding similarly delicious results.

The Wine I Paired with Classic Summer Fare #WinePW

Summertime and the Livin' is Easy.  Here on the Farm our days consist of lounging in the pool and grilling dinner for whoever happens to stop by.  I always try to have a variety of wines available to please any palate, but for my palate, I prefer this hearty red blend from Decoy, especially when it is burgers on the grill.

We are pairing wines with Summer Fare this month......