The Air Museum in Pensacola ~ Blue Monday

A rainy day at the beach . . . is still a day at the beach.
One of our favorite things to do on a rainy day, is to go to the Air Museum at Pensacola Naval Air Station.
Awesome !

We've been going for 25 years . . .
Papa would tell the kids all about the plane that he'd flown.
Of course they took that to mean 'that was Papa's plane'.  He'd point out which buttons to shoot the guns and which was the eject button.

The are still climbing in and playing Top Gun ~

Even the baby knew how to handle that joy stick!

Holly and I both had tears in our eyes . . . a bittersweet day ~ full of memories we will always cherish.
We tried to go to the Blue Angel practice show on tuesday, but that was canceled.
~there's always next year !

Don't forget to check in at Smiling Sally for more blues.
y'all enjoy~
Sandi

It takes a Village ~

Have you ever been to the beach with a baby?

Believe me when I say ~ It takes a village . . .

 of smiling faces . . .

To keep a baby busy.

We are lucky that Hope is always a happy baby . . .

and we loved every minute of it!

 

She has the 'pfffft' sound down perfectly.

I was working on the 'LuLu' sounds . . . which she thought was hilarious.

We spent one evening trying to get that perfect family photo ~ Turquoise was the color of 2012.
I'll share those after I finish editing out my freckles ~
Y'all enjoy your sunday !
Sandi

PhotoHunt ~ Chocolate

The photohunt for this week is Chocolate.
That is a hard one for me !
I do remember one time when we were going to make chocolate tarts . . .
As we say in the south, there was a mess of chocolate. (meaning a lot of something)

Usually ~
I decided to share a lesson I learned about having your chef-son cooking in your kitchen. . . expect there to be a mess.
Everywhere.

But the results will be delicious !

Check for all the other Chocolatey Photos on The Saturday PhotoHunt
Happy Hunting y'all~
Sandi

Tiny Toes in the Sand

We have had a wonderful time at the beach.
This year was like any we've had in years . . .
we had tiny toes in the sand.

That changes the pace of your whole day . . .

But . . .  as with every year, we loved every minute at the beach.

We drank bushwackers and ate lots of shrimp and crab claws

 and a little bit of sand!
More pictures to come~
Y'all enjoy~
Sandi

Blue Monday @ the Beach

We aren't crossing the ocean ~
Just playing on the beach.

Don't forget to check in at Smiling Sally for more blues.
y'all enjoy~
Sandi

PhotoHunt ~ Can ~

The PhotoHunt for this week is 'Can'
A can of sunflowers will always make me smile !

Check for all the other Canned Photos on The Saturday PhotoHunt
Happy Hunting y'all~
Sandi

Julia Child ~ 100 years

This was a post I did 3 years ago . . .  to honor The Grand Dame of Cooking (besides Marcella Hazan, of course) I've decided to run it again ~ in honor of Julia Child's 100th birthday.

The more I learn about Julia Child... the more I like her.
~~~Not just love and admire her cooking abilities ~ but invite her into my kitchen to eat, drink, and really like her.
A story that was in the Birmingham News, told about when Julia Child visited Birmingham in 1973 for a series of cooking shows. She and her husband stayed with local Pediatrician Hughes Kennedy and became his long time friend. In fact she was so impressed with a chicken casserole recipe that she asked for the recipe for her garden club. Anyone who can love a southern chicken casserole full of cheese and mayo is my kind of people!

Chicken Riggins
3 cups diced chicken
2 cups celery
1 cup diced onions
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese
1 can slivered almonds
2 cups mayo
bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350°. Cook 4 chicken breasts and 4 thighs with salt pepper and celery tops until tender, about 20 minutes. Cool and dice. Dice 2 cups celery, Saute onions and cube 1 pound sharp cheddar cheese. Mix above with 2 cups mayonnaise and almonds. Place in a 3-quart casserole, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake at 350° until bubbly and golden on top (approximately 20 minutes).
Note: 2 tsp curry powder is added to mixture is an excellent addition.

One quote in the article Julia was talking about a particular dinner party she had attended...'God, it's horrible that people put on things like this for me when I'm just a plain ol' eater and here they think I'm the queen and have all these servants and all of these beautiful serving dishes, and it's so false.'

She would be happy in my kitchen!
I guess we could drink french wine for one night, along with our Chicken Riggins.
Bon appétit Y'all~
Sandi

Traveling Tuesday ~ on the beach

Traveling Tuesday . . . another chance to post photos from my trips.
 Since we are headed to the beach again this week ~ I am in a beachy state of mind.
I thought I post photos of the beach in Positano.

Beautiful in it's own way ~ with a rocky coast line. . . and little beaches tucked into the coves.

The fun part is . . .  each little beach has great little restaurants!
A place to sit an watch the world go by.

I'd much rather be spending a week in Positano than on one of these ships . . .
Of course a week on the gulf coast will be fun too!

Y'all enjoy the ride~
Sandi

Capturing Moments

It should be about the moments in life that take our breath away.

Yesterday was one of those days ~

I invited my friend Virginia from Virginia Jones Photography over to take photos of  Lindsey's little family.
Newborn Scarlett, 18 month old Gabriel, and 4 year old Lilly . . .

We had our work cut out for us !

Such sweet and precious children . . . full of energy.
It reminded me of when my kids were that age.

Now they are the Momma's !

I snapped some photos, while Virginia did the real photography. 
She posted one on her Birmingham Daily Photo blog; there will be more to come.
A true photographer can capture the moments.
Isn't that what it's all about?
Thank you sweet friend~
Sandi

Saturday PhotoHunt *Numb *

The PhotoHunt for this week is * Numb *

You'd be NUMB swimming in Boston in November ~

See what everyone else is posting as Numb Photos on The Saturday PhotoHunt
Happy Hunting y'all~
Sandi

Travel Tuesday ~ Beach Volleyball ?

We are getting ready for our family get-away at the beach.

Since we've all been glued to the TV watching the olympics,
Maybe we'll play a little beach volleyball ~

. . . Or maybe NoT !

Y'all enjoy the ride~
Sandi

Citrus Olive Oil Cake ~ Gluten Free

This is similar to the recipe my friend Judy of Divina Cucina and I made in Italy last year. I have taken the liberty of changing Judy's recipe. I wanted to make it a gluten free cake . . . without loosing any of the flavor.

It worked ~ This is awesome!
 

Citrus Olive Oil Cake
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
2 oranges (you will use the whole thing)
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup flour (I used gluten free tapioca flour)
1 Tbs baking powder

Dice the oranges into quarters and remove the seeds. With an immersion blender, grind the oranges and almonds to a pulp. Add  eggs and sugar and whisk together till well combined. Add olive oil, stirring until smooth. Stir in flour and baking powder. The batter will be slightly lumpy with bits of orange peel. Pour into a greased 8" bundt or round cake pan.
Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes then turn out onto wire rack. Serve with berries, or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

My sister has become totally gluten free . . . This southern girl is not totally there yet.
She is starting to look like the younger sister ~ Maybe I need to work on it !

With a snack like this . . . We all can be Gluten Free!
Y'all enjoy~
Sandi

PhotoHunt ~ Oooooo

The photohunt for today is 'Oooooo'
This rig caught my attention. . .
 In a kind of Ooo? way.

I'm not even sure what to say  ~
I posted an Olympic OoOoO Photo on The Saturday PhotoHunt
Happy Hunting y'all~
Sandi

Cooking Light ~ the Best of the Beach

This month for our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club, we are talking about the Best of the Beach.
If I'm going to the beach . . . I am eating some gulf coast shrimp. The good thing is that we are close enough that we can always find some wild caught costal shrimp. Yum!
I looked through the library of cooking light recipes, until I found this . . .
Salt Roasted Shrimp with Honey Lemon Dipping Sauce .
The flavors looked like just what I wanted. Easy, Summery, and Shrimpy!

Salt Roasted Shrimp

1 (4-pound) box rock salt

24 unpeeled jumbo shrimp (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)

2 tablespoons minced green onions

Honey Lemon Dipping Sauce

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Preparation (from Cooking Light)

Preheat oven to 400°.
Pour salt in an even layer in a shallow roasting pan or large cast-iron skillet. Place pan in oven at 400° for 30 minutes or until salt is very hot. Arrange shrimp in a single layer over salt. Cover with foil; bake at 400° for 5 minutes or until shrimp are done.
Combine remaining ingredients; serve sauce with shrimp.

Of course I felt the need to change it up a bit.
 Instead of making a honey lemon dipping sauce; I combined all the ingredients in a Zip-loc bag.  I marinated the shrimp for 1 hour before I cooked it.
Since we were hanging out by the pool ~ I just cranked up the grill.
I filled my cast iron skillet with rock salt and let it heat on the grill. I spread the shrimp out on top of the hot rock salt. The shrimp cooked in just a few minutes. (I repeated this so the shrimpies wouldn't be over crowded)

No need for dipping sauce! (The rock salt didn't add a salty flavor at all)
This is a beautiful presentation, perfect for an outdoor supper.
Messy fingers were promptly thrown into the pool~

Now let's see what everyone else has brought for the Best of the Beach . . .
Jerry has made BBQ Chicken Sliders
 Val is bringing a Tuna and Red Pepper Pasta Salad
Giz has made Ginger Beer ( I hope she is bringing lots ! ).

We didn't have any guest blogger's sign up for this month. Remember, if you are interested in 'Cooking Light' ~ give us a shout!

Y'all enjoy~
Sandi