Foodie Friday - Pineapple Granita

Today is Foodie Friday - My favorite day of the week :) It is hosted by Designs By Gollum, be sure to go and see all the participants of this tasty day of the week!!

Pineapple Granita is great when you are looking for something to cool you off! We are having 90 plus days in North Carolina!! This is a simple version of granita. I used pineapple juice, but you can you any juice you have. Freeze your juice in an ice cube tray, I used silicone, but any will work. When solid pulse 3 to 5 cubes in a food processor (don't add too many) until shards form. Serve in a pretty glass and enjoy :)

These are the frozen cubes...

Easy Pineapple Granita

Jill & Scott's 1st Anniversary Party

We hosted a party to celebrate Jill & Scott's 1st Wedding Anniversary! It was fun to see the wedding party and Scott's parents, who drove from Michigan to be here! I didn't get many pictures to blog...here are a few that I took before everyone arrived. Things got a little busy after the party started :) Above are the Paper flowers I made - since the first year anniversary is "paper" (a great Martha Stewart kit) that I put in one of the vases from their wedding reception. I had it monogramed and the date of their wedding put on it.

These are the "magic plates" you can add pictures, menus, etc. to these plates. I put a different photo on each one.

You can barely see the table on the terrace, I should have gotten closer, it looked cute!

Here is the other table with my new umbrella!

It was a fun day, I am happy to see them both so happy with Life!!

Foodie Friday - Garden Tomato Gazpacho

Foodie Friday is hosted by Gollum at Designs by Gollum

Garden Tomato Gazpacho

I love to have this soup for my lunch, or as the salad course for dinner. It is low in calories, and full of flavor! I don't have ripe tomatoes in the garden yet -- but the Farmer's Market had some nice looking ones.



Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• Tomato juice
• 1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped red or green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted, ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Directions

Fill a 6-quart pot halfway full of water, set over high heat and bring to a boil.

Make an X with a paring knife on the bottom of the tomatoes. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water for 15 seconds, remove and transfer to an ice bath and allow to cool until able to handle, approximately 1 minutes. Remove and pat dry. Peel, core and seed the tomatoes. When seeding the tomatoes, place the seeds and pulp into a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl in order to catch the juice. Press as much of the juice through as possible and then add enough bottle tomato juice to bring the total to 1 cup.

Place the tomatoes and juice into a large mixing bowl. Add the cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, garlic clove, olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to a blender and puree for 15 to 20 seconds on high speed. Return the pureed mixture to the bowl and stir to combine. Cover and chill for 2 hours and up to overnight. Serve with chiffonade of basil.

I've Been Tagged :)

I have been tagged by my new friend Mid Atlantic Martha! I am to post my sixth picture in my sixth file. Here it is, one of my many pineapples! I have been collecting pineapples since I got married -- this year we will have been married 30 years! So you can only imagine how many pineapples I have. My very first pineapple is a counted cross stitch one -- that was the thing to do 30 years ago! I love the pineapple so much that 6 1/2 years ago I started a business and named it The Pineapple Tea Room. It is a fun gift shop with a small tea room. So I guess you could say the pineapple has been my lucky charm.

Thanks Martha for tagging me. The blogging world is very new to me, but I am loving it.

Foodie Friday - Chicken in Basil Cream

Foodie Friday is hosted by Gollum at Designs by Gollum.
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I love almost any kind of chicken salad. This was a new recipe for me, from the cookbook Summer on a Plate, by Anna Pump. I have lots of basil in my herb garden, so I thought this was the perfect time to try this recipe! Both Hubby and I enjoyed it very much.

Chicken in Basil Cream

2 large whole chicken breasts (about 2 pounds), skin and bones removed

1/2 red onion, sliced paper thin
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 1/2 cups seedless green grapes, halved

Basil Cream
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leavers, rinsed and patted dry
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar

Place the chicken breasts in a large saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the breasts. Drain and cool.

Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the onion, celery, and grapes.

For the basil cream: combine the garlic, basil, and lemon juice in a food processor, and process until smooth. Add the mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and sugar, and pulse a few times to blend. Pour over the chicken and mix well, to coat all.

Yields 4 servings.

Garden on the Deck Update

This is my garden girl, watching the tomatoes grow!

Herbs are growing almost faster than I can use them!

My tomatoes are so much fun to watch, I think they grow 1/2 foot each day!

I have a couple of green tomatoes on the vine... not sure if I will let them turn red,

or have "Fried Green Tomatoes".