Even MORE Summer Deliciousness

While the kids were smacking down corn dogs and coleslaw, I was having this:

Cilantro Peach Tomato Salad

So very simple, yet so very good.

We're talking tomatoes and peaches (or in this case, nectarines), a few slivers of onion, a few red pepper flakes (I used powdered cayenne), and CILANTRO!

(No one is on the fence when it comes to cilantro. You either love it or you...don't.)

Drizzle with olive oil and splash with lemon or lime juice.

Enjoy!

**Recipe from Mark Bittman's 101 Simple Salads for the Season

(You may not be on the fence when it comes to Mark Bittman.)

(You must love him, and that is that. )

Summer Delicousness

Our Sunday night family fun included the movie True Grit (for the boys & oldest daughter) and these cherry pie-flavored milkshakes:

Photo Courtesy of Dessert for Two

Yum, yum and even more yum!

They are wonderful, and much more economical made at home than if you were to buy them at Culver’s or DQ. (I am all about saving money these days. Leaves more room in the budget for coffee & chocolate.)

Click here for the printable recipe...

...and enjoy! Extra big thanks to Tina at Dessert for Two for posting it. My family loved them.

Bells for the Belle!

Subtitled: From Nascar to Nasturtium


Sub-Subtitled: In which Margaret makes a multitude of excuses…


Okay, first of all my oven’s broken and has been for several weeks now. Do you remember my shiny new gas range? Sigh. We ran the self-cleaning feature and it just went poof.

Fortunately—most fortunately—the stove still works.

But as for, oh, baking cupcakes and whatnot…?

Not an option.



I had to buy these guys at the store.



And scrape the screaming NASCAR frosting off.

Second excuse: I left my good camera at the church on the last day of Vacation Bible School.

Yes, that’s right. You heard me correctly.

Left my Nikon D80 in the pew.

Abandoned, as it were.

Up for grabs.

I remembered this fact on the way down to Rochester for yet another baseball tournament—remembered with a gasp as I shamefully admitted what I’d done. My husband didn’t say much in response to my gaffe, though I noticed his knuckles whiten slightly on the wheel.

Enter Michael Z. to the rescue. He’s a guy who lives by the church and who takes my holy hour when I can’t make it. So the conversation went something like this: “Hi, Mike? It’s Margaret. Fine, thanks! Um…I left my camera in the church. Yes. In the front by the statue of Mary. You will? Hey, thanks! Also, could you do my holy hour from 4:00 to 5:00 on Sunday morning because we’re headed down to Rochester...”



Enfin. Here are the new & improved cupcakes, dear Charlotte—better than the NASCAR version but still, not as splendidly photographed as I would have liked.



No, I did not mean to evoke a nuptial theme.

Those are “bells for a belle”—your sweet Southern belle.



Do I get an extra point for trying?

I love ya, Charlotte, and I love that sweet baby girl already. I do not wish to win this contest—could not possibly beat those adorable baby rattles, the yummy little watermelons, the baby birds (oh, those sweet baby birds!), the cutest owls ever, the most darling chicks, the most endearing little binky faces, a nilla vanilla baby buggy, and those stunningly beautiful cupcake-themed treats.

Couldn’t possibly.

Wouldn’t want to.

My presence here, rather, is an act of humility love. I hope you’ve enjoyed your baby shower! We cannot wait to meet her.

Smooches!



PS. Oh, and did I mention I had oral surgery this week?...