I'm in Love!

I'm in Love~...We had a "Jack & Jill" shower, before getting married {in Sept.2005}, and my most favorite gift was from "my boyfriend" Jim. {Yes, my husband, Art, always introduces us as "this is my wife,and this is her boyfriend." It's been a joke for as long as I can remember knowing Jim.} Anyhow, back to the GIFT!!! This is it...



Isn't it beautiful???? It is a simple little food chopper, and to tell you the truth, I don't think I used it AT ALL, for the first 4 years that I had it!!!! Then, one day, I remembered that it was in my cabinet, and I took it out, I think because my daughter was making something that needed to be chopped up.... She used it a few times, before I ever realized how great it was!!!




Today, while in Sam's Club, I saw this huge bag of Walnuts and couldn't resist... Even though I know I had just bought a "normal" size bag at the grocery store a few weeks ago, and I don't think I've even opened that one, I figured, heck, why not?!!?
The holidays are coming, and I'll be using lots of walnuts then. Plus, we've been "on this kick" here, with Morning Glory Oat Muffins being made almost weekly, and though they call for pecans, I've yet to put pecans in them...I've used walnuts instead... {If I knew how to make my words into links, then I'd make my MGOMuffins link to their recipe...since I don't, I'll have to post it later for you!}



Another great {and easy!} recipe that I use my food chopper with, is this pesto. Yummmm!!! This is soooo gooood!!!! And knowing the basil is from my backyard makes it taste even better!!! {Again, with the linky thingy, I would so post the pesto recipe when you would click on the word pesto~~HINT, HINT....anyone want to teach me how to do this???}





Tonite was a quick dinner. Another new appliance I'm loving is my rice cooker. I worked in a Japanese restaurant for 20 years, why did I never get myself one of these before???? I so love steamed white rice....I know, I know, brown rice is better for me....


Tonite's dinner was perch {white fish} baked in my favorite little brownware baking dish with butter and garlic, white rice, and some lightly sauteed zucchini, mushrooms,onions,and peppers, with a bit of pesto added. I was sad knowing that these were the last of the peppers from my garden.... Time to start another!!! {That's an exciting thing about being in Florida! I can plant my garden more than once a year!!!} oh, yeah, I also heated up some boxed popcorn shrimp {something we NEVER buy!} and made my own cocktail sauce with horseradish and ketchup...



Two days ago, I made a Lemon Cake {another recipe to post later!}, so we'll have some of that for dessert. We had it with freshly made lemonade that first night!

And what better way to end the day, then to be able to watch The Tampa Bay Rays playing against the Boston Red Sox!!!