AVOCADO SALSA AND A SWEET SUMMERTIME WALK IN THE WOODS!

My exercise of choice is walking--I can walk and walk and walk and never get tired of it. See my poor old New Balance running shoes here? I think they've put on at least 500 miles! Time for a new pair soon, I suspect. Normally, Wee Willie and I walk into  town, because I like to grab a cup of coffee and maybe chat with a few friends I've run into along the way, but today, well, I needed the peace and quiet that only a walk deep in the woods can provide, because I've got these guys in my front yard......

See, they're digging trenches, sort of like this one......

to prevent this big fun from happening again  (from this spring).....

Because it's a tad, shall we say, NOISY on my street,  we took off, down our dirt road.........

Hey--remember this same road this past winter?.............

Is our neck of the woods seasonal, or WHAT?? Next, we jaunted across the bridge over the Moose River..............

To a fantastic trail, called "Lock and Dam"............

Wee Willie just LOVES trails in the woods....I think in his past life, he was Daniel Boone or Grizzly Adams......

Here's what we saw, on our litle hike.....super dense forest.....

Ferns are the ground cover, throughout the Adirondacks.....

The canopy of trees, providing a lovely shade.....

Moss covered logs..........

I love the sunlight on these green, green leaves..........

Somebody's campfire sight from the night before.......

Beautiful peeks of  river, all along the trail...

Gorgeous wildflowers and grasses.....

And this duck! She saw us, and just zoomed over....I swear to you I did not use my zoom lense......

She was so adorable.....I think I'll name her.....hmmm....Lady Gaga?  Because she's bold.

Such a beautiful, restorative walk on such a beautiful day....oops, here's one more that I forgot....love the way the blue sky contrasts against this tree.....

TOTALLY changing the subject here....one of my favorite things to do, when I'm feeling creative, is to create recipies, using JUST what I have on hand. Last night, we were grilling some salmon, and I wanted some sort of topping for it, and these ingredients needed to be used up, lest they spoil (which avocados are notorious for!).....

I mean really, when you get one of these cut open and it's NOT all black and rotten inside, you've just gotta use it--avocados are probably my all-time favorite food! I know they're expensive, but boy are they delicious, and super good for you.....

So here's what I came up with--an Avocado Cucumber Salsa. I chopped up 1 / 2 of one peeled cucumber, 1 whole avocado, about 1 / 2 of a red onion, some fresh basil, then added salt and pepper, a pinch of salt, a little wine wine vinegar and a pinch of cumin.........

 Adjust the seasonings to your taste.....well, in the end, my family just LOVED this salsa on top of our grilled salmon....with a little cous cous on the side. The perfect summer dinner!..............

Here's my recipe.....

LESLIE'S AVOCADO AND CUCUMBER SALSA
Serves 4

1 / 2 of 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
1 / 2 of 1 red onion, finely chopped
2 tblsp. freshly chopped basil
2 tblsp. white wine vinegar
1 / 2 tsp. ground cumin
pinch sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients and let sit, unrefrigerated, for at least 30 minutes before serving. Excellent on grilled fish or chicken.

TODAY I'M SO THANKFUL FOR......

*The beautiful weather we're experiencing--I need to remember this, for January...

*The beautiful area of the world we live in

*The restful 8 HOURS of sleep I've been getting lately---priceless!

THE FOURTH OF JULY AND A GEORGIA PEACH PIE!!

Well, Happy Fourth of July, everyone! I hope you have a super fun time  with your family and friends. This holiday (like all holidays, really) always makes me sentimental for the Independence Days of my youth on Coastal California. My dad would always buy a big box of cheapo Chinese fireworks (truly amazing that we still have all of our digits and hearing) and my brother and friends and I would go NUTZZZ with sparklers and those snakey things that you lit on fire and firecrackers and S'mores and hotdogs and such. Good times, good times. These days, we usually take in the firework spectacle at our town's lakefront, along with about 10 trillion other people. Which we totally love....

Our daughter will be getting back from her trip to South Carolina / Georgia later on tonite (Georgia in July, nice and sticky and hot!), and Big Daddy's been working his fool head off all weekend long, so I've had a nice and quiet holiday weekend to myself, which I love. Got to garden and cook and decorate and chat on the phone and watch one of my all-time favorite movies......

Yup, Waitress, starring Keri Russell. The movie is ALL about pie, one of my favorite things to bake. If you haven't seen this delightful little flick yet, you might want to rent it soon....it's just one of those feel good movies that will stay with you for days. Hey, while we're on the subject of PIE--I also had time to catch up on one of my subscriptions, Southern Living. Just look what was on the cover this month.....

That's right---Peach Pie! Why, I was just in the grocery store a couple of days ago and picked up these gorgeous Georgia peaches......

Aren't they pretty? And since I've never seen a pie recipe that I didn't want to try, I gave Southern Living's version a whirl....I will give you their exact recipe at the end of this column, but I must confess that I deviated from their pie crust recipe by using my food processor instead of cutting in the butter by hand. SOOOO much easier. What's really really important with a good from-scratch pie crust (you can always use the store bought pie-dough in a pinch, but I try to make my own so that I know exactly what ingredients I'm feeding my family) is keeping the butter and water ICE cold--that's my biggest hint. First thing I did was to process the butter and flour in my food processor....

Adding icy cold water until dough begins to form into a ball.....

Turn your dough out onto plastic wrap.....

Shape into 2 round discs and wrap well, then chill for at least 1 / 2 hour. While it's chilling out in your fridge, you can slice your peaches....mine were sooo sweet and juicy I was almost blushing (a little peach porn for you--hah!). ..........

Stir together sugars, cinnamon and salt and combine well with peaches. Roll out one disc of dough, and place dough over a rolling pin, then unroll over pie plate (a neat little trick)..................

Trim edges, then fill with peach mixture and dot with butter.........

I decided to use a lattice crust on my pie (just like on the cover!), so I found my little fancy pie crust cutting tool in my ridiculously cluttered utensil drawer......

Cut dough from remaining disc (after rolling out) into about 3 / 4 inch strips.....

 and create your lattice design on your pie...then trim and crimp edges.....

 So much fun! Brush the top with one beaten egg, then sprinkle with sugar...

Bake as directed...be sure to place a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan under pie to prevent it from leaking all over your oven, causing your smoke detector to go off and a burning sugary smell to fill up your kitchen! Okay, look how my Georgia Peach Pie came out.....I'd say it's as pretty as the cover of Southern Living Magazine......TA DA!!!.......

I really can't tell you how this tastes yet, because I'm not allowed to dig in until tomorrow night with the family and some vanilla ice cream, but I'm pretty stinkin' sure it's gonna be gooooooddd, reallll goooooodd! I'll let you know in my next post. Here's the recipe...

SOUTHERN LIVING'S BROWN SUGAR-CINNAMON PEACH PIE

Serves 8

1 1 / 3 cups cold butter

4 1 / 4 cups all purpose flour, divided

1 1 / 2 tsp. salt

1 / 2 to 3 / 4 cup ice-cold water

8 large fresh, firm, ripe peaches (about 4 lbs.)

1 / 2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 / 3 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 / 8 tsp. salt

1 1 / 2 tblsp. butter, cut into pieces

1 large egg, beaten

1 1 / 2 tblsp. granulated sugar

Cut 1 1 / 3 cups butter into small pieces and chill 15 minutes. Stir together 4 cups flour and 1 1 / 2 tsp. salt. Cut butter until flour mixture resembles small peas. Gradually stir in 1 / 2 cup ice water with a fork, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened and dough begins to form a ball and leaves sides of bowl, adding more ice water, 1 tblsp. at a time, if necessary. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap; press and shape dough into 2 flat discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap, and chill 30 minutes to 24 hours. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place 1 dough disc on a lightly floured surface; sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Roll dough to about 1 / 4 inch thickness. Starting at 1 edge of dough, wrap dough around a rolling pin. Place rolling pin over a 9 inch pie plate, and unroll dough over pie plate. Press dough into pie plate. Peel peaches and cut into 1 / 2 inch thick slices; cut in half. Stir together brown sugar, next 3 ingredients and remaining 1 / 4 cup flour in a bowl; add peaches, stirring to coat. Immediately spoon peach mixture into pie crust in pie plate, and dot with 1 1 / 2 tbslp. butter. (Do not make mixture ahead or it will become to juicy). Roll remaining disc of dough to about 1 / 4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into strips (I did 12), using a fluted pastry wheel. Make a lattice design. Trim and crimp edges and brush lattice with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sugar. Freeze pie for 15 minutes. Meanwhile heat a jelly-roll pan in oven for 10 minutes. Place pie on jelly-roll pan. Bake at 425 degrees on lower oven rack for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees--bake for 40 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes longer, or until juices are thick and bubbly. Transfer to a wire rack; cool for 2 hours before serving.

TODAY I'M SO THANKFUL FOR....

*My blog followers....you make my day, each and every day! Thank you so much from the bottom of my pie-loving heart.

*Fresh Georgia Peaches--wouldn't be summer without 'em!

*My creativity, which has seen an upswing lately....must be feeling better after my liver restored itself, thankfully.

*The Frey family, for taking our daughter on an amazing vacation, where they experienced a plantation tour, sightseeing around Charleston and Savannah, boogie-boarding on the ocean, and even ate (gasp!) fried chicken at Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House, a Savannah must-do, if you're ever in the area. Thank you, sweet John and Sarah!

BIG DADDY'S BROCCI-SLAW!!

I don't have too many photos of Big Daddy in my blog, because he's a little bit camera shy--believe it or not. BUT, here's one I just have to share with you all, because it's absolutely PRICELESS.......we call this masterpiece "Frenchie".......

See, winters can get loooong and boring here in the Northwoods, and when cabin fever sets in, we like to pretend we're somewhere else....this particular night, we were in Gay Pareeee! By the way, that is not an actual cigarette dangling from Big Daddy's lips, but a Bic pen. And we used my eye pencil to fashion his stylish moustache and divot, AND that's an actual beret he's sporting.....waddya think? He just cracks us up....

Before I get started on my favorite subject....FOOD....I just have to share with you my latest Willow House acquisition, the Maribel Tabletop Clock......

Here's another photo, with maybe a little bit better lighting.....

Isn't it just the cutest thing? The color is really a soft sage green, not the apple green my camera decided it would be--aargh! I really needed a nice looking, about  10 inch tall clock for my computer desk, and I got this little number for FREE, just for hosting my Willow House party! That, and other products, too. The hostess incentives with this company are insaaaannnnee. Anyways, if you'd like to have this clock for your very own, you can order it (item number 41464, $39.96) by calling me directly at (315)369-5210, or by going to my website, located at the top righthand margin of this blog, or by going HERE! One other thing--if you have not checked out the Outlet store on my website, well, you are just really missing out, sistahs! Incredible bargains to be had, some at over 70% off. Just ask my mom--she just ordered a gorgeous red casserole AND a Calphalon-style roasting pan for just pennies! So, check it out when you have un momento!!

So far this summer, we have actually had to pretend it's SUMMER here in New York, because it's been raining, almost every single day. Last night was no exception....cold and rainy, and all we wanted to do was BBQ and eat outside! But, we stoic Willards BBQ'd anyways, and I whipped up a quick batch of one of our favorite side dishes, Big Daddy's Brocci-Slaw. In case you're wondering what Brocci-Slaw actually IS, well, it's just like Cole Slaw, but made with shredded broccoli stems (the part of the broccoli that I usually don't eat--what a waste). Super good for you, and a crunchier texture than the traditional cabbage slaws. Here's what it looks like, right outa the package......

First thing you'll want to do is mix some Mayonnaise, milk, apple cider vinegar, horseradish, and sugar........

Add salt and pepper to mayo mixture, to taste......

Pour mayo mixture over broccoli and mix well. Cover and chill in one of these bad boys for at least 3-4 hours, stirring once or twice.....

Serve with whatever you're grilling....last night, we enjoyed some marinated flank steak with our Brocci-slaw.....MMM MMM Good!...........

(this is Big Daddy's plate--I ate only half that much, really!)

Here's the recipe...

BIG DADDY'S BROCCI-SLAW

Serves 4

1 package Shredded broccoli (found in the produce aisle)

1 cup mayonnaise (lowfat is fine)

2 tblsp. milk

3 tblsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. prepared horseradish (or more, if you like it spicy)

2 tblsp. sugar

salt and pepper, to taste

In a bowl, whisk together mayonnaise and all remaining ingredients. Pour over broccoli and mix well. Cover and chill for a minimum of 3 hours, stirring once or twice. Serve with a slotted spoon.

TODAY I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR.....

*The fact that I finally learned to text about 6 months ago, so I can chat with my husband and daughter, no matter where they are!

*My friend Lynn in Omaha, who came through a pretty hairy surgery just fine, despite still being pretty uncomfortable. I am so proud of your strength, Lynn!

*My darling friend Jimmy O., who sent shivers up my spine yesterday, telling me ghost stories for HOURS! Can't wait to do our psychic reading together, Jimmy.

*

FABULOUS PANZANELLA SALAD FOR YOUR SUMMER BBQ'S!

So, my girlfriend Lisa flew back to California yesterday (sob--I miss her so much, already!!), and did we ever have a great time. Lots of hanging out, drinking coffee, drinking gin and tonics (thanks, Big Daddy!), walking  in the woods, eating in our local restaurants and SHOPPING, but of course! We also got a chance to cook together, which I totally love more than anything. Between raindrops (looks like yet another rainy New York summer), we did some BBQ-ing, and were actually able to dine outside. One night, we grilled some nice salmon fillets, and prepared one of our favorite side-dishes, a fabulous Panzanella Salad. Which is also called "bread salad" by some. Well, whatever you call it, it is always deee---LISH, and is the perfect accompaniment to any grilled meat.

I put this girl to work, browning the cubed whole grain loaf in some olive oil.......(I know you've seen this photo before, but isn't she pretty?)..........

Next, I cubed up some beautiful red, green and yellow bell peppers, and thinly sliced some red onion. You will also add diced tomatoes and cucumbers.....

I have fresh basil growing just outside my kitchen door, so I threw some in...........

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, then whisk up your vinaigrette (I SO know I didn't spell that correctly!) and toss it all together...............

Let "rest" on your kitchen counter for at least an hour, then serve.............

Really, really good! Hey, before I give you the recipe, I want to give a little shout-out to my baby girl (she took this photo of herself--geek!), who is vacationing in coastal South Carolina / Georgia, as we speak. Mama misses you!.............

FABULOUS PANZANELLA SALAD

Serves 6

1 / 4 cup olive oil, divided

1 / 2 loaf day-old French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 tsp. salt

2 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 / 2 red, 1 / 2 yellow and 1 / 2 green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 / 2 of 1 cucumber, sliced into 1 / 2 inch thick slices, then halved

1 / 2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

handful  of fresh basil, thinly sliced

salt and pepper, to taste

Vinaigrette:

1 / 2 tsp. garlic powder

1 / 2 tsp. dijon mustard

2 tblsp. vinegar

1 / 4 cup olive oil

1 / 2 tsp. salt

1 / 2 tsp. pepper

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add cubed bread and salt to skillet; saute until golden (about 10 minutes), tossing often and adding remaining oil as needed. Mix all remaining ingredients in a large bowl (except salt and pepper); add bread and toss. Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients and toss with bread mixture. Add salt and pepper, to taste, if desired. Let stand, unrefrigerated, at least 1 hour before serving.

TODAY I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR....

*My new friend (and avid blog follower!) Debbie, who I met at the most awesome Old And Everlasting this weekend. Your words were so kind and sweet--thank you!

*My Willow House customers--I should have all of your orders to you in the next couple of days!

*The sweet blueberries that are available in all of the stores this month---I love to eat them just like candy!