ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
The moments of our lives may be bright with possibility, dark with fear or sadness, or even plain everyday gray, but God's glory never fades. May God's glory shine into the exciting lights, upsetting darks, and boring grays of your every day.
Sunrise: 6:08 am
Sunset: 8:59 pm
Life is a Special Occasion!
Hallmark
It’s National Ice Cream Day which is always celebrated the third Sunday of July. This holiday was created by official proclamation by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. The ice cream industry has continued the tradition every year since. The proclamation also designated July as National Ice Cream month. This too has now become a tradition.
Studies have shown that people buy and consume more ice cream on a Sunday than any other day of the week. Ice cream is nutritious. A little heavy on the sugar and calories, ice cream is otherwise good for you. Its base ingredient is milk, which is loaded with healthy vitamins and minerals.
Roll out these lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer and enjoy some Ice Cream today !
If you can't see the Bright Side, polish the dull side
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
There is nothing wrong with me that a little ice cream won’t fix.
Author Unknown
There were many Sunday rides that ended in having ice cream in my past. We had ice cream at home lots of times, but it was a treat to go to an ice cream stand and get a cone or a sundae. My favorite has always been Turtle Sundaes which are made with pecans.
Today my ice cream will be served up here at home. It’s my day to rest and relax and I’ve no plans to go anywhere. And I’ve got lots of fresh food to eat too, as my youngest sister and her hubby took me along on a trip to the farmers market on Friday. There is an Amish community not far from here and we visited a couple of their fruit and vegetable stands and also went to a place where they auction off seasonal flowerings and produce. It’s mainly for stores and restaurants and sold in large quantities, but they also had a section for normal folks like us. I picked up some cinnamon and nut rolls there and a loaf of homemade bread.
The pictures today are of the bounty I managed to bring home with me. We also stopped at a green house and junk shop. I was able to bring home some treasures from there too, I’ll share those pictures another day. Summertime in my part of the world opens up a lot of possibilities for sure.
One of the most amazing sights we saw was at an Amish Farm that had improvised a summer kitchen. They had their wood cook stove out on the front porch with the smoke stack extension going out on the side. There were jars of canned peaches lined up on the edge, so you could tell they had been busy.
I spent a good part Saturday cooking and it looks like I will have plenty of leftovers to enjoy the rest of the week. What I cannot eat will go in the freezer for later on. I have fresh green beans with ham and potatoes and homemade coleslaw. There is also some stuffed peppers and fried summer squash, along slices of fresh cucumbers and tomatoes to enjoy. And there is fresh peaches for dessert too.
The great thing is we get to enjoy these fresh fruits and veggies July thru September !
I hope you all have a RELAXING Sunday!
WHAT’S NEW IN THE KITCHEN
There is a food holiday to celebrate every day of the year!
It’s Fresh Spinach Day, which is our opportunity to put healthier food into our diets. Spinach is one of the healthiest foods you can heat. It’s nutritional value is highest when it is fresh and uncooked. The longer spinach is cooked the more nutrients it loses.
One of my favorite dips is made with fresh spinach and that is what I’m sharing with you all today.
Fresh Spinach Dip
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
20 oz. baby spinach , washed
2 medium scallions, chopped
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Saltine or Ritz crackers, carrot sticks, celery sticks or potato chips for serving.
Place layers of paper towels on cutting board and set aside. Place a strainer in the sink.
Heat oil in large frying pan and heat on medium. Add the carrot, onion, garlic, salt and petter and stir to combine. Cook stirring occasionally till vegetables have softened. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
Return pan to medium heat and add half of the spinach, season with salt and pepper. Cook until spinach is wilted. Add the remaining spinach, staring occasionally till wilted.
Transfer spinach to strainer and with a ladle, press the spinach to squeeze out liquid. Place spinach on paper towels and press out any additional liquid. Discard towels and finely chop the spinach then put in the bowl with other vegetables.
Add the scallions, sour cream, mayonnaise, Worcestershire, and lemon juice and stir to combine. Cover tightly and refrigerated about 2 hours.
This makes about 2 1/2 cups. You can serve with crackers, veggie sticks or potato chips.
COUNTING MY GIFTS
Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.
Russell Baker
Counting at least 3 things every day that I'm thankful for. There is truly is always something to be thankful for.
5074. for ice cream, always a treat
5075. for my youngest sister and her hubby, always loving and always caring
5076. for fresh fruits and veggies, delicious
Enter into His courts with thanksgiving — and in His presence is fullness of Joy!
PRAYER FOR OUR TROOPS
Please pray for God's protection of
our troops and HIS wisdom for their
commanders.
Almighty and eternal God,
Protect our military
as they discharge their duties
with the shield of your strength,
may the power of your love
enable them to return home in safety
that with all who love them
they may ever praise you for your loving care.
AND bless our Police Officers, Firefighters
and Paramedics and EMT’s
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
One of my favorites - a fresh tomato sandwich with mayo
ADVICE FOR TODAY
My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate. That's my philosophy.
Thornton Wilder
A little smile, a word of cheer,
A bit of love from someone dear…
Love,
ma
2 comments:
That spinach dip sounds delicious. Looks like you had a nice time visiting that community and got some delicious food. Lately we have cooked a big enough meal to have leftovers another day. I like it like that. Might have to go out for ice cream tonight.
Betty
Such good stuff here!
My DH will be over the moon to hear it's National Ice Cream Day. :) Aside from stopping at Howard Johnson's while on vacation, my parents only bought ice milk. Ice cream was far too dear.
I'd love to visit Amish country again someday. Your array of veggies look wonderful.
LOVE fresh spinach, too. A favorite breakfast spot used to feature a faux omelet -- actually, it resembled a pancake -- with chopped spinach, onion and ground beef. This spinach dip is definitely being made here this week! I believe the Worchestershire sauce and perhaps the lime juice are the only ingredients containing any significant carbs. Thanks for sharing!
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