Getting Your Bunny On ~ Easter is On its Way!

 

We missed the big snow storm.  Cape Cod got it, but here on the East end of Long Island we lucked out!

We got the 50 mph winds and it is frosty, but at least no snow! 

I mean ,how can we think bunnies and chicks when we are still dealing with Snowmen?

I am starting to drag the Easter decos up from the basement.

This is a Villeroy and Boch Egg I got years ago.  You can use the top for flowers.  I waited them out for it and when it went to clearance, I scooped it up for under 15.00

You can see it here holding tulips.  The Bunny pitcher is by Mikassa, and the plates came from HG.

This Villeroy & Boch  Mama Bunny is a cookie jar.  I gave it to my dil, but she has 4 more little bunnies plus the one here!

Egg tray with bunny salt and pepper shakers.

My Debbie Mumm basket, the top comes off to fill with goodies.

I got it at the Oneida Outlet years ago.

A smaller version of the V&B egg vase, it was a gift.

An abundance of ripe bananas meant I had to bake. I gave some to my neighbors, and some went into the freezer.

Banana Choc chip Crumb.  The addition of the crumbs gives it a nice twist.

You can see the recipe here.  Then just add crumbs, butter, flour, sugar, cinnamon, you know how!  I am sure the way you make crumbs is as good as mine.

I want to show you some gifts I recently received for my birthday.  Come back this weekend, I’ll show you!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope Spring is hopping your way!

Joining Susan for Tablescape Thursday

Diann and Linda for Thrifty Things Fri.

Spring Has Sprung! Bring on the Flowers!

 

Today I had the urge to go to the nursery and buy some pansies!  I just want to see some color when I look outside.  I resisted though, we are supposed to get some snow this week, so I will hold off.

Maybe I will find some sweet pink tulips at the market this week.

 

Or just set a flowery table to hold me over!

Until I buy some flowers, I will just have to make the edible kind!  Dh likes them better anyway!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Remember the April 9th Let’s Dish Challenge …the theme is BIRDS~ EGGS or NESTS!

Joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal  Sunday.

Totally Blue & White, WS Inspired ~Italian Rice Balls & The Challenge

 

Good evening, Ladies!  In case you didn’t read my last post, I want to thank everyone who took part in the 6th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Blog Crawl!  I enjoyed my visit to the 81 entries!  You were great with your visits too!  Some got 50, all the way up to 90!  Anytime you want to know how many you get, just ask!

Thanks so much for those who left comments, only a few didn’t. I loved hearing from you and thanks to the spectators too!

Tonight I am going totally blue and white.

I had bought some of these last month, for 8, I had a 20 off coupon so they came down to 6.40  Alma and I stopped in at WS OUTLET last week, and there they were  in Clearance, they had been marked down more.

I bought 4 more for me, and a few as gifts.  They are such a pretty blue.  I decided to do a totally blue and white table.

The cloth is from Dansk and well used.  It is faded to a perfect shade for the napkins!

The charger from Ikea, the plates are from Horchow, as is the white flatware.

The covered Lion’s Head bowls are from WS Outlet as are the alabaster napkin rings. The white laced edge napkins are from Horchow.

I turned one of the soup bowls over and used a pitcher from Portugal , a gift from my dear cousin Jean, filled with fresh white mums.

The white butter domes are from Cmas Tree Shop, the blue stem from Le Dollar Tree, and the rippled tumblers are at least 60 yrs old, and were my mom’s.

A little pitcher and bowl from HG, and the birds from Pier 1.

Speaking of BIRDS, the April 9th Let’s Dish Table  Challenge is BIRDS, EGGS or NESTS.  If you accept the challenge, :0 , your table or vignettte has to include at least one of those elements. 

Are you up for it???

In honor of my Italian friends who are celebrating St. Joseph’s Day today, I wanted to make something I had seen Giada make and I have never tried.  Arancini or rice balls.  I know pastries are the traditional thing for St. Joe’s, but I am a rebel, lol!

I asked Barbara form 2 Birdies and a B, one of my favorite Italian Americans, how to do it.  She ,like me, is not a recipe gal, so she explained the method.  I looked up a few recipes  on the net.  You get the general idea, then add what you want.  That’s the fun of cooking, recipes are too confining!

Here’s one.

Barbara said to use only Carolina Rice.  Didn’t have it, so used what I had.  Cooked it and spread it out to chill and dry.

I added salt, pepper, garlic powder and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

I chopped 1/3 C of ham, you could use prosciutto, or even bacon.

Mixed that into the rice with 2 beaten eggs.

Cut mozzarella into small chunks.

Wet your hands and form a ball.  Stick a chunk of mozzarella into the middle and mold the rice around it.

Dip it in egg wash, then Panko.

Fry till nicely browned.  Drain on paper towel.  Serve with Marinara.

Grate some fresh parmesan on the top.

When you cut it open, the cheese will ooze out.

The verdict????  This Irish American had a hard time with them.  I found it easier to use a small cookie scoop, stuff the cheese in, then mold some more rice around it.

The ones I have seen served in Restaurants were much bigger, maybe that is easier.  I wanted them to be small and dainty, lol.

Dh tried them, said they were good.  I think I would jazz them up , if there is a next time. 

Happy St. Joseph’s Day!  ( You know, I have non Catholic friends who buried his statue near their house when they were trying to sell it, so he is very ecumenical!)

Mangia!

Thanks so much for visiting me! 

I am joining Susan for Tablescape Thursday

Share Your Cup at Jann’s

Diann  and Linda for Thrifty Things Fri.

Gollum for Foodie Friday

 

Let’s Dish will be monthly for now, so the next one is April 9th.  I will still be posting in between though, as the spirit moves me!

 

Top of the Morning! Hash, Soda Bread and the How to on that Shrimp

First, I want to thank everyone who took part in the 6th Annual Blog Crawl, and all those who came to visit.

   You are such a great group, so many visited all or many of the entries.  
People had 40, 50 60 and as many as 90 visits!  That is wonderful.  You didn’t just come and link and not visit the others!

Thank you to those who took the time to leave a comment, only a few linkers didn’t,  it was fun!  I visited everyone, so if I missed you, let me know!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  We celebrated yesterday with our family.  It was lovely to see our gkids, Lily, Michael, Seamus, Declan and Eamon and their parents, it has been a few months.

Today we started with some corned beef hash.


I cooked a corned beef early just to have it for hash.



First pre cook your ‘taters” and let them cool.  Cube them and fry them with some diced onions, s & p.

Get the edges nice and brown.

Then throw in your corned beef with a good dash of powdered mustard.  I put it in a small cast iron pan and put it in the oven.  I fried an egg, and when the pan was red hot, slid it on top of the hash.



I also used those small fry pans to make soda bread.  Here is the recipe I use.  I have tried many, and adjusted this one to my liking.

When I did catering we used to have orders for up to 100 breads.  Flour would fly on the 16th!

Irish Soda Bread....Kathleen

4 C flour
1 t salt
4 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
3/4 C sugar
2 t caraway seed
1 C raisins
1 egg
Splash of OJ
2 C buttermilk
1/4 stick of soft butter
Sift dry ingredients. Mix in the seeds and raisins. Add buttermilk  and mix.
Add beaten eggs and soft butter, mix..add a  big splash splash of OJ
Put into 2 greased loaf pans, or 1 10 in round. Slit the top with a knife.
Bake at 350 about 30 to 35 for loaf pans, 50 for round.
Brush with butter or milk 10 min before removing from oven.
Check center to see if done, do not over bake.




I embroidered the towel with a Celtic design and Erin Go Bragh.



Well, that’s just BLARNEY!  I bought it for $1 at Cmas Tree Shop.




Slather some butter on it, and enjoy!

I made some to give away.



I am loving these small cast iron pans.  I am using them for much more than pan sized chocolate chip cookies! Not that pan sized chocolate chip cookies aren’t good, lol!



Since we were seeing the kids yesterday, I made some treats for their after school snack.



I know, I should have brought celery and nuts and berries, but hey, it’s St. Patrick’s Day!



Chocolate cake donuts dipped in melted Ghiarradeli chocolate and a glass of milk!

Some have asked for the Shrimp O’Kathleen recipe I showed in the St. Patrick’s Blog Crawl post.  Here

Those of you who know me know I am not a recipe person, so the best I can tell you is how.



I used size 13 to 15 raw shrimp. That means there are 13 to 15 shrimp to the lb.

Peel and devein top and BOTTOM.  No one likes that black vein in their food! Even if they devein in the market, many of them leave the smaller black vein in the bottom, so be sure to check!

Rinse well, and place on paper towels and dry .

Mix together some flour, salt, pepper and parsley, add garlic powder if you like.

Dredge the shrimp and put in a single layer on a platter and chill. Save the dredge.

While they are chilling, make your linguine.

Also, place your fresh spinach in a skillet with some salt and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Put it on very  low and cover.  Check every few minutes till it is wilted down.  Or, you can do it in the microwave.

In a skillet put a scant amt of evoo and a chunk of butter.  Quickly cook the shrimp in this , don’t overcook , it only takes a few minutes.

Remove the shrimp and keep warm.

Deglaze the pan with white wine and some FRESH lemon juice.

Add some finely sliced scallions , and an envelope of Geo. Washington Golden broth.  

(You can use powdered chicken broth if you don’t have GW or Herb Ox)

Allow to simmer.  Take some of the remaining flour dredge and whisk it in a cup or more of water.  This  you will add to the simmering wine sauce.  If it gets too thick , add more water and wine.

 Taste and adjust the sauce .

Add your shrimp back in for a few minutes to heat through.  Don’t over cook!

After you drain your linguine, stir in a cup of part skim ricotta, pepper and freshly shredded romano  cheese.  
Stir it all together till the hot pasta is coated.  Stir in the cooked  hot spinach.  Plate, and place the shrimp on top, and add the wine sauce.

  Garnish with fresh parsley and more shredded cheese.

Please do not use that grated cheese stuff that comes in the green container. It doesn’t taste the same.

Growing up that’s what we always had,(hey, I’m Irish, the spices in our home were VERY limited!) but most supermarkets carry Romano or Parmesan today.

You can wrap a small piece of romano or parm tightly in saran wrap and it will keep a long time.  Shred it as you use it.  It makes a world of difference!



I made enough for 2 meals, and the left overs microwaved well.
It sounds like a lot, but it is really pretty easy.  You just have to co ordinate the timing.


The next  Let’s Dish Challenge is April 9th.  The theme is BIRDS~NESTS~EGGS.  Hope you can hatch something good!
Your table must include at east one of those elements.  It’s a challenge, will you accept it? 



Thanks so much for stopping by today!
I am joining Marty for Inspire Me Tuesday
Kathe for You're Gonna Love It Tues 
Marty's Musings 

♣6th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Blog Crawl~Cead Mile Failte♣

Please click above for some Irish music!  (or not!)
A thousand welcomes!  Pronounced   Kade-mee-laa-fall-cha !  (Different areas have different dialects.)

Thanks so much for coming to the blog crawl, be it your first time or your 6th!

On the 12th day of March

Two Thousand Fourteen,

I grabbed my shillelagh

And donned my caubeen.

I called to the marchers

I knew from past years

The crowd was amazing,

The clapping, the cheers!

Laurie, and Susan, Diane and Diann

Lynne, Kathe, and  Cindy, and Cherry and Ann

Marigene, Jewel, Alma and Kitty

Retta and BJ and Alycia  so witty.

Mona and Debbie, Sarah and Marty

More than 100 were at the last party!

Christine and Lulu , Barbara ,Ellen and Jen

Fabby  and Scribbler, sorry no men!

Linda and Cathy and of course, Mary Mac

All came together to share some good craic! *

*(Irish fun with friends)

Joni and Jackie, Marlis and sweet Michael Lee

Katherine and Sheila and Canada’s DD!

Denise, Pat  and Jen and so many more

Linked up to join the  6th  Irish encore!

Sonia and Liz , Lorraine ,Rosie too,

The Martha’s are waiting for fine Irish brew.

Enough with the names

You’ve all been invited,

Oh wait there’s man

Shamrock pants have been sighted!

Now let’s start the crawl

Without further ado

Here’s some Irish style goodies

That I made for you !

A blueberry scone

On a new Irish plate

A present from Alma

Now isn’t it great?

Some sweet soda bread

You’ll need strength for the crawl,

It may take all week

But I’ll visit you all!

Add pure Irish butter

For your ‘taters and such,

It comes from old Ireland

So green and so lush.

We must have some dancing

With a wild Irish beat

We can’t have a crawl

Without  Irish striped feet!

Time for our dinner

Made with spinach, bright green

Not corned beef and cabbage

But Prawns O’Kathleen!

The Connolly arms

Sport shells from the sea

So it’s not so bizarre

To eat shrimp with me!

The table is set

I won’t think it’s rude

You can nosh on the centerpiece

Cause cabbage is food!

        

May this sweet Irish shamrock

With green leaves of three

Bring blessings from Patrick

And a big thanks from me!

Now on to your place

And here’s what I say,

Three cheers for the Irish

♣And St. Patrick’s Day!♣

Please link only Irish/Green themed posts to this Blog Crawl.  Visit at least 5 other crawlers, more if you can!  It is a party so mingle, mingle, mingle!

A link back to this party is required .  Please put your BLOG NAME FIRST, it helps me remember where I have visited!  Thanks for stopping by!

Table notes:

Tablecloth, place mats, covered soup/mini casserole, butter domes, Pitcher,   flatware Cmas Tree

White dinner plates Horchow

Napkins HG, Green salad plates a gift from The Tablescaper

Green glasses Antropologie via .99 store as well as the Fighting Irish pen favors  in the glasses, and the round white candles.

Shamrock pants by LOUDMOUTH pants, in case your man needs a pair. )

The April Challenge will be April 9th.  The theme  will be announced in the next post!

I am joining Susan for Tablescape Thurs

Diann and Linda for Thrifty Things Fri.

An InLinkz Link-up