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Archive for July, 2011

Summer Party Ideas for Keeping Cool

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Party Theme, tagged , , , , on July 12, 2011| 2 Comments »

If you are like me and sitting in the bliss of ocean breezes is not on your near or distant horizon, you can at least keep your cool as temperatures rise.

Did you know certain foods can help you beat the heat?

Why not host a summer party with a theme of “Keep Your Cool?”

Go Green

As in salad greens. This is an obvious and easy choice for summer meals. Lettuce contains a lot of water as do cucumbers, celery and carrots. The added liquid helps cool you down and keep you hydrated. Set up a salad bar with some basic toppings and make entertaining this way a breeze.

Think Spicy

Food in the tropics are often spicy. The reason for this is because “hot” food such as chili peppers lower your body temp because of capsaicin, a chemical that causes skin to prespire (or glow, as I prefer to call it). That glow cools you as it evaporates. Add a few spicy additions to your salad bar and see how popular they will be. (Except to those of us you have an aversion to spicy foods. I’ll just eat some chocolate to make up for it.)

Hint of Mint

Both peppermint and wintergreen contain menthol which has a cooling effect. Add mint to salads, side dishes, desserts and drinks. My BFF thinks I make peppermint iced tea just for her but I really enjoy it, too.

However you decide to entertain this summer, remember to relax, enjoy your guests and have fun.

She Who Now Craves Peppermint Tea

 

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Scent of Summer

Posted in Referrals, tagged , , , , on July 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Around this time of the summer, I start dreaming of being somewhere tropical and wonderful versus somewhere that the lawn needs mowed, the housework needs some attention and someone needs to go to the grocery store. Again.

So to compensate for the fact that fresh pineapple is about as close to an exotic location as I’m going to get, I like to fill my home with some fun fragrances.

Three of my favorites are:

Sage & Citrus from Yankee Candle

Island Nectar from Bath & Body Works

Tropical Spice by Bath & Body Works

And when I just need a little extra tropical boost, I grab a tube of this:

Tahiti Sweetie from Bath & Body Works

I inhale it deeply, slather too much of it on and pretend I’m sitting in a chair somewhere close to the beach.

What is your favorite summer candle or lotion scent?

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Monster S’mores

Posted in Desserts, Easy Recipes, Entertaining Ideas, Quick and Easy, tagged , , , on July 8, 2011| 1 Comment »

Captain Cavedweller is once again my hero.

I came home last night to find he had been to the store and found these.

The monster of all marshmallows.

I kid you not, these things are huge!

So after seeing the size of these babies, my mind immediately jumped to S’mores. They are marvelous with regular size marshmallows. How much better would they be with gigantic puffs of fluffy sweetness?

The answer…

So good I nearly melted in a puddle. Oh. My. Goodness.

S’mores are made by sandwiching a toasted marshmallow and a piece of chocolate in between two graham crackers. The name of the treat comes from the two words “some more,” clearly combined because people often wanted to have at least a second serving after having one s’more. The treat was developed by campers in the early part of the 20th century, although the exact date or place is unknown. The first recipe was published in 1927 in the Girl Scout Handbook.

If you’ve never made S’mores, give it a whirl. Especially if you can snag a bag of these over-sized marshmallows! Captain Cavedweller found these at Wal-Mart.

Start with your basic three ingredients for S'mores - marshmallows, a chocolate bar and graham crackers.

Toast your marshmallow until the inside is oozy and the outside is toasty brown. You don't even need a campfire. Captain Cavedweller toasted these on the barbecue.

Line up your chocolate on a graham cracker.

Top with your toasted puff of liquid sweet bliss, aka marshmallow. Place another graham cracker on top.

Enjoy!

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Wall of Boxes

Posted in Family, Musings, tagged , , on July 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Normally, when I look across the road from our house, I see acre after acre of beautiful apple trees highlighted by the hills in the distance.

When I drove home tonight, the wall of boxes started about a quarter or mile from our house and continued just past our field of vision. It is literally boxes as far as the eye can see.

And although our fabulous view has temporarily turned into a fortress of plywood containers, I don’t mind. It is fun to see all the activity over in the orchard. Summer apples make me think of my grandma who was born and raised in the Ozarks. She had a summer apple tree in her yard and my mom would take us to grandma’s when the apples were ripe to pilfer enough to make a pie. Grandma would have something delicious like fried chicken and blueberry pie for us to eat – and nobody made chicken like her chicken. It was legendary.

The apples were a yellowy-green and tart. They weren’t big by any standard, but good gracious, they could make a tasty pie.

So here is to summer apples, fried chicken and grandmas. May they be a part of your best summer memories.

She Who Misses Her Grandma

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