Here Comes the Sun!

This is the day the Lord has made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

~Psalms 118:24~

*************************************

Music: The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun

Hey, everyone! How are you all doing?

Well, Spring has officially sprung in our neck of the woods. Hooray! We've had gorgeous sunny days every day since Saturday with 65-75 degree temps. We're lovin' it over here! I've been singing 'Here Comes the Sun' (the Beatles) all day today. We've had all the doors and windows open and the sun has been flooding in. Simply beautiful!

(Note: To listen to music, disable current background music

by clicking 'pause' on the music player in your right sidebar,

then click on pic below.)

The last few days have been planning days for me. We've accomplished all the usual stuff, too, and I've even been sticking to my workout! Yay, me! Unfortunately, due to the late hour and my brain being tired, I'm going to have to make this entry a real shortie.

I'll just say God is good and all is well. Husband is incredible. The kids are happy and sweet. Household is in lovely order. School is coming along well. Fun dates have been had by husband and me. The kids have spent more time frolicking outdoors in the amazing weather. And, of course, tasty food has been created and eaten!

Here are my latest test drive recipes. The first is Ina Garten's Roasted Butternut Squash Soup and Curry Condiments.

Ingredients: Butternut squash, yellow onions, McIntosh apples, good olive oil, Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, chicken stock, and good curry powder.

Condiments: Scallions, flaked sweetened coconut (lightly toasted), roasted salted cashews (toasted and chopped), and diced banana (I skipped the banana).

Delicious soup! I've always loved butternut squash soup anyway, and of course Ina's is fantastic! I loved the curry. My only tweakage was to add a little creme fraiche sort of deal for a creamy zing.

With the soup, we made Ina's Banana Crunch Muffins.

Ingredients: All-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, unsalted butter, extra-large eggs, whole milk, pure vanilla extract, mashed ripe bananas, diced ripe bananas, walnuts (I used pecans), granola, and sweetened shredded coconut.

For the top (optional): Dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut.

Yuuuum! I followed the recipe exactly and Husband said they were the best muffins he's ever had!

For dinner tonight, we test drove Guy Fieri's Seared Scallops with Bitter Greens, Fried Shallots, and Andouille.

Ingredients: Canola oil, all-purpose flour, salt and pepper, shallots, sherry wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, andouille sausage, scallops, radicchio, baby arugula, butter lettuce, frisee, and chives.

We really liked this. I played a bit with my lettuce mixture, otherwise I pretty much followed the recipe exactly. I did add cute little bay scallops to our larger sea scallops for more little nibblers to munch on. The combination of the seared sea scallop with the dressed lettuce, topped with the crispy fried shallots was really neat-o! I tried to get a little of everything in each bite. Good stuff, Guy!

With Guy's scallop and greens, we also had his Green Polenta.

Ingredients: Olive oil, onion, garlic, kale, salt and pepper, water, heavy cream, polenta, butter, and grated Parmesan cheese.

Ya know what? This was my family's first time eating polenta, and we liked it a lot! It was so creamy and rich, and the kale and garlic turned it into something else altogether. I'm a polenta convert! My only tweakage was to add some buttermilk and a squeeze of lemon juice at the end for a little kick to offset the rich, creaminess. Oh, and I also added A LOT more Parmesan cheese. hehe! Mmm-mm good!

Okay guys, I'm looking at the bottom of my tea mug, and that means bedtime for me. Sweet dreams, Jellybeans!

More later...