Hungry for Vegetables II

Here we are with 5 more delicious and healthy vegetables you can serve at the dinner table, or any time!

Eggplant

Eggplant dip

Eggplant feta phyllo pies

Beef and eggplant lasagna

Roasted eggplant and chickpea soup

Eggplant yogurt dip

Eggplant Parmesan

Moroccan hand pies

Eggplant focaccia

Steamed eggplant and mushrooms with peanut sauce

Ratatouille

Bell Peppers

Stuffed bell peppers

Meatless stuffed peppers

Roasted red pepper feta dip

Spanish tortilla with bell pepper

Baked stuffed red peppers with cherry tomatoes, feta and thyme

Yellow pepper soup

Polenta stuffed peppers

Roasted red pepper dip

Sausage, peppers and onions

Spinach

Spinach sticks

Spinach and pine nut salads

Spinach and phyllo pie

Spinach bundles

Wild mushrooms and spinach lasagna

Spinach and gruyere souffle

Hot spinach dip

Spinach gruyere gateau de crepes

Spinach and pepper pita pizzas

Scallops with wilted spinach and arugula

Deep fried spinach

Spinach ricotta calzone

Beans

Mixed bean salad

Fennel and green beans with orange

Stir fried green beans with coconut

Fried green beans with sweet hot mustard

Beets

Beet slaw

Roasted beet tapenade

Wine poached beets

Roasted baby beets

Beet chips

Beet risotto

Sweet corn with baby beets and basil

Beet ravioli

Beet and asparagus salad

What do you like to do with vegetables most?  Baked, grilled, stews, or just raw?  Share your ideas below.

Hungry for Vegetables I

June isn’t just fruit month, it’s also vegetable month!  To celebrate, our last two posts of June will be dedicated to 10 of the healthiest vegetables.  Almost all (if not all) are able to be grown in your backyard too!

Tomatoes

Bruschetta

Dragon’s breath chili

BLT pizza

Roasted tomato sauce

Tomato, corn and avocado salad

Stuffed tomatoes

Spicy tomato soup

Tomato mozzarella pie

Roasted tomato soup

Tomatoes with basil and mozzarella

Oven baked cherry tomatoes

Guacamole

Broccoli

Broccoli and cashew stir fry

Broccoli casserole

Cheese and broccoli soup

Broccoli salad

Cheese and broccoli crepes

Easy cheesy broccoli and rice

Gingered beef broccoli salad

Broccoli lasagna

Broccoli cole slaw

Chili garlic roasted broccoli

Cheesy mushroom and broccoli casserole

Brussels Sprouts

Cheesy gratin of brussles sprouts

Caramelized brussles sprouts with lemon

Brussels sprouts with pancetta

Fried brussles sprouts with walnuts and capers

Brussels sprouts with pecans and cranberries

Roasted cauliflower, brussles sprouts and Jerusalem artichokes

Brussels leaf salad

Grilled brussels sprouts

Carrots

Play with your food

Carrot muffins

Carrot ginger dip

Carrot cheesecake

Carrot hummus

Carrot and pineapple cake

Squash

Butternut squash

Squash souffle

Squash casserole

Deep dish squash pie

Zucchini, yellow squash and carrot saute

Squash gratin

Roasted squash salad with warm cider vinaigrette

Squash lasagna

Roasted acorn squash and gorgonzola pizza

Squash soup with fontina cheese crostinis

What’s your favorite vegetable and way to cook it?  Share your ideas below.

Fabulous Fruit II

Happy Wednesday!  Today we’re continuing our look at fruit month with some more fabulous fruit recipes.

Kiwi

Fresh kiwi grape juice

Kiwi smoothie

White kiwi sangria

Kiwi and mango tartlets

Kiwi lemonade

Fizzy kiwi lemonade

Kiwi melon coolers

Kiwi lime pie

Blackberry

Wild blackberry turnovers

Blackberry fool

Blackberry crush

Blackberry crumbles

Blackberry cloud cake with pistachios

Blackberry swirl pound cake

Blackberry yogurt smoothies

Blackberry frozen yogurt

Frozen blackberry mousse

Blackberry strudel cookies

Blackberry swirl pie

Blackberry trifle

Lime

Tropical lime bites

Lime cooler

Hibiscus lime drink

Key lime cheesecake bars

Key lime fudge

Key lime tart

Frozen margaritas

Key lime cupcakes

Lime cookies

Lime sabayon

Margarita pie

Lime meltaways

Lemon

Lemon love buns

Lemon custard cakes

Lemon icebox cookies

Frozen lemon mousse

Lemon madeleines

Lemon drop cupcakes

Lemon meringue pie

Lemon ice

Lemon bars

Lemon pudding souffle

Lemon cup

Lemon buns

Lemon cheesecake

Raspberry

Raspberry cheesecake

Raspberry jam

Raspberry lime freeze

Raspberry coolers

Raspberry sorbet

Raspberry bars

Vanilla raspberry panna cotta

Raspberry walnut rugelach

Raspberry creamsicles

Raspberry tarts

Raspberry crumb squares

Raspberry tea-sicles

Raspberry tiramisu

Plum

Plum oatmeal crisp

Plum butter

Tapioca pudding with glazed plums

Plum and port crostata

Vanilla, plum and buttermilk smoothie

Plum upside-down cake

Plum cake

Plum, citrus frozen yogurt

Dried plum spice cake

Plum galette

Pear

Pear and almond tart

Red wine and pear sorbet

Caramel pear terrine

Pear and granola muffins

Poached red pear zinfandel

Meringue with pears, hazlenuts and chocolate sauce

Chocolate pear pouches

Pear fritters

Pear frangipane tart

Ginger pear sorbet

Earl Grey poached pears with custard

Spicy chai poached pears

What’s your favorite fruit?? Share your favorites, and favorite recipes below.

Enjoying the Summer Creatively

Summer is just about here and to get the ball rolling right, I want to encourage you to not only be creative this summer, but also enjoy and be able to remember your great summer.  For me summer seems to go so quickly that when it’s over I wonder where my favorite months of the year went.  To keep some of that amazing summer passion alive longer, here are some ideas that you might want to try.

1-post pictures on the calendar, wall or bulletin board.  It’s super easy and cheap these days to print out your best pictures that can inspire you and remind your family of the fun you’ve had and the places you’ve gone.  Posting them in an obvious place is not only great for when guests come over, it’s also a great reminder and smile-maker for you.

2-shoebox memories.  At the beginning of the summer give each kid (and yourself) a shoebox or other box where you can store treasures from the summer.  Maybe the kids will want to make a rock collection or shell collection, and maybe you’ll want to collect trinkets from fairs and markets.  Giving each person a box they can fill or do what they like with is a way to encourage conversations and learning experience after the summer has ended.

3-daily blog.  Maybe you’re more of the writing type.  If so, you can share daily blog posts that your extended family and friends could follow along and see and hear about all the great things you’re experiencing.

4-schedule in relaxation.  All creative people need downtime for their brains to process the inputs and be able to make all the creative connections that will help you with your creative output.  Since it’s summer you’ve got the perfect excuse to actually plan relaxation into your day.  Of course, I suggest you relax outside whenever possible 🙂

5-get exposed to new things.  Don’t take the same vacation again, or if you do make sure to stop and see new places and things along the way or nearby.  One of the best ways to get inspired is to see and experience new things, and you can’t do that if you’re doing the same thing over and over again.

6-don’t take pictures of what everyone else does, capture different things.  Not only will you have some fantastically different and creative pictures that people could buy from you, you’ll also have new inspiration that those who are still taking pictures of sunsets won’t have.  Of course you can still take pictures of the sunset, but take the time to look at other things too.

What will you do this summer to capture, create and enjoy the creativity of summer?  Share your ideas below.

Fabulous Fathers

Father’s Day is Sunday here in the USA, and if you’re as behind as I am, you might need some last minute ideas!  I’d love to hear your great ideas too!

Gifts and Cards:

Decorated with love coffee mug

Easy decorated, personalized notepad

Photo bookmark

Best bbq apron

Self portrait or portrait of dad in mosaic

Go fishing lampshade

Cute pom pom tie guy

Bottle opener

Dad t-shirt

Golfer card

Kid’s art card

Best Dad card

Shirt and tie card

Food:

8 layer dip

Chicken with rub

Grilled fajitas

Simple ribs

Beer battered fish

Spicy mussels and chorizo

Grilled sirloin kebabs

Baseball cupcake

Chocolate banana pudding

Chocolate coconut bars

Football player cupcakes

Mower cupcake

Grilling cupcake

How do you celebrate Father’s Day?  Share your suggestions, gift ideas and food ideas below.

Fabulous Fruits I

Happy Monday!  This is the first of two posts this month about fruit.  Why?  It’s National Fruit Month in the USA!  There are tons of yummy fruits, so if your favorite fruit isn’t listed here, share it below in the comments and I’ll try to share about it in the other fruit post.

Frozen fruit bites (great with many fruits)

Strawberries

Cream cheese and pecan stuffed berries

Jam

Oatmeal bars

Apricot brandy butter

Sorbet

Chiffon pie

Puffy shortcakes with meringue

Smoothie pops

Shakes

Lemony parfait

Watermelon

Coolers

Sorbet

Surprising salad

Blaster

Ginger limeade

Melon sorbet

Sherbet smoothies

Peach

Salsa

Oatmeal cookies

Souffles

Popsicle

Ice cream cake

Fruit filled hand pies

Tart

Pie Twisters

Cobbler

No-bake cheesecake

Chai iced tea

Ice pops

Jam

Apple

Oat bread

Mini caramel apples

Caramel apple cheesecake bars

Coffee cake

Fritters

Spice cookies

Indian pudding

Baked apple wedges

Mini silk pies

Baked apples

Tart

Banana

Cream pie

Ice cream cake

Monkey mix

Chips

Bananas foster

Muffins

Bran bread

Whoopie pies

Chocolate chip muffins

Cupcakes

Gluten free muffins

Blueberry

Blueberries and cream tarts

Yogurt ice

Flax muffins

Blintzes

Scones

Pie

Fool

Pancakes

Mini layer cakes

Drink Delight

Orange

Tomato salsa

Mochaccino

Fruit punch

Pound cake

Marmalade

Creamsicle floats

Biscuits

Bowknots

Caramel oranges

Cranberry Relish

Pineapple

Ginger punch

Smoothie

Pie

Sherbet

Upside down cupcakes

Pops

Gelato

Cookies

What are your favorite fruits and fruit recipes?  Share yours below!

Creative June Birthdays II

On Monday we took a look at 4 creative individuals who were born in June and made an amazing impact on the creative world.  Today we look at 4 more individuals.

Scott Adams:
Creator of the cartoon Dilbert, this man born on June 4th, has forever impacted the worlds of creativity and business.  He gave many people an outlet for their frustrations, and most importantly a voice to the masses.  His simple characters have brought a smile to our faces knowing we’re not alone.  Get lots more Dilbert humor here.

Maurice Sendak:
Born June 10, Sendak spoke not only to our creative senses with his stories, but also our secrets with “Where the Wild Things Are”. This designer and illustrator brought life to our dreams and fantasies.  He is also known for the character of Little Bear and designed sets for many famous theater productions.

Vera Wang:
This creative designer was born June 27th, and has made a huge impact on the fashion industry.   Uninspired by what she saw, Wang let her creativity loose to inspire the fashion and wedding industry.  Thanks to her creativity, the fashion and wedding industries will forever be changed.  You can check out her blog here.

Frank Lloyd Wright:
Born June 8th, this man has totally captured my heart and attention for years.  His simple lines, intricate designs and attention to detail fascinates me.  His work spanned the globe and although we’ve lost some of the structures he designed, there are still many that remain to inspire the next generation of architects.  You can learn more at the Taliesin website.

Taking time to recognize the people who have made an impact on the creative world is important.  If you’ve got a birthday in June, I’d love to celebrate you too! Share your birthday and creative passion below.

Creative June Birthdays I

Today we’re starting a two-part post on some of the fabulous creative (and some historical) folk who have been born in June.  Today we’re looking at 4 men who have made an incredible difference.

M. C. Escher:
Born on June 17th, Escher is most famous for his mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints which explore infinity, architecture, and tessellations.  He’s the one who did the “crazy house” with all the staircases and different perspectives and movement.  He taught the world a wonderful lesson about creativity and artistic license.  You can learn more at this website.

Eric Carle:
Born on June 25th, Carle has created some amazing children’s books including the Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Growing up seeing the love and attention he brought to each of his books and the characters in his books always has inspired me.  Author and illustrator, Carle has brought light and love to many homes.  Visit his website and see all his wonderful creations.

Richard Scarry:
Born June 5th, this creative man is most well known for his Busytown creations with Lowly, Huckle and the rest of the gang.  Scarry not only brought animals to life, he always include little details in the buildings, cars and story that makes it exciting for even parents to read along.

Allen Ginsberg:
This poet from the beat generation was born on June 3 and has made a significant contribution to the world of poetry as well as the rebirth of American culture.  His most famous poems are “Howl” and “Kaddish”, both written not for sake of prose, but to touch the masses.  Find his poetry, doodles and more at this website.

If you’ve got a June Birthday, I’d love to recognize you!  Share your birthday and what you do below!