Simple but Tasty!

It's beginning to be that asparagus time of the year. It was Boyd's favorite veggie! So in honor of Boyd here's a new simple and quick recipe I just tried. Asparagus Fettuccine


Break off the tough end of each spear by bending it gently until it snaps. It will break at the point where the tender part ends and the tough part begins.

Ingredients:
1 lb. asparagus, ends trimmed
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1⁄4 cup dry white wine
4 Tbs. (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter
Zest of 2 lemons
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 lb. fettuccine
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh chives
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:
In an asparagus pot or steamer filled halfway with boiling salted water, add the asparagus, tips up. Cover and cook until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Cut the asparagus into 1 1⁄2-inch lengths; set aside. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add the wine, bring to a boil and cook until almost evaporated. Add the asparagus, butter and lemon zest, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the butter melts. Season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, bring a large pot two-thirds full of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl. Add the asparagus sauce and chives and toss to coat. Pass the cheese at the table.

I'm really on a 'cooking-new-recipe' kick! And I'm having fun playing in my new little red and white kitchen. A very comforting place to be!!

Make this a great day!!
Hugs,
Joni

YEA!! My Girls are Home!!

And this is what the coffee table in the den looks like. It screams, "The girls are home!" And I love it! Wendy always has fun poking through the tubs in the basement and brings touches of nostalgia up stairs. Last night it was their Smurf collections and their Sticker Books. Home sweet home! "Move over... let me take a picture!" Notice the box of Milk Duds?? More nostalgia!!Almost all the Smurfs look essentially alike — mostly male, very short, with blue skin, white trousers with a hole for their short tails, white hat in the style of a Phrygian cap, and sometimes some additional accessory that identifies a personality. (For example, Handy Smurf wears overalls instead of the standard trousers, a brimmed hat, and a pencil above his ear.) Smurfs can walk and run, but often move by skipping on both feet. They love to eat Sarsaparilla leaves, whose berries the smurfs naturally call smurfberries

There was a huge stack of sticker books, but I just took a pic of a few of them so that you could get the idea. Wendy can remember everything about each sticker... what a memory! Some great stories were shared last night.

Kristin and Wendy have left for Chicago where Wendy will catch a flight to Phoenix and where Kristin lives. It's always so empty when they leave but I am so blessed to see them as often as I do.

Safe travel girls!

Hugs,

Joni

Yummers!

I found this recipe on kashi.com and it is YUMMERS!

Beans make a nutritious alternative to meat, and heating them briefly in olive oil and garlic infuses them with flavor.

Makes 2 servings

4 ounces whole-wheat pasta shells, tubetti, ziti, or rigatoni
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 large clove organic garlic, minced (I smash mine and remove it after it has been sauteed with the beans)
2 ripe medium tomatoes, diced
2 Tbsps oil-cured black olives (I use regular black olives)
¼ cup sliced fresh basil... a must!!
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Tbsps freshly grated Romano cheese ( I use Parmesan Reggiano)
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1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add beans and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the beans are just heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add tomatoes, olives, basil and pepper. Stir gently to combine. Divide the pasta between 2 plates and top with the bean mixture and cheese. I toss it all together! I also add chopped green onions. OR you could add chopped red onion to the beans and garlic when sauteing.
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I'm finding a sense of peace in the kitchen and I've printed a stack of recipes to try. I'm about to go back to the kitchen and make Leek & Potato soup. A favorite of Kristin.

Make this a Great day!
Hugs,
Joni

Another Great Loss

Gabby died Tuesday at the age of 18 years. She loved to sleep on my lap and play with plastic bags. Her love and warmth will be sadly missed. I love you Gabby! Go be with your Daddy.

New Scrapbox!

I want to introduce you to Angel. She was rescued from a Puppy Mill by one of my good friends. After a lot of love and extensive grooming, Angel is thriving in her lovely new home... she had previously lived in a crate and was used for breeding. Angel has a HUGE wardrobe and I wanted to take photos of her in her many outfits. However, she didn't like the camera's flash. I will try again soon and share them with you. Isn't she adorable? And she has a personality to match!
I made another Scrapbox this weekend. I wanted to preserve my favorite book from when I was growing up. My Mom read it to me several times and then I read it myself a few more times. It has such unforgettable characters like Hookie-the-Goblin, Little Lemon Cookie, Snickerdoodle, and more. I read it to my girls when they were little and then they read it themselves, too! The book has been a fixture around our house since the 1940's.

I created a scrapbook page about this book experience, reduced it to 6x6, and printed it to be included in the scrapbox. The spine of the book was broken and I used a very strong 2-sided tape (from a scrapbook store) in the corner of each page to keep the book together

I stumbled upon scrapboxes at Tuesday Morning. They had Martha Stewart's label on them and they were only $3.99 each (originally $24.99). I bought them all!! The box I used for the above creation is from TJ Maxx. All scrapping materials used in the making of the above layout are from Designer Digitals (click on 'my Gallery' for more details).

My daughters are coming home this weekend and I can't wait!! We're going up to the Green Bay house to move all my scrapping materials, Summer clothes, and anything else of importance that was left behind. I just love every minute that I get to spend with them... such a gift!

Choose to MAKE this a great day!

XOXO

Joni

Snow, snow, snow!

Snow... those beautiful white delicate flakes... that can shut down whole cities. Isn't that amazing when you think about it! My heart goes out to the East Coast and all the people that have been negatively affected by their recent storm. And another storm's on it's way! We had snow all day yesterday and it's predicted to hit us hard today and tomorrow morning. I love being snowed in! However... I wouldn't feel the same if I had to go to work.
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Yesterday I added white wooden snowflakes to red branches on the fireplace. Wendy found the snowflakes at Crate and Barrel and they are so delicate. Love them! Thanks Wendy!!
I have become very sensitive to caffeine and am now on a quest for herbal teas and/or caffeine free teas. Some are soooooo tasty... and smell so good! At this time of the year I seem to have a cup of something hot in my hands most of the time.

RANDOM THOUGHTS...

~ "The Bachelor" was ridiculous last night!! Such phony drama... obviously rehearsed!

~ I am loving Geraldine Brooks novels. I bought them all! Remember... I buy on Amazon.com from their used books. So inexpensive and almost always in great shape.

~ Has anyone seen the movie "Amelia"?? I'd love to know what you thought of it!

~ I just watched "The Hurt Locker" and "Inglorious Bastards" as they both had a lot of Oscar nominations. I wasn't crazy about either of them.

~ Yesterday I wore my Uggs, a plaid flannel nightshirt of Boyds, and an apron over that. Try and visualize that for an outfit! It sure was comfy! Boyd would have laughed!

Make this a GREAT day! You have the choice... and if I can do it, so can you!

Hugs to you all,

Joni