fresh smells and tastes

Friday I drove a bit north of town to an area where there are many farms and they sell all sorts of fruits, veggies, etc. This time of year here it's strawberries that are in season. I found the least expensive u-pick (89 cents/lb) and started picking. Around 2 hours later, my lower back was screaming at me that I was crazy for leaning over so much, my flats were overflowing, and I also was getting a bit hot and thirsty. So decided to pack it in. Turns out I had picked 18.24 pounds of strawberries!




Once home I stemmed and froze them. The big metal bowl you see is at least 6 quarts - I had that plus at least half full again, not including some that we shared with friends, and kept whole to eat this weekend. Unfortunately, once I smashed them a little and got them into containers for freezing, they didn't seem to be so much.

Mmmm, I love summer with fresh fruits and veggies!

Dee Dee's Wedding Salad

Dee Dee's Wedding Salad
From Guideposts magazine March 2005
Serves 12

8 oz cool whip
16 oz Imo, sour cream or plain yogurt
3 oz pkg orange jello
Half a 10.5 oz mini marshmallow pkg
8 oz crushed pineapple, drained
11 oz can mandarin oranges, drained but save juice
6 oz orange juice concentrate

Combine cool whip and sour cream until smooth. Add in jello, then marshmallows. Add pineapple and mandarin oranges. Stir until well combined. Add oj. Refrigerate a few hours or overnight. After refrigeration, if it’s too thick, add some of the mandarin orange juice.

Super easy, super yummy (not perfectly healthy)!

Tomato Bean Salad

Tomato Bean Salad
makes about 6 cups

Dressing:
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp garlic powder
freshly ground black pepper

Salad
1 15oz can kidney beans
1 15oz can white beans
1 15oz can cut green beans
1 c diced fresh tomatoes
1/2 c diced yellow bell pepper
1 TBSP chopped fresh dill

1. Whisk dressing ingredients together.

2. Thoroughly rinse and drain beans.

3. Toss beans gently with remaining ingredients and dressing.

4. Chill 1 hour before serving.

I ended up using black beans instead of white, since I'd forgotten to cook white beans. I also used red bell pepper because it was less expensive than yellow. Salad was wonderful in spite of changes.

I got this recipe from some work junk mail about newsletters we could buy regarding employee wellness and health. This was the only part worth saving - I don't remember exactly who it was from either...

whoa

I just can't believe the ignorance, stupidity, lack of common sense, lack of intelligence, lack of many things that I am noticing around today.

It's so very annoying. I just want to say "grow a brain, grow some balls, get it together!"

overheard

Person 1: "My lips aren't in shape. They're flat. I haven't done that in awhile."

Person 2 (laughing): "It's not good to have flat lips."