LouDog has a birthday!

Friday was our baby's 4th birthday! She has been the best dog and has provided much entertainment for Elliott and I!  She is a very particular dog, set in her ways, Type A, neurotic.  We are always amazed at how quickly she can wag her little tail.  She's a bit manipulative and knows exactly what to do to get what she wants.  She is smart, loving, loyal, and thinks pretty highly of herself.  When I take her running, she holds her head so high and prances down the street, not making the slightest acknowledgment of other dogs who may be barking at her (or checking her out).  It's so funny to see how her little personality has developed from Elliott and I and it makes me really wonder what our children will be like...
She totally gets us, knows our voices and tones, our comings and goings, gets extremely sad when she sees us packing the car to go out of town and extremely excited when we get home.  She knows when she's done something bad and gets really sad when she gets disciplined.  She loves us even when we work late, make her sleep outside, go on vacation, bring home a male dog, or don't have time to take her for a run.
I'm sure Elliott and I would have survived the last four years without her, but our sweet baby girl has made simple, daily life quite interesting and fun. Raising a dog from the puppy stage has really shown and taught us a lot about life in general and I definitely think in some ways is preparing us for children... house training, kennel training, whining, discipline...although different, I think some lessons will come in handy!
Coming home after a long day, no matter what has happened, and being greeted by that wagging tail and sweet face reminds us what unconditional love looks like!

Happy Birthday Eliza Louise and to her brothers, Mason and Dallas, too!

Grand Isle

This weekend in pictures...

 After 2 plus weeks of rainy weather, we enjoyed a sunny, cloudless weekend in Grand Isle for the Tarpon Rodeo. It was such a fun trip and a great way to wrap up the summer...so thankful for sweet friends!

Fruit Salsa

I had this for the first time last summer and have made it several times since.  The actual "salsa" is pure fruit in its own juices (no added sugar or other ingredients).  The chips, however, make up for that but are so good!

I used:

2 mangos 

2 peaches

2 plums

grapes

cherries 

strawberries

(really you can use whatever fruit you like but the mangos, peaches, and plums are crucial for it to be really juicy!)

I sliced and diced all the fruits (still not sure how to cut a mango correctly with that big seed!) and halved the grapes and cherries (seeds removed). Try to retain as much juice as possible and combine all the fruit...

Now for the chips:

flour tortillas (I've used white and wheat and even Elliott said both tasted fine)

cinnamon sugar

butter

Either melt a few tablespoons of butter or used some thats already softened to spread on one side of the tortillas.

  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar,

Stack on top of one another and cut into triangles with pizza cutter,

Spread on cookie sheet and put in oven on broil for about 7-10 minutes (time will vary based on oven temps) 

ENJOY!

Summer Veggie bake

Elliott and I came up with this a few weeks ago when the garden was abundant and we were in serious Couples Fitness Challenge mode (maybe a post to explain that later). Anyhow, I was doing the low-carb thing and we both wanted something hearty and flavorful so to the garden we went.  After a picking of eggplant, tomato, squash, zucchini and my favorite herbs, I got to chopping.

Basically it consisted of:
3 eggplants
1 squash
1 zucchini
1 large heirloom tomato
3 small creole tomatoes
2 small lemon boys (yellow)
Small bunch of rosemary, oregano, thyme, and basil
Fresh parmesan and mozzarella

Slice all the veggies and lay in large baking dish...

Top with herbs and cheese...(as much as you like)

Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes

And Enjoy!

For those not doing the low carb thing, this would be great to mix with pasta-bake the veggies/herbs and add the cheese once you mix with the pasta. Enjoy as a side dish or add ground meat for more protein. We used ground venison before and it was delicious!

it's project time!

I have seen this concept many times and knew it was a project I could take on AND I had everything I needed which made it even better! 

It only took a few hours start to finish and now it counts as a piece of "art" on an otherwise empty wall in our bathroom!

Blueberries

My in-laws property used to be a blueberry farm.  They have at least 100 bushes and over the years the boys have cleared out the brush and overgrowth, trimmed the pine tree's to allow more sunlight, and bush hogged the rows to make them accessible.  I LOVE blueberries and it seems that each year there are more and more! There are family jokes about my ability to pick blueberries to maximum capacity! Years ago, my dad and I would go around Father's Day each year and pick blueberries from a local farm.  Now, we can pick as many as we want during the short season they are ripe! Usually the end of May is when you can start picking and they're pretty much done by the end of June. Not much time to pick enough to stock my freezer for the year ahead :) I have my favorite go-to recipes but also love to throw some in my oatmeal in the winter or make smoothies in the spring.  I'm so grateful I get to have blueberries year round! 

I love this recipe because I always have the ingredients at home and it's such an easy, quick treat to make!

Frozen Blueberry Lemonade

In a blender combine:

 3 cups ice

1 1/2 cups blueberries

1 cup lemonade

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Puree until smooth

Garnish with mint sprigs

Blueberry Poundcake

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 pint blueberries

Cream butter and sugar in blender until smooth. 

(I do this for a long time...I usually start the blender and go do laundry or check email. 

I let it mix until the sugar is barely grainy.) 

Add eggs one at a time. Beat until light and fluffy. 

Add vanilla. Sift 2 cups flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add to cream mixture.  Dredge berries in remaining flour.  Fold berries in gently.

I spray my pan and coat with flower to prevent sticking. There's

nothing worse than a broken pound cake. 

Bake at 325 for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Happy Sunday

"The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land" Song of Soloman 2:12