Wish List Wednesdays: Colorful Outdoor Décor from AWE

A couple of weeks ago I featured a colorful outdoor wicker collection for my Wish List.  It must be a reaction to the long and rather dreary winter we had, because this week another brightly hued outdoor collection is on my list.  From At West End (AWE) comes the multi-colored Three Tier Iron Rolling Serving Cart ($169) shown above, which can be used indoors or out.  This cart would be perfect for a pool party or a patio soirée.  Also available are a Turquoise Three Tier Slide-Out Planter ($75)

and a Set of Three Tall Neon Planters ($69):

These planters would add even more color to a lively outdoor entertaining space.  What a great way to counteract the dreary dullness of this past winter!
             

Foodie Fridays: Black Raspberry Cream Pie

From Hostess with the Mostess

Black Raspberry Cream Pie is one of the easiest pie recipes you will ever make, and one of the tastiest. The recipe I found called for a graham cracker crust, but I used a pastry crust instead since I happened to have some frozen ones.  (If you would rather use the graham crackers, I have included the crust recipe as well.)  Substitute any spreadable fruit for the black raspberry if you prefer a different flavor.  This pie is a great warm weather dessert, and since our temperatures have been hovering around 90 degrees lately the recipe was quite the fortuitous find!

Black Raspberry Cream Pie

1 C. whipping cream
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 jar (10 oz.) seedless black raspberry spreadable fruit (I used Smucker's)
1 9-inch deep-dish pastry shell, baked

In a medium bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.  In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.  Add the spreadable fruit and beat until thoroughly combined.  Gently fold in the whipped cream with a large mixing spoon or spatula.  Spoon the mixture into the baked pastry shell.  Cover and freeze the pie for 4-24 hours until firm.  Just before serving, garnish the pie with berries, lemon twists, and/or mint leaves, if desired.  Serves 8.

Note: If you prefer a graham cracker crust, just combine 1/3 C. melted butter, 1/4 C. sugar, and 1 1/4 C. finely crushed graham cracker crumbs (one packet of 9 rectangular graham cracker sheets should yield this amount).  Lightly spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray, then fill with the crumb mixture and press the mixture evenly over the bottom and sides of the pie plate.  Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.  After freezing the pie, place the pie plate on a warm, damp cloth and let stand for 5 minutes before cutting to loosen the crust from the bottom of the plate.  Some recipes suggest brushing the graham cracker crust with a beaten egg white before baking (possibly to keep the crumbs in place when spreading the filling?), but the version I used did not mention this.  I think that this step may be intended for store-bought graham cracker crusts, so if you choose one of these you may want to use the egg white.
             

This 'n That Thursdays: Food + Animals = Fun!

From The Disgruntled Individual

I love food and I love animals, so to me it is not surprising that when you combine the two you get double the fun!  And there are many ways to bring these two subjects together.  One way is to create animal-shaped food -- just take a look at these amusing (and mouthwatering!) treats:

Panda-shaped sushi

Penguin-shaped appetizers

Ladybug hors d'oeuvres

Cream puffins

Hedgehog cookies

Deviled egg chicks

Images of adorable animals eating food abound, and here are just a few fun examples:

Cats sharing ice cream

Baby turtle attacking a strawberry

Hamster tackling a bell pepper

Lemur loves watermelon!

Tortoise and puppy sharing broccoli

Dog eating spaghetti (or vice versa?)

Animals as food?  Okay, now these images are just plain disturbing, but somehow you can't stop looking, can you?

Puppy burrito

Turtle burger

Pug bread

Perhaps funniest of all are the YouTube videos of animals interacting with food:

Here is one of the most recent "food plus animal" videos, which is what got me started on this subject in the first place:

Seriously, does it get much cuter or funnier than this?  Happy Be Kind to Animals Week, everyone!
             

Wish List Wednesdays: CurlUp Dapper Dog Bed

This week is Be Kind to Animals Week, and I am thinking of being kind to our two dogs by getting them some new dog beds.  The CurlUp Dapper Dog Bed ($119-149) from Orvis looks like a serious contender.  My old arthritic Dalmatian needs a bed that is not too high off of the ground, and both dogs prefer a bed that is large enough to sprawl out on.  This bed meets those requirements, and I happen to love the color and the dog print pattern.  It looks like our girls may have some new sleeping surfaces in their near future!

             

On the Homefront: Quietly Colorful Cinco de Mayo Table

Dalmatians Cinco and Mayo are back this year to help
celebrate, along with their little donkey pal Burrito!

My Cinco de Mayo table was inspired by a table runner I bought from Crate and Barrel at the same time I got my Easter bunny plates.  The striped Mercado runner is full of color, but the stripes are so narrow that the color seems muted.  Since I set an exuberantly bright table last year, I decided that a more subtle approach would be fun to do this time.

Natural woven round placemat from Kmart years ago; yellow dinner plate and salad bowl (Block Basics by Cerind of Portugal); natural cotton fringed napkin; faux wood-handled flatware; colorful stemmed wine glass; Tuscana Colored Stemless Wine Glass used as a water glass, from Stein Mart this year; striped Mercado Table Runner from Crate and Barrel.

The large lime green candle in my centerpiece is surrounded by,
of all things, Japanese peanuts!  (They happened to be the size
and color I was looking for, and they taste great too!)

My cactus candleholders (from Target a long time ago!) make a
return appearance, this time joined by sweet donkey Margarita
and some bright tulips.

Since Cinco de Mayo is on a Monday this year, the menu is fairly simple.  If you have the time, use my recipe links for the main dish and salad.  If time is really tight, simply stop by your favorite Mexican restaurant for the Shrimp in Chipotle Cream Sauce (or whatever you prefer) and use a bagged salad mix for the Mexican chopped salad (our local Kroger and Walmart both have southwestern versions that would work).  The dessert can be made a couple of days in advance (if you have the will power to save some for Cinco de Mayo!).  You could serve Mexican beer or margaritas with this meal, but I prefer sangria or wine spritzers, even though they are not really Mexican (I just don't like beer or margaritas).

Cinco de Mayo menu:

Tortilla Chips/Guacamole and Salsa

Mexican Chopped Salad

Shrimp in Chipotle Cream Sauce

Lime Cilantro Rice*

Carmelitas

From The Learning Curve

*Lime Cilantro Rice

2 C. chicken stock or water

1 C. long grain white rice
1 T. butter (optional)

salt to taste (optional)

1 tsp. lime zest

2 T. fresh lime juice

1/2 C. minced cilantro

Bring the stock or water to a boil.  Stir in the rice, then butter and salt to taste, if desired.  Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients just before serving.  Serves 4.

Lovely Dalmatian Rosarita surveys the Cinco de Mayo table
from atop her lofty perch in a corner of the dining room!

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo todo el mundo!

                

Foodie Fridays: Mexican Chopped Salad

From Pamela Salzman

Cinco de Mayo is next Monday, and I thought I would put together a menu (which I will post on Monday) that is easy and quick to celebrate the day.  For the salad course, I found a recipe for Mexican Chopped Salad that is a delight for the eyes as well as the taste buds, and simply requires a little chopping and whisking together of a few ingredients for a dressing.  The only big change I made was the substitution of a large yellow bell pepper for two cucumbers, since I am not fond of the latter.  I also slightly decreased the cumin and greatly decreased the amount of salt in the dressing.  If you want a lighter side salad you can leave out the beans, although a little extra plant protein is not a bad idea.  You could even add chicken or shrimp instead of or in addition to the beans for a heartier main dish salad.  However you decide to prepare it, eating this salad will most certainly ensure a happy and healthy Cinco de Mayo!

Mexican Chopped Salad

3 T. orange juice
3 T. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
black pepper to taste
1 T. honey
1/2 C. olive oil
1 head butter or romaine lettuce, chopped (about 8 C.)
2 C. chopped red cabbage
1 can (15 oz.) pinto beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
1 large bell pepper, diced
2 C. cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 large avocados, pitted, peeled, and diced
1/2 C. roasted, salted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

For the dressing, whisk together the first six ingredients in a small bowl,  Add the olive oil slowly, whisking constantly, until completely emulsified.  Check for seasonings, then set aside.

Combine the lettuce and cabbage in a large bowl.  Add the beans, diced pepper, and tomatoes.  Toss with enough dressing to lightly coat.  Drizzle a little dressing onto the diced avocado and gently mix into the salad.  Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds over the top.  Serves 6.
             

This 'n That Thursdays: Organic Modern Joshua Tree House

I happen to love all things quirky, odd, and weird -- as long as they are not hurting anyone, I think that they keep life interesting.  A case in point is this delightfully unusual organic modern estate built among the boulders in Joshua Tree, California, which recently came on the market.  The starkly beautiful Mojave Desert property is owned by an artist couple, Jay and Bev Doolittle, who decided in the late 1980s that they wanted an organic house built among the boulders.  They hired Kendrick Bangs Kellogg, one of the pioneers of organic architecture, and let him have free rein designing the 4,643 square foot house.  The house was finished in 1993, and then interior designer John Vugrin set to work finishing the look of the inside.  The couple moved in during the early 2000s, but are ready to downsize now and are looking to sell their spectacular home.  If I had $3 million I would snatch this prize up immediately, but as it is I will have to be satisfied just gazing at the lovely videos and photos of this amazing property and dreaming about what it would be like to live there.  If anyone out there decides to buy it, could you please invite me for a visit?

BTW, one of the artist owners, Bev Doolittle, is quite well known for her beautiful and unique art depicting the American West (one of her best known paintings is shown below, and you can certainly see the influence of the landscape around her in this piece).  I wonder if she would be willing to throw in an original work to sweeten the deal?

From Artodyssey