Wishing everyone a happy holiday!!!!!!!!
I'll be back in 2010!!!!

Flounder In Jalapeno Sauce

Since the holidays are next week, I've decided to add a delicious fish recipe to my blog.

A few years ago, while at my brother's home in Albany he whipped up this great fish dish that everyone loved. I had to get the recipe from him before I left and I've been making since then. I serve this more often in the summer, because I can pick my jalapenos growing in the garden.

Ingredients;

2 scallions, white parts finely chopped and greens reserved for another use.

1 tbs unsalted butter

1 to 2 tbs finely chopped jalapeno including seeds.

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp sea salt

4 (6 to 8 oz) Flounder fillets( can be substituted with Tilepia)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup quartered grape tomatoes

1 tbs fresh chopped cilantro cook chopped scallions in butter in a 10 inch skillet over moderate heat, stirring until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add jalapeno( to taste), cream, and 1/4 tsp salt and bring to a simmer.

Pat fish dry, then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 salt. Fold each fillet in half crosswise. Put folded fish in sauce in skillet and cook on simmer, covered, until fish is just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer fish to a platter and keep warm, covered with foil.

Add tomatoes and cilantro to sauce in skillet, along with any fish juices on the platter, and cook over moderately low heat until heated through, about 1 minute. Spoon fish over sauce and serve.

Applesauce With Raisins And Honey

Applesauce makes a perfect non fat dessert when craving something sweet. Adding raisins will it makes it even sweeter. Using honey as a sweetener is much healthier and adds a better flavor than refined sugar.

The other night I made a very satisfying, naturally sweet applesauce, mixed with raisins and honey.

This guiltless dish is very easy to make and it also has added health benefits.

Ingredients;

15 medium apples (sweet variety), peeled, cored and chopped

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tbs honey

1/2 cup of raisins

Place chopped apples in a medium sauce pan. Add spices and honey to the apples. cook over medium high heat stirring frequently. When apples begin to soften reduce the heat to medium and cover. Stir through out the cooking process and mash while stirring. Once apples are almost finished add the raisins and cook five minutes longer.

When done remove from heat. This apple sauce can either be served warm or cold.

Garlic Spread

Here's a delicious recipe for garlic spread. This tastes great served with Italian bread and roasted peppers.
4 large heads of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Thyme
Basil
Pre heat oven to 375.
Place the garlic bulbs in a baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at most.
Once done remove from oven and let cool. Remove the peels and mash the cloves into a dish. Add extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, fresh thyme and dry or fresh basil. Mix all ingredients together well.
Serve as a garlic spread. Refrigerate leftover spread.

MY THOUGHTS

Being part of a team, or engaging in group mentality is not the best route for us to take in life. History as proved this.
Instead, one should always follow their own thoughts and ideas that reflect on their own personal values.
In other words never follow others, but lead yourself.

OLIVE OIL

(Olive trees under a full moon)

As a food olive oil is a wonderful source of vitamins and minerals. It is easily absorbed by the body and can be used to treat indigestion and constipation. Olive oil provides the heart with enough fat to lubricate it without congesting it. Mixing olive oil with lemon and garlic, makes a perfect heart tonic for flushing the liver.
Heated olive oil rubbed onto the skin is both a beauty tonic and a calmant. When massaged regularly into joints, it relieves pains and aches of arthritis.

It offers relief for eye, ear and skin irritations and is a great medicine for sores and wounds.

Olive oil acts as a base carrier for essential oils.

Esoteric meaning; The smoothness of life.

Olive oil represents a smooth untroubled path. It allows our lives to change easily and constantly. It symbolizes our capacity to have an easy transit from one stage of life to another. It makes us more able to manage the next step in our lives by incorporating the life skills that we have learned along the way.

Affirmation: My path in life is smooth and easy.

BUDDHA QUOTE

On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.

Coffee

Coffee not only stimulates and satisfies, but it's also a medicine with powerful properties.
Coffee is added to many medications as a stimulant to relieve menstrual cramps, constipation and headaches. It raises blood pressure and increases the pulse rate.
It's said that strong, hot, black coffee is an antidote for poisons. It's also a great diuretic.
In homeopathy, coffee, known as coffea, is used to stimulate the function of all organs and to increase the nervous activity of the body.
Esoteric meaning; The stimulation of life.
Esoterically coffee represents our desire for stimulation. It is the part of us that enjoys excitement, surprises and a change of habits or patterns. Coffee is a great pick-me-up when our energy is low. In order for us to thrive we need pleasure and fun in our lives. If we deprive ourselves of the things that give us joy, we punish ourselves.
Affirmation; Life excites and delights me.

glitter-graphics.com

Lavender

In the past, lavender was the primary plant in the famous Tudor knot gardens. Since early Egyptian times, lavender has been used as an astringent cleanser for beauty products and essential ingredients for perfumes.

Lavender soothes and calms, leaving the spirit serene and our minds clear.

Distilled Lavender oil can be used both internally and externally. It's a great treatment for lung conditions such as asthma. Lavender is also good for treating sinus conditions. It relieves headaches, insect bites, and other inflammations. It is an immunity booster.

Externally, lavender is a skin cell regenerator and capable of preventing scarring. It is good to use on burns, rashes and skin infections.

Esoteric Meaning; Serenity within oneself

Lavender signifies serenity and helps us in detaching from any situation in which we feel nervous, exhausted, or irritable. Serenity means we are able of staying centered no matter what occurs in our life.

Affirmation; I am serene as I move through transitions and changes.

Gifts From Olivia

Pretty gifts from Olivia.

Over the past month I received some beautiful gifts from my dear Friend Olivia.
Above are some lovely post cards with pictures of the meat and produce markets in France, as well as a quaint, all natural bath and spa store by the sea.
There's a very beautiful sachet that Olivia embroidered for me. I just love it. It's so feminine and dainty. Inside was a bag of dried lavender which smelled so good, I slept with it under my pillow the first few nights.
Last but not least I received a wonderful cookbook. I'm so excited to try these delicious dishes from Providence France. I'll have to share some of these mouthwatering recipes on my blog.
Thank you so much Olivia for all the beautiful things you've sent me.

Lemon Tree

The lemon tree is cultivated through out the Middle East and Mediterranean. It's juice is prized for healing and is used in many dishes and household cleaning products.
In homeopathy, lemon is used for sore throats.

In herbalism, lemons are great for cleansing a liver congested from too much fat and sweets. It is recommended for reducing fat in the body. Lemon also helps combat bacterial infections. It also boosts the immune system. Lemon can be taken in plain juice form with a teaspoon of honey if desired.
In aromatherapy, the oil is used to dissipate congestion.
Esoteric Meaning;
Lemon symbolizes our need to forgive. We free our spirit to love and shine again when we forgive. We release our feelings for those who have hurt us and our attachment to them.
Forgiveness empowers us and lets us choose the higher road.

BLOG BREAK

It's time for me to take blog break. I look forward to visiting everyone else's blog while I'm taking this break!

Enjoying A Nice Day Outside!

Me sitting outside on the veranda

Last week my hubby and I went to this great Mediterranean restaurant that I just love! We were lucky enough to have a nice lunch, while sitting outside, enjoying the beautiful autumn day.
It looks as if our short Indian summer is now over, because the cold has obviously arrived here. I'm sure everyone remembered to turn their clocks back last night. Oh, how I'll miss those warm days full of sunshine and long afternoons!

(Cleopatra)

Sticks and stones can break someone's bones;

but names can never hurt them.

(Cleopatra)

Beauty in in the eyes of the beholder.

Autumn Colors In My Back Yard

Last Sunday while out enjoying my backyard, I took photos of the all the different autumn colors. Above and below are photos of one of my Magnolia trees.

It was late in the afternoon when I took these photos and the sun was shining just right, which made the colors of the leaves even prettier.

Above are my summer sweet bushes, along with my magnolias and service berry trees.
Three seasons out of the year my service berry trees are real show stoppers. Early in the year they have profuse white blossoms. In the middle of summer they get dark red berries that are delicious and healthy to snack on. Then in October the colors are so beautiful, with the leaves ranging from blazing red, to bright orange. I'm fortunate enough to have three of these trees in my back yard.
Above is a view of the corn field and the end of my property. It's so peaceful and pretty sitting out back on warm autumn days. I thought it best to capture the fall display on camera now, because soon enough winter will be rolling in and the trees will no longer have their beautiful color palate.

The Sun Has Something To Share;

A message from the sun.

Always be light and brilliantly shine on all the people you encounter!

Halloween Fact

The reason why orange and black are primary colors for Halloween, are because orange represents the fall harvest and black represents the approaching darkness of winter.

ITALY'S BEST WINNING GARLIC BREAD!

Today I received an email with some tasty autumn recipes! One was the "sunset pumpkin soup" which I have written as "Sunrise Pumpkin Soup" on my last post.
The other recipe was called "Lost Garlic Bread". Now I don't know the recipe for lost garlic bread, because I didn't write that one down, but I sure do have a tasty and healthy recipe for "Winning Garlic Bread". One reason why it's a winning garlic bread, is that it's made with whole grains and is much better for your health, than refined white flour products are. It's also honestly delicious!!!!!
Ingredients;
Whole grain Italian bread, homemade or purchased from your local bakery
3 minced cloves of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs fresh minced parsley
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Pre heat oven to 375. Slice loaf of bread in half, length wise. Spread enough olive oil on both of the halves. Once you've spread the oil over the top of each half, sprinkle minced garlic and the rest of the ingredients evenly on top of the bread. If desired you can top with a bit of Parmesan cheese before popping it into the oven. Let garlic bread bake for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove, slice and serve immediately.
This is a scrumptious side for any of your Italian favorites!!!!!
By PhotoKitty

SUNRISE PUMPKIN SOUP!

Here's a tasty looking recipe that came to me on my email today. It was called "Sunset Pumpkin Soup" but it looks so delicious and tasty that I would want to have it over and over again. I'm calling it :
"Sunrise Pumpkin Soup!"
Ingredients;
2 Tbs butter ( I will substitute with 2 tbs olive oil, to keep the saturated fat out of the soup)
1/2 cup of shallots
7 carrots
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups veggie broth
2 cups of pumpkin puree
Salt and pepper

Melt butter (or heat olive oil in a sauce pan. Add shallots and carrots. Season with salt and cover. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
Uncover the shallots and carrots, then turn the heat up to medium, and saute until vegetable brown. Add curry powder, then deglaze the carrot mixture with wine. Add vegetable broth
and bring to a boil.
Lower soup to a simmer and cover for 30 minutes, partly covered. Remove pan from heat and let cool slightly.
Scoop out the solids, along with some liquid and puree in the blender until very smooth.
Return the vegetable puree to the pan and add the pumpkin. Stir well and add salt and pepper if needed. Heat the soup and serve!

Halloween Fact

"Witch" comes from the word "wicca" which means "wise one". Witches were thought to be wise enough to tell the future.

Halloween Fact

On the evening before Halloween, people left food out on their door steps to keep hungry spirits from entering the house. Festival goers started dressing in ghost, goblin and witch costumes so the wondering spirits would leave them alone. To this day these are Halloween's most popular costumes.

Halloween Myths

It has always been believed that a witch keeps a special animal called a "familiar". A familiar is an animal shaped spirit who willingly serves their owner in different roles as well as bewitching people. The most well known of these spirit animals is a black cat, although less common animals were used, such as crows and ravens. Black cats were known to be shape shifters as were ravens.
People thought that witches could transform themselves into black cats by reciting a spell and then being able to travel about doing things unnoticed. This was obviously a myth.

Halloween Fact

Of all canned fruits and vegetables, pumpkin is the best for vitamin A. Just a 1/2 a cup of this autumn squash has more than 3 times the recommended daily requirement.

CANDY APPLES

This weekend me and the kids are going to attempt to make candy apples. I've never made them before, so I thought it would be a fun autumn activity to try this Sunday afternoon.
It looks as if I'll have to do most of the work myself. After reading the directions off of the candy apple kit, I realized that the syrup gets extremely hot and is best prepared by adults only. My kids won't mind not helping, they'll enjoy eating all the candy off the apples once they're ready, then tossing the apple out when all the candy's gone.

(ME IN THE TORTOLA A WHILE BACK)

Generosity brings joy; honesty brings peace.

Sunflowers

The sunflower is a source of beauty, food, and medicine. Because the oil from sunflowers is so prized, it's grown in large crops in Spain, Italy and Greece.
Sunflowers have great healing properties and are used in homeopathy, herbalism and aromatherapy.

In homeopathy it is used to revive people after illness, high fever and weakness.It's also used for indigestion, congestion and rheumatism of the knees.
In herbalism it's a great source of protein and has an abundance of nutrition. Taking the oil of the sunflower internally is good for tonifying the liver and spleen.

In aromatherapy it treats wounds and helps against inflammation.
Esoteric meaning; The joy of life
Sunflowers stand for joy. Since the sunflower resembles the sun, it enchants our imaginations. Joy comes when we open up to the light within and allow our own sun to shine.
Affirmation; When I let my sun shine I am JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Feelings & Emotions

The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there?

Whole Grain Pizza Swirls

My kids love junk food. This past month I've been putting together healthy, kid friendly snacks and meals, encouraging them to make better choices when they're hungry.
Fortunately it's working. They're eating much healthier and dropping the excess weight they had put on around their waist lines!
Whole grain pizza swirls are easy to make. Both kids and adults will think they're delicious too.
Ingredients;
1 loaf of frozen whole grain bread dough, thawed
3 tbs of jarred, or homemade marinara sauce
Extra virgin olive oil
Part skim, shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese

Place one frozen loaf of bread dough wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. Once thawed, grease dough lightly with some olive oil and place in a large bowl. Cover bowl with a dish towel and let the dough rise( about 2 hours) at room temperature.
When dough has risen, pre heat oven to 450 and transfer to a floured surface. Roll out dough to a 10-inch square. Spread pasta sauce over dough. Sprinkle some shredded mozzarella cheese and grated Parmesan over sauce. Roll dough jelly-roll style to enclose filling.
Cut roll crosswise into 10 slices. Place slices, cut side down on a greased baking sheet; brush tops with oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan and mozzarella.
Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

HONEY

Honey was believed by ancient cultures to be the food of the gods. As a medicine, honey is an aid to both internal and external healing.
Used internally, It is very beneficial to digestion. It can calm asthma attacks and is also affective in the treatment of cramps. It's an energetic supplement for the heart. It's also added to cough mixtures. A mixture of honey and lemon is soothing for the throat.
Used externally, it is a natural antiseptic and helps soothe damaged tissue and restore skin growth. Honey has been used to treat boils and other external sores.
On an emotional level, honey can soothe frayed nerves. Honey is also a metaphor for the goodness of life and is said to be medicine for the soul.
A Vedic chant written more than 3,000 years ago asks that the entire earth obtain the qualities of honey.
Esoteric meaning;
Honey represents the natural sweetness that is part of our inner being. We cultivate sweetness in our lives by doing the things we love in our lives. Sweetness is as natural to our being as love is.
Affirmation; I open my soul to my own natural sweetness.

TABOULI

If anyone enjoys eating "tabouli", I've listed an easy recipe to follow below.
Ingredients;
1 cup dry bulgar
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 to 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
black pepper to taste
4 scallions, finely minced (whites and greens)
1 packed cup minced parsley
10 to 15 fresh mint leaves, minced
2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, diced
1 small cucumber, seeded and minced
Combine bulgar and boiling water into a large bowl. Cover and let stand until the bulgar is tender(30 minutes).
Add salt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and black pepper, and mix thoroughly. Cover tightly and refrigerate until about 30 minutes before serving.
30 minutes before serving add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Serve cold. Tabouli tastes delicious served with toasted whole grain pita wedges.

Sunshine Fizz Bath

Now that the days are slowly getting shorter, it's natural for many of us to experience seasonal sadness.
If you start to feel blue, treat yourself to a relaxing "Sunshine fizz bath". The recipe is listed below. It's sure to brighten your mood.

Ingredients;
1 tbs sea salt
1 tbs vitamin C powder
1 tbs baking soda
15 drops Aura Cacia bergamot essential oil
12 drops Aura Cacia eucalyptus essential oil

This recipe is from Aura Cacia pure aromatherapy. For more great aromatherapy recipes visit;
www.auracacia.com

talcuri

Here's a delicious Caribbean butternut squash recipe to try!

Ingredients;

Extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tbs turmeric

1 1/2 curry

1 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup water

1 tbs cumin

1tsp sea salt

black pepper

Pour enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a large pan. Saute chopped onions for 10 minutes or until soft. Add chopped garlic and continue to saute for another 5 minutes. Once the garlic and onions are done add the turmeric and curry, continue to mix into the vegetables until the aroma releases from the pan. Add butternut squash, salt and pepper to the pan. Stir together well and cover for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add water and recover. stir often while squash is cooking. Once the squash starts to soften and your able to mash it, add cumin.

cover and continue to cook on medium heat, while mashing, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan often during the whole cooking time. You may have to add more olive oil and salt to the squash.

When everything is soft and well mashed you can either serve with a side of brown basmati rice or whole grain toasted pita wedges.