A new take on an old Italian salad...

Craig always comes hungry and rummaged through my kitchen...spied some fresh tomatoes and brought out the olive oil and white balsamic vinegar. I had no bocconchini cheese so he reluctantly used some shavings of light Jarlsburg over the tomato slices...topped each slice off with fresh chopped basil from the garden...and drizzled the dressing of oil and vinegar.

The sweetness of the balsamic vinegar dressing with the sweet basil, ripe local tomatoes and the nutty cheese were quite yummy. I wish I had had a nice crusty slice of bread to mop up the wonderful juice left on the plate...but I am not eating carbs these days. If you try this...have the bread handy.

Picture Perfect - Zest

P I C T U R E P E R F E C T

This is week 9 of the Competition and you have three days to submit a picture, after which the Top Ten Pictures will be selected by our panel of admins and posted up in a poll on Saturday morning (PST). The poll will run for 24 hours (as requested by the public!) and the winner will be announced on Sunday morning!

~ Each week a theme will be posted up on Wednesday, and you are invited to put up your best picture with that theme in mind, it should be only ONE picture please and it should be YOURS not off the internet, not a friends picture but your very own No slide shows please, and no automatic music on the page

Fine print:

Remember too the Terms of Service stated very clearly by Multiply: Content Posted by Members on the Multiply Site You are solely responsible for the content that you publish or display (hereinafter "Post") on the Multiply.com website, or transmit to other Multiply Members, including but not limited to photos, profiles, messages, notes, text, information, music, and videos ("Member Content").

You represent, warrant and agree that no materials of any kind submitted by you or otherwise posted or shared by you through the Service will violate or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other personal or proprietary rights or contain libelous, defamatory or otherwise unlawful material, or violate any other laws or regulations. "

Play a good clean game on PP..its all we ask! Cheating in any form will not be tolerated on this site.

Then come back and post a comment on this page:

http://fotofriday.multiply.com/journal/item/124/Picture_Perfect_Friday_Zest_

so that everyone can link to your blog and see your pic.

By all means mention your camera and lens used, and if the picture has been altered or enhanced in anyway! Out of the box thinking is encouraged!! Please open your page for viewing for all for that day...and then visit as many others as you can! Try and post a decent size pic on your blog page, so much is lost if the pic is too small or too big.

Good Luck, and have fun out there!!

......

Zest for life? Zest for living? Zestful energy? No.

I can't help it..."zest" only makes me think of food!

Cats, Blueberries and a Recipe

A visit home wouldn't be the same without Karen's cats. Above is Charlie, the homeless fellow who adopted my sister and her family. He is quite content here, but stays clear of Cinder (photo below), their younger wilder kitten. She likes to jump on Charlie's back. But then, I think he gets her back by eating her food.

Cinder is a skittish cat...she is very nervous of new people. It took her two days to come out of hiding after I arrived. I coaxed her with treats.

Mom and I at Karen's for dinner. Mom didn't like any of the pictures I took of her but this one she said was ok. She is 85 years old.

Karen found an old Newfoundland recipe book amongst my mother's things and brought it home. She and Melanie decided to surprise my mom with a blueberry meringue cake--the recipe had a sort of check mark beside it. Mom didn't remember the recipe or having ever eaten a cake like this but she did like the cake.

The cake is plain, the meringue is sweet and holds the blueberries. The recipe follows but Melanie doubled it to get a cake this size. (You can use any all purpose flour) I did not eat any of the cake, I am dieting but I did sample a teaspoon of the meringue...it was very good!

The recipe is called Blueberry Squares, but to me, squares are chewy little things like brownies or coconut gooey sweet things you find at showers and church socials. To me, this is cake. Not layer cake, just good family cake that you serve from the cake pan! So I rename this recipe Blueberry Meringue Cake.

Melanie (my niece) asking her mom (Karen, my sister) if she thought the cake in the oven was done. I miss doing things like that and it is nice to see it again.

Shopping and Dinner

If you want to save money, stay out of the stores! I wandered around the Bay on Friday after work, didn't really need anything but I found these lovely thick towels on sale. They are Egyptian cotton, so soft, I love them! They would look great in my taupe bathroom but I really haven't room in my linen closet for more towels so I will put them away for Grace and Glenn who are getting married next May.

Hea

I am back on Atkins diet again, I do miss the carbs bur for some reason they just make me gain weight. I should make this a lifestyle and stick to it. I have lost 7 pounds and really need to loose 10 more. The diet has its good features...like last night's dinner.

This is a new marinade, for me, I picked it up at Loblaws on Friday. Of course I had to pick up some steak to go with it. I quite like the marinade, it didn't overpower the meat. I just left it sit for a half hour before grilling...and that was enough. Add some vegetable, tomato was quick and on hand. I added a few shavings of Cantenaar cheese to the tomato. This is not exactly a deprivation diet, and it works.

.

My Birthday Dinner

A new fine dining estaruant has opened at the marina near my home; Craig, Glenn and Grace took me here for dinner on my birthday.

Our dinners were very enjoyable. Grace chose Asian Chicken with vegetables.

I enjoyed sirloin steak cooked to pink perfecton in a demi glace sauce with sweet little peppercorns and mashed potatoes.

Craig is vegetarian; there was only one selection on the entree list and it did not appeal to him so he chose an appetizer of savoury goat cheese cheesecake topped with tangy cranberries and a side of perfectly done asparagus with bernaise. I had a wee taste of the cheesecake and it was absolutely delicious.

Glenn said his dinner was tasty but just not enough! His selection was Duck Three Ways.. Thirty two dollars for this plate is kind of pricey, don't you think?

Meet my kids! Craig, Glenn and Grace. The flash on Grace's finger is her engagement ring. *s* She and Glenn have set the wedding date, May 30 2009. Plans are underway.

The restaurant opened a few weeks ago in April 2008. Decor is clean and modern, plenty of windows with view of Lake Ontario and the marina on Frenchman's Bay. Very pleasant view.

This restaurant offers hospitality to dogs...outside.

If you serve them, they will come.

We walked on the boardwalk after dinner and met this Chow who loved many pats and lots of attention...we obliged and showered him with it! Isn't he a dear?

There are many geese in the lake and ponds nearby. We noticed a nest in the distance and I zoomed my camera...not a very good shot but the best I could do with this camera. This is the first time I have come across a nest.

I love my kids! Thank you Craig, Glenn and Grace.

My Birthday Dinner

A new fine dining estaruant has opened at the marina near my home; Craig, Glenn and Grace took me here for dinner on my birthday.

Our dinners were very enjoyable. Grace chose Asian Chicken with vegetables.

I enjoyed sirloin steak cooked to pink perfecton in a demi glace sauce with sweet little peppercorns and mashed potatoes.

Craig is vegetarian; there was only one selection on the entree list and it did not appeal to him so he chose an appetizer of savoury goat cheese cheesecake topped with tangy cranberries and a side of perfectly done asparagus with bernaise. I had a wee taste of the cheesecake and it was absolutely delicious.

Glenn said his dinner was tasty but just not enough! His selection was Duck Three Ways.. Thirty two dollars for this plate is kind of pricey, don't you think?

Meet my kids! Craig, Glenn and Grace. The flash on Grace's finger is her engagement ring. *s* She and Glenn have set the wedding date, May 30 2009. Plans are underway.

The restaurant opened a few weeks ago in April 2008. Decor is clean and modern, plenty of windows with view of Lake Ontario and the marina on Frenchman's Bay. Very pleasant view.

This restaurant offers hospitality to dogs...outside.

If you serve them, they will come.

We walked on the boardwalk after dinner and met this Chow who loved many pats and lots of attention...we obliged and showered him with it! Isn't he a dear?

There are many geese in the lake and ponds nearby. We noticed a nest in the distance and I zoomed my camera...not a very good shot but the best I could do with this camera. This is the first time I have come across a nest.

I love my kids! Thank you Craig, Glenn and Grace.

Cucumber Yogurt Salad

Mmmmm! Esra made me hungry this morning when I read her blog about cucumbers. You an read it here. She described a cold cucumber yogurt soup that she enjoys in the summer. I went searching for the recipe on the internet and found this one but it isn't soup. It is more like a thick creamy salad--I made it and just can't stop eating it. It is a good thing I made it with low fat yogurt. SO delicious, I hope many of you try it. My son came over for a taste and said it reminded him of tzatzikiwith walnuts...it isn't as garlicy as tzatziki though.

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, grated or chopped finely
2 cups yogurt, drained in a cheesecloth (I drained mine with coffee filters in a colander)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Juice of 1 lemon (I grated the zest and added that too)
3 tbsp minced mint
¼ cup minced dill
Sea salt and cracked pepper
¼ cup toasted walnuts, chopped ( I used all of a small bag)

While the yogurt drained for about an hour, (Esra says you don't have to drain it but I didn't know that then) I sliced the cucumbers thinly, spread them on paper towels and salted them to draw the water out. !/2 hour later, I patted the cucumbers dry and chopped them finely.

Then combine the cucumber, yogurt, garlic, lemon, mint and dill. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Stir in the walnuts. Serve with warmed pita.

I used way more walnuts than the recipe called for and I am glad I did...they balance the tangyness of the yogurt and lemon so nicely. Not sorry I drained the yogurt because as you can see it is quite wet still.

Thank you for whetting my appetite Esra! I will be eating this all summer!