Because I have forgotten that I’m supposed to be walking and not playing in the garden.

I’ve forgotten that I’m on a journey WITH someone.

You know- the whole walking with my maker thing?

I just went out and bought a huge bag of rocks.

I bought an arborvidae that is about 2 and 1/4 feet tall.

And I have a wonderful stash of cookie cutters to go through before Wednesday.

Because Aidan is coming to spend some time with Jordan and Gramps and me and I wanted

our time together to be very special.

Rocks are about strength and foundations.

And Aidan loves to sort and carry and stack them.

The tree is about growth and life and reaching heavenward.

We are going to be making bread and cookies and they are about savoring the goodness in life

and recognizing the Giver of life.

So we will sort and stack and plant and dig and shape and bake and eat.

Sounds like a great time to me!

Somehow this seems so familiar- like a recurring theme in our lives.

If I can get a hold of a camera, I’ll post some pictures.

Current ones.

Our picnic patio at Kingwood.

Little "en" and I at the table, sharing a nectarine.

The Aiden/Aidan’s getting ready for adventure!

It was a really fun party.  The boys were congenial if not friends, yet, and it was beautiful day with dear family.

Now for the FARE_

What good cooks we all are!

A picnic with these ladies is a gastronomical delight.

We had – Picnic Chicken

             -Baba ghanoush with Ajvar and Pita bread

             -Israeli Couscous Salad

             -Black Bean and Corn Salsa

             -Pasta salad with Artichokes and Olives

             -Tomato and Chevre Tart

             -Sour Cherry Cake

             – Fruit and Dark Chocolate

Here is the recipe for the tart.

Ingredients:

Fillo dough sheets

1/2 cup melted butter

3 TBS olive oil

2 onions, sliced thin

1/2 tsp sugar

Goat cheese-3oz.

2 large ripe tomatoes, sliced thin and seeded

1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

Method:

Sautee onions in olive oil until transparent- then add 1/2 tsp sugar and continue to sautee until they turn golden.

Thaw Fillo in refrigerator over night and take out about 10 sheets, keep them covered with damp paper towels so they don’t dry out.

On parchment paper, place one sheet of Fillo and brush with melted butter- place second sheet in opposite direction and again brush with butter.

Keep doing this , sheet by sheet, until you have a rounded base of buttery dough.  Place onions in the center of your round of Fillo and dot with

the goat cheese.  Place tomatoes – overlapping- in a circle on top of onions and cheese and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle basil over the top

and then carefully fold the top of the Fillo sheets over the tart.  Use the butter to keep the Fillo flexible.

Then bake the entire tart (Place parchment directly onto baking stone or on a large cookie sheet) in a 375 degree F oven until golden brown- about 35-45 minutes- keep an eye on it because baking temperatures differ from oven to oven.

This is really delicious and worth the effort.

Sorry I don’t have any pictures- my camera is non-functional and we started eating before Ally could get any pictures!

Let me know if you want any of the other recipes and I’ll try to get them for you!

Bon appetit!

Well, there has just been “this feeling” since I set Heidi up with her new site.  I can only describe it as not quite good enough. Something has been lacking, both in terms of visual style and in ease of use.  So, why not try something new and build her a site using WordPress?  After all, it is one of the most popular blogging platforms out there, and you can plug right into it using Window Live Writer, or other blogging tools for that matter.

She doesn’t know it yet, so if you find this page… keep it a secret.  🙂