Still Lifes - Beach

Fourteen---14!--- inches of rain yesterday. The storm has passed, today is a Ten-Best-Day [of the year], as the locals like to say.

A year or so of photos....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

love

 

lizzy

 

gone to the beach`````````

 

 

 

 

Mango Salsa

Hi! You guys gotta make this recipe! [simplified version at end of post]
It was so amazingly delicious and got rave reviews. It's a very light and summery mango salsa, inspired by a comment from my friend here, Kelley.

This is what she said: Dice a mango, some red onion, sweet bell pepper if you'd like, also cilantro and a Serrano if you like a little kick, add some sort of citrus juice and that's it.

I wasn't entirely sure of my ability to choose a nice mango. I bought a slightly soft one a few days ahead and also picked up two locally grown peaches, ''just in case.''

And some tomatillos, just because they're so cute.

I minced two garlic cloves in my mini chopper. Minced 1/3 of a red onion.

Diced the mango, peaches, orange bell pepper and tomatillos.

(I roughly peeled the mangos and peaches first. )

I washed and dried a small bunch of cilantro.

It filled the 1 Cup container of the chopper before I minced it.

Toss gently with a dash of olive oil, some sugar or Splenda, black pepper. A spritz of lemon [or any citrus juice. Lime would be lovely.] I added the spices below, just becauce I have them. Use whatever you have in your pantry?

I made the salsa the morning I planned to use it. It was still fresh and excellent the next day, so you can definitely make it ahead. I had some cute little canning jars to store it in, and to give away to its new and avid fans.

Kelley served the salsa on grilled chicken breasts and said it's also nice on fish. I served it with sliced grilled pork tenderloin.

( To make: Up to 24 hours ahead, or one hour at least..... rinse, pat dry. Cut tiny slits and insert halved garlic cloves all over, about 1 1/2" apart. Sprinkle with meat tenderizer and a dry rub or garlic/ salt / pepper etc. Grill on hot grill, rest/ slice.)

The dinner menu included steamed yellow squash and buttery/ garlic rice pilaf. Cold sauvignon blanc wine, though a light rose would be good too.

Chocolate gelato for dessert.
I hope you'll try it! Yummy and different.

PS I am not always receiving your comments in a timely manner. I just found one from Kit! From ages ago. I am so sorry, if I don't respond either here or via email, my apologies. I love hearing from everyone [anyone! lol].

love

lizzy

gone to the beach....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mango Salsa

 

dice:  1 ripe mango, 2 ripe peaches, 2 green tomatillos, 1 sweet pepper.

 

Mince:  2 cloves of garlic, 1/3 red onion, 1 loosely packed Cup of fresh cilantro or to     taste.

 

Toss with olive oil, lemon or lime juice, black pepper, 2t sugar or Splenda.

 

Add seasonings if desired or a hot pepper, minced fine.

 

Refrigerate til use.

 

enjoy!



 

Quiet Time

Hi! This has been a delightfully quiet week here at the beach. Much as I love the summer busy-ness and friends and family galore, I also relish some quiet time alone.

Do you ever feel that way?

These photos were taken on a quiet late afternoon walk. It's been an oddly cool summer and even though the afternoons are often hot, in the eighties, by early evening the breeze has cooled things down.

The beach is filled with the returning gulls and their big dark ugly babies. Mosy of these gulls are herring gulls.

My beach is professionally cleaned by our town, mornings and evenings. But a midday high tide can leave a trail of not-pretty flotsam along the tideline. The lines of black are tiny empty mussel shells. They'll be gone the next day, only to return next summer as they hatch or whatever they do out there.

Gully wannabee. He came up to my chair and WAH-Wah!!, begged.

I think this is the real Gully in the background.

Maybe this is his or her bad baby?
A little Gully-in-training?

Unknown shellseekers, below. I saved this photo, thinking it would make a wonderful painting. I love the lack of color, just shades of khaki and grey---maybe just a bright spot of color, the boy's board shorts, or a sandbucket?

Back home, on the deck, I've been eking out a half hour each evening to sew on my Eagle block. Does it look less like a goose now? I redrew the eagle's head. [the stars inside the wreath are not as white as shown in the photo. But I may have to go back with tea and a paintbrush and darken it up.]

I am teaching Mo to sit beside me in his own chair!

He has a special Kong thing so he can hold his chew sticks by himself.

Unfortunately so far he thinks the game is Throw the chewy down for mom to retrieve. Stitch, stitch, pick up the chewy. Stitch, stitch. And repeat.

The eagle is about 1/2 done. Then there are the stars to be done this month. I think I will do them with a whipstitch, my compromise between too hard needle turn [too slow, I mean] and machine sewing.

I prewashed the corner triangles' reds the other day, and rinsed them in Retayne. I'm glad I did because they ran a lot even with the Retayne. I rinsed them until they showed clear rinse water. I hope that fixed the red dye! (Or disaster looms!?).

Have a great weekend! Here's hoping my blog friend Hunter weathers the hurricanes okay, in Maui!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach......