for your holiday picnic

Now that picnic season is almost officially upon is, here is a tasty alternative to the bog-standard deviled egg. First, I should mention I love eggs, as in I get twitchy when our in-house stash falls below half a dozen ('tis no exaggeration). For me, they are the perfect fast food, so versatile, so yummy, and thus I am always looking for new ways to prepare them.

This recipe is based on one from The New Spanish Table, a fabulously fun book of food by Anya von Bremzen. Here's what you need:

6 large, hard-boiled eggs, peeled, and cut in half lengthwise

6 T tuna, drained and flaked

2 T mayo

1 T lemon juice

2 T chopped pimento-filled olives

Little sea salt and fresh black pepper

Thin strips of pimiento (from can or jar is okay) or roasted peppers

Minced flat-leaf Italian parsley

First, scoop out the eggs yolks and mash in a bowl. Add tuna, mayo, lemon juice, olives and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the mixture into the egg halves (you may have a little more filling than needed). Garnish with pepper strips and chopped parsley.

Enjoy!

noodlr

Not sure what to make for dinner tonight, (or you're a noodle junkie like me)? Then Noodlr is for you! I really could eat noodles every day, so when I saw this pop up on Bon Appetite's blog a couple days ago, I had to smile. Love the vegetarian option, too! :-D

freebie link love

I have praised the merits of CreativeLive (previous CreativeTechs) before here, and as another of Molly Murrah's painting classes is being offered, I need to again tell people what a great opportunity these FREE courses are. If you watch the classes online live, there is absolutely no charge. During the period the class is on offer, the entire course may be purchased for half-price; afterward, the full charge applies, but even that is low considering the value of Molly's instruction. So check out CreativeLive's complete class schedule and help spread the word of this great learning opportunity. :-)

Also, a couple months ago, I posted about another freebie from Oprah's Book Club. Every month a new chapter of David Bach's Start Over, Finish Rich is available as a download. The first THREE chapters are now available here.

Enjoy!

seeding and planting

One of my favorite summer treats is to pick a tomato fresh from the vine, slice it thin, drizzle with a little olive oil, and scoop onto a crunchy baguette. Oh, and throw a handful of basil leaves in top! Mmmm. :-)

If you haven't started a garden, it's not too late. And don't say you don't have any room for a garden because I bet you do---we grow all of our goodies on a relatively small roof terrace, which means all our plants are grown in pots---even an apple tree!

Not sure where to start? Well, my first suggestion is to grow veg and herbs that you really love to eat. No sense in growing beets if you despise them. Also, Whole Living recommends six easy-to-grow summer season vegetables to kick off your garden.

Need another reason to become a green thumb? "Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden." ---Orson Scott Card

Now go get yourself some gardening gloves and throw some seeds in the soil! :-)

"a flower is an educated weed"

So says Luther Burbank. My husband and I often have "discussions" regarding what exactly is a flower versus a weed. To me, the distinction is almost always irrelevant---a purty flower is a purty flower. :-)

If the wind eventually dies down here---it's been whipping all day---this weekend is for green thumb activities. Tomatoes, chilies, basil, and dill need to be potted out, along with some eggplant and cilantro. I *do* so love this time of year!

"A garden is the best alternative therapy." ---Germaine Greer

"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."---Margaret Atwood

"To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves."---Mohandas K. Gandhi

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!

break for lunch

Tired of your usual cheese sandwich or reheated pasta for lunch? Then mosey over to Vegetarian Times and check out their 21-Day Lunch Challenge. And if you're not a vegetarian, don't be afraid: their recipe suggestions would tempt even my devout carnivore husband. :-) Besides, you all know these healthy vegetable-based dishes are better for you than another trip to the nearby greasy spoon or fast-food restaurant. So be brave, a little adventurous even, and sign up today---remember the countdown to beach season starts in just a few days!

Happy Thursday!

make a difference

The past Saturday, I finally lugged two bags full of donations to our local charity shop. I won't say exactly how long they had been in the bottom of my wardrobe---let's just say "awhile". Silly, really, because the charity shop is little more than a five-minute walk from our front door. And not only does it provide inexpensive clothes and housewares to people in the neighborhood, but also its profits are donated to an animal rescue group and fund the local feral cat spay/neuter program. So it's a major win-win-win.

Giving back to the community is always important, but especially during rough economic times. I don't always have the funds to send off to my favorite charities like I did when my husband was working (oh so many months ago), but at the very least I give what I no longer need. Oprah's Angel Network provides a list of ideas---many of which cost nothing---in which you too can make donations or volunteer your time. Check it out! :-)

books books books

Crown Publishing offers chances every month to receive free copies of selected great new reads. The books on offer for May:

• Twelve Rooms with a View by Theresa Rebeck
• Ten Minutes from Home by Beth Greenfield
• Ancestor by Scott Sigler

Excerpts of each are available online as well, and the giveaway entry process is simple. Just don't delay: the deadline for this month's giveaway is tomorrow, May 11!!!

mogo

After months of watching our near-daily loaf from the local bread shop get smaller and smaller while being charged the same price, the husband decided enough and set out to make our own. And I must say his efforts (and sourdough starter) have been very successful!

This is just one way we are trying to MOGO, or add more good into our lives. As this article from Ode notes, we don't need to only eliminate elements from our lives (i.e., chemicals, kinds of foods, the latest gadgets), but rather we must remember to fill our lives with more good. The author suggests a gentle start, with just 10 minutes a day for 30 days of a new, positive activity---like sketching, reading, meditating, walking, gardening, reading to the kids, sending a quick note to friends, etc., etc., etc. With sooooo much negative in the world today, we ALL could use a bit more MOGO. :-)

Only two more days until the weekend, and only two more chapters left to edit on this (seemingly) never-ending book project! I am very grateful for the steady work, but I admit I am also looking forward to a mini-break. In my book, time trumps "stuff" almost always.

Have a great day, everyone!!!

monday

Monday by Billy Collins

The birds are in their trees,
the toast is in the toaster,
and the poets are at their windows.

They are at their windows
in every section of the tangerine of earth-
the Chinese poets looking up at the moon,
the American poets gazing out
at the pink and blue ribbons of sunrise.

The clerks are at their desks,
the miners are down in their mines,
and the poets are looking out their windows
maybe with a cigarette, a cup of tea,
and maybe a flannel shirt or bathrobe involved.

The proofreaders are playing the ping-pong
game of proofreading,
glancing back and forth from page to page,
the chefs are dicing celery and potatoes,
and the poets are at their windows
because it is their job which
they are paid nothing every Friday afternoon.

Which window it hardly seems to matter
though many have a favorite,
for there is always something to see---a bird grasping a thin branch,
the headlights of a taxi rounding a corner,
those two boys in wool caps angling across the street.

The fishermen bob in their boats,
the linemen climb their poles,
the barbers wait by their mirrors and chairs,
and the poets continue to stare
at the cracked birdbath or a limb knocked down by wind.

By now, it should go without saying
that what the oven is to the baker
and the berry-stained blouse to the dry cleaner,
so the window is to the poet.

Just think---
before the invention of the window,
the poets would have had to put on a jacket
and a winter hat to go outside
or remain indoors with only a wall to stare at.

And when I say a wall,
I do not mean a wall with striped wallpaper
and a sketch of a cow in a frame.

I mean a cold wall of fieldstones,
the wall of the medieval sonnet,
the original woman's heart of stone,
the stone caught in the throat of her poet-lover.