Bless My Heart I Married A Yankee

OMG, I promise you I am not lying when I say this is beyond amazing.  I made it by adapting 2 online recipes and then again adapted to exactly what I wanted.   My husband just had his 50th birthday and he would not tell me anything special to fix him for dinner.  So, I made a few things.  Not just one thing because I had invited a few select friends over to have a beer with him but this was a hit along with mini  crab cakes  and some sushi.    I am happy to say it was a wonderful hit and I even had 2 people take some home and one person who does not like tomatoes try it.  Even better one of our friends, Dave, that took a piece home has since text me telling me how great it was and by far better than anyone he had ever had before and he liked those.  He just called and I gave him my recipe.  He just left the house with homegrown tomatoes, basil, and some white sharp cheddar cheese.   Let me say it is tomato season so this recipe will be much better if you have access to garden

Scott made this a couple of years ago.  He has no real clue where he found the recipe so I can not give the credit where it is due.  Since we have found similar recipes and I think I have finally perfected it back to the original one he made. It was originally made for chicken wings but since we have used it for anything we want a bit spicier.  Our friend Jeremy loves the stuff and when he is here puts it on everything.   It is super easy to make and as normal I always have the ingredients at hand.   All you do is put the spices into a bowl. Mix it up Store in an airtight container. DESERT HEAT SPICE RUB MIX Ingredients 2 tablespoons ground cumin 2 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon ghost pepper powder 1/4 cup paprika 2 tablespoons kosher or sea salt 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper Directions Place all spices into a bowl and mix together.  Store in an airtight container for up to a year.   To make sweeter: 

I have been looking forward to tomato season. Oh yes thank goodness it is here in abundance.   I needed my tomatoes to do well because I really used a lot of my marinara, salsa, tomato sauce and canned tomatoes throughout the year.   We put our garden in rather late this year due to all the spring rains we had here in NC.  At the time I was concerned that we would not get enough growing time to get the produce I needed in order to can the stuff I was short on or out of.  My tomato plants were growing good but nothing was turning red.  Fast forward and we are back from vacation and I was so happy to see while we were gone was big beautiful red tomatoes.  I know it sounds weird but I was thrilled to be able to harvest enough to make 19 pints of salsa and start making my favorite marinara sauce.   I think I have the very best recipe for marinara.  Just smelling it cook will drive you crazy.  My house has smelled so Italian.  Even better, all my herbs come from my own herb garden. 

I can not take credit for all these pictures but most are mine.  Some credit goes to my daughter and son.   Basil collecting.  I have tons of basil and the rabbits love it as much as we do. This picture is just a bit of my day.  Feeding my sourdough starter and making pickles.   My daughter enjoying a glass of wine.  She might kill me if she realizes I posted this picture but she will have to find it by going on my blog first.  LOL My San Marzo tomatoes are producing and are so big!! My first batch of marinara canned this season.  This makes me unbelievably happy since I use tons of it each year.  Store bought cannot compare to my homemade. Two new grandpuppies. My daughter's Ladybug.  Ladybug came from a friend of ours, Steve.  Shortly after MacKenzie was given Ladybug, Steve died in a car accident and left a hole in our hearts.  Thank you, Steve.  MacKenzie and Jace love her dearly.  As do Scott and me. Next is my son's baby, Winston.  He is

I have been meaning to post this recipe for some time but as usual, life got in the way.  It is so much easier to post when I have just finished making something.  For some reason, my juices flow better when attempting to explain the recipe.  I have said over and over I am not an English major and I am quite terrible with grammar.  I have a hard time writing a story.  I do not elaborate enough or use enough flowery words.  For this, I apologize but I do try and I enjoy sharing my experiences with you. I am trying to remember every detail of the story of this recipe as I made it.  While I can not remember all the details, I do remember it was a huge hit.  My first loaf disappeared within a few short hours.  Now, to be honest, I did have 3 children over and they devoured it but their parents seemed to enjoy it just as much.  I always find it a testimony to my cooking when whatever I have made does not last long around the house.   My first attempt was good and tasted a lot lik

When zucchini is coming in, it is coming in by the basket full.  I have had so much that I had no clue what to do with it but I also knew that once it is gone, it is gone.  Scott and I both love zucchini fritters and always look forward to making some.  We make them different.  I go for a healthier version.   Wash and dry your zucchini and then shred it.  I love this hand use shredder.  I prefer this way over a food processer. Zucchini is full of water so you need to strain that out.  I salt mine just a bit and allow it to sit for a good long time.  Sometimes as much as an hour.  It is good to have something else going at the time so that hour does not seem like forever. Next, I add a cup of flour. 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese.  I normally shred good parmesan but this was on sale so I took the chance. My key is using a bit of garlic powder.  I love garlic but some do not.  This is an optional step.   You can use garlic salt if you wish instead of