A charcoaled grilled steak for dinner

I have a Weber gas grill that I use a lot in the warmer months. But sometimes it's nice to go back to "the real thing". . . charcoal grilled steaks!

I set up my Baby Weber, as I call it, in the back yard and cooked a strip steak for dinner.

Happy Birthday, John and Michael!

My twin sons are 38 today. Have a great day. I'm very proud of both of you.

Update on my flower gardens

Recently I wrote about the battle with a woodchuck and slugs destroying my impatiens in the front yard. It looks like I have won.



This is my garden packed with "deer resistant" perennials. The silver plant in the front that is leaning down, usually stands tall, but it rained during the night. Those stalks will bounce back soon.



And this is the other side. On the right edge of the photo is the lamb's ear plant. It is another good deer resistant plant, although I need to cut the blooms off this one.

A trip down memory lane. . .

Lois, one of my blog friends, has posted two days of a wonderful picture tour of her recent day trip to Wilmington, Ohio. It is a sleepy little town that will take you back to the early 50's. So much in those pictures remind me of days gone by - the elaborate clock, the buildings, the hotel where they had lunch, the quaint little shops, and much more.

There are little towns like that all around Rochester. I do enjoy them when I ride through, but almost never stop to really take it all in, or even take pictures. She also mentioned going there in her childhood when her family would "go for a ride." Going for a ride - to no place in particular - was a big deal back in the early to mid 50's. It was a simpler time, lost in today's fast paced world.

I have ridden a bike twice across New York State, along the Erie Canal from Tonawanda, NY over to Schenectady. All along the way, our tour group passed little villages and hamlets very much like the town Lois featured. It was an experience I'll never forget.

Take a look at her two recent posts. You'll find the link here http://loishands.blogspot.com/

Blue Ribbon Recipes from America's State and County Fairs

This wonderful collection of winning recipes is one of my favorites and one that I turn to when I want to impress company. The author set out to collect the very best recipes from State and County Fairs across the country.

The recipes cover everything from breakfast foods, vegetables, yeast and quick breads, candies and pastries, even jams and jellies and much more.

It is no wonder I had trouble finding just one recipe to feature here. So I chose two!

The Blueberry-Lemon Delight is a sure crowd pleaser. It won second place at the Michigan State Fair in 2000.

1 egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon flavoring
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
3/4 cup pecans, chopped

Topping:

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a 9 x 9 x 2 inch pan.

In a large mixing bowl, beat egg and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in milk, lemon flavoring, and zest. With mixer running, add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Gently fold in blueberries and pecans. Spread batter into baking pan.

To make topping: In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and flour. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle topping evenly over batter in pan. Bake 35 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan.

Makes 8 servings.


Pecan Swirls won first place, youth division at the Florida State Fair in 2005

2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups finely chopped pecans
1 1/3 cups sugar

In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Divide dough in thirds, form into balls, and flatten slightly into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Chill until easy to handle, about 2 hours.

Combine pecans and sugar. Roll out each dough disk on a lightly floured surface to make a 16 x 9 inch rectangle. Sprinkle one-third of pecan mixture over top to within 1/2 inch of edges. Roll up tightly jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 2 hours.

Unwrap dough logs and cut into 3/8 inch slices. Place slices 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake in a preheated 400 F. oven for 12 to 14 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Makes 8 dozen pecan swirls.

Blog Statistics for Sherry's Place

I find it entertaining to follow the statistics (number of hits my blog gets) for Sherry’s Place.

There are probably a dozen or so of my friends and family who follow my blog regularly but don’t comment. . . you have to be signed up with blogspot or google to post a comment. Beyond that, I’m guessing there are another dozen or so followers who usually stop by and on occasion, any number of others who find their way to my blog. But overwhelmingly, the vast number of hits come from google searches. Two posts in the last few months have garnered a high number of posts. The first, the post titled, “The best ever coleslaw recipe” and the other one, was the first post I did on sporting clays.

My stats page also shows what country the visits come from. I was surprised to find a significant number from Europe and China.

I have no way of knowing the identities of those who stop by, unless, of course, they leave a comment. The exception to that one is if I get hits on posts from our annual cousins reunion long after they appeared, then I have a pretty good idea it’s a family member who was there and wants to relive the fun we had!

Sometimes people will e-mail their comments to me rather than leave a comment on the blog. Recently, a new reader to my blog e-mailed that she had tried unsuccessfully to leave a comment on the blog and for whatever reason, it wouldn’t work. She e-mailed to say she found one of my recipes in the Summer Salads post particularly interesting and thanked me for sharing. That one made my day!

As anyone who follows my blog knows, I don’t have a main theme for what I write . . . my life is much too multifaceted to do that! When I chose to focus on my huge cookbook collection, I didn’t know how well that would be accepted. Surprisingly, it has done well. People have mentioned to me, in person or through e-mails, that they enjoy those.

And finally, if you have ever thought of starting a blog, JUST DO IT! You will find it is a lot of fun and you will make new and interesting friends from all over the world.

YES!!! Another personal best score!!!

I did it again. Today I scored another personal best in sporting clays! In fact, I'm even getting close to the range of a respectable score!

There is no thrill like seeing that bright orange disk shatter into pieces when you pull the trigger!

Crochet Give-Away over at Lois' Blog

My blog friend, Lois, a non-stop knitter and crocheter, is having a crochet give-away on her blog. Find her link here

She has an online shop with all kinds of crochet/knitted items, from doll clothes to beautiful afghans. Check it out! Christmas isn't that far off!

Andrew crushes the competition at Triathlon

Just as I was looking for ideas for my next post here, I received this picture of my youngest grandson, Andrew. This little six year old, ladies and gentlemen, swept past the competition, completing a 100 meter swim, a 1.5 mile bike ride, and a half mile run this morning.

But wait! Big brother, Kevin, starts his competition at 9:30 this morning. Stay tuned!

UPDATE! Kevin did great in his age group also. He completed a 100 meter swim, 4.5 mile bike ride, and a 1.5 mile run.

Vegetarian cookbook from the bargain table

I found this one on the bargain table at a bookstore several years back. It turned out to be a goldmine for wonderful vegetarian recipes. Although I am not a vegetarian, I do enjoy a lot of vegetarian meals. Like a lot of health conscious folks, I have cut back on the amount of red meat in my diet.

There are quite a few recipes here that I cook often. . . Garlic, Chickpea & Spinach Soup, Mixed Vegetables with Artichokes, and Cauliflower & Broccoli with Tomato Sauce, to name a few.

Garlic, Chickpea and Spinach Soup is easy to put together and makes a nice satisfying meal by itself.

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves crushed
1 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
5 cups stock [a strict vegetarian would use vegetable stock. . . I use chicken stock]
12 oz. potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
15 oz. can chickpeas, drained
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons tahini
7 oz. fresh spinach, shredded
cayenne pepper
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the garlic and onion for 5 minutes, or until they are softened and golden.

Stir in the cumin and coriander and cook for another minute. Pour in the stock and add the chopped potatoes to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas and simmer for 5 minutes more. Blend together the cornstarch, cream, tahini and plenty of seasoning. Stir into the soup with the spinach. Bring to a boil, stirring and simmer for another 2 minutes. Season with cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.