Simple and Easy Egg Bites

 Hello Friends! My obsession with my bento box continues apace.  I am sure that like me, the endless days of sheltering in place have meant that meals have become a blur and not only that, a boring, burdensome chore.  Put your hand up if delivery of meals and takeout became a way of relieving the tedium instead of an occasional treat.  Pulling out my bento box again (which I wrote about here) forced me to get creative.  I decided to make a batch of delicious egg bites, sometimes called egg muffins, to stow into the box.  They are incredibly easy to whip up and are great for breakfast or a quick snack. I used extra large silicone muffin cups but a muffin tray would work as well.

Grease the interior of the cups.  I needed 8 large eggs for 6 cups.  Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl.

I do love cheese so I mixed in 2 large handfuls of grated cheddar cheese to the eggs.  I also layered in diced mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and peas.  A couple twists of the pepper grinder were added as well. Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until the tops are crisp. I filled the cups halfway as the egg mixture puffed up to the edge of the cups but when I took them out of the oven they deflated.  Place them on a rack until they have cooled down.

Truly, you need almost no skill level whatsoever to make these yummy snacks and it is a good way to sneak some veggies into your diet.

Egg bites are the perfect size to tuck into a bento box or your child's lunchbox.

 

I added a pesto pasta to my bento box that day as well.  I am on the lookout for smaller sized silicone cups as the extra large ones are a tad too tall to fit into my bento box.  The silicone cups are a handy way of partitioning off food in a bento or lunch box if it doesn't come with compartments or dividers.  If you try this recipe, let me know!

Simple Bento Box Lunch

 Hello Friends!  I know, I know, it has been awhile.  Long story short, my car was vandalized.  It just threw me into a tailspin.  I had been laying low and following all the guidelines.  Yet somehow, even though I did my best to stay out of trouble, trouble found me.  It was all too much after the 18 months and counting of stress and tension.  There has been a huge spike in crime where I live and you can literally feel the tension in the air.  It took a long time for me to feel "okay."  I dove headfirst into emotional eating and my health really suffered as a result.  Today, I decided to pull out my old bento box.  Bento boxes are a great tool for portion control.  Packing a meal into a bento box forces you to think mindfully about the contents as well.

Even though I am not Japanese, I do know that presentation is everything especially when it comes to bento boxes.  After all, you feast with your eyes first.  This isn't for a child so I didn't emphasize the "kawaii" element when assembling it although I couldn't resist making a smiley face with tomato slices.  I have a double layered Takenaka bento box so I added snack items to the top box like frozen avocado and mango chunks and edamame pods.  If you prepare it in the morning, by the time lunchtime rolls around, the frozen chunks have defrosted enough to provide a delightfully chilled summer snack.  The dividers really come in handy for organizing the contents.  The main meal is steamed rice, tuna with mayonnaise, peas and tomato slices.  It was incredibly easy to prepare with zero cooking skills required.   I must say that even if you are still working from home, lunching from a thoughtfully prepared bento box will guarantee to put a smile on your face.

Lemon Zest Scones

 Happy Easter, friends!  I hope you are having a lovely long weekend.  We have been plunged into another lockdown after a scant few weeks of freedom but easing into it with Easter long weekend makes the medicine go down a tiny bit more easily.  I have been debating what to do with the lemon slices preserved in syrup that I wrote about here and thought that the aromatic and zingy zest would be wonderful in scones.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1/2 heavy cream

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 handful of lemon zest, enough to flavour the dough and for a pinch on top of each scone

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Line a baking tray with a silicone baking mat

3) Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Add the butter, cutting the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork.

4) Add in the heavy cream, egg and vanilla extract.  Add in the lemon zest, reserving enough of the zest to allow for a pinch of zest on top of each scone.

5) Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and work it into a ball, then flatten the ball into a 7" circle.  Cut the dough into 8 equal sized wedges and place them on the silicone baking sheet.

5) Place a pinch of zest on the top of each wedge.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned and the scones are cooked through.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

I love my scones with marmalade as the lemon zest marries well with the citrus flavours of marmalade.  Happy Easter baking!

  

The Weekly Roundup: Toronto's Best Gelato and Tablet Woes

 Hello Friends!  It's hard to believe that we are now in the middle of August.  I couldn't even picture August way back in March when Toronto went into lockdown.  The internet became my connection to the world.  Work (until I was laid off) was conducted online and I caught up with friends via Zoom.  My tablet provided entertainment, connection to the outside world and an escape. I used to take my trusty Samsung tablet with me everywhere...to the local coffeeshop, to work, I even took it with me on a trip to Australia.  Now it followed me from room to room.  It really was like a virtual extension of myself.  And then one day, the unthinkable happened.

I got up one morning after a late night spent on DIY renovations, picked up the tablet which slipped from my fingers and fell face down on a tiled floor. When I picked it up, my heart sank. I felt like I had lost a friend.  The spiderweb cracks in the screen really affect the touchscreen's responsiveness and minute shards come away when I touch it.  I do want to repair it one day if only for old times' sake.  If you have any tips on safeguarding personal information saved on a smart device before handing it over to a technician, please let me know.

We are in the middle of a heatwave here in the Big Smoke.  To my mind, it just isn't Summer, pandemic or not, without a trip to the best gelato store in the GTA, Hollywood Gelato.

This is how you do gelato during a pandemic:

This was one time I was thankful that I was wearing gloves as the gelato began to melt as soon as I stepped outside into the scorching, humid heat.  I got 3 flavours for $7.00.  Pineapple & Mango is at the top, Valrhona Chocolate in the middle and Hazelnut on the bottom.  The gelato from Hollywood Gelato hits that perfect combination of creamy smoothness and an intense, complex flavour profile without a hint of sickly sweetness.

How is your Summer progressing?

30 Days to Wellness Challenge Day 15: Eating Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables

We are at Day 15, the half way point!  Pats on the back, all around!  The onset of summer means that seasonal fruits and veggies make their welcome appearance at the grocery store.  Of course, in this modern world that we live in, it is possible to get apples from South Africa in the depths of winter and avocados from Chile all year round.  However, nothing beats locally grown seasonal produce.  I used to eat lots of fruits and veggies but I got lazy and, more and more, junk food starting making an appearance.  My palate became accustomed to the sensory overload of all the salt, sugar and seasonings and a piece of fruit, once so delicious to me, seemed pallid and boring.  I do find that if I stay away from the junk food, my palate undergoes a "cleanse" and is able to detect the subtle nuances of fresh fruits and vegetables once again.  So, I want to consciously focus more on wholesome foods in my diet again.

Come back as we move in to the last half of the Challenge!

LBH 30 Days to Wellness Challenge Day 14: Bolthouse Farms Red Goodness Smoothie

How did the decluttering go?  I have been decluttering in spurts since the beginning of the year but took a bit of a break after going through my clothes.  It is good to make myself get back on the decluttering track and not let the break go on for too long.  Now, we are on Day 14 of the Wellness Challenge.  On Day 1 of the Challenge, I wrote about trying out green smoothies for the first time here.  I liked it so much that I decided to branch out a bit and try out Bolthouse Farms Red Goodness smoothie.  Who knew there was such a thing as a red smoothie?  It has the juice of cherries, cranberries, peaches and pomegranates amongst other things and is delicious.  I used to eat a lot of fruit but, for some reason, slacked off.  This gives me a quick dose of fruity goodness.  Come back for Day 15 where we will be at the half way point.  Woohoo!

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LBH Weekly Roundup: Harvest Snaps, J Crew Eyelet Shirt, Ole Henricksen

Ahhhh, Spring is coming in strong!  Somehow, the warmer weather puts me in mind of eating mindfully.  It is difficult to move past the Easter chocolate extravaganza and snacking has always been my downfall.  Luckily, I discovered these Harvest Snaps and have been obsessed ever since.

They are baked, low salt, whole pea pods and remind me of the green pea version of corn puffs.  Somehow, I expected them to be crispy and crunchy but they are feather-like in weight and texture.  They come in lots of other flavours like Wasabi Ranch and you can even get Lentil Snaps in Tomato Basil.  The problem is that I could easily finish an entire bag in one sitting as they are so light and airy which rather defeats the purpose of healthy snacking.

The advent of warmer weather has meant that I have been feeling very hot and smothered in my winter tops. I picked up this J Crew eyelet shirt this past week.  I have tried being thrifty by checking out the thrift stores but it isn't as easy for me these days to engage in multiple trips hunting for the right top that will suit my needs.  When I saw this shirt, the last one in my size at my local J Crew, I figured it was meant to be.

via J Crew

It buttons up the front which means I can put it on without too much struggle, is loose fitting so disguises the omnipresent muffin top and the slightly billowing sleeves take care of the batwings. 

And lastly, Sephora had an Insider Sale this past Friday.  Did you get anything?  More to the point, did you dare set foot into a store?  It was pandemonium at my local Sephora.  I was quite sad when I finished off my Ole Henricksen skincare kit and was very pleased to see he had brought out another small kit.

I am kicking myself that I didn't pick up more but my brain tends to freeze when confronted with hordes of manic shoppers.

Are you enjoying warm weather, wherever you are?

This is not a sponsored post.  Some links are affiliate links.

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LBH Weekly Roundup: Korean Matcha Tea Wagon Wheels

I thought of calling this post "Weird Snacks" but 1) there is only one snack that we (actually only Monsieur) is currently obsessing over, 2) I couldn't figure out whether Korean Matcha Tea Wagon Wheels qualifies as a snack, dessert or both and 3) really, is a Matcha Tea Wagon Wheel all that weird?

Granted, when dealing with a host of health problems, we should, of course, NOT be stuffing ourselves with packaged goodies but then again, if one spends the majority of one's time flat on one's back staring at the ceiling, the temptation to do so is very, very real.

And there is no doubting the amusement factor of trying out something that is labelled in a language that one can't read, there is only a picture and a single English word to give one a hint as to the contents.

The amusement factor is doubled at the attempt to take a snack cake that is embedded in Western culture and then inject some Asian healthiness into its edible petroleum byproduct depths.  Voilà, Match Tea Wagon Wheels!  And you know what?  It's not half bad.  The mild leafy taste of the Matcha Tea is a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the chocolate coating and the artificiality of the marshmallow center.  Any recommendations of interesting, yummy sweets?  I'm game so let me know!

This is not a sponsored post.

LBH Weekly Roundup: La Vie En Rose Flannel Pyjamas and Clif Energy Bars

You know you have turned the corner into adulthood when all you want for Christmas are practical things that add value to your life.  Top of my list were pj's that I could button up the front.  Now that pulling sleep tees or any kind of tee over my head has become a monumental task, I became obsessed with finding comfy pj's that I could actually put on without assistance.  Forget sexy lingerie.  However, a casual stroll through the local mall before Christmas quickly devolved into an obsessive, panicked trek as all I could find were miles and miles of...sexy lingerie. Is this what designers think women want to wear in the middle of a Canadian winter?  In despair, I tasked Monsieur with my Christmas list which consisted of one thing and one thing only, pj's that buttoned up the front.

And this is what I got on Christmas Day.  I include them in this week's Weekly Roundup because I have been living in them for the last month and a half.  Monsieur thinks they are incredibly cute and loves the bright red.  He scored them at La Vie En Rose.  He said that there wasn't a great deal of choice as the other pj's had cartoon like designs printed all over them and the red one was the least offensive.  I wouldn't have cared if they had giant smiley faces all over as I was so pleased to have something I could put on without assistance.  Would you like to see a post on what to wear when faced with a physical challenge?  It would just focus on challenges faced with the upper body and would, obviously, be from my perspective and what solutions I have come up with.  Let me know in the comments!

Another thing I have been obsessed with are Clif Energy Bars.  There was a point when even lifting my arm to fork food into my mouth was an arduous painful endeavor.  By the time dinner was over, I felt like I had run a marathon and would topple into bed afterwards, exhausted and dispirited.  You know you have hit a low point when eating, one of the most primal of pleasures in life, no longer interests or captivates.  Then I stumbled on Clif Energy Bars.

  

I have never been a fan of granola bars (or the newly styled energy bars).  By the time I got to the middle of the box, I would be bored senseless with the compressed horse feed masquerading as human food.  But these Clif bars! I am especially fond of the white chocolate and macadamia nut one. Densely soft and squidgy but still satisfyingly chewy, it has that perfect balance between salty and sweet.  It is definitely an energy bar.  One evening, caught up in the late night munchies, I downed a bar and was so jacked up that I was unable to sleep for hours.  Hmmm, I think I am going to go munch on one now.

A Monstrous Cookie Halloween

In my continuing quest to slow down, I have temporarily put aside learning how to bake a decent loaf of bread due to Monsieur's increasingly frequent comments regarding a passing gluten intolerance. Strangely, this intolerance tends to disappear when cookies and cakes are on the menu.  Hmmm, I think I will have to try my hand at baking cookies.  I am very fond of ginger and molasses cookies and, as I had unearthed a long forgotten carton of molasses in the kitchen cupboard, I set about attempting to bake them.  I used a recipe from epicurious.com which I won't copy here for various reasons to be explained later.  I have never used molasses in cooking before and so had no idea how hard it was to get out of the carton.  I wonder what Monsieur thought when he came home and saw this.

Note that I do not have a mixer.  In this house, mixing is done a la Little House On The Prairie style, with elbow grease and a wooden spoon.  The molasses is so viscous that I am unable to mix it consistently throughout the cookie dough.  I am sure that extreme minimalists everywhere would applaud my exhaustive and exhausting efforts with a wooden spoon.  However, all I can think of is the time Monsieur came home with a steam vacuum cleaner instead of a mixer.  Honestly, a steam vac!  In despair, I give up and throw the batch of "cookies" into the oven and hope for the best.

Suffice to say, the cookies are a failure.  They don't rise or spread out and develop strange crevasses all over. In fact, with the strange spotted colouring, they almost look like chocolate chip cookies.  In fact, they look like Frankenstein monster cookies!

Gloomily, I eat a breakfast cereal bar wrapped in a non-recyclable wrapper.  Yes, I know.  Fortified with mass-produced food, I am determined to try again.  Forget faffing with molasses, also known as edible road tar (although if you have experience cooking or baking with molasses please send along any tips or suggestions!).  This time I will try that old standby, chocolate chip cookies.  I have a bag of peanut butter chips so I decide to switch out the chocolate chips.  Obviously, my rebellious spirit is still alive and kicking.  I use a recipe from Martha Stewart's website.  Thank heavens, the Queen of All Things Good doesn't disappoint.

Strangely, though, the cookies nearest the heating element stayed smallish (the row at the top) while the cookies on the tray further away from the heating element in the oven spread out more (the row on the bottom).  Baking is an exact science and to me a mysterious one.  Still, whatever their size, they taste scrumptious.

  Perfect for a Hootin' Halloween.

Or, for would-be Dragons and Dragonettes, a Roarin' Halloween.
Wherever you are, I hope you have a Spooktacular Halloween!

I'm linking up with Natasha In Oz.

Dansk (ing) with Sausage Soup

I am blessed in that Monsieur loves to cook.  Not to say that I am a complete ignoramus in the kitchen but if there is someone in the family who loves to cook and doesn't consider it a chore, why not give them full rein? Recently, he mentioned that our glass Pyrex open baker was a little shallow for his roast potatoes and he wouldn't mind one that was deeper, one that somehow gave off the message, "I am up to the job, in fact more than up to the job.  I will make your potatoes sing."  Glass just wasn't cutting it.  Now I do love the lowly spud in all its permutations and his roast potatoes especially.  And, I am a firm believer that if you want someone to enjoy what they are doing and to do a good job, they need to be given the right tools.  As luck would have it, I was thrilled to thrift a vintage Dansk Kobenstyle open baker and a small casserole pot shortly afterwards.  The rare times I have come across Dansk enamelware, the pieces were in really poor condition.

I don't mind that the white casserole baker has a few chips around the rim as it is for our own use.  Other than the few chips, the enamel is in great shape.  I don't think white is all that common a colour with Dansk pieces.  I just love the snowy pristineness of it.  Monsieur has already used it for his potatoes.  No photos, sadly, as we were too busy gobbling them down.  Monsieur is of the opinion that the hefty cast iron is fantastic at heat retention and for giving the potatoes that delicious crunchy crust.  The baker is very heavy and yes the potatoes were divine.  The red pot is in almost pristine condition.  I adore the fact that the lid doubles as trivet.

I do so enjoy clever, well thought out design, don't you?  Funnily enough, there was a display of reissued Dansk Kobenstyle in a fancy home goods store in town.  I stepped in to take a look but was disappointed to see that it was all made in Thailand.  It looked very pretty but I just felt that the mystique of the brand had been diluted somewhat.  I can see that reissuing it helps to stir up interest in an iconic line and makes it accessible to a new generation of cooks but I much prefer hunting for the original vintage pieces.  What do you think of reissuing iconic pieces?

As the weather is still bitterly cold and snowy, I asked Monsieur to make a hearty sausage soup.  He tends to freestyle it so I don't have an exact recipe.  He just used what was on hand.

There are carrots, celery, cabbage and mushrooms in there.  A couple of bay leaves for flavour.  Monsieur used two links of Farmer's Smoked Sausage.  Of course, for a vegetarian version, just omit the sausage. The marvelous thing about soup is that you can throw whatever you have on hand into the pot and let it simmer away and work its magic.  The prep bowls are Le Creuset ramekins which I also thrifted.  Season the soup to taste.  Monsieur used Himalayan salt which has a lovely pale pink colour.  Just remember that if you are using sausages, they will impart some salty smoky flavour to the soup.

A dollop of sour cream on top and some basil leaves (omit the sour cream if you are lactose intolerant) and a couple of slices of toasted crusty bread on the side and you have a filling, warming Winter meal.  The bread is on a Denby plate, also thrifted.  What are you doing to stay warm this Winter?  And if you are somewhere sunny, please send some sunshine my way!

This week I am linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, A Living Space, A Stroll Thru Life and A Thrifty Groove.

Making Room for Another ~ Ham and Lentil Soup

In an earlier post, I admitted that I am a sentimental fool.  I tend to hold on to things for the memories they evoke.  Decluttering, organizing and staying organized require great effort on my part.  But now, I have a reason to turn over a new leaf.  Monsieur and I have decided to combine households.  This is a huge step for the both of us as it is something that we have never done before.  I thought that I would feel stressed about making room for another but, as Monsieur said, there is a sense of liberation in purging and decluttering.  And as the kitchen is the heart of the home, it seemed natural to start my organizing efforts there.  As luck would have it, I picked up a couple of vintage Le Parfait mason jars recently.

It has always been a dream of mine to have a pantry with shelves laden with jars of all sorts of foodstuffs.  The kitchen is small with not a lot of cupboard space but it does my heart good to open a cupboard door and see rows of jars filled with staples like lentils and rice.  And it is so much more organized than having open, half used plastic bags stuffed on top of each other, or worse falling out and spilling their contents all over.

I am going to keep my eye out for more of these jars.  I adore the vintage script and the fact that they are French.  Admittedly, I giggle whenever I read the words on the side, "Le Parfait Super (!!!)" Exclamation marks are my own as by no means am I perfect or super in the kitchen. 

Upon decanting all the lentils into one of the jars, I decided to try out the recipe on the back of the packet.  The result, lentil soup, came out surprisingly tasty as, up until now, lentil soup has never been a favourite of mine.

A few slices of crusty ciabatta bread made for a simple, nutritious meal.

Here is the recipe off the back of the packet.  I tweaked it a little as I didn't have any ham on hand.

Ham and Lentil Soup

1 tbsp (15ml) canola oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 ribs celery, diced

1 cup (250ml) diced ham (I used 5 strips of bacon)

1 cup (250ml) rinsed green lentils

6 cups (1.5l) chicken stock

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (I eliminated the red pepper as I am allergic to it)

2 medium tomatoes, chopped 

chopped parsley for garnish

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat and saute onion, garlic, celery and ham for 5 minutes (I poured off some of the bacon drippings, reserving some of it for sauteing the vegetables).  Add green lentils, chicken stock, bell pepper and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until green lentils are tender.  Makes 8 servings.  I did add ground pepper, a pinch of salt and dried oregano for added flavour.  So here I would add to the original recipe, season to taste.

It was so heartwarmingly satisfying to shop for a meal from a much more organized kitchen cupboard or pantry.  If you have any suggestions to help maintain an orderly kitchen and pantry, please let me know!  There will be many more life changes coming soon and we can't wait to discover and learn new ways of living and being. 

I'm linking up to A Stroll Thru Life, Southern Hospitality, Knick of Time, Ivy and Elephants, Thrifty Groove, My Romantic Home, The Charm of Home, Her Library Adventures.

Morning Glory

Long weekends make everything and nothing possible.  One can do whatever one desires or one can do nothing at all.  That is the beauty of the long weekend.  And what could be better than Labour Day long weekend to dally in bed a little longer and delight in breakfast whilst reclining grandly against sumptuous pillows and contemplating doing nothing particularly laborious?

There is something so wonderfully decadent about breakfast in bed.  The day patiently awaits one's pleasure.

Or rather, the entire world can wait as one bites in a buttery croissant.

Any day is perfect if one can start by inhaling the scent of a perfect white rose.

The frosty tartness of lemonade with floating slices of lemon reminds one of the golden days of Summer.

The morning dawns glorious when a loved one asks, "Would you like breakfast in bed?" and that touch of loving kindness suffuses the rest of the day, as it should.

I'm linking up to  A Stroll Thru Life,  French Country Cottage, A Delightsome Life, A Beach Cottage, Faith, Grace and Crafts, My Romantic Home, and Serenity Now.



Cooking With Love

I have discovered something so powerful, so transformative that I wonder that I was blind to it for so long.  Let me backtrack a little and explain.  Recently, I did some renovating in my kitchen and dining room.  I agonized over light features, sinks and countertops.  I fussed over paint chips and the perfect finishing touches.   I replaced all the tired appliances in my kitchen with whizzy new ones with a bewildering array of features.  In fact, the features were so bewildering that I dared not use them!  Monsieur, however, took up the challenge and treated me to a culinary feast that would have impressed a Roman emperor.  The day started off on a lovely note with a bouquet of perfect blooms.  You will notice that the roses are not quite red and not quite pink but that eyecatching union of the two.  Now, I know that a red rose signals passion and a pink rose signals love so for the twain to meet in perfect harmony in the velvety petals of a rose, what better opening act could there be than that?  But there was more to follow.   Monsieur prepared tartines of Chaource cheese which is a wonderfully rich cow's milk cheese made of triple cream, an earthy pork pate and slices of baguette.

All the while, this Muscovy duck, stuffed with oranges and  farmer's sausage was roasting away.

Fingerling potatoes and shallots finished off by roasting them in duck fat.

The piece de resistance was dressed with a Concord grape reduction made with white wine and pan juices.  The tart sweetness of the grapes were an unexpected counterpoint to the richness of the duck. 

Only the best china for Monsieur's efforts so everything was served of course on Wedgwood china.

There is one other ingredient to this feast of culinary delight which lifted this meal from the extraordinary to the sublime and will, I guarantee, do the same for any meal.  It is that it was done with an abundance of love.

So what was my wondrous discovery?  That all the renovating and decorating in the world counts for nothing without that missing "X Factor", loved ones living, loving and laughing, transforming a house into a home.

I am linking up to A Stroll Thru Life, A Beach Cottage, My Romantic Home, Free Pretty Things, Serenity Now, A Delightsome Life

Cherries In The Snow

I want to be very, very lazy.  Thoughts of DIY'ing or anything requiring physical exertion have as much appeal to me at the moment as sitting in a sauna wearing a wool coat.  Although, come to think of it, that's how I feel right now.  The news has been talking about "record high" temperatures.  It's not the heat I mind so much, it's the heavy, pea soup like humidity.  So I need to think of cool things like snowflakes against an aqua sky and cherries in a field of snow or cherries on ice.

Even the word "aqua" has connotations of liquid coolness.

Cherries embedded in ice, a burst of sweetness in the midst of icy cool water, is just the thing.

Or a trail of cherries in the snow...

A snowball fight or two.

And I shall serve up vanilla ice cream garnished with cherries for dinner mounded up on snowy white plates because it is the only thing to eat at times like this.

Sigh...I feel better already.  Ice cream really is the cure for everything.  What is your favourite hot weather rescue? Let me know so we can cool down together!

I am linking up to The House in the Roses, A Delightsome Life, A Stroll Thru Life, A Beach Cottage, French Country Cottage.