Tonia Davenport

Whole-Lemon Lemonade

I finally got around to trying something that I've been wanting to try for a while. I can't remember where I first read about this--probably on some food blog--but it really appealed to me. Instead of only using squeezed juice from a lemon, this lemonade has much more depth of flavor because you get nuances from the whole lemon. I fixed this for us twice this weekend and Dave and I both loved it each time. It basically takes one lemon for two servings.

Here's what you do:

1. After scrubbing, cut one lemon into eighths.
2. Put it in a blender with about 1/3c. water and about 1/4c. sugar.
3. Blend until well pulverized, then strain through a fine-seive strainer. (Push the liquid through with your hands--like I did--or a spoon.)
4. Dived the liquid between two glasses--you should only have about 1/4c. in each glass--not much.
5. Fill the glass with ice and add water. Stir and drink up.

Best Eggs Ever

I have mentioned here before that I love eggs? I LOVE eggs. I'm sure I've mentioned it. Well, I just discovered the best way yet to eat them. Until now, I think my consistent favorite has been huevos rancheros, but this now tops the list. You can't really tell from the photo what all is going on here, so I'll give you the quick rundown.

Start with two toasted (w/butter) slices of baguette or french bread. I toasted mine in the panini maker. Top with a dab of pesto and either chopped fresh tomato (hard to find at the moment) or a dab of bruchetta mix. Put one slice of fresh mozarella on each, add one egg (poached or fried) to each slice and eat as if you're in Heaven. And if you're not, I don't want to hear about it because nothing can spoil this for me.

Alfresco!

This weekend was wonderful. Dave and I love to dine outside when we go out to eat and Saturday was the first time this season it's been nice enough (and available) to do so. This place that we love to go has a huge patio and overlooks the lush grounds of a golf course. Dave had a burger and I enjoyed a tuna salad wrap and life was good.

Dining in 2015

This is one of the coolest competitions I think I have ever seen. I spent what seemed like hours yesterday looking at the entries. Some pretty amazing stuff for those of us who are into the art of eating!

If you are a huge fan of eggs like I am, help this girl out by taking her egg survey!

(And was I getting a bit too carried away with the flickr tools and toys this morning? Maybe . . .Well it's all thanks to this gal. I find the coolest blog tools from her blog! But enough about that . . .go take the egg survey!)

Welcome Fall!

Today is the first day of autumn and I couldn't be more excited about its arrival. Not only does fall bring with it relief from the hot and sticky summer (this year has been especially gruesome), it signals the beginning of my favorite time of year. I often begin this annual celebration with a new coffee cup. I think this one is one of the prettier ones I've gotten in a while. Aren't the colors gorgeous? And what better to fill my cup than Yellow Ribbon Blend--a special blend developed by Starbucks that you can purchase a pound of and send to troops fighting in the current situation. They let you write a thank-you right on the bag, then they ship several over in batches. To accompany my comforting beverage, I continued the celebration by baking caramel apple cookies, from a recipe in the October issue of Midwest Living. A fine start of fall, indeed.

Scrumptious!

Yesterday was a most scrumptious day. I received a yummy necklace from Jane for our trade and I made a delicious salmon pizza for dinner. Jane features a lot of cool things on her etsy site--check them out! For dinner, I made a pizza with pesto, salmon, green stripey and grape tomatoes from my garden and a five-cheese blend. It was good! Luckily I have left-overs, which I plan to reheat right now . . .

New Growth

Yesterday, I finally got around to planting my happy garden. I am not a garderner by any sense of the imagination (just ask my Mother), but I do love growing herbs, tomatoes and a select few experimental veggies (which vary year to year). I actually bought all of the plants a week ago, but yesterday was the first chance I had to prepare the soil (top soil and moo-nure) and do the planting. I lucked out, in that I finished just about an hour before it downpoured. There is something so therapuetic about planting things with the hope of great growth, isn't there? It's the perfect metaphor (sorry to sound cheesy) for me and my life at this time. I will share more pics as the plants mature--they're just babies right now.

Don't Hate Me

It's really a shame you weren't dining with me this evening, especially because I was eating alone (Dave is in Maryland on two service calls--"Hi Jane!"). I'm really so, so sorry that didn't get to enjoy the sublime taste-bud experience that I did this evening, eating what I have come to deem my favorite pizza EVER (and you guys know me, so you know this is serious business--rating pizza, I mean.) I'm talking about my own apple/bacon/gorgonzola variety. Every time I make it, I'm always amazed that it's consistently better than I remember it. Like, why-on-earth-don't-I-eat-this-every-day sort of good. If you're at all interested in making this yourself, it's really quite simple. Give it a try and tell me what you think. I'd love to join you if there's room!

• premade pizza shell (I prefer either Boboli whole wheat or Mama's)
• pumpkin butter (Trader Joe's sells this, but apple butter is nearly as good)
• bacon or prosciutto (I used turkey bacon this evening)
• diced white onion
• granny smith apple, diced
• crumbled gorgonzola
• shredded four-cheese blend

Brown the bacon in a skillet, then brown the onions in the drippings and drain. Spread pumpkin butter over the shell. Top with bacon that you rip into small pieces, the browned onions and about three-fourths of the apple (eat the rest, or share it with your critters.) Spread a generous amount of crumbled gorgonzola over everything (about half of the plastic tub) and about a quarter cup of the four-cheese blend. Bake at 425 for ten to twelve minutes, or until the apples just start to brown. Then, just try and control yourself. :-)

Two Cents on Chocolate

Actually, make that two-hundred and twenty-nine cents. That's what I paid for a single Joseph Schmidt Grand Marnier truffle from the brand new Fresh Market near where I work. Now don't get me wrong--that is a fair price for something that is out-of-this-world tasty and would make my eyes roll back in my head. This truffle was very good, but not in full-blown ecstasy way like I was half expecting.

I've been reading several chocolate reviews lately in foodie magazines, and Mr. Schmidt's chocolates always seem to be on the list, meaning they are at least worthy of great recognition, but to be honest, in the chocolate-orange arena, I would recommend the Maya Gold by Green & Black or frankly, Cadbury's Orange Creme egg (new this year!) over this highfalutin treasure (though it is pretty, and anyone who knows me, knows I have no problem whatsoever with highfalutin, if it's worthy of its pompous-ness). The dark chocolate shell lacked rich chocolate flavor, but the filling was tasty.

Today I am packing up my class supplies for ArtFest. I'm getting excited now! I can't wait to see everyone. For now though, it's blueberry pancake time . . .