Summertime

Not an extremely busy summer; just normal life stuff.  I went to a couple thrift shops a couple days ago for the first time in months.

These bookends- I loved!  I don't really need anymore, and they were $20/each (and not real antiques), not my idea of a bargain (and the books were $3.69/each- this is why I don't shop at Goodwill anymore.

Then I went to a Christian Ministries thrift store- found this charming hand-crafted wind chime for $1.50.  I hung it in my office at work.  

I passed on this sweet little horse because she doesn't exactly go with my other rocking horses and she was made out of some kind of foam.  If it was wood I would have purchased it.

1989 - I was VERY tempted but it was in less than perfect shape and they wanted $3.50 for it (once again, Goodwill). 

Then I took a day off this past week for a much needed mental break from work (I need more than one day!)- went out to visit my pony and let my puppy run.

He played with his friends (chasing lizards) 

This is PeeWee- my mom's Cane Corso- he's the sweetest boy ever (and makes a nice pony too)

I rode Serenity while Junior played in the creek.  

All good things

Well, I won't keep complaining about the heat, but....it sure has been hard to stay cool.  Thank God I got the good sense to buy an above ground pool this year.

 I've still been riding weekly but my pony sure does get hot.

 My neighbor's dessert rose.

 Beatin the heat!

 I took the baby for a drive (over the skyway bridge) on July 4th

 My pineapple is not quite ready still.  But there is another one growing now!

 This is Hampig.

4th of July dinner was traditional burgers on the grill, corn and watermelon.

Fish

I tried a new recipe for fish.  I usually cook fish the way my Grandmother taught me, which is baked but turns out tasting more like fried- tried & true & always delicious.  However, I didn't care for cooking Talapia that way.  It's not one of my favorite fish anyhow- but it's cheap when we haven't been catching much!
This might be our new way to cook fish!  I'm not sure it would be good on an oily fish like Spanish Mackerel- probably keep to the old recipe for fish like that.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia Fillets

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (in a pinch, use grated) 

2 teaspoons paprika 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley I omitted this because we didn't have any

salt and ground black pepper to taste (lots of pepper)

granulated garlic (I added this- and lots of it)

Tilapia Fillets (or any white flaky fish)

olive oil 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Whisk dry ingredients.

Coat tilapia fillets with olive oil and press into the Parmesan cheese mixture. Arrange coated fillets on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven until the fish flakes easily with a fork, 10 to 12 minutes.

Tip
*Aluminum foil can be used to keep food moist, cook it evenly, and make clean-up easier.

I served it with a southwest salad.

It's almost July 4th!

What a great week leading up to my long weekend.  I enjoy everyone's summertime posts!  The water has been beautiful here (on Florida's west coast) although it's been dreadfully hot.  Now we're getting to the time of the year when I can't keep up with the weeds.    

Fishing on Saturday- made it in just as the storms came in.

Cortez bridge. 

We had a little hitch hiker. 

Storms on Sunday preventing me from riding my pony.  Well, I still rode, but not as long as I would have liked.  

This baby is exhausted after visiting Grammy's.

Damn frogs laying eggs in my pool!  I love my pool I bought for this summer but I'll admit it's a lot of work. 

Happy First Day of Summer

What a Weekend!

I did more than I should have!  Most importantly, I took my first boat ride since my surgery.  We kept it short and went slow, I did OK, although I've been pretty stiff/sore today.  I certainly enjoyed it.

 This truck drove off the bridge over the river.  The driver was fine, thankfully.  

Storms on the bay.

Corn Chowder

I don't think I've posted a recipe at all on this blog yet; so here's to my first!
Homemade Corn Chowder- US corn is on sale right now at our grocery, and this recipe is from a very old cookbook I have that my mom gave me.  It's very simple to make and is amazing with fresh bread (I prefer sour dough).  It tastes even better if it sits in the refrigerator over night.  I'll give you my measurements rather than the recipe's :)

Fresh Corn Chowder
6 ears of corn (I go for big ones)
1 onion (large), chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups of milk (or so, I just pour)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (which I am out of today, so I used black, but white is much better I think)
2 tabelspoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 beaten egg

Cut corn off the cobs; scrape cobs.  Combine corn, onion, salt and 1/3 cup of water; bring to a boil.

Simmer, cooking about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add 3.5 cups of the milk, butter, pepper and a dash of salt.  Blend half a cup of milk in flour, then stir in to corn mixture.  Cook and stir until bubbly and thick (this doesn't take long).  Gradually stir a moderate amount of hot mixture into egg, return to corn mixture in saucepan.  Cook and stir over low heat for 5-10 minutes.

Garnish with paprika (I like lots)