Fresh off the tree

We do not have citrus trees on our property, but I wish we did.

But we know people who do and when there we grab the fruit right off the tree.

And did you know that in a poor economy, seed sales go up? Yep, people grow their own food more.

Making bread

This gift from my sister sat in the pantry unused for years. But no more, the girls and I are on our way to becoming creative bread makers, or padeiras, as we say in Portuguese.

I had to find the manual online.

We used recipes from this book.

This was the simplest recipe - white bread.

It turned out really well. It is delicious.

It was a really fun way for Snowden and Grasshopper to spend a day off from school. I'm ready for more.

Sardinhas

Somewhere inside me I heard the cry of my Portuguese heritage when I flipped through the pages of my Mediterranean Cooking book.

I had sardines in my freezer. You can see that they have not been cleaned yet.

Belly opened and ready to rip out the gills and other unwanted stuff.

All clean and ready to cook.

Frying in olive oil, minced onion, and minced garlic. Salt is added to taste.

Served with boiled potatoes, sprinkled with parsley.

Although I ate alone in my home office, I was miles away in Ovar at a feast with generations of my fish loving family.

Candied Citrus Peels

Keesha lives in Arizona and likes being creative in the kitchen. She recently posted about things citrus. I was inspired and decided to give the candied citrus peels a shot.

Things accomplished: I challenged myself which is always a good thing, Grasshopper and Snowden like the stuff, and I decided to make more. They came out a little wet but that is because I misunderstood the drying up step.