This has been a busy week.  I sometimes have busy weeks, but this one was exceptional.  Lots of fun though!

My sister and nephew arrived Saturday, camp started Monday which is why my sister and nephew came so they knew this was a working week for me.

Monday in addition to cooking class, I had my monthly class at the Y.  I teach in the senior center and I have 14 to 18 regulars each month.  This month's theme was Stone Fruits and I made Plum Crisp, Cornmeal Coated Chicken with Peach Salsa and Nectarine Salad.  I get there at 6:00 pm for prep, the class is 7 to 8 and leave about 8:30 after cleaning up.  I love this class!  Everyone has fun, asks questions and enjoys the food.

Tuesday was the library program in Jackson, Georgia.  This was a little bit of a drive but we didn't run into any traffic traumas and didn't get lost so all was well.  Of course my family came with me, they had never been to Jackson!

We had a great time. I did Quick, Healthy Meals for Teens and had a pretty big crowd.  The teens were a little hesitant to volunteer to help at first, but once one person came to help, the rest were eager.  I have pictures thanks to my sister.







In addition to the teens that attended the party, there were 2 college students who have received scholarships from the library.  To repay the scholarships the students give 30 hours of service to the library.  A great deal!

I need to get ready for camp now.  Yesterday was the competition and there are pictures.  Today we'll feed friends and family. 

Our judges for yesterday enjoying their cocktail (no alcohol!).

Another busy and fun week for me, this is the third session of cooking camp this summer.  This week there are 8 in class, 2 guys, 6 girls.  Also this week my sister and nephew are in camp.  My nephew is attending and my sister is assisting. 

I have trouble sometimes in the summer with my calendar.  Since I am doing the same thing everyday when I have camp, I occasionally don't look at the calendar and when I do I discover that I have a little too much fun scheduled.  This has happened this week!

I teach a cooking class at the senior center at the Y every second Monday of the month.  So yes, that was last night.  I mentioned to my sister and nephew that not only would there be no dinner but that we were going to the Y for a class after camp.  My nephew helped during the recipe preparation in class and my sister helped with dishes and serving.  We had a fun time and were home to watch The Closer.  I did stay awake until the end!

There will be no dinner for my guests again tonight because after class we are heading far away to a library to do a cooking class for teens.  This will be another fun class, I think there are 20 teens signed up.  We'll eat a good lunch at camp and then journey to the library. Today we have southern region foods at camp so we'll lunch on shrimp and grits, turnip greens and hummingbird cake.  Not bad before a long journey. 

After tonight  we're done with double days of classes.  I promised a good dinner for Wednesday - Scampi and Linguine.  This is one of the favorite meals in the family so we'll have a relaxing delicious dinner tomorrow.   

They arrived from Pittsburgh on Saturday and we just relaxed around the house.  I did feed them - grilled steelhead fillets that were delicious.  Sunday we had fun before the week started.  We went to the aquarium and had a good time.



No fish for dinner Sunday, we had macaroni and cheese with broccoli.  This was for planned leftovers so when we foraged for meals there was food for foraging. 

Have to get ready for camp now.  We leave the house around 7:20.  My husband gets to have fun while working at home today.  He will be ready to accept delivery of the new mattress!  I'll sleep well on it tonight. 

This week went by quickly!  I cooked for a client on Tuesday and then I've just been doing stuff all week.  I teach cooking camp again next week so I'm conserving my energy!

It has been hot here again as it has been almost everywhere.  I don't totally change the way we eat in the summer, but after the holiday weekend I was feeling overloaded with meat.  I like meat, often I crave it, but I needed a rest.

Tuesday for "whatever" night I had leftover mashed potatoes for dinner.  My husband came home from his meeting, asked about my dinner and was a little surprised by my answer.  He had the usual meeting pizza.

Wednesday I had planned for steaks and zucchini but was still feeling too heavy from the weekend.  I decided on the leftover pasta that I had - penne, two kinds of mushrooms, no meat.  I also had zucchini boats  - garlic, butter, parmesan.  Delicious.

Last night I ventured into some animal protein.  My husband works with people who cook and quite some time ago came home with a photocopied recipe.  I have had it on the counter waiting for the perfect time.

I don't know the source, nothing on the page, but it was quick and easy and perfect for summer.  Also no mayo in the slaw!  I made the slaw about 2 hours before dinner and kept it in the fridge.  It was nice and crunchy at dinner, some water was released.  I served it with black beans.

Shrimp Tacos with Citrus Cabbage Slaw
serves 4

1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons sour cream
kosher salt and black pepper
8 ounces cabbage, shredded
1 cup corn kernels
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
8 small flour tortillas, warmed

1. In a large bowl, whisk the orange and lime juices, sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. 
2. Add the cabbage, corn, and jalapeno and toss to combine.  Let sit, tossing occasionally, for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. 
   
4. Season the shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Cook until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Serve with the tortillas and slaw.

Today is continuation of errands and cleaning.  My sister and nephew arrive tomorrow from Pittsburgh for camp week.  I think I may stop at the grocery store so we can avoid that this weekend. 

My menu plan for next week is hopefully easy since my week will be harder.  I'm not sure what I was thinking when I scheduled the week, but in addition to camp everyday I have the Y class Monday night and a library program for teens Tuesday night. 

Tonight I am smoking my first turkey breast with high hopes that it will give me leftovers for next week!  I'll also make a blueberry cake for snacks.

Having a good week so far.  I had a library program on Monday, thanks to Rockmart for having me.  I was scheduled to do a cooking program for the teens at 2 pm, so I checked my directions, left the house at 11 and was on my way.

I never thought I'd have a traffic trauma in the afternoon and sailed down 400 on the way to 285 and 75 North.  I was on the ramp to get on 285 about 11:10 and noticed there was no movement on the highway.  Not good.  I looked and didn't see any helicopters and thought that was a good sign.  I was now trapped, had to get on the road, but no movement.  I found a traffic report on the radio which said "all lanes of 285 are closed, traffic accident with injuries, get off and take alternate route".

Great, I was close to the exit but had no idea of alternate routes.  Called my husband who luckily for me, not so much for him, was at his desk.  I explained, told him I thought I needed to exit, he looked online, saw the accident, agreed and I told him he needed to find a way for me to get to 75 North. 

After an hour and 15 minutes, I made it on the road and off the exit.  Not good, I was now sure to be late, even leaving early.  My husband guided me, I called the library and told them I thought I'd arrive about the time the program would start. Of course I still needed to set up. 

After 2 hours, I was on 75 North!  Now I just had to find Rockmart.  I found it, drove past the library only once and was there about 2:10.  There were still teens there for the program, they helped me in with my stuff and in about 10 minutes we were cooking! 

We made island chicken, pasta salad and lemonade.  The teens were great, we all pitched in, we had a delicious lunch and the program ended at 3:30 instead of 3:00. 

Thanks to Ann the librarian for having me and understanding my traffic trauma!

Yesterday was my much anticipated hair cut and I bought some corn.  I like to freeze it for the winter and last year didn't get to do that.  We had some corn on Sunday, it was very good, so I went to Publix yesterday for corn.

This is my regular Publix where they know me and when I got to produce Doug the manager said hi and remarked I was late.  It was 11:30.  I explained I wasn't working and needed some corn, a lot of corn.  He said great, do you need a crate, there are 48 ears in a crate.  Perfect! 

He loaded the crate in my cart, I went to check out with Rebecca who just looked at me and laughed.  I told her 48 ears.  It's on special 10 ears for $1.49.  Andrew walked me out to the car and loaded the corn.  No one thought that I made an odd purchase, I think they just assume most of what I do is odd. 

I just finished a client menu so now will be husking, blanching, ice bathing, cutting and freezer bagging corn.  That should take a little time today.  No corn for dinner!

I had such a nice time yesterday cooking for dinner last night and for breakfast this morning.  Actually dinner for tonight is done since we're having pulled pork again.

Yesterday we got the wood chips soaking and the grill burning so I could get the pork butt on by 6:00.  I wanted to make sure to get the temperature holding between 225 and 250 before we went to Jazzercise.  All went well.

About 4:30 I took the meat off of the grill to cool slightly to shred.  It fell apart so easily and was so delicious. 



Since the pork was cooking without needing attention from me, I made potato salad yesterday afternoon to have with the pork.  I do not like mayo, so I made a salad from The Barefoot Contessa and for fun used purple potatoes.  It too was delicious.



I had to wait for potatoes to get tender in boiling water so I used that time to make a breakfast casserole that we had this morning.  Here are the before and after pictures.  It was very good, a recipe from Ellie Krieger.



Blueberry Almond French Toast Bake from Ellie Krieger
serves 8

• Cooking spray
• 1 whole-wheat baguette (about 18 inches long, 8 ounces), cut into 1-inch cubes
• 8 large eggs
• 8 large egg whites
• 2 cups 1 percent lowfat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange the bread in a single layer in the baking pan. Whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup. Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan, spreading it around so the liquid saturates the bread. Scatter the blueberries evenly on top and sprinkle with the almonds and brown sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover the baking pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve warm, cold or at room temperature.

I have leftovers for brunch tomorrow and I'll pop some in the freezer for another day.  I love having the freezer with ready to go meals.

Since I was in the kitchen anyway and since the berries are beautiful right now, I needed to make my favorite berry pie.  I love Fresh Raspberry Pie. 

All of my cooking is done.  I did not do any knitting yesterday so I think I'll do that today.  We've been to church, had breakfast and now I can hear the dryer telling me the towels are done.

I have a library program tomorrow with teens in Rockmart.  I have all of my recipes ready and just need to get all my equipment organized.  And then the rest of the day is for relaxation!  Sounds good to me.

It's Friday!  I have a few things to do, but a little of everything which I like.  This week overall was a variety week after having camp  every day last week.

This week I had my class at the Y on Monday night, I so enjoy my monthly class at the Y.  Tuesday I was going to clean but I managed to avoid that totally and did some relaxing.  Wednesday I had a library cooking program in Fayetteville.  The program was sold out (it was free but signup required) with about 28 kids from age 4 to 12. 

The library summer theme this year is "Make a Splash at the Library" which is not a favorite of the librarians since books and water should not mix.  My program was Water, Water Everywhere and I made fish (lives in the water), zucchini (contains water) and lemonade (made with water).  The kids helped me cook and everyone sampled.  I have no pictures because an hour long program + kids helping + tasting for all does not equal pictures. 

Thursday I had a personal chef customer.  It was a little strange because usually I see my customer and don't see the kids.  My customer started a new job recently so I just got to say goodbye to her and the kids are off school so I got to see them.  I had a good day of cooking and in addition to the meals I left them a treat of fresh fruit. 

Today is starting out well.  I like to get to my desk about 6 when I'm not working but didn't get here until 7.  I decided to pick up a row of knitting while I was rested and I also did one row.  About 7 more rows and the baby sweater is done!

I checked email at my desk, emptied the dishwasher and made a meal for my Loving Meals MInistry.  The family has three young children and the mom is on bed rest due to have twins.  They need food!  I made Chicken Piccata with Mushrooms big enough to avoid.  It's a lighter recipe from Eating Well.

Chicken Piccata with Pasta and Mushrooms from Eating Well January/February 2008
serves 4

• 6 ounces whole-wheat angel hair pasta
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 4 chicken cutlets, (3/4-1 pound total), trimmed
• 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 10-ounce package mushrooms, sliced
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
• 2 teaspoons butter

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just tender, 4 to 6 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
2. Meanwhile, whisk 5 teaspoons flour and broth in a small bowl until smooth. Place the remaining flour in a shallow dish. Season chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper and dredge both sides in the flour. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and no longer pink in the middle, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; cover and keep warm.
3. Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they release their juices and begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add garlic and wine to the pan and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the reserved broth-flour mixture, lemon juice and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in parsley, capers, butter and the reserved mushrooms. Measure out 1/2 cup of the mushroom sauce. Toss the pasta in the pan with the remaining sauce. Serve the pasta topped with the chicken and the reserved sauce.

Now I have a load of laundry in, I need to dust a little, maybe vacuum, make a menu for us for next week, get to the bank.  Next week is another session of kid's cooking camp.  So much fun but I need easy meals for that week so I can make sure I don't avoid Jazzercise. 

I have a training session with KitchenAid this morning so need to be ready to watch online at 10:00.  Going away party tonight so no need for dinner for us!

Monday night was my regular monthly class at the Y near my house with my group from the Wellness Center.  For this class the theme was berries since they are so nice now, but I used some filo shells and referenced another recipe that no one remembered.

I promised I would put it on my website.  I also mentioned that I had a recipe for home made maraschino cherries that I saw in an article, can't remember now from where, and I printed it and it was on my desk to try.  They wanted that also.

So here we go:

Key Lime Mini Tarts from Betty Crocker 2001
makes 60 with filling leftover

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup key lime juice, I use Joe and Nellies
8 ounces whipped topping, thawed
4 packages mini filo dough shells, 2.1 ounces each, in freezer section

Beat milk and lime juice in large bowl with whisk or hand mixer until smooth and thickened.
Fold in whipped topping.
Spoon some into each shell.
Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour but no longer than 24 hours.  Garnish with lime zest if desired.

I have kept the filling in a bowl covered for a couple days.  The shells will get soggy if filled for too long, but you can pipe the filling into the shells as needed once it's chilled. 

Basic Maraschino Cherries source unknown

1 pound ripe, thoroughly washed cherries (stems and pits intact)
2 to 3 cups Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

Place cherries in a glass jar or container with a lid.  Pour the liqueur over the cherries.  The goal is to add enough liqueur to immerse the cherries, but they will bob to the top of the liquid anyway.
Refrigerate at least 2 weeks.  Gnetly swirl the container every 2 to 3 days to immerse the cherries in the liqueur.

I haven't tried this yet so if anyone does, let me know how it is.  Next week is another week of kid's cooking camp so unless I can get things this weekend, it will be a while before I try the cherry recipe.

Now I am going to get ready for a library program, titled Water, Water Everywhere.   I have the equipment ready to go I hope and I have the recipes printed, I need to get my grocery list together so I have food. 

We are having a nice quiet day today after a busy Friday and Saturday.  My Friday wasn't bad, just some errands but my husband worked until 3 am Saturday.

Saturday morning I went to 7:15 Jazzercise by myself, husband did not want to go and then came home to get ready for the day.  I had a library program scheduled.  It was tied into Asian Heritage month and was at the Flat Shoals Public Library in DeKalb county.  I must say I am getting to see lots of new places in Georgia doing programs for libraries.

I asked my husband to come and help at the library because I had agreed to teach a class at Cook's Warehouse Saturday night also.  I was asked Wednesday evening about Cook's and knew the timing between classes was tight, but possible.  I wanted to make sure I could get cleaned up from the library quickly to get turned around for Cook's Warehouse. 

All worked well.  We got to the library at 11:45 after terrible traffic on 285.  Wasn't expecting that but stayed good on my timeline.  We got setup and got water boiling for the program.  I had decided on Noodles Three Ways to show several Asian ingredients and also show how some ingredients are common in other cuisines.  I had an hour for the program and for eating so I had to be very organized!





I made all the noodles at once and then divided them into the three different recipes.  The audience was wonderful!  They asked questions and loved the food.  They were ready to go home and try the recipes for their families.






I made Sesame Noodles, Peanut Noodles and Spicy Coconut Noodles. All are good and with summer coming are a good way to get some easy interesting meals. 




Sesame Noodles
serves 6 to 8

1 pound linguine or noodles of your choice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
8 scallions, sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups snow pea pods, cut in half
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cook linguine 9 to 11 minutes or according to package directions.
   
2. Meanwhile, whisk soy sauce, sesame oil, canola oil, rice wine vinegar, crushed red pepper, scallions and cilantro.
3. Add noodles, snowpeas and bell pepper, toss to coat.
   
4. To serve garnish with sesame seeds. 
   
5. Add cooked chicken, turkey, pork, or shrimp if desired.

The program was scheduled for 12:30 to 1:30 and I stayed with my timeline.  We left the library clean and happy at 1:50.  I drove home, unpacked the car, my husband said he'd do dishes, I changed to a clean chef coat and headed to Midtown. I was home for 20 minutes, just enough time. 

Wendy (cooking school director) had called me Wednesday evening to see if I could do a class with the teen girls from Hillside.  I had worked with them a few years ago and had fun so of course I said yes. For more information check out www.hside.org. 

The class started at 5 so the assistants and I started at 4 getting everything prepped and organized.  The girls had requested a Southern menu so I planned Catfish with Lemon Pepper, Southern Oven Fried Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese and Blueberry Cobbler.

The girls arrived at 5:00 and were excited to cook. They got into groups and started cooking.  They did a great job.  Once a group had their recipe in the oven, they cleaned their dishes and area and helped set the tables for dinner.  While things finished cooking we reviewed the recipes so everyone could ask any questions and we could talk about changes they could make to the recipes such as different fruits in the cobbler.

Dinner was served at 6:30 and it was delicious!  I love having someone cook for me and I was hungry! I got home about 8:15, asked my husband to make me a cup of hot tea and relaxed.  My legs were very tired! 

Today we went to church, went out for breakfast, picked up some groceries, bought some dishes and have been relaxing.  Now I have to go make dinner.  Quick and easy sausage with roasted red pepper pizza.

Looks like we are in for a full day of rain today.  That will be great for the plants, so far it is pretty steady and not pounding.  I have some errands to run today.  I have a chiropractor appointment this morning that I am looking forward to, my back and neck have been bothering me a little.  I know Dr. Watson will fix that.

I also need to return library books, buy bird food, and go to the Super H store.  I haven't been to Super H for a while and I so enjoy going there.  Tomorrow I am presenting Noodles Three Ways for Asian Heritage Month at the Flat Shoals Library.  I have to check my pantry but I am pretty sure I am out of soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and of course I need noodles! 

I've spent the morning printing recipes for handouts, organizing grocery and equipment lists and just making sure I am ready for tomorrow.  In addition to the library program I have a class at The Cook's Warehouse.  This came up suddenly Wednesday night.  The class is for Girl Power girls and we'll be making Southern Foods.  I've volunteered with the group before and have fun in the class.  I have my handouts ready, my grocery list done and have a time line for the class. 

I love teaching classes and they greatly appeal to my love of organization and project management.  For the library classes I need to make sure I have all the equipment I need including stove tops, power cords, utensils, plates, serving pieces and tablecloths.  I've gone over my equipment list twice and think I have it.  Now I just need to pack everything!

I don't need to take equipment to Cook's Warehouse but I do need to make sure I have a time line for the class.  I need that for the library also.  The library time frame is 1 hour and you want to make sure people get to eat also.  The class at Cook's is 2 hours and again people want to eat.  I think I'm good for timing.  I get to both places about an hour ahead to setup and prep so all goes smoothly.  In order for a class to look like it is casual, easy and relaxing, you must do good prep.  Perfect for an ex-project manager.

I made a chocolate cake on Wednesday to celebrate National Devil Food Cake day.  So delicious and pretty easy.  So far we've celebrated Wednesday and Thursday.  The celebration will continue today!  I used almond extract.



Favorite Fudge Birthday Cake from King Arthur Flour

Cake
2 cups (14 ounces) sugar
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur  Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 tablespoons (3/8 ounce) Instant ClearJel® or cornstarch
3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) water
Filling
12 ounces semisweet chocolate
6 ounces cream (light, whipping, or heavy) or milk, or a combination*
flavors of your choice (see filling directions below)
*Hint: Since you need 4 ounces of cream for the icing, and you’ll most likely buy an 8-ounce container, use 4 ounces cream in the filling supplemented with 2 ounces of milk.
Icing
8 ounces semisweet chocolate
4 ounces cream (light, whipping, or heavy)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour (or grease, then line with parchment, then grease again) two 8" x 2" round cake pans. Note: These pans need to be at least 2" tall; if you have non-standard, shorter 8" pans, substitute 9" round pans.

To make the cake: Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla, beating until smooth. Gradually add the water, beating until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.

Bake the cakes for 35 to 38 minutes (a bit less if you use a 9" pan), or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn them out of the pans to cool completely on a rack.

To make the filling: Combine the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the cream is very hot, and the chocolate very soft. Stir to melt the chocolate completely, reheating very briefly if necessary.

Now you have a choice. You may either flavor the filling all one flavor, or use a different flavor for each layer of filling. For all one flavor, use 3 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur–Frangelico (hazelnut), Kahlua (coffee), or Framboise (raspberry) are all good choices. Or try 2 tablespoons rum. Alternatively, add 1 tablespoon espresso powder; or flavor to taste with a bottled extract (coconut, peppermint, cherry, almond…)

To mix and match flavors, divide the filling into three parts, and flavor each differently to taste, with an extract; or with about 1 tablespoon liqueur for each flavor. Divide the cooled layers in half horizontally, to make four layers. Place one layer on a serving plate, and spread with filling. Repeat with the next two layers. Top with the final cake layer.

To make the icing: Combine the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the cream is very hot, and the chocolate very soft. Stir to melt the chocolate completely, reheating very briefly if necessary. Pour and spread the icing over the top of the cake, letting it drip over the edges and down the sides. Once it’s done dripping, you may smooth the sides with an icing spatula, if desired. Allow the cake to rest, covered with a cake cover (or a big turned-over bowl) till the chocolate is set; overnight is good, though several hours are sufficient. Yield: 12 generous servings.

Don't be afraid of the long list and directions.  The cake is not hard to make and tastes great! 

The weather has been very springlike with rain, hail, wind, sun, cool temperatures.  A couple more days and it is officially spring.  I wonder if it will snow?

This has been a busy and fun week for me.  I had a great time at the library Thursday afternoon.  The librarian decided to have me cook as a treat for the teens that participated in the Peach reading program.  There was a list of 20 books that the teens read, rated and discussed.  The library is in Buchanan which is quite a drive.  I always say to myself that I won't drive such and such a  distance, but then I actually talk with the librarian, find out more about the program, and usually can't help myself. 

The library is in the old courthouse.  Lots of old wood - benches, floors, witness stands, ceiling.  I took a couple of pictures while I waited for the teens to arrive. Since it was a peach party we had Pork Tenderloin with Peach BBQ Sauce, Sweet Potatoes and Peach Pie Smoothies.  I used sweet potatoes because they are peach colored. 





Friday I had lots of work to do.  In the house.  I needed to clean and get ready for my step-daughter and grandson to arrive.  They spent last week in Florida, my husband joined them last Wednesday and they all were coming back on Saturday.  I had some work that I couldn't change, so I stayed home.

I spent Friday morning cleaning the house, then off to the library, picked up a cake so we could celebrate Beth's birthday (from February),  hit the grocery store, made a casserole for Saturday dinner, relaxed a little Friday night.  I was amazed I got everything done that needed done.  I locked the cats out of the guest bedroom and bathroom and that was a little traumatic for them. 

Saturday I spent several hours at Macy's at a bridal event as a KitchenAid product specialist.  I left Macy's, zipped home, unpacked my KitchenAid products and loaded the car with some things for a cooking class.  I changed and became Chef Carlin instead of KitchenAid Carlin and went off to my client's house.

Saturday night was a cooking class/dinner party.  I cooked with Paul and Whitney who received the class as a Christmas gift from Paul's mom who lives in Florida.  They decided to invite a few guests to help them enjoy the meal they cooked.  They had Thai Crabcakes with Mango Salsa, Panko Crusted Pork, Asian Potato Cakes, Ginger Lime Carrots and Flourless Chocolate Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream. 

Paul and Whitney did a great job and ended up with delicious food, a clean kitchen and happy guests.  It was a fun and tasty evening.



I got home Saturday night about 9:15 and we had birthday cake and Beth opened her present.  Everyone was pretty tired after a busy Saturday so we headed off to sleep.

Sunday morning we realized that we totally forgot the time change but had no time schedule to keep so we were good.  Matthew wanted pancakes for breakfast so of course Grandma Carlin made them.  The adults didn't eat too much since we were doing a big lunch when my son-in-law arrived to pick up Beth and Matthew.

Sunday lunch was something I've been craving and it was delicious.  I made pasta primavera with onions, carrots, celery, red bell peppers, asparagus and fettuccine.  We had salad and garlic bread and of course cake.  Matthew loved the chocolate cake from Lulu's Bakery.  It was delicious. 

Sunday evening I had another bridal event for KitchenAid.  Monday I met with a potential client who has some health issues and needs to eat better, so they've asked me to help.  I cooked today for my new clients, the ones that helped me when the car battery died.  I enjoyed my day of cooking today.

Tomorrow I am cooking at Becky Sue and Charlie Brown's house (the shih tzus).  They are getting a new baby sister and I think I'll get to play with a new puppy tomorrow.  I'll have to cook too, but I'll try and fit that in around the puppy cuddling!

I decided to ditch Jazzercise tonight so I could blog, not a problem there.  The problem is that when I finish this I am off to search for the birthday cake that I want for my birthday.  Maybe too many cakes?  I'll make it Friday so it's ready for Saturday birthday breakfast!